Rockin' it!

Here's Jules rockin her own personal stylings. If you haven't got to hang out with Jules you are missing out. She has a special ability to make the worst day not seem that bad. Nice work baby Jules!

A DAY AT THE BEACH

When we were in Florida we all went to the beach. It was the girls first time and they had a blast. I was wanting to bring home some tar balls but no such luck. I had to settle for some sea shells and a sun burn.

The Lake

For those of you that don't know..... we own a boat. We used it a lot before we had kids and not so much since. Erica has been on me to get everything working on it for a while so we could take the girls out on it. So this last Saturday I finally got everything ready and we went to Perry Lake. We had a great time and plan on using it a lot from now on. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Disney World

On our trip to Florida we spent a long 12 hour Saturday at Disney World. The Disney World moto is "Where dreams come true". Give me a break. No one in their right mind dreams of anything like a day at Disney World. Nightmare maybe. Let me preface what is going to come by saying Jaden had a great time and Jules would have had she been old enough to do anything besides ride in a stroller and I will absolutely bring them back to DW as many times as I can. There is nothing better than seeing your daughters super happy and excited to do anything. That being said let me give you the adult perception of the place "Where Dreams Come True". Lets start from the beginning. When you arrive at DW and park you have to jump on a tram. Getting on the tram is not a big deal however add the fact that I was required to fold up the double stroller before boarding is a giant pain in the butt. Before folding up the stroller everything has to be taken out of the stroller so it will fold up. Since we brought enough crap with us to survive a month long hike through Africa.......it sucked After the tram drops you off you are herded through ticket booths like cattle to purchase your $89.00 per person ticket that gives you the right to enter a place that is billed to "make your dreams come true"......what a racket.....Walt Disney was a brilliant man! Once you have your "ticket of dreams" everyone is herded on a ferry (or monorail, we chose ferry) and taken across a lake where everyone lines up and your "ticket of dreams" is scanned to ensure authenticity and your finger print is scanned. Yes that's right, I said finger print scanned. Why? I don't know. Being a good cow I asked no questions. I guess it is a good thing I am not wanted in the state of Florida! . Once you spend half your day taking different modes of transportation just to get into "Where Dreams Come true" the real racket begins. All the Disney characters sign autographs and you can get you picture taken with them. Sounds pretty cool except when you figure in the $45.00 you spend on autograph books and a fancy pen and the lines you have to stand in just to get some poor schmuck to scribble what ever character he/she is assigned to dress up as that day. Did I mention it was about 100 degrees and about 95% humidity? Well it was and I about blacked out 10 times throughout the day. I cant imagine being stuffed in one of those super hot costumes all day! After getting a few autographs we walked down a long road by a bunch of souvenir shops towards the castle, you know, where the princesses sleep! On or walk I had a guy come up to me and ask if I was from Kansas City. I told him I was and asked why? He said only someone from Kansas City would rock ROYALS gear in Florida or anywhere for that matter. Thanks a pant load strange dude I don't know! He then tells me he was a scout for the ROYALS for 9 years and says he loves to see ROYALS fans. I thought that was kinda cool. When we finally reached the castle there was a show that just started right in front of the castle. What luck! The show featured all the characters, the ones that matter anyways. We stayed for the entire thing. I wish I could tell you more about the show but I blacked out from the heat and woke up when it was over. I work out in the heat everyday so when I say it is hot.....IT IS FLIPPING HOT! I am pretty sure Florida is the closest thing to hell on earth as a person can experience. I actually saw Erica sweating! We have been married 9 years and dated for like 5 or 6 before we got married and I think this was the first time I ever saw her sweating! IT WAS HOT!!!



After the show we got something to drink and proceeded to find some rides. Believe it or not the longest we waited in line for any ride all day was 20 minutes! Most lines were 5 minutes or less! Due to the age of the kids we didn't get to ride any of the "grownup" rides but the kids ride were still fun. We even rode a small roller coaster! Check out the video of Jaden, she loved it!




Everyone had a great time, especially Jaden as you can see from the pictures below. She passed out in the stroller during the walk from DW to the ferry. The pictures don't really do it justice. It was pretty funny.





Truthfully.....even though I painted a picture of a horrible time I would do it again 1000 times because I know how much my kids loved it.

Florida--Day 1

What is up! The Hendren family is coming to you live from Tampa! For those of you that don't know we are on the Hendren family vacation to Tampa to visit Erica's dad Bill, and Erica's step mom Berit. We got in super late last night after flying 5, yes 5, count em' 1.2.3.4.5. kids from Kansas City to Florida. Here is my tip of the day..... avoid flying 5 kids ANYWHERE!!! No, really it wasn't that bad....(wink, wink). last night after we got in the kids went swimming till about midnight and the adults were up till about 2:00am or so just catching up and enjoying a few pops. Our plan while in Florida include Disney World, the beach, some golf, and enjoying a lot of adult beverages while pool side. Stay tuned for daily post on out trip!

The Hendren ladies loving life!



Daddy and Jules soaking up some sun! Daddy has a while to go before he has anything close to a tan!

cheesin' it up

Jules is the best copy cat. Here she is copying her mommy laying around the house in a diaper.

ZOOLANDER

May 21st I went with Jaden's class to the Topeka zoo. It was probably the most crazy and hectic experience of my life. That being said it was pretty fun and I will definitely go again..........probably........I think?

This is a picture of Jaden getting off her first bus ride. Her school/daycare has a rule you have to be 4 to ride the bus. She has been counting down the days until she could ride the bus for about 2 years. I think the draw is you don't have to ride in a car seat OR wear a seat belt! How she knew she didn't have to wear a seat belt? You got me. I think the bus ride was the highlight of the day.

This is Jaden's BFF Marissa. They are pretty much attached at the hip. They do everything together at school and are in the same dance class every Tuesday night. Jaden wont go into her dance class unless Marissa is there and Marissa wont go in if Jaden isn't there. Marissa is always good for a leg hug every time I see her. Notice the little boy in the left of this picture? I think he is in about every picture. This was not by design. I will fill you in later.

Jaden loves feeding goats/sheep. I always try to get her to feed a goat some trash but she never goes for it. Goats are awesome!

This is Wyatt. He got pooped on inside the rain forest. I laughed.....a lot. Wyatt is what I can only describe as Jaden's stalker. He is everywhere! Every time I turned around there was Wyatt. Wyatt trying to hold Jaden's hand. Wyatt trying to hug Jaden. Wyatt running full bore into Jaden and knocking her down. Wyatt saying Jaden 1000 times till Jaden was so annoyed she yelled...WHAT!!!! HE WAS EVERYWHERE!!! Jaden did not return Wyatt's advances with kindness. The zoo trip the first time I have ever seen Jaden be flat out nasty. Normally I would have gotten onto her for being mean but taking into account the four hours of badgering and whatnot I decided to let her fend for herself. Jaden's attitude didn't detour Wyatt however. I'll say this for Wyatt he's persistent if nothing else. I didn't realize stalking started at 4. I am expecting to have to crack a few skulls when my girls are in high school but pre-school? I guess my mom was right when she told me what goes around comes around.