Where Everything is Magical

The Jorgensen family went on the most amazing vacation in September. We live several states away from our extended family and most of our vacation time is usually spent visiting them. We were just home for Christmas last year so we decided to plan an all out family vacation.

What better way to go than a Disney cruise? We left straight from Galveston, a daunting 45 minute drive from our house. We had all been excited for months and the day had finally come. This vacation did not disappoint!

We love cruises because they are so relaxing. Ian and I are planners. We like to plan our time to the max, even on vacation but on a cruise, you have to relax! Even little Austin found a good resting place.

We celebrated Ian’s birthday on the cruise and formal night made it even more special. The boys look so handsome in this photo but if only I had a video for the waterworks that came on when they had to button up shirts and put ties on!

For our first port adventure, we stopped at Key West. While it was fun to get off the boat for the day, Key West was not the most family friendly of places. Still, we enjoyed the day together and took the walking tour. Nathan and Austin wanted to take this silly picture (on the right) and title it “Crushed by Love”.

Our second stop was by far our favorite destination, EVER! Castaway Cay is Disney’s private island. The whole place was reserved for us and it was amazing. Even the sand seemed magical. The water was perfect and we found ourselves a nice shady spot under a palm tree to park all day.

We introduced the boys to snorkeling here and it was AMAZING! The water was so clear and the beach was setup and marked with buoys that located buried treasure hidden beneath. We found sunken submarines and ships and even a Mickey Mouse statue. The boys loved the schools of fish that swam around us.

There was so much to do, we didn’t want to leave. There were water playgrounds built into the shallow beach water, food, water sports and so much more! Ian, Jacob and Austin rested and Nathan and I took off for a bicycle ride around the island. It was so fun to explore with him on bike. I wish I had brought my camera with me for the ride.

Even though we were exhausted from such a fun day, we got back on board and dressed for pirate night! The boys loved seeing all the costumes and being able to say “Rrrrr” so much.

Our third and final stop was at Nassau in the Bahamas. We were excited as we had planned another snorkeling excursion but this one would be in the open water having been transported there by catamaran. This too was an awesome experience with the boys. Jacob was so lost in exploring, we had to keep looking for him because he would get lost in all the beauty he was finding.

 

Aside from the fun excursions, the onboard activities were out of this world. We saw movies that were still in the theatre, productions that were as good as you’d expect from Disney, super-fun kids club activities and special late night adults activities.

Let me just say out loud, this was hands down the best vacation a family with multiple age groups like our could plan. I would look across the faces of my husband, 10 year old, 7 year old and 4 year old and see them beaming from ear to ear with smiles. Each of us, so perfectly enjoying our time even though we enjoy different things. Disney had nailed the idea of a perfect family getaway with its cruise line.

 

Our last day onboard was sad, only because we knew it was coming to an end. The character meet and greets were so much fun and I have some many pictures of all the characters my boys enjoyed meeting. One of the more special moments was the character breakfast when the favorites would come and visit with you at breakfast. Jacob and Nathan were most excited to meet Stitch, Chip and Dale but Austin was all about Mickey!

It was amazing. We left our little one at home with his fabulous Grammy who loved and spoiled him while we were gone, but we look forward to our next Disney cruise when we bring him with us. I have my eye on the European Disney cruise, but that might be a little out of our price range

The Camp Trip

 

This is a special guest post written by preteen son, Jacob. Photos courtesy of Ben Phillips.

For the first time ever, I went to a special camp to learn more about Jesus. This is my story.

Day 1: We got on a bus. It took us 2 hours to get to camp. We had a lot of fun on the bus.

As we were traveling, we got hungry. So, we went to Cici’s Pizza. It was a great place and we were filled up. They had SALAD!!!

We finally arrived at camp. We had to unload our luggage and take them to our cabin. The cabin was cool. It had a lot of beds in it.

The right-top bunk belonged to me, the left-top bunk was my best friend Robby’s. Surprisingly, someone threw a pillow and started a giant pillow fight.

I did not like the pillow fight. Some kids had really hard pillows and it hurt my head. After that, we went to Tabernacle. It was a cool place and really, really, really loud! We sang, they gave us rules, we listened to the preacher. Then, we left and it was time for dinner.

We didn’t choose to go to the cafeteria. The line was dreadful! Instead, we went to the Taqueria.

The line was not as long and they had yummy tacos. We headed back to our cabins for rest, otherwise known as “free time”. We could do whatever we wanted.

We went back to the Tabernacle for more lessons from God’s Word. After we were dismissed, we went to a special church to talk more about God and what we learned. They taught us lots of God’s work. Then, we had free time. My best friend Robby and his dad, Ben, went to dodge ball. I just laid in my bed, and went to sleep. It was raining that night. The rain was nice music that made us sleepy.

 

Day 2: I got up and got my clothes on and we painted our faces green. We had to get up at 6am, we were crabby. But, it was recreation Day! That’s the day we get all dirty

We went to breakfast, then back to the Tabernacle. Afterwards, we went to the mudpit. It was pretty cool. We played tug-of-war. Then we had to pass a sponge filled with water over our heads and hand it over to our teammates to be collected in a bucket.

After that, we got to do a slide. The line was so long, I only ran it once. Next, we had to keep a giant ball in the air.

We went back to the cabins and showered up. After everyone had gone through them, the showers were filthy! Then we had free time. and then back to the Tabernacle.

 

After the Tabernacle was lunch and then some quiet time. Then, we went to small group time. Small group was a place where we could talk about God together. I was with my best friend, Robby.

We headed back to the Tabernacle and then we had dinner. Again, we chose the Taqueria. We had more time in the Tabernacle and more free time. Then, our sponsors told a scary story. The first story was not scary but the second one was, to  me, really scary!

Day 3 highlights: There was more fun to be had. We went to the pool where they had a giant slide. It was so much fun.

We got to play Ga-ga ball, one of my favorites!

That night, we played with “Sad Lion” our camp mascot. There was a starring contest. Sad lion against one of our camp pastors. Sad lion wins again! (this picture was staged)

The day before our last day, we had a big party. We could watch a movie with snacks, or go on a scary walk or stay at the cabin and play board games. I chose to go to the movies because the last scary story I heard scared me too much for a scary walk!

Awards were handed out and I was awarded the “Ghost Buster”. Don’t get any funny ideas about how I got that award!

Day 4, Final Day: Heading back home. We woke up, had breakfast, packed up our things and met at the Tabernacle. Once the buses were ready to go, we headed back home. We watched Madagascar 3 on the way home so it didn’t seem to take very long. Robby and I weren’t that hungry because we brought Cheetos on the bus.

We were home and I told all my family about how exciting the trip was. If you’ve finished 3rd grade and would like to, maybe you could someday go to Epic Life Camp!

I’m glad I went to camp because I let Jesus Christ in my heart. It was lots of fun, I remember finding a cardinal and it was beautiful. Thanks for reading about my Epic Camp story.

The End

Have an Epic Life!

Happy 4th Birthday Austin

Today is my Austin’s 4th birthday. Why does time have to fly by so quickly? It seems like just yesterday I was bringing home my sweet newborn from the birthing center, introducing him to his brothers and holding him in his favorite position.

Now, he’s 4, and about to start preschool. He’s learned how to swim, build with Legos, play video games with his brothers, ride a bike and so much more. We love this little guy and all his crazy energy. He has joy for days, unless you’re asking him to take a nap. I can’t imagine our family without this little man in it. We love you son and happy 4th birthday!

Miss Kitty

 

Ever since our beloved Shadow cat went away, there’s been an empty place in our hearts. It’s no surprise that the kids have been asking when can we get another cat but it was amazing when Ian said one day “we should think about getting another cat”. He has not always been a cat-lover but had his mind changed with our first cat and her gentle nature.

A sister of a friend’s was looking for a good home for a few kitties she had. So we called her up to meet. This is what we came home with, (because no one ever goes to “just look” at kitties)

Our little kitty, Tejas (pronounced Te-ha-s, and is spanish for Texas). We don’t know if she is a she or a he yet. Frankly, we don’t know how to tell either. Either way, she’s super cute!

She and Daisy are already getting along famously.

Of course all the boys love her, but Austin perhaps loves her the most. He’s still confused and calls her Shadow sometimes but he also likes to call her Baby. “I’m going to feed my Baby” he’ll say.

She’s a funny little thing. She likes to sleep in weird positions. She likes to pretend she’s a lion hunting prey in the grasslands. And while she’s super snuggly and loves human affection, she can be really feisty and playful with your toes!

It’s been a lot of fun having a kitty in the house again. The boys are anxious for the day she can sleep with them. I on the other hand, am waiting for her to start catching those pesky mice that keep coming in the house!

What We’ve Been Up To This Summer

 

Summertime is for fun-time and our 2013 summer is no exception. Everything seemed more fun this summer, having my sister and her family here. Trips to the park, pool and beach are always better with family!

We made our annual trek up to the blueberry farm. This year, the farm was only open on the weekends so it was super busy, but our crew didn’t have any trouble finding lots of juicy ones.

We made lots of trips to the beach, and the boys loved finding as many creatures as they could, jellyfish, hermit crabs and ugly fish skeletons.

Speaking of the beach, my good friend Joelyn, took me out for my first trip surfing. She has her own board and I’ve been anxious to go out with her. We went down on a Friday night, without our dear children! It was so much fun and much easier than I thought it would be. Of  course, the waves in Galveston are not anything to boast about but its better than nothing!

Ever since then, I’ve been on the look out for my own longboard, I’m hooked!

Austin took swim lessons this summer. He learned a lot and his confidence in the water really grew. We take lessons from Ms. Shanna. She has the most incredible piece of property and teaches in her backyard pool. While Austin was swimming, the other boys were chasing lizards, reading books and playing card games under the big trees. It was a fun couple of weeks with them.

In July, the big boys had a blast at VBS. They learned,

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” 2 Timothy 1:7-9

Of course we also celebrated the Fourth of July. Mike and Lindsey, and family, joined us for our favorite tradition, dinner and fireworks on the beach. We headed down to Galveston for dinner, watched the parade on the Seawall and sat on the beach while we watched the fireworks. It was a blast. Austin was hysterical at the parade this year. We told him he had to wave and get attention for the people on the floats to toss him goodies. He got everyone’s attention as he raised his hands in the arm and screamed a loud, happy scream in hopes that some beads or candy might be thrown his way. He was a hoot. But, it worked, he scored a ton of beads and candy!

 

It’s only the end of July and I’m sure there’s still more summer fun to be had but I can’t help but feel the impending workload of school right around the corner. We cherish these fun times and the memories we make. I hear many mothers say “ I can’t wait till school starts again”. But I can’t help but sit back, and thank God for the privilege to share joy and laughter with my children. To thank Him for making them and making me their mother.