Disney World 2012...

Oh my goodness!! I am seriously so behind on this post!

So the second week in October of each year has been dubbed "Ward Disney Vacation" week... This year was no exception and omgosh, so much funnier with two kiddo's to enjoy it with, but especially one that knows what everything is this time around!!!

We had a monthly countdown going for Jax, and by the time we were headed to the airport, he had figured just how many more sleeps and naps he needed before he got to see Mickey!!! It was so cute. We also had Liam pretty excited, but I don't think he really knew what to be excited about. This was Liam's first time to Disney World (after birth), so it was really fun to introduce him to the madness.

For the most part, we planned a pretty relaxing week with the family. The parks are really expensive and this year Jax was an actual ticket holder... so we planned ahead of time what day we would do what park, how many and that was it. We got a little surprise from Nana and Pops, but more on that later. The resort we stay at is super duper fancy, and has any and everything you could think of on the property, and even more so perfect for the little ones. They have putt-putt golf, water parks, a splash zone, playgrounds, daily children's activities, there's even a few bars in between each area lol... Anyways, we figured we would get the most bang for our buck staying at the condo and enjoying the amenities there... the boys both LOVED our "stay here days"... Swimming pools, lazy rivers, a boardwalk... it was perfect.

On our first full day, Harrell told Dean about the new theme at the Disney's Art of Animation Resort. So Dean kind of held out wanting to surprise me on this too, but told me a bit about it so I could prepare Jax after nap. I had NO IDEA IT WAS GONNA BE SO AWESOME! Once again, who had more fun, I'm not sure. This was easily the highlight of my trip. Jax and even Liam were in Disney Cars Heaven! I'm so glad we got to visit this resort, as I had planned on another Disney trip to CA for Jaxon's birthday, and that's just not gonna happen this year... by far the coolest experience (well on the heels of Sesame St. Live when Jax was 2). Please be sure to check out the photos on the right for this part!

Jax ran to each car exclaiming... "It's Lightning... It's Mater!!!! Mommmmeeee it's Guido and Luigi..." Lol. He was SO happy!!!

 

After a day of rest and getting adjusted to the heat again, we planned our park schedule. One of the parks we planned on going to was Epcot and specifically, for the "Food and Wine Festival". This is really why the Wards go to Disney in October now, and now I know why... The past trip we made in 2010, everyone but me went to this festival, as I couldn't really justify spending a fortune to try a whole bunch of foreign foods especially being pregnant. Anyways, Dean talked me into it this year by pointing out how many child friendly things they had that he had forgot about, so I decided while he and the rest of the family pigged out, that Jax, Liam and I would go off and have our own fun.

 

Let me rewind a few days... so the night before we flew out to FL, I decided to give myself an at home pedicure since I would be in pools and flip flops. So I am almost done and decided to use one of those potato peeler/callous remover thingy's. Everything was going fine when I put my foot up on the chair I was sitting on and at the last second (literally I was just going to stop) my left foot slipped with the shaver/razor blade in the center/arch/sole of my foot... Yeah... Dean was actually at the store, so after I got up and didn't fall over and pass out, I texted him to get some band aids/peroxide yada yada... well super long story short (and yes I learned my lesson), I had about a 1 1/2" gash about 3/4" deep in the bottom of my foot. I actually probably could have used a stitch or two. I also learned in FL that "scalping the sole" was a common torture technique used in WWII... Okay back to the story...

So here we are in Epcot, and the smell of all these different country's foods were driving my senses nuts. I didn't want to participate in this... I don't try foods... I am BORING. You know what my favorite thing was? Some fish dish from Singapore... yeah go figure that one out... Well we decided to all take part of this, and bring the boys along doing all the fun things with them along the way. They actually did great and had a lot of fun. There were several rides that Jax really enjoyed as did Liam. During this whole day, I think I tried foods from at least 15 countries, and liked most of what I tried. Everyone else was a little more daring than I was, but I thought I did pretty good for someone who would most certainly die outside of the USA.

So that was our first park day.

Our second day was allotted for Universal Studio's so that Dean and I could do all the roller coasters I didn't ride the year before... well that all changed because not only was I Mrs. Gimpy Gimp (only you would gash your foot the day before walking everywhere)... so I wanted a day to rest... but also we were the four sick Wards who got to spend seven days with the rest of the family, sharing our festering germs. You guessed it... sick, sick and sick. Nana wasn't feeling good, Dean was still up all night coughing, and the boys and I weren't sleeping well because of all the congestion/drainage we had... so we took another day to hang out at the condo.

Two days later and a night shopping at Downtown Disney, we kinda passed on the idea and pushed it off one more day meaning that we would be taking ourselves and two boys to Universal on the busiest day of the week... Well because we loved up on Nana enough, she got too sick to attend "Mickey's Not So Spooky Halloween Party". And because she had already purchased tickets, and they were going to treat Jaxon to this, I got to go in her place. So Harrell, Aunt Sara, Jax and I got dressed up to go trick-or-treating at the Magic Kingdom... COOL! First off, we will NEVER pay to go during the day if we come in Oct. again. The tickets are almost half priced, you get the same amount of time (4pm-12pm), yeah it's a little hard on the kids, but you are one of 25k that gets a portion of 9 TONS OF CANDY!!! This is what they go through each night they do this. (Not every night of course, but still!). Anyways, so we had a ball! Jax even got to dance in the pre-party parade as well as do the Congo line with Goofy! Most importantly, we got a photo that not everyone can say they have. I learned that during Halloween Nights is the ONLY time that all seven of the seven dwarfs are together and photographed together!!! Of course we cut it just a littttle too close... Since Nana was sick, that's all she asked for... one photo! We were the last people in line, and in the standby line, but we got it (as did about 3 more people behind us lol). 

So because I got to do the Magic Kingdom and my ride fix with Jax, and we were out so late the night before, we decided to forgo the adult kid fun at Universal all together and enjoyed our last day as a family just hanging out...

 

The entire trip was a lot of fun, well minus the fact we were missing Rachel and Scott and that I was in so much pain from my foot which I also ended up favoring my left foot and was walking on the side of my foot which only caused another area to be sore... the chlorine in the pool was actually the best thing for that, only I was too afraid to have it burn, so I didn't learn this until day 4... By the time we had to fly back out, I was at least able to somewhat walk!

I look forward to this vacation with the other side of my family each year, and although we were missing some of the crew, we had a really good time and definitely got our Disney fix. Next time it will be even more fun since Liam will be old enough to enjoy more of the park rides!! I love being a part of the Disney Family and sharing so many special memories with my own Ward Family!!!

 

Let the countdown begin till next year...

 

Xoxo

Shylah

Five years...

"It is at the beginning of most marriages that we are likely to encounter the real challenges of commitment, such as the need to let go of control, the ability to overcome resistance to change, the willingness to put aside our ego-desires in favor of shared concerns, and the willingness to to be vulnerable and honest in the face of fear and pain."
-Roy Petitfils

Happy Five Year Anniversary to Dean and I!

Did you know that most couples make it or break it by five years? FIVE years. It's not THAT long, most people have relationships longer than that before committing to marriage, right? Well according to new research, that's not the case anymore. I know that Divorce is on the rise, or should I say, that marriage is on a decline? Whichever it is, I am very blessed to have my marriage, and not just that, but the family my marriage has created and even more so than that, the person I am because of my marriage!

I think that after a certain amount of time together, that couples finally give into changing or not changing. Not to say that you are expected to change for your spouse, but we no longer think a phase will burn out, and we realize that our partners annoying tendencies are in fact never going to change, and we did in fact marry that person lying beside us. Of course this goes both ways... I had always heard of the seven year itch, but the less common it is for marriages to last, I guess the five year mark is the new standard...

ANYWAYS... I am not going to compare my marriage to statistics, but I will say that in five years, it's apparent that a MARRIAGE TAKES WORK! It's not all about you anymore, nor is it all about your spouse. It's the marriage you have, that treasure that no one but you and your spouse have the power over.  The flirting fun ways you stole each others hearts are often a distant memory, but if you are truly in love with your partner, then while those days might not be as frequent, they definitely still exist. :)

Adding children to the mix can also bring your marriage responsibilities to a new level. It takes even more team work to keep your marriage a priority! I always try to tell myself that we would not have our children if it weren't for our marriage, but I think Dean and I would agree that our TWO give us so much more, and it makes our relationship even better.

So lets reflect. Boy meets girl, girl meets boy. GIRL asks out boy, sparks fly. Soon comes the wedding, and a new bundle of joy. Two years into that, comes baby number two... with a whole bunch of love, squabbles and even more love all in between!!

TODAY! Today I love Dean MORE than I did in our dating years! More when it was just easy and carefree love. More because I have grown to love his faults, his imperfections, and for many, many other reasons. He is my partner, my friend, my ally, my confident. He is the father of my children, he is my HUSBAND!

While we have most definitely had a wonderful marriage thus far, there have been less than wonderful moments, and times we were so uncertain at where we were. We are also adults now, and we know which things are truly worth fighting for and over, and those that we need to just bite our tongues, and walk away. Nonetheless, we are happy to be celebrating five years together!!! In those five years, I have come to realize so many things. That while no one is perfect, each and every time the thought comes to my mind, Dean and I are perfect for each other! There is no one I could imagine spending the rest of my life with other than Dean! When someone says you are their better half, or whatever... Dean and I know that we kind of are to each other. When Dean's lying on the couch waiting for time to pass and me to get off my kick for wanting to go, go, GO! He knows that I am his better half, well at least in this scenario. I don't let him procrastinate, and that's something I know he hates about himself. Me on the other side... when I am about to go ballistic, and rip someones head off for who knows what!!!! Dean, is my calmer, loving side. He can get anything done with poise and manners (although, I won't let him forget the mop story at Big Lots to prove he too can get mad!) You get where I am going with this.

Sometimes the things you think are not that big of a relationship blunder, are so very important indeed! Things that you have tried to change, and they are just who you are... when you find that perfect someone, that part of your life is changed by what they do for you instead!!! I could give many more examples, but those are two that Dean and I laugh about, and just know without the other, things would either never get done, or one of us would be in jail... Ha!

Every relationship takes work. In the beginning, it's a breeze because you're not afraid of losing someone. In the later days of dating, it's more serious, because now there are feelings and the thought of losing your crush is devastating. After the proposal, it's dedication to work through anything, and to see how the other handles each scenario thrown your way. Some relationships at this point are obviously shattered, but if you get to the point, where you in fact marry that "one and only", there becomes this unwritten rule of not giving up. Not only not giving up, but the commitment, family, etc... This is of course what builds the foundation of your relationship, how you handle each phase, when the hotness wears off, when the children leave your body stretched and saggy, when the meals you learned how to cook just for him/her stick to the body prepared for.

The past five years have been much more fun than fret for me. I say all the above, because Dean and I have always been told we "are so perfect". Trust me, we're not. But we are still the fun loving couple that met 6 1/2 years ago. We are still best friends to each other, and we still make each other laugh, a lot!! We also, like many predict, are that couple that has squirt gun fights, and turn our home into a war zone because neither of us think too far is really too far! We try to set an example to our boys how important love is, and what love looks like. It's not always perfect, but it's always loving.

For our anniversary this year, sadly we will not be doing our traditional Titans game, but instead we are going to celebrate while we are in FL since there will be more to do! Five years is five years, and that mark definitely deserves more than a podunk town to celebrate!!! No idea what we will do in FL, but it will be nice to have some options, and a baby sitter for the evening! Whatever we do, it will be fun, and if that means riding roller coasters at midnight, Dean and I will just be happy to do it together!

FIVE YEARS

1,826,210 days... + 1 for leap year

43,829,063 hours...

2 children

100's of FIGHTS/Make Up's

5 Cities/3 Homes

1 thought of giving up...
Endless nights of laughter
Hours spent discussing our dreams
Living it for the last five years...

At least 65 more anniversary's I want to share with you...

Happy FIFTH Anniversary Babe!! Here is to many, many more to come. Thank you for (6 1/2 years) together, thank you for being my friend, my confident, and an amazing husband. Thank you for the family you helped create, for being such a wonderful father and for teaching our boys how to love a woman! I love you more than you know!

Xoxo

Your Wifey

Minnesota...

The boys and I have been in Minnesota for a little over two weeks! In that time, we have a good layout of the area, have been on several adventures, and got back on a normal schedule and routine despite now being back on central time!

Dean started back to work on Thursday of last week! It was so nice to spend some time with him before the craziness of a new project sets in, and so I guess I can't complain too much, since we did get almost two weeks together with him keeping his daily pay! In the last few projects, we have only come to visit Dean after the initial project starts, so it will be a test of my patience to see how forgiving I am when I don't get to see much of Dean in the weeks to come. We are very thankful that we are under the same roof at night though, and will look forward to the days he does get off to spend together as a family! Today is actually one of those days. Dean went into work early this morning, only to be sent home due to the wind speeds and the lack of actual work to do when the winds are so high. Unfortunately, that means he'll be working through the night, so it's my job today to keep the boys quiet while he gets some much needed sleep in!!

Last week I also found a school to enroll not only Jax, but Liam and myself in!!! It's pretty much a pre-school, however it's not based solely on the child's age, but the class you want them in. So Jax will be in a 3-5 year old class called Discovery Place, and will attend for 2 hours each Tuesday and Thursday. On Wednesday's Liam and I will have a class together, while Jax gets free play time with other students/older siblings! I think this is something that sets this school aside from others, is that it is a requirement for the parents to be involved, and that's where Liam's class comes in. In that class, Liam will have the child to child interaction with children his age, but I will also learn special things to do with him based on HIS development and our home lifestyle. I will also be provided with very much needed Mommy time to met other mothers in the area, and hopefully make some new MN friends!

Aside from THAT awesome find, we have settled into a routine, and are quite comfortable in our new home away from home. We finally got a couch that we can all snuggle on, and just in time for football season!!! Liam learned to signal TOUCHDOWN and is absolutely adorable holding his little arms up cheering with Mommy and Daddy! (Seahawks side of this post that is, as the Titans are starting off, eh... not in the best way!)

The weather has been a roller coaster, and all four of us have been up and down with coughing and sneezing and all around sickness! I thought it was suppose to be cooler here, when in fact, it's been MUCH warmer here up North, than it has in the South. Again, I say this now, but I am so over summer and just want sweatshirt, jean and hot chocolate weather. That should be standard on the first day of football!

Last week I also had my first doctor's appointment to establish care at the Mayo Clinic Rochester! I met with an internalist who specializes in hypertension, but based on how long I have had it, and the "controlled" readings I still get, he has already put my name on a first available list to the Hypertension Clinic in Rochester. I am REALLY excited that I may finally have a team try to figure me out!! I know there are good doctors everywhere, but if you know anything about the Mayo Clinic systems, they tend to get the "freak" cases and have so many studies going on that, I'm hopeful SOMEONE can figure me out!

Nash has been enjoying his time indoors and has gotten a little too comfortable as the only dog, and an inside dog. He is only outside long enough to go potty, and after last weekend, when he decided to run off at midnight keeping Dean and I awake until 3am, with no return in sight... he REALLY only gets to be outside supervised. (I am still getting calls from the Albert Lea area with information on a black wandering dog. Yes, I ended up getting a letter written out of pure desperation printed in the Albert Lea Tribune). Thankfully he had a guilty nose pressed up against the back door early the next morning! (my letter wasn't published until four days later, and I wasn't sure it would even reach anyone!) I didn't think he would come back actually, and so it was a bit scary!

I can't believe it's almost been a month since we said goodbye to Argo. :( Jax still asks about him pretty frequently, but they are getting further apart, so hopefully the pain for him missing his pup is subsiding.

Other than that, we are very happy to have met our neighbors, and get to be a part of neighborhood play dates with all the children. It's been so long since I've ever paid attention to how many kids can be in one neighborhood, but this is pretty impressive. Almost every house has a child!!! We're definitely looking forward to an easy Halloween this year!

I have also entertained the thought of joining a gym while Jax is in school, but I think I nixed that idea a few hours after starving myself of anything remotely tasty on my quest to begin a diet. I may still get a gym membership, but probably will waste the use of it! Haha.

While in Minnesota, I am really looking forward to the possibility of meeting my Dad's biological side of the family. Dad has met most of his family since my health scare in 2004, and they ALL live in MN!!! It would be really nice to put some faces with the names I've heard of over the years, and although the chance is slim, being able to meet my paternal grandmother would be amazing. Dad's biological mom knows that he wants to meet her, but up to this point she has declined. If I could just get in to see her, and somehow press the idea of them meeting, it would be life changing for my dad!

Well, as I type... the kids one by one are waking from their naps implying that my alone time to catch up are over. Now the task of keeping them entertained quietly while Daddy sleeps will begin!!

Love and miss you all and hope everyone is doing well!!!

Shylah

Goodbye Argo...

Exactly a month after Argo was diagnosed with Wobblers, today we said goodbye. I've never had to willingly put a pet down before, but I was a strong as I could be for him.
Losing a pet, regardless if they are "yours" or not is hard, but being the one to make that decision is even harder. Today I gave Argo all the things he loved. Cuddles on the couch, the longest scratch session, I let him lead me through the country fields as far as he could handle to go. We stopped at the top of the hill and just sat there. I cried, I hugged him and I told him how sorry I was for this happening and that I hope he understood why we had to say goodbye. I'm thankful for our walk; the silence of the country and the beautiful mountain views. It was peaceful, it's what he loved, and with every stumble he took, it made my decision feel right.

Before we left to the clinic, I arranged the front seat so he could safely put his head out the window one last time, something he just discovered he loved. On the way to the clinic, we stopped at a friends hot dog stand to get him one last treat, which ended up being more than that, and continued on driving as slowly as I could.

After our last goodbye just the two of us, Dr. Claiborne came into administrate the meds. He made sure we were both ready, which as hard as it was, Argo laid his head down, and closed his eyes giving me the strength to let go. It didn't take long, but I held him, hugged him, and had my hand on his heart and felt his last beat. He looked so peaceful, and instantly I knew it was the best decision. He will be cremated, and we plan on scattering some of his ashes around our home, as that's where his heart was... Being a hound dog.

Being Jaxon's dog, the last few weeks we explained to him that Argo was sick, and talked to him almost daily about puppy heaven and living with the angels. Although he's only three, I do believe us being honest with him and telling him what happened was the best way to handle it. I'm not certain he understands the concept 100%, but he knows that Argo will be with God and that he'll no longer be sick and that when he misses Argo, that he is right there in his heart.
Jax said that when he missed Argo that he would he just get a big ladder and go see him with God and play with him there! :)

I hate that Argo was so young, and how fast this disease ruined him, but he just wasn't the Argo he used to be. I know we made the right decision, but still it's one of the hardest situations I've been faced with. I'm thankful for the last month, as hard as it was to see him deteriorate, I got to spoil him, and baby him and hope he knows that he was loved.

A sincere thank you to all those who helped us along this short journey, for the many who have called to check on me, and for the prayers for peace and strength. I definitely felt it all, so thank you.

Dear Argo,
I miss you already. I know that you weren't "my" dog, as this was established the moment we picked you out. You were the new "buppy" and the new best friend to Jax. You were Jaxon's puppy.
I also realize that you weren't always treated as fairly or as favored as Nash, but as you should know, you are and were very much loved by us all.
Yes you angered me to tears with your constant running off after rabbits, or just because you needed to retrace your last hunting excursion, but as your disease progressed, it was clear to me that you were in fact living your life to the fullest. I'm sorry for the names I called you when you would finally come back home, but it was because I loved you, and I was worried you would become another victim of the road...
You were brought into a home with love even when there were times we neglected your interests like playing fetch, or walking to the mailbox, or scratching the tip of your nose, which you oddly loved so much. You never slept a night outside, went without a meal (by our choice), didn't help clean up after "your" boy, or get told we love you!! Your favorite toy, the battered and ragged squirrel you adored was always accounted for, and the cheat grass and thimbles you collected in your paws was always plucked out in the most sympathetic tender way...
You were just a baby and I wish we had many more years to have you as our pet, but we are glad we had you for the two years we did. I'm so sorry you got sick, and I'm sorry that you were confused at no longer being able to be you. I hope you felt our love every day, and especially the last month we were together. We really tried to do our best, and keep you as comfortable as possible. Despite your tendency to run, thank you for being the loving natured dog you were.
As I write this, know that we will miss you very much. Jax actually said he was going to take you away from God so he wouldn't be sad, and that you wouldn't be sick anymore. I know he is young, but he loved you and you were his. :(
I hope that you are on the other side of the rainbow bridge having the time of your life doing what you were born to do... Please don't chase my rabbit, PJ!! Tell Chopper we miss him too!!
We will be together again one day buddy, but until that day, you will remain in our hearts!!
We love you Argo.

RIP Buddy

2010-2012

Goodbye Michigan, hello Minnesota!!

Last week the boys and I left the upper peninsula of MI for the last time (that we know of). Dean packed up and left for MN on Sunday morning, and has his first meeting with the project managers Tuesday morning to determine the next few months being in MN. This project will be in Blue Earth and an 18 turbine assignment.
Before we left MI, we found a house to rent since we were told that he'll be there through the end of the year, so we'll be traveling and staying w/Dean for the winter there, which seems so backwards leaving the warmer southern climate going north where we know the winters are brutal!! I have a feeling it's going to be a very bad winter too!! But, we're excited that we'll be together as a family!!
We found a home in Albert Lea, that we were able to negotiate with the owners to fully furnish and allow us to bring the pups, so we're happy that we won't have to pack up for just a few months.
In the meantime, we still have our house in Greeneville, that although it seems wasteful to keep and not be there to enjoy it, the way I see it, is while we're with Dean, he gets to keep his daily per diem so each month he goes on R&R and we're there, we are really only paying the same cost as a storage unit, but still have a place to call home for the projects we know we won't go with him.
I'm really excited to be in a new place, and of course I say this now, but I'm very much looking forward to the holidays all bundled up with the boys!! Plus Albert Lea is very centrally located and about an hour to an hour and a half from everything that we'll need including the Mall of America which has a Nordstroms AND a Nordstroms Rack!! :)

We are beyond blessed that we have the means and opportunity to travel with Dean while the boys are little, because Dean really loves his job and so it's nice we can support him and his industry together as a family!!

I'll be sure to post all about the place as soon as we're there!!

Love,
Shylah