FLORIDA, Baby!

On October 27, we embarked on our first major family vacation to Florida.  I'm so glad we waited until now to do it.  The kids had a so much fun and will remember it FOREVER!!!!!  Rather than write out a big, long run down of the trip, I'll just post some of my favorite pictures and caption them.  I don't know how I'm going to pick which ones to post though......I took 1,020 pictures.  Let's see how this goes.

DAY 1

The morning we left, we woke up to 2 1/2 inches of snow, and still falling.  It was hard to know how to dress the kids because we knew on the other side of our plane ride, we'd be roasting!!

Being the kids' first time on an airplane, I insisted that we be the last off the plane, in  hopes of snapping a picture with the Captain (since when are they not called pilots??).  She was so enthused to know that she had flown them on their maiden flight and was so excited to have Dylan and Landon sit in the cockpit!!!  She even put her Captain's jacket on Landon for this AWESOME photo op!!!!! 

DAY 2

First time at the beach.  They were so funny to watch and listen to as they experienced their first waves and the sensation of motion that came with it.

Don't judge me, but this was one of those moments when I, the BIGGEST cry baby in the universe, got teary as I watched my kids having the time of their lives!!

Chris and Chelsea perfectly perched up in the corner was actually not planned, but I'm glad they're in the picture too.  =)

My babies' toes

 DAY 3

Disney World!  This is one of TWO pictures that I am in the entire trip!  I won't bore you with the rest of the pictures, you just needed to know that we went.  You've probably already seen them on Facebook anyway.  =)

 DAY 4

Due to BLISTERS on my toes from Disney, we decided that we were going to take it easy and hang out at the resort on Saturday.  

Since we had such a tight schedule, and didn't plan on trick-or-treating, I dressed my little spooks up the day before Halloween, JUST so I could take pictures of them in their costumes in Florida!!

Then they washed their make-up off and we hung out at the pool for the rest of the afternoon.  Check out Chris sitting in the background.  WTH, man!!  We're in FLORIDA for cripes sake, it's a GORGEOUS 80 degrees and he's in LONG pants and a LONG sleeved shirt.  (Eyes rolling, HARD!)

Saturday evening, we got to go see Todd and Pam (Chris' brother, as if you couldn't tell.  They're practically twins!) perform at one of their local gigs!  What a treat.  They were so good!

 DAY 5

We went to the LONG AWAITED Kennedy Space Center!!!!  We chose to go on Sunday (To all of you gasping with hand over mouth and jaw on the ground, DON'T judge!!!  I'm SERIOUS, DON'T!) since the shuttle was supposed to launch the next day and we wouldn't have been able to go on Monday.  But, as pretty much expected, the launch kept getting pushed back and we didn't get to see it.  That was a pretty big disappointment for all of us.

Now, anyone who knows me and my boys (all of them, including Chris) will understand this picture!!  Dylan could NOT get his jaw off the ground when he saw this Saturn V (roman numeral for 5) Rocket!!  We are OBSESSED, to say the least, with the Apollo Space Program, that took men to the moon, at our house.  (You've seen the post on the boys' bedroom, right?!??!!)  And yes, ANOTHER teary moment for mommy.  (sheepish grin)

I really wanted to get this shot just to show how MASSIVE this rocket is.  They are standing right under those engine bells.  This little Asian couple was standing about 20 feet in front of the rocket and would NOT move until I took the picture!  Oh well, I have to chuckle now.  It's kinda funny that they're in the foreground, totally posing for me.

DAY 6 

On Monday, we went back out to Kennedy Space Center to visit the Astronaut Hall of Fame.  It was AMAZING!!  Here the kids are playing "mission control".  They sat here for almost an hour!

After the Astronaut Hall of Fame, we went to Epcot.  Honestly, it was pretty boring and not worth the money we laid down to get in.  It's changed so much since Chris and I were there last.  Oh well, live and learn.

It became the family joke that Emily traveled 3,000 miles to visit EVERY restroom in Central Florida!!  She had to pee every 5 minutes, no joke!  So I decided to take a picture. =)

DAY 7

Tuesday, we went out on some boats provided by the resort to go dolphin watching.  Unfortunately, we didn't see any, but we had fun island hoping.  THIS picture is my FAVORITE from the entire trip.  My heart be still. <3

It was another beautiful day!

That evening, we hooked up with the fam for a pizza bonanza on the pier and then headed over to the Sandbar to listen to the live band playing.

 DAY 8

Our last play day in Florida we decided to go to the beach again.  We were just ahead of a storm blowing in, but it was still a gorgeous day.

I think they forgot all about being afraid of what might be lurking in the water!

The waves got HUGE as the storm got closer.  They had so much fun playing in them.

OH MY!!!  Looky here....the second and final picture of me in Florida!!  I had to do this self portrait just to prove that I was indeed part of this trip.  =)

You can't go to Cocoa Beach and not hit up Ron Jon's Surf Shop!!

And there you have it folks.  Our 9 day vacation in Florida, in a tiny nutshell.  I didn't take any pictures the last day, which also happened to be Landon's 7th birthday, because we were busy cleaning up the condo and packing to fly home.  I was too exhausted to take pictures on the airplane.  We had the time of our lives, but were so glad to be back home in the comfort of our own beds!!!!

My Wall O' Mirrors

I recently found a blog that I LOOOOVE!  Mandi is a woman after my own heart.  She's a thrift store junky, just like me!!!  Her Wall O' Mirrors is what inspired MY Wall O' Mirrors, with a slight twist!!!  All of the frames, except for the little birdy one, which I found at Tai Pan on clearance for $4, were either given to me or bought at DI.  I primed and then painted all the frames in gloss white.  I love the planter box (which was the most expensive item @ $10) at the bottom of the wall with the white geraniums.  I even got those on clearance for a mere $2 per bunch!  SCORE!!  I'm toying with the idea of switching out the flowers for the seasons.  You know, white poinsettias, white tulips, white daisies.  What do you think?  Should I?  Of course they'd have to be purchased off season.  I can't bear to pay full price.  ;)   Anywho, this was a fun little project and I LOVE the end result!  I'm so excited for you all to see it.  So without further ado, MY WALL O' MIRRORS:

BEFORE:

I'm not getting rid of this painting.  I love it too much.  My grandpa painted it and gave it to me for my wedding.  It's just going to get a new home in the office.

AFTER:

I painted the wall the same color as my red accent wall.  Now I just have to finish painting the entryway and down the hall and stairs.  That's gonna have to wait until AFTER my bedroom makeover though.

I bought this vinyl from Hobby Lobby.  I loved the saying and I figured it was so convenient not to have to special order it - especially this time of year when that kind of business is crazy for the holidays.  Well, I got a little more than I bargained for!!  The black vinyl came off the transfer paper nicely.  The gold words....well, that's a different story.  I have NEVER seen vinyl stick like glue to the transfer paper like this gold stuff did.  It would NOT come off!!!  I was so frustrated when the idea came to me to put GOO GONE on the transfer paper to see if it would take the sticky off and help release it.  It worked, but it was still sticking way more than it should have.  I had to be so careful as I took it off the transfer paper.  I ended up with a few wrinkles and tears, but all in all, it was OK and I was elated to finally have it on the mirror.  That wasn't the end of my frustration, however.  Once the paper was off the vinyl, there was a sticky residue ALL OVER the words.  You know, like the ick that's left on a glass or a plate, or whatever, after you take a price tag off.  So, out came the goo gone again.  As I ever so gently rubbed the letters, the sticky was coming off, BUT SO WAS THE COLOR of the vinyl!!!  UUUUUUUGH!!!!!!  I was LIVID at this point!!!  I had to walk away and put myself in time out for 10 minutes so that I could calm down and not throw the mirror on the floor and shatter it into a million pieces.  Please tell me I'm not the only one who has those moments!!!!  After calming down, I went back to my mirror and looked at it.  I noticed that those gold letters had taken on a distressed look, and suddenly, I LOVED it again.  Needless to say, the gold vinyl isn't gold anymore, it looks taupe-ish and distressed.  (If you click on the picture above, you can see what I'm talking about).  It works!

This picture I took because my "baby bean", who is almost 7, and hates being called my baby, was sitting at the kitchen table coloring and intermittently watching a Halloween movie that was playing.  My heart stood still as I soaked in my surroundings of my family and our beautiful home and realized how blessed I truly am!! 

THANKS, again, Mandi for the inspiration to my newest home improvement project.  And to my sweet Meister (yes, that IS his middle name, which is a family name) for risking life and limb to stand on the top stair of the ladder to hang the mirrors I couldn't reach!  I LOVE YOU!!!!

P.S.  Don't judge the mess at the bottom of the stairs.  The ladder was in the way all day long, so I just threw stuff down there for the boys to take care of later!!

Happy October

I love the cool, crisp breeze that flows through my windows this time of year!  My house is filled with the smell of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and the soft glow of candles.  I am in HEAVEN!  I look forward to the leaves at the peak of  their color in a week or two and the pot of soup that will be simmering on my stove tomorrow!!

HAPPY OCTOBER!!! 

P.S. yes, it's true, there is still no hardware on my "new" buffet.  Why does husband have to be soooo busy??!????!!  I'm not even going to attempt it because they will end up lopsided, guaranteed!  But who can complain, right?  He just painted my fridge for me!!  Now it's black and matches everything else.  It's whiteness doesn't stick out like a sore thumb anymore!  THANKS, hon.  I LOOOVE YOU!!

My House Makeover

I just left a comment on this blog (you have GOT to check her awesomeness out.  She is AMAZING, and better yet, I've found someone as cheap as I am!!!!!) about my children's rooms and their unique, individualized paint jobs.  Thinking that I had pictures posted of each room, I told her she could check them out if she wanted to.  Just out of curiosity, I went back a year, only to find that the only room I blogged about was the boys'.  HOW DID THAT HAPPEN??  I guess I overlooked it after I posted the pictures on facebook.  UGH.  Anyway.....just for fun, I thought I'd post before and after pictures of the rooms I've done in the past year.  =)

CHELSEA'S ROOM

So this isn't the best before picture, but this once Americana themed room with taupe walls and navy blue trim turned into this:

She didn't want a typical headboard.  She wanted to paint a sun!  So we did!!

I just have to mention that we found these curtain panels/bed cover at Bed Bath and Beyond for a mere $5!!!

EMMY'S ROOM

Again, not the greatest before picture, but Emmy's room was a DARLING garden room, once upon a time.  She turned 10 and told me she was too old for that, so I PAINSTAKINGLY did this for her:

The stripes took FOREVER to do, but it was so worth the end result!!!  And the colors are ADORABLE!!  Orange has ALWAYS been her favorite color.

TODD, DYLAN and LANDON'S ROOM

Yes, their room was built from scratch in the basement!!  And since it's a HUGE room with a HUGE walk-in closet, all 3 of them are in one room!  But there's so much space that it's not a big deal.  We once called this the dungeon.  But now, it's a trip to the Milky Way!

The stars weren't quite finished when I took this picture, but you get the idea!  Did I mention that ALL of the boys, including the one I married, LOOOVE the Apollo Space Program that took men to the moon??  As if that weren't obvious!!!!

All these lights charge the glow-in-the-dark stars so that when they turn the lights off to go to bed (or to play), they're in space. =)

Their suiting up station.

And just because I think they looked AWESOME for Halloween last year, here they are in their costumes:

(the picture was taken at the Clark Planetarium on the moonscape)

THE BATHROOM

Rubber Duckies were cute.....10 years ago when the kids were toddlers!  I got tired of this plain and BORING bathroom, so I did this to it:

I just LOVE it soooo much!  I can hardly wait to get pictures of my kids on the beach to hang in here!!!

And there you have it, my room by room makeovers.

  My bedroom is currently in progress, but it will probably be after Halloween before it's done.  DEFINITELY before Thanksgiving though!  I can't wait for the reveal on it.  It's going to be SO CUTE!!!  I have already purchased all of the furniture for it, since we had NOTHING but old, hand-me-down, it-will-do-for-now furniture, for, get this, less than $150!!!!  Gotta love great deals at DI and on KSL!!!  I looooove doing things like this on the cheap!!  I'M SOOOO EXCITED!  You're not going to believe how great this furniture is going to look once it's redone.  =) 

Next in line?  Probably the master bath, but I don't have a vision for that yet.  One thing at a time!  My brain might explode if I do more than that.

OH!!  WAIT!!!  (screeeeeching halt!)  How could I forget the MOST UNIQUE room of the ENTIRE house??!?!??!!!!!

THE STAR DOME!!!!

Have you ever been to a dome theater??  If so, that's what this is!!!  PRETTY COOL, huh??!?!?!!

This was the very beginnings of the dome, with his posterboard prototype in the foreground.
(UGH....the math!  And geometry at that, YUCK!!!)

It's taking shape in the basement...

Drywall going on....

Mudding is in progress.  More pictures to come later!  Now how's THAT for a room that someone would look at and say, "WHAT THE HECK were they thinking????"  =) 

(Good thing we don't ever plan on moving)