Animal Kingdom Pictures and News!!

Animal Kingdom was great! We had a blast, the weather was perfect, the guys had fun with the race, and Meaghan was an angel the entire time (well except for when it was time to go to bed that night)!

Picking up the race packets, Meg knew something fun was going to happen! I expected her to take a nap in the car on the way over... she did not. She was much more interested in playing with Jon in the backseat.
We weren't exactly sure how character greeting was going to go, but she really liked Minnie! Meg is trying to give Minnie a kiss on the nose, or bite it, one of the two!
And Minnie played back with Meg's nose!
We went to the Lion King show... and we got VIP seats right up front! Meg was quite intriqued.
But then the big stilt leg people came out...
and Meg wasn't so sure about them. "There's something definitely wrong with their legs!"
Then the monkeys came out and did their thing!
And Meg was delighted once again! "Yay monkeys!"
She was very interested at the end of the show when the kids were rounded up for the little parade.
Since morning nap time was non-existant, she crashed!
OK, here's the big news..... Meaghan took her very first steps at the Animal Kingdom!!! I don't have any pictures... maybe my brother does. In any case, it was very exciting!

At the Conservation Station, after riding the train out there.

Almost recreating the unassisted steps!
What does one do when meeting Pocahontas for the very first time? We put her down to get some crawling time in on the carpeted floor... she decided to lay and roll instead.
Ahhh.... two princesses, as cute as can be!
Mickey Mouse ice cream bar - yummy!!
"What do you mean there's no more?"
The start of the Expedition Everest Challenge.
Part of the obstacle course... Jon on the left, Bill on the right.
"We finished!" Their official race time was 58:25.
Our room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was excellent - and we had animals outside the window! Meg was so excited that we let her be out on the patio in her monkey jammies. Such a little mop top! The wild kingdom outside our room! It was so quiet... so amazing.
We found rocking chairs - Meg was all over it!
Literally... our little monkey!

Senate Bill 1738 Passed!

Thank you to everyone that wrote, called, emailed, or all of the above!!

Animal Kingdom - Here We Come!

Happy Friday everyone!!

We're heading over to the Animal Kingdom at Disney this weekend. Bill and Jon are a team in the Expedition Everest Challenge on Saturday night!

I'm so looking forward to watching Meaghan experience the park for the first time. Keep in mind our first Disney trip was to Epcot last December and she was ity bity! We'll be staying at the Animal Kingdom resort - so we'll have animals right outside our room. Speaking of which... off to charge all my batteries for the camera!

We recently went to the aquarium on a Sunday afternoon for some fish watching and more water play!!!

Meaghan has a new shopping cart and she LOVES it! She runs into everything and her basket is usually filled with interesting items she collects from around the house. You never know what you are going to find in there!

PSA - Clean Your Dryer Vent!

I've been putting it off.... actually, until I started seeing articles about how important it is to have your dryer cleaned, I had no idea that I was actually supposed to do more than clean the lint screen after every load! How did I not know this???

Well, I bought a dryer cleaning kit with the brushes and a flat vacuum attachment and took off the venting hose off the back of our dryer... it is amazing that we have not had a fire in our laundry room!!! We had a serious lint issue and combined with pet hair and dust, I am grateful that I cleaned it when I did. Bill and I are fanatics about cleaning the lint trap after each and every load but it's not enough. I cleaned everything I possibly could and I feel much better now!

We purchased our house brand new in 2002. I'm sure we've done tons of laundry in the last 6 years, but no where near households that do at least a load every day. I never leave the dryer running when we leave the house. Now I don't want it running when we go to bed either.

Please... if you have not cleaned your dryer vent at least in the last year or cannot remember the last time it was ever done, do it today! Either do it yourself or call a professional to have it inspected.

Help Pass Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act

Your U.S. senators will be voting on the bill soon, so it is crucial you contact them immediately!!!!

Go to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm to find contact information for the senators in your state.

Be sure to tell them, "Vote yes on Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act."

I sent an email to both of my senators using the form that was available on their website. I got this letter from Oprah.... and by the next day, I had gotten a response from one of them that said he was supporting this bill when it comes on the floor! I watched the show and it breaks my heart. Everyone can make a difference. Please make a difference for the children that desperately need our help.


Dear Senator:

I know that you believe, like I do, that we must do everything possible to protect children from sexual predators. That is why I am asking for your help.

Last year alone, U.S. law enforcement identified over 300,000 criminals who were trafficking in movies and pictures of young children being raped and tortured. Experts say that one in every three of these criminals has local child victims. Child pornography trafficking over the Internet has given us a trail of evidence that leads straight to their doorsteps, but the vast majority of these children will never be rescued because investigators are overwhelmed, outnumbered and underfunded.

As your constituent, I urge you to do everything in your power to pass the PROTECT Our Children Act (S. 1738, Biden-Hatch). This bipartisan legislation passed the House 415-2, but it is now the victim of petty partisan politics.

Now that we know where these children are and how to protect them, there is no excuse for the Senate to fail to take action this session.

(Your name here)

Orlando Weekend!

A few weekends back, we took a spin over to Orlando for a visit. I know.... I didn't get these up quick at all!


Kid Gym! We need to find one of these by our house - Meg had a BLAST!
Besides "kid watching", she loved these nubby plastic balls... we're trying to find some!
First time in the ball pit! She cried when we took her out!!

Going to the kid gym was not nearly enough.... we had to go swimming all afternoon!
And here is Biscuit... doing a flying leap....
... right into the pool!!! My dad took these awesome pictures!
"Here Pooh.... let's rock together."
"Pooh... you need some hugs!"

"I can do it myself!"
"I'm rockin'.... I'm rockin'..."
"Did you catch that mama? Just making sure!"
"Yeah Meaghan!!!"

We've had a rough week.... the little princess has FOUR teeth coming in on top right now!! It made for some *interesting* nights, but now they have all broken through and peace is restored throughout the kingdom.

10 Months Old!

So now Meg has not two teeth coming in on the top, but three! The two front ones and one more on her top left. She has good moments and bad.... but at least with all of them coming in at once, it's not all drawn out! There's a light at the end of the tunnel.




Serious cheese!


I'm not sure what this look is for, but it sure makes me laugh!
What a little munchkin!
She would not sit still long enough for me to fix her hair, so Meg is rocking the "hair fountain" or "Pebbles" style! She's going to kill me when she gets older...

No walking yet but she's feeling pretty stable on her feet. She can stand by herself for a few seconds and when she chooses to do it, it's always by surprise (like in the bathtub). We're also working on getting away from the bottles, but with the teeth coming in, it's not a great time. She likes chewing on the nipple way too much right now so we're putting that on hold. She is doing well with her cups, just not wanting to give them up completely!