Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The quiet after the storm


It is about 4:30 in the afternoon, the 2 oldest are with friends for the day, the middle 2 are playing upstairs with some new craft supplies and the 2 littles are still sleeping. Besides the howling wind the house is quiet. The calm has started to set in after the holiday crazies. Dinner is simmering on the stove and I feel content to sit with the quiet for a few moments longer. These moments are rare around here and I intend to enjoy every second. Quiet is really restorative in its own way, my mind is at peace. I am planning some new projects for the new year, new rhythms and routines. Quiet needs to be more a part of the everyday norm, at least for a little bit each day. I'm praying for a more quiet and gentle spirit. After the crash I just heard from upstairs I may need to pray a little harder. Off to assess the damage....

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Snowflake Saturday!!




We awoke to the promise of snow, and lots of it. The first REAL snow of the season. We have had a little before now but not like the promise of 12-24 inches. The kids are in heaven and are patiently awaiting the accumulation. So to pass some time before we can pull the sleds out I decided we should make our inside window look a little like the outside window. We got out the scissors, tape and white paper and started cutting. I wanted to try these big snowflakes that I have seen floating all over blog land and the kids like to make any kind of flake. Before long my floor looked like the ground outside and we had a table full of unique snowflakes. We hung up an extra set of twinkle lights and strung the snowflakes. Just perfect, everyone was proud of their creations and I loved how the big snowflakes turned out. Now for a little hot cocoa and a peppermint stick.... a tradition in the making.




photos: kitchen window, before and after snowflake Saturday

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Elf In Training


I have the sweetest little babe on earth! I'm the mom so I am allowed to say that. Little Miss Maggpie is just adorable, at 2.5 months she is filling in so nicely. Her cheeks are getting so chubby that I just want to eat her up. She smiles so easily and is so mellow. I love how she snuggles in to nurse and is so content. She can sit up in her bumbo now and holds her head very steady. I just can't believe how fast time flies with a newborn and I want to freeze her right now, I need of few more months of fresh baby! We are so blessed by her!

Photo: little miss maggpie after max added his santa hat, so sweet!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Winter's arrival


As I was working in the kitchen early yesterday morning I heard squeals of delight coming from upstairs. "It's Snowing !!" Max was yelling at the top of his lungs. I looked out the window and had to search the sky to see the few flurries that were making their way slowly to the ground. It didn't matter to him how little was falling he was just thrilled that he might get to go sledding. I tried to tell him as only a grownup would that it might not accumulate but he didn't want to hear it. I will be able to sled and play in it later today, he was certain. I continued working getting ready for our annual tree trimming, baking cookies, making food and more flakes started to fall. I couldn't help but be excited. The temperatures were hoovering around 34 degrees so the snow was wet and clinging to all the trees, it looked beautiful. Throughout the afternoon the kids were in and out, Max had to get the sleds out and he did play for a few hours outside. He was not happy when I called him in to get warmed up and to change. He begged to go out again even as the temperature dropped, he loves the snow.

We had a lovely evening with family and friends as we celebrated the start to the holiday season. Lots of yummy food and drinks. Kids running crazy around the house as the snow continued to fall. We ended up with a few inches but everyone made it safe to the party and home again. It was a wonderful time and the twinkly lights look magical with a snowy coat.

I am grateful for waking up this morning to a white winter wonderland, Max will be thrilled!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Progress


The decorating has begun!! I love Christmas and can hardly wait to get the decorations out. I try to add a little bit at a time and savor it but I usually get started and can't stop. The mantel is about finished. I have a few garlands up and I am trying to decide on how many of the decorations to bring up. I will admit this year I am doing a much simpler decorating scheme. As much as I love to decorate holding my scrumptious little baby takes priority and there are only so many hours in the day. But I am making progress and really like what I have accomplished so far. Tomorrow I will be putting up the small trees in the kids rooms with their twinkly fairy lights. That is one of my most favorite things to do because one of my most favorite memories from my childhood is having my own small tree in my room to decorate. I think having my space decorated was so special and I want my little clan to have that memory. So here's to progress and may it continue!!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Advent begins


The season is upon us, the first candle on the advent wreath has been lit and we may have snow before the end of the week. The kids are already starting to get excited and are filled with anticipation for all the fun things we do in December. First up is the annual tree trimming here at the house. I have been cleaning, cooking and decorating for a few days now. I pretty much have a schedule down after doing this for quite a few years now and things are moving along fine. My attitude towards it all is what has really changed over the years. I used to stress and scream(the two go hand in hand with me:( ) and practically melt down if things weren't perfectly the way I wanted them, I would have a cow if anyone touched a cookie tray before the first guest arrived. I know it wasn't pretty. It's a whole different story now. I do what I love to do to get ready for the party, I make the food I can't imagine not having then I let the rest go. Oh it's still not easy to do, I have to take big deep breaths on a regular basis and remind myself what is important. It is more important to have fun while preparing for the party, that is what it should be for me. It is more fun to let the kids help decorate even if it isn't the way I would do it. It doesn't matter if someone is sneaking bites off the buffet before the guests arrive, who will really notice?? And because I have changed my attitude, laid off the perfectionism and decided to enjoy the process and the party the whole thing is a lot more fun. I love seeing everyone and having everyone to the house. So as advent begins I am trying to be more conscious, slow down, enjoy the moment and make memories with the littles. I Love Christmas!! I want to be sure that is what they remember, the joy of the season, the celebration of Christ's birth, not the crazy lady (AKA Mom) pulling her hair out trying to get it all done. Live, love, laugh and make memories this holiday season!!

photo: Maya asleep on the couch after too much work decorating:)

Thursday, November 26, 2009

The Calm before the Storm

It is still early but the smell of the roasting turkey is already filling the house. Maggie has nursed and drifted back to sleep, and the rest of the clan are still snoozing away. It is calm and quiet in the kitchen for now. The house is surrounded in fog and misty rain. It feels snug and cozy. I love Thanksgiving morning. Most of the preparations are finished, the food smells divine and everyone is excited to have guests for dinner. Max and Maya helped prepare the turkeys last night. They were curious about how the turkey felt? I saved some filling so that they can help make some filling balls to bake this morning. One of my favorite things is to have filling balls for breakfast on Thanksgiving, so yummy. We will have a smaller group than normal this year so it will be a little less chaotic although I am certain the kids will still run amok. It is always a little crazy in this house so when you throw in a few more kids it just increases the volume a few decibels. It's a good thing we love crazy.

Monday, November 16, 2009

My office(it is in there somewhere)


So, it is really amazing that I get anything accomplished in this mess! I am at the point where it is now driving me crazy and I don' t want to go in there. I am a messy creative. There I admitted to it, I make a huge mess when I am working on projects, sometimes more than one at a time. But the time has come to clean up the mess so I can begin some of my favorite crafting and preparations, Christmas ones!! I get giddy at the thought. I love to create gifts, wrap pretty and in general make a huge fuss at Christmas. Unfortunately I will have to tackle this mess before it begins, it can't possibly take that long can it??

Thursday, November 5, 2009

New York, New York

The girls are off for a fun filled weekend in New York. Daddy gets to handle the crew here at home, I am sure he will be fine! I am so excited to go see Mary Poppins on Broadway. The weather is supposed to be good so I will keep my fingers crossed that it holds. Maggie will have her first train ride and visit to the city. It should be a blast.



My big gratitude for the day:

Mr. G went to the grocery store for me on his way home from work. Thank you Dan! Sometimes it is the little things that mean so much. I was swamped today trying to get everything ready for this weekend and I was running out of time. He came to my rescue and I appreciate it so much!




Look at those sweet eyes, Little Miss MaggPie is the sweetest, most cuddly little babe. I am in love and am sniffing in that fresh baby smell every chance I get.


Tuesday, November 3, 2009

A month of Thanksgiving

Halloween is over and the Christmas decorations are already up????  Don't get me wrong I love Christmas, I am a planner and have been planning Christmassy things for weeks BUT what happened to Thanksgiving?   Zak was in such a mood because of all the Christmas hype already.  I love to start shopping and crafting early but to walk in a store the day after Halloween to hear Christmas music playing is a bit ridiculous. So we are going to try and focus on the here and now of this season.  The leaves are changing and starting to cover the yard, I have been working on putting the garden to bed and there is a definite chill in the air.  I am going to make a conscious effort to look for the beauty in the everday and feel the blessing of it.  The children and I will be looking for all those lovely things to be grateful for and add them to my gratitude list. We will open our eyes to see the blessings all around us and pray a prayer of gratitude




So I will start off with a heartfelt gratitude for sweet little blond girls in bright yellow tutus with ringlets I want to put my hands in.  Little miss Madi is such a sweet little bug who gets funnier everyday.

.. the end to a fun soccer season, played with cousins and friends(when we didn't get rained out:)

Maggie Mae




Exactly 4 weeks ago today little miss Maggie Mae graced us with her birth. How have 4 weeks passed us by so quickly? It seems that time slips so quickly through our fingers. So I try not to blink to often because in a blink the year flies by... Maggie is laying beside me watching me as I type, this is her awake time. All of the other littles are in bed, quiet and drifting off to dreamland. Maya is laying in bed beside me(I didn't specify which bed they were in). She is having issues going to her room by herself. They have all gone through this stage and though it can drive me absolutely crazy at the time I know it won't last long, nothing does. So I have spent the last 4 weeks trying to inhale every moment of newborness, the smell, the sounds, the way she curls up into a ball. I have loved watching every moment that her siblings have spent loving her up in their own special ways. Even Madi has to have her turns holding and kissing Maggie. It is so sweet to watch because I know in a short time they will be arguing over the silliest things like whose doll gets the bottle first. Ask me how I know???

But in the interest of keeping it real here's a little roundup of what else went on around here besides staring at the sweetest little new babe....
..we've had 6 doctors appointments in 4 weeks
.. 5 out of 6 children have been sick, totaling 8 missed school days and almost 2 weeks stuck at home.
..I fought off 2 cases of mastitis, Ouch!
.. Max and Maya have both had 2 soccer games and 1 that was cancelled due to rain.

.. Dan worked the Back to School gymnastics meet with Carli.

..We went camping for the weekend at Bucky's in Mansfield and the kids had a blast. (yes I took my infant camping for the weekend, but it is really RVing, no roughing it and real heat at night.)

.. Dan survived inventory at his store after hours of overtime.

..Max went on a field trip to a farm and had a blast, I wasn't asked to chaperon:(

.. Carli and Dan went on her field trip to a ropes course and had a good day.

. Zak had new strings put on his guitar and has been playing it every day since.

.. Madi has discovered the joy of play doh and now playing with that is part of everyday.

..I started 2 new knitting projects and a quilt, my focus is still a little scattered.

..I have cloroxed the house more times in the last 2 weeks than I'd like to count. Trying hard to prevent the spread of Mr. Ick.

Plus the normal cleaning, 4 loads of laundry a day and cooking to feed my always hungry brood. I am a little exhausted looking at the list.
written 10/22

Monday, June 15, 2009

Thank you Jesus


I'll be honest, some days after everyone is in bed I am saying "Thank you Jesus we made it through today!" It feels like everything is a struggle, there is arguing and bickering at every turn. I am mediating between siblings constantly and I can't help but wonder where I am going wrong. Those days I pray I make it through without any real injuries, physical or emotional, among my little tribe. yesterday was one of those days. Nothing specific, just an overall chaos that seemed to settle in for the day. We had things to do at home but it was perfect weather and they could be outside to run amok but that didn't seem to help. I was supposed to be leaving this morning for the beach but I finally decided we needed to leave last night, maybe they were all just wound up to go. I packed the car, everyone gave Daddy loving and we headed off. Three hours later we arrived at nanna & poppa's beach house and the air cleared a little. It was close to bed time when we got here so everyone unloaded the car, put on p.j.'s and had a snack. I put everyone to bed, called my love to say goodnight and headed into bed myself. After a good nights sleep I am even more thankful we drove last night. I am thinking positively, today is a new day and with it will be new attitudes from the kiddos. At least I am praying, "Please Jesus, let there be new attitudes all around, including mine!" It will be a better day!
photo: Madi bug dripping milk on herself and giggling as we drove to the beach

Friday, June 12, 2009

quiet evening


I am sitting on my screened in porch as the air starts to cool. It was a hot and humid day but now the air is blowing and it has cooled off nicely. Baby girl is in bed. Daddy took the 4 biggers to a special treat of a drive in movie. The first Friday of summer deserved a special outing. There aren't many drive in theaters around here anymore and they had to drive 40 minutes to get to the one closest, I know it will be worth it. It is so quiet here now. The birds are saying their goodnights and the crickets are starting to sing. The leaves are rustling in the breeze and it is so peaceful. I am watching the field awaiting the arrival of the lightning bugs. We haven't seen any yet this year and my littles are anxious for them to return. Sometimes when you look out over the field it looks like a million little fairy lights flickering. It is a magical sight. The little one growing inside me is kicking up a storm tonight. I saw the midwife this morning and everything is moving along as it should. I can't believe I am already 6 months along. Everyone is excited to have another little one in the house but for now I will sit here and enjoy the quiet.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

To be blessed to see...


Outside my office window is a small topiary tree, a round ball on a brown trunk. Last week we noticed a small bird had made her nest in the front part of the tree. I watched as she came and went continually throughout the day. Bringing items back for the nest and soon we began to hear the tiny chirping of a new baby bird. Ever so carefully I peered into the tree to see tiny beading eyes looking out at me as momma stared at me from a nearby perch. The baby was so tiny but could call for his momma quite loudly. We've been checking on baby everyday, watching as feathers filled in all over the tiny body. Then this morning the most amazing thing happened. I was walking Mr. G out to his car and we stopped to look at the baby bird. Momma was sitting on the fence close by watching our every move. Baby was sitting up on the edge of the nest. We both thought he looked like he was ready to take off at any moment, but already?? We moved away from the nest and in a minute there he went, flapping hard trying to stay afloat. Momma followed him down to where he landed and looked to give him a treat and some encouragement. A few seconds later he tried to get off the ground and made more of a hop than a flight. It was amazing to watch his early morning flying lessons. I have never seen anything like it and in that moment I felt I was blessed to witness the event. Momma stood back and watched her little one try to take flight. Was God whispering to me this morning??

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Early morning...


It's early, still dark outside when I rise this morning to start our daily routine. Across the hall to the laundry to start the first load (of the many that will get done today), picking up dropped articles of clothing as I make my rounds through the bedrooms checking on the little people still sleeping there. I find my way to Bird's room who pleads for a few more minutes under the warmth of her quilts. Still gathering I find a stray cup here, a shoe there, all left randomly around the house; evidence of the family that calls this place home. In the breaking early light I feel the temptation to play the martyr, I am not the maid, why do they just leave things lay and think I will pick them up? but then I stop and breathe, it is becoming more of a habit now, I am trying to see these things, the stuff I gather every morning as evidence. Evidence of the many blessings I have been given, still asleep in their beds. The blessings I am so grateful for my heart might burst and so I pray... A little prayer for the bandit who left the socks lay or for the princess who left her pink heels in the hallway. And in those prayers the bitterness starts to leave my mouth, I know the purpose I have been given and I am grateful. And even though it is still annoying, honestly some days more so than others, I try to put it into perspective. There will come a day all too soon when there won't be anything left lying around, when there will be only one load of a laundry a day and the dishes won't multiply in the sink. What will I feel? Will my short time with my children home be well spent? How will they look at me? Did I spend my precious time moaning and complaining? I pray not. And so every morning I ask for a strength that is not my own to do the best that I can for the people I love so dearly and I pray that my best is enough.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

My State Champion


Little Miss Bird won herself the State AA Title for her age group at the state competition. She also took first on beam and vault. She was the number 1 qualifier for the region 7 Regional competition for the PA State team in her group. What an awesome achievement, we couldn't be more proud!! She went out and did her best and today that paid off!! We love you Bird!!

Monday, March 30, 2009

14 weeks...

and happy to announce a new little life who will join our family. I have made it past that "critical" 12 week mark and am well on my way into another pregnancy. God willing we will have a new little member of the Gohn family due the end of September. We are all so excited, the kids are really thrilled. Monkey boy is constantly touching my stomach to say hello to baby and I love you baby. It is quite thrilling to watch the dynamics of our family. We are so very blessed and grateful to become parents again.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

To Florida and back again....






Wow!! It feels as if the last few weeks have zipped by at a crazy fast pace. We had a birthday, a drive out to Ohio and back in 2 days and a fun, crazy trip to Florida. So where to begin.... Let me just say up front that I am not all that fond of flying, then add dragging 5 kiddos through the airport and my nerves are on edge. It wasn't to bad, security is getting easier to get through now that some of ours are a little older and the flight was fairly smooth with only 1 melt down from bug. We landed in Tampa to warm temperatures and sunshine, what a breath of fresh air. After getting the rental cars (Nana, Papa, Aunt Chanon and her crew came along too!) we were off to find some sunshine. I have never been to the Tampa area so we had fun exploring different things. I was just in awe how every ones mood changed as soon as they were warmed by the sun. Little faces (and big) turn immediately upward and smiles break out, after months of cold what a pleasure it is to bask in the warmth of the sun.



A few of our favorites.........



..a visit to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and actually pulling a real live seahorse out of the water on the boat tour. Amazing Nature!!

..swimming in the pool, I have such water babies.

..visiting the beach, the sand on the gulf coast is so much different than the sand we are used to in Delaware. White, fluffy, powdery and soft. Beautiful beaches.

..the trampoline with the bungees and crazy kids.

.. Bird winning First AA at her gymnastics competition held at Tropicana Field. Our reason for the trip south. She was amazing and we are so proud of her.

..getting to visit the Wolfs at their home. I miss Connie so much and it was great to spend the afternoon with them. Plus she makes awesome whoopie pies, yummy!

..going to Busch Gardens in Tampa. The weather was a little cool so there were no crowds. It was awesome. They walked on the big roller coasters as many times as they wanted without a wait. The animals were out and really active so we saw so many up close, very cool. The kids were awesome and we had a great day. The perfect way to end the vacation.



Sunday, February 22, 2009

some days....



Some days are just like this....




Baby climbing into and onto everything, the day flying by at the speed of light, crazy chaos taking over the house. And on those days I have been known to break out the cheese balls, there I said it. I have admitted that my baby loves these horrid, dyed orange, nothing healthy about them cheese balls. And in real life sometimes this mom needs a few moments with baby bug happily entertained in her high chair with those beloved cheesy balls. Orange faced and smiling..... and a few moments of peace for me.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

True Love


Can I tell you how much I love Mr. G.??? It is so the little things that matter. I was sitting here waiting for him to finish his dinner (he worked late) and I mentioned that I could really eat some lemon Duetto. After he was finished he grabbed Princess for a run down to the market. How I love my man! What a sweetie! It is soooo in the little things that he does for me that I see the true depth of our love. Now I can't wait for bedtime...

Monday, February 9, 2009

A productive weekend


We had nothing planned for the weekend, the calm before the storm so to speak. No commitments, no plans, no swim meets, no gymnastic meets, absolutely nothing. And I couldn't have been more thrilled about it. So while Mr. G. and I were discussing this last week we decided to tackle a project we have been wanting to accomplish for quite some time. Built in bunks for the boys room. They have a nice little alcove that provided the perfect spot to build in the bunks. So after some discussion over how the bunks should look and how they should be constructed for the most strength, Mr. G. headed over to get the lumber. I was a little skeptical about how much we could complete this weekend (and when I say we I really mean Mr. G. with my help when he calls). I have to say I plead my case to get it finished because we will be away the next 3 weekends and I didn't want the boys to have to live in chaos for too long. I am so pleased with how it turned out. The bunks are 95% finished with just some trim work to finish. Mr. G. will work on that tonight and the painting to be done. The beds look awesome and the boys are thrilled. They are big enough for a double mattress with room at the end of the bed for their own little space. I think they were very happy, I know I was. Thank you Mr. G., you really are Bob Villa after all. Now to dream up the next project.....

Little elfin hats




This past week I spent a little time needles in hand working on the sweetest little hat for Bug, now I am making one for Princess too. It was a free online pattern and was very easy to do. It worked up fairly quickly and I love how it turned out. I am going to make her another one but adjust the size a little bit. This one is on the verge of being to small but it is still oh so cute. I love the little pompom on top. Who wouldn't love a little elf with a pom pom.


Friday, February 6, 2009

To move like that....


I watched Bird in her most recent competition in amazement. Oh to be able to move my body like that. She is so graceful and powerful all at the same time. I love to watch her. Her self confidence and poise is amazing considering she just turned 13. I am so proud of her. We are heading into the busiest part of the season for her and I am praying she can stay healthy and injury free. We head to Florida in a few weeks for another meet there and we are all going this time. I can't wait to get into some warmer weather. I know the little kids are excited too. Only a few more weeks and 3 more competitions to get through and 1 swim meet. We are going to need a break. Until then I will be sorting through the 1000 pictures I took in the last few weeks and try to be good in deleting some of them:)

Friday, January 30, 2009

Princess Goldilocks and the tale of the mystery scissors!


My sweet princess has hair of gold. It truly is like golden spun silk that hangs down her back in soft spiral curls until it almost touches her bottom. Well I should say she DID have beautiful long hair that hangs down her back until a few days ago. Princess and Monkey were playing quietly in the toy room and that should have been my clue that something was up, they are never very quiet. I called Princess to come and get her hair brushed and braided for bed. When she came in I noticed a few chunks missing and as I started to brush her hair more fell out onto my lap. Apparently her and Monkey were playing hair stylist but no one could explain the missing hair. The scissors had mysteriously disappeared as well as the pile of locks they cut. I guess that we will have to live with the fact that we have a pair of scissors in the house that just cut hair without anyone operating them. I was sad, Mr. G. was sad, princess was not so sad. She was excited to go visit her Aunt's salon for a hair cut. She looks as precious as ever, missing over 8 inches of hair. She loves her new look and Monkey Boy has promised to never touch those mystery scissors again.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Monkey Boys Not So Great Adventure


It all started innocently enough. The boys went out to play and collect natural materials for Einstein's diorama project. It is cold here, like 28 degree cold and windy. Needless to say they didn't stay out long, they collected 2 bags full of stuff and came in. But long enough to contract poison ivy. Monkey boy is super sensitive but I thought we would get a break through the winter. Turns out he ended up with it all over the bottom half of his face. Nothing to crazy right??? Not in my world, it is always crazy. He scratched it open, who can blame him, but it got infected. We headed off to the pediatrician and brought home a prescription for special cream. Still not to bad, just a really itchy kid who was happy to be out of school. Two days later his face looks as if it was on fire and he is in serious pain. We head back to the pediatrician for a new oral medication and an appointment for the next day (which happened to be Sunday). Still not to bad, just a really whiny little boy who needed extra cuddles, perfectly OK with me. Sunday morning we head back into the office and here is where the fun really begins.....

Three hours later Monkey Boy is admitted to the hospital for a full course of IV antibiotics. We are placed in isolation until they can do a culture and see what the infection might be. Lets just say getting the IV into said 6 year old boy was not to fun. I got to hold him down, my least favorite job as a mom. It tears at your heart to see your child in pain and then you have to help while it is administered. After that we got to stay in the little room by ourselves. On the plus side Monkey Boy and I had some quality alone time. We played games, watched movies and cuddled for hours. He was thrilled to be able to pick his own meals. We hung out and waited to see how he would react to the antibiotics. Thankfully he started to improve right away. The doctor had found the right antibiotic. Our adventure lasted 2 days and 1 night in the hospital. They sprang us Monday afternoon and I was very thrilled. Monkey boy is still on the most nasty tasting stuff around. He does great taking it because of the threat of returning to the nasty hospital(his words not mine).

So to wrap it all up I don't think he would call this his most fun adventure but it was an experience. One I hope not to repeat.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Is it January already??


How did this happen?? The first 2 weeks have flown by so quickly. We headed to Florida on New Years Day for Bird's competition. She competed for the PA Team in the National Judges Cup. She did great and the team took third. When we landed on New Years we drove to the Rossetters for dinner. We had to have pork and sauerkraut on New Years, it's traditional. It was so much fun to see some family we haven't seen for a while. The weather was perfect and the company was great. When we headed to the hotel we were pleasantly surprised with the suite. It was actually a villa and was like a really nice apartment. SO much nicer than a regular hotel room. We spent time by the pool, at Downtown Disney and at critical care. Yes I did say critical care. Bug's ear infection got worse and spread to her eyes. I was quite scared. We sat in the waiting area for hours and then back in the room for a few more. After a shot of heavy duty antibiotics and 2 new prescriptions we headed back to the hotel. Bug was quite the little trooper. Mr. G. held it together and I held and cuddled her as much as she would let me.

The adventure didn't stop there. Bug started puking her guts out as we were pulling in to return the brand new rental car. Oh the fun we had on the flight home.


Overall we had a great time. We went to Sea World, saw Shamu. We visited family and friends. Bird had a great competition. The weather was perfect. The virus followed us home though. We are now taking turns in the bathroom. So I will spare the details and head off to take care of the growing mound of laundry in the laundry room. I pray Mr. G. will be able to find me amidst the pile.