Disney's Give A Day Get A Day

Toy Story Mania 3-D

Robby and Walker

Disney Channel Street Party, Right up Laine's Alley

I was selected (with a little help from my friends) to be an Extra at the Indiana Jones Show.
The things we do for our kids :)

My children's acting ability does not come from their Mother.

Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground. Yummy Oatmeal Pie

The boys wished their treat matched the size of their sisters ;)

 Disney had a promotion to earn a free pass to any Disney park in return for volunteering your time.  The kids and I volunteered our time making cards for hospital patients.  The cards were to be put on the cafeteria trays of hospital patients to brighten their day.  The boys and I each earned our certificate for a free Disney day but Laine was too little (you had to be 6 to participate).  SO we decided after her birthday she and Daddy could find a volunteering activity and earn their free passes.  Well, unfortunately Disney reached it's goal of 1,000,000 volunteers before Laine turned 6.  

We earned these free passes last Spring and needed to use them before December so with a day off from school, Mommy purchased Laine a ticket and Hollywood Studios here we come.  We had a great day with our friends the Simpsons.

South Beach Miami GSM

Yes I drank it all :)

Familiar pose

Great group of Dart friends

Coy's annual Global Sales Meeting was in South Beach Miami this year.  Every four years the wives are invited and this was one of those years.  It was also a special GSM because Dart celebrated 50 years in business.  We stayed at the beautiful Fountain Bleu resort and were pampered.  Coy played 2 rounds of golf: one a Dart golf tournament which his team took 3rd place and the other with a group of friends.  I enjoyed 2 days at the spa: one for a facial and one for a hot rock massage.  Both were great and then I got access to all the spa amenities the rest of the day.  We ventured out a bit and had dinner at Bongo's.  We played on South Beach and had drinks but that was about as adventurous as we got.  Drinks with friends on the balcony was were we spent our fun.  South Beach was not at all what we expected but Dart makes sure everything is top notch and we had a great time.  We could not have enjoyed our getaway nearly as much if we did not know everything at home was well taken care of,  Thank you Grandma and Dave.

The Wizard of OZ

The Warren Acting Company just completed it's production of The Wizard of OZ this past weekend.  Walker played the Tin Man and Laine was Toto.  They were in their lead roles on Friday night and Sunday afternoon.  On their "off" nights they were munchkins though Walker was in the "Lollipop Guild" every night.  It was a great show and both kids had outstanding performances.

The role of Toto was Laine's first ever role where she did more than just dance and sing.  She had a lot of directions to follow and was on stage through the whole performance.  Her lines were pretty tough too,  RUFF RUFF!!  Mom and Dad were a bit nervous and tried to coach her a bit.  We suggested she watch Ruger for some tips because every minute she was on stage she had to be "a DOG".  She played the role perfectly.  Her little tongue panted and she scratched her ear so much we thought she had flees.  She had the audience in stitches.  Everyone wanted to take her home.  The second performance she even added a bit of "chasing her tail" and "napping".  It was great.

We were worried a bit about Walker because he got a case a laryngitis on Friday.  He drank lots of tea with honey and made it through Friday night and by Sunday his song was perfect... 
If I only had a heart.

Lots more pictures can be seen at
http://www.warrenactingcompany.org/
The next show will be ....
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat
to be performed in mid December.  See you at the theater :)

Ruger Update

We took Ruger to Waverly this past visit for the first time.  He did better than expected.  He stayed right in camp and had fun running everywhere and swimming in the pond.  

He learned quickly his "pecking order" with the other 3 labs.  He tried hard to get them to play but was put in his place a time of two.  

He was not sure of the "outdoor dog" thing.  He is definitely a "house dog" and did not like sitting outside while we were all in the house.  He had fun but was very happy to be home.  He definitely got a bath before he even entered the front door :)

"My toys, all mine, Don't even think about it"

Ruger's favorite past time, a Nylabone :)

More pictures from Waverly

            Walker was very proud of his first hog as everyone knows by now.

Here are Garrett and Laine getting the "gut bucket" from the "Bone Yard"

Even Mommy helped.  This was the first time I helped do any part of the butchering.  We cut the meat into chunks to freeze so it was ready for sausage.  The only weird thing was that it was warm.  Walker wants to make apple sausage and stuff it into casings to make links.  Yum!

                 Laine was just Laine and watched :)  She took pictures too.

It was a great weekend.  Garrett had a shot at a 6 point buck but to no avail.  He watched it for a long time waiting for the perfect shot and Daddy thinks "Buck Fever" got the best of the G.  The Ford boys are headed back out over Halloween to try their luck again.  I think it is Garrett's turn.  Yes the boys chose to go hunting with Dad instead of trick-or-treating.  Guess it's up to Laine to load the house with candy.  I am sure she will try her hardest :)

Walker's First Hog

WARNING:

This video is rated "M" for Mature as it contains Violence and Adult Language

Walker harvested his first ever Russian Boar at our new lease in south Georgia. He made a great shot with the .243 he and Garrett got for Christmas a few years ago. The boar hog weighed 155 pounds and had 2" cutter teeth. He is turning into quite the hunter!

By the way, the violence comes from his father's side and the language, well...

Another Weekend on the Lake

We had a great Sunday on Lake Dora.  Our friends Lyle and Aimee got a new boat so we all went out for some tubing.  The girls had fun dancing through the canal and as you can see Laine is loving going fast, hands up and all.

We went to JJ Fins for a late lunch/early dinner and Garrett ordered a Cuban sandwich and a cup of Conch Chowder.  Well his chowder came with all the other food but no Cuban so he waited and waited and finally he got his sandwich.  Well the wait staff felt so bad for their mistake they gave him and all the kids the "Ice Cream Monster"  It was a cookie, the size of a pizza, covered with scoops of ice cream and whipped cream.  We gave the kids each a spoon and said "Go for it"  It was gone in the blink of an eye and all was forgiven :)

Monkey Trunk

Walker and his friend Bailey went to an Orlando area ropes course called Monkey Trunk.  They had a great time and Bailey's Dad forwarded us a few pictures.  Looks like fun.  Guess Walker is not afraid of heights. :)

Garrett's Moving On Up

Garrett has run the last couple meets in the "A" group or as Daddy likes to call it "Running Varsity".  He is doing great and shaving about 10 seconds off his time each meet.  It is hard, there has not been much time to practice and each meet is at a different school so each track is different.  The schools take "tape" and line out a course, up a hill, down a hill, cut this corner, into the parking lot ...  It is not always easy to know where you are supposed to run but he is having fun.  Garrett has 2 meets left so finish strong, Super G !!

Tubing and Burgers

The boys each invited a friend and we headed out on Lake Dora for an afternoon of tubing and burgers last Sunday.  It was a great afternoon and the burgers were delicious, just something about grilling on the lake :)  Next time we'll try something new Shrimp Maybe ??

Another new friend for Garrett

This is the new addition to Garrett's viquarium.  He is a Dumpy Frog.  He hasn't really been named but we all call him "Dumpster".  He is nocturnal so it was hard to get a picture of him.  He is very slow and just really sits there.  He looks cool though.  He eats crickets too (when he can catch them) just bigger ones.

It was a big adventure to find Dumpster, 3 hours later, a tour of Orlando and 3 pet stores.  Daddy was thrilled ;)