Weekly Whisper Update: DISNEY!

 This last week we surprised the kids and took a trip down South to Disney World!  They had no clue :)  We made it to the Orlando Temple Sunday afternoon and walked around the grounds then sat them down and gave them both gift bags.  In the bags were Disney shirts, Mickey water bottles, Disney Pez and washcloths and little Mickey and Minnie figurines (thank you Dollar Tree!).  They pulled everything out and we asked, "So do you know where we are going?  Looking at those things, where do you think we are going?"  Jane guessed: "Swimming?"  "Nope.  We are going to Disney World!!!"  It took her a second to register that.  Once it hit her she was ECSTATIC!  Grant took a few more seconds to process and then he caught on, too!  They were so excited :)  Jane was almost crying.
My friend Nick works at Disney and was able to get us a great discount on the hotel and he was able to get 3 out of the 4 of us in for free all 4 days we were there.  It was so fun getting to watch Nick perform...he was one of the few from High School who actually has made a living off entertaining.  I'm so proud of him and it made my heart happy to watch him "live the dream".
The first day we spent the entire day at the Magic Kingdom.  We tried to be all-stars and plow through all day but by 5:00 we were all toast!  We did get to see Mr. Nick as Clarabelle cow...he was awesome!  That cow has some mooooves!

The second day we were wiser and got there before it opened and were one of the first people in line to see Elsa and Anna (from Frozen.  The line is normally 300+ mins long...we managed to get through in 40!) Then we hit it hard with rides and I got to catch Nick's Trolley show and then we headed home for lunch, cooled off, took naps, and then went over to Hollywood Studios and played around there ending the night with my favorite show, Fantasmic!

The third day was similar.  We caught Nick's Welcome show at Magic Kingdom then were right in the gates when the park opened and got through several rides before the crowds started.  We went back to the hotel for lunch and a cool off and then hit Hollywood Studios again.  After we got in all the rides we wanted to do there, we went back to Magic Kingdom for dinner, the Electrical Parade, and Fireworks.  Once the fireworks ended, the lines were so short so we crammed in several rides before the park closed.  We finally got back to the hotel around 12:30.  What a day!

Thursday, our final day, I woke up with a sore throat (guess I over did it) and Nick couldn't get us into the parks until later so we took the morning easy.  That afternoon, we headed over to the Animal Kingdom.  I have to say, I wish we had left more time to do that park...it was wonderful!  We got soaked on the raft ride, Trent and I took turns on the wild Everest ride, the kids played in a dinosaur playground, we saw a 3D bug show, and went on a cool Safari ride where we got to see all sorts of animals.

Friday we took a dip in the pool in the morning, ate lunch with Nick, and then headed back to North Carolina.
We are back and still recovering but we had such a blast!  And we are so proud of the kids for going on rides that were scary.  They went on Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Space Mountain. A HUGE thank you to Nick who was a lovely host to our crazy family for almost a week.  We loved being able to spend time with him and partake of the magic the Mouse had to offer.

Weekly Whisper Update: Birthday and Charlene

*We had the pleasure of having my Aunt Charlene visit for the week.  We were able to work in the yard, work out at the gym, go to Fayetteville to see the Market House and the Special Ops Museum, show her the area, and just hang about.
*It was really interesting to go to the Special Ops museum because all of our neighbors, save the fire chief down the road, are Special Ops.  It was cool to see what exactly they do.  I have always been grateful for the men and women who serve in the armed forces, but the more I learn, the more respect I have for them and the families that are constantly sacrificing so that we can be free.

Bubba at the Special Ops Museum

Charlene and Grant at the Market House

*This last Saturday was my 31st birthday.  Trent surprised me on Friday with a trip to Myrtle Beach, just the two of us.  Charlene was nice enough to watch the kids while we went.  On the drive there, we ran into a Strawberry Festival and a car accident.  While we weren't able to help at the accident, it refreshed in me the desire to do EMT work.  I need to start working on getting my North Carolina licence....

Myrtle Beach

*Trent got us a hotel right on the beach and to top it off, it also had 2 indoor water parks!  Saturday morning we slept in (best. gift. ever.) and then walked down and had birthday bagels on the beach :)  After a stroll down the shore a ways, we went back and tried out the water park.  It wasn't huge but it had some water slides and several hot tubs so we were happy.  We checked out and walked along the boardwalk looking in all the little shops and stopping for some delicious burgers.

Surprise! Let's eat cake :)

*A Whitney birthday wouldn't be complete without a trip to a plant store and I got to go to 2!  On the way home I got some flowers at Home Depot and some more at Lowe's.
*Charlene had a wonderful dinner waiting for us when we got home and after she had a little surprise party planned with our neighbors.  We had cake and ice cream and just sat around and talked.  I had a killer migraine, however, so the party was cut short.
*Thank you to everyone for the calls and cards and birthday wishes.  I was truly spoiled!

Weekly Whisper Update

• I got a call this week and the PTA at Jane's school wants me to be the Treasurer for next year!  I'm excited to get involved and get to know more moms.
• On Friday, Grant had his Kindergarten assessment/registration.  He is so excited to go to school and isn't shy at all.  It will be nice to have both kids in school full time.  I won't know what to do with all that free time!  
• This weekend was a busy one around here.  There were 4 different plant sales going on, dozens of yard/garage sales, and a Spring Festival in Southern Pines.   I helped with the Whispering Pines plant sale (put on by the Garden club) and then bounced over to another plant sale with a friend and stocked up!  After that, we went as a family to the Spring Fest and walked around the booths.  Jane got a glitter tattoo, Grant went on a Carnival "ride", I found a kitty and a puppy to adopt (Trent said no), we got treats, the kids got to hold a lizard, and we all enjoyed the wonderful weather.  My Aunt Charlene flew in that afternoon so I drove up to Raleigh to get her and we are so excited to have her here for the next 9 days.
• With all the plant sales going on, I took Jane to get her very own flowers to set up her very own garden!  It was a girls night out.  We also got some scrap lumber from across the street and made a little raised box.  She had fun placing and planting the flowers and has been good at watering them, too.  
• Last night I caught a frog in our front yard!  It was so cool!  He was just sitting in the garden when I went out to water and I grabbed him.  Gotta love country living :P

Weekly Whispering Update

I am trying to get back into blogging simply for the journaling aspect.  So I'm going to be doing a weekly update from here on out.  Who knows, if I get ambitious, I may post more than once a week.  :)

 This week:

*Rain, Rain, Rain!  I have never seen so much rain!  Monday night we had a massive thunderstorm that washed out our sod in front.  It also washed away some of my new flower bed and totally wrecked our neighbor's yard (as all the water from our street funnels down their lot.)  We are working on better water direction but until then we will cross our fingers that nothing else washes away.

*This week was Spring Break for Jane so on Tuesday I took the kids up to Raleigh to a couple of museums.  First we went to the museum of Natural Sciences.  It was a HUGE place full of all sorts of interesting exhibits and the best part was that it was free! :)  Gotta love that!  Then we headed over to the Marble's Kids' Museum.  It was a lot like the Discovery Gateway Museum in Utah and the kids LOVED it!!!  I got tired just watching them play!  We hit up Costco while we were in town and by the time we left, it was a complete downpour!  I tried to put our groceries in the car and in the 2 mins it took me to do that, I was soaked to the bone!!  And the heavy rain continued almost the whole way home.  Talk about white knuckles!!  

*The kids spent most of the rest of the week playing with friends and hanging around here.  it was too chilly to do much outside and too soggy too.

*All the seeds in my veggie grow boxes have sprouted!  I am so excited to see them all showing their tiny green heads and hope that means we will have a bountiful harvest this year!

*Last week I managed to get a Crepe Myrtle tree for $10!!!!  This week, it started getting leaves!  It's now securely planted in front by our fence and I can't wait to see it bloom!

*Friday was kind of a rough day for Mr. Grant.  He plays hard and he wrecks hard.  He fell off a scooter  and skinned his elbow.  Then he fell of some playground rings at the neighbor's house trying to do a flip and got a bloody lip and a bloody nose.  Later that night, he and his buddy were jumping on our trampoline and the two big-noggin boys bumped heads hard and both were in tears.  Luckily through all this there was no concussions or stitches or broken bones, but you can bet he slept well that night!

*Saturday night we went over to a neighbor's house and had a little egg hunt for the kids inside (since it was again raining) and then had a BBQ and let the kids play.  It was a lot of fun!  We are so grateful that we have such awesome neighbors...and there are more to come :)

*And finally today was Easter.  The kids planted their "Magic Jellybeans" last night and found flower suckers had grown this morning.  They found their baskets and feasted!  Church, needless to say, was a bit of a zoo.  :)  

North Carolina

Last week Trent and I flew out to North Carolina for a job interview.  I had no idea how dense the trees were out there!  We got off the flight, got our rental car, and thought we'd stop at the first fast food place to catch some dinner (we were starving from the flight.  Pretzels just don't cut it after 7 hours).  We drove for a while and didn't see ANYTHING!  I got on Google and tried to find restaurants close by....the closest one was 30 mins away!!!  Once we got fed and back on the road, it was another 40 mins to our destination: Pinehurst. 
The next morning I dropped Trent off at the hospital to interview and I went exploring.  I drove into Pinehurst village.  It was so quaint!  all these beautiful old white buildings with brick sidewalks and old people everywhere!  I drove around a little more and found beautiful golf courses (there are over 60 in the area), historic buildings, trees, and more trees.
Later that night, the head CRNA and another CRNA from the hospital and their wives took us out to dinner at this perfect little Italian restaurant.  The food was amazing (and free)!  Then they drove us all around showing us the area and filling us in.  We were definitely wined and dined :)
The next morning a real estate agent picked us up and showed us several neighborhoods in the area and took us through a few rental homes.  The houses out there are HUGE inside and they all have a ton of windows and high ceilings.  I am completely in love with them (the style, the size, the layouts)!  However, the neighborhoods aren't like in Utah... Each house is set in it's own thicket of trees.  No 2 homes are side by side, there are tons of pine trees to separate them.  And the soil there is pure sand so you have to bring in top soil to get anything to grow.  This may be a problem...
Saturday was our last day and we wanted to see the beach.  We took off in the rental car and drove past these brown fields that were speckled with white.  Upon closer inspection, we discovered they were cotton fields!!!  There was cotton growing right out of the ground!  So cool.
This week we fly to Arizona for a couple more interviews.  Pinehurst wants an answer this week so probably by Friday or Saturday this week we will know where we are headed.  Wish us luck!

Jane turned 6 so we had a Party

I can't believe our little Jane is already 6 years old!  Man time flies!  This year was her "friend party" year and you know how I love to throw a party!  We had a bit of a struggle picking a theme and deciding who to invite but when all was said and done, we decided on a Jewery making party with no boys (except Bubba and Dad) allowed!

Here are the invites:

This was the set up: pink and black streamers, pink strawberry cupcakes, and purse shaped gift bags (that included ring pops, nail polish, lip gloss, temp tatoos, and a glow stick bracelet)

For activites, the girls made candy necklaces (out of colored twizzlers, gummy lifesavers, and fruit loops), they made colored pearl bracelets, and we played some rip roaring rounds of Freeze Dance.

Here's a pic of most of the girls.  We had 13 in all plus Jane and Grant:

And here is the birthday girl blowing out her candles:

"Our Wonderful K-World" Program

Yesterday, on Jane's 6th birthday, she had her Kindergarten program.  She had been practicing for  weeks on her songs and her speaking part and she was so excited for us to see the program.
She did a wonderful job!!!  The songs they sang were so stinking cute and they all sang with such vigor! Some of the songs they sang were: "Take Me Out of the Bathtub", "Baby Baluga", the Welby School song, "Witches Sailing through the Moon",  and "Let's Go Fly a Kite". Jane nailed her speaking part: "Eachone paints our world in colorful hues"  

We are so proud of Jane and all that she has learned this year!  She has truely advanced in leaps and bounds. 

She had a wonderful teacher, Mrs. McDougal who absolutely spoiled the kids!!  Jane has brought home countless books, notebooks, erasers, treats, crafts, and prizes throughout the year.  It will be a rough transition next year into 1st grade :)  Mrs. McDougal was very good about teaching and enforcing manners and  getting the kids to listen to and follow directions (which really showed at the program...the kids sat still for over an hour with thier arms folded and quiet feet!!  When we first learned who Jane's teacher would be last year, I had a friend of mine tell me that she had had her when she was in Kindergarten.  I thought, 'this lady must be ancient! I hope she's not a burned-out, grouchy grandma!'.  Nothing could have been further from the truth!  That sweet woman has more energy than the kids in her class!  She goes a hundred miles an hour and hardly slowed down at all in December when she got foot surgery.  We will miss Mrs. McDougal and all her happy energy!