Troll! Troll! Troll!

Well, we just ended a week long visit with my best girlfriend Paula and her three boys. We had a great time and had a ton of adventures. One of the most memorable was our trip to Disney.

It was a beautiful day, 80 degrees and sunny. We had to do some convincing to get Sam and Luke to ride the rides, and with some coercion, they did ride a few.

At dinner time we decided that since they had never had In and Out Burger, that it was a must. So we left the park and hunted down one of these fine establishments. It was a hit. Everyone enjoyed it and we headed back to the park.

Now, if you have ever been to Disneyland you will hear the voice on the tram tell you to please keep your parking ticket for re-entry to the parking garage.

Which we did.

Mike was in the car in front of us, since we had ten people in our party, we couldn't make it in one vehicle.

Mike pulled up, showed the man his parking ticket, and pulled on through.

I pulled my van full of boys up to the parking man, and showed him my ticket, his response was, in a gruff voice,"Where's your Disney pass?"

This is when I realized that my parking pass was obtained because we had prepaid one vehicle on my annual pass.

Uh Oh...

So I calmly tried to explain to the man, that I have an annual pass, but it was with my husband in the vehicle in front of us, so I can't show it to him. By this time Mike had slowed and pulled to the side, but the other parking attendants started yelling at him to move on!

It was at this point that the parking attendant, not so kindly explained to me that without it he would not let me in, and slapped a bright pink "EXIT" sign on my windshield and told me to leave the park!!!

I wish I could say it was at this time that I calmly smiled and dealt with the situation in a mature adult like fashion.

But, I didn't.

I rolled up my window and as I drove away, I, well, lost my temper just a bit. It is also possible that at this time, I may or may not have called the man a Troll.

Yes, I realize this isn't my most shinning parental moment. And I also realize that with this one slip of the tongue, every uplifting and encouraging thing that I had ever said to these five boys, sitting in the back of my van, flew out the proverbial window.

There arose from the back seat a chorus of Troll slurs that you cannot even imagine! I looked at Paula and we both realized that it was going to be a long time before we were going to be able to undo this misdeed.

I calmly explained to the boys, that I had made a grievous mistake in calling that man a Troll, and I apologized to them. I told them that he was a creation of our God, therefore not a Troll, but an individual, we should respect. Further, I explained, that as Christ-followers we should not let our temper get the best of us, as I had, and we should always try and treat others with respect no matter how they treat us.

I was answered by Luke who simply said,"Mrs. Jones, it wasn't your fault, that Troll should have let us in!"

Great.

So, Mike had to exit the park, and brought me my card. We re-entered the parking garage with a chant of "Troll! Troll! Troll!" coming from the back seat, which we quickly quieted as we approached the parking troll, I mean man, who, if I might add, was just as rude the second time around as the first.

We made our way back into the park and enjoyed the rest of the evening, with only a few more mentions of the parking troll.

Kristen

Okay, I admit it, Facebook is taking over. It is just so easy to post pictures and stuff, it seems that my blog has become neglected. I will try and catch up a bit.

This last month seems like a blur. Christmas eve eve service at the Orchard was AWESOME!! Mike's team did such an incredible job. Loved being there with my extended Mitchell family and getting to see all of them.

Christmas morning was so much fun, the kids opened the gifts from Santa, and Nana and Papa, granny and papa, aunts and uncles. Mike surprised me with my new-to-me Macbook! I love her and am quickly becoming a Mac addict. Then we packed up and were off for three days, two nights in Gurnee, Il!!! We went to Key Lime Cove a brand new indoor water park there and had such a great time. This is our second year skipping gifts for the kids and doing a trip instead. The kids had a blast and so did we. It was so cool to spend individual time with each kid and just relax as a family.

We came home on Saturday night and Mike and I left on Sunday evening for a fabulous anniversary over night in Chicago. Mike planned the whole thing and wouldn't tell me a thing till we were almost there. He booked a night stay at the Hyatt in Chicago on the magnificent mile and we had dinner at Aria, same as last year. We loved it so much last year and it doesn't disappoint. We had a great time. Next morning we went to our favorite Lou Mitchells for breakfast and gorged ourselves on some delicious fresh baked doughnuts, omelet and potatoes. Yum!!!

And today, Mike goes back to work and I pack away Christmas.

That about does it. I will try and give the blog equal opportunity, although with school starting for me and the kids I am afraid the blog maybe put on hold till I am done....Maybe go down to monthly updates. Don't know yet.

Here is a video from the waterpark, off of Kylee's new camcorder. I snagged it and took this priceless video. Things to look for in it- sneaky guy who appears in everyone's frame, a sharing moment, and mommy attempting to duplicate Kylee's sign off. Enjoy!!!

Week Off

I'm back.

It's been kind of quiet around here this last week. Mostly because Mike took Wednesday-Sunday off this last week!

It was an unexpected surprise, and we all enjoyed it very much!

What did we do with our time off? Nothing!

It was awesome. Most days we were all in our pajamas until late and only got in clothing to go out and do something fun.

The kids still had school. I had not planned for them to have a break last week, but this week, and I wasn't about to give up my week-off-for-Thanksgiving.

But it was good, dad got to teach a bit, we got our two book dates that we owed completed, Mike and I went on a date, we all played a TON of Shang hi and we even got to go to the Orchard together as a family Saturday night! How fun was that?!

Last night Mike left for the Orchard-year-planning-overnight- trip. Today the kids and I will do the thanksgiving shopping for Mitchell/Jones Thanksgiving feast and take all the stuff to Paula's in preparation for our great day together.

Still waiting on snow. Real snow. We have had cold and flurries, but we need real snow. The kids are going crazy and unless there is snow on the ground there isn't much playing outside when it is this cold.

So, Please let it snow!!!

Kristen

Much Accomplished

Carpets in entire house clean. Dog bathed. Comforters washed. Second side of shelves about to be stained. And it is a beautiful day here in Chicagoland so I am going to be at the pool by 1!

Woo Hoo!

Keith and Brandi have taken some fantastic pics of the kids. Check them out here. The picture of Jake and Josh melts my heart! But the picture of all the cousins with Joshi and Kyle at the restaurant, hilarious!

I'm off!

Kristen

Week On

Okay so the kids are still gone, but my playmate has gone back to work :(

We had so much fun last week!! Mike is a great person to hang out with!

So my plans for this week are:

clean the carpets in the entire house
stain shelves for school room
put together new desks for school room
install new shelves in school room
plan school for second week of July
lay in the sun at the pool (everyday?)
finish my book and begin new book

Today I cleaned all the carpets on the lower levels of the house, put the first coat of stain on the shelves, and laid out in the sun at the pool. Oh, and I read a good chunk of my book.

Also, something different from last week, I cooked dinner tonight!!! I didn't do much cooking last week but am vowing to get back into it this week. Tonight it is grilled potatoes, carrots, and onion with kosher salt and olive oil, chicken breasts with Emril rub (grilled of course), and oatmeal peanut butter cookies for dessert. Yum!!

Not too bad for the first day!

Kristen

A Week Off

What a vacation week so far!

The kid left on Tuesday for AZ. Half are being spoiled at my mom and dad's house and half are being spoiled at their Aunt B and Uncle Keith's house. And I mean spoiled! When I talk to them they are having so much fun they could care less about what we are doing!

And I am glad.

Mike decided last minute before the kids left that he would be able to take a week off of work while the kids were gone! Woo Hoo!! He really needed a break even if he didn't know it! I know it's hard to take a break from something you love but you still have to renew!

So we have been just hanging out together, having so much fun, and taking little afternoon, night trips and adventures with friends. Very fun.

Tuesday (the day kids left) we just hung out then decided since it was dollar movie Tuesday we would go and see two dollar movies. I made it through the first one but as we were eating dinner I realized I couldn't do the second.... needed to sleep. So I pooped out and we went home.

Wednesday we went mini-golfing with friends. And yes the rumor is true I did hit three cars with one ball. I am much more powerful than I look. After go-carts, which Mike and Terri lapped me on the track, we then had a great dinner and some fun card games. I will skip talking about the scores here. It really is unnecessary.

Then last night we met some other friends for dinner and a comedy act at the Roundhouse. Unfortunately it was not what we expected. But it was almost free so that made up for it. It was great just being with fun people. We decided to hit Denny's after that which was hilarious. Haven't been to Denny's since I was in college. Got home after one a.m. which is really late for me.

So there is a recap of the week's events so far. Miss the kids a ton but am really enjoying my one on one time with my guy. And I love the fact that my kids are making one of a kind memories with their awesome relatives!

And yes, B and Keith, when your boys are 12, 9, 7, and 5 I will take them for a week as well.

Two at a time :)

Kristen

Camping Fun

On Thursday we loaded up the van with five kids (Faith brought her best friend Sarah with us) and headed to Starved Rock for a camping weekend.

We had watched the weather reports for the weekend and knew in advance we could be in for some weather. But that is part of camping. I accept this. But you see, we had also encouraged our friends to meet us up there with their kids on Friday and have their first tent camping experience with us. So, for their sake, I was praying it would be beautiful.

Thursday was just hot and sticky. The hot was fine but the sticky was unbearable. But we were at a KOA so there was a pool and showers, I was fine.

Mike and I set up the tents for the kids and we converted the van into a sleeping station for him and me. It really was very comfortable and not as sticky as a tent, I thought.

Friday was gorgeous. Perfect weather. Mike spent a good part of the day teaching the kids how to cast properly and they ate it up!!! Our friends came, we made hamburgers over the fire and hot dogs for the kids. Ate S'mores and played cards. It was a great day.

Then Saturday was a little rougher. It rained on and off but the kids were troopers and fished just about the whole day. They loved it!! And Sarah even caught her first fish!!! That evening we had chicken tacos, S'mores, and doughboys for dessert and of coarse more cards.

Sunday we woke up and it was a little threatening out so the guys started taking down tents quickly. I cooked pancakes and bacon and right as I was about to start the eggs it started to rain. We pulled everyone into the eating tent when it started to really rain. And I mean RAIN!!! Oh my, I have never been so wet outside of a pool or shower and certainly not in my jeans!!!!! At first we tried to just load up the rest of the stuff with out getting too wet but quickly realized that between the calf deep water puddles and torrential downpour it was no use. Luckily, the kids had gone down to the park after breakfast and before the big rain downpour so they were safe under a shelter when the big storm hit.

We finally got everything loaded and picked up the kids and headed home. They were sad because we were supposed to go and hike around starved Rock state park but it just wasn't meant to be.

Shortly after we arrived home and unloaded much of the stuff from the very wet van Faith noticed a stain on the floor in front of the fridge. I opened the fridge door to be smacked in the face with a horrible odor and warmth. Our fridge had decided that this would be a great weekend to say goodbye. Everything in it was gone. Luckily we had emptied the very full ice cube compartment before we left into our cooler. I can't even imagine what that would have been like.

We have: a new fridge coming tomorrow, the old one cleaned out, three bags of soiled food in the garbage, four tired kids, 12 loads of wet clothes to launder, and one happy dog.

Kristen

The Return of Faith

I took a little blogging break for the weekend. Lots of stuff to talk about but I won't dump it all in one post. The most exciting thing is my girl came home!!!

Mike brought Faith home Friday evening around 6pm. Man did we all miss her. She had a great time. I am glad she went. She is going to be posting stories and pics, here in the next couple of days.

She really is a great kid. She always has been really mature but since she came home from camp she seems even MORE independent. That is a good thing. But she did assure me that she missed me a lot while she was gone. I don't know how true that is but it feels good to believe it so I am going to.

Now that Faith made it back alive Kylee hasn't stopped talking about going to camp next year. I hope that will be an option for her.

Wow, if both girls are gone and the boys are, oh I don't know let's say, visiting Nana and Papa in AZ, than Mike and I would be alone...Huh.....

Is it wrong to go on a cruise while your children are at camp?

Kristen

Jamaica- Last Year

I was just sitting in the kitchen looking out the window at the SNOW and thinking about this time last year when Mike and I were preparing to go on our cruise to Jamaica.....

Looking at the pictures does make me feel a bit warmer.

Kristen

Mutant Hillbillys?

This is the only picture I got in West Virginia. I really wanted to stop and take some pictures in this state. Some awesome old barns, old houses and green pastures. Oh, and of course the occasional porch with a few couches and refrigerators on it, it was a true picture of the south.

But here is something you may not know about Mike. He is not going to stop in West Virginia. Unfortunately, while living in NC some friends convinced him that stopping in WV was not a wise choice. Ever. So that combined with one too many mutant-killer hillbilly movies and an irrational paranoia is born!!

So until he gets some counseling for this we will not be staying in or visiting WV....

Kristen

A Long, Long Way Home

What a long night!! We went to Elevation Church in Charlotte yesterday morning which was an hour drive from where we were staying. It was great to sit next to Mike during the service, but we missed The Orchard so much! After we got out of there and ate it was 11 o'clock IL time and we started home.

What should have been an 11 hour trip turned into a 15 hour drive home. We pulled in at 4 am exhausted. Of course, the children slept most of the way and were bright eyed and bushy tailed first thing this morning. So Mike and I are up but I can't really say we are awake.

I was hoping to take a ton of pictures on the trip and be able to share them. But unfortunately I got just too relaxed, and slacked on the picture taking. I do have a couple that I will share in the next few days. I am pretty full of NC stories right!! I will have to get them all out.

But for now I have a ton of laundry to do.

Have a great day!!

Kristen