the don't blink trip

dave and i are not disney people.  (if i can be brutally honest, we roll our eyes at eachother and secretly pity the saps who gloat about disney.)  but we always knew that someday we'd need to take our kids to disney.  so when dave had training for work in orlando, we decided that this was the someday.  others gawked when we told them we were only doing one day and one park but we didn't waver from the plan - and lovingly joked that our kids should be sure not to blink.  dedicated to one amazing disney day, we gave it a 110% with: mickey tees, dole whips, souvenirs, arriving at open and leaving at closing, fast passes maxed, 21000 steps, parades, cotton candy, the works!  it was an amazing disney day.  

Kindin enjoyed the adventure of splash & space mountain and exclaimed, 'This is the best day of my life.'

Jack preferred to keep it tame with rides like: buzz lightyear & tomorrowland speedway 

Dalia was enamored with the characters & twinkling lights and had us all laughing when insisting on a dog leash souvenir

The magic kingdom was truly amazing but we left feeling like one day was the perfect amount.  we spent the rest of our vacation enjoying the other attractions orlando has to offer: 

cocoa beach (remind me never, ever to be there again when dave takes the kids out during high tide!) & ron jon surf shop.

gatorland.  tickling alligators and watching them jump for chicken.

flyboarding.  attempting flips on his first attempt, he was truly a 'rocket man'.  The instructor questioned, 'what gave you the guts to try that?'

the fancy hotel pool.  old JW hooked us up with an amazing lazy river resort to play in.

kennedy space center. surprised by the wildlife and dreaming of 2030 trips to mars.  

the blue man group per mandy's request.  it was a funny, quirky night!

the golden year

it's the last year before dolly goes off to school.  a wise friend coined this 'the golden year' and it really is: her busy schedule gives me time to get things done sans guilt, she wants to be helpful and seeks after approval, she's up for anything, is fairly easy to reason with, and can communicate her curious little thoughts.  

(i must mention her friends that make the year even more golden - a group of 7 girls gets together every monday, she enjoys preschool and rhyme time with two of her very favorite people, and gets to see a few at the gym during the week.)

tickets from our 'ten'-ager

kindin has reached a stage dave has lovingly coined 'ten'-ager - all the markings of a teenager but reached prematurely.  things like: 421 text messages in a 24 HR time period, mood swings, eye rolling & sassing back, and an unsatiable need for independance are becoming regular occurances we're trying to get used to.  luckily, there are some advantages to having a 'ten'-ager.  okay, not many advantages- really just one.  but it's a big one.  she can provide occasional short term babysitting services for us and it's a wonderful help as life seems to get busier and busier.

at first she was extremely nervous to babysit.  not surprised by her hesitation, we made her sit with the anxiety.  but she quickly found unexpected reassurance from reading The Truth about Stacy.  armed with Babysitters Club Books ideas to carry a babysitting kit, she created her own (complete with kindin tickets) and has discovered a newfound confidence with her 'ten'-ager self and we're grateful to enjoy this one big perk.  

the tender halloween mercy

every year we hold a halloween party exclusively for the kids on our street.  however, with a vacation just when we'd typically hold the party, i strongly considered canceling it.  but i had an impression to keep the party.  not sure exactly why, i kept the party all while resisting urges to save time, energy and money by forfeiting.  but within minutes of handing out the invitations, i knew exactly why i'd been prompted to keep the party.
just minutes after insisting that jack deliver invitations to his peers, 2 of the boys were on our driveway talking to jack.  a friendly move he hasn't been brave enough to make in almost a year and one that was so desperately needed.  you see, jack is liked by everyone but for some reason never reciprocated efforts at friendship - particularly among the crowd of neighborhood boys.  they have come knocking for him so many times but he could never be coerced to reciprocate that knock.  as warned by a worried social worker mama, he eventually got overlooked as part of the group leaving a scenario in which all neighborhood boys were playing football and jack was riding his bike by himself or tagging along with his sisters' friends.  
the tender mercy of the halloween party has had him playing football almost daily since.  he has been confident and happy.  and i have been filled with gratitude!

[allow me the space here to write a few things about jack that i don't want to forget.  
- when complaining about how ridiculous mom's magnet collection is, he said he'd collect 'cheetah legs'. 
- we were surprised to find out he is scared to death of heights 
- i won't ever reveal his major tell when he's not feeling well because it's the only time he wants to cuddle
- he stinks like a grown boy and has started wearing deodorant! 
- his answer "not much" to a fill in the blank entitled this really puts me in a bad mood... couldn't be more accurate 
- he has a lot of interest in animals and recently had a grasshopper 'ben' doing 'tricks']
  

taco ride

the taco ride was my first move towards becoming a "cyclist".  10 miles out, an obligatory stop for tacos, and 10 miles back in the dark with about a hundred other bikers was a great primer for my first race planned for the spring.  i love that my super fit friend and her hubby went along and am grateful for a super supportive hubby that made a date of it!

indoctrination

on the end of our most recent trip to bear lake, we tacked on what we lovingly refer to as an  'indoctrination stop'.  fueled by the upcoming husker/ byu game, we: got byu swag, toured campus, and sampled college food at places like j dawgs.  our day trip also took us up bridal veil falls, past dalia's name sake, on a hike up cottonwood canyon with lifelong friends, and to cafe rio for burritos.

p.s.  i cry every time we leave this beloved indoctrination spot.  it has a little hold on my heart and i get a certain homesickness when we leave.  we really hope our kids get to experience byu, the beautiful utah valley, and the adventures of the mountains!

the indoctrination culminated in what may have been byu's best football game in history! (paid a million dollars to show up, byu was invited in the hopes that they'd be an easy win to continue the huskers 29 year opening game winning streak)  in the absolute last second, byu landed a hail mary touchdown for the win!  it was absolutely incredible - husker fans were jaw-dropped speechless and a water fight ensued among the cougars.  no doubt about it- mission accomplished!

#blessed

In the solitude of my recent daily bike ride, I was suddenly overcome with tears.  Simply put, I glanced at my surroundings : a quaint neighborhood near the school, a short distance from the lake, a home with room to grow, and I even considered our upcoming disneyworld trip... and it overwhelmed my heart with gratitude.  In that moment, I realized that the Parry family is privileged enough to be tasting 'The American Dream' and that's when the tears came!  I can't possibly sort through all the feelings I had in that moment but it was a truly humbling experience I hope never to forget.  I love my life!  #blessed  

(and now, the irreverent reference: )

reunions

we were lucky to have two family reunions this summer and both were so wonderful!

at bear lake 2015, both jack and kindin got up on skies for the first time; we enjoyed getting to know the new SIL emily better; dave freaked us out with his driving stunts on a rzr; we surprised omi with a silly string attack: and loved all the usual swimming, tennis, and sunning activities.

wisconsin dells hosted the eichmann's reunion.  we played at the waterparks for 3 full days - only leaving the posh resort three times for a waterski show, MACS for lunch, and a quick shopping stop.   the kids (and their kid-like dad) loved the slides and were much more adventurous than their momma!  

ah... family is wonderful! and family reunions are even better!

chomping water and tennis rockets

we really packed it in this summer.  our days were largely filled with 'chomping water' (treading water) and 'tennis rockets' (tennis racquets) as dalia would say.

but we also worked towards summer bucket items:

planetarium, sand in the city, slurpees, service to others, scotch tape portraits, feeding stingrays, stamp camp, squirrel cage jail, kanesville tabernacle, half price books, weekend at grandmas, ski show, baseball games, paddleboarding at the lake, YES day, splash station, river boat cruise, sleepout on the trampoline, shooting and archery range, hydrant party, early morning bikerides for donuts, and lots of time with friends.

[i must say that i was against the pinterest bucket list loved by so many but i knew my busy 9 year old needed it.  it also took care of my loveable 7 year old who doesn't have much interest in arranging play time with friends.  (it seems as if following around his social sisters is enough for him.) and it excited the 4 year old who loves trying to keep up with 'the kids'.]  i may have overscheduled us but it was been a quick, fantastic summer!  no one was bored and everyone was tired!