Orlando

Our family went to Orlando for our first vacation.  We went to Legoland, SeaWorld, the beach and Disney World.  For Tori Disney World was the best part.  Lego land was 2nd and Sea World was kind of a bust.  There were several rollercoaster's for Tori to ride and rides that were just the right speed for her.  So it was a passable trip for her as far as amusement parks go.

Sea World was bust for everyone.  We started of getting on Journey to Atlantis and the Empire of the Penguins.  Those were probably the highlight of the day and it was the first thing.  Luckily, we got there just as they were opening, so there was no wait.  We then went to see the Sea Lions.  There you can feed the animals food.  We purchased food for them and as soon as the kids saw that it was real fish, they all screamed NO!  That wasn't happening.  So, Uncle Tony and I fed the Sea Lions.  It was pretty gross.  After that we saw a show and some of the kids sat in the splash zone.  They barely got wet and Tori was crying after because her eyes hurt.  After many tears, lunch, shark tank, wild arctic ride and the shamu show, the kids were all done around 3 pm.  We headed back to the house for swimming and relaxing.

Next day was the beach and all the kids enjoyed it.  It was nice to relax and not have to rush everywhere.  We did go to see Hope and Winter from the movies and then to the beach.  We had a bit of a rain delay, but overall, they had a good time.  We now have sea shells from the Gulf of Mexico.  The kids rode a banana boat and got a face full of salt water.  The day was interrupted by a few storms, but nothing too bad except for the storm on the way home.  It was so bad it cost us an extra hour for our trip back to the house.  Luckily no one got much of a sunburn and were able to enjoy the rest of the trip.

Finally it was time for Disney World.  2 days of fun!  It started out that way.  We road the Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain to start the day.  We got through quite a bit of the park.  At noon Tori had her hair done in the boutique.

After that we had lunch and went on a few more rides.  We finished the day with a brief storm, The Haunted Mansion, dinner and the electrical light parade.  They were done and didn't want to wait for the fireworks, so we headed home.

The last day at Disney was a follow-up day.  We finished a few rides and shows, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain and Hall of Presidents.

At about 2, everyone was done.  We headed back to the house for some swimming and relaxing.  Overall Tori had a great time.  They only ran into a few lizards and 1 frog in the pool, but that might've been their favorite part of the trip.  Maybe we'll try another trip in a few years.

Gymnast

Tori has become quite the gymnast in the last 6 months.  She's already passed her first level of requirements and is moving from red to orange.  She's also started to accumulate the leotards and shirts with gymnast slogans.  She's gotten pretty confident in her ability and is able to do most activities without much effort for her level.

She performed in the year end showcase in May.  She performed as part of 4 activities, floor, beam, bars and one other activity.  It was her first showcase and she was nervous, but by the time it came to perform, she was composed and ready to go.  Once it was over, she was really glad she did it.

She also had her birthday party at the school where she takes her gymnastic classes.  There were 10 girls and they all had a good time.  Here's some of the pictures from her party!

And of course, we have to have her best Mckayla Maroney picture.

Different

It’s funny how different the kids in a family can be. They might look the same and share some of the same interests, but they are their own personalities. We have what I like to call a gradation of children. Christian, the oldest, has brown eyes and brown hair, which is getting darker everyday. All of his talents are up top, in his brain. He catches onto concepts easily, but lacks the physical finesse of his sister. Tori resembles her brother, with lighter honey colored hair and hazel eyes, but learning does not come as easily to her, book learning, that is. Anything physical, like riding a bike or walking the beam, comes much more easily to her than it does Christian. She usually picks it up within a few tries, whereas Christian stumbles. Eli is our youngest child, and while people have called him a mini Christian, he is a good combination of his older siblings. He has bright blue eyes and blonde hair. He seems smart and is very active. He enjoys school and picks up on the mental and physical fairly quickly. We toyed with the idea of having another, and I often wonder if the trend would have continued. Would the fourth child have had even lighter hair and eyes? What would they have easily mastered? Interesting how genes work.

Busy

Tori has had an extremely busy weekend.  She went Christmas dress shopping with Eli and her Mom on Friday and did the bouncing thing at the mall while Christian and I went grocery shopping.  Then on Saturday she had her gymnastics class, a bunch of errands to run, Christian's lego league tournament and a sleep over all rolled into one day.  She was good throughout the day and Gymnastics made her hungry cause she ate her first 6 inch sub instead of a kids meal from Subway.

She was good for the errands and helped Eli mail all the Christmas cards at the post office.  After lunch with Christian and Tresa at the Lego League tournament, Tori and Eli spent the afternoon at Uncle Dale and Aunt Annies.  They had a blast and stayed until 4:30.

Once we got home, Tori jumped in the shower and headed off to her sleepover with her friend Shaylee.  I'm sure they'll have a great time together, stay up real late and Tori will be dragging butt when she comes home after lunch.  All in a very full weekend.

Halloween Carnival

This weekend, Tori got to spend some time at a backyard carnival with a friend who lives nearby. The friend’s cousins were in town, but they are all boys, so Nat asked Tori to tag along. They started at our house around 1 and then went to Nat’s at 2 for fun and games. Tori came back at 4, all happy with a goody bag in tow. Turns out Nat was also going to Wildlife Prairie Scary Park that night too. We did not see her, but Tori did run into a lot of frights, including a ghostly train ride full of volunteers jumping out at riders in costume. She held onto me tight and reprimanded me for laughing. Nevertheless, she had a lot of fun and can’t wait to do it again next year. I have a funny feeling she is going to love going to haunted houses when she is older. She likes to be scared.

Up, Up, Up

Last year, Tori struggled a bit in school. She had a very nice teacher, but it just wasn’t her year. She got caught up in the change in personnel and all of the drama at school, and things just did not go well for her. This year, everything has changed. Tori really likes her teacher, Mr. Romine, and she likes being in the same class as many of her friends. That, combined with a new principal, has got her motivated. She comes home, gets her homework done and strives to do well. No more pushing and prodding. She gets in there and tries to do her best. She works at her spelling words and her math, even going so far as to check her work. I see a tremendous change in her. She wants to learn and understand and lets us know when she doesn’t. That is really going to help her next year at Mark Bills.

Tori’s birthday is in June, so she is one of the younger kids in her class. As a result, she is still into dolls and dollhouses. While she is moving away from the LaLaLoopsy, she is still into Monster High and American Girl dolls. This Christmas, she has decided that she needs a large enough house for her American Girl dolls. 18 inches. It took some looking, but I think we have found a house that will work. She doesn't get it until Christmas, so she has plenty of time to decide where in the world she is going to put it.

On a trip

Tori, her Mom and Aunt Annie are off to St. Louis for the Hydrocephalus walk this weekend with Cousins Tyler and Kenna, Aunt Diane and Uncle Travis.  She's looking forward to the trip.  She likes doing new things and hopefully she'll have fun.  They plan on stopping at the zoo and maybe the arch after the walk is done.  She loves going to hotels, swimming and being in new places.  Sounds perfect for Tori.

Over Labor Day weekend.  Grandma and Grandpa Erickson came for a visit and Tori was dead set on going to Tanner's orchard.  So, we loaded the kids and grandparents into the car, plus the neighbor kid and headed out.  Luckily it was a nice day and we got a few video's/pictures from it.  We usually go at least once a year, but Christian seems to be outgrowing it a bit.  Tori is still in love with it, they just got tired.

 Every Girls Dream!

 Faster!

 Ready to Go

 Best Picture of the day

Don't Ever Grow UP!

One of the things Tori likes is to take video's.  She did so when the 3 of us (Me, Eli and Tori in the "Ready to Go" picture above) went for a ride. 

Then of course, I had to beat her in an individual race!

New Bed

For two weeks now, Tori has been waiting for her new loft bed. Finally, it is here, and her dad is determined to get it together on Friday night. I can’t wait to help her get everything back in order. Her room has been quite the mess. She is getting a desk and shelf with it, so maybe I can help put those together.

Tori has a small room, so we are hoping this loft bed helps with that. She has been wanting a desk for a while, so hopefully, everything suits her and works well for some time to come.

Short Summer

Since Tori's party, we've been busy with a few trips and more house work.  4th of July weekend we made a long trip to see many family members Tori's great Aunt and Great Uncle, Tori's Great Grandparents and Grandparents.  Tori stayed with her Grandparents for a week and had lots of fun.  She started that week off with watching the fireworks on the 4th of July.  Tori, Eli and her cousins enjoyed them.  While we went back home with Christian, she and Eli stayed the week.  They went swimming at 3 different places, went to World's of Fun, out to eat, on a boat ride and a few other activities.  They met us in St. Louis for the trip back home and we spent the day at the zoo.  That night we went to Dave and Buster's for video game madness!  Tori ended up with a stuffed Monkey with her tickets.  Finally she headed home on Sunday.

We found a present on her head when we got home...LICE!  Luckily the boys didn't get it because their hair is too short.  Tresa has been taking care of it.  Tori is getting to the point where she doesn't want anyone to see her naked anymore.  So, I'm out of a lot of situations by default.  She still gets embarrassed by her parents kissing and Eli running around the house naked.  He thinks it is funny, so her laughing just eggs him on!  The lice are 99% gone and it looks like we won't have to shave her head!  

This past weekend we built a retaining wall in the backyard.  TOri and Christian helped load 100 retaining wall bricks into the wheelbarrow and get them out once I got them down the hill.  They were struggling with the weight of 1, but they did it.  This weekend we are mulching that area and all 3 are helping then.  

Tori has a few plans still for the rest of the summer, but school is coming up quick.  Tonight she's trying Kuk Sool Won begrudgingly.  She's got an overnight party at a hotel with a friend in August and Eli's party too.  We've got a couple days home with them cause their sitter is taking a vacation.  Then school starts the 18th.  Not much time left.

Midway Through Summer

It’s hard to believe that school starts in about 6 weeks. It has been one busy summer. First was the laminate floor, which took about 3 weeks to fully complete. Then, Christian had an allergic reaction to some shots, Grandma moved out and Tori had a birthday party. Now, Tori and Eli are getting ready for their annual trek to Grandma Tip’s and their weeklong stay at Grandma Marie’s. Christian is done with the weeklong stays and is just coming along for the ride, looking forward to a stop at the Lego store on the way home.

Tori’s party went ok. We had a few injuries, starting with a splinter in a finger, followed by scraped knees, followed by a hurting side. Then, there was the broken nose in a beanbag incident in which no one really knows what happened. Two girls say one thing, and two say another. Thankfully, the little girl is going to be ok and will not need any surgery. Whew! No more beanbags at slumber parties and a lot more rules next time, including a decent bedtime. No more staying up until 4:30 a.m.

As though life has not been busy enough, we also got two new kitties. We were aiming for one, but Christian got suckered in fast. We have Princess Leia and Tater Darth Vader or Tater Tot King (Eli got to pick the middle names). Princess is a gray and white tabby, and Tater is black. They are so rowdy I like to call them Frick and Frack or Seek and Destroy.

The babysitter just got a pool, so our kids are going to get in a lot of swimming this summer. Don’t worry. The youngest kids can touch the bottom, and there will be adult supervision. Good luck to Sharon on keeping her house clean with that many kids in and out of the pool.

Happy Birthday!

Nine years ago today, our one and only daughter was born. She has grown into a lovely little lady with many friends. Tonight we celebrate her birthday with pizza, gifts and a few hours with her friends. She was a sweet, laid back baby, always smiling then and now. She’s our Tori, and we love her and wish her the best birthday ever! Happy Birthday, from Mom and Dad and your stinker brothers! And from the cats as well, including your new little Princess kitty.