Animal Kingdom

At the Nemo show
Standing in front of Mt. Everest
The Blankinships in front of the "Tree of Life"
Reed playing the drums in Africa
Obviously, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a diver picture.

We went...we saw...we conquered! Yep, we used the last of our 4 day Disney passes yesterday at Animal Kingdom. I'm not going to say that Randy and I high-fived each other as we left the park last night - glad that we were done with Disney for a while...but we did. I know...we're fuddy-duddies and probably the only people in the whole world who don't just LOVE Disney.

In all truthfulness, we enjoyed many aspects of it. We definitely enjoyed how much fun the kids had. I think it is just such an expensive day...tickets, food, trinkets. And you have to battle so many people. Hmmm...two of my least favorite things...expensive AND crowded. So, label us however you wish, but we are probably done with Disney for a while. But I'm getting ready to campaign for Sea World!

We crammed a lot of activities into yesterday. The weather was perfect. The boys rode on the roller coaster Expedition Everest twice. Cassidy and I stuck to the Flying Triceratops ride (think the Dumbo ride, but with a friendly looking triceratops). We all rode the Dinosaur ride which was loud, jarring and very dark. Cassidy absolutely LOVED it...Reed said "it scared the pants of him." He doesn't mind hurtling at high speeds, but the huge dinos got him. Go figure. We also all rode the Kali River Rapids ride. In case you were wondering, I could not have been more wet if the nice Disney employees had just picked me up and dunked me in the water. COMPLETELY SOAKED...like dripping wet with see-through khaki shorts! Not one of my finer moments. But hey, I dried out...in 3 HOURS!

We saw the 3-D Bug's Life show. I drug everyone to the Nemo Musical, the Lion King show and Pocohontas and her Forest Friends show. I enjoyed them all thoroughly. Randy may have grumbled a bit...I think I heard a few comments about men in tights. But he was a trooper!

So there you have it.

Pride Goeth Before the...Explosion!

Well, Team Blankinship survived the day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. I'll post pictures in the next couple days. I know everyone will be anxiously awaiting those...bated (yes, this is the correct spelling - I googled it and now know what it means exactly and who used it first (Shakespeare) and since (Mark Twain) AND, you'll be glad to know, I shared ALL of those random facts with Randy...who was glad, I'm sure!) breath.

BUT that is NOT what this post is about. I had an experience yesterday that could have resulted in losing my Domestic Diva status...if I had Domestic Diva status...if there was such a thing as Domestic Diva status.

I decided to make Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls from my "hot out of my mailbox" Taste of Home magazine. Everything started out so grandly. I was ON MY GAME! I got the kids up, dressed, groomed, fed and loaded in the car to go to school in great time. I had planned my morning THE NIGHT BEFORE, perused the new recipe I was going to make and put the grocery list in my purse (lest it meet the same fate as the hair coupon...see previous post). I even had time to stop by the grocery store before dropping Cassidy off at preschool.

The dough came together beautifully. It rose appropriately, I rolled it, buttered and sugared it and sliced it in to 24 ENORMOUS cinnamon rolls. Those, too, rose exactly as they were supposed to. I baked them up and boy, did my house smell good. Cassidy was salivating. And I'll be perfectly honest...I WAS FEELING QUITE PROUD.

They finished baking and Cassidy and I iced those bad boys and then (this will come as no surprise) we had one. It was good...real good. So, I'll say it again...I WAS FEELING QUITE PROUD.

Cassidy asked to make up some jello. I got out the items we would need and put the tea kettle on to boil the water. The dog need to go outside to "use the facilities" so I took her out. While waiting outside with Skipper to finish up, I hear a loud crashing sound followed by a scream. I recognized immediately that this was not a "I'm hurt" scream, but a "I'm terrified" scream. So I'm trying to hurry the dog up and yelling through the glass sliding doors at Cassidy to calm down. I race inside and Cassidy is yelling, "It blew up! It blew up!" I look over into the kitchen and realize 4 things:

1. I turned the wrong burner on to boil the water

2. One of the 13 x 9 glass Pyrex pans of cinnamon rolls has EXPLODED and glass is EVERYWHERE (including *gasp* all over the other pan of rolls).

3. The cinnamon rolls that were in that pan are now sitting ON THE burner and are ON FIRE!

and

4. My daughter is running around with no shoes on!

Here is the end result:

Cassidy came through the entire incident COMPLETELY UNSCATHED! And, I have to tell you, I am so thankful that God protected her from any injuries...serious or minor.

I'm down to 1 glass pyrex 13x9 pan AND, to add insult to injury, I HAVE NO CINNAMON ROLLS!

It took me 3 hours to clean up the mess as glass was in everything on the counter(i.e. my purse) and had exploded all the way into the dining room, laundry room and kids bathroom in addition to all over and under everything in the kitchen AND I HAVE NO CINNAMON ROLLS!

My floors are SPOTLESS and, in case you were wondering, I HAVE NO CINNAMON ROLLS!

So, there you have it. The demise of a domestic diva...gone up in fiery blaze of cinnamon rolls and charred glass!

You did what?!?

Stashed candy wrappers
Candy wrapper close up
Silly putty and the purple dress
Silly putty and the area rug

The Blankinship's are having one of those weeks EVERY family with a preschooler has. You know the one I'm talking about...the one where every day (or even hour) you stumble across yet another "surprise" left by your wee little angel. One happy note: Because my little angel is 4, my surprises are, at least, NOT of the bodily function variety (I'm saying that with a prayer on my lips.) We've had those in the not-too-distant past, but I'm going to refrain from sharing.

My "surprises" have been rather plentiful this week, so I decided I just had to share a few.

* The candy wrappers stashed in the mixing bowl in the cabinet.

I stumbled across those while reaching for a cutting board. And yes, I KNOW it was Cassidy. She is the only one of my children sneaky enough to HIDE the evidence. Reed would have snuck the candy, but not thought to actually hide the wrappers. Cass will be the mastermind behind their lives of crime!

* THE HAIRCUT COUPON

Background: Lori gave me a coupon she found for 1/2 off a hair cut (for first time customers) at the salon she uses. I called and made an appointment for Wednesday morning.

So, I remember Tuesday night that I need to put the coupon in my wallet or I'll forget it in the morning. I jump up and run into the kitchen where, to my surprise, my COUPON is MISSING! I start the search. Long story short - Randy and I look EVERYWHERE!

(Side note: How do you know if your husband really loves you? He gets out of bed and digs, by hand, through the full kitchen trash bag for your haircut coupon. Of course, he did point out that he would dig through the trash for a dollar bill and this was worth more than that. But I'm sticking to my own interpretation: He dug through the trash for me...he loves me!)

The coupon wasn't in the trash can. I found it 20 minutes later in little pieces on Cassidy's little flower table. So, I did what anyone would do (right?) and Randy and I put it back together with tape. Yes, I had to explain to the ladies at the salon, but hey...it saved me 13 bucks! We were, though, unsuccessful in our attempts to ascertain WHY Cassidy tore the up the coupon ...oh well.

* Silly putty and the purple dress

Cassidy ground silly putty into her purple dress. And I mean GROUND it in so that it is now ONE WITH THE DRESS. So, again, I did what anyone would do and I put the dress in the freezer. For future reference, that doesn't work. In fact, silly putty doesn't really even freeze. How crazy (or, dare I say, SILLY) is that?

I was a little upset about the dress. I had actually thought earlier that morning how glad I was that the purple dress still fit and wasn't too stained because she could still wear it to school. But I was MORE than a little upset by my next "surprise."

* Silly putty and my area rug

Yes, that is right. Apparently, Cassidy really enjoyed grinding the silly putty into her dress. She enjoyed it so much she decided to grind it into the fibers of my area rug. And here is where it gets a little sad. I saw what she did and my FIRST thought was " At least the silly putty is in the same color family as the rug!" I am going to try a few solvents to see if I can get it up. But be forewarned, if you come to our house, we might have an area rug stained with silly putty! Oh the decorating disaster!

Here's the thing. Kids are just so expensive! Randy and I have had this discussion before (like after the time Reed found a screw in the garage and decided to "write" a line ALL THE WAY AROUND the Suburban at his eye level) and we both remember doing things that cost our parents (bless them) A LOT of money. One of mine involved red nail polish and carpet that was literally 2 weeks old. Randy remembers an incident involving his fist and a wall. I seem to recall a little encounter with Aaron, his skateboard and the wall in his room. So, I know these things are par for the course. And I'm sure it will be so funny to me...MUCH LATER!

Well, so far today (it is only 10 AM) we are surprise free. But it has grown quiet while I type this...never a good sign. Gotta go!

And the fun just keeps coming!

This is where I found Cassidy yesterday morning - playing on her new "computer" from Aunt Tamra and Uncle Mark.

Please disregard the mismatched jammies...that never happens in our perfectly coordinated house (what? You don't believe me?)

Cassidy followed the directions and made a butterfly using her new "Bendaroos" from Gran Debbie and Pa David all by herself. All three of us sat down and had a ball making stuff!
Reed made a spider and then put him on his head while he finished his homework.
And here is a random picture of me so Mom can see my haircut.

(I know it is hanging in my eyes...blame it on technical difficulties wrangling Cassidy while Reed is manning the camera.)

Cassidy has really been enjoying all of her new, fun birthday gifts. And she keeps getting more. We had two new gifts arrive this week! And boy, they were both big hits with both Blankinship kids!

Cassidy's 4th Birthday Party!

The birthday girl before the party.

She wore her favorite pink dress and loved her pink birthday cake (boy, was I glad!)
Our family!
Making necklaces.
FYI - I had a boy station set up at the coffee table with sports beads and leather string.

Randy and Larry "dolling up" the pinata stick with pink crepe paper. By the by, they decided to do this on their own...I never suggested it. Smart Daddy!
Cassidy loved Aunt Becky's gifts...a pig puzzle and play doh toys! Good thinking, Aunt Becky.
Here is a direct quote from the Cass: "Girl Legos!
And some of them are PINK!" Great job, Gram Ava and Pa Gary!
Cassidy with her new Dora fishing pole from us.

She said, "I've been waiting for this for a LONG time!"

Making door hangers.
A very happy dancing Cassidy! Click the picture to get the full effect!
Yes, we even had an "Easter egg hunt", but it was really a search for the princess jewels!
Pin the crown on the Princess.
All the kids eating birthday cake.

Cassidy's party was a big success! She had a great time and it seemed that all of her friends did as well. In total we had 10 kids and 11 adults...a very good ratio! I followed my carefully laid out schedule (you know I love those) and everything went very smoothly. And now we (Randy and I) are glad we're done for this year!

Tae Kwan Do

Getting into place on the mats.
Reed getting some instruction in how to do a sit up martial arts style (think a loud "yah" and hand slaps to the mat).
Practicing a move
Finishing the move.

I'm thinking he was supposed to stay standing after knocking his opponent (the cutie blond girl) down, but Reed thinks falling down is much more fun.

Duh.

I thought a color change was needed from all the pink of the previous 2 posts and the one still to come! So here are some pictures of Reed at his weekly Tae kwan do class. It is a program offered through various local churches and meets only once a week for one hour. The class size is rather large and one hour is not long enough to actually have a really "meaty" class, but it is fun for Reed and that was my criteria! As a matter of fact, just watching his class has (in the words of Jerry Clower) "flung a cravin' on me!" Hmm...maybe I could be a martial arts momma?!?

Cassidy's "Actual" Birthday

Flowers from her Daddy on her birthday!
Listening to someone singing "Happy Birthday".
The cupcakes. Well, as you can see, I didn't miss my calling as a cake decorator. My saving grace is that Cassidy isn't very discerning...she thought they were "beautiful!" Her birthday cake is going to just be pink...I'm done piping icing for this birthday!
Talking to Gram Ava on the web cam
Grandma Jane picked out the perfect birthday cards...
stickers for her pink fingernails!
Pa David and Gran Debbie sent a "gorgeous" purple boa...
doesn't everyone need one of these?!

The pink sheets.
Paul and Lori gave Cassidy a pink ballerina outfit! It is a big twirly hit! I, too, am quite happy with it as it means that Cassidy's Halloween costume can be checked off my list! Thanks, guys!

Note: Yes, I am in the background WEARING(not choking myself despite how it may look) the purple boa...you know you would too!

Cassidy enjoyed a great day on her "actual" birthday. She LOVED getting all of the phone calls from family. I heard her on more than one occasion demanding someone sing "Happy Birthday" again. I saved all of the singing messages, so she has been able to listen them at will. We also enjoyed the web cam visit from Gram Ava - thanks for working out all the kinks, Mom!

Randy had flowers for her when she woke up Tuesday morning and the 3 of us sang to her. She and I spent a quiet day at the house fielding phone calls, painting our toenails and her fingernails pink, and making cupcakes for her family party that evening. Paul and Lori came over for our special dinner of spaghetti and meatballs (Cassidy calls herself the Princess of Spaghetti) and birthday cupcakes. Then Cassidy got to open the presents from us, cards and gifts from family and Paul and Lori's gift. All in all, she had a great day and was one tired princess when she drifted off to sleep in new pink jammies and sheets (courtesy of Mom, Dad and Reed). Her birthday party is this coming Saturday...more pictures will follow.

Happy Birthday to my Cassidy!

Brand new Cassidy!


Already blazing fashion trails!

Cassidy...sometime during the first year or so. Isn't she stunning?
Oh...that smile!
Pirate Cassidy!
Lovin' her brother!

Holding the kill...a week before her second birthday!
Daddy brought her flowers for her second birthday. He has some hidden in the laundry room to give to her tomorrow at breakfast.
2 years old in the pumpkin patch.
My fairy princess.
A leprechaun...she is certainly mischevious enough.


Cassidy at her 3rd birthday party.
Last Halloween...she wanted to be a cowgirl princess.
I'm thinking it ended up looking a bit more like a dance hall girl...yikes!
In her best princess attire.
Holding the alligator...she's no shrinking violet!
Cassidy and her favorite brother!

This post has been so fun for me! I have so enjoyed going back and looking at pictures of sweetie Cassidy as baby. Unfortunately, I don't have very many distinctive memories of her as an infant (I'm blaming her 2 year old brother who was involved in many a "shenanigan"), so looking at her pictures is so wonderful to jog my memory. I know I included entirely too many, but...its my blog!

I've said it before, but Cassidy is an amazing little girl. She is one big whirlwind of energy. Everyone knows when Cass has arrived! She takes a lot of energy to parent, but she has the sweetest heart. She is a happy little girl...mischievous at times, but always happy. And I can say with confidence, she is usually operating under the assumption that whatever she is doing or getting into is going to make you happy too. That is not always the case, but her little joyful heart is in the right place!

Randy and I feel so blessed to be allowed to be her parents - from the moment we knew we were going to have a baby, to finding out it was a little girl, to when she made her entrance into this world and to this moment when she is (finally) sleeping peacefully in her bed-we are honored that God chose us to raise this amazingly loving little girl.

We know she is going to grow up to do great things for her God. We pray for His wisdom in guiding her in the paths He has chosen for her. We pray for His safeguards and hedges in her life, health, emotions and soul. I(being a girl and knowing how difficult this will be) pray that she keep her self confident assurance that everyone must love her and be glad to see her - even when she has grown older and gets her feelings hurt. But above all, Randy and I fervently pray and parent so that Cassidy will grow up to be a warrior for Christ and choose Him above all else.

Well, I have to end this post. I need to wash and dry the pink sheets we got for Cassidy's bed. She's going to love them...they're pink. Her birthday party Saturday (you'll see this in the pictures) is one big PINK extravaganza! Did I mention that Cassidy is a rough and tumble, rag-tag, GIRLY GIRL who loves all things pink and sparkly? And if you know me you may be wondering how this happened. I know. Because God is a good God who knows exactly what we need and how to stretch us...well, that and I think He is occasionally chuckling at my expense.

Happy Birthday to my little Cassidy! I love you!