It's their world, and I love living in it.

Best combo ever: Florida-Disney-Christmas

2011-12-08T19:33:00.014-05:00

I never thought it could happen, but each year is better than the previous. However, each year we go is fabulously amazing. I really don't know how we outdo ourselves, but we do.

Because of aging children who play sports, we are having to sneak off to Florida whenever there is a break in the sporting routine and November it was. We had never been that time of year before, so we were pumped. We heard the weather was awesome and the crowds were zero and we heard right. (of course I have to say that when we go in January, the weather is usually awesome and the crowds are still zero...so we're good either way I guess)

Departure: 3:00 p.m Friday November 11th;

If you are a cop or a big time rule follower, skip the next picture cuz we drive all night long and we try to be as comfortable as possible when sleeping. Trust me, four dramatic daughters crabby from little sleep is NOT a good way to start the trip.

However, death isn't a good way to start the trip either. Yes, Sophie is on the floor. Let's just say we pray a whole lot during the night while driving.

Arrival: 9:30 a.m...Kissimmee. JUST in time for breakfast and some much deserved swimming.

Although tired and somewhat delirious from lack of sleep, our first night there was spent at Downtown Disney, one of our many favorite Florida places to go.

And this guy, well, the DeBacker girls have a little crush on him. I'm pretty sure Chris does too. He is Dominic Gaudious. He plays the electric guitar and the didjeridoo and he is AWESOME. We love him. I've posted about him before. The words Downtown Disney and Dominic Gaudious go hand-in-hand for us. Big time memory for the DeBackers. If he ever stops performing we might just cry. Check him out if you are ever visiting. You won't be disappointed. I spent all my birthday money on several of his cd's that night and let me just say it was worth every penny.

Moving right along...the next day was spent at Fun Spot. It was, well, a fun spot to be. Did this a couple of years ago at a similar place. We thought it was high time we do it again. You know, riding cheesy rides for 10 hours straight. That's always a good time.

Next ride: HOT SEAT. The biggest, scariest and highest ride there. Horribly scary.

Darby was tall enough to ride it too. Cool!

Darby didn't think it was cool. She was clearly having a hard time deciding.

But, in the end, we convinced her. She went two more times after this one. (no sissy girls in this family!)

Time for the good stuff:

Like I said before, each year gets just a little bit better than the previous and this year was no different. We did something brand new. Something we have always wanted to experience: Disney World and Christmas...a.k.a heaven. I am pretty sure life cannot get any better!

First in line, but you aren't surprised are you?

(boo-yah! Take THAT slowpokes!)

Main Street is a beautiful thing just by itself. But Main Street at Christmas? Be still my beating heart. A sight to be seen. I was like a kid in a candy shop when it all first came into view. Took my breath away. I never wanted to leave.

The rest of the day and into the evening was pure bliss. We were able to see brand new shows for this event only, a new parade, new fireworks and of course snow on Main Street. SNOW! I couldn't have been happier! It was, like the song says, "paradise."

Two days later we conquered Epcot. (again) What made this day extra special was that Darby was finally big enough to go on Mission Space. In previous years we could ride everything together, but this. Let me just say, the "green group" or "less intense" riders? My 6 year old kicked your booty. Went straight to the "intense" line. Loved it so much she rode it 5 more times that day!

I love Epcot.

Need a closer look at Darby? Enjoy the laugh you're about to have;

Phenomenal trip yet again. We ended our week by going to Downtown Disney (for the 30th time) when what to our wondering eyes should appear? SANTA! It just keeps getting better! Santa at Downtown Disney!

We've done lots since I've last posted. I'm ok with not posting every second of our lives. We're busy enjoying this Christmas season and each other. So in case my "Christmas" post doesn't come till March....Merry Christmas! I hope yours was as incredible as ours!

First Day

2011-09-06T18:44:00.004-04:00

I miss my kids.

After a wonderful LAZY summer, where we spent most days waking up at 10:30 a.m and having breakfast at lunchtime, we're back to the grueling routine of school. Lunches have to be made, backpacks have to be packed, new clothes on...going to bed at a certain time instead of "whenever" during the summer. (sigh)

I don't like the new routine.

It takes me about a month to feel ok about it.

Today I faked my way through being excited for them. When really I just wanted to hijack everyone and take them to some far away island where we could live like we lived all summer.

Anyways....I now have two..TWO middle schoolers!!

As I watched them walk off, I was so thankful for Crisilee, who took such good care of Sophie. I knew for a fact Crisilee would make sure she was comfortable before she left her. Two years ago, Crisilee had to do this all alone. Sophie has no idea how great she has it.

Mylie...now a big time 4th grader. Holding onto her a bit tighter lately, she's growing up. Lovin the way she rocks her new shoe-boots!

We are so blessed that her teacher is also a very good friend of the family;

Last but certainly not least...I have another little girl who started school today;

"Mommy School!" We are so blessed with what we like to call the "christian public" school around here, that there is really no reason at all for us to ever homeschool. Our children are thriving, have wonderful friends and surrounded by incredible teachers. However, the district decided to do away with half-day Kindergarten.

I think that is ridiculous. They are babies. They don't need to go to school for seven hours. My first three went for half-days and they are all A students, so I am pretty sure Darby will follow suit.

I decided I can do this. Besides, she is my last one, so why not? I get to have one extra year with my "baby"....and it's gonna be awesome!

So there ya have it; the latest and greatest in the DeBacker household. Already looking forward to our next break from school, which will be Florida in November!! Can't wait!

Niagara Falls, New York and No Pool...

2011-07-19T15:41:00.011-04:00

Time for another trip! We had a very long, tiring, but super great week.

Chris had to go to Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York for a huge conference that was going on. We knew we would only see short glimpses of him throughout the week, but it was better then not seeing him at all. So we tagged along.

Chris decided to leave a bit early and stop to Niagara Falls since it was on the way to Rochester. The beauty of his job is that a lot of times, we get to do special things if we come with him. The girls had never seen the falls before, so it worked out perfectly...AND, we got dad all to ourselves for two days before the work started.

Of course we did the "Maid of the Mist" (and made sure the girls watched Jim and Pam's wedding from The Office a million times before!)

(I especially like how my head looks the most cone-shaped out of everyone....)

The next part of the trip was scary for me. This was the part that was a vacation...but really it wasn't. This is the part where I grew up in a lot of ways. This is the part where I developed a very big bond with the GPS.

I depend on Chris for a lot. He is my "go to guy." When I am in trouble he fixes it. When I don't know the answer, he comes up with the right one. He always has a solution. When I don't know what to do next, Chris always does. I love him for that. I need that in a husband, and I can't say enough how grateful I am for a husband and father who takes care of us the way he does.

So you can imagine my surprise when he said to me, "I will have to work a lot during this trip. You and the girls will be alone most of the time. The hotel doesn't have a pool, so you are going to have to find stuff for you and the girls to do all day long, every day."

"Say what?"

He painstakingly googled everything thing there was to do in Rochester and surrounding cities for us before we left for this trip. He put all the destinations in the GPS, so all I had to do was hit was one button and voila...I would magically end up there. Each day I had a new adventure for the girls and I to do all by ourselves...and at the end of the day we'd show him pictures and tell him all about it.

We missed him though. There were days where I just wanted to go hijack him, so he could come play with us.

But, I did it! I was so proud of myself! And so our days went a little like this:

(Seneca Park Zoo)

(thank you Mylie for the use of your camera so I didn't have to lug around my huge one)

Another day was the county fair. Let me just say a few words about fair rides: I don't trust'em. I am sure I am ignorant when it comes to this, but knowing these rides travel from state to state, are put together and taken down in what seems a matter of minutes..I don't know, I feel a bolt could be missing somewhere during the putting together process.

So we rode no rides.

I know. Cruel. They really wanted to ride this;

and this;

and this;

But the answer was always something like, "well, you could be killed, so no."

So we focused more on the other fun things the fair had to offer like this;

this;

(pirate tatoo anyone?)

And, my personal favorite, who wouldn't want to watch "Robinson's Pig Paddling Porkers?" Heaven knows I sure did!

(thank you again to my 9 year old Mylie..whose camera ain't too shabby!)

Our last day there I think was my favorite. We found a sweet little town called Spencerport. Here in this town was a fountain park! We had a picnic lunch and played in the fountains for a good part of the afternoon.

It was a great week...a good time to just get away. I love my family, I love my life.

Belated Daddy Day

2011-07-01T20:30:00.003-04:00

Hi Christopher...I am sorry this took so long this year. Due to a middle child with blisters from the most horrid sunburn known to man, I was unable to do my yearly photo shoot for you.

I wish I would have gotten it done on time. You are an AMAZING dad. You tell us daily that you live for us. What more could 5 ladies ask for? Thank you for all you do. I love you.

You know that by no means at all am I any kind of photographer, but I did my best, and here is what I got: (you can choose which ones you want to have framed for your office!)

(photo by Ashlee Ann Cryderman...I wish I could take credit for this one!)

(I love love love this one...)

Happy Father's Day...loving you always.

Six Flags, froggy slides, hot dogs and broken elevators

2011-06-24T13:54:00.014-04:00

We are blessed. Very blessed indeed. We get to take really cool trips with Chris since his job is traveling! Awesome for us!

Pit Stop: Chicago, where we introduced the girls to the worlds finest popcorn.

Garrett Popcorn...Chicago Mix...there is none better. We are now officially "popcorn snobs" and proud of it.

And after we became completely sick on Garretts, we went ahead and made ourselves even sicker by stopping for a late lunch at a Chicago icon called Superdawg...and guess what we all ordered?

The Superdawg of course.

It was fabulous to say the least.

First destination: Gurnee Illinois...home of Six Flags...super fun amusement park and the girls first experience to HUGE roller coasters. We all had a ball, and I didn't feel like lugging around my fancy camera all day so there are no pictures.

Besides, it wasn't "picture-worthy" anyway because it didn't hold a candle to our beloved Disney. Six Flags consisted of boring lines and gross people. It confirmed what I already knew: there IS a difference between "Six Flags People" and "Disney" people. I am proud to say my family and I are 100% Disney.

But...we had fun riding the rides! Even if we did sanatize our bodies after we got back to the hotel that evening.

Moving right along to our final and last stop for two more days: Milwaukee! We hung out at the pool with a froggy slide that was clearly too big for two oldest, but that didn't stop them;

I am so very very lucky. Look at these outstanding young ladies! And guess what? They belong to ME!

And uh..yeah...Darby got trapped in an elevator for an hour and a half. It was pretty traumatic. Here she is giving her last will and testament. (I'm serious, the girl was giving me a list of people to say "goodbye" to.)

And here she is giving up...her 5 little years had flashed before her eyes...

RESCUED!! It was awesome. And the firemen were soooo cool!

Then it was on to downtown Milwaukee to visit "the bronze fonze" and the public market;

On our way home we stopped to the Jelly Belly factory, where we took a free tour of the warehouse and learned how Jelly Belly's were made. And all of you who spend a mint buying Jelly Belly's at regular stores? We spent a grand total of $5 and each one of us had numerous bags of Jelly Belly's to eat all the way home. Boo-yah!

One more stop: "Hot Doug's"...I am not going to bother explaining it. You thought "Superdawg" looked awesome? These hot dogs are the absolute BEST in the entire world and you've not had a hot dog until you've stopped at this little hole- in -the- wall that is only open 6 hours a day and has a continuous line around the corner.

Now we're home and counting down till our next trip next month: Niagara Falls! Stay tuned! It will be a good one!

Happy 5th Grade Graduation Day!

2011-06-10T12:57:00.006-04:00

It's strange...yesterday she was a baby, and now she's starting middle school;

Standing there so beautiful in her brand new dress...made me realize yet again just how fast time goes. I have just 6 more years left with her. Seems like a long time yet, but it isn't. Makes my stomach drop.

It was a fun morning, with 75 kids, teachers, diplomas, metals, a balloon launch, family and friends;

It was a very good morning. Super proud of my Sophie.

The "I never post after Florida because I have the blues" post.

2011-05-18T14:54:00.004-04:00

It seems I did a post like this last year....so here goes:

(winter/spring random re-cap)

Daddy daughter dance;

Basketball star and tournament team winner;

"Lost Boy" in Peter Pan;

(her very best friends in the whole wide world...wouldn't trade these girls for anything)

Became offical dog-owners;

This sweet girl attended a "princess party" at our local library. She was deathly sick..and yes, I doped her up with Motrin, prayed no other kids would get it, and took her anyway. Yes I did.

And did ya know? When she gets out of the bathtub and you don't lay a FINGER on her hair, it turns out like this;

(I love it)

This little lady turned 9! (wanted Lucky Charms for her birthday breakfast)

The girl who made me a mom, participated in her first "QuizBowl Jr." Which, by the way was on TV!! She rocked it and looked completely gorgeous!

She is also becoming quite the tennis pro;

Last but not least;

Braces! How cute is she?

Easter happened too and I'm not really into posing my girls anymore...not that I ever was;

So, Happy Valentines Day, Saint Patricks Day, Easter, and whatever else I missed over the winter when I was busy loving my kids, hanging out with my kids and watching them grow instead of keeping up with my blog. (I also just noticed that my pictures are so stinking huge that some of them have "lost" borders...and I'm not doing a dang thing about it!)

Home, is where Florida is.

2011-02-07T11:05:00.005-05:00

Since I only post main events that occur in our lives, I feel like I JUST posted about Florida since we had our "bonus" trip last August. But I don't care. I love Florida. It's the highlight of my year. Better then Christmas Day and better then "the lodge." (although the lodge is a close second)

We go every January, pretty much do the same things, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's where our hearts are. It's where we live fancy free and where the DeBackers are most happy.

We had a wonderful 12 days. Started out in Lakeland again where my parents are working at a camp. Fed some goats, did some swimming and played putt-putt. Then it was off to the Kissimmee area where we stayed in our gorgeous HUGE condo with pools galore.

The weather was perfect, (it always is for the DeBackers) and the pools and Disney parks were empty.

Just the way I like it.

We took two days and went to all four Disney parks. We also got invited to Cinderella Castle for breakfast on our second park day.

On Magic Kingdom day we were the first on the monorail, first in the ticket taking line and FIRST up to the castle for breakfast. And let me just say, this was not our first year being first.

Usually we are ALWAYS first.

Take a look at our incredible time!!

First stop;

Now, onto Kissimmee where we checked into Vacation Village. It was spectacular.

Disney park hopper day #1; (oh yeah..first there too...)

(Darby was scared to death of the Dinosaur ride that we made her ride about 4 times...)

(Aerosmiths Rockin Roller Coaster...dude..)

(Expedition Everest...yeah..the ride with the scary Yeti...)

Drum roll please....the most magical day of them all. And it's not even light out yet;

(oh hey..look who the ONLY people on Main Street are!! Boo yah!!)

(met all the princesses at the most amazing breakfast..)

(um...why would I go any other time of year?)

(DisneyQuest..first time. Fun as all get out. Spent about 10 hours playing video games...)

I love this next one...I love it because of Mylie. She has on a headband "hippie" style and her gum is hanging out of her mouth so it looks like she's smokin a doob...

(The Varsity..check out the onion rings...burp..)

I am blessed beyond words....4 perfect, beautiful girls and a fantastic husband who tells me daily he lives for us. I need nothing else in life.

As far as Florida goes? We'll be back.

LODGETIME!!

2011-01-17T10:43:00.002-05:00

It's one of the greatest weeks of the year for the Cryderman family: the infamous "LODGE."

That is all we call it when we refer to it all year.."see you at THE LODGE," or "have you planned your talent for THE LODGE yet?" The Lodge is all we need to say...and we know what it means to all of us.

It means five fun-filled days and nights of family. Cousins who run around laughing, parents who sit by the fire drinking coffee and also laughing, game playing, ice hockey playing...you name it, we'll be doing it.

There is also the night of talents where this year, the moms and dads took part...let me just say, there were tears involved. Memories from the past...it was so cool.

The newest edition to the lodge this year? Wi-Fi!! Was that a good thing? Undecided:

A flippin riot watching this: "Just Dance" a big hit of the week;

The rest of the week consisted of:

These people are my beating heart...and they are all mine. Oh how I love you all...so much.

Just a few: Christmas 2010

2011-01-15T20:13:00.003-05:00

I'm a bit late with the Christmas pictures.

My editing program that was really easy died along with our old hard drive in our computer.

So I'm stuck with using another one and I just can't get the hang of it.

That makes me not want to edit pictures anymore, because I am not a fan of change, OR learning new stuff.

These are just a few of many Christmas pictures taken. We had a wonderful day, and the girls got EVERYthing they asked for.

It started with Christmas Eve at Mark and Mary's (16th year and counting)...then onto home where Santa left our tree looking beautiful. And then of course...morning. The morning of all mornings!!

My pictures are all different shapes and it ticks me off. My awesome husband of mine will be taking care of that soon....because he takes care of everything for me! Lodge pictures...coming soon!

NEW YORK CITY! Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-31T19:25:00.003-05:00

You know what? I'll take my chances with Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwICAZLGmek

It was a dream trip.

New York City really was great....but you'll never know that.

2010-12-27T13:34:00.002-05:00

Well, my husband made an incredible DVD of our family in New York City over this past Thanksgiving.

It was really great.

I wanted to show everyone.

But you'll have to take my word for it.

Maybe there will be a way I can post it, but for now, Youtube is busting me for copyright purposes, therefore I took it off.

I hate Youtube for that.

And now I am behind on Christmas pictures.

Oh well....

Happy Halloween....and somebody turned 5!

2010-11-07T20:07:00.002-05:00

It's kinda weird how when your kids are really little, like 'too young to make decisions for themselves' little, you can pretty much dictate every aspect of their lives. And it's great! You forget you won't be able to do that forever.

Take Halloween for example. Years ago, Chris and I decided what the girls would be each year. We've had "Cinderella" and "The Pumpkin" "Dorothy from Oz" and "Scarecrow" and even 4 cool characters from the Star Wars movies...but over the past few Halloweens, we've done nothing but go out and get what they would need for the costume they had decided on. That is fine..it's just that the one thing no one ever told me, was that they would change their minds during the actual Halloween holiday.

Let me try and explain;

First there are the school parties, where Mylie decided she would be a granny. Naturally I thought this is what she would be for Halloween;

And then there is Darby who, while not yet in school, is very much allowed to dress up and go participate in the school parties. She declared she would be a princess...again, I'm excited her decision has been made for Halloween.

So, the school parties come and go, and the following night is Trunk or Treat at our church. Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, we had a bonus night! Getting ready to go was weird to me, as 3 out of my four children changed their costumes. I didn't really know you could do that.

Crisilee who, at school,was the "Charlie Brown Ghost", has now become a "Rock Star." 10 minutes before we head to church, she is scrambling around putting something together. What?

Then Darby decides to be a kitty.....huh?

And Mylie tweaked her "Granny" just a bit, while Sophie stayed a "Princess" her original costume. Thank you Sophie! (or so I thought...)

That took some getting used to. Seriously, Chris was out taking pictures and Mylie was freaking out about wearing either the mask, or the wig....it was NOT a relaxed few minutes. Anyway, we had a great "bonus" night.

Speaking of a bonus, we were blessed to have another bonus daughter come along with us trick-or-treating;

(our gorgeous niece Mariah)

Remember the special thanks I gave to Sophie? I take it back. She too changed...a "Rainbow." Yep..just out of the blue, "I'm gonna be a rainbow" (Are you keeping up?) Then Crisilee decided to change back into her orginal "Charlie Brown Ghost." My head is spinning just writing this.

There should be some sort of rule that says, "no changing costumes once you've decided on one."

It's ok. They had fun. I had a headache and couldn't remember who was what...but in the end it was a great night with a TON of candy of course!

Moving on to a less confusing topic: My baby turned 5 this past week! FIVE! She's awesome.

I love her.

We woke her up singing "Happy Birthday" with a piece of cinnamon toast and a candle!

I think she liked that.

Later that afternoon we had a nice family party with my parents. Of course Darby wanted presents first;

(Do I need to explain that she really wanted Moon Dough?)

After presents she signed the birthday chair. A chair that Chris repainted all funky, and every year the girls sign their name and put their age. Darby worked SO hard for about a month learning to write her name and the number 5...it turned out great!

Last but not least, the cake. We have this thing where we never let the girls see their cake until it's actually time to eat the cake. Oh the joy on her face says it all. Best picture ever coming up:

Happy 5th Birthday Darby! You'll always be the baby! I love you!

Funny Faces....Happy Fall!

2010-10-16T13:23:00.003-04:00

Some beautiful DeBacker girls enjoying the season;

Happy Fall to you...we are dreaming of what's ahead....the best part of the year is fast approaching! Savor every second. It will be over before you know it!

Little's game, Big's game, and a HUGE par-tay!

2010-10-09T13:56:00.012-04:00

Mylie had a soccer game this past weekend;

She's pretty awesome.

She has a pretty great fan club too;

Her team won by the way.

I think they won not only because of Mylie's superb game playing and goal scoring, but also because of the loving family cheering from the sidelines.

I am so the lucky one. To have a brother and his family take the time out of their precious Saturday morning to come watch my Mylie play.

Several hours later, we headed to yet another game. This time it was basketball, for Chris. Alumni game at Spring Arbor University, where he rocked the court.

The game was followed by a hoot of a "fall party" at our friends beautiful new home. There were hayrides, silly string wars, pumpkin painting, trampoline and moonwalk jumping, GREAT food and of course....fireworks. Of course! There are always fireworks in October!

GREAT way to have a weekend. Games, parties, kids...loving life!

Home.

2010-09-01T10:53:00.006-04:00

It's the first place that comes to our minds when it's time to go on a trip. It's what we talk about all year, until the time comes where we can go again. And, although I love my house, my town and my neighborhood...Florida, feels like home. Florida is where there is no stress and no routine. Florida is a commonality my husband, daughters and myself share between each other. Florida is where we have created some memories that will far outlast some of the everyday stuff we do in our "real" home.

And then of course there is the whole Disney thing. I remember before we had our first child, we didn't know what we were having, so we had to make the room great for either a boy or a girl. We thought, "primary colors" and hence the love for "all things Disney" was born. We went crazy with Disney curtains, bookends, comforters and pillowcases. It was the best nursery EVER. Then it just escalated from there. We knew someday we'd take our kids to Disney, and Chris had dreams of putting his daughter on his shoulders while watching the daytime parade through Main Street.

And we've done it. We've done all of that and more and it's been some of the best family moments of our lives.

This was a "bonus" trip. Thanks to Disney Visa and the fact that my husband travels for a living, we stayed at our beautiful hotel and attended two parks for FREE.

The coolest thing this time? Since the trip was basically free we thought now would be the time to FLY. We surprised the girls with tickets. It was awesome.

Every year we stay in Kissimmee. It's just minutes away from all things Disney and has lots to do. We usually take a walk through this place:

Old Town. The best way to describe it? Enter Exhibit A:

And when you have an Exhibit A, you have to have an Exhibit B:

I don't know, cigarette in one hand, Bud in the sippy cup spot and roots screaming "dye me" at you....something about that whole thing wasn't right.

It's basically a run-down, all year around carnival, mixed in with shops and stores..and most years, we will spend some time there watching. Only watching. The girls look wide-eyed at all the rides and some may quietly say, "can we ride?" while right away Chris and I poo-poo the idea. We say, "now girls, to some people, this is their Disney...isn't that sad?" or we'll say, "there is NO way your getting on those rides...those things will fall a part at any second and you could be killed."

But, this year was different. We actually bought a day pass and rode those death machines for close to 9 hours. The girls had the time of their lives. We all did.

It's okay, I don't mind being a hypocrite.

Then of course there is our beloved Downtown Disney area where we made a beeline there most nights to watch our friend Dominic Gaudious play his guitars. Look him up sometime and take a listen. Love him. He is awesome. We see him every year. (he's not really our friend, but we like to pretend he is)

We love the little town of Celebration, there, is a hidden gem of a fountain, where you can sip a Starbucks and watch your kids get soaked;

Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, where we slipped and slid like there was no tomorrow, played in the coolest, most unique wave pool known to man and swam with sharks.

Epcot. One of my favorite parks. Although you really can't choose between any of them. We'll be back in 5 months to finish the rest!

I can't believe last week at this time we were there. My stomach drops when I think that we aren't there. We belong there. It's home.

We're dreaming of you Florida. Till we meet again; January 2011.

Death By Corn...

2010-08-17T09:27:00.004-04:00

...is what the Cryderman's like to call this day. Second year now, where we have all met out at Mark and Mary's property at Goose Lake, swam, talked, tubed, laughed, loved, and of course made ourselves sick on CORN. Wonderful, juicy, stuck-in-your-teeth, sweet corn.

The days of your traditional "butter and salt" on your corn are gone. Now it's: mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, garlic salt, cayenne pepper and parsley. OH. MY. SWEET WORD. It's the best.

But what is even better, is that for a few hours that go by rather too quickly, I get to be in my heaven again. I get to hang out with my most favorite people in the universe. And it always ends!! I hate when it ends! So I savor every second, as always.

Oh..SO glad I snapped this picture at the most perfect moment ever...my mom and her love for licorice;

Hey family, I love you!

Love at it's best.

2010-08-01T22:10:00.008-04:00

I don't think Sophie will ever know the joy she brought Darby today. Watching these two made my heart melt.

(Darby wanted Mickey Mouse ears...I think it's pretty right on!)

Sisters ROCK.

An evening at the lake.

2010-07-16T11:24:00.003-04:00

It's been a busy week with Family Camp going on. The girls camped out with Chris for three nights, and Darby and I have been joining them daily for some quality beach time. It's been great and fun and the girls have just been having a wonderful time with their cousins. But, this night, we took some time off from camp to hang out with some special friends.

We had their lake all to ourselves, and it was glorious.

This is Karol, "Mrs. Buchholz" to my kids, and who I also like to refer to as "the pied piper" because when Karol is around I become non-existent. Yes, I've got some snacks in my bag, but they don't want mine, they want "Mrs. Buchholz's snacks." I also have bug spray, the same exact kind Karol has, yet they don't want mine, they want "Mrs. Buchholz to spray us with hers"

"Hey Darby, let me get you all situated with your life jacket" I say, "No, can't Mrs. Buchholz do it?"

It's hard to find great friends for your kids AND great parents to match, and I have found both.

(thank you Karol for being so great to my kids, you are beautiful, inside AND out!)

It was a great evening, ending with a quick dip in the pool. Perfect! Thanks Paul and Karol! Your family rocks!

For Chris..Happy Fathers Day!

2010-06-18T21:37:00.007-04:00

I am by no means a photographer. But I try. And it's fun to do. Every year for Fathers Day, I do a little photo shoot of the girls. I print them out real nice, blow them up and put them in these fancy frames for Chris's office. I will have to admit they look mighty nice when hanging up.

So babe, here they are, and this time I am letting you choose which ones you would like. There are more, but these were my favorites. I love you. YOU keep this house together. With 5 ladies, hormones raging, you never know what your gonna get, but you love us anyway. I can't imagine my life without you, and I know the girls feel the same.

Thanks for always saying "I live to please you and the girls"...it's obvious you do, because you show it everyday. It never goes unnoticed. We love you very much.

Happy Fathers Day babe!

A really good night.

2010-06-17T22:27:00.004-04:00

It was a good night last night;

We caught a ball;

or two;

wait, make that three;

Yep. One night, one game, three balls. That does NOT happen often. But, I'm married to Chris DeBacker where it's just natural for good things to happen when he's just around in general. So I am really not surprised.
It was a really great night.

New Traditions

2010-06-06T13:18:00.004-04:00

Ah yes..Memorial Day. The unofficial start to summer. For Cryderman kids, it ranks right up there with "THE LODGE." I can't even remember the first time we all started meeting at my mom and dads for Memorial Day. It's been for years and years.

We started that glorious day, not so gloriously with Mark, Mariah and I running an obscene 12 miles. For what? To brag about it? I guess. So I ran 12 miles. The next morning I woke up with kidney failure, (seriously, I woke up the next morning with a serious case of the stomach flu) but hey, I ran 12 miles. Thankfully there are no pictures of that.

Here is how our day really started;

Uncle Mark officially terrifying his nieces;

Oh, and it rained. It rained and it rained and it poured. But what about "the parade?" What about the candy? What about DARBY who sobbed when she found out that there would be no parade. Sad day for her. But it was short-lived, as she knew there would still be food, and fun, and fellowship....and maybe even some new traditions.

So there were scrumptious burgers; (thanks dad!)

And there was "fun with pop-Its."

And there were Jarts. "What are Jarts" you ask? Jarts are illegal. Jarts are dangerous. Jarts are trouble waiting to happen;

I loved the fact that the older generation had to explain to the younger generation the concept of both Jarts and Trackball....hilarious. I love Mariah in this picturing wondering what the heck this thing is she is holding;

This can't be good;

And when Heather was done spying, she started something new for us: water balloons! She rounded all the kids up to help fill them and the entire family lined up in a huge row to have a balloon toss. I had flashbacks of end of the year parties at school when I was a kid. It was great!

(loving that Heather and Mylie are both doing the same thing with their lips, and WHAT is Darby wearing?)

Trouble brewing;

What? No parade? No problem;

(loving the leg kick by Mary)

Aww..I love this family. MY family. Some older cousins knew how sad Darby was, and made her day with a Cryderman style parade. Another new tradition. Next year? Real costumes, and more neighbors!

March, April and May...I might have missed a few posts.

2010-05-28T20:21:00.003-04:00

So, after the Florida trip I go through a major let-down time. It is SO hard coming home. Haven't really been motivated to blog especially since I have a cousin who has the "blog of all blogs." I really would just rather read hers!

Anyhow, we've had some fun things happening over the past few months. Things I don't want to forget, (that IS why I do this...and I repeat from previous posts: "this is scrapbooking made quite easy" )

We had a girl turn 8 and had the girliest, cutest cake ever, egg coloring and a non-traditional Easter picture, another girl win an award for having ALL A's her ENTIRE 6th grade year, an awesome trip to Sugarcreek Ohio...a place we love to visit with Chris when he has to work, and while there had fun trying out Amish samples, two girls try out new sports, (Mylie loves her soccer and continues to do great playing that) and the most important...oldest daughter went through a major change...you won't miss it!

(only the cool kids bring in DONUTS for school birthday snack!)

(a very special birthday gift)

On our way to Sugarcreek! Love this little town.

(newfound love for Starbucks)

You won't miss this beauty become even more beautiful;

School is out in just two days...oh the fun that awaits us this summer. I can hardly wait!

Florida 2010...gets better every year

2010-02-18T20:14:00.003-05:00

Well, I don't blog daily, or weekly, or monthly for that matter. But when I DO blog..I blog big. Prepare yourselves..over 50 pictures people. (and I think we took over 1000) But I do this for me, because it's "scrapbooking made easy" memories I don't want to forget. However, anyone is invited to take a peek into my incredible life.

I'm not going to write stuff about each picture, it's pretty self-explanatory. You can tell by the looks on our faces we had a perfect time. PERFECT.

We started out visiting my parents at Light and Life Campground, where they are working. It was a great way to start our trip, and awesome to spend some time with my parents who have left me until APRIL. (I am counting down the days for them to come home!) There were walks, swimming, putt-putting and Plant City...(Parkesdale Farms) for the absolute BEST strawberries in town.

Darby...ticked off at me. The camera was getting to her.

Love this one...

From there, it was to Orlando. Stayed in a beautiful condo...spending many a night at Downtown Disney and spending two days hopping between all four Disney parks. There was Ghirardelli, trying out 5 of the 7 pools at the condo, eating out, watching Disney's "wishes" fireworks display on the roof of the Contemporary Resort, feeding the attack ducks, Krispy Kremes, Starbucks....oh too much to list. It was the BEST 10 days. I miss it. I miss having no responsibilities, and living like we are on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Oh to be on vacation forever.

And don't ya know? The sun comes out for the DeBackers. High 70's the entire time we were there and it's been cold ever since we came home!

Always, always get your free chocolate square when you visit Ghirardelli.

It's almost to the point of embarrassment already...that we are always the first people in Disney parking lots. Every year..every park....we don't even pay for parking because we are so early the parking lot attendants haven't even arrived yet.

Ah yes....the best day of them all....Magic Kingdom morning. It's our second home ya know. We love, and live for that place. And you must have breakfast in the castle. The experience is like no other...the food is outstanding and of course, there is that treasured one-on-one time with the princesses.

A new arrival at Magic Kingdom: the fairies from the Tinker Bell movies. They were probably one of the biggest highlights. Amazing. The time they took with the girls just affirmed even more my reasons of why we love Disney so much.

Look at these beautiful girls...how can I not try and give them the world? So blessed to have them be my world.

I'm not really that into crowds. I'll take Disney all to myself, thank you very much!

"Should I? Do I dare?"

"Yes!!"

Heading home didn't hurt so much, knowing our last stop was in Atlanta for the best "naked dogs" and "chili cheese dogs with slaw" you'll ever eat in your entire life;

Oh how happy we were..and are. We always will be. My family rocks! What an unforgettable week!

Worlds longest post...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T18:36:00.007-05:00

It was gone as fast as it came...but we made the morning last forever, and cherished every moment. It started with Christmas Eve,

And after a great night spent with Mark and Mary and my folks, it was home and quickly to bed..or Santa might not come.

A few pics of our exciting morning;

Then, a few days later..was the beginning of yet another perfect celebration at the lodge with my family. I love this more then Christmas morning...and just found out, my girls do too.

Five glorious days spent together. Laughing, loving...just being. I never wanted it to end.

This is what heaven will be. For sure.

And these two...like two peas they were...and somehow they found each other daily. She loves him.

I think he might love her too.

(slideshow and home movie night!)

(pillows made by "seamstress Crisilee" with a bit of help from her grandmother..special gifts for her "room two peeps")

You haven't seen a scared face until you've seen a face like this one:

During this afternoon where everyone went sledding, I trudged up and down this giant hill to get a walk in. I didn't want to venture too far away from everyone, for fear I would miss out. And I have to write about this, as I never want to forget it: How all the older cousins took care of our Darby. Watching over her like mother hens. As I was walking I'd hear "I got Darby" or "It's ok Darby, I'll help you" "Darby, sit in my lap and we'll go together"...loved it. Never want to forget how much love they all had for Darby and the way they all genuinely would protect her.

There were times where, in her sled, she would vear off towards the woods. The panic in their voices that something might happen to her brought tears to my eyes and made my heart full and thankful for this loving family. Special thanks to Billy who dove in front of a tree to stop her from crashing...wish I had a picture of that.

A prime example of the love;

Then of course, the last night there was spent watching talents. Talents the cousins spend an entire year planning.

These people are the best people in the world. The people I love the most. Oh how I hated the week to end! And if you don't know them...you are missing out.

" A happy family is but an earlier heaven"

"Home" for Thanksgiving....and a ghostly tree!

2009-12-01T15:32:00.003-05:00

The table was set;

And our crew, ready for the feast, holding up pictures of goats. Why? Because grandma and grandpa are giving money to needy families in Haiti so they can buy goats. How cool is that?

(notice the hats... a pre-Christmas gift, just for fun)

About 11 hours later, 10:30 p.m...we headed back home (the loooong walk home...just three doors down..I am so lucky!) very excited for the following morning where we would be heading out to the tree farm to find yet another perfect Christmas tree.

The decorations were ready for little girls;

The star was hung;

Just 24 more fun-filled days left...I am trying to savor every second. It's almost as if I am sad it's here, because it goes by so dang fast...but then again, it's my very favorite time. If the days could just be filled with more hours....trying to make this time of year picture perfect.

It's has begun.

2009-11-14T18:33:00.003-05:00

Well, it's here. It's time. It has begun. Christmas. Slowly, but surely, it's creeping up on us. I can hardly contain my excitement.
This is MY time of year. This is it for me. I LOVE this time of year.

And I want it to slow down already! Oh the anticipation of that morning..the lists of wants that come to me by the bunches from four lovely ladies, the special baking that is only done this time of year, the dreaming done by the Christmas tree and so much more. Yes I know I have completely bypassed Thanksgiving, (which I do intend to post about) but you don't anticipate Thanksgiving like you do Christmas. You prepare all year for Christmas. I like to consider Thanksgiving just a "lets get ready for the REAL holiday" holiday.

Of course today was 64 degrees. And I'm irritated with that. I want it to feel cozy out...and it so doesn't. I want to light a fire in the fireplace and look outside and say "brrrr...glad we're in here where it's cozy" And in a couple of weeks it will be 18 below zero and I'll be mad at that. But at least I will feel cozy, and it will feel like Christmas.

Despite the weather not cooperating, we decided to put up our Christmas village. I love it. It's the first thing we put up, and the last thing we take down. After Christmas, it becomes the "winter village" and so I leave it up through February. That way, when I look at it, I don't feel sad
that my very favorite time of year is over. I feel like "christmas" is still in the house.

(sigh) I found out that our first snow last year was Nov 6th. We're a bit behind. Hoping this song will hurry mother nature along.

Leaves, pumpkins and tricks or treats!

2009-11-03T08:36:00.004-05:00

The word "fall" in this neighborhood usually accompanies another word.."dread." Not because we can't stand the season, but because we live in the woods and there are literal FEET of leaves in our yard.
As overwhelming as the clean up can be, it still brings fun and laughter into this household;

Of course, it's also time for pumpkins;

Darby is turning into a super cool kid. When asked what she wanted her pumpkin to look like she said, "like this"

"no..I mean..like THIS"

After all the carving was done, we asked her to try and look like her pumpkin;

Oh no..she's not done, and this one might be the best;

Last but not least, you have Halloween itself. There were Jonas Brothers at the school parade;

There was Tinkerbell and her friend Hello Kitty;

And there was the Cheerleader (by day) and her groupies;

And by night..we had a little indian girl;

We had a great pre-trick-or-treating-time dinner with some special friends, had fun watching them get their kids ready at our home and off we went....CANDY!

( Nice pic eh? Your welcome, Sophie)

Besides the fact that Darby looks like a soldier standing at attention and it was freezing cold out, I love my fairy, indian, Kevin Jonas and gypsy girls. Hope your Halloween was frightfully fun!

The perfect end to summer

2009-09-11T21:42:00.003-04:00

As depressing as it is to actually write it, "summer" in my eyes, is officially over because the girls have started school.

Gone are the days of sleeping in till 10....having nowhere to go and nothing to do, and just being lazy. It was wonderful, and I miss it. I miss it bad.

But, I couldn't have chosen a better way to end it. With my family. All of us together up north in St. Ignas. (minus Micah who is a workin fella now..missed you Micah!) It's like heaven on earth, my family...and I'm always alittle sick (a "good"sick) when we have to say our goodbyes. But for the little bit of time we had together, we had fun.

Chris and I and the girls arrived when others were on Mackinac Island, so we waited....

And then finally...together. We owned the pool, and any non-family who showed up hoping to swim, took one look and quickly made a u-turn.

Watching the kids lovin on each other...everyone so filled with joy, it gives me happy thoughts of this years Thanksgiving, and of "the lodge" at Christmas, where we will all get to be together again..it's my heaven. Oh how I love these people so!

And I often wonder how a man doesn't grow hair on his ankles....

Oh wait...being that it's this person explains a lot...I love you Billy!

The reason we all made this trip was to see our parents off to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island...a gift we gave them for their 50th wedding anniversary.

Forgive me all you black socks with black shoes and shorts wearers....you do know this is a fashion faux pas right? She had tourist written all over her, and I couldn't help but take a picture.

You don't see broods like this too often....and when you do, it's pretty rare that they get a long and love each other as much as we do. It's perfect.

And speaking of perfect..the very next day I watched three perfect beauties start school;

Did ya know? I have a middle schooler now;

6th grade, a whole new world...and I so much wanted to walk her in, and hold her hand and say,
"hey, I can stay with you all day if you want me to...because I really want to" but I opted to take a picture from the van instead;

(side note: I did end up chasing her in, but it was a sixth-sense-mothers-instinct sorta thing.... there was a literal SEA of kids and she somehow found me, arms wide up in the air in frustration saying "NO CLUE WHERE I AM GOING"...so I nonchalantly helped her and then slithered out like a navy seal)

There she goes, my big girl......this was two posts in one, but it all went together.....a perfect end, to a perfect beginning.

Let's go to Kentucky!

2009-08-07T10:58:00.004-04:00

Again, we are a blessed family, to have a husband/daddy who has such a great job. On top of being able to travel with him to fun places and staying in hotels along the way, he is at the same time, accumulating points which add up to free nights.

One year we spent a whole week in Florida for free! Glorious!

He had informed me that he had 8 free nights...anywhere..I of course pushed for Florida, (because it is my very very favorite place to visit on earth) but he said "let's just spend a few nights in Kentucky!" I sorta pouted at the suggestion, but in the end, I don't know why I doubted him. We always end up having a perfect time..and he always ends up having little surprises up his sleeve.

First stop: Mammoth Cave. A bit creepy, tight spaces, heights, thought Darby might trip and roll into the depths of the cave at one point, but really exciting and beautiful.

After spending the day touring the cave and hiking the trails in the area, we made the drive to Louisville where we were very excited to see this place:

And I chose not to edit out that truck on purpose. Because there is always some sort of crazy story with our family...You see, that morning, major flooding had occurred in Louisville. Roads were closed off, cars completely underwater, I guess you could say the city was going through a crisis at the moment.

But we had one thing mind: to get IN to that track. Churchill Downs is open every day. You can come on go as you please, no problem. But this day was a strange day with the weather behaving as it had been. After what seemed like hours of driving through mazes of roads that were not flooded to get to the parking lot, our family happily climbed out of the van, cameras in hand, to the entrance gate.....only to be met by "mean lady worker in white truck" to tell us that because of the flooding, no one is allowed in today.

What? Your going to tell us we can't come in there? Ha. "Ok, ok ma'am" And we got back into our van and thought for now, we'd just snap some pictures outside the fence.

We saw her truck drive by us after this picture was taken and Chris said, "we're going in" Sophie was all over it, Crisilee was refusing, but we pressured her into coming anyway. (noooo, we don't corrupt our kids...)

Feeling like navy seals, we drove back to the same gate, tip-toed out...and ran like crazy up the ramp and into the arena.

We checked out a baseball "Bats" game downtown that same evening;

And our last day was spent in downtown Louisville. There was a historic part of the town where we stumbled upon this hotel and were told we were more then welcome to take a look around inside;

But we couldn't stay away from this part;

We roamed the "fun" part of the downtown after that...and imagined the nightlife was probably most exciting.

We ended our day walking the riverfront, only to stumble upon this hidden gem;

Oh, who is this smokin hot babe? The one who makes this all possible..thank you my sweets! Never a dull moment with you leading the way throughout our life together!

Heading home...fun memories made yet again.

Oh life is good. I am so much the lucky one.

10

2009-06-27T15:21:00.003-04:00

This kid;

turned 10 this week.

And this kid;

is by far, the coolest 10 year old I know.

She had a basketball-birthday-cookie-cake;

And we got her the gift of all gifts;

Oh yeah, we're going to see the JO-BROS!!!

But thats not all, because you only hit double digits once in your life.

So, we took a little trip;

And no, my sweet 10 year old didn't want an American Girl Doll;

She has always wanted a Bitty Baby.

So that is what she got. And she was happy.

Mylie benefitted from this little excursion too;

as it was her turn to get her her American Girl dolls hair done at the doll salon.

We had dinner at Giordano's (best pizza you'll ever eat) and then ended our day with malts at..well, where else would you go for malts in Chicago besides this place?

Happy 10th Birthday Sophie...we're sure you won't forget this one! We love you!

An ode to Caribou Coffee Bars

2009-06-20T11:46:00.004-04:00

This week, something awful happened.....

This;

is usually my breakfast. But not every morning, because I want my tastebuds to crave this wonderful combination. And when I do have this in the morning...I wait. Wait for the perfect time. I peek around corners for children, making sure they are doing their own thing so that I won't be bothered during this 10 minute time for "me." Me, my chocolate truffle coffee and my vanilla latte flavored coffee bar. ( I refuse to refer to it as a measly "granola bar." This tasty morsel is ohh, so much more then that)

They used to sell them at Meijer. Then...gone. I spotted them at Target...so I started buying two boxes at time, fearing the worst. The last place I bought them was Kroger...and I haven't seen them since.

It was brought to my attention that General Mills had discontinued the item.

I.....

actually.....

CRIED.

And thats when I realized, "Man, if I am crying over a granola bar then I must have it pretty good."

And although I know life is pretty good for me... I can't help it...I am still VERY sad. Let it be known. VERY SAD.

The graduate

2009-06-16T16:37:00.002-04:00

I have a graduate;

Complete with a balloon launch, cake reception, and posing with a few of her closest friends, this girl has officially finished elementary school with phenomenal grades the whole way through. Now, on to middle school, where more challenges await her. I'm holding onto her a bit more tightly these days, as middle school will probably fly by even faster.

We're so proud of you Crisilee! Congratulations!

Oh what a weekend!!

2009-05-29T19:56:00.003-04:00

Well, it started with a party;

The couple;

The greeting;

The gift. (a one night stay at the Grand Hotel)

And there were grandchildren;

And there was a pretty cool uncle and a pretty girl;

The oldest, with the youngest and "where's waldo" in between...can you see him?

We couldn't have done it without these two ladies;

One of the many nieces he has...and lots of them came!

Can you find the other Waldo? Good grief...try to get a serious picture...

And there were brothers;

The next day started our "other" party. Every year since I can remember, my family gets together for Memorial Day. Parade, huge cookout, homemade ice cream and just sitting around enjoying each others company. For the entire day. I've said this in posts before, but for me? Thats just alittle bit of heaven.

The "grand marshal" kicked off the parade. He was quite grand.

Our crew;

We were very much looking forward to the bikers in the parade, as two of our very own were in it;

And a special thanks to Sophie who made sure Darby's ears were double protected;

Then it was back to my folks for some grilled burgers. Summer is finally here!

This boy, had a birthday;

This grandma was in all her glory;

And I don't think this grandpa could think of a better way to end his day. When all went home, and the house was quiet, he still had the joy of telling his youngest a story, while she lay completely still, and totally taking in all his words;

Oh I so can't wait to see what more happy days lie ahead for us this summer. Life is good.

Ain't nothing better than being a mom!

2009-05-11T12:16:00.003-04:00

I think it's a pretty neat deal, that God has entrusted four of his precious angels to...me. I am so unworthy. To give me a husband who puts the girls and I first, and daughters who are healthy and perfect is something I will never ever take for granted.

Right now, I am living the life I always dreamed of. Being a mom and a wife. In the end, this.. what I am doing right now will be my biggest accomplishment. I am SO proud of this feat I have been taking on!

Anything I might do on the side, whether it be singing solos in church or an exercise fanatic or attempting to be crafty, no one will really care. Because all that "side stuff" I might do doesn't make any difference in anybody's life but my own. And my life really isn't that important...it's my kids lives. It's what I am doing right now to make a difference in their lives. And I'm going to be there for them, and in their lives every second.

I spend every moment I can with them, teaching them about Jesus, teaching them about the right kind of husband to marry. Teaching them about life, and love and values. That is what matters.

And did I mention I love it?

In the end, I will look back and I will have no regrets.

Thank you God, for giving me the most important job in the world. It's completely awesome.

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove . . . but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

Happy Easter?

2009-04-13T08:34:00.002-04:00

You be the judge.

After many clicks of the camera, and hearing "I don't want her hand on my shoulder" and "I don't want to be next to her" too many times, this was the best we could do:

Spring Break

2009-04-09T22:08:00.004-04:00

We don't normally do "spring break" as we take our big trip in January to Florida. But this year we were lucky enough to get away for the week. Chris had some work related travels, and we tagged along.

About three years ago, over spring break, we went to the Toledo Zoo. Took our daughters into the aviary and took their picture in this cool giant egg:

This year, on our way home from a sweet little town in Ohio, we again, stopped by the Toledo Zoo, went to the same aviary, and stuck as many as we could fit into the exact same egg:

After coming home for a couple days to unpack, and repack, we left for yet another cute little town in Illinois called Woodstock. (famous for the movie "Groundhog Day")

This town was delightful. It had a sweet little town square with a giant gazebo, and quaint little shops. All I could see was flashbacks from the movie..and we all tried to picture just where Bill Murray might have stood.

We,

bought some crap...not really...we just thought this was so funny. Actually, it was all Crisilee's idea.

went to a wonderful candy shop and let the girls pick out whatever they wanted,

And of course, there is the fun "hotel life" we live when Chris is working. Swim, swim and swim some more!

On the way home, we stopped in Chicago, for one specific reason;

Long ago, when "Kaya" arrived in our home, mom gave in to Crisilee's begging of "can we please undo her braids?" Big mistake. So we surprised Crisilee and brought Kaya along to get her hair redone at the doll salon. This thrilled Crisilee.

The other two however, were NOT so thrilled;

Obviously, this was staged, and you can see the half smile on Sophie's face. They know that they too, will get a turn to do something special like this. One at a time girls!

We stopped at one of our favorites for dinner;

and were sure to bring white-out along so they could each write their names.

One of my favorite times during this trip was on our way home, where Chris bought each and every one of us Starbucks. I just thought that we looked so cool with all our drinks!

And now we are home, back to school, back to normal. But feeling really lucky that Chris has such a great job, where we are fortunate enough to go along with him. We will never take that for granted.

My Sunny Seven Year Old

2009-03-19T20:28:00.003-04:00

From the past year;

And then this morning, we woke her up with 7 candles stuck into a king dong. Yep. At 6:30 a.m, my daughter was eating a king dong, and loving every bite of it!

Then, after school, we gave her our presents.

Much begged for Converse;

Don't you love her little hat? She celebrated in school too, and brought a snack to share with the class.

And of course, everyone needs a "birthday rodent" You can't see it because it's about as big as my thumb, but he's in there. All 2 inches of him. A teeny tiny baby hamster. (I give him about two weeks in this household)

Happy 7th Birthday my sweet Mylie Belle! Your big blue eyes light up a room. We love you more then you'll ever understand. So glad God gave you to us. We are so blessed, and so lucky, to have you!

Party #2.

2009-03-18T13:05:00.003-04:00

Since we like to spread out birthdays, we had a small party with grandma and grandpa earlier this week. I like to make sure each present is made a big deal over, and sometimes, if there are too many things given at once, the giver might feel alittle neglected.

Thus more then one celebration for birthdays.

Mylie had a few requests of some toys she had been wanting....and lo and behold...she got them! It was fun to see her so excited, getting exactly what she asked for. Thank you mom and dad for the nice cake, the gifts, the fellowship, and for making all our girls always feel so special.

Party #1.

2009-03-17T08:09:00.002-04:00

Our little Mylie Belle will be 7 on Thursday. But we DeBackers like to make birthdays last at least a week.

Over the weekend Mylie had three of her closest friends over to celebrate.

The table, ready for a craft;

The cake...that I made by the way...Chris is usually the cake-man in this house. I was very pleased with myself;

The friends;

A dip in the hot tub...how cool of a party is that?

And of course, singing, eating, opening and spanking;

There are probably three more "mylie" posts coming up..stay tuned.

Bored.

2009-03-07T20:35:00.007-05:00

Today we woke up and it was cold and rainy. Much different then what it was yesterday.. we were outside playing in the yard. It was warm....and sunny!

So today was kind of depressing.

On a whim, we decided to go to Ann Arbor. Went to the U of M campus to a museum there that was free. Free is always good.

Of course, when you hear the word "free" you know it's either not really free, or it's not really great.

After my husband and kids read this they will be just disgusted with my attitude I am sure. But honestly? The museum...it wasn't that great. At least for me it wasn't. I mean, it wasn't horrid, but it wasn't a jaw dropping "wow-we-gotta-come-back-here-again" museum. But then again it takes quite a lot to impress me..and it takes quite a lot to keep my attention.

I know that a mother can make or break an activity. Because the saying is so true, "if momma aint happy, nobody is happy" and although this wasn't really my type of outing, I tried to make it fun for myself by snapping random pictures...nothing really at all to do with the museum...but it kept me from being bored by looking at stuffed owls, snakes and frogs.

Oh fun...I can take a picture of all us in the bathroom by using the mirror. That was fun for me. In fact, lets try another:

Ok, the only way you know we are in a museum is by seeing the picture of the sign I took before we came in, so here...we really were there, and my girls LOVED it by the way. They think pretty much anything is awesome...oh to see life through the eyes of a child again!

There were dinosaur bones and fossils...there was a huge display on evolution, and there were monkey skulls..and people skulls...and all sorts of skulls.

There was even this big room dedicated to galaxies, solar systems and the speed of light....but all I could think about was how cool Darby looked in her brand spankin new Converse tennis shoes we just bought her:

And again, just how much fun it was to take a picture in the mirror! I think I could have hung out in that bathroom all afternoon while my family kept looking at stuffed shrews, raccoons and staring at the naked plastic people in the indian exhibit.

"Wii" had a party.

2009-02-24T18:09:00.002-05:00

You all know how much my entire family means to me, and how I savor all the moments when we can ALL be together. Not some of us, not half of us...but ALL of us.

So, I thought of a way to get us ALL together again:

Food.

I LURED them all with FOOD.

And for the kids...games. Specifically Wii games. I threw a Wii party with LOTS of food and.....

THEY ALL CAME!!!

I was delighted. Everyone together in MY home.

Heaven.

So we had two systems going: Rock Band upstairs, and had Wii games on our big screen in the basement. Kids were running everywhere, adults were singing like they've never sung before, and I was totally in my element.

I had to play this song in honour of our rockin night.

(and kudos to Ashlee who took some great pictures. I think she got everyone. I was so excited that I almost forgot to take pictures, so sorry to those of you who are not in any! I'll do better next time, and there WILL be a next time!)

Alittle peek into our night:

Doesn't Billy look thrilled? I am not to the point where I can play Mario Cart one-handed yet. Impressive!

Florida....no better place.

2009-02-03T20:30:00.005-05:00

I don't know about you, but having my husband and daughters completely to myself for 8 days is glorious. Could life be any better that? For me...no. It really can't.

I miss Florida.

I miss the first sight of knowing we are finally there...the welcome center:

I miss the 80 degree weather we had and playing poolside:

Whose the hottie? My husband, thats who.

I miss Downtown Disney...and buying coffee from Ghirardelli that was way to expensive, but we were on vacation, so we bought it anyway:

I miss Disney's Hollywood Studios...and oh how I wish I could relive going on "tower of terror" with baby Darby...who was so brave the whole time!

I miss Blizzard Beach;

Most of all, I miss Magic Kingdom. You can't have four daughters and not go there. You can't NOT eat breakfast in Cinderella's castle with all the princesses....you can't. (6th year eating there and counting...)

Ok, don't want to rub it in, but I'm going to. THIS is a huge reason why we go to Disney in January...eat your heart out spring-breakers:

I can't wait to get back there....I am already planning for next year. I am already feeling the excitement over the anticipation of it....and each time we go, it just gets better and better.

Winner

2009-01-14T12:01:00.002-05:00

I was quite the beaming parent earlier this week.

We attended the 5th grade spelling bee.

In our school district, she is the 5th best speller.

In her elementary school, she is the NUMBER ONE speller!

She will go to the county spelling bee in March, to represent her school.

Which I think, is a pretty cool thing.

My most wonderful time of the year

2009-01-07T15:39:00.003-05:00

The lodge is something we look forward to every year. The cousins actually make plans for it ALL YEAR LONG. Through emails and numerous phone calls, they plan what activities will be done, what movies will be watched, what pranks will be pulled and what special talent will be performed.

The lodge is not just your run-of-the-mill Christmas gathering, it's an EVENT. It ranks right up next to our Disney trip we take each year. It is MY most favorite part of Christmas. I cherish every second, and never want to go to sleep each night because I know it's one day closer to being over.

The way a huge family such as ours can live together for four days, with no one getting tired of each other is amazing to me. Not a lot of families can eat, sleep and play together for that amount of time. But mine can. Because we want to be together. We crave it. It's awesome.

Some of us got alittle nutty and decided to go running. One of us dressed for the weather...one did not.

Sometimes we forget we are there to celebrate Christmas. What a bonus to get presents!

Some of us were so exhausted after all the present opening and playing...Micah??? MICAH!!!

Then there was the annual talent show. These cousins worked so hard all year for this special night.

We had a special appearance by Hannah Montana:

Oh wait, and Miley Cyrus showed up too!

There was a ton of outdoor play, consisting of hockey playing, skating, and even winter olympics with medals at the end. (thank you Mariah and McKenna!)

"The roots of a family begin.....

.....with the love of two hearts."

It's Christmas!

2008-12-25T18:11:00.003-05:00

It's a pretty amazing thing, that for the last 13 years we have been spending Christmas Eve with Mark and Mary. It's so natural...we don't know anything different. I have a feeling that when all our kids are grown and gone, we will still spend Christmas Eve together.

But, before heading out to Portage, we had to lay out our special goodies for Santa.

Then, I had the pleasure of singing with my brother to open the service at church. While we were singing all our girls (Mariah and McKenna too) passed candy canes out to the people in the congregation. After much singing, perfect words from Mark and the lighting of candles, we went back to their home to party. A little hot tubbing, lots of food and fellowship.

(Mickey Mouse hats courtesy of dad...so we can all match at Disney next month...an early Christmas present!)

Then, four excited girls and two just as excited parents, drove back home...tucked the kids in...and waited..... waited for Santa to come.

And he did.

:

Too many gifts to post, but let me tell you this; everyone got exactly what they asked for, and more.

A few favorites;

This was at the end of her string:

Nintendo DS's were not on anyones lists this year, but I think they ended up being the favorites.

And THIS was on the end of HER string!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Origin of a pretzel

2008-12-24T10:11:00.002-05:00

Three years ago, on a Christmas "eve eve", Chris made my night by saying, "lets make pretzels at your mom and dads house." So we grabbed our homemade dough out of the breadmaker, walked three houses down to my mom and dads and said, "Surprise! We're here to show you how to make the best homemade cinnamon sugar pretzels you will ever eat."

My mom, happy to have her home invaded by grandchildren, immediately prepared her kitchen for something she had never done before. It has now become a fun little tradition, because we have done it every year since.

A cozy cabin Christmas

2008-12-22T16:15:00.004-05:00

Enjoying an early Christmas in Flint with my "other" family. Staying in a cozy cabin and opening presents, walking through Crossroads Village and riding on Huckleberry Railroad, seeing Santa, eating a scrumptious lunch at Zehnders and just enjoying each other. To make it even better, we had a new baby to love on this year. Merry 1st Christmas Carson!

Progressive dinner night!

2008-12-17T10:40:00.004-05:00

For the past three years, our family has begun a progressive dinner tradition. It always ends up being Billy and Lianns family, my family, and my parents. Of course the invitation is for the entire family, but distance and crazy schedules play a huge part in why Marks family and Heathers family have not been able to come yet. One of these years though, it will work out so we can all be together!

We start out at Billy and Lianns for appetizers: the best dip you will ever taste. Oh my....and the scary thing is that Liann makes this HUGE pan of it, and there is never any left. And we still have two more meals to go after this one!

After this part of the meal, we give our stomachs a rest and head to the Jackson fairgrounds to view the "night lights." It's a drive through light scene, and it's gorgeous. The kids love it as do the grown-ups.

By the time we're done viewing the lights, we are hungry again. This time it's to my home, for the main course: chicken enchiladas.

I told Billy that I would probably be posting all these pictures, but he didn't care. Nice face.

After once again stuffing ourselves silly we move on to the final house, grandma and grandpa, for the best part: DESSERT!

These cousins had fun just being together, telling the grownups jokes, and putting on a silly show. I love these kids, and even those cousins who couldn't be with us this night! We were thinking of you!

(scuze those big slippers in the way...I couldn't edit those out!)

Grandpa ended the night by reading the Christmas Story to all of us. Fun times for all, can't wait to do it again next Christmas!

My friends? They ROCK.

2008-12-15T20:19:00.004-05:00

Shelly, Marsha, Metter....this ones for you. My super awesome friends who mean more then the world to me. Thanks for all the girls nights...meeting at each others homes with enough food to feed 25 people...and eating almost ALL of it.

Playing games and laughing till we cry, late...VERY late, into the night.

I can't tell you how much I look forward to these nights. You are my girls. I love you!!

See what I mean with the food? It's killer. We don't even need a main course...snacks galore! We all make sure we wear elastic pants on these glorious nights.

Every year we do an ornament exchange....I got four best friend frogs!

Thanks ladies, for staying alittle longer so we could all get into the hot tub. And thanks for being good on camera so I could put you on my BLOG!!! Can't wait till next month when we do this all again!!

There are angels amoung us

2008-12-10T20:15:00.005-05:00

Three of my four angels had parts in this years Christmas program at church. Mylie had a little solo, and the look of relief after she was done singing was priceless. Sophie, had a very big speaking role and nailed every single line. Crisilee had the biggest solo in the program. After weeks and weeks of practice, this girl sang like a bird. I have never been so proud of all three of my daughters.

Here is a short clip so you can see for yourself. (a little side note here: Crisilee had already been standing on the highest riser for the past 40 minutes of the program, hot lights beaming down upon her. Shortly before her big moment, she turned as white as her shirt and both Chris and I knew it wouldn't be long till she would be laying horizontal on the platform floor. I mouthed for her to sit until it was her turn, but that stubborn kid...no way. She belted out those notes inspite of the room spinning around her. You will be able to see that she was not doing well. She proved herself worthy that night, and I was beaming....as soon as she was done, she hardly made it down to me. We immediately were helped by friends who took care of her with cold cloths...she missed the end of the show, and didn't even get to take her final bow!)

(scroll down to bottom, turn off my music)

Pennsylvania

2008-12-03T21:36:00.004-05:00

After a wonderful Thanksgiving meal in Blissfield with Chris's side of the family, we were off on a long journey to Pennsylvania. My parents invited us to accompany them to Hershey, where we would go see "The Miracle of Christmas" at Sight and Sound theatre. What a way to kick off the Christmas season!
While in Hershey, we toured the Hershey Factory and had a blast getting lots of free chocolate.

After the amazing show, my parents took us to an Amish restaurant for a wonderful family style meal. Darby was especially fond of the strawberry-rhubarb pie.

From Hershey, my folks went on to Florida, while we went to Philly. Never been. What an awesome city, with too many things to do. We couldn't fit it all in during the short time we were there. We went to Valley Forge, saw the Liberty Bell and went to the Franklin Institute.

One funny story about the Liberty Bell that I have write about, only because I never want to forget it. As we are in this quiet building, taking pictures of the bell, I let Darby get out of the stroller. I turned my back for one second and off she goes with it. She was one of those kids you see and you think, "what a terror". I was commanding her to bring it back and she had this evil look in her eye and just kept pushing it. Remember, she is much shorter than the stroller so she can't see where she is going and she is running with it. I take off towards her because I can see her heading straight for a crowd of people who have no clue that in just seconds they will be taken out by a runaway stroller.

It was very embarrassing and after I caught her, I made her sit in a chair. She screamed as loud as she could which was even worse. I had one of "those" kids that day. And what makes this story so great is that on the way home as we were talking about our favorite thigs we saw on the trip, Chris asked Darby if she liked the bell and she said, "VAT bell?" It made us laugh because it reminded us that she totally missed that part of the tour.

This was such a freezing cold rainy day. After all our outings, we were starved. You can't be in Philly and not get a famous steak sandwich! You can see how cold and tired we were, but it was such a fun day.

On the last morning of our trip, we went to the art museum....you know why. And if you don't, then shame on you.....go watch the "Rocky" movies!

"Twilight"

2008-11-23T21:28:00.007-05:00

Yep...I'm one of those "Twilight" fans. I am not a bookreader. Not at all. I read "People" magazine, thats pretty much it...and lots of kids books, but not by choice. Once I picked up this book, I could not put it down. Have no idea how my kids got food, or clean clothing, as I pretty much tuned everything out around me but this book. (and the three others that followed)

Chris took me on opening night and met Mariah and friend of hers at the theatre. We were surrounded by 12 to 16 year olds and am sure I was the oldest woman there. But I enjoyed every second of it. Thanks Mariah! I felt really "cool" hanging out with you.

Poor Mariah...she was so good to do this next picture with me. Look at me all excited, and look at her thinking, "my aunt is crazy."

And anyone who has seen this movie, will completely appreciate this song.

More of the birthday girl

2008-11-15T08:38:00.004-05:00

The beauty of a young child, is that they don't really know the exact date of their birthday. Because of a busy week, we waited to celebrated a few days after her actual date, but she didn't know the difference one bit. We went to my folks to have alittle party, and on the walkway up to the house we said "Darby, we're going to have your party now!" and Darby said "Vite now?" and we said "YES!"

With glee on her face she yelled "I'M THREE NOW!!" We loved how she thought that right at that very moment, she had turned three.

One of the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa;

I love you....my babe!

She'll always be "the baby"

2008-11-11T08:19:00.004-05:00

The age of three seems to be a turning point for me. They are now "big"...no longer a baby. However, Darby is our baby, so she'll remain "the baby" for the rest of her life. Three years ago this month, we were blessed yet again, with another girl. (yeah to girls!) At that moment, I finally felt like my family was complete. I thank Jesus every day, for our beautiful, healthy children. I savor the moment (when I'm not breaking up a fight) and feel very complete. I am very happy.

So here are a few of my favorite random pictures of my sweet Darby, that have been taken throughout the past three years. It was so hard to choose them, without posting a hundred.