I am mad...

...that I literally just heard these words from Oprah's mouth:
"I believe our society will be held accountable for how we treat the least of these". Sounds good? Sounds noble? Y'all, she was talking about DOGS. I am all for kindness to animals, but please. She is so utterly clueless. She is right, we will be held accountable for how we treat the least of these... Jesus said that in the Bible. But, he was talking about human life. Babies. Not animals.

Pray for Oprah.

Disney '08

Well, as always, Disney World did not disappoint. We were blessed with good weather 4 out of our 6 days, and the days that it did rain, we were finishing up the parks when it started. I have so many (200+!) pictures that I'd love to share, but have to choose just a few favorites. I am also considering starting a separate blog all about WDW... more to come on that if it ever happens.




My favorite day, I think, was Tuesday (our 13th anniversary, by the way) when we spent the day at Epcot. We headed straight to the Soarin' ride first, since it is one of our favorites. Then, we stood in a long line to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale... it was worth the wait to see all of them at once!











We had read of a place called "Club Cool" where you can sample Coke products from several different countries, so we set out to find it. Needless to say from the pictures, a few of them were n-a-s-t-y!! It was fun, though!





We headed to Mexico for some yummy lunch (although not nearly as good as my fave Don Papa Grande)... and then into the Mexico pavillion for the new boat ride.








As we're looking around "Mexico", I spotted a familiar face. I wasn't positive that it was him, so I asked Jay, who confirmed that he thought it was. What to do? We were standing about two feet away, and he was taking some video of his kids playing. Bother him? Not bother him? I begged Jay to speak to him, since I wasn't about to approach him first and at about that time they caught each other's eyes. Jay asked if he was who we thought he was, and he said yes!




Just in case you don't know his face, you will know his voice... or at least this song:


http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S70gwFcSK9k


Yes! It was Bart Millard, the lead singer of the group Mercy Me. Awesome. It's so cool to run into famous people when you least expect it. He was super nice and gracious with all the picture taking. Reed tried about 6 times to take our picture, and the camera wasn't cooperating. He took a look at it, snapped a picture of Reed which came out great, and then we finally got a good shot. We said our "goodbyes" and "thanks" and again, "we love your music"s, and totally felt like stalkers as we ended up behind his family on the boat ride. We realized that we hadn't asked for an autograph, but opted not to approach him again. I am sure he had had enough of us!


After Epcot we headed to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner at "Whispering Canyon"; a fun restaurant with delicious food. Our waitress had us stand in front of the entire restaurant and reenact our wedding kiss... embarrasing? I'm so glad Reed was there to get the picture. Happy #13 to us!








Reed and Miles also rode a few "firsts"... they both rode Space Mountain










and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for the first time.





And, all three of us braved Expedition Everest! Yikes... I'm glad I did it, but not sure that I'll be doing it ever again. Jay was so proud of us!










We stayed on site at Pop Century Resort this time and we loved it. The boys loved the pools, and the Goofy Geysers. And, we had mugs that were refillable... slushies every day, anyone? Slushies for breakfast, lunch and dinner if you want? And as a bedtime snack? They LOVED it!






Well, those were just a few highlights... here's to next time!

The Jonas Brothers, the beach, and a new school year

What do these things have in common? They're all things that I haven't written about yet!

Jay and I surprised the boys with tickets to see the Jonas Brothers in August. The concert was in Va. Beach, and Jay was able to take the day off from work so we could drive down early and spend the whole day there. We had never been there, so we took our time and enjoyed the beach and the sights. The concert was FABULOUS, and we all had a great time! No cameras were allowed, so unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that to share. My sister took her kids, too, as well as some friends, so we all sang and danced the night away together. Good times, and very sweet memories.

We spent Labor Day weekend at the beach with Jay's family. We drove down to Corolla for the day with my sister and her family, where Reed got to try his hand at fishing. No luck that day, but they had a blast! At one point all 10 of us were in the water together, jumping the waves and having fun. Corolla is where the wild horses live, and they can usually be seen roaming the beach. We didn't see any horses, but plenty of evidence that they had been there! More fun memories that I hope they'll remember.

And, yesterday was the first day of the school year for us. Miles started Kindergarten! He did a great job, although 30 minutes into it was wanting and needing a break. Actually, his exact quote was "this is torture!"... drama much? He perked up when it was time for the crayons to come out. Reed is in 4th grade this year, and so far, so good! He's an old pro at this school thing, as he reminded Miles of yesterday. "Just wait until you get in the 4th grade, Miles!"

That's what we've been up to lately. We are heading out this Sunday for a week in Disney World, as long as hurricanes Hannah, Ike, and Josephine cooperate with our vacation plans! More pictures to come soon...