A Seriously Sharky Six

Much to my denial, my nephew Isaac turned six on the 16th. Jentry and I made the trip to Orleans to help him celebrate all weekend long.  Thus far Isaac has been very into aviation, space and dinosaurs but his most recent interest is the ocean.

Isaac with his cousins Madison, Landon, Jentry and his sweet sister Anna

Isaac had lots of help reading cards and opening presents.

And then being silly with the gift bags, of course.

Isaac is reading quite well for a Kindergartner and received several new books.  Aunt Becky, Grandpa Tim and Grandma Janice helped him check out each page.

Papa Bose decided Isaac was old enough for his first airplane ride and thought it would be the perfect birthday present. He was so excited to ask him to go when Isaac replied, "No thanks, maybe in a few months." Papa was so disappointed until Jentry caught wind of the conversation and said, "I want to go!" If Jentry was going then absolutely Isaac was going too. Papa took Isaac, Jentry and Chad in the extra three seats. Chad was so kind to take extra pictures for me. He did a great job capturing a very special moment. I'm not sure who was the most excited.

I'm not sure Papa will be able to give horse rides at Isaac's seventh birthday.  These cowboys and cowgirls are growing up much to quickly.

Happy 6th Birthday Isaac Lee! May God bless you with many many more.  

Lucky Girls

Jentry and I are truly lucky girls to have such a wonderful, patient man in our lives. From day one Nathan has always been accepting of both of us in his life. There are many days when I ponder why he chose us when he could have easily chosen just one.  I can't even fathom what it must have been like to stand in his shoes. Nathan had been living the simple bachelor life for nearly ten years when he met me. He was used to living alone and doing whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. On top of that, he is an only child which just magnifies the changes he must have endured when we came storming into his home on April 13, 2013. It literally stormed terribly that day which I am sure was fitting of his experience.

My mom said she will never forget Nathan gathering all of his bachelor belongings and taking them to the basement because he said, "That is where they are eventually going to end up anyway." When we were all done unloading our things into his house he jokingly said, "It would have been easier to load up all of his things into his truck, drive it away, and then bring it back in when the dust had settled."

Those first few weeks were definitely an adjustment for everyone. We all had to share one bathroom and Nathan quickly realized that we needed to add another if he ever wanted to use one. One day he even drove to the golf course because he said it was easier than trying to get a turn at home.

There were a few days that first month when he would come home from work to Jentry having a complete toddler meltdown while I stood crying, because I was afraid he would change his mind and kick us to the curb. Ah, those were the honeymoon days.  NOT! I am sure those days were very trying for him, but you would have never guessed it. He never complained, never was grouchy, never got upset.  He was and is still the most even-tempered man I know. Except for maybe my brother-in-law which comes in a close second.  I am sure this similarity has allowed them to quickly connect and discuss how crazy we Bose girls can be.  Nathan and Chad never get too excited about anything, which is sometimes frustrating but in the end my sister and I agree that it is much better than having a husband that is overly emotionally about everything.

Jentry did not exactly warm up to Nathan immediately, which could have been very discouraging to him. It has been a very slow process that is still in the works, however Nathan has never given up and it has been so fun to watch the progression in their relationship. I can't imagine what it must be like learning to love a child that is not your own. Nathan has always taken this responsibility very seriously, which just makes me fall in love with him more and more everyday. I can not wait to see him experience fatherhood from the very beginning this time. When I asked Jentry if she thought Nathan would be a good dad she laughed and said, "He already is."

I have no doubt that God created Nathan to be exactly what was required in a man for Jentry and me. I know I don't tell him as often as I should, but we could not be more blessed.  

Happy Halloween from the Queen

Queen of Egypt that is. After carefully examining each page of the costume magazine, Jentry finally decided on this fabulous ensemble. Cleopatra! She had no idea who Cleopatra was so it actually turned into a great learning opportunity. Now she knows exactly where Egypt is located on the globe.

I just love this time of year!  We had great fun carving pumpkins, roasting pumpkin seeds, appreciating the fall colors and making festive snacks for Jentry's class party.

Check out the wild stockings for crazy sock day at school! 

Nathan won the contest with his pumpkin carving (one on the right) because he didn't use a stencil.  

Ghost bananas with chocolate chips.

Pumpkin clementines with green licorice stems.

And because the other two were such healthy snacks, orange sugar cookies of course!

Happy Halloween!

A Magical Getaway

 It all started this spring with a sticker chart, a very stubborn child and mother about to loose her mind. After months of battling with Jentry every morning about getting dressed, I had had enough. Something had to change or I was going to quit as a mother...or at least that is what I told myself. If Jentry could get herself dressed each morning for two months, we would take her somewhere really fun. Fortunately, the sticker chart worked extremely well. Unfortunately, she decided somewhere really fun equaled Walt Disney World. And so began the planning of a family vacation to Orlando.

It actually seemed like a great time for the three of us to go somewhere as a family before we added any additional little members. After hours of research, I determined that October was the best time to go and I booked the tickets. I have to admit that for the money Nathan and I were not exactly thrilled about going but we hoped that in the end we would feel that it was all worth it.

The personalized magic bands arrived a few weeks prior to our trip and we all thought they were pretty cool. These bands are fairly new at Disney and with just a touch they allow you to enter parks, unlock the door of your hotel room, check in at FastPass locations and charge purchases to your room account. Pretty handy if I do say so myself.

Jentry knew we were going to Walt Disney World but we decided not to tell her when we were actually leaving. We didn't want to hear the question, "Are we going today?" for months on end. I thought about telling her the week of, however I didn't want it to be a distraction at school. So, Friday came and we picked her up early from school. I had her put on some Mickey ears and then asked her, "Jentry where might you need to wear Mickey ears?" She immediately said, "Walt Disney World!" I then asked her when she was going, "I don't know." I then replied, "How about today? We are headed to the airport right now!" All she could say was, "FINALLY!" She then pretended to that she knew we were going the whole time. Too cute!  

Checking out the map to see where Orlando is located.

  

First time on an airplane and oh so excited!

We arrived in Florida late Friday night and made it to our hotel room at Wilderness Lodge Resort. The next day we took a boat to Magic Kingdom.  

I can't believe my eyes...It's the real castle!

Oh...this is just too much!

Merida from Brave

Snow White

Rapunzel

The castle at night before the Electrical Parade and Wishes Fireworks Spectacular

The second day we headed to Animal Kingdom and it was amazing. Our favorite attraction was the Kilimanjaro Safari. We got to see all kinds of animals up close and personal and a couple of warthogs doing something a little too personal, if ya know what I mean.  I will spare you the pictures of that!

Tree of Life

Everything Mickey!

The third day we tromped all around Epcot.  There was actually more there for Jentry than we had anticipated. She loved it and wanted to ride the rides several times. Her favorite ride was the Test Track. She was definitely more of a thrill seeker than I had expected. We ate lunch with the Princesses in Norway and Jentry was beside herself. She could hardly eat her meal.

Cinderella

Aurora

Snow White

Ariel

Flower Mickey

The "golf ball" at night before the Illuminations fireworks display.

On the fourth day, I let Jentry pick which park she wanted to back to while Nathan spent the day seeing his favorite princess...the Magnolia Golf Course. Jentry and I had a wonderful day at Magic Kingdom and we seemed to accomplish a lot more without Nathan. I'm sure it was just being more familiar with the park and had nothing to do with women being more efficient or anything. It was fun to see all the Fall decor, however the ninety degree temperatures made everything seem a bit out of place.   

Tomorrowland Speedway

Mad Tea Party

Flying Elephants

Terence

  

Tinker Bell

We were just about to head back to the hotel for one last afternoon of swimming when the parade began. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful trip.  

Parade of Dreams

Walt Disney World is really quite amazing and we all had a better time than any of us could have imagined, however my favorite part of the trip was the time spent together. At home we are never forced to spend the entire morning, noon and night together. We definitely bonded a bit further on this family vacation and I am so grateful for the special moments and the memories made.

Have a Magical Day!