Happy Belated Birthday Fritz!

Yesterday was Ella Bella's 6th birthday. It's hard to believe it was six years ago, Ella came into this world like a tornado and is still going strong, like a tornado! She is my very spirited, ultra-sensitive, highly talented, extraordinary Ella!

She loves the color blue, riding her bike and doing the monkey bars, telling stories, changing her clothes multiple times a day, playing with Grace and Lily, cell phones and cameras, watching TV-especially iCarly and Spongebob, spaghetti, having Daddy tuck her in, mashed potatoes and gravy, all things science related, earrings, make-up, all animals but monkeys in particular and being at home.

Ella with her two best friends.

She does not like thunderstorms, spiders, going shopping, pretty much any type of vegetable besides green beans and when people laugh at her.

Yesterday she was queen for a day (nothing new in her mind). Exhibit A-her ensemble for Mass on Sunday. Notice the tiara!

She chose to have cream macaroni and hot dogs for lunch, an afternoon of swimming at Laurel Oaks pool and pepper steak with mushroom sauce and twice baked potatoes for supper. Our supper plans needed to be adjusted and when given the option of choosing any restaurant, she selected Culvers (only after McDonald's was vetoed). It was the perfect day in Ella's world.

Every day Ella's zest for life, extreme focus and determination and compassion for others amazes and inspires me. Happy Birthday Ella!

"To the world you are one person but to one person you are the world."~Author Unknown

A lesson on swimming lessons....

Today was Grace and Ella's last day of swimming lessons. Although they did not move up a level during the last two weeks, I did see vast improvement in both of them. When Grace began swimming lessons, we took her to the YWCA. It was fine and she learned a lot but we heard rave reviews from many people about "SwimAmerica" so we defected and signed her up there. A major draw for us is the fact that multiple children in different levels can take lessons at the same time, saving the parents and children not participating in lessons, many hours of sitting in the observation deck. Additionally, "SwimAmerica" evaluates the swimmers on a daily basis and they can move up levels during the session, rather than being stuck in a level until the next session. This session was our third with "SwimAmerica" and yesterday I was struck by the irony of the name "SwimAmerica". Ironic because when there, I feel like I have stepped into a whole new microcosm. Just as in America or any other country around the world, there are classes/groups of people interacting and fulfilling roles. First, there are the little people (the swimmers). As in all societies, there are the big fish in a little pond (the upper level swimmers) and the little fish in a big pond (the 3 and 4 year old cuties). And, of course, the overwhelming majority of middle class members, happy to no longer be small fish but desiring to become the big fish. All of the little people are focused on their task~learning to swim. While they interact somewhat with one another, they mostly just put their goggles on and swim upstream.

Next you have the instructors who are in the water with the little people. They are at the mercy of the little people and also of the upper crust. You can see a camaraderie between the instructors as they can relate with one another. They are all in the same boat, so to speak and while they are the most important people in the room (besides Grace, Ella, Lily and myself, of course), they get very little recognition. There is little, if any, competition because they are all on the same level and have no incentive to compete.

At the top of the heap is Clipboard Guy. We all know Clipboard Guy. It's the person "in charge" that walks around using some inanimate object (clipboard, walkie talkie, name badge, etc.) to establish his/her power over the rest of the tribe.

Of course, I understand the need for Clipboard Guy and truth be told, I have even aspired to be Clipboard Guy at times. In any group situation, especially in a learning situation, someone needs to be in charge. What I always find so interesting is how that clipboard has the ability to transform a regular old person into a power yielding egomaniac. Don't get me wrong, I was in awe today when he approached us following lessons and was able to not only recognize Grace and Ella on deck but also recall the specifics of their swimming prowess. Nor do I doubt Clipboard Guy knows his stuff. I mean, heck, he even wears an SDSU swimming and diving shirt to prove it. And I will freely admit, he has given both Ella and Grace some tips that have helped them hone their skills. As an added bonus, he provides me with entertainment every day. I just love watching him walk around the pool dispensing his aquatic wisdom to any and all who will listen. I laugh to myself every time I see him demonstrating the proper stroke technique and watching his SDSU t-shirt ride up revealing his not so swimmer like belly. And I chuckle about the hold he has over the remaining group in this sociological nirvana~the parents.

The parents are a funny group. At the pool, there is one bleacher that runs around about half of the pool area. There is plenty of space for all spectators but as the spots fill up, things can get dicey. It reminds me a lot of how people act on an elevator. While you are in close proximity to each other, most people avoid eye contact at all costs. Some parents are glued to their little fish's every move. Some read or text. Some, such as in my case, admire to their non-swimming children,

wonder why she puts her shoes on the wrong feet almost every single time...

and answer questions such as "Why doesn't my hair fall off?", like I did yesterday when Lily was bent over at the waist talking to me. The one thing all of the parents have in common is the way they perk up whenever Clipboard Guy looks or walks in their direction. See, Clipboard Guy doles out the progress stickers and is the final (and only) word on when and if a little person moves up a level. You can see all the parents, (myself included, I'm ashamed to admit) try to watch Clipboard Guy without looking like they are watching him. If a parent does happen to get the coveted visit and gold star, he or she sits up a little straighter and smiles a little bigger for the remainder of the lesson.

I haven't had the honor of a personal visit with Clipboard Guy this session and I am OK with that because I get to take these two goofballs home with me and visit with them all I want.

Grace swims better than I do even if she doesn't bring her elbow out of the water at the perfect angle. I feel comfortable with Ella's swimming skills enough that I don't worry she is going to drown if I am not holding on to her. With or without Clipboard Guy and his gold stars, I think this round of lessons has gone just swimmingly.

Our day at the lake....

So, Saturday was the big day for the party at Ella's classmate's lake cabin. Part of me was hoping for rain so the event would be postponed. The other part of me was looking forward to going because I am finding out that I rather enjoy Val's company and thought there was a strong possibility there would be a fun day in store for us. We woke up to the sun shining and the birds chirping so I knew the soiree was on. In spite of my nerves, I was excited.

The party was slated to begin at 10AM but I had let Val know we wouldn't be there until 1PM or so. After a morning of errands and household type chores, we finished off the leftovers (see, I do cook sometimes) and loaded the now clean vehicle (Thanks Jason) with towels, a cooler and all other beach-related necessities. The girls settled in to their seats after popping "Return to Witch Mountain" into the most wonderful invention ever, the built in DVD player. Even though I had perfectly good directions on the invitation, Jason is so in love with his GPS, he insisted I plug our destination in and after some finagling, I realized "Lake Madison" was not a destination the GPS recognized and so I just punched in Madison, SD and away we went. Now some of the more observant readers may have picked up on a minor issue that Jason and I didn't realize until almost an hour into the trip. This minor issue being.... I had us headed to Lake Madison, which is a very nice lake I am sure and probably had parties galore, but our party was at Lake Poinsett. It wasn't until we were creeping up on Lake Madison that I made this discovery. Thankfully, Lake Poinsett is directly north of Lake Madison and we were on the right path, just about 30 minutes short of the mark. Agreeing to keep this directional problem to ourselves, it wasn't long before we arrived at the correct lake. Of course, we came in from the wrong direction so it took us some additional driving and searching before we finally arrived at the Mickelson cabin. By this time it was 230PM and the party was in full swing. Apologizing for our delay (blamed on a late start and only a vague mention of getting turned around), we joined the festivities. Besides ourselves and the host family, there were three other KO3 classmates and their respective families. Our Year End Party Committe Chairperson was in attendance along with her husband and two of her children. The other two families I knew only from seeing them coming and going in the school so I was definitely out of my element. After some introductions, greetings and salutations, Val's husband was pulling up to the dock to drop a few people off so we quickly boarded and went for a spin around the lake. It amazed me that among people I knew only as acquaintances I could feel so relaxed. Lake living may be just what my tense shoulders and overthinking brain need.

(Ella and Max)

Following our tour of the lake, we docked and enjoyed some snacks on the deck while the kids played in the sand and in the water. Remarkably, I continued to feel very at ease. I carried on conversations just like a normal grown up is able to do. I didn't even cling to Jason as if he was a buoy and I was on the verge of drowning. I chatted, I laughed, I made jokes (don't worry, they were all very appropriate), I outed myself as a lover of Boone's Farm wine and I didn't get asked to leave the premises immediately. After some time of just hanging out and loving the perfect weather, we took another cruise on the pontoon. The girls had built up some courage over the course of the afternoon and decided it was time to give tubing a whirl. Grace and Ella hopped on with Max's little sister and although they were the slightest bit nervous, once the throttle was thrown, the smiles came. They could not have loved it more and of course, "It was awesome." Lily was feeling a little left out. I tried to explain to her, she was a little too small for tubing and that maybe when she was four she could try it on for size. She was determined to get her way and Val volunteered to take her. Lily gladly agreed to hop on an inner tube in the middle of a lake with a relative stranger and absolutely no swimming skills to speak of. Such is the nature of a 3 year old and away she went. She loved it as much as her sisters and Val said she didn't stop talking the entire time-big shocker there! They each took another turn and back to shore we went.

It was getting late and although the girls did not want to leave, Jason and I made the difficult to decision to pull the plug on the fun. Killjoys! It was way past feeding time so we took a detour through the Pizza Ranch in Brookings to feed our faces. The drive home was much quieter than the drive up. The sun and fun wore my three little beach bunnies out. As we were driving, the sunset was just spectacular and I pointed this out to the girls. Lily took it in and said, somewhat dreamily, "That is beautiful. It makes my heart so happy." What a perfect way to describe the whole day~my heart was happy too.

Daddy's girl....

I cannot count the number of times my mom has said to me, "You are just like your father." This statement is usually made with much exasperation. Ironically, our ability to make those around us incredibly exasperated is one way we happen to be alike. There are many other traits that I can see we share (beyond the obvious-superior intelligence and supermodel-like good looks); our passion for all things culinary, our love of practical jokes, our fiery TEMPERment, our incessant list making, our tendency to ruminate for entirely too long over the most basic and trivial of issues, our use of file folders and travel journals, our reluctance to participate in unfamiliar social situations, our habit of overexplaining things, just the teensiest bit of control issues and our inability to have "just one more".

It is my hope that in addition to these characteristics, Mom also sees in me some of the more favorable traits that I see in my Dad. Such as his unwavering devotion to his family and his willingness to go the extra mile for those he loves. His ability to make others laugh and create humor in the lives of others and his strong work ethic. His incredible convictions which can at times be seen as stubbornness but I appreciate as standing up for what he believes in. You see, while sometimes Dad can come across as a bit of a goofball, I know the truth (besides the fact that he is a huge goofball~not a bit of one). The truth is that my Dad is a wonderful man and father. The truth is without my Dad's love and support throughout my entire life, I could not be the person I am today. Everything I do is somehow tied to Dad~from washing my car to caring for my own children. Through his actions, Dad has shown me unconditional love and for that I will be eternally grateful. Because of Dad's love, I know that my mistakes do not define me and no matter what, he is always in my corner. Thinking back on my childhood, I realize my dad was on the road a lot but never once did I not feel his presence. Never once do I feel he let me down or that I couldn't count on him. I don't know what I would have done without my Dad then and I don't know what I would do without him now.

So many of my most wonderful memories involve Dad and his antics~fishing with the girls, "South is the Key", our phone conversations that go around and around and never really get us anywhere, the long drive home from Augustana after my freshman year, driving through the St. Peter Psychiatric Treatment Center grounds with him yelling, "Where's the dumb blonde drop-off?", pulling up in front of the Timberlodge and having him ask someone walking by where the Timberlodge is, telling the server at a restaurant "Oh, no thank you, we don't care for anything else." when she drop off the check at the table, our awesome "free popcorn at the Princess Theater" trick on Jes. All I have to do is think of these things and my day is instantly brighter.

"A daughter needs a dad....who will always make sure she has a place to come home to.
....to show her how it feels to be loved unselfishly.
....to be the standard against which she will judge all men.
....who will influence her life even when he isn't with her.
....to protect her when she is not wise enough to protect herself.
....to teach her what it means to always be there.
....to give her a strong, willful character.
....to show her that true love is unconditional.
....to stand with her on the day she marries the man she hopes will
be just like her father.
....to help her become the best mother she can be.
....to help her find her way in life.
....because without him she will have less in life than what she deserves."
From the book, "Why A Daughter Needs A Dad" by Gregory E. Lang

It is for these reasons and so many more, that I need my dad. Dad, thank you for always being there. I could not be more proud to be compared to you. Happy Father's Day! I love you.~Your little girl

To plunge or not to plunge, that is the question....

A few years ago I was faced with this exact question, to plunge or not to plunge? Our house on Goldenrod was somewhat prone to clogs, due mainly to two little people who used way too much toilet paper. One unfortunate day, I stumbled across a "situation" in the bathroom with no Jason in sight. The toilet was plugged and I had never used a plunger, nor did I have any desire to learn. I thought (hoped) maybe just flushing would fix the mess. However, as you can probably guess, this just created a larger and potential disastrous problem. At that point, I did what any practical, logical, mechanically inclined individual would do, I turned the water off to the toilet. Immediately after shutting the water off, a vortex of sorts was created and the mess magically disappeared and in it's place was a clean toilet bowl and a working stool. I didn't give it much thought and continued on with my day. From that day on, this was my go to method of unclogging toilets and it worked with satisfying results. Don't get me wrong, toilet clogging is not a sport in our home and doesn't happen on a regular basis but it does happen from time to time and I just went with what worked without questioning it. Occasionally, this plumbing panacea failed me and I had to resort to the good old fashioned plunger but more often than not, a twist of the knob and we were back in action.

Imagine my surprise when , a year of so later, revealing this stroke of genius to my mechanically inclined husband brought only loud and prolonged laughter. "What is so funny?", I wondered. Jason, very matter-of-factly and somewhat snootily (if you ask me), informed me, "This is mechanically impossible and is completely 100% coincidental (if it did in fact work at all)." I did what any rational person would do when being challenged, I called my dad. I explained to him my logic and again was met with laughter. Not one to give up, I placed a call to our local Handyman store to speak with a professional. Again, I explained my process and sat back waiting for redemption to come. Guess what, the Handyman laughed at me too.

Since being laughed at, I haven't given up but rather persevered quietly. There have been times over the course of the last year or so that I have singlehandedly saved our home from torrential flooding, all because of my quick thinking. Not once have I mentioned it to Jason because my feelings were too hurt, too raw. My confidence was too shaken. Months have passed without incident and then today the inevitable happened. I walked into my bathroom only to discover a toilet assaulted by too much paper. I crossed my fingers, flushed and watched as the water rose. I let things settle and flushed again with the same result. I knew it was time to take matters into my own hands. I flushed again and while the water was rising, I shut the water down. As I expected, vortex occurs and problem is solved. Looks like it was time to revisit the issue with Mr. Kolb. I dialed the number I know so well and explained just what had happened, sure this time, he could not chalk it up to coincidence. But, I was wrong again. He told me it was impossible, purely coincidental and I could continue doing this if I was so inclined but there would be no way he would ever "come to the party (or potty)" so to speak. I implored him to locate a plumber and just ask and he refused claiming the plumber would think he was a total idiot. Eventually, we agreed to disagree~even though I know I am right! Not willing to accept defeat, I again called my daddy, sure he would remember our previous conversation, be struck by the impossibility of coincidence and come to my side of the fence but NO, he sided with Jason. Nice loyalty, Dad! He even was so rude as to make some snide reference to my hair color.

And so, here I am, asking you just to give me the benefit of the doubt. I am not asking you to believe me with no proof other than my word. I am just asking for a chance. Next time you have the misfortune of a clogged toilet, think about this, think about me and cut the water. See what happens and let me know (not specifics, please), just the final result. Should I be proven right (and I have no doubt I will be proven right), there will likely be billboards erected, appearances on Oprah booked and magazine articles written boasting of my plumbing expertise. There will also be apologies expected from Mr. Kolb, my father and the so-called professional handyman. It will be then, I can rest, knowing the great service I have provided the civilized world~no more disgusting plungers. You are welcome, in advance.

Every day is a winding road....

Tonight I am tired. As sentimental as the end of summer made me last year, the beginning of summer is making me equally conflicted this year. As much as I love my girls, love listening to their every day conversations, love watching their faces light up with smiles when they are playing, the days are catching up with me. Because along with all these fun moments are the trying moments. The moments that add up over the course of the day leaving me wiped out by 10PM~physically and emotionally wiped out. Getting into my little routine during the school year, it is easy to forget how much work multiple children can be. The level of care, amount of dispute mediation, disruption of routine, messiness of the household, food preparation and consumption, noise level and whininess increase exponentially when there are three little, make that large, very large personalities competing for my attention and each other's attention. Add to that my inner struggle of wanting/needing to clean and take care of other household business fighting with my wanting/needing to spend time with the girls and create a wonderful summer experience for them, such a wonderful summer experience that someday many years from now they will look back on the summer of 2009 and think, "Man, that was a great summer." and you have yourself a good old fashioned recipe for disaster. (In my neurotic mind, anyway. I am not so far gone that I am unable to distinguish true disaster from my own personal anxiety ridden, self-invoked disaster.)

How do I do it? How do I balance this? Right now I just don't know. Tomorrow, when I am not so tired, I am sure it will come to me. It will come with the first hug of the morning. It will come with Lily's "Good morning, Mama." greeting. It will come with my pride in watching Grace and Ella's swimming progress. It will come while listening to them discuss whether they prefer iCarly or Suite Life with the seriousness of President Obama discussing the Korean missile crisis. The truth of the matter is, as long as the days sometimes seem, this summer is already quickly passing us by and August 17th is creeping up, slowly but surely. And of course, on that day, you will all have to listen to me piss and moan about how much I miss them. Twisted and unnecessary which is exactly why I needed to take to the airwaves (or whatever it is that runs this Internet dealeo) and remind myself by re-reading this http://thekolbfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-i-did-during-summer-vacation.html and this http://thekolbfamilyadventures.blogspot.com/2008/08/get-ready-get-set-dont-go.html. Remind myself that Lily telling me she would love to fly on her bike because it would make her "tummy giggle" or Ella excitedly sharing her "great news" about swimming lessons with me or Grace and her extreme house playing is truly what makes a summer and for that matter, my children so awesome. Tomorrow I will remind myself that a day is only as good or as bad as you want to make it and I vow to make it a good day.

"You never see bad days in a photo album but it is these days that get us from one happy snapshot to the next."~Author Unknown

Let the good times roll....

I bet you all thought that after our afternoon of rummaging last week, there would be no way to top that fun. Well, you would be wrong! Not only did we match that level of fun but we even upped the ante! The Kolb Family Fun Bus continued its tour of non-stop partying, celebrating and general merriment. Friday night Grace was a guest in the Whaler house for a sleepover that included playing outside, trampoline jumping, movies, milkshakes and facials. She had a most glorious time and has develop a real love for sleepovers. I imagine the "Mom, can so and so sleepover?" or "Can I stay at so and so's house?" questions that I remember driving my mother crazy with are going to begin rolling off of Grace's lips for the remainder of the summer. Thanks Emily, Dawn and all other Whalers for a great time!

Ella has been counting down the days to her very first "friend" birthday party since we stepped off the plane from Florida. It was her next big event and she was so excited that Saturday was finally here! The cake was made, the decorations were hung and the party guests began to arrive. With all the rain and gloomy weather, I had my fingers crossed for sun and I could not have been happier for the beautiful weather on Saturday. Had all 12 attendees been forced to spend 2 1/2 hours inside, this could well have been Ella's first and last friend birthday party. For those of you who are not familiar with 5-6 year old girls, they are loud. Screaming appears to be one talent all 5-6 year old girls share and from my observations, the higher pitched the scream, the better it is. Our playset got quite a work out and with the exception of a few tears (not mine or Jason's remarkably), a good time was had by all.

We decided we may as well just turn the whole day into a party so immediately after the last guest from Ella's party departed, preparations began for the Big Swede's 36th birthday party. The similarities between the two parties are surprising; childish behavior, screaming, crying, excessive consumption of liquids. OK~so maybe there wasn't any crying at the party itself but I would guess there maybe was some for some of the guests on Sunday morning. Again, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and I believe Jason felt sufficiently celebrated.

Sunday morning brought clean-up from the previous day's festivities, church and of course, the requisite supper at Casa Del Rey. However, Sunday also brought with it a little surprise. Our neighbor is the manager/owner/pro or something for a local golf course and while Jason was cleaning the garage, Dave came over and invited us out to the club for the girls to try their hand at golfing. Jason graciously accepted the invitation and after our succulent meal of Mexican cuisine, we hit the links (aka~the course for you amateurs who don't know the lingo). Grace and Ella did really great. Dave mentioned many times that Grace has a very good "natural" swing and golf is something at which she could really excel.

Ella did great as well and her determination is a very valuable asset in this sport. You could see an improvement in just the short while we were there. In fact, she even passed on a spin around the course in a golf cart to continue work on her swing. (Of course, that may have had something to do with her intense desire to hit the guy driving the cart thingy around the range collecting golf balls. She had a devious plan and almost got him, but not quite. Something to look forward to next time! It's good to have goals.)

Lily had a fabulous time also but couldn't be bothered with such trivialities as facing the correct way to hit the balls or the fact that the sand trap is a hazard in the golf world. She saw it as a huge sand box and the club was her shovel. After tiring of practicing her swing, she drew in the sand, "Look at my beautiful heart, Mom. It's ginormous!" All three girls are still talking about how much fun it was golfing (even Grace the Old Stoneface cracked a smile and spoke enthusiastically) and have already asked when we can go back again. Clearly I passed some of my wonderful golfing genes onto them!

Even Mr. Kolb got in on the action. He probably could have had a better drive if he had used a club that was longer than his shin.
Today Grace and Ella started swimming lessons. They both love swimming lessons and considering the weather we have had so far, this may be the only chance they get to do any swimming this summer! Ella has already moved from level 1 to level 3 and Grace should move up a level within the week. Maybe when they are done with lessons, they could teach Grandma how to swim!

Besides quick trips to swimming lessons, the Fun Bus will be parked this week but come Saturday, we will load back up and cruise up to Lake Madison for a day of sun and fun with the Mickelson's. Val Mickelson is one of the women I was on the year end party committee with and she also happens to be the mother of Ella's paramour, Max. They have a lake cabin and have invited some of the K03 classmates and their families to enjoy the lake for the day. Jason and I have completely stepped outside of our box and have agreed to spend the day with people we barely know all for the sake of our children. Who knows, maybe we will even have a good time! Stranger things have happened.

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one."~Dr. Seuss

A hunting we will go.....

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am not a garage sale fan. I understand the role garage sale plays in the grand scheme of things. I, myself, have considered on multiple occasions having a garage sale. I have even frequented garage sales from time to time. I am not philosophically opposed to garage sales nor do I look down upon those who love them with their whole hearts. I simply just don't like going into a stranger's garage and pawing through the items they have deemed no longer worthy of use. It's not that I have a problem with purchasing goods at a garage sale. My blue Columbia fleece that sees more light of day than 2/3 of the other items hanging in my closet is item #5 on the list of the best garage sale purchases of all time. My problem with garage sales is quite the opposite, in fact. I despise walking into the garage, greeting the seller, perusing the wares and then walking out empty handed~AWKWARD! I will freely admit I take things much more personal than the average bear but man, what a slap in the face to the host. It's like turning up your nose and saying, "Your garbage isn't even good enough for me." On a practical level, I realize that is not what you are actually saying by passing on all the fine linens, bric-a-brac and old VHS movies often found on the tables but it is that extreme pressure that forces me to buy something, anything, even that old bear Lily can often be found clutching. A purchase made just to avoid the figurative slap in the face.

My aversion to garage sales is a bit of a conundrum for two reasons: 1. It begs the question, "How can the offspring of the King and Queen of garage-saleing dislike the whole concept so very much?" and 2. My daughters love rummaging and I can either a.) Live with the guilt of depriving them of their most favorite summertime activity or b.) Suck it up and take one for the team. Option B is the route I chose to take yesterday and led me right into the Rustic Hills Annual Garage Sale abyss. Imagine my surprise when the girls and I had an absolutely fabulous time and came home with some seriously good deals including 3 very nice, heavy sweatshirts for Grace that she needed for a grand total of $5.00.

2 hours digging through stranger's unwanted items+$20.50=3 bags of goodies and 4 happy faces! Well worth it! Too bad it is raining today or we would be right back out there! Turns out I wasn't adopted after all!

"A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist."~Franklin P. Jones

They say it's your birthday......

Thirty six years ago today, Jason Charles Kolb entered this world as "Baby Boy Kolb" born to John and Connie Kolb. Since then he has been known by many names; Jason, Jay, Jase, Goblin, The Big Swede, The Strongest Man, Hubs, Mr. Kolb, FBM and Daddy.

He has worn many hats; son, brother, uncle, father, husband, student, employee, business owner, carpenter, grill master, joke maker, lawn mower, spider killer, light bulb changer, table clearer, clicker sharer, conflict negotiator, clean plate ranger and security provider (and these are just the tip of the iceberg).

(Apparently he thinks he wears the supermodel hat also.)

I, for one, am thankful for all of the names he goes by and all of the hats he wears. He is my everything and then some. Happy Birthday Mr. Kolb. I love you.

Back To Life.....

We're back in South Dakota! It seems amazing that at this time yesterday we were still about 1600 miles away in sunny Florida. Our trip just could not have gone better. It was even more fun, more relaxing and more great than I could have even hoped! We played, relaxed, ate, saw the sights and had non-stop family time. Now the non-stop family time can be a little disconcerting and doesn't always turn out with the greatest results but that was definitely not the case this time around. We had a great day on Saturday up in the cities with Josh, Mom, Kim, Amanda, JerBear, Sheila, Austin, Emma, Lois and Pete. Jeremy and Sheila grilled us up some sweet dogs and burgers for supper and we just hung out. Uncle Joshy was the most hospitable host and chauffeur allowing us to crash at his house and then delivering us safely to the airport on Sunday morning to begin our journey. Getting through the airport/security was easy breezy and we quickly found ourselves seated at Fletcher's Wharf dining on our first delicious meal of the week. Our bellies filled, we let the girls play at the play area in the airport while we waited for the boarding call. I was so stress-free, I almost missed hearing the boarding call and we were among the last passengers to board the plane. Grace and Jason sat together with Lily, Ella and I right behind them. The excitement was palpable as the engines fired up and soon we were high above the clouds. The awe wore off quickly and soon the girls began their quest to occupy the three hours of flying time. Ipods, books, travel games and an attempt to watch a movie filled the hours and before we knew it, we were touching down. We picked up our rental car (baby blue Hyundai Sonata) and set off on our next leg. Although I had printed out many maps from MapQuest to aid us in finding our way around, our GPS truly saved the day. We were pulling up in front of the Caribe Royale before we knew it. Faced with our first dilemma~try to get in a quick swim or pick up necessary provisions~we took a look at the sky and decided we should probably get supper and groceries as it looked like rain was imminent. After some driving (Ella and Lily crashed out immediately), we pulled up to Flipper's Pizza and proceeded to devour some of the best pizza I have had since Jakes. Ran into the grocery store next door after we finished up and were slapped right in the face with a serious case of sticker shock. We figured we could probably locate an area grocer who would provide a pound of deli ham from less than $12/lb. and that mission lead us to Publix where we stocked up and soon we back at the hotel. While eating, the skies had opened up and a pretty serious storm passed through the area. It was a little gloomy start but we knew things could only go up from there. Once back in our room, we got settled in and decided to turn in for the night and be ready to get to relaxing in the morning. Ella claimed the pull out bed in the living room as her sleeping quarters which suited Grace and Lily just fine as they wanted to sleep in the nice, comfy bed together. All tucked in, we got a good night's sleep.

Monday~Woke up to the sun and quickly put our suits on to spend the day at the pool. I don't believe I have ever had a more enjoyable Memorial Day. We literally laid by the pool the entire day. The weather was great.

Around lunchtime I ran up to the room and made us a picnic lunch that we enjoyed in an eating area on the main floor of our "tower". After much sun and fun, we got ready to go in search of another meal.

I thought it would be fun to eat at Hard Rock Cafe and plugged our destination into the GPS. Unfortunately, this time she let us down and we ended up in the parking lot of a liquor store. While Jason ran in to get directions, I got on the phone with my own personal TI in the Sky, Terry Carter, who jumped on the computer and between his directions and the ones Jason got, we discovered Hard Rock was located within the Universal Studios enclave. After riding on several "moving sidewalks" (which the girls thought were totally sweet), we walked onto the Universal Grounds.

The girls didn't know which way to look first and loved all the fun things to see. Had a great supper at Hard Rock and got to walk around checking out all the rock memorabilia which was fun. Began the long walk back to our car via MargaritaVille and the Universal Studios store.

Weather was pretty grey and extremely humid. It rained a bit but never affected us as we were inside when it was raining and had stopped by the time we were done. Went back to the hotel and hit the hay!

Tuesday~This was our big day at Cocoa Beach. Again woke to sun and were very excited for the girls' first look at the ocean. Ran into some issues (issues=our personal dislike of Florida's use of toll roads) but worked through them (again with Dad's directional assistance in the best route to take to avoid tolls). Made it to the beach in just over an hour and the girls were in love.

Ran immediately out into the waves and had the greatest looks on their faces I have ever seen.

Grace and Ella played in the water and searched for shells the entire time we were there. Lily wasn't quite as fond of the rushing salt water as the other two and preferred to spend her time digging in the sand.

After a few hours of sun and fun, we reluctantly rinsed off in the outdoor shower and said goodbye to the ocean.

We stopped at the very fun and delicious Sunset Cafe that was located right on the water for a terrific lunch. I spotted a dolphin in the water just as I was getting in the car to leave which was a nice touch to the day. Quickly stopped at A&W for root beer floats and a bathroom break and then pushed off towards Orlando. The girls fell asleep which was wonderful considering Jason made the decision to take the Terry Carter route back to Orlando in an effort to bypass all tolls. This route ended up adding at least 45 minutes on to our trip but provided many laughs for Jason and I. Took a quick evening dip once we arrived back at the hotel and retired for the evening in anticipation of a big day on Wednesday.

Wednesday~First day we actually set our alarm with a specific wake up time. SeaWorld was on the menu for the day and we got going around 9AM. Arrived at the park, we met with an awesome parking spot and set off in search of the wonders of the sea.

Pet the stingrays (Ella plunged her hand right into the tank, Grace and Lily were a little more hesitant but finally took the plunge as well). Watched the beautiful dolphins swim and frolic and then caught the most fabulous dolphin show.

(Check out the bird in the background headed right for Lily's head. It flew right over us and scared us all half to death.)

We then checked out the penguins, boring manatees and the alligators and then began to look for some lunch which proved to be our first stumbling block of the trip. We were all very hot and very hungry. Finding a little quick lunch at SeaWorld is next to impossible. After much wandering and me on the verge of a nervous breakdown, we finally settled on a little cafe that served us four hot dogs, three chicken strips, a few orders of soggy fries and a few kids soda to the tune of $33. Hands down the worst meal and most frustrating moment of the trip.

(Our dining companion for our worst lunch ever.)

Finally somewhat nourished, we continued our day at Shamu's Happy Harbor where the girls rode some rides and the rain that had been building throughout the afternoon decided to show it's ugly head.

(Ella doing the macarena in the rain.)

We rushed over to the Pets Ahoy (inside) show and when we came out, the sun was back out. Onto Believe, the Shamu show to finish out our trip to SeaWorld. The girls thought SeaWorld was pretty cool but were anxious to get back to the hotel and take a swim to cool off from the hot, humid day which is just what we did after chowing down a 10 piece chicken meal from KFC that we picked up on our way back.

Thursday~Another day reserved specifically for relaxing by the pool.

(Lily with Paco the Caribe Royale mascot.She loved him very much.)

Did get hit by some rain again but was fine because it was lunchtime anyway. Had lunch in the room and then went back down for more swimming. Around 5PM decided it was time to get some supper so we got ready and went to the Golden Corral Steak Buffet because it wouldn't be a vacation without eating at at least one all you can eat establishment. Polished off an obscene amount of food, made a quick stop at Publix for more pop and water and then to bed so we were ready for Disney!

Friday~Grace's 9th birthday! Got up early again to get to Disney when it opened. Amazed at the organized chaos that is Disney. Grace received her free admission ticket and we boarded the ferry boat with the Magic Kingdom straight ahead. The girls were super stoked and I thought their heads were going to spin right off their little bodies. It's like stepping into an alternate universe. So many people, so many things and so much to do. As we began our navigation of Disney, we almost ran right into Chip and Dale and the girls were delighted.

Got their autographs on their hats and had some photo ops and continued on. Rode all the rides the girls wanted to ride, saw all the things they wanted to see and enjoyed the hot, humid Florida weather. As was the case every day to this point, it rained but again, it didn't really affect us. The two times it rained, we were inside on rides and stayed dry as a bone. Ella and Lily were totally freaked out on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and also the Haunted Mansion ride but still loved it. The Mad Tea Cups were super fun, especially when Jason started spinning us and I could barely sit upright we were going so fast.

The highlight of the day was when the girls got to meet Belle, Cinderella and Princess Aurora. You could just about feel their happiness and excitement. It was so very cool.

(Princess Aurora and Ella have the same hair color.)

(One of my favorite pictures ever.)

We then moved on to meet Mickey and Minnie.

The wait was lengthy but we figured we couldn't come to Disney and not meet the icons. Grace was treated to many birthday greetings by workers and strangers alike due to the button she wore announcing to the world, "Happy Birthday Grace". She beamed every single time she received well wishes and I dare say it was the best birthday for her ever. In fact, thinking on it now, every birthday from this point on for her is probably going to be a bit of a letdown! Anyway, we made a few more stops in Tomorrowland and found our way to the monorail to take us back to our car. This was a feat easier said than done and provided us with our 2nd worst moment of the trip~not being able to find our car in the massive Disney parking lot. We had very smugly joked about this very thing happening earlier in the day sure we would not be so dumb to forget where we had parked~Pluto 16-21. However, while we had the general vicinity nailed down, the exact location proved to elusive. After several minutes of general wandering, Jason decided it would be best to divide and conquer and set me and Lily off down one lane of cars while he, Grace and Ella took another. Problem with this plan being,~I wasn't 100% sure what our car looked like and Lily was talking about her underpants and wasn't very helpful either. In a moment of desperation, Jason hit the alarm button on the keys and we followed the alarm to the car. Safely ensconced in our baby blue cruiser with the air on high, we turned to Grace for a dinner selection as it was her birthday after all. She chose TGIFridays and we had another great meal (less than stellar service, but good food). Of course we informed the waitress there was a birthday girl in our midst which brought a group of singers waiters to our table thoroughly embarrassing but also pleasing Miss Grace.

Back at the hotel, we put magic candles in some store bought brownies and sang to Grace ourselves. She laughed about the relighting candles until Jason alerted us to the very real possibility of setting of the fire alarm due to the accumulating smoke in the air and I had to use water to put them out.

Saturday~Our final day of paradise was again spent by the pool. Sunny and finally a day with absolutely no rain at all. Nothing remarkable about Saturday, just another day of great times. Ordered pizza for supper, got our stuff packed up and sadly went to bed knowing tomorrow was back to the real world.

Our plane ride home was uneventful and the girls are now considered seasoned flyers.

Joshy again put on his chauffer hat and picked us up. After lunch at Ruby Tuesday's we hit the road. The girls were completely wore out and slept almost the entire way home.

We arrived home around 730PM and the unpacking began. We truly could not have had a better vacation. I had completely intended for this entry to be short and sweet and obviously did not accomplish that. Too many good times and too many good memories to just breeze over them. I have included just a handful of the photos I took in this entry. I have created an album with all of the pictures I took and will send you a link so you can check it out if you wish.

I know that Disney touts itself as the Happiest Place on Earth but I would argue that wherever you are, as long as you are with the ones you love, is the Happiest Place on Earth.

I hope you all had as great of a start to the summer as we did!