Things That Make Me Smile 6/2/17

Jake (11 1/2), Alyssa (9), Zac (7 1/2), Tyler (5), Nicholas (2)

These two weeks we spent on vacation were amazing. The kids (and us, ha!) had been looking forward to going to LEGOLAND Florida for so long. (Here's how we surprised them!) We were able to go two days and could easily have gone a third, because there's just so much to do. We also experienced the Orlando Science Center, did a lot of swimming (pools, splash pad, water slides), went to the beach, toured Hope Children's Home (where Leighton grew up), did some geocaching, visited with family, and so much more. We stopped in Gatlingburg, Tennessee for a couple days on the way home and did some hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Such a busy, fun, memory-filled week. The Smile list is endless this week, but here are a few of my favorite quotes.  

1. Nicholas calling his bathing suit his baby soup.

2. As we were leaving the pool, it started to rain. We began running back to our room, but Alyssa got tripped up.
Alyssa, shouting: "Don't wait for me! Save yourselves!"
Jake: "Never leave a man behind! Let's go!"

3.

4. Alyssa: "It feels like I've known myself my entire life."

5. Tyler, looking at a giant hypnosis wheel: "Whoa! That's a huge lollipop!"

6. Tyler, frightened: "Ah, a mosquito!"

Alyssa: Tyler, mosquitoes are harmless. All they can do is suck your blood. "

7. Tyler: "It's called an accididnt, so you didn't do it."

8. Alyssa, as we were packing up to leave the resort: "Do you think if I put a sticky note with a Bible verse on it, they'd read it? I'm going to do John 3:16."

9. Zac, after we got home: "Our van looks so regular without the topper." (car top carrier)

10. The kids thanking us 5.2 million times, give or take, for taking them to Florida.

What made you Smile this week?

Things That Make Me Smile 2/10/17

Jake (11), Alyssa (8½), Zac (7), Tyler (4½), Nicholas (2)

This week we set up a surprise for the kiddos. We created a detailed treasure hunt that involved finding puzzles pieces  and assembling it for a hidden message. The surprise ended with checking the calendar where it was written that we are going to Legoland Florida for our vacation this year.  It was so much fun! The first 3 Smiles are quotes that I heard after they figured it out.

1. "I'm shaking with excitement!"

2. "I wish I could do a backflip because I would do 10 of them!"

3. "This is going to be the best vacation ever!"

4. Jake: "Girls wear way more clothes than boys. They wear like 7 layers at a time."

5. Alyssa, running around from Zac and cuddling up next to me: "You can't hurt me! I have a force field!" 

6. Jake's Lego laundry and washing machine creation.

 

7. Tyler: "Mama, can you get as much energy as you want?"

Me: "Ha, no."

Tyler: "No? Well, when does it stop."

Me: "When you have kids."

8. Alyssa: "It's so much fun having a baby brother!" 

9. The blessing we received from a stranger.

10. The song "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" from Frozen was playing in the living room: ". . . It's just you and me, what are we gonna do?"

Jake, popping his head around the hallway corner: "They do know it's you and I, right?"   


What made you Smile this week

Things That Make Me Smile 10/7/16

Jake (10½), Alyssa (8½), Zac (6½), Tyler (4½), Nicholas (1½)

1. Tyler, about his Lego creation: "Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?"

Me: "It's a boy."

Ty: "Yeah, 'cause it's bald . . . just like my daddy."

2. Zac: "I can't believe we have a spork! I always wanted one of those."

3. Tyler, looking at pictures from vacation 2 years ago: "Aw, that's when I had my Spider Man bathing suit. Now I have a Ninjago one. Can I wear the Spider Man one again?"

Me: "No, that one's too small for you, honey."

Tyler, annoyed: "Huh? Why do they shrink?"

4. Taking the kids to LEGOLAND.

5. Me: "So, what do you think, french bread with dinner tonight?"

Alyssa and Zac: "Yes!"

Jake, making a face: "Eh."

Me: "You don't think that goes with soup? What do you want? Rolls?"

Jake: "Yes . . . I just don't think syrup goes with chicken noodle soup very well."

Me: "Not french toast. French bread."

Jake: "Oh! Yeah! I love your french bread!"

6. Zac, about Nicholas:"Mom, thank you for having a baby that's so cute."

7. Zac: "Mom, will you help me? I need to write the differences."
Me, looking over his math paper: ""Ok, you did."
Zac: "But I need to write the differences."
Me: "The differences?"
Zac: "Yeah."
Me: "And what are they?"
Zac: "Well, this side is even numbers and this side is odd numbers."

8. Tyler: "Mama, I love you."

Me: "And I love you. Lots."

Tyler: "I know."

9. My Dad: "What do you mean, jellybean?"

Tyler: "I'm not a jellybean."

My Dad: "What are you then?"

Tyler: "Sometimes, I'm a human."

What made you Smile this week?