The Mission Oak Inn

I ran just under 4 miles this morning.  My goal was 4 miles but I was afraid if I went any further I may vomit.  So, in order to maintain my dignity in the gym, I choose to stop.  It is the furthest I have run in over a year and it felt so good.  Finally starting to feel like myself again....  Just had to share that.  It has absolutely nothing to do with the Inn.

Almost 2 years ago our church family blessed us with a gift certificate to a nearby bed and breakfast.  Alas, Joe and I just hadn't been able to fit it into our schedule at a time they also had openings.  So this past weekend we were finally able to visit.  And it was so nice.  It sits surrounded by cornfields and a 5 acre lake (I think it is 5 acres..its large).  When I'm at the beach I can totally picture Joe & I living on a sandy beach someday.  However, when I am at a place like this I am reminded that I truly am a Midwesterner at hear.  Oh, and the food was absolutely phenomenal.  We had one of their supper dishes as well as breakfast each  morning.   Oh bliss...can't wait to return.

We scared a deer out of her bed.

I spend a lot of time photographing the birds.  Tons of finches and hummingbirds.  There was even an oriole who visited occassionally.

Yes, that is a raccoon that decided to come visit and chow down on the leftover bird seed.  I was sitting on the porch to our room when he showed up. 

Let the painting begin....

My kids are still at their grandparents.  I miss them.  But I have also been very productive.  Yesterday's plan was to clean up the basement.  I completely misjudged how quickly I could get that done while being the only one home so it was finished by about 9am.  So then I decided to tackle this.....

And unfortunately, it revealed this.....

We knew we had hardwood floors under our carpet but weren't sure what kind of shape they were in.  So we (ahem...I guess I should say "I") decided to tear out Nathan's room because it is the smallest.  I am so completely done with this gross carpet we have.  I cannnot. wait. to. get. it. out. of. the. house.  Now we are deciding if we should refinish them or if we should lay new floor.  After a trip to a couple of hardware stores we are thinking it is not going to be much more, if any, to lay new floor. Unfortunately, for Nathan, we are going to start taking care of this before we lay new floor.

the picture really doesn't show how bad this wall really looks

Yea, the red isn't too bad, but you should see all the nicks in it and I'm kind of tired of it.

Paint, paint and more paint.  We think we have settled on a color that we both like which is a HUGE accomplishment.  And the fact that we decided on one without fighting is an even bigger accomplishment.  For some couples their struggles are with money and various other things, ours is home improvement.  Hardly ever do our tastes match.  So we are pretty proud of ourselves that we selected a paint in a very calm and mature manner.  I know...pride comes before the fall and all that.  So I am off to eat breakfast, go for a run and paint!

Florida Part 2

 The first day at Disney we spent at Magic Kingdom.  I did not take my camera as they were calling for rain and I didn't want to risk it getting wet.  I was so disappointed that I didn't have my camera on the first day, I took the chance on the second day when we went to Animal Kingdom.  I had about 3 layers of plastic on it when it rained and it was fine.  I was so glad I had it as I was able to get some shots of the animals at the park.

If you zoom in you can see all the animals carved into the tree.  When I took the picture I didn't even realize that there were animals carved in it.  Pretty cool.

This whirly roller coaster was on of the kids' favorites.  However, I think the girls enjoyed Mt. Everest even more than this one.

If you know our Nathan at all, you would probably guess that this boy's favorite park was Animal Kingdom.  He is a true LOVER of animals.  He thoroughly enjoyed the safari.

Yes, it rained.  This was day two for the ponchos which is why there are a few holes in them.  We were waiting in line for the safari.  Disney is one of the few places that I really didn't mind wearing a poncho and getting a little wet.

I couldn't believe how realistic the safari was.  I didn't use the zoom on my camera for this photo.  The rhino was right there. 

Florida...part 1

This year's family vacation was a BIG one. We'd been saving for a long while and finally had enough to empty the Disney jar and embark.  The weekend before Memorial Day we headed to Florida with the kids.  We decided to take the trip in two days with a stop in Atlanta.  The kids were pumped about that as we got to stay at an Embassy Suites.  (Love awesome internet deals!!) They had a nice buffet breakfast.  John's comment on that was "I bet dinner here is really awesome with candles and everything!"  I think they would have also ridden up and down the glass elevator at least 100 times if we had let them.  After filling ourselves with breakfast, we headed for Orlando.  As always on our trips we played some car games including Name that Tune.  As we were playing that one, we discovered that the ABC song and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star have the same tune.  We also taught them the "Big Mac song".  And, as Horn family tradition dictates, we looked for those license plates.  This trip we saw all the states except for Hawaii and Alaska.   We were tempted to count Alaska though because one of the volunteers at a show we saw at Hollywood Studios was from Alaska.

At the Florida Welcome Center.  Those four have so much personality! 

Almost as soon as we got to Florida we saw Tropical Storm Beryl.  Most of the storm went north of Orlando.  We did have a few days of rain, but that is why they invented ponchos.  It was also very nice and cool on those days!

Enjoying a quick breakfast at the condo.  We had special treats like Pop Tarts and Nutella. We were so blessed to get to stay in a 3 bedroom condo that was very spacious.  You need some space after you have spent 18 hours together in a car or lots of family time at an amusement park.

Disney Tips

The fam just returned from a big trip to Florida which included Disney World.  Well, I guess the entire family hasn't returned.  The kids stayed at Grandpa & Grandma Horn's for an extended vacation.  I PROMISE pictures, but while the trip was fresh on my mind I wanted to share my thoughts and tips about Disney World for those who may be thinking about taking a trip.

• I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend that you get the book The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney Word (and the year you are going).  Don't plan on reading it cover to cover initially...you will be completely overwhelmed.  There are fabulous tips (some of mine below I got from the book).  They also have touring plans to minimize your wait times at the rides.  And, for additional $7ish you can get a subscription to their website.  The website includes a calendar of which parks are best to visit on which days.  It also allows you to get an app for your phone that gives you real time wait times for the rides.  
• Fanny packs....I know, I don't like fanny packs either.  That is why I didn't wear one :).  My kids did though.  I found some child size ones on amazon and they are perfect for them to carry their own snacks.  This eliminates one person having to carry a backpack with everyone's stuff in it.  I just had a small backpack purse for my own snacks and the sun lotion.
• Chums water bottle clips.  These were Joe's idea and it was brilliant (as most of his ideas are.)  These are D-ring clips that have an elastic loop on the end that fits onto most standard store bought water bottles.  You can then have everyone clip their water bottles to their fanny packs.  You can also then refill the water bottles to eliminate the need to purchase expensive drinks to keep you hydrated.  Although, I should warn you that the water from the tap their is rather nasty.  It does still hydrate you though...and it is FREE!
• If you have access to a lamination machine, laminate the tour plan that you have.  It enables you to read it after it has gotten wet either by rain or water ride.
• Even if you don't use a provided tour plan by the above book or elsewhere, I would suggest you go in with an idea of where you want to go.  This eliminates the debate in the middle of the park as to where you are headed next.  And it eliminates fighting among the children about which rides they want to go on next.
• Get to the parks at the ticket gate at least 30 minutes before they open.  We didn't stand in line for any of the rides longer than 30 minutes and I think one of the reasons for that is we were there when they opened.  On three of the days, they opened the park we were at 30 minutes before the "official" published time.
• An idea for lunch...this is one I came up with, unfortunately, on the last day we were at the parks.  I haven't tried it, but I think it would work.  We budgeted to eat one meal at the parks a day.  But even then, it is hurts when you pay the bill.  But we didn't want to have to go all the way back to the car to get food...especially at Magic Kingdom.  So you might try this...they have lockers at each of the parks.  I think they are around $7 to rent...which is so much cheaper than a meal!!  Pack your lunch in a soft sided cooler and stow it in the locker(s).  If we go back (which we probably won't) this is what we are doing.  It solves the issue of carrying it around all day and you don't have to spend an hour trekking back to the vehicle.
• Get some Dramamine and take it if you are prone to motion sickness.  I get sick on a regular swing at the park.  So Dramamine was a must for me and enabled me to ride everything I wanted.  Note:  I still stayed away from anything that spun A LOT.  No Mad Tea Party for me, thank you.  Also, I forgot my Dramamine one day and discovered that they don't sell it at the parks (at least at the one we were at that day.)
• And, lastly, have a great time!  We truly had an awesome time together as a family!

Sheep

Joe's parents have recently started a sheep farm.  This morning we got to introduce the kids to the sheep.

This is "Lamby" with Joe.  She was bottled fed so she is very friendly.

Checking out the pasture

Grandpa doesn't need a Border Collie if Nathan is around.  He is a natural sheep herder.

And it's a wrap....

 School wrapped up here this last week.  I now officially have a 1st grader, 3rd grader, 5th grader and 6th grader in my house.  (Whew!)  Here's some shots from this last week including the family picnic on the boys' school...one of my favorite events of the school year.

First day of school....

Last day of school...

Nathan with one of his buddies, Ryan, at the school picnic

John and his best buddy Aiden.  John got the special treat of getting to spend the night with him on the last day of school.

John and Nathan after the picnic

Random pics from a Sunday evening

Joe and I were sitting outside Sunday evening watching the storms go around us.  We could have used a little more rain, but it was nice to sit and watch and listen to it.  I decided to get my camera out and play around with it a little.  Here are some of the shots I got.

I planted some daisies to border our new driveway.

This is our squirrel feeder.  We enjoyed watching a squirrel yesterday morning stuffing his cheeks with the corn and then burying it in the yard.  We are really hoping we don't have corn sprouting up anytime soon!

My hummingbird feeder that my boys got me for Mother's day.

This hummingbird (you can barely see it as it is blending in with the fence) was flying around.  I tried to get a picture of it on the feeder but I was never fast enough.  I was pleased the I caught this shot.  Initially I thought I had snapped it too late.

A little bit of culture

Friday night the girls and I got to enjoy an evening out.  One of the seniors at our church was performing in her last musical with her home school group.  So Sara, Ashley and I joined some other woman from church at the performance.  It was a Gilbert and Sullivan and really good.  Sara decided that she would have enjoyed it more had there not been as much singing.  Ashley whispered to me in the middle that she was fairly certain that if she was sneaking away and eloping she wouldn't be singing as it would call to much attention to her. 

What happens when....

you have a six year old boy.  Nathan had his field trip today.  He went to an area Children's museum and had a picnic in the park.  Then a friend invited him to go to the local splash pad after school.  It sits right near the playground equipment.  So, of course, we must play on it too.  So Nathan decided to go down the slide, wet, in his swimming trunks, no shirt...on his stomach.  As he told my friend who was there with him..."I went a little fast."  He slid right off and stopped himself with his chest.  I actually thought it was going to look worse than it did.