The Life and Times of the Watters Family

Disney Day four

1. Buzz Light Year’s Astroblasters
2. Finding Nemo Submarines
3. Splash Mountain
4. Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island
5. Aladdin Show (this was really fun!)
6. Grizzly River Run/California Screamin’ (we split up– Caleb didn’t want to get wet)
7. Shopping in Downtown Disney
8. California Screamin’ (Cory, Katie and Caleb x2)
9. Soarin’ Over California
10. California Screamin’ (Caleb & Cory x2)
11. Electric Light Parade (so cool– we accidentally stumble on this and we were so glad we caught it)
12. Fireworks Show (wow– it makes me cry when the play Walt’s voice)
13. Fantasmic (We’d never seen this before and it was AMAZING!)
14. Pirates of the Caribbean
15. Splash Mountain/Winnie the Pooh (Caleb didn’t want to get wet again)

We were at the park from 9:15am-midnight yesterday!!

Look for a big picture post coming soon.

Disney Day three

1. Jungle Cruise
2. Thunder Mountain
3. Tarzan’s Treehouse
4. Alice and Wonderland
5. Grizzly River Run (x2)
6. California Screamin’ (x2, Cory x4)
7. Ate Dinner at Rainforest Cafe
8. Watched the Parade of Dreams
9. Pirates of the Caribbean
10. Splash Mountain (x3)

I’m WAY too tired to upload pictures tonight!! We are taking the day off tomorrow and hanging out by the pool. We are all wiped out and we’ll have a long day on Friday so we need a day to relax.

Disney day two

We had another fun filled day in D’land. The sun came out today and it was SO nice! It’s been a blast so far and we’re only half done!

Here’s what we did today:

1. Peter Pan
2. Dumbo
3. Storybook Canal Boats
4. Thunder Mountain
5. Splash Mountain
6. Disney Railroad
7. Roger Rabbit
8. Soarin’ Over California
9. Grizzly River Run (x4)
10. A Bug’s Land
11. Monsters Inc.

I am loving being here with my Watters family but I do miss my sisters!! Someday we’ll have to plan a family vacation here. Love you sisters!

Disneyland day one

We had so much fun our first day at Disneyland! We arrived at the park at 9:30am and went on 5 big rides in the first 2 hours! It was a bit chilly, especially after getting wet on a couple of the rides. We are hoping the sun comes for our other days at Disneyland.

Here’s what we did today:

1. Indiana Jones
2. Thunder Mountain
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
4. Splash Mountain
5. Winne the Pooh
6. Astro-Blasters
7. Soarin’ Over California
8. Grizzly River Run
9. Space Mountain
10. Matterhorn (during fireworks — which  was super cool!)
11. Tea Cups
12. Mr. Toad
13. Snow White
14. Pinocchio
15. Pirates of the Caribbean (again)
16. Nemo Submarine

Here’s a few pics from the first day:

Kelly and I picked up a birthday button for Cam yesterday. She had them write “Roon” on it– that’s her nickname for Cam.

Seany had just eaten a Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich.

Mike took the front on Splash Mountain and got SOAKED!

Caleb leaps for joy as we enter California Adventure!

Mike and Cam on our way California Adventure– oooh–look at those calf muscles!!

Kelly and Mike riding Winne the Pooh.

Today we are just hanging out at the house– hopefully around the pool! We are celebrating Cam’s 30th birthday and Kelly’s 20th.

Happy Birthday Cam! 30 is good. I love you SO very much.

counting down

5 more days ’til takeoff and 8 more ’til Disneyland!

The boys worked way ahead of their school schedule and are almost entirely done for the year! They have a few more history lessons and a couple spelling tests but after that, they are done. Our vacation to California will officially kick off our summer break.

Last year when we took our vacation we put a couple Harry Potter audio books on the ipods so the boys could listen on the plane and in the airports. It turned out to be a great idea for keeping them occupied. This year I am loading the ipods with Tom Sawyer. The story is a classic, full of adventure, pirates, and carefree boyish schemes. I am hoping for another memorable summer full of excitement, creativity and exploration for the boys. Sean and Caleb are incredibly blessed with a wonderful beach that their Grandparents put much time and thought into so that they can have the kind of summers most little boys only get to dream of.

Happy Mother’s Day!

I had a really great day with my family. I am so blessed to have such a supportive and loving husband who provides our boys a wonderful example to emulate. All three of them picked out beautiful, pink roses, and a couple other very thoughtful gifts. Sean and Caleb made me cards that were really sweet. Sean brought me breakfast in bed and Caleb came and snuggled with me for a little bit. We went to church together this morning and this afternoon Cam and the boys did chores at home to give me a day off. We spent the evening at Cam’s parent’s house, having dinner and playing Yahtzee. It was a great day! We’ll be celebrating with my mom next weekend when Holly and Shane are in town.

I read Beth’s blog tonight when we got home and found some of the best parenting advice I’ve ever read. It’s kind of long– but so good! Here’s some of what Beth says she’s learned along the way:

*Kids are pretty danged resilient. Ours survived some rough times but knew their struggling parents – fighting so hard for wholeness – loved them like crazy (and sometimes just loved them crazy) and were steadily trying to get healthier and healthier. When Keith and I each came to conclusions that we were messed up enough to mess them up, we went to counseling. The girls knew it and respected it.

*They don’t expect their parents to be perfect but they sure as heck expect them to be real. They despise hypocrisy and disrespect what is disrespectful even if they’re too scared to say so. They respond well to genuine apologies and, in fact, don’t learn to extend them otherwise.

*They need lots and lots of hugs and kisses even if they act like they don’t. They need to be told “I love you so much” over and over even if they don’t seem to be listening. They are. Don’t just give in to a sullen child and become sullen with him/her. Some kids have everything to lose if you let them win. Keep fighting for a relationship and try to take interest in their interests and sooner or later, they’ll cave in and smile. I respect few parents on earth more than Dr. James McDonald (pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in the Chicago area) and his wife, Kathy. When one of his kids became a teenager, he felt an unfamiliar distance grow between them. He became so worried when it persisted that he told his church he was going to need to take some time off and wasn’t sure how long. With Kathy’s blessing, he told the teenager to pack a bag and get in the car with him. He drove out of the driveway, and took off on a road trip, explaining to the child that they’d return when their relationship was mended. Needless to say, after some very awkward hours, they ended up talking, crying, laughing, and making memories that they’ll have for a lifetime. Now, that’s some fine parenting.

*They need to laugh a ton with their parents and be silly. There need to be lots of private jokes that only family understands. When both girls married, those were the things they recalled to their daddy and me most.

*They need to know that God is not just the Boss. He’s the biggest blast in all of life. They love to learn the wonders of God in creation. Things like how He made a bumble bee to fly even though it’s aerodynamically impossible and how animals exist in Africa and Asia that we’ve never even seen in a zoo. They long to be taught simple pleasures that cost nothing more than a moment of time away from the TV, computer or cell phone – like marveling at a sunset or applauding God over a sunrise and clipping roses from a bush and putting them in a vase. Or watching roly-polies. Digging up earthworms. Fishing for a perch. Beholding a lady bug on a tree trunk. That all of these things are wonders of God and that He’s worth jumping up and down over.

*They need to know the beauty of Christ when they’ve done something wrong and feel guilty. They need to know that they have a destiny; that Christ planned their lives for this exact time in history and has given them gifts to discover and develop as they grow up. That they are important because He’s so important. That nothing so bad can happen to them that He can’t use for good. That Mommy and Daddy can’t make them Christians. They have to accept His free gift of grace and invite Him into their hearts. That we think nothing is worthier of celebration than that and we’ll risk throwing out backs out to do cartwheels when they let Christ do something wonderful in their lives.

*They need their parents to follow through. To say “no” when “no” needs to be said. They need their parents to be parents at the risk of being very unpopular. They need parents to intervene in an unhealthy relationship with the opposite sex. They need not to be given so many material things (even if we can afford it) that they grow into discontented, narcissistic adults. Nothing is less pleasant than a thirty year-old brat.

*And when they become parents, they don’t need their parents to turn their noses up at them and act all pious like they never lost patience with their kids. They know better anyway. They don’t need parents to forget how hard having preschoolers was and tell them, “These are the best years of your life!” No, these are the most exhausting years of your life. Wonderful! But exhausting! They need us to maybe chip in and pay for them to get their houses cleaned from top to bottom every now and then rather acting like we wish they were better housekeepers.

*Their friendships with their siblings need to be high priority. This one I blew so I share it with you as a regret. I regret allowing them to bring friends along so often on family outings. Yes, they begged but I wish I’d more often said “no.” Yes, they’d have pouted. But they also would have gotten over it and turned to each other. We always had their friends around and I think it may have kept my girls from making good friends of each other for a very long time. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I think it’s also really weird when parents severely restrict the home to family and don’t encourage their kids to make friends and get involved at school. Me? I think they’re hiding something. There’s something really freaky and cultish about sequestered homes. At the very least, kids don’t end up developing social skills and, instead, become really bizarre adults that can’t get a normal job. Sorry. My point is, I think there should be a pretty steady dose of activity just for family so kids have to play with each other instead of ganging up on each other with their peers. I believe in having a revolving door to my children’s friends and having tons of spend-overs but I am convinced that I allowed it so often that my kids made better friends than each other. Our best memories are from family vacations where Amanda and Melissa were all they had. Joyfully, they are best of friends today but it’s because, when they moved to different cities, they learned that nobody is like your sister. Take it from me. I have one sister that I never lay eyes on. Don’t even know for certain where she is. Doesn’t sober up enough to have a conversation. Let alone a relationship. I miss her so much. We were inseparable growing up. You feel incomplete when you’re out of sorts with a sibling. They’re too much a part of who you are. No one should be a better friend than your sister.

*God gives lots of grace to parents. Good thing, huh? Let me offer you some encouragement based not only on my experience but that of many other people I’ve known. If you give a rip and try a flip, this whole parenting thing often turns out so much better than you thought it would. Sometimes you can’t even believe that’s you your kids are talking about. You realize they forgot some things. And now you need to, too. Praise You, Lord, for parenting mercies

time with a good friend, shoe shopping and yummy frozen yogurt…

Does it get any better than that?

On a whim, I called my good friend Cambria this afternoon to see if by some miracle we could spontaneously coordinate our schedules to get out for a little kid-free time this afternoon. Dates like that are a rarity these days for both of us. It was fun to spend time together today and be able to actually finish a sentence without one of us needing to answer a question or attend to a child.

We went to Fairhaven and checked out my friend Nia’s new shop. It’s a really cute place with lots of fun, one of kind items. I love the new blues and browns that are currently popular in decorating and I am now inspired to paint our office/craft room. From there we moved on to one of my most favorite activities– shoe shopping! I’ve been on a mission to find a cute, comfortable pair of shoes that are versatile enough to wear with jeans, capris, shorts or whatever. I found this pair at Hilton’s. I don’t know if the picture really does them justice. They are really cute on and super comfortable.

We shopped around downtown for a little while in some of the little boutiques– it made me feel old, but we had fun. I had never been to The Red Berry so we stopped in there for some delicious frozen yogurt. If you live in Bellingham you have to go check it out, it’s on Holly St. near Bob’s Burger and Brew.

We had a really full morning (Walk for Life, Soccer, and Baseball) so the pace of this afternoon was just right after all that! It was a nice treat to get out and spend some time with a good friend, pick up some new shoes, have a yummy treat and–it’s not even Mother’s Day yet!

I get to see more of this sweet sight

in about 2 weeks! I am really looking forward to our vacation. I think I feel just about as excited as I did last year before we went which is surprising to me. I thought I was so excited last time because it was our first trip but the excitement returns when I reminisce with Cam and the boys about all the fun we had last year.

We will be celebrating Cam’s 30th birthday while we are in CA. I have no idea what to get him or how to celebrate the day to make him feel extra special and loved. Any ideas?

We are still super busy. After this weekend soccer is over and our weekend commitments will be cut in half. On Saturday we have The Walk for Life, a soccer game and a baseball game and unfortunately they all overlap a bit. Sunday is Mother’s Day and I am hoping for a fun, relaxing, family day.

I am hoping so that our life calms down a bit after vacation and we can begin working on our summer plans. Pray for lots of sun!