Life is a highway...

Our trip down to Florida was....

musical...I bought Bowen this little tykes MP3 player with kids songs on it. He LOVES it and calls it his MP2 player! Doesn't he look so grown up in this photo!

educational...Kate read 3 chapter books on our way down to Florida! That girl is a reading maniac!

painful...Clair fell while we were on a stretch break! She skinned both knees pretty bad and then re-injured them even worse two more times during the week!

LONG...the traffic was horrible! At one point we were at a stand still for like 25 minutes due to an accident! People were getting out of their cars and walking around on the highway! Aughhhhh!

BRIGHTS IN SPACE.....

Before we went to Disney World, we stopped to see the Kennedy Space Center.

Here is Stephen loading our kids into a space capsule...These kids have the right stuff!Bowen asked Stephen to take him for a ride in this! (Stephen wishes!)Here they are on the bus to visit the other parts of the space center...we not only saw "space" stuff, but we saw a bald eagle and it's HUGE nest (the size of a king size mattress), we also saw TONS of alligators, and I saw a dolphin fin! It was pretty cool!

We went to this observation tower and you could see everything!

We also got to touch a piece of the moon...Here are my cute kids on the international space station...well pretending to be on it!

Disney World Here we Come...

In just a day and a half we will be soaking up the sun with Mickey and Minnie in sunny Florida. There is nothing like the "Happiest Place on Earth." We are all very excited and can't wait to be together.

Spring Update

So I noticed a lot of Blogs I visit have gone with a more spring like motif! So I thought I'd change up ours too! Enjoy!

FHE - Painting Pandemonium

So our Socialist Overlords - AKA Homeowners Association told us we need

to paint our fence this awful grey color!

So in a moment of brainlessness...we planned to have the kids help us! They loved it!

Bowen helped for a while, until he tried to sample the paint on his brush!

Then he was sent to play in the sandbox! Kate and Clair worked until the sun went down! All the kids were covered in paint! The stuff in their hair was the worse! The girls did finally admit to having paint flicking wars! The fence isn't done yet, but we almost got the whole outside done! Thanks to all the helping hands & Casadei's (Stephen's grandfather) paint gun! Way to go Team Bright Painting Company!

Aloha!

Here is the view from my hotel in Oahu! I am here for work, but I have actually had time to soak in some sun. Look forward to more pictures to come. Sadly none of the pictures have me in them...it really is hard to take pictures of yourself.

NKOTB

As some of you already know, I was given twofree tickets to go and see NKOTB. I gave the other one to my sister-in-law, KT! Here with are with Joey on stage behind us!The seats were in an executive box and were very close, if not a little too much to the side. However, the concert was fun and VERY loud! Plus, the girl who we got the tickets from was super sweet and tons of fun! (Please ignore my "crazy eyes" and cheesy smile in this photo!)Here are just a few highlights!

And a few video clips....remember it was loud...might want to turn down your speakers!

FHE gone wild!

Last night I did the lesson at Joel and Brit's Family Home Evening. Thanks to the brilliant Rosalind...we had a great lesson. It was on obedience. Brooklyn and Jack were asked to follow clues around the house. Right before we got to the last clue, we talked about how when we are obedient and keep the commandments, we get rewarded with the Celestial Kingdom. Their reward was in the freezer and Jack really enjoyed it. As a kid I always wanted one of those clown ice cream cones from Baskin Robbins. I still have never had one, but that was the "reward" waiting for Jack and Brooklyn. Here's a photo of Jack enjoying his "reward."
Can't you tell how yummy it is by that sweet face! Yum, yum!

South Carolina Snow

These aren't pictures from Christmas! This is a rare Spring snow storm that blanketed the southeast! School was closed and we had a fun day playing in the snow, making snow cream, sledding, and watching movies. The snow is melting now, but I think we will be in for some ice covered roads for a few days! Stephen took care of the most important things first...shoveling walks...NO...cleaning off the dish so he can get his FOX News fix!

Birthday Boy!

Yesterday was Papa's Birthday and according to Brooklyn he is a whapping 30 years old. Hope you had a Happy Birthday. Mimi made a delicious meal of roast beef, rolls, salad, greenbean casserole, mashed potatoes, and olives. All of that topped off with a Red Velvet cake (per Papa's request) and ice cream. It was all yummy. Of course I forgot my camera. Entertainment was provided by Brookyn and Jack, as they danced and sang along to High School Musical 3. It was hilarious to watch. There was only 1 thing missing...the Brights. We wish ya'll could have been there to help us celebrate.

Here are several reasons I'm glad Papa was born:
1. He is the ultimate family man...always loves being with his family.
2. He is funny and he doesn't mind when we laugh at or with him.
3. He doesn't get mad about the "big" things.
4. He always reminds us "to remember who we are."
5. He works hard.
6. He supports his family in all that they do...sporting events, talks in church, etc.
7. He loves our mother.
8. He's handy to have around...I have lots of fix it and make-it projects that he's done for me.
9. He was a great example of what a son/daughter should be...he called his mother almost every day, reminding us how important it is to have a relationship with your parents.
10. He was strict, now as an adult I can appreciate it. I think it kept us all safe and on the right path.

Hope you had a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!

And to WRAP things up...King Tut...

get it...to wrap things up! Ha ha ha ha! OK, seriously...we loved this exhibit! The Atlanta Civic Center had a King Tut exhibit. It has huge and really cool! Once again, Kate loved it and wanted to read every display...Clair liked it for about 30 - 45 minutes, and Bowen liked it for -30 minutes (yes, that is NEGATIVE thirty minutes). The only bummer...like the Terracotta Soldiers...you couldn't take photos in the exhibit. So, here are a few from the gift shop and from outside. Bowen in a King Tut head dress...$33...nope, we'll take the book for $4.99! Kate and Clair also wanted to try on the hat...Kate wanted to buy the hat, but her $8 budget wouldn't allow it! I don't think King Tut would appreciate this tissue box in his image! But I thought it was funny!And, one of the greatest treats of this trip was finding my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant in ATLANTA...Stephen made a legal U-turn to get us back to Taco Cabana for lunch. Yummy bean and cheese taco for me! :) Then we promptly saved the location on our GPS for future visits! :)

Our Twin Family

The Binns are our friends from Georgia and are the perfect twin match for our family.

They have three kids....just like us...a daughter 7 years old (just like us), a daughter 5 years old (just like us), and a son 2 years old (just like us). We love them ALL! Patrice (the mom) is a great person! She is a good mom and she laughs at my jokes! William is too funny and is a great dad! The family is a great example to us and we LOVE being with them. Even though we don't get to see each other very often, when we spend time together it is like we were never apart! They are such great friends and our kids really love each other and get along wonderfully! It was a wonderful way to spend our Sunday evening in Georgia! Thanks for the yummy dinner and the great company!

We already miss you guys...and your little dogs too!