Our Family's feet in the sand at Daytona Beach 6-25-07.
Top- Mike, Right- Megan, Bottom-Brandi and Left-Paige

On our last day in Orlando we took the day off from the theme parks and had a wonderful visit with our dear friend Denise and George. They moved down to S. Carolina in the fall of 2006 and then earlier this year they moved to Merrit Island (near Cocoa Beach) FL. So they drove over and we had a fun time visiting and hanging out in the pool. While we waited out a thunderstorm we sat and shared pictures and stories. Here are some silly pictures of Paige and Megan wearing their swim goggles and Denise's sun hat.
What a bunch of hams....we call this picture above the "Three Headed Monster pose".

I guess you can call these the "Dog Days of Summer". Mike let the dogs have a go at this watermelon before it went in the trash. Rowdy was not that interested but Rebel was going to town. When we brought Rebel back in the house he was whining for more. Silly pup!

While in Orlando we stayed at the Caribe Royale. It had a huge centrally located pool with waterfall and a water slide. The hotel was nice and clean and the price was right they even had free bus service to the Disney parks.
We had Megan wear her life jacket while in the pool since it went from 3 ft. to 6 ft. and it was a free form pool so there was not any defined"deep end". We had fun going under the falls and you could even walk behind them too.


Paige showing Megan how to go down the water slide. Love the green goggles!




Megan's first trip down the water slide was on Mike's lap, after that she was on her own.\. She wouldn't even go down on my lap, not once. This water slide was great for her confidence, even if she was wearing a life jacket.
P.S. Yesterday while we were at the pool I said to Megan why don't you go down the slide here and I will even wait at the bottom to make sure you are o.k.?" She said "No not today". Then I countered "what if I give you a dollar". Well that sealed the deal she went down and swam all by herself to the ladder...after that she went down another dozen times...but she only got $1.00 not a dollar for each time down!
We are so proud of her, even if I had to bribe her....I knew she could do it and I knew she would love it and she does!

When you come off the G.M. test track ride it dumps you off into a car showroom with the latest G.M. has to offer and then into a gift shop with more car and racing hats, shirts and toys than you can imagine. I found this shirt for Mike, too bad they only have it in kids size. But at least we took this picture!

Here are some pictures from Disney's Light Parade. We were over in Mickey's Toontown and we were all hot and tired. We decided to take the train back to the front of the park so we could walk through the shops and cool off. I think they have the air conditioning set at sub zero. So we walked around and cooled off, got some refreshments and found a place to sit for the parade. Megan sat with us for about five minutes until one of the Disney cast members came out with a music player and she got up and danced with a bunch of other little girls for an hour straight. She was having a ball and making memories. Of course she wore herself out and I had to carry her onto the ferry and all the way to the bus stop but it was worth it to see her having so much fun and dancing her heart out.

Megan's favorite float was the one with Alice In Wonderland on it...that Megan always surprises me. I would have thought it would be Ariel or Cinderella. Paige's favorite part of the parade was near the end when the Queen of Hearts (also from Alice In Wonderland) came over and bent down and touched her on the tip of her nose. Somehow I lucked out and caught it on video ... a magic moment to treasure for always.
As for the floats my favorite was the one with Chip and Dale playing the piano like a couple of crazy guys. They always make me smile.

Megan and Paige posing for their dad at Sea World
Megan and Mike petting stingrays!
Paige says "I petted at least 10 stingrays then I stopped counting."

"Let's all go to the Laughing Place the Laughing Place" as Brer Rabbit would sing.The Izzie's after a ride on Splash Mountain at the Magic Kingdom. Paige was not sure she wanted to go on this ride...after all it does go down a 50 foot (5 stories) hill. That is where you would think you would get splashed. We got soaked before we started up the first hill by the boat coming down the big hill. This was our favorite ride and it was nice to get cooled off in the 90+ Florida heat and humidity.

Paige's Summer hair!

I wanted to share Paige's new Summer hair with all of you! She wanted to wait until after Pioneer Day at school to get her hair cut..that way she could wear braids and look like Laura Ingles (her idol). So on Thursday after school I took her up to get her hair cut. She said "I don't want to get a bob like Megan's because it won't be as cute on me". I told her you don't have to get a bob if you want your hair long we will just get it trimmed. But when she got there she was looking at the idea books and showed the gal what she liked. Paige also said "but I want it long enough to put in a pony tail if I want". So the gal cut it and it is long enough for a pony tail but Paige has not asked me to put it up in a pony tail yet. She has worn some hair clips and headbands but no pony tails yet. I love it and I know she does too. She said "now I look like Reilly." (one of her good friends). She is very proud of the fact that she can brush it and do her own part even. Of course in these photos her hair is blown out straight , we have just been letting it air dry and she has a lot of bounce and wave in her hair. That is not a bad thing ether! I just wish my hair was as cute as hers.

Paige and Megan saying good night and good bye to Mimi and Pop-pop.

A little Megan story : On this particular day Megan slept in really late I think it was 10:30 or 11 a.m. before she got up and that was when I went in to check on her and I kinda woke her up snuggling with her in her bed. We were starting to get worried about her because she is our early bird riser. If she sleeps until after 8 a.m. that is late for her. So I go up and snuggle in her cozy bed and the first thing she says is " Is this the last day Pop-pop and Mimi are going to be here?" and I said "yes" and then she says "then I am going to be sad all day!". I told her to be happy that she gets to visit with her Pop-pop and Mimi one more day and to enjoy their time together and that is what she did. I am very proud of my girls they are so loving and they enjoy their family and that makes me proud.

All cleaned up after an afternoon of sun and swimming. My dad treated us all to a dinner of bison burgers at Ted's Montanna Grill and then ice cream at Graeter's.

What to do with your ballerina the morning before the big show...have her play a few rounds of "Blokus" with her Pop-pop and Mimi. A popsicle doesn't hurt either! Just whatever you do don't mess up your hair!

Megan is ready for summer!



Megan's all ready for summer. On Saturday May 26 she got her hair bobbed while Paige was getting her hair put in French braids for the dance recital. I love Megan's hair like this...so cute and fun just like her!

It's Paige, Megan and Mr. Pumba!




Here are some more photos from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

While Pop-pop and Mimi were here they went to Megan's tap class to see her and her friends play some dance games and watch them do their "Let's Go To The Movie's" dance from the recital. In this picture below they were dancing to a song and had to balance their pompom's on different parts of their bodies. I think Dad and Carole enjoyed seeing Megan dance, it is hard not to smile when you see this little ball of energy having so much fun. Miss. Erin and Megan pose for a photo after class.

Playing cards with Pop-pop on the back patio. Their favorite game to play was "Who Knew?" a game by Cranium. Each player gets 4 cards with words (nouns) like baseball, big dogs, star gazing etc. and you have a person that is it. The other players have to pick a card out of their hand to place in the envelope. The person that is it decides what they like best and gives out points. It is a fun game and we laughed a lot and learned a lot too. Who Knew that my dad prefers drive-thrus over sunsets and boots???? Hmmmm?????

Enjoying a nice dinner out with Dad and Carolee at Jason's in Dublin (Ohio not Ireland).

May 23, 2007
Mimi, Paige, Pop-pop and Megan all dressed up to go out to dinner.

Rebel's new best buddy is my dad. Dad got a kick out of him because when he was watching t.v. Rebel would come sit next to him and put his head under his hand so my dad would lay his hand on his back. Rowdy got lots of extra care from dad too.

Mimi, Paige and Pop-pop.
On Wed. May 23 we went up to Paige's school and surprised her with a visit at lunch time. After Paige had lunch she gave Mimi and Pop-pop a tour of her school so they could see all of the art work.