Making the cut: 10 Suitcases or Less

Like I've already told you, we're moving. Yes, we've done it a lot in the last couple years. You would think that we have it down to a science by now. There are a few things we have learned to do better, faster, etc, but the truth is, packing is packing and it really does suck. Especially since the last 2 moves I have made I have wittled down all our household goods, clothes, etc to fit into 10 suitcases or less.

Since we can't always take everything with us that means I have to weed through toys, clothes, basically everything. Inevitably we part with things we wish we didn't have to in a sacrifice for space. My kids have had to give up Christmas presents they had received just 6 months before, I have had to leave behind pots and pans I really liked, it's just the way it goes.

As I was cleaning out my dresser (weeding through and tossing) I came to the realization that one thing that always comes with me and is immediately set up on my new vanity or dresser is a photo of me and my college girlfriends.

This photo could have easily been displaced by a photo of my kids or set aside in all the moves, but I've always kept it around. I'm not in constant contact with my girlfriends, but I like having our picture near whenever I am getting ready. Just a little reminder of my best friends even though we're far away from each other. Plus I just really like the way I look in the picture! Ahhh to be 20 again!

So girls, here's to us and to making the cut in yet another move!

In the Name of Cuteness

Sharing a pillow?? C'mon now, so cute!

Gymnastics

As if I didn't spend enough time in the car, I have now signed all three of my children up for a gymnastics class 3 days a week. They are loving it and it gives them a place to run off some energy, so I guess it is worth the extra time in the car.

The beam, the bars, the trampoline...

And they even have to wear uniforms! It's getting serious.

Jackson even has to do the "mens" events like pommel horse, rings and parallel bars.

The instructors are teaching in Spanish, but my kids are doing everything just fine so I guess they are understanding well enough.

And who knows, maybe we have a future Olympian.

Now if I could just get them to remember to point their toes....

24° 33' N 81° 45' W

In the past 5 years I have lived in 5 different households in 4 different states/territories/countries. That's a lot of moving folks.

And now after less than a year in Cancun we are getting ready to do it all over again.

Patrick accepted a director of sales position (huge step up!) with a new company this past week and in less than a month we will be leaving Mexico and heading to Key West, Florida. Back to the States for us, even if it is the southern-most point of the U.S.

Deets to come, stay tuned.

Swine Flu Blues = Go to Disney World

As you may have heard, recently Mexico has been experiencing an outbreak of a little something called Swine Flu. Heard of it? 

Anyway, for the past two weeks all schools in Mexico have been closed as preventative measures to help curb the spreading of germs. I haven't been following the news or anything, but until just a few days ago there weren't even any cases reported in the whole state of Quintana Roo (where Cancun is located). We are feeling pretty safe, but tourism has slowed WAY down, so what's a family with no school and no work to do? 

Well if you're this family, you go to Disney World of course! It's only like Ella's 8th time and she's just 7. Just saying. 

We took off last Thursday and the kids didn't even know we were going anywhere. We said we were meeting our maid at the airport and then when we got on the plane and said we were going "on an adventure" Ella started crying cause Patrick had told her earlier we could go out to dinner and she didn't want to miss out on that!

I didn't take very many pictures cause we've done most of the same poses/pictures before at the park and it gets a little repetitive: same scenery, different year. I did take photos of some of the new stuff we did though.

Here we are on the ferry to the Magic Kingdom. We usually ride the monorail, but the line was shorter for the Ferry. Doesn't Jackson look like he is surpassing Ella in height? He's not, but they are pretty much the same height now.

Kaley's 1st ride pick was Goofy's Barnstormer kids roller-coaster. All the kids love this ride. She wanted to go without parents-just her and Ella.

Going up....

Going down..

And around the bend...

At the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, Patrick was "that guy" that they kept putting on the jumbo screen and making fun of. All the kids got a good laugh at that, but the whole audience cracked up when Jackson made it onscreen and they asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said 'Alaska.' I think he may have thought they asked where he wanted to be when he grew up.

This trip we also tried out a Disney waterpark for the first time. We went to Blizzard Beach, which is made to look like a ski resort that melted. We had a really fun day. There were plenty of "rides" the kids could go on, but I think their favorite was the Teamboat Springs where we all rode the chair lift to get to and then plummeted down in a family raft.

Ella on a kiddie slide.

Racing in the Kiddie Park.

Jackson making his way across the icebergs. Gotta know how to do that if you're going to be Alaska when you grow up. :)

Jackson on a slide.

In the sleigh on the way out of the park.

As a special treat to Kaley we surprised her with a trip to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Downtown Disney at the World of Disney store. She got the royal treatment and experienced long hair for the day. She also had her makeover in the store window, so she got to "princess wave" at all the passersby.

Her Before

Right before the big reveal

And after she saw herself

Plus and extra modeling pose outside the store 

Another first for us was going to Disney Quest. It is an interactive wonderland if you are into that kind of stuff. We're not, so it wasn't the highlight of the trip. Jackson did beat his dad pretty soundly at Guitar Hero though.

3D glasses for the Pirates of the Carribean "ride"

The only other park we went to besides the Magic Kingdom was Disney's Hollywood Studios. We wanted to try the newish Toy Story Mania 3D ride. We all decided it was a hit and we rode 3 times.

Another new attraction at Hollywood Studios was the American Idol Experience. It was really cool and actual guests at the park that day go through the audition process and some make it to the stage to perform in one of their 5 or 6 shows throughout the day.  There are judges, a voting mechanism and everything. Just like we were actually there except no Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert or Kris Allen to be found.

It amazes me that even though we go to Disney World more than I think we should that each time is a different experience. We did and saw a lot of things this trip we hadn't done before, so that was cool. I did worry that there would be more chance of Swine Flu at Disney what with people from all over the world there, but we were armed with our hand sanitizer, so no worries.

School starts back up on Monday and after Spring Break (April 3-19), then a week of school and then the Swine Flu shutdown (April 28 - May 10) I'm not sure we'll ever get back into a normal routine!!

Ice Skating in Cancun

After seeing some posters this week promoting a "New York Ice Skating Show" my friend and I decided to investigate. There was a big tent set up in the lot next to the soccer stadium where all the signs were centralized. We drove over and she went in to check it out since she speaks better Spanish than me. Turns out the show was running all week this week, twice a night 6:15 and 8:30. We decided to buy tickets for last night. There were different levels (prices) of tickets to be had even though after entering the tent any seat was pretty much the same view. We paid for front row, but the farthest seat couldn't have been more than 50 yards away from the block of ice the skaters were performing on. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First of all, I wondered how they could manage to have ice inside a tent in Mexico. Was there some sort of secret refrigeration technique? No, turns out the "rink" was barely larger than the 18 yard box on a soccer field and it was encased and elevated and I assume refrigerated in itself. We had all brought hoodies, but 10 minutes in the kids were sweating and I was a little warm myself...and we were within arm's length of the ice!

The show promised some showgirl-type routines as well as Barney and the Disney princesses. Overall the almost 2 hour show was pretty entertaining, but not unlike attending a 12 year old's ice skating recital. How else can I put it?

The costumes were great and the music was entertaining, but between some of the burlesque moves the girls were doing (in a hoop well above the ice), the magician, and Barney falling flat on his back because he couldn't stay on his skates, I noticed that the ice skating show was a little light on the actual ice skating.

I'd say only 2 of the 10 skaters actually could do what you'd typically expect of an ice skater. Those two did have solos and a pairs routine, so that was good. At least someone could do the spins and jumps. The rest of the skaters at least could stay on their skates (except for Barney), go backward, twirl and do the rest of their dancing. Although one poor girl was a little lost in the choreography. For her sake I hope she was an understudy.

A couple other funny things about the night:

-I couldn't tell if the magician was a man or a woman.

-In the Tarzan section of the show the skater playing Tarzan was supposed to go up in the air in arm straps, but the pulley was not moving. You could see Tarzan getting pissed that his routine was ruined. 

-One of the male leads was wearing hockey skates.

-What does hula hooping have to do with ice skating? Yeah, I don't know either but there was a whole routine of a girl doing her stuff with hula hoops.

All in all a fun night out for me and the kids, but definitely not a "New York Ice Skating Show"

What TIRED looks like

We left Alaska on a 9:30 pm flight to Minneapolis. We arrived at 6:30 am and didn't get back to Cancun until 1 in the afternoon. As I kept trying to sleep upright and mostly failing I just kept dreaming of my nice soft bed and saying to myself, "only 3 more hours," "only 2 more hours," "only 1 more hour." 

We were tired.

Jackson didn't even care he was resting his head on the dog kennel.

Photos from our adventures up North shortly, I'm still catching up on sleep.