No Complaining Bet

Nothing new in the Hydock world. Work and school. School and work. Oh yea...except that I am losing a bet with Evan. I bet him he could not go one entire week(7days without complaining. From a Sunday to a Saturday. yes..he has been whining and complaining that much. I was sure he would lose within two days of the bet. Oh NO!!
He just has to get through one more day and he wins. What does he win? Any electronic game he wants.........DS, Wii, PS3. Guess I am out a few bucks.


UPDATE: I lost!!! I talked with him though about sounding so much nicer this week. Hopefully he can and will keep it up.

First Concert

I took Evan to his first concert this past weekend. Mark Schultz!!! He is a christian artist. I love, love, love his music. Evan does too. So when I heard he was coming to a church in Lakeland I jumped at the chance to go. This concert was much more different than the ones I attended pre-children. But such a wonderful way to introduce Evan to concerts. I hope he wants to go to more christian events as he grow older. And of course I bought him his first concert tshirt. After the show we stayed and got to meet Mark Schultz and get his autograph. I felt like a kid again.....I was giddy. Did I mention Mark Schultz is HOT!!!

February Happenings

February is not yet over and I am so so tired and stressed of the month. I need a new month and a new start. I am so afraid of what next week may bring. I think we should all just stay here in Friday land and never return. Let me recap the last two weeks. Please try to stay with me and do not cry. The Hydocks are survivors!!!


First we found out we have termites. I know such a common thing in Florida but we were caught off guard. Yucky bugs in my bathroom and closets walls. They even ate a very tiny hole through the closet. I could see those little vermin's. Can I say yucky again!! So now we must put out much hard earned cash for getting rid of them and keeping them away forever. Then we have to fix the damage they have done. Not a cheap endeavor might I add.

Big Red(our Expedition) broke down. I love my car and do not want a new one. It is paid for and it hardly looks worn even though it is ten years old. Lucky for us hubby has a cousin that can fix Fords. But not without a major cost. It would have been an even bigger expense to go elsewhere. Thanks Little Stevie.

Next in the week of craziness.........my beloved Big Red was broken into(the lock broken) and my purse stolen. Okay now...please do not yell at me for having my purse in the car. The car was locked and the purse was hidden(so I thought) under the passenger seat. The police think the strap must have been showing. And the car was parked in my child's school parking lot(I was working that day). God was with me that day. He kept me one very small step ahead of the thief(or thieves). They only made one small $20 gas purchase before the card was cancelled. I was able to cancel everything else but not without the bad bad men trying to use them....multiple times over and causing me much pain. I felt very victimized by this event. I felt vulnerable. Something I never want to feel again. It is not my personality. I have to say though I got through the trauma with the help of four of the most wonderful, best friends a girl could ever have. And hubby.....he was valiant at times. My girlfriends read into a message I left one of them and knew I was off....very off. One girlfriend even gave me one of her Vera bags since I lost mine. AHHHHH!!!!!!! So now I am picking up the pieces of my lost belongings. Until you ever lose the entire contents of your purse you may never know how attached to things we are. My purse carried my life!! I miss my things.

Now on to the next event. Our plumbing went out AGAIN!!! Another major expense to my already overextended budget. (I am not rich!! Just thought I would add that in case something else wants to break and cost me an arm and a leg. I am tapped out.) We found out we have very long sewer pipes that are not straight but very curvy and old. So nothing ever will get flushed into the toilet except #1 and #2. No exceptions!!! So if you ever come to my home ladies....please be very aware. The clean up was horrible might I add. Thank goodness for bleach.

And to put all these issues into perspective.........my stepfathers forty something son found out he has colon cancer. He is a survivor and will fair well through his trials. No doubt!! My issues are trivial compared to his life. I am just going through some small scratches in my life compared to his big hurdle. Nothing like a slap in the face to show me what is more important. Family, Friends and Good Health to enjoy life.

Rendevous

It's that time of year again.......Rendevous. It was touch and go until the last moment whether the boys would be able to spend the night but things fell into place and away they went sans Zane. He is still too young to go away from mommy(and daddy) overnight. Especially sleeping outdoors in a tent. But no worries. Zane got mommy and daddy all to himself for a few days and was a constant chatterbox the ENTIRE time. Anyway......back to Rendevous. The boys enjoyed themselves and got to run free. Literally they had the run of the place for two days. No mommy and daddy telling them to come home, eat, shower or anything else. My mom and stepfather had no worries about them. If they got into mischief someone in Rendevous would see them , yell at them and tell their grandparents. Knowing this they had no mischief just plan ole fun. Freedom at its best!

The Circus Is In Town

The boys got a great gift from their wonderful uncle. Circus tickets. Uncle Carl saw the tickets go a sale in November. The seats were right in front. The venue was the yellow track of Ringling Brothers Circus. It was called Illuscination. It was slightly different than the traditional three ring circus most of us are used to. I was much more pleased with the one ring and more personal attention we got at this venue. The kids loved the circus. A definite must see again!!!


Trey and Zane got to hold a parrot before the show. The parrot is curious about the sillybandz on Trey's wrist.













Evan trying out the tight rope prior to the show.

















The "real" tight rope walkers.













These ladies are held up by their HAIR ONLY!!! Can you say ouchie!













The lion tamer. very scary stuff!














The man jumped through a fire ring!














AWWWW.....Elephants

Hello SeaWorld...Old Friend

One of the greatest gifts we got for Christmas was from Grandma and Granpdap Donker. It was a year pass for the family to SeaWorld. We love this place. Many people I know do not think this park is worthy of a year long pass. Too boring, no excitement and nothing like the "other" local theme park. But to my kids......SeaWorld rocks!! It helps that they love love love animals...and can watch them for a long time and not get bored. Evan loves the Polar Bears. Mommy loves the Beluga Whales and Trey loves the dolphins. The jury is still out on what Zane likes. He was enthralled with the whole park and kept saying he loves this and loves that. And what does daddy like?? I might have to ask him that when he gets back from his bike ride...I know bad wife.

We first used our passes on New Years Eve. The boys have off from school this coming friday and I am hoping we can go back. So you all know what to expect this year on my blog world.....SeaWorld pics and posts! Oh Yea....exciting stuff around here.












No nothing is wrong with my camera. It was "fake snowing" at SeaWorld that night. But not too cold for ice cream.

















Santa was at the Polar Express. And what a great Santa he was. Did I mention I love SeaWorld.

Welcome to 2010

I am a bit late but at least I am still here. Some of my other blogger pals have dropped out. So.........welcome to 2010!!!

It has been a full month with me working in the week and the weekends keeping us busy.

I will try to highlight the month in the next few posts. So keep checking back.

Christmas

ready for the marathon gift opening!



The boys had a wonderful Christmas. They got all they wanted and then some. Mommy had to talk with Zane after he opened his first present from Santa. He threw the gift down, crossed his arms, scowled and said this was not what he asked Santa for. Obviously Zane had ideas about Christmas and the first present did not live up to what he thought. But after I talked with him about Santa giving him what he asked and then other presents he might like Zane warmed up to the idea of opening more presents. Then he was like a kid in a candy store. Oohhing and Aahhing with every gift.

Jesus Is the Reason

Another family tradition is the annual "Walk Thru Bethlehem" at a local church. This is a free event. All volunteers from the church. It is only for four days. And baby Jesus is always the main attraction.





The Roman guards at the gate waiting to harass those people who need to enter Bethlehem.












The "harlots" at the well with the guards.












Carpenters












Potters












The Shepherds













The Three Wise Men












The kids(with Joshua and Shawn).

Christmas Lane 2009

Ahhh....Christmas! And all the family traditions that come along with the Holiday. The kiddies and I have been going to a place called Christmas Lane for several years now. For my non local readers....Christmas Lane is a personal home that someone has decorated with tens of thousands of lights. They bring in Santa every year. They sell hot cocoa and popcorn. They have a small train ride for the younger folks. Carollers can be heard belting out Holiday tunes. And best of all....it is free!!!

Let's All Go To the Parade!!

Once again we attended the annual Lakeland Christmas parade. The only one not attending this year was Leslie. Darn that job of hers!!! She just was not able to figure out how to skip work. And that was a shame because the parade was excellent this year. Just the right mix of cold air and wind to make it nice but not freezing. Along with some eye catching and fun floats. Take a look below.












This is the start of the parade with the motorcycle cops going in circles with their light and sirens blaring. I like how I captured the moment.












Look!!!!! It's Mickey and Minnie!! Gotta love those mice.












The Golden Arches. I'm Lovin It!!












Let's Get Naughty!!! Who remembers those days???












I do not remember what this represents but I liked how the people were inside the snowglobe. Kinda unique ...huh??












Ohhhhh Look....Can it be???!! Plato the Publixsaurus!! This is the first time my family and I can rememebr Publix being in the parade. Now why you ask is this such a big deal. Ummmm hello....Lakeland is their hometown!!! This is a long time coming....should've been much sooner than later. I hope they keep up the tradition.













May the Force be with you












This got my kids going. It reminded them that it is almost Monster Truck time. Oh yea baby!













This one is for you Les! Missed you. (oh and by the way...another first timer in the parade).












And always last but never least.........."Who has reindeer pull his sleigh"??













Must be Santa......Must be Santa....Must be Santa.....Santa Claus!!! (it's a song people.....geesh!!)

Gobble Gobble Gobble

The boys celebrated Thanksgiving at school this past week each in their own unique classroom way. Here is a peek at what they did.




Zane makes one good looking turkey!













Trey the pilgrim boy!

A Look Into The Life of Zane

Zane has been quite the busy little man these days. He is in preschool which means tons and tons of activities to keep his days full of fun. And mine as well.



Here is Zane having his Red, White and Blue Parade. This is where the four year olds get to ride their bike or scooter around the parking area. Zane chose his scooter. The kids also make shirts to commemorate the day. Why the school has it in the middle of October is beyond me. I just go with the flow and don't ask.

















Another activity he did at school was the Fall Festival. His preschool does not acknowledge Halloween instead they celebrate Fall.








And last but definitely too cute and sweet is Zane hanging out with Gypsy in the dogs crate. Yes, Zane can be found in the dogs home during any given day. Strange child indeed!