Dawson and Owen had spent five days at my parents’ house over Christmas break. They finally came home today and Doug and I were very happy to see them. We loved having the time away to get things done around the house, and my mom and dad love spending time with their grandsons, but it was awfully quiet while they were gone.

Owen was mad that Poppa and Nonna didn’t stay for awhile after they brought him and Dawson home, but I managed to distract him with a game of Angry Birds on my new Kindle Fire. Big mistake on my part because Dawson (who loves everything that resembles a video game) managed to take over the Kindle and has kicked my butt with the high score. It’s amazing how technologically advanced my kids are.

I gave the boys a bath and they got dressed to go to the New Year’s at Noon celebration at the Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum in downtown Stevens Point.  I’m embarrassed to admit this, but it was their first visit since they moved to their new location.  I was amazed at how awesome the museum is now.  Owen was fascinated with all the exhibits, but the Grocery Store was his favorite.  Dawson loved the News Anchor station the best.

We had a very good time. They did a New Year countdown at Noon that was quite noisy. Owen freaked out when all the kids began honking their noise makers so we moved off to the side to calm him down. Dawson and I loved the champagne, which was really ginger ale. We had a toast and then the boys continued to play for a bit.

The CWCM is having their 1st Anniversary in their new building and we might go back to celebrate at their party on January 7th. Plover and Stevens Point locals are encouraged to attend. It will be great fun and admission is just $1 per person.

Later tonight we’re heading to the YMCA to celebrate the new year with some fun, games and swimming. The boys are super excited. We can’t wait! Happy New Year, everyone!

Cheerios® is giving you the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, your ultimate family vacation. As part of a paid promotion for their “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, Cheerios® is sponsoring my post today about what my ultimate family vacation would be. Read mine and Enter the Sweepstakes for a chance to actually win your own fantasy family trip or one of a bunch of other great prizes.

I have a confession to make:  My family has never been on a “real” vacation.  It’s true.  Hard to believe, I know.

Of course, we’ve taken weekend trips to Milwaukee for Brewers games and visits to the zoo, but we’ve yet to buy plane tickets and make kennel arrangements for the dog.

With two small children it’s difficult to make travel arrangements that would require vacation time and hotel accommodations.  I’m a natural worrier, too.  I’m the type of mom who frets over all the things we’d need to take along just to keep the kids occupied during travel time, and the thought of containing my very energetic boys on a plane terrifies me.

All worrying aside, my family’s ultimate vacation would be a Disney Cruise.  Since my husband and I never went on a honeymoon (are you sensing a pattern here?) I think a family cruise is the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone.

Doug and I have always wanted to travel to the Bahamas and as luck would have it, this is one of the destinations a Disney Cruise can offer.  I can almost imagine the sunshine and warm weather and spending time as a family without worrying about work and school and other household duties.

We’d choose the ship named Disney Magic, which includes a day trip to Disney’s own private island, Castaway Cay.  I’ve read that this island is 1,000 acres of gorgeous white sand beaches and that families are treated like royalty.  Picture my family walking on the shore, collecting shells, laughing and running and partaking in adventurous things like swimming, snorkeling and Banana Boat rides.  Dawson and Owen love anything to do with water and Doug and I would have to drag them to bed at night.

There are tons of activities onboard, too.  Disney character visits, Broadway-style live shows, 3D showings of Disney movies, and the youth clubs that offer age-appropriate fun for kids of any age.

My husband would be amazed with the dining choices considering that he’s a foodie.  I imagine a buffet as long as the ship and he’d be 20 pounds heavier by the time we got home.

I think my favorite part of the cruise would be the babysitting service offered onboard, giving me time to check out the spa to steal some Mom-time — and the thought of hiring a babysitter in the evening so that my husband and I can check out the nightclubs and lounges on the ship would be the icing on the cake.

A Disney Cruise would be a dream come true; an amazing adventure and opportunity to create family memories that last a lifetime.  If money were no option I’d book the trip right now.  Alas, I’ll settle for a cruise around the neighborhood with my favorite people.   Any time we can spend together is wonderful.

What would your Ultimate Family Vacation be?

Don’t forget to enter the “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, for a chance to win your own ultimate family vacation. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Okay, and I’m tired. I spent today cleaning (more cleaning, you ask? yes, because I’ve gone completely anal about organization in this house. that and I have nothing else to do while I wait for the baby to make his way into the world) my dining room, my craft area, and other things. Then Doug and I went to lunch at Tempura House.  They have the best buffet.  I love the sweet & sour chicken, General Tso’s chicken, and of course crab rangoon. Yum.

Dawson spent the night at my parents’ house so we could go to that wedding last night, and Doug and I really enjoyed our day together, even if we were just getting all those last minute things completed.  I vacuumed all the carpets.  Doug blew out the sprinklers for the winter.  I folded laundry. He blanched and froze more vegetables from our garden.

The only thing we didn’t finish was weather-proofing our windows with that shrink wrap, plastic stuff.  But there’s always tomorrow.  As long as a certain baby stays in my uterus.  Which is probably going to happen.  He’s showing no interest in being born just yet.  I’m still in physical pain, but cleaning distracts me.

Okay, enough of the random babbling.  I give you my favorite photos of the last few weeks (months?):

My neighbor’s daughter, Katie, with her brothers at her wedding reception last night.  These kids (who aren’t really kids anymore) are triplets.  I’ve known their family since I was a kid.  I can’t believe how grown up they are now.

The beautiful bride and handsome groom pose for a photo.  They are just adorable, aren’t they?

Last Monday, Dawson and I went on a Mom & Son date.  We had dinner at Rocky Roccoco’s and then went to see the Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen movie that was re-playing at our local theater.  We had a fantastic time.

We had some funky things happen to a few of the tomatoes we grew this year.  This one seems to have grown a nose.  Or… Nevermind. I’m not even going to say it.  Still the funniest produce ever.

I tried to get a picture of all the kids at Dawson’s birthday party two weeks ago, and this one is almost perfect.  Only one child is looking away, and one is missing from the photo because he was having a meltdown.  Still a fantastic party.  Everyone had a fantastic time.

Dawson had such fun bowling.  Here he is, just after granny-bowling the ball down the lane.

Now that I’ve uploaded all the photos (from both cameras) from the last few weeks, I’ve charged all the batteries and put everything into my hospital bag.  I’m ready for Baby O to arrive.  Counting down days!

To celebrate Doug’s birthday we went on a family fishing trip.  Doug loaded and hitched the boat and we dropped anchor on the Wisconsin River at Galecki Park near our house.  After slathering on a ton of sunscreen we settled in for some line fishing.  Okay, I didn’t fish, because that whole thing is not my bag.  I read a book and took photos while Doug and Dawson waited patiently for the fish to bite.

The weather was gorgeous, around 75 degrees and not too humid.  The sun was shining, with a few clouds here and there, and a light breeze swept the air.  We had a marvelous time.  And three hours later, just before we had decided to go back to the dock, an amazing thing happened:

Dawson caught his first fish, a walleye, and he was beyond excited!  He was so happy and so proud of his accomplishment.  Doug and I were so proud, too!

Doug helped him cast the line, and showed him how to jig, and after many long moments of waiting and a few snags, suddenly something pulled on his line.  Dawson didn’t even realize it was a fish at first.  He thought he had another snag.  But Doug instructed him to reel in his line, and Dawson was so excited when he realized he had to fight the fish into the boat.

“Daddy!  It’s a strong fish!  Help!”

Doug told him to keep reeling, and once the fish was out of the water he helped Dawson get him into the boat for a picture.  The smile on our son’s face was so magical, and so priceless.  I was so happy for him.  Dawson couldn’t wait to tell his grandpas about his first catch.  We took a little video to remember the occasion:

(Please ignore my husband’s attempt to ignore the camera.  He hates pictures, and always looks so crabby on video.  He’s really NOT a serial killer, even though he looks like one in this vid.)

More fishing photos here.

It just seems to go in spurts, these moments of calm followed by chaos and busyness and holy spotted cow, I’m tired.

We’ve attended two weddings this month, and one graduation party, and then we did some other things.  I can’t really remember what.

I’ve been having more headaches a lot lately, and I’m starting to worry.  Headaches while pregnant can mean blood pressure trouble.  I’ve been monitoring it at home and it’s only slightly elevated, but when I get 3 or 4 headaches in one day (or one BIG headache that goes away and reappears like painful magic), I get nervous.

Also, it’s freakin’ hot.  I complained how the first part of June was cold and rainy and sucky.  Now I want to rip out my tongue.  The humidity has arrived, bringing with it swollen ankles, sticky heat and general discomfort.  Add that crap to pregnancy and Dear Heavenly God, please, PLEASE send me air conditioning.  I just may die without it.

So, in lieu of a real post, I give you pictures of the fabulous times we’ve been having.

First we have my friend Kim’s Wedding:

Next we have my brother Frankie’s graduation party:

And finally, photos from K & T’s Wedding:

Doug and I had a wonderful time at each wedding, and my little brother’s graduation party was lots of fun, too.  We’ve got so many things coming up this summer… I don’t know if I can keep up!

What have you been up to?

Now before I go any further with this story, I must confess that I had never been down a toboggan run before.  I’m nearly 30 years old and last night was my first time.  I was a toboggan virgin.

Iverson Park is beautiful in the summer, but it’s full of snowy action in winter months.  They have a sledding hill which is BYOS (bring your own sled) and two toboggan slides, each 300 feet long.  When we got to the park and my dad asked if I wanted to go down, I hesitated when I discovered we’d have to climb to the top of the platform.  I was freaked out because this is what the drop looks like:

I. Was. Terrified.

My fearless Dawson looked at me and said, “Mommy, you can’t be scared.  It will be so much fun!”

I declined to go down with Dad, Mom and Dawson.  Instead, I went down with my brother Frank first.  I didn’t want my son to see me cry.

So we climb up to the top, I sat down on the front of the toboggan, with my feet directly under the curl and my little bro (who’s 6′ 3″ and a good 250 pounds) sat behind me.   I felt safer knowing there was an anchor behind me.  The slide attendant instructed me to keep my body parts on the sled and to hold tight to the rope.

“Ready?” she asked.

“I think so,” I said with a stutter.

“Have fun!” she yelled.

Next thing I know she dropped the hatch and down we flew.  Picture me screaming, eyes closed, and tears streaming down my rosy cheeks.

“Hooooollleeeee Craaaaapppp!” I screamed.

When we got to the end and started to slow down, I opened my eyes, and sat there frozen with fear.

“Are you okay?” Frank asked.

“Am I alive?” I replied.

“Yeah. You made it.” he said.

“Okay, then I’m okay.  I’m okay, right?”  I couldn’t believe I didn’t die.

As we walked back up the hill, I saw my parents, my sister and little Dawson going down for the second time.   My son, fearless and smiling, was screaming with delight.  He loved it.

“Mumma!  Poppa, Nonna and Rachel and me won the race!  Woo hoo!” he shouted.

“You did!” I said.

Dawson asked me if I liked the “noggin hill” and I told him as long as I didn’t break my own noggin, I would be fine.

I managed to get up the courage to go down again, but with my Dad, Mom and Dawson.  This time the sled crashed and we all went rolling.  I was so happy I wore three pairs of pants because I had some major butt burn.  That wasn’t the first time we crashed either (can you believe I went down a total of 12 times?), and this morning I was so stiff in the buttocks and lower back.

Dawson had preschool this morning, and I realized we were running late.  I quickly threw on one of the pairs of pants I wore last night and drove my boy to school.

When I got home, I sat down on the couch to take a rest and noticed my sweats were inside out.  I can’t believe I was out in public dressed like that!!

If anyone noticed, I’ll blame it on Noggin Hill and my butt burn.  It could have been worse.  I could have broken my arse instead of just getting a bruise on one cheek.  No seriously, it’s black and blue!

Dawson has been begging to go sledding again, and I think I might just do it.  As scary as it is, it sure is one hell of an adrenaline rush!