What to do when you are BORED

Go on a Cookie Walkabout and sell Thin Mints

Dig a giant hole in your backyard with the help of your brother, a shovel and the dogs paws

Go to Flounder's on the beach, meet some old friends and enjoy the sun

GO FLY A KITE

Reece had a Toy Story kite

Addie got Brobee and her's hands down was the best flyer

Run for the green beer

Every March the weekend before St. Patrick's Day our local Irish Restaurant McGuire's has a HUGE 5K run and then a free drink fest to honor St. Patty. This has become a tradition in our extended family. Rick's sister and her husband Christian have managed to make it 5 years running and no end is in sight. I have run it twice now, but this year I actually maintained a decent jog and only had to walk it a few paces. I managed to finish in 33 minutes. This is a FUN RUN and people come dressed as large leprechauns, Storm Troopers, Giant PortaPotties, you get the idea. Well here is Irish Fairy Jackie, leaping with sheer joy. People run this race for serious time, others push strollers and still others bring along large Bloody Mary's and just walk the entire thing. You have 1 hour to finish it.

The post race parking lot free for all. This year 11,000 people raced, and then we all cram in the parking lot next to the restaurant for free green beer, Irish Wakes(orange juice, vodka, and other stuff) , root beer floats, Irish Beef stew and Krispie Kreme doughnuts.

Alright a few posts ago on my sisters blog she caught a glimpse of the green man in Pullman near her college, AND look how far he's come just for this race

Rick and Christian run this for serious time, while Emily and I just try to stay ahead of the Marines and Navy that run in formation while chanting jodies in deep booming scary voices. Run Jackie Run

Rick right after running the race

Rick shortly after

Thanks again guys for a super blast of a time, see you again next year. I say we go as the cast of Jersey Shore next time

Just call me a lush and tuck me in

Is it possible to drink your way through Disney? Why yes! And give your child a beginners course on the finer art of salt rimmed Margarita licking techniques while using the nasty table salt shaker, sure.

You can pick your nose, you can pick your friends, BUT just don't act like you are married to him while on vacation

Step One: Sign up for the Disney Dining Plan

Step Two: Go with your best friend

Step Three: Use the coloring sheets they provide at the restaurants to distract the youngin's

Step Four: Don't make eye contact with the weirdo at the bar who is on his honeymoon( but with no wife in sight) who is making fast talk with you

Step Five: Order the most foo foo drink on the menu and try not to fall onto the monorail's track when you finish this drink

1 Chicklet down 31 to go

Chicklet Teeth has been my little loving nickname about Emma's teeth, since most of her friends have been losing teeth since Kindergarten and Emma has only had 2 pulled out from the dentist. We had yet to actually "Lose" a tooth until this morning! She has been snaggletooth here for about a week with that front tooth. She could entirely close her mouth and the tooth would just sit on her lip. She actually let me tie a string around it last night, but then she started hyperventilating and drooled the string out of her mouth. So, crying herself to sleep last night about the horrible possibility that her tooth would come out in her sleep and she would choke on it and die, she woke up this morning completely forgotten about the tooth drama.

Then while starting her bowl of grits while watching Tom and Jerry, I hear a holler and " Where's my tooth, it fell out and I think it's in my grits." Well, it was actually in her pajama top, but it had just fallen out with no tugging, pulling or crying, just gravity. Hurray baby tooth. That was one happy proud little Emma Roo that went off to 3rd grade today with a giant gap toothed smile on her face.

You can't see me

Michael Jackson's kids must've trained Adeline well on the art of hiding in public. Here she deceptively uses her doll to cover her face, while her arm works quite well in all the other pictures. Just call her Prince Adeline II or blanket for short.

We are sooo not Dizzers( aka Disney crazy people)

OK, so we go to Disney at least once a year, we'll get whiplash to flip a u-turn when we see a character come up out of the secret tunnel so we can get their fake autograph, we pay extra to eat Mickey shaped waffles and chocolate ice cream bars, and wait hours in line to see animatronic presidents, scary dolls of the world, and pirates that haven't been cleaned since the 60's, BUT we are NOT Dizzers.

This year we joined my best friend Becky and her family at Disney. They live in North Carolina and our boys were best friends too before they moved.

Alright everyone, look in the same exact direction, all wearing mouse ears - got it- good. There was a stingray in the tank that kept breaching and splashing water, so the kids were glued here.

how appropriate

Alright my freaked out look is fake, Emma's is not- we are in Test Track at Epcot when they pretend to send you through the heated element

We did the Disney Dining plan this time and let's see say Rick was in cow overdrive. We all left 10 pounds heavier and happier. Rick took 10 seconds to survey the menu, find the most expensive cow item and closed the menu. At least I tried some chicken dishes and pasta. We tried every night to get into O'hana's with no luck. That by far is my favorite restaurant on Disney grounds. It's at the Polynesian Resort and serves everything on sticks. We did try the Kona Cafe, The Coral Reef, Boatwrights, and The Wolfgang Puck Cafe. The best was the Kona Cafe.

Adeline's impression of Minnie Mouse, we stayed at the Port Orleans Riverside hotel this time

At Downtown Disney you can see this giant balloon from all over and it's actually a ride that you can pay to go up in . You can see it from the highway as you drive by.

We have gone to Disney now twice with good friends and their children. Here is Becky's oldest Mason, with my oldest Emma, grrrrrr

Reece was brave enough to go for the face painting this year. He got the laughing crocodile

Rick hates this picture and thinks the whole hidden mickey thing is overrated. This was on the bed as we checked into the hotel

The weather was cold again this year and my kids all had colds and coughs. But they toughed it out, trying new rides like Space Mountain and Big Thunder mtn railroad. One that when I was a kid, my dad dragged me screaming up through the longggggg line to ride on, only to have me completely go bananas when we got to the ride itself and ran out of the turnstile all the way back to the entrance. How did he put up with me, I'll never know? Robin used to try every ride they allowed her on, no reservations, sky diving, whatever. God made us polar opposites in that regard. It took dating Rick to start me even thinking of venturing on the kiddie coasters and working my way up to wooden ones, until now there are only a few I will still shy away from. I think all the ones I refuse to ride are at Cedar Point in Ohio. I guess that's why I am a bit of a Dizzer. I can go on everything in those Disney parks and not feel terrified(oh, alright, I still won't try Tower of Terror) But, the magic of Disney is palpable and you feel it from the moment you check in and see those little Mickey heads on your bedspread, to the point when your foot crosses over the threshold into the Magic Kingdom and you walk under the train tunnel out into a wonderland. Yes, it's crowded, yes, I've ridden everything at least 5 times, yes the food is overpriced, BUT every time we go there is something slightly different about our visit. Whether it is a woman from the candy store pulling us aside to dip marshmallows in chocolate or a lady in Adventure land having Adeline search for the hidden Mickey shaped gem in a pile of gems. We have been "pulled over" in Hollywood Studios by a fake police man for having too much fun, and had a purple cat made from taffy at the Japan Pavilion in Epcot. Thank you Walt Disney for your imagination and insight, all these years later did you ever dream that your creation would be the perfect location for millions of vacationers every year? I googled you and you are not cryogenically frozen like I thought, you are actually buried in California. Hmmmm, learn something new everyday. Well, Disney World, see you next year.

Sandy Shivers

In early January it climbed to a balmy 60 degrees, after 2 weeks of hard freezes. The wind was light, so we drove way down past all the condos and timeshares to take the kids and a friend for a few hours on the beach.

New facebook profile pic entitled, "Gulf Breeze Alien sighting" or "Pie Plate eyes"?

She was dancing here to "All the Single Ladies" only the version by Alvin and the Chipmunks

Somehow along the way in true Parrish fashion, Adeline lost her pants and was underwear girl for the rest of the hour

All Haley and Emma did the ENTIRE time on the beach was sit in the sand 5 inches apart and listen to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun on her Ipod