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So today is my birthday. I’m officially past the big 4-0. I haven’t done this in awhile, and am not fond of sharing personal info, but I’ve been wanting to get back to the blog and need to start somewhere…so here goes.

As time passes, I realize a quote from one of my favorite movies really rings true: “There’s no normal life, there’s just life. Get on with it.” (Tombstone, 1993) Life is far different than when I last posted 7 years ago. During that time, my kids have grown tremendously, I’ve had huge personal changes and I’ve learned that there really is no such thing as a normal life. You can choose to be happy, sad, angry, oblivious or anything in between. It is your choice. We have all made decisions; some we are happy with and others that we want a mulligan. But in the end, life really is what you make of it.

Ok, that’s enough. We have a busy summer ahead! With 5 kids to coordinate (elementary to high school age), it gets crazy. The summer camp schedule alone is nuts: band camp, church camp, choir camp, Boy Scout camp, diabetic camp, marching camp. We are also taking a huge road trip to Yellowstone, which has been in the planning stages for at least 6 months. Our summers (and lives in general) seem to get busier every year, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Life is what you make of it and we are going to have fun!

I am a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, they’re the home team and I enjoy watching football.  I was excited when they advanced to the NFC Divisional Playoffs…finally some post-season success!  Kick-off was at noon yesterday, and we are never home by then on a Sunday, so I setup our faithful DVR to record the game along with an extra hour (just in case…learned this one the hard way).  We were careful and didn’t turn on the radio, bypassed the electronics department during a quick shopping trip and did everything possible to ignore the outside world.

We finally sat down to watch the game about 3:00pm, looking forward to zipping through commercials!  Five minutes into the first quarter a couple of the neighbors’ kids came over to play with our kids.  They walked into the living room and asked who we were rooting for.  Before we could stop him, his next words were “Yea, we were rooting for the Cowboys, too.  They lost, though.  Oh well.”

Google Chrome put it best:  Aw, snap.

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

This is one of my favorite times of the year.  There are so many ways to have fun during this season.  Spend time with your family!  Hug someone!  Make a surprise for a friend!  You don’t have to buy something to give a wonderful gift.

Since my favorite comic is Calvin and Hobbes, I wanted to share these winter-themed strips…I hope they make you laugh.  Thanks to Bill Watterson for coming up with such a wonderful cartoon.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

No matter where you are in life, there is always something to be thankful for.  Stop and count your blessings, you’ll be amazed what you find!

Well, we have officially entered into what I refer to as HallowThankMas.  Generally, once Halloween passes, time becomes a blur until after Christmas.  We are continually bombarded with commercials, ads, banners, emails and every form of communication possible promoting Christmas.  But no one wants to forget Thanksgiving, so we still see plenty of ads for that through the end of November.

Since retail stores want to begin promoting Christmas during October, let’s just roll it all into one massive holiday.  We already refer to it as the “Holiday Season”, and we can continue to do that.  It’ll simplify everything, and the actual celebration days are spread out enough to prevent a lopsided experience (I know Christmas is at the end, but still).

Last year was bad enough because we were finally learning that we were in a recession, so everyone wanted to start a price war.  This year will be worse…Wal-Mart has already started their screaming deal advertising and everyone is trying to leak their Black Friday advertisements.  Only time will tell how overstimulated we will be.

In the mean time, Happy HallowThankMas!

We are about to take a family vacation to Disney World, and I’m not sure whether to be excited or not.  I haven’t been to Disney World in 20 years, so it will be quite an experience since this one will be with 3 kids!  My girls are very excited, especially since we booked a Princess Breakfast for one morning, and my son can’t wait to meet Lightning McQueen.

One of my best friends has made several recent Disney trips, both with and without kids, so I was able to pickup some valuable pointers and resources.  These sites have been great:

• http://allears.net/
• http://pscalculator.net/pscalc.php – Book your activities as early as possible!
• http://www.wdwinfo.com/
• http://www.mouseplanet.com/

The main point to keep in mind is, if you plan to do any activities that require a reservation…make the reservation the earliest possible date.  The PS Calculator site can generate a list of activities, phone numbers and dates to call.  It can mean the difference between breakfast with Cinderella or breakfast at the hotel!

One of my friend’s recent comments was that “there is no wrong way to “do” Disney…but there is no right way, either.”  Simply put, there are an overwhelming number of activities, rides and shows.  Your best bet is to do some research, decide what key activities you (and your kids) want to do and plan around those.

With that in mind, another great resource is Touring Plans (http://www.touringplans.com/).  They are a subscription service, but well worth the price of admission.  You can choose which park, how long you’re there and what type of tour you want (young kids, teens or adults), and they show you a suggested plan.  The plan is complete with a ride schedule, when to grab (and use) a Fast Pass and even meal suggestions.  They help you hit the highlights and popular rides without standing in line for hours.

We’re starting to pack, my TripIt itinerary is updated and we’re looking through touring plans.  I am excited about the trip, any chance to spend time with the family is great.  Traveling always brings surprises (especially with kids), and those are sometimes the best memories.