Out with the Old...In with the New!

Time for a Trade-in! 

old...

new...

Okay, not really...

but I did make a trade-in.

We finally got a new van.  I really liked the old one, but with 127,000+ miles on it and things starting to

go...and we were looking at making some long road trips...

decided it was time to take the plunge.  

It's a Volkswagen Routan - and we love it.

Within 2 days of having Minnie (short for Minivan) we broke her in with a drive from OH to NY and then from NY to NC and then back to OH again.  Several thousand miles, several pukes (Ella gets car sick), a gallon of sand, lots of crumbs and one speeding ticket later (not me) - she feels like ours...

but I haven't actually made a payment yet though so that might change by May 1st...

I am extremely sentimental though, and it was very difficult to clean out the old van (it was such a pigsty!). We got the van in April 2002, before we even had Ella or Silas. I love our new Minnie but still miss the old van - I get a little weepy when I see similar vans out there. But don't get me wrong, I wouldn't give Minnie back - she's got a lot of great features that I've gotten used to - mainly a great stereo and power doors. And a DVD player with 2 screens.  And I love that the middle row windows roll down, and there is SO much more storage!  That is actually the best part. We don't have to pack in like sardines when we go on road trips.  

I'm hoping Minnie is as reliable - that we get another 8-10 years out of her...that should give us enough time to pay her off!

A Sampling of...Stuff

From none other than Silas James:

Mama, how does God make ear wax?  and where does God even live?

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Does God make cat butts?

Me: probably

Si: does he touch them?

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Will I die if I don't eat my vegetables?

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Is Michael Jackson dead?  Is he a Zombie?
*
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And a few comments:

Mom, Ella is lying through her teeth gaps!
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Si: every day I dream about weird stuff

Me: what kind of weird stuff?

Si: eating healthy stuff like milk and I get fat. I don't know how to change that.

Me: what do you want to dream about?

Si:Scooby Doo movies.

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And a text between Ella and her daddy (on the way home from a fun day)

ella - I haded so so so so so so so much fun!

jp - Awesome! I'm so so so so so so so so glad that you did! Lyg

ella - I am so happy you respondid

jp - always

ella-  ok

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the other morning I was rather startled when I looked out my kitchen window and saw a duck standing on my deck. 

He hung out for a bit and then decided our place was pretty boring. and loud.

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Silas got a bike this year.  It became too pain for me to watch him bang his knees on the tricycle handlebars any longer.

  

I should have gotten the next size up but it'll do for this year.  He loves it and maybe we can try it without the training wheels...

And happily, it's tree climbing season again.

And this picture makes me smile...Ella's class is taking a trip around the world.  Their first stop is France.  This is a picture of her teacher/flight attendant giving out the in-flight snack.  I love that she adores her teacher!

(no wonder her teacher thinks she is such a sweetie pie!)
 

Bribery Works

Piece of Cake

A month later...I'm finally sharing the pictures from Ella's 7th birthday party.  A few weeks before her party she said she wanted to have a Hannah Montana theme.  Great - lots of Hannah stuff out there for decorating and dressing her up.

We had to retire her original "party skirt" that she's had since she was 3 years old.  One, because it was starting to get too small but mostly because I was tired of seeing the same party skirt at every party!!

I love the pink boots with the skirt!

She had her Hannah wig and microphone

What I hadn't counted on was that she didn't want a Hannah Montana cake...

she wanted a 3-tier orange cake. So, I bought all the round pans and tried my best. She loved it so that is all that matters :-)

Deep reflections on turning 7 and what to wish for!

The girls had a lot of fun doing a hula-hoop contest. 

Spring Break part 2

The 2nd leg of our trip landed us in Nags Head, NC - definitely a favorite spot of ours. It was a great trip - relaxing, very nice weather (which was great because we really didn't know what to expect this time of year) and lots of great memories.  
One of my friends commented on a picture that I posted on Facebook:
"...you guys always look like you are having some kind of Hallmark-International Coffees vacation..." - notice that I don't post the video that catches all the kids screaming and fighting? :-)

Honestly, I consider this one of my parenting responsibilities. I don't expect to create a "perfect" environment but I do want to make sure the kids grow up with family traditions and a vision of family expectations for their lives later. We don't take a lot of family vacations but when we do I try hard to preserve the memories with lots of photos! This beach trip was fantastic in that regard - long walks on the beach, watching movies, lots of play time and even "fresh cookies" one night. I want them to catch these snippets of their childhood in their brains and when they smell the ocean air later in life, remember these days and family time!

We spent some time in the hot tub, found a playground in Manteo with a beautiful view, and Ella strutted around in her new sundress and purple fuzzy heels.

One evening Mason and I ran around like crazy trying to find a good spot to catch the sunset over the sound. I was tired of the same spot.  

And I did manage to get up one morning and catch the sunrise.

And of course, our trip to the beach would not be complete without  our visits to the ice cream shop, where we got flavors like grape, Kahlua and coffee, German chocolate cheesecake, mango, and even just plain chocolate...

It was sad to pack up and head home - we were having so much fun.  Maybe it really was perfect after all!