The Orr Family

Zoo 2009

2009-11-09T10:54:00.001-08:00

What a wonderful day at the Zoo with the Summerlins. :)

MACK ATTACK

2009-11-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

We adopted a new kitty! We got him from the same Rescue that we found Gracie at. They are just a wonderful group, and I just fell in love with Mack. He is the loviest kitty we've ever had. He likes to curl up and lay right on your pillow with you. He is such a purrrry lover cat. So far all kitties are getting along pretty well. In a couple weeks they will get a long even better. Check out our new boy!

Halloween at Coolbrook 2009

2009-11-09T10:05:00.000-08:00

Every year we have a tradition that we go to Mrs. Stephanie's, Mr. Michael, and their daughter Katties house first. They always do something extra special for him, and this year we brought them a treat for Halloween. :o) Nothing beats going to the Shaus house on Halloween. :)

This year was EXTRA fun on Coolbrook. We went down to Owen's house for Halloween. They just live a couple houses down. Marek was totally siked and pumped about trick-or-treating this year. Not only did we stop at a tons of houses, but 6 of our families got driven around by a 4 wheeler with an 18 foot hayride attached to it. It was beyond fabulous. All the parents and kids had a awesome time. It even had a ghost with a strobe light on it.

Spoiling Marek with a special made bag for him!

Typical Marek needing to warm up.

Abby was Ariel, and Ariel is Marek's FAV princess. He was in HEAVEN!

Hay is great, showing your undies.. priceless..

Our next family car.

Gracie is helping him check out his loot.

Halloween Party at the Harris's

2009-11-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

We went to Brooke and Reilly's Halloween party. Marek had a great time. He's always happy dressing up as a pirate. They had all sorts of activities for the kids. They decorated pumpkins, played pin the tail on the pumpkin, decorated cookies, dinner, and then we all watched Monsters Inc on a big giant inflatable screen outside in the grass. They also had a big bounce house. It was fabulous!!

Here are a few pictures from their night. :) Oh.. and for some strange reason we took a bunch of pictures in the car on the way there, and then none at the party. Maybe someone else took pictures they can send me? :)

Picking out our pumpkins

2009-11-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

Every year we go pick out our pumpkins at the same patch. Marek always looks forward to this. Mostly because we pass by it on the way to work and he sees it for weeks. He was beyond excited this year, and knew what to do.

Zoo Buddies

2009-11-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

Marek and Carson have been going to the Zoo together since they were little tiny things. Here is a picture from the last three years. I'll post others shortly of their day out. They are such best of friends. :)

Bowl-Orr-Rama

2009-09-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yep.... just call us the bowl-orrs.

We had our annual "Bowl-O-Rama" event for the office yesterday. Marek is kinda like the office mascot because he gets to come to all the after hours events with the firm since both of us work at the same place. Marek of course LOVES getting to do anything with the office folks. Last night was actually a all family invited event for the first time since we have been doing the bowling event. So other kids came and bowled with Marek. He had sooo much fun. They put bumpers up for the kids and gave them a metal ramp to set the ball on top. Then the ball would go straight down the lane. Marek ended up bowling better than us, and even got a couple strikes! Gotta love the ramp!

Here are a few pictures from yesterday, and a few from the previous years. What a big boy he is now.

Bowl-O-Rama 2009

Bowl-O-Rama 2008 They even made him his own little tiny matching shirt! Auntie Ines and uncle John ROCK!

Serious game face, and ready to bowl! Our team won that year.

2007 Bowl-O-Rama Marek's first bowling experience.

Multitasking...

DISNEY CRUISE

2009-09-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

I can't even put into words how much fun we had on the Disney/Anniversary cruise.

Marek has not stopped talking about it since we've been back. And that was over 2 weeks ago. Poor thing even cried when we had to go home and leave the boat. I think we all felt like crying a little too. We are already counting the days till we get to go again.

All the fun started the second we got to the port to unload baggage. Me and Marek were waiting for Kev to park the car, when here comes Gabby and her grandma. Gabby's mom was Marek's teacher for the 1st two years at the JCC. She has been one of our very close friends since the moment we started at the school. And we were thrilled to hear that the whole family would be cruising with us! Not only that but they were only like 4 rooms down from us on the cruise. I also ran into my BESTFRIEND from highschool and her husband and 3 yr old. It was fantastic! We knew right off the bat that our trip was going to rock! Speaking of rocking... Marek played at "the club" and got chosen to dance onstage with Mickey and Minnie to a "FRIENDSHIP ROCKS" song. This experience will stay with him for life. And of course for us proud parents. :) Here are tons of photos of our weekend.

Happy 2nd Anniversary Kev! Thanks for surprising me and Marek with this great trip. We love you!

Special "adult only" dinner for our Anniversary.

Swimming in a Mickey ear.

Marek watching the boat coming in to bring us into port. It was cool, the boat came right under our balcony.

Sunset from our balcony.

Marek got to ride in the very very front of the van taking us to Atlantis. Both on the way and back. He said it was his favorite thing to do while in Nassau.

Atlantis in Nassau

Our boat, the Disney Wonder.

The actual boat from Pirates of the Caribbean, The Flying Dutchman

Marek and Carlos (Mels husband) having a BLAST at Castaway Cay. (Disney's Island)

Mickey Mouse ketchup? Boy Disney does think of everything.

I'll post a video of Marek onstage with Mickey and Minnie when we get it off the camera. :)

Epcot Weeks Ago

2009-09-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

I am sooooooo behind on blogging. Our families have probably started to believe that we have gone undercover or something. I will try and update quickly what has gone on with us over the last month plus.

We went on a fantastic family day to Epcot. We rode dinosaur rides and Nemo rides, and ate yummy lunch at a Mexican restaurant. It was a great sunny day at Epcot. Here's a couple pictures of me and my little man.

Arrr Matey

2009-08-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

Marek's Halloween costume came in on Saturday, and he just had to try it on. He is excited because he gets to wear it in September on Pirate night on the Disney cruise we're going on. He knows we're going on a big ship, and he gets to bring his sword!

Gymnastics!

2009-08-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a very proud day for Kevin. Marek got to go to his very first gymnastics class. He is now part of the "Shining Stars" class at Broadway Gymnastics. We'll see if he grows up to be a 1st class gymnast like his daddy, and walk in his footsteps. As soon as the class was over we asked him if he liked it and wanted to do it again. He goes OH YES! Let’s do it again now! He was ready for another hour of gymnastics. He was the smallest kid in his class, and loved watching the bigger kids crab crawl across the uneven parallel bars. His most favorite activity was getting to jump in the marshmallow pit.

Mowing is fabulous to some..

2009-08-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

Marek gets a kick out of whoever is mowing. I'm sure its a boy thing. Loud machine.. chomping grass.. whatever it may be. I got back from a hot 4 mile run, and decided I'd give Kev a break this week and mow the grass.. Marek is excited and cheering me on!

Mason's 3rd Birthday Party

2009-08-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Mason! We went to his party at the JCC gym. They had a great little obstacle course set up for the kids. With fun rings they could hang from, and a slide, balance beam, and a trampoline. It was very cool. Then we all went to the party room that was themed as Thomas the Train. Marek had such a fabulous time. :)

Yummy icing!
His scar is healing up quite nicely!

Pirate bones and race car tattoos... could life get any better?

Checking out the sweet goodies!

Ring pops are the best! Passed out on the ride home.. Ring pop in hand...

Everyone loves a day at the park..

2009-08-11T11:03:00.001-07:00

Back to Marek's FAV little local Oviedo park. He's getting a little braver on some of the equiptment. He tells me that he's a big boy now and he can do it! So I cringe and step back, and watch.. Here are some pictures from our Saturday fun day at the park

Running fast!

No hands!

Monkey Man

Snack time.. Banana Banana!

Scoot and Gracie Meet

2009-08-10T10:08:00.001-07:00

After being in their own rooms for a week, and then being able to see one another but not touch one another... They finally meet.

Gracie being a kitten, is very frisky and wants to play with Scoot. Scoot on the other hand isn't sure what to think of her. He's not ready to start playing chase yet. But I think they are making good strides towards friendship. Here Scoot is sniffing out Gracie's box. It's there temporarily until we feel they are both ready to share the whole house.

Sniffing each other out. Don't they look like they are related! I love it!

Open House and Day 1 of New Class!

2009-08-06T07:06:00.000-07:00

We went to visit Marek's new teachers in Room 1 of his new class on Tuesday at Open House. He has been talking about moving up to this new "BIG BOY" class for the past couple weeks. He already knew his teachers, and was really looking forward to being with them.

Ms. Looker and Ms. Lyon are AWESOME! We honestly couldn't be more pleased at this moment. I think they will be amazing teachers for Marek and for us. He came home and told us that he "LOVES" his new teachers. And that they are sooooooooo nice to him. He loves to talk about the new big kid playground and the "digger" and "scoop" he gets to play with. Looks like something we need at our property!

Here are a few pictures of open house and then Marek's first day. Instead of bringing an apple to the teachers. We brought them peaches and clementines. We think those are more tasty! Marek doesn't ever look thrilled in the mornings.. because he is a bit shy for the first 15 minutes.. But he was cheering the whole way to school.

Tragic Sunday Morning

2009-08-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

What started out as a lovely Sunday morning... quickly switched to tramatic! Every Saturday and Sunday Marek is our alarm clock. He comes into our room and brings his lovey "blanket" and hops on up to wake us up. This particular day he said he was still sleepy. So he actually fell back to sleep. I of course was wide awake because he was practically laying right on top of me. So I snapped a few cute photos of him and daddy asleep in bed. I felt like I needed too because I had never seen him asleep in our bed before. I started feeling the morning urge to use the restroom.. but didn't want to wake Marek up. I started to get up and Marek opened his eyes and kinda smiled and rolled over to Kevs side. So I was like... YAY FREEDOM! I'll run to the bathroom real quick. No joke... less that a minute and a half goes by and I hear the most horrid scream. Followed by Kevin saying WHAT happened??!! My worst fear....... Marek had rolled over asleep and I assume looking for me.. and fell off of our bed. On his way down his head hit the drawer pull on the side table. (and even bent the whole nail inside) He had a deep gash that went all the way to the bone. Surprising because it was on the muscle... there was very little blood.

We quickly decided we needed to take him to the emergency room. So we drove him to Florida Hospital Altamonte. They were INCREDIBLE! They immediently took him in and a doctor came in to see him the second we walked in. It was amazing service. They treated him and us so well, and made us so comfortable. They put a numbing agent on the cut for 30 minutes and then were ready to do the stiches. They ended up giving him two shots to numb the area and gave him 3 stiches. They actually wrapped him up in a sheet like a mummy. If you ask him.. He'll tell you they wrapped him up like a mommy. When I correct him... He goes NO... LIKE A MOMMY.. LOL!!

We did get a wonderful report back from the doctor.. He told us that honestly.. Marek was more calm than most adults that he sees. :) Yay Marek! What a tough little boy!
Hopefully we won't be visiting the ER too often.... it sure did take a lot out of me, and Kev..

On a positive note. Marek is doing great, and is getting his stiches removed on Thursday. He has yet to slow down... and I honestly believe he might have actually sped up a bit...

Not happy about the numbing agent.

Eating snacks... waiting for the 30 minute numbing.

After he got stiched up!

Much needed nap. After a real rough day.

Gracie!

2009-08-04T12:21:00.001-07:00

Gracie is our latest and most lovely addition to the Orr Family. She is a 4 1/2 month old Russian blue/mix kitty. I happened to be searching Petfinder and came across her. I e-mailed Kev the picture and he was like find out if she's still available! I called right away and sure enough she was. Wendy her foster mom was gracious enough to let us stop by and visit her on our way home.

We instantly fell in love with her. She was frisky and looked almost identical like Scoot did as a baby. She even has the same white spot on her belly like Scoot. Scoot has been an only kitty his whole life and we figured that now that he's 9 years old, he'd be willing to adjust better to a new addition. Currently we are phasing them in slowly. Gracie of course is super ready to play with Scoot, and as curious as ever. Scoot is curious, but needs a little more time until we join the two together.

Here is more about Gracie http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14164745&mtf=1 from her PetFinder Page

And more info from the agency. They are wonderful!! They keep all their animals at Foster homes until they are found forever homes. I was really impressed with them. Here is a link to their site. http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/FL887.html

Marek loves playing with Gracie, and I love that she jumps on my lap whenever she gets the chance. She is such a fun little spirited kitty, and I look forward to the many years she will spend with us.

On a funny note... Gracie is a BIG TIME purring kitty. She has such a loud little motor. Marek is not used to hearing that sound, because Scoot usually doesn't purr when he's around. Marek heard that sound and goes... MOMMY! Gracie has FROGS! Whenever Marek has gas... we call that "frogs".. So he assumed that Gracie had gas.... It was too funny... I said.. no thats called purring, only cats do that. So whenever he brings it up he says it like PUR-RING. It's very cute.

Gracie is like me... She LOVES tub time! She likes to eat bubbles and sit on the edge every night while I take my bath. She's so curious that she actually fell in half way once.. but that didn't seem to phase her.. she just licked it up, and hopped back on the edge.

Welcome Marley!

2009-07-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

We have a new addition to our family. Little Marley just arrived a couple days ago. He is just the cutest little thing. Not much bigger than a quarter. He must have gotten washed up on our porch, and we have now created him a little home. He will be moving to a much larger home in the next month or two. He is just the cutest little water turtle. Actually he's a musk turtle. He mostly eats live little bugs and some occasional greens. We are happy to add him to our continuing little mini zoo we are creating at the Orr House.

Because of all the crazy storms we've been having in Oviedo... we have a large pond in our backyard... Woo hoo we have waterfront property now! Not so good for our poor grass.. and the nasty mosquitos it brings.. But here is a view from our porch of the Orr Pond.

Marek is catching Marley some dinner!

Sorting out Marley's meal. :) Yum Yum!

Pumpkin Patch Update

2009-07-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is our first and largest pumpkin. He is now completed.. and his stem has dried up. He's not the prettiest thing I've ever seen, but regardless we're pretty happy about it. Hopefully our plants will continue to produce more fruit up until Halloween.

One Cool Dude

2009-07-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

Styling on the way to school. Its actually funny that he's wearing his glasses this morning because the sun was under a ton of rain clouds.... Probably ended up not swimming at school today.

Morning M&M's

2009-07-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Potty Training....

Every morning I give Marek his M&M's from the previous night for using his potty. I don't give them at night because it's time for bed and he has already brushed his teeth. So I tell him I'll owe them to him. This morning he was soooo funny. He wanted to enjoy his M&M's in our bed, while all snuggled up with his lovey..

Rough life he's got.. Just wearing his undies in bed... snuggled up eating chocolate... Now that's the life!

NEW HAIR

2009-07-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

I am back to brown! I told Coleen I was ready to go back to my super chocolate brown hair. I'm thrilled with the cut and color. I always love to change it up.

Coolbrook Lola Luah

2009-07-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

We had a Luah on our street that we have been planning for months. We finally caught and roasted Lola the 200 pound pig that had been roughing up our backyard and pulling up our neighbors fence. So practically the whole street came down for the festivities. It was a lot of fun, and a blast to say farewell to large hairy Lola... She was super tasty!

It's hard to tell how long and big she is.. but it's actually a real BIG cage.

Marek is heading to the party. He's so gangsta!

Playalinda Beach

2009-07-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach on Saturday with our good friends the Perez's. Marek and his buddy Zyel that are the same age just ran and ran and swam in our pools that we dug for them. It was a perfect day at the beach.

Check out how deep the pools we created were!

These pools rock!! Zyel is totally chilling in the pool!

Drip castles rock! Good job Kev!

Busted

2009-07-20T09:42:00.000-07:00

Kevin totally walked into finding Marek doing his hair like mommy. Im sooooo happy the flat iron wasn't actually turned on, or he would have had a rude awakening..

He's a Keeper

2009-07-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats a note like this on a Friday morning. Gotta love what an Architect husband will come up with. :) Had to share.

I love the part that says... "Not to Scale"

My SIS and family are in O-TOWN!

2009-07-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

My sister, brother-in-law and two fabulous nephews are down visiting for a week and doing all the Disney fun things while they are here. I think they have literally rode every ride at least once. Last night we met them at Downtown Disney for dinner at Wolfgang Puck and Lego playing. Of course the boys had a big kick doing that.

Marek and I built a little car to race against the other kids cars. WE WON! We cheered for our FAST little winning car. Marek of course was super thrilled! I think it was the added flair on the side that really sped us up. ;)

Here are a few pictures of us, and my adorable nephews Josiah and baby Landon. :)

Here's our winning car!

Giving Uncle Kevin a thorough check...

Funny Sleeper

2009-07-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

We find Marek in the most bizarre sleeping positions. Here are just a few of the crazy things we walk in on. Keep in mind.. When he goes to bed at night.. He always starts with a shirt, shorts or pants.. and usually house shoes. He's a big fan of his bear shoes... As you can see in the pictures... he's removed items.. and added some items..

Layla 1st Birthday

2009-07-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

Marek had a splashing good time at Layla's 1st birthday. Here are some pictures from the fun party! Thanks for having us Golds!

Look at Layla, she's a total DOLL! I feel like it wasn't that long ago when Marek was having his first. Love the classic cake pictures!

Mommy takes a tumble...

2009-07-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

Yes... So I've always know I've been a major klutz.. Most of the time I don't even realize my arms are attached to my body.. because they usually have a mind of their own. They slam into walls, I bang up my jewelry.. Im a real big mess.

Well... my biggest fear is for me to be holding Marek and actually fall down and drop him. And that is exactly what happened to me yesterday afternoon.

We were actually leaving Marek's school and I was holding him and praising him on the great news I had heard from his teachers. (We have had some issues with Marek the past couple days) so good news was a real blessing to our ears. So here I am holding him and telling him how proud I was him. Obviously not completely paying any attention to the end of the curb. Which is a nice actual smooth transition, except for the fact that I stepped off the sidewalk into the grass. My foot/wedge heel went into a hole and dropped me straight down onto my right knee. Marek and cell phone in hand. I somehow managed to set Marek safely to a sitting position on the ground while I dragged my foot out of the hole, and managed to some how not break a second phone. Or hurt Marek in any way. Which was my biggest concern that flashed through my mind while this was all happening. After feeling shocked that I had just done this... And pulling myself up and off the ground. I look down at my knee and realize that I now have a rather large hole in my pants at the knee. I pull my pants up to find a nasty bloody scratch.. which has now turned into a puffy hard sore. NOT FUN! Though the first thing out of my precious sons mouth is.... (In the saddest and sweetest voice) Ohhh no Mommy! Let me give you a hug. Honestly... I will never forget that. I am a lucky mom, and so very fortunant that he is safe.

My knee looks much better than yesterday, but boy is it sore.. my twisted ankle should be back to normal in no time too. So happy that no bones were broken!

I'm a major proud mommy.

2009-07-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that we started potty training Marek last Saturday before last. Two days of potty training over the weekend, and then we tried pull-ups on Monday for his first day of school. I told him if he had no accidents in his pull-ups at school, then he could go back to wearing underwear like he got to do over the weekend. (Underwear to him.. means MAJOR big boy)! So after getting wonderful reviews from his teachers, and no accidents we allowed him underwear on Tuesday.. Boy am I the proudest mom ever! He had ZERO accidents ALL week and all weekend long!!

How I did it... First day... He received a Hershey kiss for every pee, and a Hershey bar for... well.. a poo... Well that quickly changed when I realized that he had more pee than most dogs... Somehow he managed to go about 20+ times in a couple hours... We quickly switched it to one M&M.

Now after I hear a good report from the teacher and no accidents each week. He gets to visit the "Fun Monster Treasure Chest" (filled with all kinds of fun little toys) This is very motivating to him.. Because he sees the box.. and really wants a toy from it. Hopefully fingers crossed.. he keeps up this accident free streak!

Here is a book he likes to read often to us, and to himself while on the potty or at night. He reminds us regularly that he goes just like Joshua.. the little boy in the book.

I am not posting any pictures of him on the potty.. But... it is quite a sight to see. He actually uses two different pottys... depending on what he needs to do.. the small potty is for pee. And he sits on it and bends completely over where is head practically hits the floor... It's a real sight to see.

My Birthday Week

2009-07-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful birthday week. I have such awesome friends and family. I feel really blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

On my birthday Eve my friend Ara threw me an awesome celebration at the office. With my favorite chocolate eclaires and black and white cookies from TooJays. Yum Yum.. The office was happy to enjoy those. :)

Here are a few pictures from the events.

On Tuesday which was my birthday. Kevin and I took off work and went to Islands of Adventure and Universal. And then surprised me with a very special yummy lunch at Emerils. Yummmm it was all delicious. That night Marek and Daddy surprised me with the most beautiful and tasty Raspberry Chocolate Torte cake with "firework candles" Marek likes to call them. And then Marek of course had a blast opening the presents that he helped pick out. Some that he completely picked out. Like a truck frame.. for a picture of him and me.. Too cute!

On Thursday we had a trifecta birthday lunch. We have done this the past couple years with my friends at work that have birthdays the same week. So we had yummy Thai food. Another one of my favs!

Blurry.. but here's one side of the table. Me in the middle and Birthday Girl Janet at the end.

At the other end was birthday girl Natasha!

Then on Thursday night my glitter girl friend Susan threw me and Janet an indoor pool party (no water) at her house with our group of gals from work. That was a blast!

The birthday girls. Me and Janet!

Pumpkin Update

2009-07-13T07:57:00.000-07:00

Our pumpkin patch is flourishing.. We had about 8-12 potential little pumpkins start to grow.. But ended up with one healthy big one so far.. I think he's decided to take over the patch. So fingers crossed he continues on for however long he can last. Regardless we all have a blast going and checking on him.

Ellie Came to Town for her Orlando Birthday!

2009-07-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

Ellie wanted to spend her birthday with her first friends. "THE PURPS"! So after moving to Washington after two years together with her best buddies she came back to celebrate her 3rd birthday with her friends. Originally the plan was to have a pool party at the JCC after class, but the day turned out to be rainy. :( So we made due and played in the lobby at the JCC. We all didn't mind because we got to spend time with Ellie and her mom Elise. Ellie has always been very very special to us and Marek. Marek and Ellie were pretty inseparable their first two years. Ellie and Marek acted like they were brother and sister. They would even hold hands during nap time. Just the sweetest little tender hearts. Here are some new pictures from the party, and a few older pictures.

Ellie, Carson, Ms Mel, Marek and Gabby!! The original crew!!

Carson, Charlotte, Ellie and Marek

Gabby came to Carson's rescue with lots of hugs! What a sweet friend! We love you Gabby!

Sweet kiddies.. Marek and Ellie

Snuggles!! Though it looks like Marek has Ellie in a headlock.

Ellie Marek and Carson giggling it up!

Jonah, Ellie and Marek hanging in the pool.

Marek, Sam, Ellie and Charlotte

Carson, Annabelle, Marek, Charlotte and Ellie living it up in the Cozy Corner.. They practically lived in that corner.

Carson, Ellie and Marek making good use out of a laundry basket.

Off to Gatlinburg

2009-06-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

After 4 wonderful days in Puryear Tennessee we were off to Gatlinburg for some more fun. My parents were actually also vacationing in Gatlinburg so we got to spend some quality time with them.

We met up with them on Thursday and had a blast going to the Ripley's Aquarium. The Aquarium is special to us because our company designed it, and Kevin actually helped out with that project about 12 years ago. Marek of course loved it, because anything in an aquarium is amazing..

We also did the Ripley's Mirror Maze and me, my mom and dad did the Ripley's Haunted Mansion. That was AWESOME! It was actually pretty spooky and really well done. Kevin and my dad rode on the Motion simulated rides. After that we headed over to Ober Gatlinburg and rode the big tram over the mountains. Not to our luck.... a HUGE storm came through and the power went out almost 15 minutes after getting to the top. We were stuck at the top of the mountain for over 3 hours. We made do, and entertained ourselves. Marek didn't seem to care..

After we finally made it down, my mom threw Kevin a surprise party in our hotel room. It was a surprise to me too. And then we went and ate at a really fantastic Italian dinner for Kevin's birthday. It was a wonderful visit. And fantastic to see them. :)

Here is a picture after arriving in Gatlinburg for dinner.

Fish at the Aquarium

Inside with the seahorses..

A view from our room. It had a beautiful creek running through. And lots of ducks. It was peaceful.

Up up and away to Ober Gatlinburg

He was sooooo into wanting to feel the ice skaing rink. He was loving the skaters. Aunt Alisha would be so proud!

Watching them skate, and fall..

After 3 hours of running around... he was beat..

Riding the rides with Grandma.

The unforgettable Calzone... it was something else! On the menu it read. "Bigger than you expect" and boy was it. Lots of people at the restaurant got out of their seats to come and see it.

Ziplines or Spiderman Webs

2009-06-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

Marek got to try out his cousins zipline. He kept saying it was like Spidermans web... Who knows.. At first he was nervous to try it.. But then he decided he wanted in on all the fun. He was happy he went for it.

The AMAZING country life...

2009-06-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

I could settle into this lifestyle REAL quick.. There is always something to do, and all of it seems so peaceful to me. Here are some of the wonderful things Marek and the kids did while we were at Lady Bug. (Lots of photos ahead..)

Paw and Marek on Tractor Eddie.

Taking a little break..

Paxton, Hayden, Reagan and Marek.. wishing they could take a spin on the jetski

Watching the chickens eat breakfast

Begging Paw to swing him first thing in the morning.. Still in his jammies...

Feeding the rabbits with Paw.

All the fun wiped him out!

3 Generations of Orr's wearing their hats. :)

Uncle Shane giving the little ones a ride on the go-cart

Happy Birthday Kev! I don't think Kevin got to open any of his own presents. He was fully assisted by Marek.

Ready to go... with their helmets on backwards. Ha!

Quality reading time with Paw.

Running the footings of the future house.

Rough life... Passed out in the swing..

Me snuggling one of the many bunnies.

How many kids fit on a 4-wheeler?? Well 4 of course...

So cute! They think they might actually take off.

Taking a ride down the slide with Memaw

Road Trip 2009

2009-06-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Our trip was so amazing... That I'm going to have to chop it up into different posts... We decided that we were going to rent a car and drive leisurely to Tennessee. We left work around 3:30 pm and picked up our sweet Cadillac STS and brought it home to load up. After we loaded up we took off towards Tennessee. We landed in Georgia and crashed for the night. Marek woke up and it was around 11:30pm when we got to the hotel. He knew at that moment that he was on vacation! (He loves staying at hotels)

The next morning we had breakfast and jumped back in the car for about 6 more hours until we got to the little town of Puryear TN where Kevs family lives. We did take a quick stop on the way when I heard my sister was at Target at an exit that we happened to be passing by. So ironic!! I was actually calling her to let her know I was passing her old exit in Nashville when she goes... I'm like 4 exits away from you!! She was taking a short trip to visit my brother in law who is in the Army Reserve. So we stopped and visited with them shortly. It was lovely to see my beautiful nephews.

We were super thrilled to pull up to Lady Bug (the name of my in-laws place). We are always looking forward to relaxing with them and visiting. After settling in we headed over to catch the end of Paxton's baseball game. It was a great game for him. He ran two runs in!! My niece Reagan hit it off right away with Marek. They were too funny the whole trip.

While visiting we celebrated Kev's birthday with a spectacular dinner. Not only that night.. but every night we ate so well. My mother in law is a fabulous cook, I always feel spoiled rotten when I get there.
The visit was way too short, and I'm hoping for another visit soon! I miss you guys! Thank you for such a wonderful vacation!

Marek thrilled about going on VACATION!!

My sister Alisha and my nephew Josiah.

My youngest nephew Landon. Yummy Yummy!

YAY!! We made it to Lady Bug!!

Sweet sweet cousins. Marek and Reagan.

Kevs Birthday

2009-06-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

This year Kev was a lucky boy and had 3 parties for his birthday. And I don't know anyone that doesn't deserve it more. He is a wonderful person inside and out, and I could not feel luckier to have him in our lives.

The first party was a low-key lunch with friends at Bahama Breeze, complete with cake. :) The second was a beautiful dinner in Tennessee made by his mom. Also with a super delicious chocolate cake! Boy was that meal yummy! Next was actually a surprise to both of us, by my mom. Who threw him an impromptu party in our hotel room, and a yummy Italian dinner at a cute restaurant around the corner from our hotel.

Kevin is very thankful and blessed to have such great friends and family. I want to thank you all for making it so special for him. XOXO, Amber

I had to take a picture of this Calzone. That was a large styrofoam cup next to it, to give you an idea of how large this thing was. And it was maxed out FULL inside. Most people in the restaurant got up to see it. It was that amazing. On the menu it said..... "larger than you might expect." And boy was it!!

Reilly's 3rd Birthday

2009-06-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate... The kids all decorated a piece of chocolate in the shape of a pizza slice. Marek was a real crank that day. We woke him up from his nap, and then woke him up in the car when we got there. I was ready to trade him in for one of his little buddies. But he still loved seeing everyone and tasting all the yummy treats. Thanks for an unforgettable birthday party Reilly! We had a blast!

Some random pictures I Love

2009-06-24T12:20:00.001-07:00

Here are some random pictures, that really make me smile.

He's a tree hugger! I love it!!

Mommy and Marek Day

2009-06-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

The JCC was closed due to a holiday, so me and Marek got to spend some one on one time together. We woke up.. leisurely, stretched and went for a run. Well.. I ran and Marek rode in the jogger. We ran to the neighborhood across the street and played at the playground. (Our neighborhood is too cheap to give us our own.) We were the only people at the park, which was wonderful. I realized how nice it was to spend quality time alone with my son. Playing and relaxing at the park while everyone was speeding down 419 hurrying to the office. After swinging for an hour and sliding down every slide, we headed to a little grocery store across the street to pick out a tasty cold treat. I look forward to more days that I can do this with him. I feel like the time is going by so quickly, and the thought of not getting more days like this in.. saddens me. Here are a few fun pictures of our day.

Such a good helper

2009-06-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

Marek just loves helping me in the kitchen. Here he is making some glaze for the limes on top of a dessert. I hope that he keeps this up, he'll make his mommy and wife super happy.

Working and Lounging at the Property

2009-05-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

After some hard work... it's nice to relax in the Black Hammock, on a Hammock.. Not much beats this..

Max's New House

2009-05-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

Our turtle Max has outgrown his home, so we have upgraded him to a bigger space. He now has his very own little pool. I have planted some fresh collard greens, beans, and sweet basil for him to nibble on. And also planted 3 different types of lettuce and carrots in some pots on our porch for him. He is loving his new digs! Marek is also loving it because now he can watch Max cruise around his new house.

HERE COMES TROUBLE

2009-05-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

I'm THREE! They made this adorable hat for Marek at school. He really likes it. Had to share. :)

Marek's 3RD Birthday

2009-05-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

Wow... everyday I can't believe how big our little boy has gotten. He's 3+ now! Unbelievable.. And such personality, and sweet little heart. I feel so lucky to have such a precious loving and sweet little boy.

For Marek's 3rd Birthday I decided I'd try having it at home with a big bounce house. Marek was thrilled when they set it up that morning. Actually he could barely sleep the night before his party because he saw me and Kevin setting everything up in the garage/driveway. That morning he bounced and bounced before all of his friends arrived. By the time they all got there, he was totally pooped out. Here are a few pictures of his big birthday event. We had sno-cones and a pull up pit came and brought us BBQ. We did a pull string pinata so that no one got hurt, and the rest of the time the kids ran around and bounced around. For his birthday cake I put together his favorite dessert. Brownies from Boston Market. :) He was in heaven!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-04-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

Orr-Harris-Gold Pumpkin Patch Competition 2009!!

Marek tending to his pumpkin patch. He is obsessed with checking on this patch! Everyday he goes to check on it. We love it!

What to do with the top bunk..

2009-04-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Marek is too small to sleep on the top bunk of his bunk bed, so Kevin put it together so that he couldn't climb the ladder. Marek knows that when he's 6 (according to what the bed instructions suggest) is when he's allowed to go up there. He also knows that the cat, loves to sleep up there. Here is the bed getting total use. I just love it!

Marek reminds me that only big kids or big cats can sleep up there.

Shed and Bridges

2009-04-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

We have all been slaving away on the property (especially Kevin). Here are some pictures from our latest addition. The shed..... or "The Little House" as Marek likes to call it.

Me and Marek always head over to the property after naptime. When he got up from his nap last week I told him we were going to the property to help daddy. This is our conversation.

Me: Want to go to the property?
Marek: Oh yes! I want to go to the property.
Me: Daddy is there. What do you think Daddy is doing?
Marek: Daddy is in the little house, he's playing with his tools.
Me: (Chuckling) I'm sure that is exactly what he's doing.

I love that at his age.. everything is fun. I hope this lasts forever.

Our little friend the mouse. He's sooo cute that we're going ro build him his own little home. (Outside the shed.)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

2009-04-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

All the dads (Harris's, Gold's, Davis's and Orr's) and kids went to see a Broadway Musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I snapped this picture as they were heading out. They looked too cute! :)

Easter at the Harris's

2009-04-24T13:30:00.001-07:00

We all had a blast heading over to the Harris's for a Easter brunch and egg hunt. The kids all had a great time searching for those eggs, and even more fun opening them and seeing their prizes.

Marek had such a great time that he actually totally crashed out as soon as he got in the car to head home.

Waiting for the hunt to begin!

Laughing it up! And getting crazy!

Marek and Mason taking a lolly pop break after some serious bounching.

Easter Morning

2009-04-24T13:11:00.001-07:00

Easter Morning! Has the bunny arrived?? Of course!! The bunny never skips Oviedo! :)

The face of total excitement. Okay.. maybe not.. But he's half asleep, and thrilled about that big new truck.

Atlanta ING Marathon

2009-04-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

My 6th Marathon and 3rd State Down! Race day was March 29th. (I'm totally behind on my blog)

I have set a goal to do all 50 States. Hopefully I will be able to accomplish this crazy feat one of these days. Next week I'm actually off to Ohio to get in another state. The Flying Pig. Stay tuned for that one.

About my race.. I was hoping to trim 5 minutes off of my previous fastest marathon and be under 5 hours. I would have taken 4:59:99 and called it a day.. But on my race day, I was enjoying my run. And came in at 4:37:09!!!!! I took off almost 28 minutes off of my fastest marathon! It's now going on 4+ weeks since that race, and I'm still in shock. Hopefully I can run another great race like that in Ohio. Maybe even trim another 7 minutes off.. :) (Wishful thinking) Here are a few pictures from my day.

Nothing is more touching and rewarding than seeing my family cheer me on when I round the last corner towards the finish line. The smiles from the two of them are priceless.

Kevin says I was just glowing at lunch. I was in a state of shock that I was able to cut that much time off. We went to a cute little diner in downtown Atlanta.

This was my lunch. And boy did it hit the spot! Warm yummy goodness!!

Josiah's 6th Birthday

2009-04-20T13:14:00.001-07:00

My oldest nephew turned 6! And we were so happy to get to celebrate with him. My sister who is a party planning master planned a serious carnival themed party. It had everything from candy apples, funnel cakes, fishing games, basketball, face painting, fool the guesser, ballon artist, to cotton candy (my job). And soooo much more! It was a really awesome party, and Marek and all the kids had a total blast. Here are a few pictures of the exciting big 6! Happy 6th Birthday Josiah! Love, Auntie Am

Helping Daddy Build Bridges

2009-03-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

Marek and Kevin have been clearing out paths on the property and built foot bridges so that you can easily cross the creeks. Marek spends most of his time out there finding the biggest sticks, and throwing rocks into the creeks.

Memaw and Paw... you would be sooo proud to see your grandson. He is an outdoorsy boy! He loves being on "the property" and asks us regularly when we're going back.

Fort Wilderness 2009

2009-03-25T07:38:00.001-07:00

I figured I'd better get our camping trip updated before we leave in a couple of days to take our Georgia trip. We (the Harris's and Orr's) decided we'd try camping with our little ones. So we decided we take a tame camping trip at Fort Wilderness Disney for a couple nights. It was a ton of fun. The kids ran around the campsites trying to feed birds and would take breaks to people watch. It was a great time. The second night two other couples joined us for all the fun and excitement. It was a lot of fun, and we plan on going back in January. Here are a few pictures.

Checking out the horse stables. Maybe next year they will be tall enough for a ride. :)

Totally wiped out. He was fighting some serious allergies. Poor kid got it from his mom and dad.

Cheer Competition

2009-03-17T13:59:00.001-07:00

Kimberly (Kevin's cousin) and family were in Orlando for a cheer competion. Molly who is nine cheers for a Memphis squad. She rocked it!! They did such an awesome job! So we went to wish her luck while they were in town. :) Marek "loved" Molly. :)

Silly faces for Molly. :)

3 decker chair..

Marek and his BFF Reilly

2009-03-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Here are some really awesome pictures that were professionally done by Amanda McMahon http://www.amandamcmahon.com/ The kids were at a park close to our house. Check them out! Some of them I'm going to blow up, for Marek's playroom. :) Do you like??

Monday Morning

2009-03-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

After a long weekend... Marek was not ready to go to school this morning.. Had to take a picture of his pouty face.. hahaha!

After Race at Hollywood Studios

2009-03-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

My little cheeseball, making a big cheesy smile!

They loved Woody and Buzz.. but were very shy.

What a busy day for this little boy! He made it all but 3 minutes in the car!

ESPN 5K Race Day and Kids Fun Run

2009-03-02T09:32:00.001-08:00

Race Day! Marek was super thrilled when I asked him if he'd like to run in a race, like mommy does. I told him that he'd get a special shirt, and if he finished.. they'd give him a medal. Boy was he sold! So he and his friend Reilly ran the race after the moms ran in the 5K.

We had a fun time running in the 5K. It was a great day for running for me. I finished the 5K in 28:00 minutes flat, and came in 97th place out of 697 woman. I was super happy!

Here Marek is.. first thing in the morning. Getting pumped up for his very first big race!!

Catriona and I after our big finish!

Marek getting antsy.. Wanting to start his race already.. What a funny little kid he is..

Mommy is soooo proud! And so is Marek. :) #108!

Starting to line up for the start. Reilly and Marek were ready to run "REALLY REALLY FAST" so they said. And boy did they!

On your mark.... get set... GO!!!

Marek was rounding the bend, to the finish line and got plowed into from the back. Another little boy was on top of him, and had run right into Marek. Marek was obviously scared, and not happy. He didn't see it coming! I asked him if he wanted to stop.. and he said no.. and kept running. What a trooper. He was really sad because he got his knees banged up.

His friend Reilly told him she'd rub his back. It was too cute. They are such best friends.

Race Weekend Goodie Bag Pickup

2009-03-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

We started off on Friday night going out to Disney to pick up our goodie bags, and race numbers for our fun races the next morning. Marek was excited about getting to run a race like Mommy!

It appears that I was more excited about it, than he was.

Fun Filled Weekend

2009-02-23T10:21:00.001-08:00

We met up with the Harris's at the park, and the kids took some professional pictures together, we'll see how those turn out soon. They were really cute, picking berries off the bushes together. I think the pictures will be adorable.

After the park we went to lunch and the kids rode the train at the mall. They also got to try out a new "Hurricane Wind Simulator". It was loud, and windy. Nevertheless.. they enjoyed it. Thanks Mr. Funny Mike!

We went to the Harris's house for dinner and Wii bowling. I know.. we're dorks.. but we love it.

By the end of the night the kids decided they were going to play dress up. Marek had no problem being a fairy like Reilly. When we would tell Reilly how pretty she was... Marek would say. "I'm pretty too."

Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day actually started early for me on Friday afternoon. Kevin took me for a "surprise" lunch at our favorite sushi restaurant "Bayridge". Sooo yummy! Also gave us a little bit of relaxing time while Marek was at school.

After work we picked up Marek and told him we were going to go and pick up part of his Valentine's gift. We went to the pet store and bought him a fish tank. :) He was very excited. We told him that it wouldn't be till the next day until we could go and pick up the fish. Because it takes 24 hours for the tank to get settled.

Here is a picture of the tank. The fish he picked out looks a lot like the little guy on the bottom left. And we picked out the same plants as the ones in the picture.

Saturday we went to eat dinner at the "Black Hammock Fish Camp" one of our fav little off beat places to eat. Its a relaxing patio/live music restaurant that has little aligators inside. You can also order aligator dishes. :) During dinner they came over and brought us a big alligator head to hang out at our table. Marek thought it was cool. We also took a picture of Rhett Davis. He sings a lot of peaceful oldies. Marek just loves him, and cheers the loudest. Rhett always comes to our table to talk to Marek, they are definitely buddies.

After dinner we went to Petsmart to pick out Marek's new fish. We decided on an orange and white Fantail Fancy goldfish. His name is "Mo".

New Tent

2009-02-10T08:02:00.001-08:00

We just bought a new tent for our upcoming camping trip at Disney's Fort Wilderness. But wanted to do a test run with it ahead of time. Marek wanted to help with everything. Which is wonderful, and I hope that excitement sticks around for another 20+ years. :) Well since we put it up over the weekend, we have not taken it down. Maybe this evening we will. Marek wants to be in it ALL the time. He litterally runs circles in it non-stop. But takes breaks to tumble and roll around like a little monkey. I think he'll do great at camping. We're thinking we might even have to do some Oviedo camping on our property. Like a little jungle camping safari trip. Bring your tent, you're invited!!

Hollywood Studios (Formally MGM)

2009-02-10T07:50:00.000-08:00

We took a short after nap trip to Hollywood Studios. We didn't spend a whole lot of time there, but had time to check out Lightning McQueen (Marek's fav) and the Little Mermaid show. We also went and saw and rode on the new Toy Story ride. It was a really neat shooting game, until it stopped... They had us evacuate the ride, and wait in line to leave. By the time we got out... the park was closed. Oh-well.. good thing we have annual passes and can go back next week to finish our ride! :)

Marek and Reilly

Disney Parade and Fireworks

2009-02-10T07:45:00.000-08:00

The love of Disney... we just can't get enough of this place!! We are totally getting our moneys worth here! Marek loves getting to hang out with his pals, and Mickey at the same time!

Oviedo Playground

2009-01-29T13:21:00.001-08:00

Back to one of our FAV playgrounds in Oviedo! Marek and Reilly had fun running around and eating snacks.

Animal Kingdom on MLK Day

2009-01-29T12:39:00.000-08:00

Marek had Martin Luther Kings Day off from school. So we went to Animal Kingdom. We also met up with his buddy Reilly and her family. Boy did they have a blast. We were there all day, and covered practically the entire park. Basically the only things we didn't do, was the big kid rides.

This was one of the very first things we did. We rode on the train. It was nice and relaxing. The kids hugged a lot.

We went and saw the Bugs Life Show in the base of the "Tree of Life" it was actually pretty scary for little kids. Marek was shaking most of the time. It was dark and loud, and it sprayed water.
Maybe in a year or so.. he'll like it more..

Here they are on their way to the petting zoo. They had a blast brushing all of the animals. The animals didn't mind at all. They actually seemed pleasantly happy.

The very end of the day we watched the parade. We actually had the best spot, because we were at the corner, and no one could stand in front of us. We got total special attention too. A bunch of characters stopped and high-fived the kids because they were right up front. Marek and Reilly waved non-stop!

Mr. Richards and the Park

2009-01-29T12:32:00.000-08:00

We met up with Carrie and her daughter Carson for a fun little event at the JCC. Mr. Richards came and played music and sang for the kids. It was very cute, and Marek totally rocked out. As you can see he's pulling out some of his Boy Band Moves...

After lunch we headed over to Maitland Community Park. One of my very favorite parks. (Mom you will remember it because it's the same place we had Marek's 1st birthday party.) They ran around for about an hour, and then were pretty beat. It was a fun day. :)

Hectic

2009-01-26T14:04:00.001-08:00

Hopefully in the next couple of days I can update my blog with some exciting stuff from the past week. This week has been just crazy hectic? Ever have those weeks? I think they became consistent around 2 1/2 years when Marek arrived.

Check back soon, for some new "Orr House" additions..

Disney Certificate

2009-01-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

How fun! Double Click on it to view! :)

Disney Marathon Day

2009-01-16T13:04:00.000-08:00

I hit a PR!! (Personal Record) Sure.. I only beat my fastest time by a couple minutes.. But for me.. every second counts. My time was 5:04:57. I really wish that I could have broken 5 hours.. but then theres always next time. Speaking of next time... that is right around the corner in March. So check back then, maybe I'll have more exciting news to post. :)

As far as races go... This race was hectic!! By far the most marathoners I have ever run with. 17,000 people signed up. And 15,000 showed up and finished. The most full marathoners I have run with was in Nashville and that was only 3,000. So this was a very crowded race. I hope Atlanta will be better.

Here are a few pictures from the race. I stole the first 3 from the pros site.. so they are pretty low quality, because they were tiny. But you get the jist..

Oh.. and some of Marek and his buddy Reilly in Bruce the big shark from Nemo. They cruised around Epcot, hanging out having a jolly ol' time while I was pounding the pavement.. ;)

Marek was waiting for mommy to cross that finish line!

Magic Kingdom with his Buds

2009-01-05T09:39:00.001-08:00

We had a great day at Disney with Reilly and Mason. We spent half the day riding rides and cruising around Disney. I think Marek's favorite part was riding the monorail. Here are a few pictures from thier day. The first picture was actually the last thing we did before we left. We lined them all up and had a to take a quick photo. None of them wanted to have anything to do with us by that point. Too funny.

Marek got a Woody doll from Disney. And has yet to let him go since we bought him. He is currently in the car waiting for Marek to get out of school. They are best buds now.

BIG Boy Bed

2009-01-05T07:25:00.000-08:00

We went and got Marek's new big boy bed this past weekend. He was really excited to go to IKEA and pick it up. He loves getting to go there and play with all of their neat toys. Well we loaded it up and brought it home, and boy was he excited. He knew that it was HIS big boy bed, and kept telling us about it over and over. So once it got put together, he was happier than if it were Christmas.

I do have to say that I was pretty worried. Mostly because he is a awesome sleeper, and loves going to his bed (crib). And I feared that things might change once he moved to a bed that he could easily get out of. But nothing has changed. If anything he is even more excited for bed time. He runs in and rolls around a few times, and laughs and smiles uncontrollable every time. He feels like such a big boy. Though he looks like a tiny little boy in his new big bed. Once he gets bigger then we will open up the top bunk bed part. Kevin put it together so that the ladder would be against the wall. He tells us that the ladder is too small for him. Too funny..

NEW PLAYROOM

2009-01-05T07:19:00.000-08:00

We are currently in the process of converting our office to a playroom. Marek of course can't get enough of the room. He is so happy to have his toys over in their own room. It's still a work in progress because we still need to buy him a little couch, and his AV cabinet. But it's coming together.

New Year's Eve

2009-01-05T07:02:00.000-08:00

We went to the Harris's house for New Years. They had everything all set up so nicely for the kids and adults. They planned a dinner for the kids and then an early ball drop which consisted of some fireworks for the kids. Then bed time. We put all of their blankets and bedrolls from school together in the playroom, and said goodnight. Well of course they didn't go to bed. They danced and cheered but stayed in the playroom until around 10:30. Then Catriona moved Reilly into her room, and she went right to bed. Then Marek and Mason fell asleep. They literally danced themselves to sleep. While all of that was going on, the parents got to enjoy a fabulous dinner and relaxed and made smores outside at the fire pit. Then followed that up with some Wii bowling. I am now addicted!! And have a sore shoulder from it.. How sad!

A loud firework made him turn his head super fast. I caught it on camera. Too funny.

Jumping in Reilly's bounce house.

Black Hammock

2008-12-29T13:05:00.000-08:00

We love to go to Black Hammock Fish camp. We try to get over and eat there about once a month. It's a great little hole in the wall off beat kind of place in Oviedo. Marek also loves it because he gets to visit the aligators. His favorite is Hammy, which is a big 16 ft gator.

Christmas Weekend

2008-12-29T12:39:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. :) We all had a blast getting to see Marek open his presents. He was thrilled! It was such a fun Christmas for him. I just love this age.

Peeking through his little tree presents that we open on Christmas Eve.

Watching his monorail go round and round.

Reading the Night Before Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa

This was my little tricycle I had as a little girl. He just loves it. It is probably his most favorite present. He calls it his trike-a-bike-a-cycle.

Digging in deep into that stocking. He loved opening his stocking this year.

Hanging in the frog tent. :)

Kids Christmas Party at the Office

2008-12-29T10:31:00.001-08:00

Every year our office throws a party for all of the employee's kids. This event is my big event that I put together every year. It's such a special event to me, and I always enjoy doing it. The kids have an absolute blast every year. This year my theme was "Candy and Gingerbread." So of course we all decorated gingerbread houses. The kids love eating the candies and having their parents help them constuct the cool little houses. I figured that the architects could handle it. :)

Frank our office lizard got festive for the holidays. :) Marek always has to visit Frank when he comes to visit at the office.

Marek and daddy were hard at work. It turned out so pretty.

This was the first year that Marek sat and waited for Santa to call his name, so that he could receive his present. I was so proud of him sitting there like a big boy. He was so exicited!

Here he is sitting next to his buddy Zyel.

Once Santa called his name, he went up and sat next to him. He didn't want to sit on his lap. He wasn't really scared of him, just unsure.

Afterwards he was really happy! :) It was a wonderful party, and Marek still talks about it.

Reindeer RDV 5K

2008-12-15T14:07:00.000-08:00

A few of us ran a 5K on Saturday. Actually we ran 10 miles. 3+ miles to the race, then the race, and then ran back to our team leaders house for pancakes. It was a lot of fun. Here's a picture of some of the people from my group.

Marek had a Vacation

2008-12-15T13:40:00.000-08:00

Marek got to stay with his sitter while we were out. She was his very first teacher at the JCC, and has had him since he was 12 weeks old. They are such great pals. She is now a fulltime and live in nanny and watches a 4 year old boy that also goes to the same school. Mateo and Marek had such a good time hanging out. So much fun actually that Marek did not even mention his mommy or daddy the entire time we were gone. She said he never cried once, and went to bed at night just perfectly. Even told them when he was ready. I'm so proud of him!!

He had so much fun getting to play with his new friend, and all of his toys. He is still talking about going to Ms. Nitas house and playing with all the cars. Here are a few pictures that she sent to us.

VEGAS

2008-12-15T11:59:00.001-08:00

Kevin and I went to Vegas last week. Actually I tagged along. Kevin had a conference during the week, and I flew up for just a couple days. I don't do well at all with leaving Marek. Two and a half days were already too long for me. I will explain Marek's vacation in my next blog..

The Autodesk conference was at the Venetian, and we stayed across the street in the Mirage. It had been recently renovated, and everything was nice and new in the rooms. During our stay we ate lots and lots of yummy foods, and did a lot of fun shopping. We also went on a gondola ride in the Venetian. The guy sang the most beautiful songs to us in italian. It was lovely.

While Kevin was in his classes I went and visited the beautiful white lions and tigers at the Secret Garden at the Mirage, and walked around for hours.. Which was a must after all of our fabulous eating. I was thrilled when I got home, and didn't actually gain any weight. All that walking paid off. :)

We also went and saw "O" a Cirque show. It was awesome! Simply amazing. We had a wonderful and short little vacation. Here's some pictures we took while we roamed the strip.

Marathon Weekend

2008-12-02T05:49:00.000-08:00

SPACE COAST MARATHON NOVEMBER 30, 2008

I did it! I completed my 4th Marathon on Sunday. Honestly it was my hardest one yet. Even though I'm so much more well trained this time around. It just wasn't my day to run. The first half of the race was wonderful. I felt really good, had my typical stride, was running with all of my friends.. and then my body said nope.. you're done.. :( I had been sick with that really nasty bug going around for over a week and a half. The morning of the race was the very first day I felt like I could breathe clearly. I guess my body wasn't quite ready for that long 26.2 mile hual..
Oh-well.. I still had an absolutely incredible time.
I was so happy to round the very last bend before the finish line, and see my boys cheering for me. Marek was waving and yelling YAY MOMMY!! GO MOMMY! Brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it. I am so very fortunant to have such an awesome family that supports me.
No matter how hard the distance is.. it still all seems worth it. And I'll be doing it all over again at Disney in January. Hopefully I'll beat my time, and get to my goal I've been working on.

Much needed stretching after a long long morning... Marek always likes to do the stretching too.
Below is a picture of my two fabulous group leaders from my Track Shack group. They are wonderful!! My back looks broken in this picture.. and it feels that way today. :( We had serious winds against us most of the way..

Turkey Day Gobble Gobble

2008-12-02T05:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving from our little sicky.

We had a nice low key Thanksgiving at our house this year. We had a bunch going on this week with my marathon that weekend, and Kevin having to pack for Vegas. So we decided to have just our typical Thanksgiving fixins for the 3 of us. Fortunantly we didn't make plans to go out because Marek woke up in the middle of the night with a nasty stomach bug. Luckily it only lasted about 8 hours or so, and he was back to his old self. Though you can see from his picture he looks pretty wiped out. Marek made this picture at school for the holiday. As you can tell... he got a head start on us... nothing was stopping him.

Family Fun Fest with the Purps

2008-11-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

Marek has been best buds with these 3 gals since he started at the JCC at 12 weeks. And now they are all 2 1/2! Where the time goes, I'll never know. But boy are we all having a fun time. They all got together this weekend for Family Fun Fest at Lake Lily. They got to ride a little train, elephants, carousal, and jump in lots of bounce houses. It was a blast.

Carson, Marek, Annabelle and Charlotte

Marek was actually too scared to go down the slide. He went up it.. and then camped out at the top for 10 minutes or so.. and then slid down the steps.. What a silly boy..

Chilly Ride

2008-11-19T05:54:00.000-08:00

I had to take some pictures of him in this big coat. Too funny.

Last night we all went out for our regular family Tuesday run. Though last night it was in the 40's, so Marek had to get all bundled up. But when we got home, he was super toasty warm, thanks Josiah for the warm cozy jacket!

Daddy Day at the J

2008-11-19T05:21:00.000-08:00

Sunday, Daddy and Marek went to a fun little event at the JCC. It was called "Man in my Life". They got to watch how a volcano erupts, and got to dig for fossils, and experiment with air. Marek thought the air was a little questionable when it blew up his air, but then got the hang of it. The lady running the event, snapped all of these pictures of Marek, she thought he was just too funny with his thin wispy hair blowing straight up.

Happiness is Friends

2008-11-17T08:34:00.000-08:00

Marek loves hanging out with his two new buds from his class, Reilly and Mason. He talks about them constantly. They both have new baby sisters, and Marek always includes them too. They are all just too cute! :)

I've been tagged..

2008-11-12T07:04:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize that I could be tagged in a blog... but I did.. Thanks to Catriona. Sisters-Reilly and Brooke :)

Weird Things About Amber

1. I wash my hands nonstop all day.. And wash Marek's hand and face constantly. Now he is obsessed with napkins and being clean. Maybe this one qualifies as crazy.. not weird..??

2. I can curl my tongue with 3 curls in it at one time.

3. When I was 3 I got into puzzles heavily. I would get bored and turn the puzzle over on the brown side, and put the pieces together that way.

4. In private school, I sold the most magazines in the school and got to be principal for the day. I sat in the principal’s office and ordered pizza, and he sat in my classes and took notes..

5. My family has always celebrated half birthdays, and so now I'm celebrating them for Marek. I don't find this to be weird.. But most people seem too.

6. I used to paint rocks and make holiday stationary when I was in elementary school, and sell it to all of my neighbors. They would actually buy it from me. It was awesome!

7. I won an actual trip to Hawaii when I was 8ish, but when they saw that I was too young, I didn't receive it. Boooooo! Maybe that's one of the reasons why I wanted to get married in Hawaii..

Now I am going to tag.....

The Bostick Family

Mama, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys

Half Birthday

2008-11-12T06:49:00.000-08:00

Marek is a big 2 1/2 now. And he's very aware that he's more than two. Last night a bunch of us all went to dinner at Texas de Brazil, and since it fell on Marek's half birthday, we had a little party for him. He especially enjoyed his big John Deere truck from Grandma. Grandma, you'll be getting a call from him shortly.. I only took one picture of him. So this is it.. I'll have to snap some of him and his new truck.

Bounce Bounce for Baby Brooke

2008-11-12T06:27:00.000-08:00

Reilly's parents threw a party for their newest little addition Brooke. It was a really nice brunch, and a great idea to welcome her to all of her friends and family. (Catriona, I might have to steal your great idea when we have our next one.) ;)

At the party they had a bounce house. So Marek got to bounce with a couple of his new friends from his class, and had such an awesome time. At first he was hesitant (not surprising) but quickly warmed up. He still hasn't stopped talking about jumping in the bounce house with his friends Reilly and Mason.

Marek and Mason

2nd Place Winning Pumpkin

2008-11-03T13:57:00.000-08:00

I won 2nd place in our pumpkin decorating contest at the office on Friday. And won $25 cash. We went to lunch on Saturday with our winnings. :)

Trick-or-Treat??

2008-11-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

Marek was so into Halloween this year. I really didn't think he would actually wear his hat and bandana that came with his little Train Engineer costume, but boy was I wrong. I told him that if he wanted to go Trick-or-Treating then he'd need to wear his costume like the little boy on the picture (that came with his outfit). He was totally okay with it. Not only did he wear his hat and bandana the entire time that he was out, but also the whole time that he handed candy out to the kids. He was having such a blast.

At his first house, and good friends of ours. Loves to go and visit Mrs. Stephanie, and Mr. Michael.

Handing out candy to the kids. He enjoyed this as much as receiving candy.

His loot! And boy did he enjoy his chocolate!

Yard Work

2008-10-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

Typical weekend work.. This weekend Marek was helping daddy. And when I say help, he's just running along side, while daddy does the work.

All that work really poops him out.

Yep... he's a tree hugger. I love it! :)

Tower of Terror 13K

2008-10-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

Last night at 10:00pm I ran in a really fun race. For one.. it was totally different because it was at night time. And two, I wore black skull tights and my hair in pig tails with black bows. A friend from my office and her boyfriend also ran in this race, and dressed up. It was a blast. The finish line was at Hollywood Studios Tower of Terror ride. After the race everyone was allowed to ride the rides. It was nice, and exhausting. I usually don't stay up past 10:30 every night, and it was a crazy late night for me. I've been paying for it today.
The race went great. This was a 8.1 mile run, and my goal was to finish in 1 hour and 20 minutes. That would be a 10 minute pace throughout. I finished in 1:18:37!! I was thrilled!! Check out my coooool medal. It even has a movable elevator, like the ride. :)

Posing for the Camera

2008-10-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

This is what I got when I asked him to pose for me. This is something my mother would tell you that I did as a kid.

New T-Rex Restaurant

2008-10-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

We had to take a trip down to the Disney area yesterday to pick up my race information for my Tower of Terror 13K I did last night. So Kev had this wonderful idea to have lunch at this super cool restaurant. It just opened on October 14. So it was pretty squeeky fresh. This restaurant is owned by the same people that do the Rainforest Cafe. It was very cool. Marek liked it, but was a scared when they'd turn the lights down low, and all the lights would change colors, then the dinosaurs would all start moaning, and grunting.. That part was pretty spooky to him. Next year he'll be even more into it.