Disney's Animal Kingdom

I know, it's been like 2 weeks since my last post and you've been wondering if we made it to Florida.....well we did. We lost a day and a half due to our traveling difficulties but we were just happy to finally get there and planned to cram the most that we could into the time we had left. And the kids were great---especially considering that the temps were in the mid 90's with little cloud cover.

Now, I actually do have 423 pictures from Disneyworld in my Picasa program.....I will do my BEST to keep it to the highlights!

Our first day at Disneyworld we spent at the Animal Kingdom!!!

First on the list: Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusket House

Outside we got to meet Donald Duck

Inside we enjoyed a buffet breakfast including Mickey Mouse pancakes. While we sat eating at our table we got to meet some more famous characters. 

 Everytime the kids noticed one of the Disney characters coming around they started squirming in their seats with anticipation until it was their turn to say hi and give hugs to their favorite disney pals! 

The kids were just LOVING it!!!

We went on the Kilimanjaro Safair tour and got to see lots of different animals.

 Here we are in our safari vehicle

 Just a couple pics of some of the animals

 

We went to the Lion King....it was a great show!!

 This picture doesn't really do the show justice....but the music, the costumes, the props, all of it was great and we all really enjoyed it!!

 In the middle of the Animal Kingdom is The Tree of Life.
This thing was enormous and beautiful!

 All around this tree are engraven images of animals.
 It was pretty awesome.

 Here we are inside the bottom of The Tree of Life just before going inside to see "It's Tough to Be a Bug" This 3-D movie was hilarious.....we were the intruders and the bugs tried to get rid of us. We got "spit on" with the bug's poison, we got to smell a bug's odor (aka fart), we had spiders crawling down from the ceiling (Austin looked a little nervous until I told him that they weren't real), and at the end we felt "bugs" crawling under our seats!!  It was a fun show!

Finding Nemo--The Musical

I think this one was my favorite for the day. It was such a great show---funny, the music was awesome, and the props were amazing!!  Craig had never even seen this movie....he loved the show as did the kids!!

We had a great time at Animal Kingdom. We decided to head back to our hotel in the late afternoon to get some rest before going out that evening.

After dinner we headed to Downtown Disney. It was a really fun place filled with shopping & food. We enjoyed just walking around and looking at everything.

 I had to post these pictures because they were just amazing!! They had a Lego store and outside they had these statues built with Legos.

 And we are not talking about the Mega Legos or the Duplo Legos...

 These things are built out of the original small size Legos!!!

 Just amazing!!!

And here is Austin at the end of the day....asleep in the stroller.
(This would be the first time of many)

Our Family Vacation: at the airport

Monday, May 23rd--The day finally came....we had been planning this trip to Florida for 5 months.

Here are the kids at the Tulsa airport watching the airplanes....they were excited!!!

First flight.....from Tulsa to Dallas....went great. In Dallas we only had 30 minutes to get onto our connecting flight to Florida but we were quick considering we have 2 kids and made it on the plane with 10 minutes to spare.

Just after sitting down they annouced overhead that a storm was coming in and so they were going to play it safe and wait for it to pass before taking off. Okay---no problem, it's only lunch time and a small delay will still give us plenty of time to get to Florida and enjoy the hotel. So the rain came and we waited and then it started hailing and we waited.

An hour had passed since we sat down on the plane and they announced overhead that they were waiting to here if the hail was large enough that the airplane would need to be inspeced for damage. So we waited some more and about 45 min later they told us that indeed the plane would have to be inspected. We were told to go ahead and get off and grab some food because it would be at least another hour. So we did just that and then went back to our gate and waited some more. Then they announced that the hail damage was too much and that we could no longer use that plane but they would try to find us another plane (so now I am starting to get frustated....we should have been in Floriday by now).

After another hour of waiting they informed us that the flight is cancelled and we would have to try to rebook to another flight. Craig jumped in line and got us tickets on the 5:45 pm flight. Hey, at least we will make it there sometime tonight. So we took the long stroll with the kids over to other side of the airport to  the gate only to find out that flight was being cancelled too!!  And the next flight available for us would be at 5:05 pm the NEXT DAY!!! 

The kids really had no idea what was going on....but me and Craig were getting frustrated and dissapointed!! We had nothing except our carry-on bag of things for the kids to do on the plane. We found a hotel nearby the aiport, Craig walked over to the gas station to find us some dinner and diapers (their last package) and we made due with what we had.

We got to enjoy the hotel continental breakfast which was nice but had to check out at noon....so we went back to the airport and waited and waited and waited for our flight which didn't leave until 5:05 pm. Airports are really NOT very entertaining--especially for kids. Somehow the kids were AWESOME during this whole ordeal and found ways to entertain themselves.....

Austin played his Nintendo DS......A LOT!!!

And Mikayla did a lot of coloring.

Well, we finally boarded the airplane and sat in our seats ready to take off to Florida--30 hours later than originally scheduled. As soon as we sat down in our seats they announced overhead....."there is a storm coming so if everyone can hurry and get seated we might be able to take off before the storm gets here."

NOT AGAIN!!!

Did we make it out of DALLAS?........STAY TUNED!!

Joy School

During this last school year, me and a couple other moms from church decided to put together a preschool for our 4 year-old kids.....called JOY SCHOOL.  We rotated around every week to a different home and the kids got to enjoy learning in a fun way, playing together, and eating lunch with friends.  It worked out very well and the kids had a fun time together. Some of the perks for me---it gave Austin something to do on thursday, I got to spend some one on one time with Mikayla (mostly we went to storytime at the library), and because of our rotation system I only had to prepare a lesson once every 6 weeks.

I actually wanted to take pictures of the kids and the things we did when Joy School was at my house but with six 4 year old kids I had to stay pretty on top of things in order to keep their focus. But I did take pictures of them the last day they came to my house: the topic for the day was using your imagination and being creative and so we had a dress up day:

Here is Zane and Austin

Sam

Audra

Russell and Ella

Some of the other fun things I enjoyed this year with Joy School:

• Painting posters with our FEET
• Watching Austin's excitement when all kids came to HIS house
• Throwing objects into the water in the bathtub to see what would float/sink
• Making goal charts with the kids
• Listening to the conversations of 4 year olds while they were eating lunch or doing crafts
• Taking a break while the kids had playtime
• Playing with magnets to see what objects it would pick up
• Going on a treasure hunt around the house
• Watching the kids as they colored, cut, and glued
• Being goofy/silly.....afterall it is just a bunch of 4 year olds and ME!!!

We had an ice-cream party to end our successful
year of Joy School.

I had a great time watching Austin learn and grow both mentally, emotionally, and socially. I learned a lot myself about teaching and was glad that I had the opportunity to do this with him!!

Just because....

These kids are the cutest!!!

Father/Son Campout

While I was at TOFW, Craig and Austin went to the Father/Son Campout and had a great time.

Austin with his Grandpa Reid

Austin and his cousins

Yummy smores!!!

It was actually a cold and windy night with temps dropping down into the 40's. About half way through the night, Craig and Austin went in the back of the Pilot to sleep for the rest of the night. Craig looks forward to this campout every year and I'm glad that he gets to create such special memories with his son.

May 13th-14th, 2011

Time Out For Women

The theme this year was choosing to become a little closer to who you are meant to be.

 "All things are possible to him that believeth." Mark 9:23

It was 2 days filled with wonderful speakers and music that was uplifting, humerous, and inspiring!!

Here are some of the things that I wrote down that stuck with me the most:

• First--Be Yourself....enjoy being who YOU are. Be your BEST self.
• What we insistently desire over time will be what we eventually become (Elder Maxwell)
• Thoughts can be powerful......so think POSITIVE thoughts
• We can help others know of their value and the love Heavenly Father has for them by the way that we treat them....by showing charity
• Seed comparison: planting a carrot seed in the ground will not produce anything else but a carrot.....you are becoming who you were meant to be from the beginning (with the help of your Heavenly Father)....remember your potential. You are royalty, born to be a Queen!

Hilary Weeks was there again....LOVE her stories, her humor, and her music!!  One of the things that she said that stuck with me the most was that in the morning she would say her prayers and ask Heavenly Father "what is the most important thing for me to do today".....and then she would listen for inspiration to guide her.

I also LOVED the advice given by Linda J.Eyre and Shawni Eyre Pothier:

• Find Holiness in the Moments of Motherhood---we must make holiness a constant choice!
• First we must LOOK for those holy moments (there aren't a ton of holy moments in the day to day life of a mother but they ARE there) 
• Next we can CREATE holy moments (Shawni told about how the most stressful part of her day was the carpooling/driving and buckling kids in and out of carseats all while running late etc....so she decide to change that and instead took that moment while she buckled her kids safely in their seats to look at them in the eyes and tell them that she loved them)......I LOVED THIS!!!
• Remember who your children really are! Remember they are Heavenly Father's children given to us. They are each unique and different and should be treated that way.
• Remember who You really are.  Be your own best kind of mom. Use others ideas that you think might work for you and your family but don't try to be anyone else but yourself! Your kids were sent to you for a reason....you are the best mom for them!!
• Motherhood is a Career.....so come up with a plan.  Be deliberate!!
• Remember who the Savior really is and make him a part of your daily life!!

Need I say more?? It was an awesome weekend!!!

And the summer heat begins....

It's only Monday, May 9th, and it's already 90 degrees outside.....so we jumped at the opportunity to get in the water!!

Mother's Day Suprises

Mother's Day was a great one.....first I discovered that my kids made the front page of the sunday paper (see previous post). 

I was also suprised to find pictures on the table from my kids along with a vase of flowers from Craig (flowers are something that he almost NEVER does).

 And although motherhood is sometimes hard and monotonous and under appreciated, I wouldn't change it for the whole world!!
 I love being a mom!!!



Famous

 The kids made the front page of the Sunday newspaper on Mother's Day.

The caption reads:

Look at me go!! 

Austin Bastings, 4, and his sister Mikayla,2, enjoy a tricycle ride in Jo Allyn Lowe Park with their mother on Thursday.

And I have heard on several occasions Austin telling people "I was in the newspaper!!"

Train Ride

On Saturday morning (May 7th), we woke up and took the kids downtown and suprised them with a train ride on a real train!! 

Before the passenger train arrived the kids got to explore this one.

Here we are waiting for the train to arrive.

And here it comes

It was a fun relaxing ride....Austin and Klayton were looking out the window almost the entire time.

Some of the kids with their grandpa "Papa Choo Choo" who made the train ride possible.