A four year old?

Can it really be? Our baby boy is four years old?
He's such a big boy now...and so very much fun.

Happy 4th Birthday to our precious McKinley, we love you so very much.

Love,
Mom & Dad

Lunch with Nonna & Mommy, Dinner with Daddy & Mommy at Texas Roadhouse (McKinley's choice - because you KNOW he wanted to hear them give a great big YEEEEEE-HAAAAAA) and hours of playtime at Bogey's where he literally hit the jackpot over and over and over. Awesome day!

Birthday Party #4...Golf!

What an awesome day and a labor of love for all of us since JANUARY. Yes, January. That was when I offhandedly asked what kind of birthday party McKinley wanted this year. He instantly answered, "Golf! I want a GOLF birthday party, with a real golf course and a golf cake and lots of golf balls." Immediately my brain went into overdrive. Honestly, I don't think on the way home (we'd been out for dinner) I was able to think of anything else. I set out to brainstorm and search the internet for unique ideas since McKinley had chosen such a unique theme - which I LOVE. Suffice it to say, I didn't find much. I did find golf ball cake pops and eventually a back yard mini golf course, courtesy of Martha herself. Cary and I discussed our plans and moved forward with them. It was such a joy to create a day like this for McKinley, we were all so excited for the theme and McKinley loved having input on everything! My favorite thing has to be the invitations...I had a vision of what I wanted and was able to execute it with the help of a graphic designer in California. What she put together was exactly what I asked for. I could not have been more pleased. I was so happy in fact that she and I worked together to design the printable paper products (signage, etc) for the party and I'm so happy with how it turned out. The only problem was I was so excited for the entire day that I never took the chance to snap photos of the decor or set up or anything. I'm so upset, but that wasn't the point anyway...McKinley, our friends and family all had a wonderful time. Seeing the smile on that boy's face was enough to make me have a party like that every single day. But, oh, would we be tired...

As guests started to arrive the kids immediately took to the 'make-your-own station' that I always enjoy putting together. This year it was a golf visor...apropos, no? And all the guests were invited to take a guess as to how many golf balls were inside the candy jar. We chose one adult winner (who won the Caddy Shack DVD) and a one 'youth' winner (who won a big selection of toys and games chosen by McKinley). Brent (my Godfather and McKinley's "Papa") won the Caddy Shack DVD when he chose the EXACT number of balls inside the jar! I was shocked when he won because I have fond memories of watching that movie (parts of it...) in my Godparents home on a particular visit. Brent always loved that movie, so I was tickled that he won. Our nephew Logan was the 'youth' winner and was pretty excited with McKinley's little bag of goodies.

We asked Brent to lead us in prayer again this year, it's a nice little tradition and we so enjoy the efforts made by our friends and family to share this day with us, so it's nice for us to be thankful for that as well. We had a golf club-ish lunch of "Club" sandwiches, pasta salad, chips and veggies and dip.

As everyone finished many of our guests - especially the kids - played in our little back yard golf range. We had a putting range and a chipping range and clubs for everyone! While they played we got the piece de resistance ready...McKinley's AWESOME golf cake (that he picked out himself!) and the adorable cake pops that were truly the most difficult thing to find (mold ordered from amazon, turned down by 3 local bakeries, turned down by cake pop maker in Indy, quoted $100 for 12 by a cake pop maker in Memphis, Tn., and finally able to place the order four days before the party with a new cake pop maker in Indy --Sticky Sweet Cake Pops--, shipped the mold to her, had my Godmother pick them up from her home and drive them here! They were NOT $100...Ha!). Cary had been the one to pick up the cake from Baesler's and he could NOT believe the attention this cake had gotten. Apparently the entire bakery had been enthralled by this cake as it was being made and decorated, so much so that they even took photos of it and the owner of Baesler's himself carried it out to Cary's truck. It was awesome, more awesome than I had pictured...when McKinley said he loved the photo I'd found he was certain it's what he wanted. When we walked out with that thing there was no doubt in my mind he was happy. He couldn't stop smiling! He was squealing with delight! It was a good moment...

I think it was the photo booth that really brought out the humor in everyone though. We always enjoy taking photos with McKinley and his guests and I've recently become obsessed with photo booths, so we put together an array of mustaches and other "on a stick" items along with props and a chalk board. I LOVE how they turned out! We have some really creative friends and family!

We sang Happy Birthday and McKinley watched his candles (that I had to continuously light due to the stupid wind...) and his cake with intent. He blew his candles out after making a wish and everyone dug into that yummy cake! Oh it was so good.

Things began to wind down as McKinley opened his gifts and we once again brought a special birthday to a close. It truly is the happiest day of the year for Cary and I - and so worth the absolute exhaustion from the weeks and weeks of work we lovingly put into it.

Fourth birthday party down, one happy, happy boy as a result...and two parents full of love for their precious boy!

So...too early to make plans for #5??????

Lynn

Disney = Magic & the longest post I've ever written

We are home. Which is good...and sad...because we are home from DISNEY WORLD.

As a seasoned Disney visitor, I can comfortably say Disney was never, ever more magical for me. Now, don't get me wrong, each and every time was priceless...and my first time was something I will never EVER forget. But our first time with a child...I have no words, truly only tears of joy at the mere thought of having had the opportunity to share such a special time with my family. And yes, I will admit...I totally cried a couple of times. I used to be a real 'crier'... I got a little tougher over the last five years...but when you put a straight-up, once-in-a-lifetime moment with my family...basket case. I kid not when I say that as our plane LEFT THE GROUND, thus launching my son and my husband above the Earth for the very first time...I cried. I cried again that night at Chef Mickey's. Okay, and when I say 'cry'...I wasn't weeping for the whole world to see, ugly-cry face and all...thankfully those days are way behind me. I mean, I got misty, or sometimes a tear fell, or...on a real rare, take your breath away kind of moment my lip might just start to quiver and I feel the ugly-cry face itching to come out. But when you see McKinley's amazement written all over his face in what can only be described as the pure joy and innocence of a child, I think I would not be alone in my emotions. My heart could burst!

So, the easiest way to tell the tale of Disney is to go by the itinerary...so here goes:

Day 1: we leave the house WAY (eh hem...WAY WAY WAY) too early - like 5, as in , we were up before 4...A.M.! At the airport by 6:15, through security (which was a breeze in the family lane except that McKinley nearly melted down because he did NOT want to remove his shoes...and then I forgot to remove his belt before he passed through the metal detector. At which time I ushered him to me and started to remove his belt...which apparently is a BIG no-no if you've already passed through the detector. I totally got reprimanded...like a flippin' child...by the TSA guy. I mean, come on! I'm a MOM! It is MY JOB to HELP my child. Doof.) and waiting at the terminal by 7a.m. for our 8a.m. flight. McKinley was entranced by all the action happening on the tarmac. He could hardly wait to get on that plane! When we finally began boarding he sat down in the middle seat, me on the window, Cary the aisle, and watched the tarmac from the other side of terminal windows.

In the air, McKinley would occasionally glance out and say, "Oh wow! We're up in the air!" other than that, he watched a movie on the laptop most of the time. Before Cary could wrap his head around the fact that he was ON AN AIRPLANE we were descending and one of the flight attendants was delivering his and McKinley's WINGS and 1st flight certificate, signed by the pilots and flight staff. I think I'll frame them both. I am so proud!

Through baggage claim and onto a Disney bus, 35 minutes later we were checked into our hotel and unpacking in our room. We laid low that day, we had lunch by the pool - dang that sounds nice now that we are home and cold - and when we headed up to the room we had a special delivery: our mouse ears! This was my little secret that I'd cooked up MONTHS ago. No one had a clue! We each had a set of mouse ears with our names embroidered on the back...Moms said Nonna...how fun is that? I was so happy to have surprised everyone! After that McKinley and Cary played in the pool for a bit, Mom read a book poolside and I unpacked, organized and confirmed all reservations...I'm a freak. As I headed to the pool - FINALLY - everyone was ready for a nap. Great. Oh well...we all napped for a few hours then headed out to our very first destination: Chef Mickey's!

I'd had some problems reserving ANY character meal except for Cinderella...which I LOVE, but McKinley? Huh uh...so, as we were walking to our room for the first time I called the dinner reservation line, which I'd saved on my cell phone I was so desperate. With crossed fingers I asked about an evening reservation. I almost cursed out loud at Disney when the woman on the other end of the line proceeded to make my day: dinner at Chef Mickey's at 9:45pm! With our LONG nap planned (and later executed) I knew 9:45 wouldn't be a problem. And as my sweet little helper hung up, she said to me, "Have a magical day!". Seriously? I almost got misty!

We arrived VERY, VERY early to Chef Mickey's, by total fluke (or a super-nice bus driver who burned a lot of ozone by offering to chauffeur ONLY US to the Contemporary Resort, straying from his route, so we could avoid a LOT of traffic hassle...I'm not complaining!).

McKinley got a little antsy and didn't want to go where we had to go...and then we told him who we would see. His eyes were never bigger than when we came up that escalator and saw Chef Mickey's and some of his favorite characters visiting each table. What was even better, I grimaced when I checked in at the reservation stand..."I'm sorry, we are SO early". I was met with, "Oh! It's no problem! Once you have your photo taken with Chef Mickey we will seat you."

Pinch me.

Photo, done.

Taken to our table, done.

Amazing view overlooking the Disney property...done.

Donald Duck walking right behind McKinley and surprising him, resulting in that pure joy and innocence I previously referred to? Done.

Me, teary? Done.

McKinley experiences Mickey's Magic for the first time? Done.

I didn't even want to eat (but I did...because it was like a bazillion dollars, it's Disney and it's delicious food). My mission was clear: photos and autograph book. Cary's mission: video Mom and McKinley: sit back and enjoy being doted on as a 1st time visitor and a birthday girl.

What a way to start out the trip. I know we did something right there because McKinley has LITERALLY not stopped talking about Chef Mickey's ever since.

Soon we were headed back to our hotel, on a bus, with a child who was happier than he knew how to say. Sleep came easy that night...

Day 2: We didn't push our start times, I'm glad of that. On this day we headed out to Hollywood Studios. We got to meet Lotso from Toy Story 3, Handy Manny, and watch a live show based on Playhouse Disney. And you haven't lived until you have painstakingly stood in line for well over 60 minutes for a Disney ride. McKinley was great, the adults were having issues with patience! hahaha! However, all four of us will attest that the Toy Story Mania ride was WELL WORTH IT. So fun!

We rode the great movie ride (an old fave of mine), which scared the crap out of McKinley...thus resulting in Mommy guilt. We rode the backlot tour (that I've loved for so long), scared the crap out of McKinley...more Mommy guilt. We stayed for Fantastmic, McKinley napped happily in the stroller while we waited. We woke him for the show...and it scared the crap out of him...and you guessed it...Mommy guilt.

I'm pleased to say that he loved the Muppet 3D movie, meeting Mater and everything else we did that day! Thank GOD.

We came home from Fantasmic and went to bed.

Day 3: Animal Kingdom and Mickey's Very Special Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom.

Won't spend much time on Animal Kingdom...it was fun, though McKinley was TERRIFIED by the Bug's Life 3D movie. Hello? We need a warning when bugs are going to FART on you, or a giant grasshopper comes to life! We had to leave...we were NOT the only ones, by a long shot. It was scary. We had a great day though...spending time with Uncle Bill was great. We had a leather 'bracelet' personalized for McKinley (which I adore), took a real safari and had a lot of laughs with a wheelchair on loan (long story) and our stroller. Suffice it say that Cary and I should never again be behind a wheelchair and a stroller while sight seeing. Poor Mom and McKinley. We even had an audience. Good times! OH! And Cary totally 'parked' Mom on a hill to get in line for a funnel cake! At least I was paying attention then...you are welcome, Mom!

We came home WAY too late and had a difficult time getting McKinley to nap for more than half an hour. Ugh...

Soon we were back on a bus to Downtown Disney to have dinner with Uncle Bill and his wife, Amanda. One problem: the bus driver was not only WAY behind but he was WAY slow and took an alternate route on a very full bus. I was standing...with the stroller in one hand, the other on a hand rail...in heels. Yep, great. And it was very hot on that bus. Even better! Anyway, we finally arrived at T-Rex where I was terrified that we would terrify McKinley yet again. He was unsure of the moving dinosaurs and the 'meteor shower', but who the heck wouldn't be?! After two go around's of the dark shower and the dinos, we were good. He even enjoyed it! Whew! And we so enjoyed dinner with Bill & Amanda! They accompanied us to the Magic Kingdom (via Monorail, which is the other favorite thing McKinley continues to talk about...second only to Chef Mickey's) and saw us into the park. I was chomping at the bit...I knew what was coming...and no one was disappointed. As soon as we walked through the little tunnel and into the park, it was Christmas. And it was snowing. And it was breathtaking. Cue the misty-eyed Mom moment.

I think I took a thousand pictures - which drove Cary BONKERS because HE was itching to get a good spot for the parade and fireworks. Well, I screwed it up and we barely moved our first half hour inside...but it ended up being the PERFECT spot for the fireworks! We videoed them, photographed them and I cried. Ha! McKinley oooh'd and ahhh'd and I'm pretty sure my Mom was awestruck. Cary, who was over the finding of the good spot, was entranced in the beautiful fireworks that only Disney can do, with his son on his shoulders...again, cue the cry.

When the fireworks were over we began choosing our spot for the parade and for the complimentary hot cocoa and cookies. We scored on both accounts: front of the 'crowd cord' at the parade and delicious hot cocoa and cookies for all! We were standing outside the cutest little Christmas store (ironic, huh?) and I thought I'd take time while we were waiting for the parade to start to look for this year's Christmas ornament. I wandered inside, leaving Mom to watch McKinley, Cary had gone off for something else. Then I saw him...there, inside the store stood my sweet hubby with the exact Christmas ornament I would have chosen for our tree. And...cry. I felt so badly for 'catching him in the act' but his thoughtfulness warmed my heart. He is always that thoughtful. I look up to him a lot for that...

Anyway, the ornament is gorgeous. I can HARDLY wait to put it on our tree.

Just as we finished paying, the parade was beginning. I videoed much of the parade, between actual tears. I couldn't choke it up this time...McKinley wasn't the only one taken by the magic. We were all so in love with the sights, sounds, and SMELLS! Have you ever been to a parade that smelled of chocolate, freshly baked bread, wood burning fire and evergreen? Ahhhh.....beautiful.

Several of the characters and cast came up to McKinley as they sang and danced by. One Toy Story Soldier saluted McKinley...a beautiful dancer blew him a kiss - watch it, sister! A young man gave him five! He was hooked! And then, there was Santa. The 'after' face of McKinley is priceless. The parade was amazing...as only Disney can do.

With much of the special festivities over, the crowd thinned out even more - it was already a much smaller crowd than usual because of special ticketing. We had much of the park to ourselves! Mom took a break with McKinley while Cary and I rode the tea cups. Cary whipped that tea cup around like a trooper and it was awesome! McKinley was done. He HAD to ride! So, we grabbed him and and got back on immediately - no line! I recorded his first tea cup ride...it's hilarious! He loved it! We stayed on and rode again with the blessing of the cast member manning the ride. It was so great...one of those "burned in your brain forever" memories. Ahh.
After the tea cups we hit the track in Tomorrowland. And then again...and again...with no line it was crazy not to keep riding! I can be sure that I cannot remember the last time I laughed so hard as when I was pushing on the gas pedal while McKinley steered our car. THANK GOD the car was on a guide (brought back childhood memories of the tin-lizzies at Opryland. This must be what went through my parents mind every time!). McKinley was all over the place and would slam into the guide and it would jerk us back. Not exactly good for my neck but so amazing to laugh so hard with son. He had me cracking up! I did manage to keep a tight grip on him through the whole thing...just in case!
Sadly, it was midnight all too soon and we left the park, hot chocolate in hand, to board the monorail, which took us to the wrong place. Ooops, we messed up...but again we found a super nice bus driver who offered to take us all the way back to our hotel - by our selves! Again we had the whole bus! Nice guys, those Disney bus drivers. Really, really nice!
Soon enough we were sound asleep with lovely memories of the night's events to dream about.
Day 4: Everyone was pretty tired but we rallied and hit Epcot. We weren't there long, we only rode a few kiddie rides, hit a fun photo booth for McKinley and had the most amazing lunch in Mexico with Bill & Amanda. I had empanadas and I swear if I close my eyes and think really hard I can still taste how delicious they were. Man...good stuff.
McKinley got restless quickly after lunch, so we all agreed to call it day. McKinley was overtired and had some issues falling asleep, but eventually he did and Cary and I headed out to do some Disney shopping with Bill & Amanda. Mom stayed with McKinley, she also needed some rest!
Sunday we made plans to finish up with a bag...an all day-er at Magic Kingdom. Mom decided to spend the day with her dear friends who live nearby, the three of us hit the park!
Day 5: At Magic Kingdom we did it ALL! Buzz Lightyear, Monsters, Inc., Dumbo, the carousel, It's a Small World, Peter Pan, the tea cups (yes AGAIN!), the race track (AGAIN!), Aladdin's magic carpets, the jungle boat ride, the Barnstormer (AWESOME!), the steam engine...if we had time, we did it! We laughed and screamed and did our very best to live it up. And as promised, we closed the park. Our very last ride was another turn around the race track and then we began looking for our perfect spot for the fireworks. We found it! Just beneath Tinkerbell's flight path! Few people were lining up at that time, so we had many options. I love where we ended up. I took out the still camera, Cary the video camera and we set up to film and shoot our final fireworks show on this amazing trip.

I'll be honest...I was truly a basket case this time. I just couldn't help it. Disney has always been magical. A happy place where as a child, an adolescent and a newlywed, I always had the most beautiful things to celebrate no matter what was happening in the world around us or in my own private life. Sharing that with McKinley (and Cary and Mom) meant so very much to me. I was overcome...when I heard Jiminy Cricket and those first familiar bars of "When you Wish Upon a Star", well, I was done. I knelt down beside McKinley, who was sitting very still in his stroller, truly mesmerized. All I could do was grip him with my arm. He was open-mouthed and I kept asking, "Isn't this amazing?" All he could muster was "Uh huh..."

I cried actual tears the instant I saw Tinkerbell, and as she flew just above our heads I had flashbacks of that first time I saw her. I know how amazed I was then - and I was a teenager! - I knew exactly how McKinley was feeling at that moment. I was just overcome with emotion. Disney knows how to end a day...an amazing day...an amazing trip! How many times have I just typed amazing in this post??????

Eventually our fireworks finale came to an end...I was still crying...I know...get a grip. Hey, I maintained - for the most part - until then! We took a lovely little walk from Magic Kingdom over to the contemporary (that's called avoiding the CRAZY crowds who were headed toward the buses and the monorail). We grabbed a bus over to Downtown Disney and had dinner at Planet Hollywood. We were so tired, but all three of us were still having a ball! McKinley was singing along to so many of the 90's songs they were playing (courtesy of his Mom & Dad who are children of the 90's!). Everyone around us was loving it! At one point he actually sang along with the chorus of a Lady Gaga song...oy, I'm not sure if I should be proud of this or not, but the kid loves music like us! He knows loads of wholesome 3 year old appropriate songs too, so the occasional Gaga song mixed in with the Itsy Bitsy Spider isn't the end of the world. I sang many a 'risque' 80's song as a child. There are videos and photos to prove it!

After the McKinley show was over, so was he...we loaded up again and headed back to the hotel. We caught up with Nonna, who had a lovely day with her friends. Great day!

Day 6: My Mom's birthday! We laid low today. Lunch in the gorgeous sun, beside the pool, final packing, a brief nap, some swimming, lounging. It was nice. The best was yet to come...when we knew we would be in Disney for Mom's birthday, I knew we needed to make it a true Disney birthday. Not only did they Birthday button Mom wore, courtesy of our hotel, call major attention from every cast member who saw her, but so did every character around! Knowing that Mom's friends were going to be close by I contacted all of them and made reservations for all of us at Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. Mom knew about this, but apparently she wasn't sure who was coming because that evening she was so happily surprised to see so many of our family friends. It was the perfect way to end this trip. It meant so much to me to see my Mom so happy.
After our lovely dinner and yummy cake the kids all climbed aboard the little train to ride, then it was real business for McKinley: he had his very own money to spend! Back when we began potty training, we used my old gumball machine/bank and filled it with M&M's (that matched his room, of course). When he would 'go' in the potty he would get a coin to put in his bank and then get a couple of M&M's as well. I wasn't real thrilled with rewarding such an obvious milestone in life, but we turned it into a double learning moment. You see, just before we left McKinley and I took out all of his collected change, put it into a bag. Then Cary took him to the bank to cash it in! When they arrived home McKinley and I decorated a special envelope, which I kept with our travel info. McKinley had his very own spending money! Diane, aka Honey, threw in an extra $5 and so did we. He had $20 to spend how he wanted.
So, on our very last night, after dinner and the train ride, we went to "Once Upon a Toy" where McKinley thoughtfully considered many toys over the next 45 minutes. After spending some time with Mr. Potato Head (which he has at home...but it is all those wonderful accessories we would have gotten), then a cool Disney Parks only Buzz, a few Lighting choices, some balls, etc...he, with all certaintly, announced that he wanted the Mater and the Ice Cream truck (from Mater's Tall Tales) that he had chosen almost right away. He did well! I'm proud to say we spotted him on the tax (hee hee hee!). He loves his new toys, has used them so much already and has a sense of gaining something that you've saved for. Win win!
So, that is how we ended our trip...well, technically, it wasn't THAT pretty. When we got back to the hotel there was still a little packing to do, so while McKinley slept we scrambled. There wasn't much sleep for the adults that night! We were at the bus stop at 7:00a.m. Wow...too early. Everything was smooth at the airport, and we love those monorail-ish trains to the terminal! We got on the plane, settled and comfy and headed home. Our flight was, um, a little bumpy. And as we got closer to Indiana it was clear that it was NOT clear back home. Wow. As we came down we could not see a thing but FOG until we were just above the trees! Not so much a big fan of flights like that, but we all did okay. McKinley did say, "Wow! This plane moves more than the other one!" Yep, he was right!
We we finally 'saw' Indiana, it wasn't pretty. Yikes, take us back. We were met with dreary, wet, overcast and COLD. No more flip flops, no more short sleeves or air conditioner...bring on the mittens, scarves and the heat. Great. Oh well...we were home safe and sound with the most beautiful memories EVER.
So, with that, I bring my longest post to a close...Disney was truly the best way we could spend 7 magical days together. Pure magic.
Thanks, Disney...we WILL be back soon!
Lynn

Daddy's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Cary!

Today McKinley and I went to Hallmark to choose just the right cards for Cary. McKinley picked out his very own card - a Mickey Mouse one! He was so excited to choose one for his Daddy and couldn't wait to give it to him.

Cary chose to have dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise, where they ended our yummy meal with a little ice cream sundae and a loud announcement of the big bday. My favorite part was that they took a photo of Cary & McKinley with the sundae. Love it!

After we put McKinley to bed, Cary and I hopped in our own bed armed with our laptop...the PERFECT way to end a great birthday is to watch a live concert of John Mayer at Red Rocks in Colorado streaming live on the internet, from the comfort of our cozy, warm bed. Awesome. I feel like we got to go AGAIN!

Cary, we love you so much and wish you a very happy day!

Lynn

Happy Birday Daddy!

Says McKinley to his Daddy today! Happy Birthday, Cary! We love you!

Cary had a nice surprise this evening when his Mom & Dad came in from Bloomington to have dinner with us. And we had a fabulous cake - decked out I.U. style to represent the IU football game we're all going to go see for his bday.

McKinley and I had a lot of fun together searching for just the right goodies for the Birthday Boy. McKinley LOVED picking out his own card, he even helped decide what to put on the cake, "Football, Mommy!". We gave Daddy a gorgeous new watch and some very special cards and just wanted Daddy to have the wonderful birthday he totally deserves.

We hope you had a great day, Cary!!!
Happy Birthday!
Love you!!!!!
Lynn & McKinley

How about a Handy Manny Party?

Today was McKinley's 2nd birthday party - it is completely nuts to try to come to grips with the fact that our precious baby pictured all the way over there on the left is a full blown two year old...baby no more. So, before I get into all the party festivities Cary and I had planned I've got some deep thinking I have to add.
There are times in my life where I have to practically step back out of a moment to take a breath. It catches me completely off guard when it happens. God has truly blessed us with some amazing people and equally amazing moments - all who have made me appreciate life in a way I never thought possible. Today I had a lot of those moments:
*People who will, in friendship drop everything they are doing to help a girl out who just went into full crisis mode because of some ground beef and balloons.
*The beautiful children who surround us in our daily lives.
*Seeing my friends' families grow and expand and watching all these people interact and interconnect.
*People who will take time out of their busy lives just to be with our son and watch him blow out candles on his Handy Manny Toolbox cake.
*Grandparents who will risk embarassment by wearing a retro Chi-Chi's host/hostess costume for their Grandchild's Fiesta just to see him smile.
*A husband who jumps at the chance to pull around a bunch of kids in a wagon - all while donning a sombrero and laughing the whole time.

Through a very difficult time I went through a few years ago, I've learned that life, for me is all about making the most out of this short time we are given on Earth. I think there are about 30 or 40 people who did that today right along with me! What an amazing day to spend with friends and family.

So, the party...
Put behind immediately due to the caterers not having our food ready, then not having given us the right amount of MEAT for TACOS (uh meat for 6 instead of SIXTY). Kylie came to the rescue and we had meat! All the phone calls I had to make left me with no time to prep the taco bar, in step Mary and Barb and everyone else who helped dice tomatoes, avacados and onions, run cheese, sour cream and other fixings to the food table and so many other wonderful helpers who fixed the mishap. Whew. Insane.

Finally, bellies were full and it was time to party! All the kids gathered around the giant freezer box sketched with Handy Manny's storefront (courtesy of Nonna). Each child wore an over-sized t-shirt with McKinley's 2nd Birthday screen printed on the front (I made them - I'm so proud!!!) then grabbed a set of paints (washable...) and an array of brushes and off they went! It was so cute to watch and the kids were well occupied for a long time. Savannah painted her toes (and foot...) purple, Lila only wanted pink, Lincoln wanted to taste the paint (non toxic...), Reagan stayed in the lines, McKinley used his fingers and the Gatrell kids tried splatter art, added words and even some blotting. The end result is pretty sweet, Manny would be proud.
Moving on...PINATA TIME! We hung the giant "2", filled with 4 pounds of candy from a tree and let each child take a whack. Mary delivered the pinata-busting blow then her big brother, Forrest sent candy flying - EVERYWHERE. I'm proud to say McKinley displayed some excellent technique with the Pinata Stick. That is clearly inherited from Daddy...not me. Like I had to tell anyone that.
On to the cake! All the grandparents and Cary and I climbed into my old Chi-Chi's uniforms (yes, we STILL have them...) and paraded outside with the tool box cake. McKinley did a pretty good job with his candles and LOVED us singing the Happy Birthday song. It was so cute.
McKinley had a fantastic time and we hope everyone else did too.
We had so much to do that we barely opened 5 of McKinley's gifts! We're adding that to the to-do list tomorrow on McKinley's official birthday. We were just too wiped!
Check out all the pics on the slide show. WHAT A GREAT DAY!

To Mother Nature - we will resume full-on recycling since you held up your end of the bargain...no rain. Can we do this EVERY YEAR???
:-)
Lynn

Memorial Day Weekend

It's Memorial Day Weekend in INDIANA!!!!!!!!!!!!

That marks the world-famous Indianapolis 500, the unofficial start to summer and great cookouts!

Cary and I have been to the Indy 500 many times, but have yet to take McKinley - think we'll wait a few years for that, but being blessed as a true Hoosier, he will have the opportunity to see it many times!

Instead of hitting the track, we made our own fun at home. Sunday Cary had the chance to play some golf with his Dad and got some much-deserved 'me time'. While he was golfing I did some work outside and had Mom over for a nice breakfast on the patio with her grandson. McKinley hit the pool (see pics and post below) and seriously wore himself out. hahahaha I spent the whole day outside (with lots of sunscreen) it was a glorious day!

Monday we all packed up and headed to Indy with Mom for a Memorial Day cookout at my Godparents' home. We had great food, good times and got to celebrate Shelby's birthday. McKinley spent the day playing a ball-toss game with me and Cary, flirting with all the women, checking out the neighbor's coy pond and doing tricks for everyone's entertainment. He was NON-STOP.

We had such a great day in Indy for the long weekend!

Lynn

A good way to end a great summer

In honor of the unofficial end to summer (Labor Day Weekend), I thought it would be a great time to do the long-standing tradition of the 'What I did over Summer Break' Report.

This is the Vernon Version:

Our summer was filled with lots of excitement, beginning with our first family vacation to Myrtle Beach and my birthday (30!) and ended with a great trip to B-town for Cary's birthday over the holiday weekend.

Myrtle Beach was beautiful and the perfect getaway for our first family vacay. We had so much fun visiting the Biltmore Estate on the way to M.B. and really soaked up the sun for a whole week. Yours truly got a little too much sun...painful. See slide show of vacay here.

My 'Big Three-Oh' was soon to follow, and was a total blast. Cary and my Mom threw me a wonderful surprise party - I was SHOCKED - and had a great time, even if they did make me wear goofy glasses and a GIANT party hat (think dunce cap). lol

We celebrated the fourth of July together and the following night Cary and I had a great date to see a long-time fave, John Mayer. Good times!

After that it was time to get everything ready for another birthday...McKinley's FIRST! We had a lot of fun with that day and were so honored to have so many wonderful friends and family members there to share such a special day with.

I guess the next 'big event' during our summer was my wreck...but I promised that this post would be happy and upbeat, so that's all I'm gonna say about that!

In the beginning of August, McKinley attended his very first wedding and reception. My old buddy from...gosh, can it be ELEMENTARY SCHOOL? Yep...we go back pretty far...Jim and his lovely bride Caitlin got married. It was such a beautiful day for them and we were honored to have been guests at such a special occasion. I think McKinley's favorite thing about the whole day was taking a carriage ride around the Circle in downtown Indy and the horse he met. He loved it!

After McKinley was fast asleep, thanks to my Mom, Cary and I headed back to reception for some alone time. It was great catching up with Jim and Mike and their families. We had a great time. After the reception ended, we strolled around downtown Indy, hand in hand for a while. It was a nice feeling to be out on our own and relaxed together. We stopped off at a restaurant/brewery and had a little snack and drink (I had the Godiva Martini...YUM!!!), then headed back to the hotel for the night. Though it wasn't a planned date, it was so nice to be together in such a beautiful area of the city. I love being impromtu with Cary!!!

So, the summer 'ended', unofficially this weekend with the Labor Day Holiday, and Cary's birthday. Sunday we picked up Mom and headed to B-town for some R&R, tacos and cake. We had so much fun playing around all day, but my favorite part was watching Logan and Mason 'chase' McKinley through Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was SO CUTE! Check out the video-listen to the screams of delight! Love it! Ever seen anything cuter? Didn't think so...

(You can turn the music down or off at the bottom of the page to better hear the silliness!!!)

Those were most of the big things, but we also had so much fun watching McKinley go from baby to boy (and trust me, he's all boy, folks! hahaha). He's made some big changes over the summer. His vocabulary has grown, he's become VERY opinionated (No, really???!!!), 'graduated' to one nap a day, table foods and whole milk (organic, of course) in a BPA-free sippy cup. We've also had so much fun making many trips to visit family in B-town, going to the park, finger painting, coloring with crayons and playing in our backyard 'waterpark'.

Our boy sure is a ball of energy and loads of fun. Everyday is new and exciting and full of a new word, sound or trick. He has made it an extra fun summer for us.

We are sad to see the summer go, but anxious for a gorgeous and event filled fall. We've already got some fun things to look forward to for McKinley (Wee Read, Kindermusik, The Pumpkin Train), and for ourselves (anniversary #4!!!!, Zumba for me, Golf tourneys for Cary, and a special getaway).

Hope everyone had as great of a summer as we did!

Lynn

A Big Birthday Celebration

McKinley's first birthday came and went very, very quickly. All three of us had some serious recouperating to do post-soiree, so I'm just now writing about the big day. I wanted to be sure that the post reflected just how much fun it was for Cary, McKinley and I. It was so great to see family, friends and neighbors gather together to celebrate 'The Big 1" with us.

First of all...let's just talk about the weather for a second. I don't know WHERE such a gorgeous, non-humid, non-sweltering day came from in Indiana in the middle of July but it certainly was welcome, if not down right unheard of. We can only hope/wish/pray that each year is just as beautiful for our boy and his parties.

Just before the party got started a giant, blue castle arrived in our back yard. It matched our Little Prince theme perfectly! It sure was a sight watching that thing expand and reach high into the sky. I am sure all the children enjoyed it, and I think a few of the adults got a little thrill in the jumping throw back to their childhood too...self included. Ha ha! Though, I certainly do not remember the jumping causing an instant head rush as a child...perhaps that's due in part to aging???

Everyone was invited to the make-your-own-crown/tiara station, I didn't see as many adult crowns as I'd hoped though...hahaha, just kidding! All the kids did such a great job on their little works of art. And on their way out we had treat bags complete with a 'grow your own' castle or rubber ducky, some glow sticks, star erasers and a hand clapper noise maker (bet those were noisy rides home...sorry parents...didn't think about that). Each of the kids also got chocolate-dipped, crown-shaped rice crispy treats that I made. Those were fun for me! I haven't made rice crispy treats in a very long time, probably since I made them with my Mom and Grandma actually. That smell of melting marshmallows brought back so many wondeful memories of my childhood.

After everyone was finished eating it was quickly time for CAKE! So, we got McKinley dressed in his cake outfit, complete with birthday crown, lit the candles and sang. He dug into his cake and got icing E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E. It was in his hair, in his NOSTRILS, in my hair, on Cary's face, on our clothes...heck, we're still finding it in all of the little nooks and crannies of the high chair! Mmmm, the cake was so yummy, McKinley especially liked it between his fingers. That was the best part of the whole day! He got so 'into' his cake that we took him straight to the tub.

Once we were finally done cleaning McKinley up, we started opening presents. It's too bad some of our guests had to leave early because McKinley really started to get into the package opening and LOVED playing with his new goodies. He got some really great stuff!

Eventually, the castle came down and the three of us headed inside for the night. McKinley slept like a little log that night and had some extra long napping the following day.
I know he had such a wonderful time.
We hope all our guests did too.

Lynn