The funniest thing...

I was talking to Karsten about his daddy coming home tomorrow and asked him if he was excited about that...he replied NO! I asked him why not and he said "I don't want Daddy to come home because you love him more than me & I want to be your favorite!" I called Steve & told him & then when Steve tried talking to Karsten - Karsten said he didn't love Daddy anymore because Daddy was Mommy's favorite! After talking to Steve & me for a while and reassuring him that Mommy loved him so very very much, he eventually reconsidered and decided he loved his Daddy after all and wanted him to come home tomorrow even if Daddy was my favorite! 

pics of the water slide!

more pics!

More Sea World & vacation pics!

Sea World 2008!

We had such a great time at Sea World! It was a very long drive to get there, but interesting all the same! We had Karsten, Rob, Nanny, Poppy Uncle Greg & me in my SUV and Aunt Suz, Uncle Steve, Taylor, Katie, Makenzie & Sydney in Suz's car...We made a pit stop at Baylor University & Suz showed us the sites (she graduated from BU) the best was the Bear Pit where they keep a pair of  bears. It was so hot that we really could only see one of them - the other was hiding in a nice cool cave! Oh well! Dad drove my car & almost ran out of gas in the middle of Austin on I35 in the middle of rush hour traffic! It was a little dicey, but we made it and over $100 for the gas bill! Ouch! 

Friday morning we made it to Sea World only to realize that 4 of the 6 adults left their ID's at the hotel...(with tickets printed from home you must have a DL!) so after dropping off Suz & Lefty with the kids (yes, all 6) the 4 of us drove back to the hotel to get our ID's! In the mean time Suz found out that the cabana we rented has a 8 person limit! So she was trying to get another cabana rented and try to get them together (it was first come first serve...) and keep an eye on the 6 kids! After making it back to the park and getting in...we made it to our first long line...the one to get into the water park area - the Lost Lagoon - fortunately it opened at 11 so we didn't have to wait that long! We snagged our cabanas only to find out that we were to have gone to a different area of the park to check in for them & someone else had already reserved one of the ones we laid claim too...so after getting that straight & finding 2 cabanas in the same area we proceeded to have some serious fun! The kids all rode this one water slide - one person on one tube - and after sending dad & then all the kids down I went - it was a wild ride! Dark all the way down with lots of drops and I thought I was going to flip over several times...all I could think was that I was going to run over Sydney any minute as there was no way she was going to be able to hang on! And that Nanny was going to run over Karsten in the other chute! After making it out, I saw Karsten & Sydney laughing their heads off! They loved it! Sydney gave it 2 thumbs up and pointed to go up it again! I couldn't believe it! 

From there we hit the wave pool, a few more water slides & the lazy river...all of which were a big hit with my kids! Karsten even took a short nap with Poppy in the cabana! Around 4pm we headed over to the dolphins, sharks, ski show. All the kids are ready to learn how to water ski now! Then it was off to the Shamoo rocks Texas show! It was great and the kids were going nuts! Of course, we sat in the splash zone & got completely soaked with salt water but it was worth it to see those little faces lit up like a Christmas tree!  Later we went back to the hotel and cooked out & made s'mores and then went to the hotel pool & lazy river - no lazy to that river...it was smokin' fast! I have the shredded fingernails & scrapes on my knees to prove it! 

Sat morning after my brother & I worked out - yes, I worked out on my vacation! I'm so proud of myself...but I digress...we went back to Sea World to see the animals & other attractions. We loved the pirate show (well, all but Katie she didn't care for that at all!) and then went to the Happy Harbour where the kids all rode the Shamoo roller coaster (except Katie - she didn't care for that either! Reminds me of trips to amusement parks with my sister when we were little!) Sydney was NOT crazy about the roller coaster & gave it 2 thumbs down! Karsten & Makenzie liked it so much they wanted to go ride the big roller coasters! Unfortunately for them, they were too short to ride the big ones...in the mean time, Greg & I got to ride the Great White Shark (a dangling legs roller coaster with lots of loops & twisty cork screws! Very fun!) and then we all had lunch - the kids got commemorative Shamoo lunch pails with lunch so they were happy! We then saw the seal show - excellent! - and then got to feed the seals! I thought my kids were going to fall into the pool while feeding the seals! They loved that! Then we saw a show that starred rescued animals - ducks, geese, dogs, cats, kangaroos, pigs & skunks! It was very amusing & a hit with the kids! Then Suz, Greg, Rob, Mak & I rode the Journey to Atlantis ride while the others saw another Shamoo show. I was a little nervous for the kids, but as it turned out Suz turned the greenest (thankfully Greg was sitting in front of her! LOL!) but Rob was the most upset! He didn't like that at all! Mak was not crazy about the height but loved the ride! Then it was back to the hotel for more pool fun! They had 2 water slides & we finally made it back in time to ride them! Couldn't keep the kids off them! They LOVED those water slides & the fast lazy river! It was so much fun to watch them!

Sunday morning, after Greg & I worked out AGAIN - yea me! We packed up and hit the road. This time with Taylor, Nanny, Poppy, Greg & me in my SUV and Suz & Lefty with the other 5 kids in theirs! About half way home Karsten moved over to our car so he could nap next to me! We finally made it home and after getting them all to bed Karsten actually stayed in his bed all night! It was so great! I got 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep! What a great way to end vacation! The only way it could have been any better was for Steve to have made it! Unfortunately, he was flying and didn't get to come with us...

Another surgery...

Syd & I went to OKC today to re-map her cochlear implants...everything was great except for one thing...there were 2 different manufacturers of one of the parts - one of them is good and one is not...the one in her right ear has the defective part. So, long story short, we will be replacing the right implant sometime soon - at the manufacturer's cost - but that adds one more surgery to her total...

I guess that's it for now...I'm off to the pool with the rest of the family! Enjoy your Wednesday!

Today was a long day as it rained off and on all day! The kids all dressed up in their superhero outfits and saved the world! It was so cute to watch and to see them getting along so well! 

Sydney actually said "Momma, Sydney needs shoes" usually she would just say shoes or even Sydney shoes...but she actually made a complete well understood sentence! Very exciting! She is learning new words every day and putting together new words for whole sentences...it is just so amazing to watch and listen to! She is so incredible and such a blessing to us! (Not that our other kids aren't amazing and blessings also, it's just that her baby steps are so hard fought...hard to explain if you aren't right in the middle of it)

Makenzie & Karsten are both doing running/jumping dives into the pool - they are just little fish! Syd too but she refuses to dive at this point! She does however count to 3 and jump in! 

I'm back! It has been a long time since I've posted so here goes...

We have had a very busy week with Youth Council Camp & my sister's twins being here & Steve being in NYC! The girls (Mak, Syd & Katie) got to do Arts & Crafts, Sand Fun and Swimming while Rob got to play some basketball & fear factor and learn karate! Taylor didn't make it as she was at a special camp at OSU where she won an award for Most Outstanding Actress! Yea Taylor! Next week the girls will be doing Makeovers, puppets, outdoor games, water games & swimming! Katie & Rob will be back in God's country...Karsten has been jealous about not being old enough to attend camp, but has had fun hanging out with Mommy all by himself! The kids also had additional swimming lessons this week and all did outstanding! 

Syd has started horseback therapy again and is doing wonderful with that! Mak is getting to do riding lessons at the same time and is in hog heaven! She is patiently (?) waiting for her Daddy to build a fence at Grandpa's so Grandpa can get her a horse! LOL! Hope she's not holding her breath! LOL! 

I am gearing up for VBS - Carole & I are co-directing it this summer! We are expecting somewhere between 200 & 250 kids so pray for us!!! So far everything seems to be going well - if you want to sign up your children, give me a call/email! It will be the week of July 7th! 

We signed Karsten up for a pre-school for 3's program in the fall...every time we drive by the school he lets everyone in the car know that's where he goes to school! It's so cute! He thinks he is so grown up! He is actually reading some words - random words, not stuff like "cat" - it's kind of wild! It catches me off guard every time he does it! 

Steve is going to be home most of next week! I don't even know what we will do but I am so excited about it I can hardly stand it!!! Guess that's it for now...