Vacation Day 1: Scott's 40th Birthday & Plans Interrupted

Friday, May 20th is the day we have been looking forward to for weeks. Scott decided that for his 40th birthday, he wanted to take us all to Disney World for the week. We were set to leave at 6am Friday morning and arrive at 12:20pm in Orlando. Storms came into OKC late Thursday night and at 3am, I got a call from Continental saying that our 6am flight had been cancelled but we had been moved to the 11am flight. We turned off all the alarms and went back to sleep. I got up and decided to check the status of our flight and was notified that we would not be leaving today that our flight had been bumped to 11am Saturday morning. I got on the phone with Travelocity to see if there was any way possible to get into Orlando today as we had originally planned. You see, we had a VERY excited 5 year old who was up at 3am ready to head to the airport. The kind gentleman from Travelocity checked and checked and waited on hold with Continental. He finally came on the line and said he had us booked on the 11:50am flight out of Dallas arriving in Orland at 5pm. PERFECT! We jumped in the car and headed south on I-35 in the POURING rain.

We had plenty of time and plenty of gas. We pulled over and grabbed a yummy McDonald's breakfast and kept driving. Just before we reached the Texas state line, our car started acting funny. The battery light came on, then it went off. It stayed off for awhile and we kept driving. PRAYING. All of the sudden I look over and the lights on the radio and dashboard were dimming then getting brighter. It was so bizarre! We just kept driving and praying as we were in the middle of nowhere. All of the sudden, every window in my station wagon fogged up. There went the A/C. We were in front of Gainesville, TX high school when our car completely died. We pulled over and Scott began a search for tow services. The girls and I prayed. The car started and we were able to get to the next exit. Scott found that there was a tow place/shop 2 miles away. We didn't make it. Scott called the tow service and they were there in 20 minutes. We loaded up the girls in the cab of the tow truck. They LOVED it! Abigail thought it was so cool to ride in the front seat. We got to Houston's in Gainesville, TX and the nicest people greeted us. My battery and alternator decided to go out. The was not an alternator to be found anywhere in Gainesville, TX. They called a place in Sanger, TX and located one and thought they could have it there by 2:30pm. We got back on the phone with Travelocity to change our flight once again. At this point there was no way of us making it to DFW for our flight. The girls were AMAZING. They colored, they played with the cool Ms. Pacman/Galaga game at the shop and watched movies on their iTouch's and my iPad while Scott and I spend what seemed like hours on the phone trying to get our flights, hotel and rental car rearranged. 

Coloring

"Playing" a game

iTouch Fun

Watching Dispicable Me on my iPad

We finally got everything in order to leave Saturday morning so we were just waiting for our car to be fixed so that we could head back to OKC. The nice mechanic came in to inform us that the alternator for my car would not be available until late today and there wouldn't be time to get it in our car. No way we would get our car back in time to get to OKC by 10am Saturday morning for our flight. I had been talking to my mom off and on and she had offered to come and get us if needed. I called her back. She got her things together and got on the road in the pouring rain to come get us. Wow. How awesome is that?!?!? 2 1/2 hours in the pouring rain to come and get us. 

My mom arrived in Gainesville, TX where we had now spent our entire first day of vacation and Scott's 40th birthday, not Disney World. As one friend put it, "Gainesville, the second happiest place on earth!" We got our luggage and things loaded into her Expedition and headed back to OKC. Abigail and Ashby were so excited to see Nana and to tell her about getting to ride in a tow truck. Sure they wanted to be at Hollywood Studios watching the Pixar Parade, but hey, they got to ride in a tow truck, in the front seat. "It was so cool!" Abigail told Nana. Ashby was thrilled that Nana was coming to her house. They were worn out, had been sitting in a car repair shop all day, but were as happy as can be.

Sweet nap in Nana's car

We made it back to OKC just in time to take Scott to a birthday dinner at Cheesecake Factory. He is so awesome! I praise God for Scott and the way he handled everything yesterday. Always. He is such a rock and warrior for this family. 

Birthday boy & his baby girl

We are so thankful for Nana!

Today definitely wasn't what we had planned, but we knew the entire time that God was watching over us. We were definitely under attack. I didn't mention that in the middle of all of the chaos, Scott had work stuff blowing up, the hotel called me back about having a birthday surprise ready in the room for Scott to tell me that they couldn't find a reservation for us and when calling to change our reservation to have lunch with the princesses, it was nowhere to be found. CRAZY!  BUT, We were all together and safe. Over and over, I would sing, "I will bring praise, I will bring praise! No weapon formed against me shall remain. I will rejoice! I will declare! God is my victory and He is here." (Desert Song by Hillsong United) He was and always is! We don't know why all of this stuff happened...all in one day, but we were not about to let the devil steal our joy. There were times that both Scott and I could have lost it, but God kept us calm and we focused on the blessings:

1. We were all together and unharmed

2. When our car died, we were only 2 miles away from help. We could have gotten stuck in the middle of nowhere, OK. 

3. Our girls. I can't say enough how wonderful they were...ARE! No crying, no fits, just thankful that Saturday was coming and that they get to get on a plane and go to Disney World tomorrow.
4. The nice people of Gainesville, Tx-especially the people of Houston's Tow Service & Auto Repair Shop. They offered to try to get us to Dallas to catch our flight. One of the owners offered his truck so that we could go grab lunch or get out of the shop for awhile. They were great and are taking care of our car for us until we get back. 

5. Travelocity. They were so helpful. We simply had to wait on hold. They did all of the work changing our flights, hotel and rental car. PLUS, they did it all without having us pay any additional fees. In fact we were initially told that we would have a fee per ticket to change days. Praise God, Continental changed it for free! AND the resort refunded our first night since we didn't stay at the hotel. We never expected that! 
6. My mom. I can't thank her enough for driving in the rain to come get us. We love and appreciate her so much!
7. Our friends. We didn't really call anyone other than my mom yesterday. We spent a lot of time on the phone with Travelocity and playing with the girls. :) But, Scott had several call to wish him a happy birthday and I had some friends text to check if we had met the princesses yet. We appreciate our friends thoughtfulness, encouraging words and prayers.

8. Our God. Through it all, we felt His love and knew...know that though the devil was attacking us, He was working everything out for us. His plan is always far greater than what we can dream of!


I could go on and on! We are so blessed!

So we start our vacation and have changed Scott's birthday to today! I look forward to posting again from Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. God is so good!!!

SCOTT IS 40!

Happy 40th Birthday to my AMAZING husband, Scott! 

The girls and I love you soooooo much! 

This Week's Menu: May 15th-21st

Sunday
B: Muffins or Donuts at Church
L: Sandwiches, Raw Veggies & Hummus
D: Homemade Pizza

Monday
B: Muffins/Treats with Bible Study Friends
L: (J) Pretzels, Raw Veggies & Hummus/(G) Leftover Pizza & Corn
D: 1492 (Gift Cards!)

Tuesday
B: Muffins
L: (J) Leftovers/(G) Ham & Cheese, Raw Veggies & Ranch, Grapes
D: Hideaway Pizza

Wednesday
B: Cereal or Oatmeal
L: (J) Cobb Salad/(G) PB&J, Raw Veggies & Ranch
D:  Irma's Burger Shack

Thursday
B: Eggs & Toast
L: Tomato Soup & Salad
D: BBQ Chicken, Mac N Cheese & Broccoli

Friday
Happy 40th Birthday, Scott!
VACATION TIME!

Metro Gymnastics Medals in May

Abigail & I began a Mom/Tot class at Metro Gymnastics the day after she turned 2. Today, Abigail completed her fourth year at Metro and little sister, Ashby completed her first year. This was Abigail's third year in the Mighty Mights class and Ashby and I did the Mom/Tot class. Both classes are at the same time each week. I love it! I get to be in the gym and watch both my girls. Every May, Metro invites parents, grandparents, family and friends to come and watch what the little gymnasts show what they have learned through the year and then rewards each child in a medals ceremony. This is something we look forward to each year.

The girls were excited to have Daddy & Nana there to watch today. Ashby's Mom/Tot class began with their warm-up first. We starting with a little marching, galloping, tiptoeing and running. Then Ashby really got going with "Wake Up, Warm Up."

Making sure Daddy & Nana are watching

Ashby's class went on to the pit while Abigail's class came out to warm-up. Ashby wasn't too fond of the pit initially. But over the weeks, she decided it wasn't so bad. At first she would let me help her jump in. Today, she was jumping and somersaulting in all by herself.

Climbing out with her block

Somersault into the pit

Time for Abigail's Mighty Mights class warm-up. They started out by hopping, flying like airplanes, tiptoeing, running then they did some serious stretching. 

Bouncing & giggling

Tiptoe

Scale

Abigail wanted daddy to stretch with her. Ashby decided she needed to join Abigail's class and do a little stretching, too.

Stretching with Daddy

Both girls stretching 

I didn't know she could do this! 

The rest of the time, Scott, my mom and myself bounced between the girls classes trying to watch them do all of the skills the girls learned this year. They both did great! Abigail is doing more and more things independently. She is amazing on the bars and so graceful on the beams. It was so fun to watch Ashby really develop this year. Like her big sister, she preferred to gently step off of things instead of jump. Over the past couple of weeks, she decided she would jump off of everything, but she had to hold my hand. Today, she jumped off of everything by herself. She also walked on all the beams balancing on her own. She didn't even ask for my finger to hold. 

ASHBY

Handstand

Scissors - open, close, open, close

Balancing and stepping over
the star by herself

Flipping on the bar with Ms. Carol

ABIGAIL

Balancing and stepping over the stars

Jumping into the pit

Beautifully walking across the big beam

Big dive for her dismount

At last it was time for the girls awards ceremony. Each little gymnast was called up one by one and given a ribbon and special gymnastics pin put on them by their coach. Then they got to stand up on the podium and give one last big "ta da!" 

Holding hands while waiting for Ashby's turn

Ashby getting her first "medal" from Metro

Ta da!

Abigail's turn. Her coaches love her. 

Ta da! 

Our little gymnasts

Thanks Daddy & Nana for coming to watch us today. We loved having you there. Now we will take a little break for the summer, but look forward to both girls being in the Mighty Mights class in the fall.

Redbud Classic 2011

Our family participated in OKC's annual Redbud Classic for the first time this year. Abigail signed up to do the children's 1 mile fun run and since I forgot the stroller, we ended up registering Ashby and she ran her first race.

Ready to run

It was a hot Saturday morning in Nichols Hills. Rumble and the Thunder Girls kicked off the race. Ashby was so excited to see Rumble. When she heard the announcer yell "GO" she took off yelling, "come on, Mom! Let's go see Rumble." I couldn't believe how she ran and ran. This is my sweet little 2 year old that still likes to be carried after walking for a bit. She ran for a few minutes and then decided it was time to walk. I looked up and Scott and Abigail were just ahead. We caught up with them. Scott took Ashby and I gave Abigail a goal to run to the water stop. We all got water and off we went again.

We continued our run/walk cycles through the beautiful neighborhood until we reached the finish line where both girls got medals. We are so proud of them! They did great!

Her second race

Her first race

Scott decided that he wanted to run a 5k before his 40th birthday. He began the Couch to 5k program and a few days into it, we signed up to do the Redbud 5k together. He was about 4 weeks into the 9 week program on the day of the race. Wow! It was Sunday afternoon, so hot and there were so many people. I was so impressed that he was out there ready to do this!

Starting Line

The gun fired. No movement. It took so long to get across the start line and we still weren't able to run once we got there. Finally the crowd broke a bit. Scott and I had never run together, but I knew we would be at different paces so we decided we would just meet at the finish line. I had a goal so I took off. I boogied through my first mile and then I was overcome by the heat. I walked so much that day! The course was a lot tougher than I expected and did I mention the heat?!?!?! I made it to the finish line (no where near my goal time) and then watched for Scott so I could cheer him in. 

After completing his first 5k

He did awesome! I was so proud of him! He had only trained a few short weeks and hadn't run 3.1 miles yet. He did that day with thousands of others. I enjoyed being out there with him, too. Such a great weekend for our family!

This Week's Menu: May 8th-13th

Sunday
Mother's Day Brunch at Cheesecake Factory
D: Pizza Night

Monday
B: (J) Granola Bar & Banana/(G) Cereal
L: Jimmy John's at The Park
D: Pioneer Woman's Farfalle with Zucchini

Tuesday
B: Yogurt & Granola
L: (J) Garden Salad/(G) Cheese, Crackers, Raw Veggies & Ranch
D: (S&J) Date Night/(J) Truth Group

Wednesday
B: Eggs & Toast
L: Out with Family after Metro Gymnastics Medals in May Ceremony
D: Grilled Chicken, Couscous & Broccoli or Chicken Sandwiches

Thursday
B: Oatmeal
L: (J) Spin Salad/(G) Cheese, Crackers, Raw Veggies & Ranch
D: On the go...

Friday
B: English Muffins with PB & Bananas
L: (J) Caesar Salad/(G) Baked Potatoes & Green Beans
D: Spaghetti & Homemade French Bread

Saturday
B: Panera or Dunkin Donuts
L: Sandwiches & Chips
D: Out