First Disney Trip!!

I had a feeling when I was planning the Orlando vacation that this would be our best Vacation yet, and it was!! We decided to go to Orlando a few months ago because our original vacation was canceled because we went to Texas for Eventt's Hardware award instead. We decided to celebrate Lillian's 4th birthday in Disney. We arrived in Orlando Monday night and Tues. We had our first day at the Magic Kingdom. The first day we mostly rode rides and visited princesses. Wednesday of our vacation we spent relaxing and swimming. Our time share resort has another nearby resort that we are able to uses for free. We drove the 10 minute drive and swam in that pool for a bit. Wed. night grandpa and grandma B. arrived. The girls loved waiting for them at the airport. Thurs. we spent the day at Animal Kingdom. Friday the guys went golfing (which ended up being about 100 miles away, a crazy drive, got lost 5 times) But it was all worth it cause the guys said golfing was great. Saturday was Lillians Birthday and we went to Magic Kingdom for our 2nd day. I was really glad we spent 2 days there. It was a perfect time to visit there too. We didn't have to wait in line for anything. It was GREAT!!! I will explain more below in the pics. But for sure we made some fun family memories. I will never forget this!













Lillian blowing out her Birthday cupcake candle. We had "birthday cake" in the Magic Kingdom Park after lunch, but Lillian (having the sweet tooth she has) said are we going to have cake with a candle later so I can blow it out? Ha Ha, so daddy got her a special cupcake and she loved it.

Addie and mommy riding on Aladin's Magic carpet ride.

On the 2nd day at the Magic Kingdom we went to many amazing shows. This show was The Lion King. At the end Lillian was asked to go down and dance in front of everyone. She loved it. She smiled the entire time!

At the Animal Kingdom we got to see tons of amazing animal exhibits. This is the girls looking at the tigers.

Grandpa and Grandma B rode all the rides too!

A pic in Dino Land

The girls were lucky enough to meet every princess. Ariel, probably both girls favorite princess, spent tons of time with each girl talking with them and signing their princess books.

Taking a break on Minnie Mouses couch.

Sleeping Beauty

Cinderella

The girls both got "made" over at the bibbidi bopity boutique. They were in heaven and truly believe they are now princesses. The "Fairy God Mothers in Training" were wonderful with the girls. Lillian got extra special attention because it was her birthday. Addison got amazing attention because she is so cute :)

Addie in her princess dress getting her hair and nails done.

Lillian picked out the Jasmine costume. Everyone has to act surprised though cause she plans on being Jasmine again for Halloween.

Lillian getting her hair done transforming into a princess.

The girls meeting Jasmine and Aladin.

At last meeting Mickey and Minnie mouse.

We brought a few small gifts for Lillian to open on her birthday. She loved all the attention and fun.

A great Birthday

Today is my birthday and I turned 30 :( it seems like time is flying by and I never imagined turning 30! Eventt and Lillian made me breakfast in bed this morning. Then Lillian and I were off to "zoo camp" On Monday Eventt took her to zoo camp and today I got to take her. She has a blast there. They do an amazing job teaching the kids. It really is fun. Friday will be her last day. Addison stayed with Aunt Ashley for some play time. I'm sure next year Addie will get to enjoy camp. After camp I then selfishly took a nap with the girls and it felt wonderful. We woke up to Grandma and Grandpa B. and Tiffany here. We later at at the Mexican restaurant in Bluffton and went to Ashley and Alex's house to play the wii and eat ice cream and cake. It was a fun day!
This summer is flying by so fast and I vow to start blogging again! I think its important to keep these family memories.

San Antonio Texas

We had a blast in Texas. It was such an honor for Eventt to win the award. If you would like to see the bio on Eventt getting the award go to http://www.nrha.org/ and scroll to the bottom click on Eventts picture and choose "play video". Anyway national retail hardware association really did a great job at hosting this. The food was great the hotel was wonderful (they upgraded us to a nice suite) We also had tons of family time together and got to do tons of fun stuff Here are some examples:

Went to the San Antonio zoo. That zoo is rated one of the best in the nation and it really was a nice zoo. It had a toddler area for kids under 5 and that is were the girls played the most.
This is Lilly "fishing in the pond"


At the end of the zoo day we stopped by the kid area and they swam in the little beach like area. They had a blast with all the other kids digging, splashing, and getting really wet! I bet they played around in this area for over 45 minutes!

Friday we drove to Corpus Christy Beach and spent a few hours hanging out in the Ocean. The girls thought the salt water tasted funny. This beach had lots of jelly fish, so we stayed close to the shore.

Building sand castles. We also buried Eventt in the sand.

We also went to Sea World. The girls loved the water park. We spent probably 90% of the time in the water park. Lillian couldn't get enough of the big slides and Addison loved running around in the toddler pool. We also watched the Shamu show and Lillian begged Eventt to run down to the bottom with her so Shamu could splash her. She got her wish and loved it!!

Addie eating "dipping dots" ice cream. She of coarse at it all :)

Lillian on the airplane. The girls did so good for such a long flight. Thanks to grandma B for her DVD player and I pod.

Addie watching Dora on the I pod.

A ride at Sea World

Lillian met a friend at the hardware program. Her name was Julie and she was 5. They had fun playing together.

The girls and I walked to the San Antonio Children's museum when Eventt attended a few seminars. The girls had a blast. Their favorite was the entire basement was made into a kid size grocery store. They could fill their carts and scan and pay for the groceries. We spent at least 1 hour buying groceries :)

Addie doing her shopping

Pilot Addison and Lillian flying the airplane

Our hotel was a block from the Alamo. We took a River tour and Alamo tour. It was hot that day (over 100 deg) The girls enjoyed a snow cone.

Milking a cow at the museum

more museum pics:

A write up about Eventt's award:

2009 Young Retailer of the Year Honoree
EVENTT NORRIS
Growing Up Fast

Eventt Norris remembers when he was 16 and just learning to drive; it was the same time he started ordering for his parent’s hardware store in Berne, Ind. What he may not have realized then was just how quickly he would be in charge of the entire business.
Norris was barely out of high school when his father, Charlie, entrusted him with ownership of the store. Two years later, his father passed away. In the two years that followed, Norris did his best to keep the business going, but the market around the small store was quickly shrinking. A few years later, in 2005, his mother passed away.
Norris was now the sole employee of the store and face to face with a difficult decision. Despite the family legacy rooted in the store, he knew that the only way to keep the business alive was to move to a different market. He found his opportunity in nearby Ossian, Ind., where an 8,000-square-foot store, nearly twice the size of his old store, was for sale.
The benefit of the store was clear: a good location with more traffic and the opportunity to expand his inventory. But there was a lot of work to do. Merchandising in the store was stagnant, selection was thin and more and more customers were making their purchases at the nearby Lowe’s.
So with the help of his supplier, Do it Best, Norris took on the big task of changing the appearance of the entire store. He moved every department, raised the fixtures to seven feet and added new endcaps and counters. One reason so many shoppers were opting for Lowe’s, says Norris, was that the Ossian Hardware had limited its selection to mostly A items. Norris added 5,000 SKUs to the product mix, filling out departments with B and C items, especially in departments where he knew he could attract more sales. He expanded power tools, for example, from eight feet to 28 feet. The rental department held a lot of potential too, so he added more equipment as well as party rentals.
Sales immediately rose after the remodel and are now up more than 30 percent compared to when he first purchased the store. New customers continue to come through the doors and he’s drawing customers back into town and away from the Lowe’s. His goal now is to find an opportunity for a second location.
As a newcomer to a small town, Norris had the challenge of earning the respect of a whole new set of customers. His face quickly became a familiar one around town. He serves as a volunteer firefighter and helps the Fire Department with fundraising events. He’s also involved in a local effort to revitalize Ossian’s downtown and support many local events.
Looking back at the whirlwind of change over the past 10 years, Norris gives his parents much of the credit for his success today. Maybe he had to grow up fast, he says, “but I look back on it now and obviously my parents had a vision, and I appreciate every bit of that now. My dad took the time to really show me the ropes of running a hardware store. He did a great job of setting me up to achieve my life-long goals.”

Monkeying Around

Eventt, Ashley and I took Lillian, Addison, and Ella to the zoo in hopes to see the new African Journey. Friday was a members only preview. The zoo and especially the new exhibit was swamped. We didn't wait in the line to see the exhibit cause I'm not sure the girls patients would have lasted. Lillian had a sleep over at Ella's house the night before and they were on a little sleep. They slept in a princess tent that I bought at a Garage sale for $7!! Love those deals!! We did ride on the sky ride at the zoo and got a small look at the 9 million dollar renovation. I guess we will just try again later to see the whole thing.

This is the girls having a Twizzler Break


Riding the caracell is starting to be a tradition.

Addison brushing the goats

Lillian and Ella brushing the goats. All was going good until the goats started to eat their shirts and then the screamed!!

Last night we went to the local ball diamond and took Eventt's picture with the team he sponsors. The girls kinda liked watching the players playing baseball, and afterwards we played at the school park.

Playing on the monkey bars.

Sweet little Addison sliding down the tube slide. She enjoys the park!

Welcome Summer

Wheewww... where do I start Its been a long time since I blogged and I hope to catch up and then to keep up. I printed a "blog book" a few weeks ago. Its nice because it put all the blogs and pics on pages. It will be fun to look at it in the future. Its a quick and easy way to journal I guess. Anyway. I'm a bit sick this weekend I had to call off of work Sat. night I'm pretty sure I have a sinus infection. I also have a nasty cough and sore throat. I started on an antibiotic and I'm starting to feel better. Today Savannah and Sierra had a birthday party at Trent and Brenda's house. It was planned the girls and Eventt would just go, but since I called off work and slept all night and basically had laid around all weekend, I was ready to get out of the house. The girls had a blast swimming in the pond. Its hard to believe the little girl Eventt and I use to babysit when we were dating turned 16!! I guess that means we are getting old!

The kids enjoying a break from swimming, but more importantly a bowl of ice cream and cake!!

Beautiful Addison enjoying swimming at the edge of the pond. She is still a bit afraid of the water. I hope by the end of the summer she will be use to it. Both girls got a little sun today. I even smeared them with sun screen. Addison seems to brown a little easier, but Lilly just gets red like her mama.

More fun pics of swimming! Welcome summer!!!

Speaking of swimming the girls got in our pool and swam last week. It was 80 deg. Still a bit cold for me!! But they loved it. Especially Lillian and Ella. They loved jumping in over and over.

Ashley's Bridal shower was last week. We had a Pampered Chef Party for her. She ended up getting a lot of nice things. This is a pic of Lillian signing her new apron.

Addison sitting on "Aunt T" at the shower.

A few weeks ago the girls and I went to Indy with Eventt to the Hardware show. It was nice timing cause Indy was having there Indy 500 kids fest. Lillian ran the rookie run (cried the entire time cause she was so tired and ready for a nap) The girls got to do a bunch of fun things there. This pic is of Addie with her Princess sash that they got to make.

Lillian with one of the Indy 500 Princesses.

On the way to Indy the girls watched The Wizard of Oz for the first time. When Lillian saw the characters at the festival she went nuts she was so excited that she just watched a show about them and now she got to meet them. She especially liked Toto (Dorthy's dog) in the basket. She has pretended ever since her stuffed dog at home here is Toto. Imagination working hard.

Thought this pic was good. I curled the girls hair one day with a curling iron. They did really good and were excited to have their hair curly. Hopefully these girls will be friends forever. You can never have enough friends.

Well caught up on some blogging. I will try to do better. I hope to have more time now that Eventt and I almost have our kitchen projects done. We put new flooring in, took down all the ugly wall paper, painted, and soon to get our new counter tops!! I love the new flooring. We had pure white linoleum and I literally had to clean in everyday cause you could see every little spot. I'm excited about all the new changes. We moved our Island and I'm working on re doing Eventt's parents old butcher block to put it into our kitchen. It's turned out to be a lot more work then expected, but once we are all done it will be nice.

Eventt and I got a sitter last Wed. and went out by ourselves. It was nice to get away even if it was only a few hours. It seems like we don't get much time together since he works all week and I work all weekend.

We did it!

Eventt and I did another Indianapolis Mini Marathon. I talked Eventt into running this one with me, since my running partner Lisa had surgery and my other running partner Stacy is just way to fast! The race went well I think it was my fastest 1/2 marathon. I was shooting for 2 hours 10 minutes and finished in 2 hours 13 minutes. Oh well, at least we did it. Eventt and I are both a bit sore today. I have been having trouble with my shins hurting lately and I cannot seem to relate it to anything. So I plan to take a bit of time off and start training again cause I would love to do a total of 4 half marathons this summer :) I dought I can talk Eventt into doing all those with me.
For those of you who haven't heard Eventt won the "Young Retailer of the Year award," through Do-It Best. We get a paid vacation to San Antonio Texas and planning on going in July. We will be taking the girls and are planning on doing some fun things. I'm already getting excited!! Congrats to Eventt he deserves it!!
Lillian had a dress rehearsal on Friday for her dance class. Grandma and Grandpa B. took the girls Friday night and Saturday so Eventt and I could stay in Indy. Mom said Lillian kinda makes up her own dance routine but she sure has fun up on stage. I'm sure soon Addison will want to join in. She does everything her sis does! Anyone interested in watching Lillian "try" to dance she is having a recital at Life Church in Bluffton May 8th and 9th. I can give you more details and directions if needed.
Well that is all for now. I'm at work but thought I would take a quick break and do a bit of blogging.