Back from Orlando

Hey! We spent August 30- September 6 on vacation in Orlando and it was really fun! To be honest, when people ask us how is was, we usually say, "REALLY FUN and sorta hard!" It added an interesting dynamic to the trip having an 8 month old. We took Ava to Virginia beach for a long weekend when she was about the same age, and no doubt its a lot more difficult with 2, then 1. But, overall- Jesse seriously is a such a good baby, he's just really active! And Ava was such a good girl, it was so fun to watch her enjoy herself so much. And Michael and I loved getting to see my whole family for 7 full days- how cool! I had a lot of help with the little guy, too, which is always nice.
We drove through the night Friday night with my mom and dad to get there. It was a rough drive since none of us could fall asleep during our off driving duty times. And the kids woke up each time we had to refuel. (I think Ava was also up from 3-5 am for no apparent reason, too. ) I hope she isn't up during those hours every night! Long story short- We made it. We drove straight to Cocoa Beach (where Michael and I went on our honeymoon and 1 year anniversary.) Jesse immediately decided that sand was his new favorite food :)
From there we drove to the condo where all 16 of us would stay and we had plenty of room, which was nice. (Thanks Uncle Rick for letting us rent your condo!) And props to my big bro who so generously paid for the whole family to stay!! That was so sweet.
Days were spent swimming at the pool, cousins playing, adults hanging out- catching up, and going on some outings. We went to the gulf one day to St. Pete beach and had lots of fun and lots of family pictures. I will admit that trying to rinse sand out of the butt cracks of 2 kids was sorta stressful since they were both crying and I felt like crying myself for a moment. :) Thankfully Michael always helps me to calm down when I feel stressed!
Tuesday we spent the whole day at Disney World. Thanks mom and dad for buying the whole family's tickets to get in! Again, so generous! Ava LOVED it and had the time of her life. Jesse did surprisingly well even though I know he had no idea what was going on. He loved "It's a small world" and it was so sweet to see the look on his face during that ride. We rode lots of rides and we even stood in line to meet Mickey and Minnie. Ava had been looking forward to meeting them for months. I think Ava and her cousin Hannah were in shock to meet "the real Minnie Mouse" They are both big fans! Michael and I had both never been before and it was really cool- We definitely want to go back when Jesse is a little older.

This was our Christmas/ B-day presents to each other for a year. My family decided that for a full year we wouldn't buy gifts and save the money that we would've spent to be able to do this vacation- Good idea Dave!

To see lots more pictures click here
or
http://picasaweb.google.com/maryjohnson98/DisneyVacation08?authkey=HBOwnXM8ZIQ#

Friends

Cathy, Mary, Danika, Kris- Friends from high school


Cami (Kris's daughter) and Ava- I wish they lived closer

Kerri (7 months pregnant- isn't she cute) and me

Within a one month's time I got the opportunity to see 4 friends that I don't get to see nearly enough. It was great catching up with Danika, Cathy, and Kris for an evening. We all went to high school together. It's always fun to catch up and see what everyone is up to. Cathy just moved from Cali to Florida( now she's a little closer to Ohio:) , Kris just had her second little cutie (She has a girl and a boy that are almost the same ages of my two kiddos-how fun!), and we recently found out that Danika is having a baby, too (yay! I'm so excited!)

I also got to go to Indiana to visit Kerri, one of my best friends from college. We always have fun watching movies, taking, shopping, ect. She's pregnant and due soon and I just can't wait to see little baby D!!

Thanks to Michael for watching the kids so I could go to Indiana and to my mom and dad for picking up the kids so I could stay out a little later with the girls. I'm thankful for little breaks every once and a while :)

the end of summer

Ava drew that and totally blew us away- She's really good at art just
like her daddy!

Ava and Jesse swinging :)

m & m

I don't think they were in a picture taking mood

Daddy playing with kids at Zoombezi bay (our summer pool pass)

Zoombezi bay- poor Jesse thought that water was too cold

Backyard kiddie pool

Photo Shoot

The amazingness of Jen added to the cuteness of our kids = some awesome pictures.

One of our favorite people Jen, was kind enough to take some pictures of our kiddos. We are so thankful for her- she is so gifted at what she does. Her photos are always so amazing.

Michael met Jen in high school at a time when he was pretty much miserable for no good reason :)
She was determined to get him to lighten up so she used to sit next to him in class and pretend to smash his pb& j sandwiches and then draw hearts all over his book covers.. Somehow they became the best of friends. How funny is that? And after 10+ years, they are still great friends!

We just adore Jen and hope that she and Timmy (her husband) stay in our lives For-ev-er. (They are in the bottom picture with Ava when she was about Jesse's age.)

We love you Jen!! Thanks so so much for the pics!

Pieces of the Past

Do to the fact that I seemed to have misplaced our USB cable, we haven't been able to load any of our pictures into the computer. Bummer. I keep forgetting to just buy one when we are at the store. So, pictures will be posted next time.

I've been thinking a lot about getting older... Maybe it's because Michael and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary a few months ago, or maybe because we have 2 kids now? Mostly, I think it is because it is time for my 10 year high school reunion.

I'm not able to go to the reunion do to other plans. To be honest, I am relieved. Is that horrible? It makes me feel nervous even to think about it. Why you may ask? I'll tell you -
That was a different time in my life and I am just a shadow of the person I was then, I don't even recognize myself when I look at old photographs. It's not the physical change that shocks me, but the change is within. Thankfully I had a level head in high school for the most part and avoided most trouble. Still, however, I get sad sometimes when I reflect on those days.
Did I have a completely awful high school experience? No
Did I have good friends- yes
Did I have a good home life? Of course.
Was I following God- Yes, but it was kinda a lame effort at times.
All in all... I felt lost in a lot of ways.

It wasn't until after high school that I truly found my purpose in life and I actually became the person that God had created me to be. So, to visit the past seems so torturous to me. Why would I want to do that to myself?
There are definitely friends that I would like to see, but I would rather just meet up with them on my own, you know?

I was recently cleaning our closet and found Michael's senior book- the one that people sign with- "good luck in college, stay the same- don't ever change, it was fun sitting next to you in math, stay in touch" yada yada yada. Flipping through the pages, I was reminded that he and I are so similar. I saw the small ghosts of his past in those pages and I quickely tossed it in the trash. Later, I told him that I skimmed it and tossed it and he said, "Good, why would I want to hold onto that book?" Most people know that Michael is in many ways very different today compared to then, just like me. Both of us wish we could go back and change things...Knowing that we can't- we just chose to forget the past and try to make up for wasted time. I sometimes look at Michael and hear the lines of this song (one of my favorites)over and over in my head-

You brought me back to that place in my heart
I thought was gone, oh so long
I was unhappy now it's gone
And I'm moving on, moving on
I went for so long
And I was so wrong
And then I met you
And now I can't live without you
And I don't want to
I've done that all my life up till now

All the time, darling now, oh
All the time, now we'll have to make it up
We'll make it up, oh
All the days, darling now, oh
All the days, now we'll have to make them up
We'll make them up somehow
We'll make them up

TN

We went to visit my brother Dave and his family in Tennessee a few weeks ago and we forgot to post the pictures. Unfortunately Jesse and I didn't make it into any of the pics. :)
He moved into this new house over a year ago, but because I was pregnant we had to delay our visit for a while. It was great to see all of them and to just hang out and catch up. The kids loved playing (Ava had the time of her life!), and it was awesome to see their beautiful home and all the land that they now have. We're really happy for them! Michael and I love living in the city, but after visiting them I can totally see why so many people love the country life, too.

Happy Birthday and Congrats!

Happy 27th Birthday Michael!  I hope you had a fun birthday yesterday!  

We had a fun time celebrating with some family and friends, and  he had a really good time. Unfortunate timing- our AC broke and we got an estimate on Michael's B-day (not such a great gift.)  

Most of you know by now that Michael got a new job at Clary Communications.  He is really excited for this new opportunity and will begin there in a week and a half.  I'm super proud of him... He's pretty much awesome :)

Also, as long as I'm bragging him up on his very own post, check out his website if you want to see some of his new work!

Happy Birthday Baby! I love you!