Disney Half Marathon

The ladies woke up at 2:30 a.m. to head to the Disney Park. They were off the starting blocks about 6:15, and they finished in under 3 hours! Now, time to rest.

Fly In the Babysitters!

Grandpa & Grandma made a special trip to babysit last week while Mark & Courtney helped with a marriage conference. Thus, while Mark & Courtney welcomed around 1800 people to the marriage conference, the girls enjoyed some good spoiling! On the flipside, Mark & Courtney enjoyed a good date night out! Then, on Sunday, we all enjoyed a fun day at Downtown Disney and eating at the T-Rex Restaurant.

Of course, we finished up with some ice cream!

Who's That Girl?

Video

Here is a little video we put together we think you will like.

Enjoy!

Prep with a 5K

As Courtney continues to prepare for her half-marathon in a couple weeks, she had a good race-day prep with an easy 5K. Now she knows what it feels like to wake up at 5 a.m., drive to the event, and run! She ran with a friend at a leisurely pace and tried out a new pair of shoes (her feet fell asleep while running). Meanwhile, Mark and the girls enjoyed free bananas, free chocolate milk, and free jumping on the high jump mat. After Courtney was finished running, the kids had a race too. Olivia ran 400 yards, and Katelee was going to run 50 yards (but she bowed out).

Free Chocolate Milk -- just milk the cow!

1st 5K Run

House of Hope Kid Runner

After the race, we stopped by IHOP to get some breakfast. Unfortunately, the place was packed. Thus, we headed home, and Courtney whipped up some delicious pancakes with blueberry compote. We all loved them!

IHOP, eat your heart out

First Bike

Olivia has been saving her money the last few months, and today she went to the store to find a way to spend it. Although Barbie was tempting, a stuffed animal swaying, and a costume called her name; she was won over by biking up and down the aisle. With her gift card and some extra money she had saved, she had enough to buy her first bike. She would like to say thank you for the gifts!

When she got home, we adjusted the bike to fit her. Then, she slapped on her helmet and bolted down the street. We weren't sure she was ever going to turn around! I'm sure the training wheels will be coming off before too long.

A walk in the dog park

2010 Feb 034, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Courtney ran 10 miles on Saturday!!! Only three more weeks until she runs in the Disney Princess Half Marathon.

It just so happened that 10 miles from our house is a dog park. So, Mark packed up the girls and Kaya and drove to the park to meet Courtney.

Kaya enjoyed running around the park. The girls enjoyed running around the park. Courtney enjoyed resting.

Time to Walk the Dog

In 2006, we left behind two dogs we owned when we went overseas. While one ended up on a farm in Missouri to run, the other was "adopted" by a friend of the family. She lived the fast life in Las Vegas for a little over three years, but she was returned to us last weekend. She was immediately bombarded by two excited little girls who lavished much attention on her. Overall, she has settled into the family, and the family has settled into having a dog again. She was very well cared for in Vegas and is a very good dog now. We are glad to have her back.

Welcome Home Kaya

Let's go for a walk!

Full Birthday Day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ~~ 5 YEARS OLD

The day began with a healthy breakfast from Mom (which went downhill from there). Olivia woke up to a table full of presents and flowers. Then, she slapped on her pink cowgirl boots and headed out the door to Horse World. We arrived at 9 and went on our trail ride. We were the only group there, so we got our own personal tour around the forest/swamps of Florida. We rode for one hour before returning to the stable. Olivia got to ride a quarter horse mare named KC. Katelee and Mom rode on a quarter horse named Buckshot, and Dad rode on an Appaloosa mare named Crystal. Along the trail, we did see a wild boar and a squirrel.


After the ride, we returned home to open the gifts, eat some PB&J, and eat some cake. After naps, we headed to Downtown Disney for an early dinner. We went to the Rainforest Cafe and sat right next to an elephant. We concluded the meal with a Brownie Volcano and a barrage of servers singing Happy Birthday to Olivia. We all enjoyed it!

Brownie Volcano

Future Ballerina





***FLASHBACK***
2.5 YEARS OLD

Happy Birthday

Well, it was almost five years ago (Feb 5th) that Miss Olivia was born -- 1.5 months early. She came into the world at 4.6 pounds and needing a little help with breathing. Yet, five years later, she can't be stopped. She is too smart for her own good. For her birthday, she will be enjoying her requested strawberry cake. Since she has asked for a magnifying glass for three years, we figure she must be serious about it -- so we bought her one. She also wanted a clock. Why does a five year old need a clock and a magnifying glass? I am getting flashbacks to Pinky and the Brain cartoons. The best part of her birthday will be the trip to the Horse Trail Ride though. We will be sure to take pics. Finally, on Saturday evening (late), our dog (Kaya) will be rejoining the family after 3 years. A good friend has been taking care of her, and now she is coming home. Needless to say, the girls are excited!

Enjoying the Beach

2010 Jan 150 edit, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Loving the sand!

Florida Livin'

2010 Jan 441
Originally uploaded by counsel14

Loving the Gator.

Final Day

What do you do with your last day in Florida? Well, it just wouldn't be right to leave here without some touch of Disney. So, today was a dash of Downtown Disney (complete with hot air balloon ride and House of Blues lunch), a trip to Wal-Mart, and an adventure at Arabian Nights. Unfortunately, Grandma Donner leaves tomorrow to return to a cold house. She may wish she was back in Florida!

400 feet up

The Black Stallion

The cast of Arabian Nights

(and their fans)

Day 5 -- Gatorland

We went to Gatorland today. While one may think you would see alligators there, that is only half of it! They had several shows -- handling spiders & snakes, wrestling alligators, and gators jumping (theoretically . . . it was too cold and the alligators didn't want to move). They also had a petting zoo with goats, sheep, a llama, and some cows. They had a observation tower to overlook a swamp, and they had a boardwalk through a swamp. Of course, Courtney's favorite was the bird aviary with 50+ parakeets.

Olivia was picked from the crowd to "help" with the Gator Wrestling show. She was told to pick an alligator out of a moat. She picked the one she wanted. Then, the guy told her he would grab it by the tail, and she could grab its head and hold him down. She sheepishly just looked at the guy like he was crazy. After the show, she was allowed to be the first person in line to sit on an alligator and have her picture taken with it. No fear!

Many more pics to come.

Gotta Taste Everything

2010 Jan 086
Originally uploaded by counsel14

I wouldn't put a dead fish in my mouth would I?

Oh yes I would!!!

What do you do when it warms up to 60 degrees?

Go to the BEACH!

We headed to Clearwater this morning to eat at Frenchy's for lunch and play in the sand. It was a bit chilly, but it didn't keep everyone from playing in the sand. Here are a few snapshots, and many more are at Taylor's Photos.

What to do when it is 30 degrees outside?

Heat up the hot tub as hot as it can go, throw on the bathing suits, and run to the water as fast as you can!!!

Then, feed the little birds some dinner.

Day 3 Activities

It is halfway through Monday, and we've gotten off to a strong start. Courtney took the girls to Bible study with her, which gave Mark and Grandma Donner time to shop and see the sights. We managed to see the giant car-eating alligator, the giant orange store, and the giant household store (IKEA). Although we had planned on heading to Downtown Disney, Olivia is running a bit of a fever. So, we opted for a nap instead, and we'll see about Disney later.

Day 2 Activities

Sunday:

We woke up and went to church this morning. Then, we headed north to the huge flea market called -- Flea World! Courtney read 75,000 people visit this place (per year? per weekend?). They must have all been frozen this weekend, because it was not very busy. The kids' rides were shut down too. But, we had fun cruising up and down the aisles of bargains. But, to warm up, we visited a Starbucks and had some hot chocolate and cookies. Once we made it home, it was bedtime for the girls, run time for Mark and Courtney, and football watching for Grandma Donner. A good time was had by all!

Monday's Plans:

Ikea, shopping, movie? We'll see.

Day 1

Day 1 Activities

Woke up and ate breakfast.
Snacked around 10:00 a.m.
Ate Arby's for lunch
Snacked around 3:00 p.m.
Ate pizza for dinner while watching Sleeping Beauty.
Ate poppy seed bread for dessert.
Ate caramel covered popcorn for dessert dessert.
Snacked before bedtime.

When it's 35 degrees outside, you have to store up a good layer of fat to keep warm!!!

The Wooded Eagle Has Landed

Although she has had a flying phobia for over 30 years, the power of grandchildren is breaking that anxiety. Grandma Donner braved the skies last year and made it to Guam. Evidently, the non-eventful flight created enough confidence for her to try a continental flight from Missouri to Florida. Success again! She was amazed to be in Florida in only 2 hours.

Obviously, the kids were excited to see Grandma Donner. They all piled into Katelee's room last night, and this morning they were caught drinking coffee in bed! I'm not sure why the kids are excited now -- the Grandma effect or Coffee overdose???

Easy like Sunday Evening

2010 Jan 003
Originally uploaded by counsel14

Morning church. CiCi's Pizza buffet for lunch. Long afternoon naps. Cereal for dinner. Caramel popcorn for dessert. Sleeping Beauty for entertainment. Snuggling with girls in comfy chair. Does it get better than that?

Oh be careful little hands . . .

2010 Jan 001
Originally uploaded by counsel14

We seemed to be a bit short on our final inventory.

Welcome 2010

2010 is here. I can't really say we welcomed in the New Year with a bang. However, we did have a very enjoyable finale to 2009. We went to the Kissimmee park, packed a lunch of PB&J and pretzels, and enjoyed the sunset. We were attacked by the local birds -- especially once we started feeding them bread crust.





The girls were in bed by 7:00, and Mark & Courtney managed to stay up until 10:30. In Mark's defense, he was sick. In Courtney's defense, who wants to stay up alone?

She did make up a story about waking up at 12:03 a.m. She said she rolled over, looked at the clock, and said Happy New Year. Mark (who remembers nothing) evidently gently took her hand and caressed it. What a sweetie (when asleep).

2010 has been colder. We have managed to survive the frigid 50s of Florida the last few days. Actually, it has been in the 30s the last few nights. We have also been able to kick start Courtney's Half Marathon training. She has a couple runs under her belt, and she is on track to participate in Disney's Princess Half Marathon in March. I think the caramel corn she just made is part of the training program.

We look forward to a new year at Orlando Baptist Church. Currently, they are challenging each person to find a word that is the focus of 2010 -- Courage, Wisdom, Encouragement, Doubt, etc. Courtney is leaning toward Outreach or Community. Mark is leaning toward Encouragement. Your word?

Here's to 2010! Here we come!!!

Minnie Me!

2009 Dec 899 edit
Originally uploaded by counsel14

Happy as a big mouse!

Sweet Music

2009 Dec 830 edit, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Katelee enjoyed the wonderful sound of the symbols. They went nicely with the trumpet and drum. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!