The first part of our Disney trip!

Yes I got to take the kids to Disney!! It was totally awesome! The kids and I drove up on Friday morning with my mom and we went to the mall first. The kids got their pictures taken with Santa which was quite an expierence! Caden was in awe of him so he couldn't bring himself to smile. It was like he was hypntize by meeting him. Casey on the other hand thought the big man in the red suit was going to take her and never give her back so she totally freaked out and screamed like a little screaming monkey. It was really funny to see the two totally different reactions. We got the picture and it captured it perfectly! I grabbed Casey back and she quickly took her "bit" (blanket) and insterted her two finger in her mouth and sat there sucking them wide eyed while she calmed down.

After the mall we went to Downtown Disney!!! I LOVE it there it is awesome. Mom found a dress for Casey that was more than half off! It is a beautiful christmas Belle dress she won't be able to wear it for awhile but she will love it when she can. We all went to T-REX, a resturant like the Rainforest Cafe but with Dinosaurs all around, and Caden was soooooo excited. He loves dinos now and he just loved when they all came to life around him. Casey really enjoyed it too which surprised me I thought she would be more scared but she is fearless (except when it comes to Santa).

My Dad drove up that night to join us for the weekend but Joe had to work so he instead picked up extra hours on Saturday so we could get some over time since it is Christmas and we need the money.

Disney was amazing but this post is getting long so I will fill that in another day! Pictures will come when I can get my computer to work : )

Decorating for Christmas and sickness

So I am a firm believer that it's not truely a Christmas Tree if it isn't a real good smelling, needle dropping, sap filled tree. Well yesterday we were supposed to go and get our tree but Joe is really sick so when he got back from work he really wasn't up for it. He said we could go after he got some rest but since I had the same thing all this past week I knew that wouldn't happen. Thankfully my mom had purchased a $40 christmas tree from Target recently for the outside patio but hadn't put it up yet so I asked her if I could borrow it this year. Caden and I put it together and decorated it so that when Joe got up from resting it would be all done. I think he was surprised I went with a fake tree seeing as I HATE them so much but I figure Joe's health was more important this year.

It's not really so bad it's just a little too perfect and has no smell so I will have to get a candle or something. Though it is very pretty I think my Christmas spirit is a little dim because of it. This will definetly be the first and ONLY year of a fake tree in my house. I got the rest of the house all decorated and it looks really nice I think. The kids are loving it and having a ton of fun playing with all the christmas bears I have collected over the years.

I will post some pictures soon as I can. Only 18 days till CHRISTMAS!! Yippie!!

Thanksgiving

So it's been a long time since I posted anything but we've been busy. We have been getting ready for the holidays and having a very good time while doing it.



This year Thanksgiving was with Joe's family so we celebrating with my family the weekend before we left for MD. Joe had to work in the morning so Caden, Casey and I helped my parents put up the outside Christmas lights. The kids had a blast watching their grandparents work and the weather was amazing perfect to be outside in. I made the turkey and Mom made everything else. I think I got the better end of the deal : )



We left for Joe's Uncle Scott's home in Silver Springs, MD the Wed. before Thanksgiving and it was a rough go. Caden was horribly sick starting by throwing up all over my moms car on the way to the airport and then continuing to get sick while at the airport. If we could have rescheduled our trip we definetly would have but since we couldn't we went anyway. That was probably a mistake since Caden was sick the whole time and then Casey got sick and now I am sick and so is our niece Ellie. But we did have a very nice time with the family up there and we were really glad we got to see them. Hopefully sometime we will get to see them without anyone being sick!



Caden was feeling a little better on Saturday so we took him and Casey to the Childrens Museum in Baltimore. Joe's brother Tony and his wife Christine and their daughter Ellie went with us and it was really a great time. The kids had such a blast and I really hope we can go back as they get older.



Here are some pictures of the trip and our holiday. Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/HaleyShumway/Thanksgiving#5276377483198413506

TS Fay

So we got hit with a Tropical Storm last week so Joe and Dad got the day off. We had a pretty good day in all Joe got some play time with the kids and I got to take a nap...YEAH!!!! Caden and Casey slept great because the shutters were up so their rooms were really dark and the storm pretty much hit at around 5a.m. so they weren't scared at all. We never lost power completely just had the lights flicker for a few hours which was great. We have a great big lake in both the front and the back yard now...well now they are slowly drying up but the back still floods when it rains in the afternoon. I got some pictures of the fire ants that were floating around the water. If you aren't from FL and haven't seen it before it is pretty cool how they survive flooding. They use the bodies of the dead ants as a sort of raft for all the living ants and they all float on the top of the water. You definetly don't want to run into them in the water though because they will be up you sooooo fast. Here are some pics of what we did during the storm and what the storm left behind along with some pics from a few days before the storm arrived.
http://picasaweb.google.com/HaleyShumway/TSFay

The Bronleewe Visit!

My sister Heidi and her family came down for a week to celebrate moms 50th birthday. We all had a blast but especially the kids! Caden and Anna hit it off right away and got into all sorts of mischief. Anna really loved Casey but doesn't know her own strength so it was a little like watching the tiny toons character Elmira...she just wanted to hug her and kiss her and squeeze her! The week went by way too fast but we get to see them again at Christmas and by that time Casey will be able to join in more of the fun since she should be walking : ) Here are some pictures from the visit!
http://picasaweb.google.com/HaleyShumway/TheShumways?authkey=su_JDs4AnhA

Caden sends his love

Caden wanted to be on the camera last night and also see "Asey" on it so we played. Here is some video of him telling his grandparents and aunts and uncles how much he loves them. Of course he had to put in there that he loves his Honey too. He doesn't really say the words "Love you" for some reason he has a hard time pronoucing them so Honey (his great grandma) told him how to show people how MUCH he loves them so that way they can understand him better. The Love Bug pretty much just stands there eatting Cheerios the whole time but I am sure she loves everyone too. : )

Casey trying to dance

Casey has started dancing lately whenever she hears music or a hum or really anything that she finds amusing. We listen to music all the time at our house so she gets lots of practice. Its not the typical head bob that Caden did it's more of a swaying back and forth "feel the music" type of move. She wouldn't do it for me for very long on the video but I will keep trying to get it. Caden tried to help me out by showing her what we wanted to do. She got camera shy for some reason. Enjoy!

Our Family Blog!

So here we go! Since everyone seems to be having so much fun blogging now I have decided to add our family to the mix. Hopefully this will be a way to help keep everyone up to date on what is going on with our family and friends. I am hoping this will especially help our family in OH see the kids and Joe. I will try to keep it updated weekly with pictures and info. Joe has even promised to make sure some pictures from his job make it on here! He starts on the 11th of Aug. as PE Coach at Oakridge Middle School. We love you all and hope this makes everyone feel a bigger part of our lives : )