Catching Up...again!

Once again it is time to play catch-up. It seems like life goes by so fast that sometimes we forget to do the things we enjoy doing the most. We haven't updated this since January, so I thought it was time to let the dishes in the sink set and update my post. I know that if I did it more often it wouldn't take as long and I would do it more often! There are so many of you that are so good at updating your blogs with a busy life. I am inspired by your blogs, and strive to do a better job with ours.

We are starting to find a new normal routine amid all the chaos in our lives.
In February we took a family trip to Disney World. Mom was looking forward to the sun, dad was looking forward to a break from work ro spend time with the family, and the kids were looking forward to the parks! Unfortunately the sun wasn't out while we were there, but the unseasonably cool weather made the parks virtually empty! We had been threatening the kids for months telling them "if you can't stand in the line at Costco without losing your mind, you can't go to Disney World!" When we got there and there were no lines Brody said "mom, the lines at Wal-Mart are longer than this!" Fortunately he was right. We made it through every ride in the Disney World in 2 days! Unheard-of!!! It was great. We spent the rest of the days at Animal Kingdom and Epcot.

While we were there we stayed at the Nickelodeon Hotel about a 5 minute drive from the parks. The kids absolutely loved it there. Our room had a Spongebob theme. We spent one day just at our hotel. He had breakfast with the Nicktoons, and played in the heated water features there. The temp. stayed around 70* which was warm for us and there was no rain, so we thought it was great. The nights were a little cold, but we were fine with sweatshirts on.

In March Wyatt and Genai had birthday's.

Wyatt celebrated his birthday with his friends at a local indoor play ground called JJ Jump. They have all sorts of inflatable jumping castles and slides. The kids (and adults) had a great time. I however did not want to celebrate my birthday. After 21 things are a little anti-climatic. But Rex being the great husband he is refuses to let that happen! We have been looking for a boat on-and-off for about 2 years. I found one that I thought was perfect on Craiglist and told Rex about it. He was very busy at work as all snow tires have to be off by my birthday; so I though he had forgot about it. I didn't mention it, I was sure another one would come along, and low-and-behold that "perfect" boat was parked in front of my house on my birthday morning. He is so sneaky! The weather has been awful and the boat was just de-winterized, so I am still waiting to take a ride. Hopefully Memorial Day will be the day!

May 12th Rex and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary. I can't believe it has been 10 years. I feel absolutely blessed to be married to such a wonderful person. Rex is a great husband and father, I could not have asked for anything better; nor could I have imagined someone as wonderful as him actually existed. I am from a family of habitual divorce. To some 10 years is a drop in the bucket, but for my family Rex and I are sailing in uncharted waters. No one in my family has ever been married that long. I am very proud to say we have broken that cycle and are happier than ever.

I had never been to Las Vegas, and Rex loves it there so we decided to go. We had a great time. Thanks to a great deal from Travelocity we stayed in the Tower Suites at the Wynn. WAY above our pay grade, but tons of fun! We were staying right next to Lisa Renna. Some may know her from Dancing With the Stars, but I prefer to remember her as the original Billie on Days of Our Lives! Rex saw her first (ten points to him for recognizing her), and then we saw her later in the shops at the hotel. We also saw Raschad Evans (a UFC fighter) at the Hard Rock Hotel. Even though I think he is a punk for beating Chuck it was still cool to see someone famous. Just in case you were wondering , no I didn't have the guts to tell him what I thought of him. I may have a big mouth, but I would like to keep that big mouth full of teeth! We saw The King Arthur dinner show at the Excalibur and Blue Man Group. They were both tons of fun.

This was our first Mother's Day without my mom, and even though it was difficult, I wan't to pay tribute to the wonderful, funloving couragous women she was. She taught Amanda and I what it meant to be a good person and a good mom. I pray everyday that I can be half the person she was. I am thankful to have had the oppronunity to have such a wonderful mom, and I celebrate her memory this and everyother Mother's Day to come. Hold your mothers close, your world without them is strange and a little scary.

Well, I think I have successfully condenced the past few months into a few pharagraphs. I promise to update more frequently for here on out.

Love,

The Harper's