Boo from "Monsters Inc" and Emery from the Camarenas

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's a picture of Olivia modeling a dress that our friend Mary sent from Africa. She had fun during our little photo shoot. This was taken in between nose blowing and coughing - everyone here is fighting a cold. We're hoping Zicam will do the trick for the big people, but poor Em is just on her own since the pharmacies won't even sell infant cold medicine anymore.

And so I don't leave Emery out, here's a photo of her modeling the latest in monkey nightgown fashion. Only two days of school this week, so we're all in a good mood around here. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Olivia the Cheerleader

Olivia participated in the cheerleader's little girls cheerleading clinic and they ended by cheering at the football game last night. Here are a couple of pictures from the event. Olivia won the spirit stick for having the most spirit in her age group. She was duly unimpressed - more concerned about buying a lollipop at the concession stand.

"I don't really school."

Today Olivia informed John and I that she doesn't really like school. "Why not," I asked. "Because they won't let me write my l's and i's the way I want to. I'm like I know how to write. But they make you do it their way and not yours. And I like capitals and not lowercase letters." I told her it was important to learn your lowercase letters. She paused. "Well, the other reason I don't like it is you have to listen to the teacher all day." And so it begins....

Seasons of Love

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Moments so dear
Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure - Measure A Year?
In Daylights - In Sunsets
In Midnights - In Cups Of Coffee
In Inches - In Miles
In Laughter - In Strife
In Five Hundred Twenty-Five ThousandSix Hundred Minutes
How Do You Measure A Year In The Life?
How About Love? Measure In Love
Seasons of Love. Seasons of Love.

In Truth That She Learned Or In Times That He Cried
In Bridges He Burned Or The Way That She Died
It's Time Now - To Sing Out
Though The Story Never Ends
Let's Celebrate Remember A Year In The Life Of Friends
Remember the Love Remember the Love

1st Day of School

Friday was Olivia's first day of kindergarten. I was so excited for her because I really think she's ready, and it's pretty easy to leave her when John, Olivia, and I are basically all in the same building all day. But boy, it did choke me up Friday morning, mostly because my little girl isn't so little anymore. She told me she was a little bit scared but I think she just said that because she saw the tears well up in my eyes about eight times that day. She loved her first day, and she loves her teacher because "she's so pretty." Friday night they had a back to school nite, and her teacher told us Olivia talked a lot during class Friday but that a lot of the time she was telling one little boy to behave (imagine that - Olivia thinking she can handle something instead of letting the adult do it). Olivia picked a pink skirt and a shirt that said "Daddy's Rockstar" for her first day. Here's some pics of her and Em on the first day.

Today I am enjoy some very rare solitude, after a busy weekend. John and Olivia are swimming and Emery is sleeping, so it is quiet in here. I'm not about to turn on a TV or radio. Friday night Olivia had two friends over for the big High School Musical 2 premiere. They had a lot of fun, and they are such good girls. Craig also stopped by to spend some time with us - he left for the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC Saturday, and we wish him the best! I can't wait to go visit him.

Well, I guess I'll get back to my book. I picked up a new ghost story "Heart Shapred Box" by Joe Hill and it's the best book I've read in awhile. A lot of "scary" stories are really gory but this one is a lot less gore and a lot more mystery. Have a great week!

A Good Boy

Rest in Peace

Ben

Best Dog to John, Kathy, and Emery

Best Friend to Olivia

Ben loved to play ball with John and Olivia, go on walks, and swimming.

He was a good boy.

Benvolio River

April 27, 1997 - August 4, 2007

It's been a long time...

Well, it's been a long time since we posted here, so I'll try and get caught up. On Sunday, July 15, the girls and I were all loaded up to spend the week in Ellsworth so Olivia could attend musical camp at Salina Community Theatre. One of my favorite people, Sam Casey, stopped by. He was in town for the weekend and was leaving for Iraq on Tuesday. Without getting too political, I'll just let you know that Sunday was Sam's 19th birthday. That's right, he's not even "mature" enough or a good enough "decision-maker" to buy a beer but he can go to Iraq. Anyway, we love him and can't wait 'til he's back home again. On to other topics.... Olivia spent four hours a day at the Salina Community Theater getting ready for their mini-musical "The Lion King." I wasn't sure how she would do because she didn't know any of the other kids, but she was ready to go each morning. I figured she would get tired of the Ellsworth to Salina commute, but she never complained. She really loved that class, especially the dancing. They did a great performance and Olivia said her lines really loud and clear. She had them memorized, and she hadn't even told us she had lines. When the show was over, she just kept asking if she could do it again. That's the only bummer about theater - you work so hard and then it's just over.

On Saturday, we had Emery's birthday party for family and John's parents and Uncle Tony and Aunt Lupe joined us from Salina. Grammy made brisket and Aunt Kim made her famous baked beans. Daddy and I made cake and cupcakes for dessert and everyone had a great time. Emery got lots of nice gifts - blocks and dolls and Little People.

We returned home Sunday night to get ready for Emery's ear tubes surgery yesterday. We spent the night in Topeka on Monday evening since we had to be at the hospital early yesterday and she couldn't have anything to drink. By the way, if you're ever looking for a fun place to stay with kids in Topeka, try the Holiday Inn West. We got it for $40 on Priceline and it has the best water slide ever. Me, John, and Olivia (and every other kid and adult) had a lot of fun on it. Emery made the surgery experience really easy for all of us. She slept for the hour plus that they keep you waiting and was still sleeping on the nurse's shoulder when she carried her back for surgery. That made me cry. But it was over quickly, and when John and I were called back to recovery, she was rocking with a nurse, head on her shoulder. Of course, they were all just in love with her. Then I got to rock her, after a little prying away from the nurse, and soon Olivia got to come back and check on her baby sis. The surgery was at 8:15 and we were headed back to Osage City by 10 a.m. Today I'll just try to catch up on house cleaning and phone calls that have gone undone for a week and a half!

Photos: Olivia introducing herself to the audience following the play; Proud parents and happy girl after The Lion King; Olivia dancing to "I Just Can't Wait to be King" - she's the leopard on the far right, back row; Emery and Aunt Lupe coloring; and Emery enjoying a cupcake at her party.

Happy first birthday, Emery!

Today is Emery's first birthday. I can't believe she is one already. Before I was a parent, everyone told me that their kids grew up so quickly and it was hard for me to understand, but I get it now. Yesterday Emery started walking almost everywhere she went. It's like she somehow knew she was one and had better step it up a notch. :0)

Last night we had a small dinner with some good friends of Em's and ours to celebrate. Rick, Michelle, David, Jonathan, Katie, and Adam all came over to hang out with the birthday girl for awhile. They have been good friends to our girls and to us.

Here are some pics of the ceremonical cake-eating. Emery was very neat about it and she liked it a lot. She pretty much ate the whole piece. We'll have another party with family in a couple of weekends back at Grammy and Grampy's house. Emery is such an easy-going girl and puts up with the chaos that is life in our house so well. Daddy is hoping she'll be his athlete because she loves to play ball. Whatever you become, I'm glad your ours, Em!

Our 4th of July

Here are some photos from our evening at the lake. The weather was beautiful and it was really quiet there. And although the lake's fireworks aren't until Saturday, we could see two different shows from surrounding towns so we got our fireworks in. The only bummer was not being able to start a fire for Smores (after a long struggle on John's part) - it had rained pretty good for about 20 minutes in the afternoon and although the firewood was under tarp, it just wouldn't burn. So here's the sunset we watched from our picnic table, the inside of the yurt, and Olivia playing on the top bunk. And my favorite picture - of Daddy and his girls leaving the playground.

Happy 4th of July!

The 4th of July really does make me feel like I should partake in some all-American rituals. Last year, for example, my mom, Olivia, and I went to Fieldstone Orchard and picked blackberries until our fingers bled so that my mom could make some homemade blackberry ice cream. (Well, that and we were hoping the physical activity would send me into labor.) A few years ago, we tried an all-family camping trip out at Eisenhower State Park. It ended in disaster, but a very memorable 4th. Think wind-destroyed tents and a dead deer..... Anyway, I decided I had the camping bug again this year, and Eisenhower has installed these nifty yurts. Now I had never heard of a yurt before, but apparently this is what they look like. And they do provide significantly more sleeping shelter than a tent. And they cost less. And it won't be a waste of money when if it does get blown apart by wind. So we're packing up tomorrow and heading out to the yurt. I've got the groceries purchased so we can grill up some all-beef, fat-free hot dogs. I'm really looking forward to it - hopefully it will be a nice evening. If it does rain, it's supposed to quit by evening. I'm sure I'll have lots more photos to post after we return. Hopefully we're smiling in them!

An Update

Finally...I'm back home after ten days away, so it's time for an update. We spent a few days in Salina since John's niece, Angela, who lives in Michigan was there visiting. It was good to see her, and she loves all of her little cousins. Then the girls and I continued on to Ellsworth, where all of the grandkids went to Bible school. Olivia had a lot of fun at Bible school - especially the crafts and snacks - and loved being with her three cousins for a week. Last night was the big fireworks show in Ellsworth, and John and I took the girls out for a couple of hours in the evening to do the big inflatable rides and eat cotton candy. The fireworks weren't until 10 p.m. and we tried to watch at Grammy and Grampy's house but you couldn't see much over the big trees across the street. I really enjoyed spending some time with my nieces and nephew, but it was really nice to get back to my house after so long away.

Emery's birthday is just 8 days away, and I can't believe our baby will be one. She is doing a really good job of walking - she can cross a room without help - when she feels like it, of course. She is in the "clingy" stage where she cries when Mom walks out of the room which really bruises Dad's ego, but I know it will pass.

This has been the best summer I've had in a long time. I think that vacation right after school gets out really helped. I know we can't pull off a Disney trip every year, but I think we'll continue to do something. I just felt so content and ready for the summer with the girls, and I didn't have to spend my weeks pining away for some vacation time.

I hear fireworks popping all over town. Not to be a Scrooge, but I get so tired of listening to firecrackers. I swear the kids in our neighborhood must spend hundreds of dollars on fireworks because they go off all night and all day for a week. I guess if that's my biggest gripe, life is pretty good. :0) Happy 4th of July everyone!

Our Last Day - Animal Kingdom

Photos: The Festival of the Lion King; Olivia's farewell chalk drawing outside Pop Century Resort; making music at AK; Expedition Everest; white rhino with baby at AK.

Our last day (well, our last non-travel day) was spent at Animal Kingdom. Olivia got up early and went to AK with Grammy and they met the Lunds for breakfast with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. John, Emery and I lingered a little longer and met them at the park opening. We headed to the safari first which was really an amazing way to start the day. The animals are roaming free as if you bump through "Africa" in a jeep. You get to see some animals close up that you would never see otherwise (unless you actually went to Africa.) The highlight was probably seeing the white rhino and its baby really, really close up. After the safari, we headed to the Kali River Rapids where everyone got soaked. Now before I tell you what we did next, let me tell you about my brother-in-law, Dan. Dan fears no ride. There is no drop, dip, loop, splash, or zoom that could make him think twice about getting on a ride. Dan had picked up enough Fast Passes for John and I to ride one of the main attractions -Expedition Everest. I had already chickened out of a couple of rides that I really wanted to go on (Tower of Terror) and it was our last day, so I agreed to go on Everest with my niece, Mykiah, Dan and John. Kim had already ridden it, and she's not a big roller coaster person, and she promised me there were no major drops. That is what I hate the most - the click, click, click, click up the hill and then that anxiety of waiting for the drop. So off I went because it did look like a really cool ride.

The ride starts by taking you up a huge hill (see photo) - it really was huge, I couldn't look because we just kept getting higher and higher. Dan and Mykiah were in front of us and as we neared the top, I'm yelling "Dan, do you promise you don't just drop straight down the other side of this hill" because if we did, I knew I would die of a heart attack. He assured me that we would just drop a little and then turn really fast. Well, we did a lot of fast turns and lots of drops that really weren't so bad and then you reach a point where the track is gone. It's of course been pulled up by a Yeti. So our car stops and Kim had told me you go backward at one point - guess this is it since there's no more track. Then I have a horrible thought - Are we going to go backward down that huge hill we just came up? So I start to panic again: "Dan, are we going backward down that big hill?" "No, it goes a different way," he assures me. "Well what does it do?" I scream. "I don't know; it's in the dark," and he laughs his crazy Dan laugh. Mykiah is looking pretty amused as well. Honestly, after that I remember very little. I know I screamed like a crazy woman the rest of the ride. At some point the car stops again, at this animotronic Yeti comes out and roars and grabs at the car. Now I should know that it wasn't real but at this point I was so freaked out you could have stuck a sock puppet up there and I would have been screaming. When the ride ended, my head was pounding from the screaming and I needed water bad. John asked if I wanted to go on it again, and I said "Maybe when we come back to Disney in four years." But certainly not that day. I did get myself a stuffed Yeti for a souvenir of my bravery however.

We saw "The Festival of the Lion King" later that day which was a great show. We also stopped and watched some musicians who pulled Olivia up to join in the show. That evening we ate at Boma, a restaurant in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It is an African-inspired buffet and John says the best buffet he's ever seen (which is a huge compliment from Chef John). I didn't know what half the stuff was, but we all enjoyed experimenting and they had great desserts.

That night, John and I left the sleeping girls with Grammy and headed to Magic Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours, when they stay open 'til 1 a.m. for resort guests. I was like something straight out of Night of the Living Dead, but John got to ride Space Mountain which was majorly important to him because it's the one ride he remembered from when he went to Disneyland when he was little. Then we did a bunch of shopping on Main Street USA and hit the hay at 1 a.m. The next day was check-out day - pretty sad - but it does always feel good to be home. Can't wait 'til next time!

Spectro Magic Parade

So we're in c Kingdom, catching the few rides we hadn't already done and waiting for dusk, to see the SpectroMagic parade. One of my big memories of our trip to Disney World when I was 11 was the electric parade at night. I thought it was so cool. So I definitely wanted Olivia to see this. It was about 8 p.m. - parade time is 9 p.m. and I knew we needed to start getting a seat soon. Main Street was already packed so we decided to look for a good viewing spot near Cinderella's castle. A really nice cast member let me know that if I wanted a really good seat I could sit on the concrete (you must be seated to sit that close) and they would rope it off for the parade and we would literally have front row seats as the floats passed by. Sounded good to me. Except there was no way I was going to be able to keep Olivia sitting on concrete for an hour waiting. But I figured Olivia is only going to be a 5 year old who believes in the magic one time, so I sat down and saved two seats for John and Liv while they continued to ride rides. The castle lights up in all different colors as the sun goes down, so that gave me some pretty scenery to look at. They also had hula hoops and limbo and beach balls to help the waiting kids pass the time. Finally, it was 9 p.m. They turned out all the lights in the park to add to the atmosphere and announced that night was Walt Disney's favorite time in the park. There is a little bit of extra magic after the sun goes down at Disney World. And the parade began. The floats were so close you could make eye contact with the characters. It was really fun, and I'm glad we stayed for the parade. We decided not to push and stay for the fireworks at 10 p.m. but we could see them as we waited for the bus back to the resort. The bus was so packed, and to get it on it, we were going to have ride standing up. But Olivia was an awesome trooper and rode standing up between me and John all the way back.

Day Four - Epcot / Magic Kingdom

Well, I'd better get back to the Disney journal before we forget the details. On Saturday of our trip, we started the day off by meeting the Lunds at Epcot Center. There were a couple of "thrill" rides I really wanted to check out, and you have to be there in the a.m. if you don't want to wait in line forever. So we did a few small rides and then Kim, Dan, Brady, Mykiah, and Grandma went to check out the ride "Soarin." You are seated in these hang-glider like seats and then you raise up in the air. Then you are watching this IMAX type film that takes you over oceans, mountains, orange groves (you can smell them!), etc. and it really feels like you're flying. Now, none of the women in my family are particularly crazy about heights but since you aren't literally flying, I figured it would be fine. So Grandma comes off the ride..... "How was it?" I ask. "It was awesome," she replies. So now it's our turn - me, John, Chesney, and Olivia go board the hang gliders. It was awesome. We meet up with everyone at a restaurant for lunch. Kim tells me, "Mom hated it. She didn't open her eyes the whole time." "No, she told me she loved it," I say. "She lied. She just didn't want you to chicken out." The other ride we did was Test Track which turned out to be my favorite ride of any we went on. I'd put the picture of us on it up but Disney won't let me copy it.

So instead I put a picture of Olivia sleeping on her dad's shoulders while we check out the huge aquarium at Epcot. There's just so much to do in that park, we couldn't possibly get it all done. So we headed back to the hotel for some R&R before another big night at Magic Kingdom. John, Olivia and I were headed there to watch the parade at 9 p.m. Grammy stayed at the hotel with Emery (thanks Grammy) so the three of us could have a really magical evening. I think I can do a whole other entry about the parade evening so I'll leave that for next time.

My Nephew's a Teenager

Yesterday, my nephew Brady turned 13. I still remember very well my sister telling us she was pregnant with him in the Oak Park Mall. I remember the night he was born seeing him about 2 a.m., and how Mom and Dad and I drove all over Kansas City looking for a motel room and finally wound up sleeping on the floor of Kim and Dan's apartment. I thought he was the most wonderful baby I'd ever seen, and I think it's probably the first time I really knew (had some physical proof) that God existed. He's always up for playing ghost or monster with the girls he's surrounded by (two sister and two girl cousins), and Uncle John loves playing XBox with him. Happy Birthday, Tater Man.

Olivia's Vocabulary

I thought I'd give you a break from Disney to tell you a couple of funny stories about Livvy's vocabulary. This morning we took Emery to the Dr in Topeka (both ears are infected again!), and we were in the bathroom changing her diaper. Olivia said, "Mommy, I saw one of those things hanging on the door. You know, apricots?" I was a little unsure what she was talking about - apricots hanging on a door?? "You know, apricots. They were green suits and yellow shirts." Now I'm getting really confused, and Olivia is getting increasingly frustrated with my inability to follow her. "Well, I don't know if it's called apricots but it sounds like that. You know, they pick clovers." Finally, the light bulb goes on. "Oh, a leprechaun?" I ask. Of course. It does kind of sound like apricots, now that she mentioned it.

This afternoon while Emery napped we were playing hotel. I was checking in all of the various dolls and stuffed animals who were visiting the hotel, and Olivia was the maitre'd. We have a cash register with a microphone, so I would get on the microphone and page Olivia "Maitre'd, can you please show Elmo to room 216" and so on. Later on, Olivia was tired of being the maitre'd and wanted to be the front desk clerk. So she said "Mom, can you be the Sandra Dee for awhile, so I can check people in?" That was a good one too. That girl.

"My Disney Vacation" by Olivia

I thought it would be fun to hear about Disney from Olivia's point of view, so I'm going to type while she talks. She's going to pick the photos for the post too.

"The picture is of the Barnstormer. The ride was very, very fast. It made me go "Wah, ah, ah, wah!" It made me scream kind of. It was fun. I want to ride it again the next time we go to Disney."

"I want to tell you guys about when I went on Test Track. Test Track was very fun. You should get on it because it was fast and fun. My mom did it."

"Emery was very unique about Disney. She didn't ride on Big Thunder Mountain or anything. Me and my mom and my dad went on that. Emery loved Winnie the Pooh."

"In the picture of Grammy and Daddy, they were drinking mint tea. We were in Morocco. I loved the belly dancer."

"My favorite ride was Splash Mountain. It had a very special drop that my mom didn't know about. She was really, really scared. But I wasn't, I loved the drop. You got wet."

My Favorite Day - Magic Kingdom

For me, Magic Kingdom was the best park. Each park has a lot to offer, but for pure family joy, this park was it. We had such a great time at Magic Kingdom. Olivia rode her favorite, favorite ride - Splash Mountain. Emery loved all the rides she went on (which was all but two). Grammy enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean with Capt. Jack Sparrow. My favorite ride was

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 'cuz it's basically a roller coaster for wimps. It was gorgeous weather, and we rode most of the rides with little wait. It was just so much fun watching the girls experience it. That evening offered up the most magical moment of the trip - Olivia meeting Cinderella. We went to dinner at 1900 Park Fare (big thanks to Aunt Kim for setting it up) and all of the Cinderella characters were there. Cinderella was going table to table greeting the guests and it took her quite awhile to get to us. Olivia was getting more and more excited as she got closer to our table. Finally, she got to our table and greeted Olivia and Chesney. Olivia was being kind of shy. Grammy said, "Olivia, did you tell her you love her more than any other Princess?" And Cinderella just lit up, hugged Olivia and gave her a kiss. That was it for Liv - she was over the moon. She got Cinderella's autograph and pictures taken with her. As Cinderella walked to the next table, Olivia couldn't contain it any longer -- she jumped up and down and clapped her hands and squealed. John and I both got misty-eyed over that. The pictures tell it better than I can, so I'll let them do the talking now.

Photos from top: Olivia crashed out after a long day with her new Disney friends and her dog, Fudge. Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in front of Cinderella's castle. Emery's first pair of Mickey ears - she's thrilled. Chesney and Olivia meeting Cinderella. Olivia's first pair of ears. Kim, Emery, and I meeting Prince Charming. Grammy and Olivia on the Buzz Lightyear ride - you had lazer guns to shoot targets and I kicked John's butt! Emery checking out everything during the It's a Small World ride.

Day Two - Disney MGM Studios

Our 2nd day was spent with the Lunds at Disney MGM Studios. It was John's favorite park, as far as the look and atmosphere went. He loved all of the old Hollywood stuff. The restaurants were good too. We started the day with a Playhouse Disney breakfast where Olivia got to dance and meet the stars of Jojo's Circus and Little Einsteins. Olivia and Jojo are pictured above. Then John and Dan rode Tower of Terror, but I chickened out. John's favorite ride of the day was Rockin' Roller Coaster -actually, it was his favorite ride of the whole trip. Olivia had fun at the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground, especially since she got to play with Chesney there. We got lots of attention for our Incredibles shirts, but the highlight was definitely when we got to get our picture taken with the actual Incredibles. That was fun. I included one more pic, of Olivia and Emery taking a break and enjoying frozen lemonades. They really look like they're having a deep conversation, don't they? I liked The Little Mermaid show and our dinner at 50s Primetime Cafe. The seating areas actually look like your in your mom's 50s kitchen, and the waiters make sure you use your manners and eat your veggies. Olivia's favorite thing that day was Star Tours. It was a lot of fun to meet up with Grammy and the Lunds and spend the day together!

Our First Night - Epcot Center

Our first night in "The World" was perfect. The weather was perfect - the crowd level was perfect. When we arrived in Epcot Wednesday night, we walked straight on to the Finding Nemo ride. Then we hopped over to see Turtle Talk with Crush, where Crush from Finding Nemo interacted with the kids in the audience. It was a fun show. The best part of the night, however, was walking around the world showcase. Epcot is so fun and interesting, and we didn't begin to scratch the surface of what they had to offer. But we did like touring the countries, especially Morocco. That's where we had our dinner reservation for the evening, and you truly felt transported to a different place. The food was good, the atmosphere was amazing, and the service was excellent. John, Olivia, Grammy and I pigged out and Olivia had fun dancing with the belly dancer later on. It was a great way to start our vacation, and I think it was everyone's favorite meal while we were there. In Japan, John just had to buy a glass of sake. It took him about three drinks to decide that was $5 down the drain. That stuff tasted like poison. Oh well, we enjoyed the music in Japan anyway. We headed back to the hotel to get some sleep, but I was too wound up from finally getting there to actually sleep. The pics are of Olivia and the belly dancer, my family outside the restaurant in Morocco, and the Epcot ball (which houses Emery's favorite ride - lots of pretty lights!). Tomorrow....an Incredible day.