Daytona USA

We went to Daytona USA on Sunday and had a great time. I must confess, we were only going to make Jimmy happy. I thought if we did this first, he would be happier with the rest of the time doing what we wanted. I have to admit that we ALL had a wonderful time. We bought "hot passes" and got to do EVERYTHING at Daytona; we went in the infield, the garages, the infield "Bistro", the press boxes and the Frances' personal box. To most of you, this is nothing, but to a huge race fan, it doesn't get much better. Isaac and Alli got to do some race simulator thing that they thought was great, Ash and I got to go shopping. Speaking of the simulator, Jimmy "flipped" his car and rolled it 10 times, in so doing, lost his cell phone. Of course, he did not realize this until today, so back to Daytona we went. Which actually made me really happy. Whenever we go on vacation, we like to buy an ornament to remember the place or event. We thought about it on the way home yesterday. It was like Divine Intervention...I got my ornament!!!

We Made It

We made it! The whole process was SO EASY!! I can not believe it. They were so good, going through security was a bit long, but they did great. Ash fell asleep as soon as we got in the air and the big kids watched a movie on Jimmy's computer. People actually commented on how well behaved our children were. See...this new, calm, patient thing is really working for me and the rest of the clan. Do I see a name change for the "camp" soon????? To soon to tell!!

Here we come....

It is 5:11 AM, yes, AM! For those of you who know Kristin, I am not an early riser. I sleep in until the very LAST second, hence showering at night. In other words, I am very lazy. However, today is a different day. In about 1 hour, we will be on the road to Florida. Yes, FLORIDA!!! I have so many emotions going through me right now. I am a big person on having an "idea" in my mind on how something should go. If it does not go that way (for the record, it seldom does!!), I get VERY disappointed. I planned this trip at the end of spring with our tax return money. Jimmy was working ALL the time and racing in his spare time as an outlet. I understand outlet, but sometimes, most times, it got old quickly. That is when I decided I had to have something to look forward to...time with my husband and kids! I wanted a vacation that was all about them. A week to be the mom who said yes to everything versus no. The mom whose priority was her kids and husband, not the laundry and dishes. They needed this and I NEEDED this. Then I thought, I have no idea when we would be able to do this again. I am not a big fan on taking the kids out of school for a week nor am I a fan on Florida in the dead of summer. So once again, in my head, I thought, lets make the absolute most of this vacation. Do EVERYTHING one tourist family could do and with the help of Kelley and her friend, we started the process. Kelley's friend was kind enough to let us stay free in his hotel. That led to planning to go to NASCAR USA, Universal Studio's, and Cocoa Beach. Jimmy actually was the one who said if we are there, we have to see the princesses! I guess Disney will be added on.
Now fast forward 6 months and you have the present moment. After making the plans, it was all I talked about. Needless to say, that did not last long in Jimmy's world so I was banned from mentioning the "D" word. Last night as we were packing the car, Jimmy informed me that he would NEVER go on vacation with little kids again. I thought 5 people in 4 bags, damn I am good. He did not see it that way and started this vacation...NOT as I pictured it in my head. Yes, being gone that long, with children, staying in a hotel is going to be a little exhausting. I have NEVER been with my children none stop for that many days. Am I crazy to be excited by that? I think I am. I think that is was it is 5 in the morning and I can hardly type because my hands are shaking so much. That or I am concerned one of us is not going to make it back!!!
So, I am off, to be ONLY a wife and mom...the BEST wife and mom that I can be. I am leaving all of my issues (in a jar...aren't you proud Jodi), negativity, busyness at home. I am taking with me love, PATIENCE, and a smile. I mean come on, I am going to the "happiest place on earth". Oh yeah, AND MY CAMERA!!! So wish me well! Say a prayer and I will try to keep you posted on the latest developments...get is posted!!! OK, it is 5 in the morning, give me at least a smile for that one!

Leaves

As you may know, I have every Wednesday off from "work" to be a mom. Let the truth be told, I work harder on Wednesday than I do any day of the week. As a mother, taxi driver, house cleaner, laundry doer (is that a word?), and pleaser of all...my day is pretty long. I intended to have this day as a day to play with my kids and just be a Mom. After 4 1/2 years, I am still trying. It is so hard to just let this stuff go, I want to get the laundry caught up and the bathroom cleaned (boys, I have no idea what is in their pee, but it reeks!!!), not to mention the 100 other items I have to get done. Last week was so nice out and I wanted to get the leaves raked up. Isaac was so sweet and asked if he could jump in the pile. How could I resist? I let everything go and jumped with them. I think as a mom (at least I do!), you forget that at the end of the day, the other stuff does not matter. Your children screaming in excitement versus anger is such a wonderful sound. All three of them thought the pile of leaves was great and the idea of the camera taking a picture by itself...mind boggling! You have to love self timer!! It solved my problem from a few posts ago on how to get myself in a picture or two. Anyway, the day was great both "outside" and "inside". It amazes me how three little people can warm my heart so much!!

A New Favorite...well, close

Not really my new favorite, but I still love it. Ashley will give jimmy a kiss anytime he asks...sometimes even when he doesn't...like this time. It is wonderful to watch Jimmy with the kids; he honestly loves those kids with his whole heart!

So Sophisticated

I am officially 30 years old, well, I am about 2 1/2 hours short of being 30. My sister surprised me with this very cool bracelet. She told me it was only for a "grown up, sophisticated 30 year old...very adult!" So it is official, I am exactly that...grown up and sophisticated...scary I know. Now to work on patience, oh, I will give myself till I am 40 for that, well maybe 50. I would hate to let myself down!

*Sorry about the photo, I took it with my phone!!

Happy Halloween

Halloween was great again this year. We had the kids party at preschool. As always it was fabulous. Mrs Simon is such a wonderful teacher; I hope she knows that!!! We went home and played in the leaves all afternoon (I will put pictures of that up tomorrow). After that, we went to my mom's. We like to get the most bang for our buck, she has lots of houses close together. Anyways, we had dinner and got ready to go with of course, our annual family photo session. I know how silly, but this is the only time I am guaranteed a picture of the six kids I love most in the world all together. They are all growing up so fast, I know these pictures are limited. This year Ashley, Kyle, and Grandma came trick or treating with us. Ashley enjoyed it very much. She was more interested in eating the candy herself versus putting the candy in the bag, which slowed us down a little. Jimmy especially liked the sucker in his hair! Isaac started out strong and ended up going home early with Grandma. Alli was the highlight of my evening. She did WONDERFUL!!! She told everyone trick or treat, thank you, and Happy Halloween!!! After the first house, she got it. She informed Jimmy that she was going to get more candy than anyone and she did!! She had no problem running from house to house. Of course, she is her father's daughter and could not run through the yard. Let it be known that yes, my children play in the grass at our house, Jimmy just believes that if there is a sidewalk people should use it...out of respect...of course, he is also the one that says "if a lawn is put in right, you can do basically anything you want to it and nothing should happen to it." Does everyone get this Camp Chaos thing now? We are five DIFFERENT people living in one house trying, oh are we trying!!! Like I said before, they drive me crazy, but what would Halloween be with out Wolverine, Sleeping Beauty, and Thing 1 (Tinkerbell)?