not so simple

Monday, February 21

THE Surprise!!

It's hard to keep a secret when I'm so very excited about...even if I'm the one planning it!!

Matt and I had this great plan laid out for 2 of the 5 days we were on break from school. We would wake up the boys Thursday morning and just load up the car and go. But, of course, with kids, nothing ever goes as planned. Sure enough, Wednesday night, they both have fevers of 102 degrees. Of course!!

We talked it out, made a plan and went to bed. If they were better, we'd go. If they were sick, we'd stay. If one of them was better and the other wasn't, we'd go. We woke up Thursday morning; Payton was fine. Max was less than fine. Load 'em up!!

We dropped the dog at Matt's parents house (they love Ringo) and continued on our journey. Payton thought he'd had it all figured out, but Max was the closest when he asked if we were going to the pool. We let them guess along the way, but we never answer 'yes' or 'no'.

We finally arrived at our location at 3:00pm. Castaway Bay, Sandusky, Ohio Their reactions? Payton: YES! Thanks, Mom & Dad!!! Maxwell: I don't wanna go in the water or down the slides!! (insert tears here. Yeah, he was still sick.)

We met up with my parents who'd planned to join us and found our rooms. We headed down to the waterpark area, enjoyed the slides and the play areas. Matt and I had a good time, my mom enjoyed herself in the hot tub and Payton was loving the slides. (Max only wanted to use the hot tub. And my dad didn't leave his scooter, but took pictures.) We had a decent dinner in the waterpark and just hung out for awhile. Later in the evening, we went to hear a story from Snoopy and that was super cute.

The boys slept well and the next morning we did it all over again with Matt's parents added in. We all had a great time and the boys thoroughly exhausted themselves. We heard "Thanks for bringing us here." often, which was a great bonus. We'll probably go back again sometime, but I think Kalahari is our next waterpark adventure.

P.S. Payton was fine and never got sick again. Maxwell is still sick 6 days later, but was able to enjoy the waterpark for a few hours of the 2 days.

The Best Android App EVER!!!

A few days ago, I was browsing the Android Market on my LGAlly looking for an application that would give me some unique "live wallpapers". (That means an image on the main screen of my phone that changes throughout the day at set intervals.)

I came across this app and thought it looked cool. I'd love to travel more, but with my income and two kids, it'll be years before we get to go anywhere really impressive. The app, World Tour, takes pictures from various google cameras throughout the world. Every hour the image on my screen changes to one of about 75-100 locations.

Yesterday, we saw Times Square, the Vatican, Palm Springs, California, and a few other places. Today I saw the Eiffel Tower, Ground Zero, St. Peter Cathedral, San Diego, Seattle, and a few other places. Some of them are ordinary, like the giraffe exhibit at a zoo. Others are very cool, like a view of Earth divided into day and night.

The time stamp is on every image and so is location of each image. I've enjoyed my recent tour of the world; and so have the boys!

Monday, February 14

Surprise in the works...

Matt and I often do these "mystery trips" or as Max says, "We're goin' on a 'prise trip!" Sometimes they are short; just up to the Dairy Queen for ice cream. Other times they are bigger deals; Toledo Zoo or to visit family.

This Thursday, we'll surprise them again with a bigger trip. We've been planning it for awhile, and I hope I can keep it a secret a few more days! I can't wait!!! I know they will be so VERY excited! Now...if I can pack their bags without them knowing...

Tuesday, February 8

Longest. Day. Ever.

**WARNING: This post may contain whining!**

Early this morning, the day was already slated to be a busy and chaotic one. I knew I had a big event for the Scholastic Book Fair going on after school and I wanted to make it perfect. Plus, I've been sick for the last 4-5 days. I'm just feeling worn down.

But at 7:45am, the school's fire alarm went off. So we had to evacuate the building. It was 12 degrees outside. Some of our students didn't have coats on because they were eating breakfast. Without gloves, my fingers were REALLY REALLY cold. I held students in my coat with me hoping to keep them as warm as possible. In the end, we were able to get them into an administration building run by the city school district which is just across the street. But we stood outside for at least 20 minutes! BRRRRR...it was freezing!!

The school day wasn't anything out of the ordinary, except setting up for the event. But wow, was the set up after school a lot of work! I had a great crew who was willing to help, thankfully. But even when the event ended at 7:30pm, I had a lot of work just putting the finishing closing details together...with both my boys in tow.

It's now 9:00pm. The boys are finally asleep. I am sipping a mug of tea and hoping that the pain relievers kick in soon.

My back hurts.
My feet hurt.
And I think I'm still slightly frozen.

Saturday, February 5

Snow, snow and more snow...

I think I'm done with Michigan. I would rather live somewhere where they get one big dump of snow, it lasts a few days or weeks even, and then it's gone. This year, it just keeps snowing...and snowing...and snowing. I don't remember the last time I saw the grass.

To at least make the most of the snow we have, Matt and I took the boys sledding today. I know Payton has been sledding before, but to the best of my recollection, Maxwell never has been. If he has, I don't have pictures of it anyway.

So off we went. We all bundled up...two shirts, pants, two pair of socks, snow pants, boots, coats, hats, hoods, and gloves. Getting dressed took just as long as sledding! But it was worth it. The boys had a great time. Matt and I kept them busy for over an hour. And they are tired enough they'll sleep well tonight!