Thomas turns 7!!!!!

We had Thomas' seventh birthday party on Saturday. His real birthday is today. He had a "Spy" party. They were so cute in their "disguises!" They had lots of fun playing spies and jumping in the bounce houses. Even Mandy!

Thomas with the new .22 from mom, dad, Gigi, Papaw and Dr. and Mrs. Sonnen! Don't worry, it'll stay in the safe at Pap's house until their annual trip to the deer lease!

Thomas with his new metal detector. He can't wait to take it to the beach and search for stuff in the sand!

We leave next week on Wednesday to go to Austin till Sunday and then we will head to Padre Island. We will blog everyday while we are in Austin and on Padre. So, check back soon!!

Blessings,

Leslie

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day!!!

We started our Father's Day with breakfast in bed for Scott. I made the mistake of taking Grace into the grocery store with me last night and she had a whole list of things she thought her daddy needed for breakfast! We ended up having french toast, scrambled eggs, fruit and coffee cake! After Scott was served, they hated for him to eat alone, so they joined him! Mom and Dad came over for lunch and the kids entertained them with a concert!

Thomas' last tball game was yesterday. We all went to Joe Willy's after for lunch and of course trophy presentations!! He's been with the same coach for the last three years and we love him! They are having a baseball camp here starting Monday and our coach is in charge of the kids Thomas' age, so we are signing him up. He'll go from 9-12 Mon-Thurs. this week. He's very excited about it.

Recovery!

This is the old west picture we had done in Myrtle Beach!

Grace's Top 5 for the WHOLE trip:
1. Toys R Us
2. Taking the old west picture
3. Graceland
4. All the hotels
5. American Girl Store
6. Swimming with dad

Thomas' Top 5 for the WHOLE trip:

1. Liberty Bell/Independence Hall

2. Empire State Building

3. Statue of Liberty

4. Graceland

5. Hershey

We are almost unpacked. I still have 2 loads of laundry to fold and put away. The kids were glad to sleep in their own beds last night. None of them woke up until after 9:00 this morning. I got up early and headed to the grocery store since we had absolutely nothing to eat in the house! All in all, we are nearly recovered and back to normal! Next on the Milder agenda is Thomas's birthday party, July 8 and Padre July 15.

Thomas has his last t-ball game tomorrow morning and his team party afterwards. He's played really well this year. He's very excited about getting another trophy. I think we are signing him up for karate and piano lessons next!

Day Fifteen: Memphis to HOME!!!!

WoW!! It so doesn't seem like we've been gone 2 weeks!!! None of us were looking forward to the drive home today. I think we had all gotten in the "travel groove!" In fact, this morning at breakfast Grace says," So, what are we doing fun today?" We left Memphis around 10:00. We made it to our house about 6:00, but we stopped for dinner before heading to the house. The drive from Memphis to Dallas really wasn't bad at all. Scott stopped at the Arkansas visitor center and took Mandy out to take her picture at the sign since no one else was interested! We did convince them to get out at the Texas one!
Thomas was sorry to leave Graceland. Walked out of the hotel saying, "Goodbye Heartbreak Hotel, Goodbye Graceland, Goodbye Memphis!" This evening after we got home he put on a white t-shirt, jeans and used nearly all the hair gel to make his hair look like Elvis.

On the way home I was thinking of all they've seen in the last two weeks. They've seen how coke, chocolate, baseball bats and guitars are made, played on 3 beaches, been to 17 states, visited the World Trade Center Site and Shanksville, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, the new Georgia Aquarium, Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, Hershey Park, Civil Rights museum, and Graceland. I hadn't seen that much of the U.S. by 24 much less 5 or 6!!

The kids were really tired tonight so they didn't get to do they're top 5 for the whole trip. I'll post it tomorrow. Scott however did his!

Scott's Top 5 (or 10!) for "Xtreme Vacation" 2006:

1. Spending 2 weeks of uninterrupted time with my wife and kids.

2. Shanksville, PA-Flight 93 Memorial

3. Pizza, Bagels and Black & White Cookies in NYC.

4. Charleston

5. See my old house and school in New Jersey

6. Liberty Bell/Independence Hall

7. Hershey

8. The blog

9. Memphis

10. Watching Elvis movies with the kids.

Mine were:

1. Shanksville

2. Independence Hall

3. Charleston

4. Civil Rights Museum

5. Driving through Pennsylvania

6. Graceland

7. Taking Grace to the American Girl Store

I'll post Thomas and Grace's tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who's followed our journey. I've had a few requests to keep the blog going. The kids enjoy thinking of things to put here , so I think we will keep doing it. I seriously doubt I'll update everyday, but I'll make my goal at least once a week. I like that it makes me journal. I've tried doing that off and on since the kids were born, but I've never been great at it, but somehow this is easier!

Too funny not to add!!!!!!

Oh my gosh.......while I was sitting here posting, Thomas was sitting on his fold out sofabed eating chocolate covered cherries from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

Scott came in and Thomas asked if he would lay down and watch the Elvis Channel with him. Scott did.....and broke the bed!!!!
........then he fell in the hole and couldn't get out!!! Lucky for me I happened to have the camera at my fingertips!
Thomas and I decided that it was so funny, that it needed to be included here, on the blog, for everyone's enjoyment!!!!
We did get Scott out...eventually, and the bed repaired enough that they could sleep on it tonight. However, it will never be the same!

Day Fourteen: Memphis!!

Thomas and Grace's Top Five for June 14, 2006:

1. "Saw Elvis' house!" "Went to Graceland!" I have to admit, as hokey as I thought this was going to be, I really was impressed. The house is modest by today's celebrity standards and very much a "home." The audio tour with personal stories about the house and Elvis by Priscilla and Lisa Marie does a great job of showing you the real Elvis. The funny part to me is that everything in the house is the actual furniture, tvs, nick nacks and appliances. VERY 70 "s...I died laughing in the kitchen when I saw the toaster...faux wood paneled with an orange handle...we had the same one for years!! They also had Lisa Marie's nursery furniture on display and many of her toys and blankets looked very familiar! Thomas was in awe. It turns out that Thomas and Elvis have many things in common...guitars,karate, guns, rock-n-roll!

2. Thomas: "Saw the hotel where Dr. King died." Grace: " I saw the lady on the bus who didn't give up her seat and she got arrested 'cuz she knew it was wrong that black people couldn't sit with white people." Dr. King knew it was wrong too and that bad guy with hate in his heart killed him 'cuz he didn't like his speech." I sat here in awe when she was telling me all this in detail. We took them to the National Civil Rights Museum. I thought they were too young to really understand the museum, but I so wanted to see it for myself. They had this exhibit that was an old Birmingham bus that you actually got on and sat down in. A life size statue of Rosa Parks was sitting in the front of the bus and when you sat down over the speaker you hear the bus driver tell her to move to the back of the bus. Grace loved this. She had 1001 questions and kept asking to go back and sit on the bus. This is really one of the best museums/historical sites I've been to. The museum is in the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated. They've built onto the back of the motel. The exhibit ends in the motel rooms occupied by Dr. King on April 8, 1968. Then, you walk across the street into the boarding house where James Earl Rey fired the shot. Memphis did this right. Atlanta should take a lesson.

3. "Saw how they make guitars." Scott took Thomas to tour the Gibson guitar factory. The tour was an hour long and Grace barely made it through the 20 minute baseball tour, and the brochure said children 5 and up were welcome. We figured that meant our 15 month old wasn't. So, Scott and Thomas did this one without us. Thomas thought it was really cool, but was a bit disappointed when Scott didn't buy him a $1000 guitar in the gift shop!

4. "Watching the ducks go in the elevator!" While Scott and Thomas toured the guitar factory, Grace, Mandy and I looked around Peabody Place and then headed to the lobby of the Peabody Hotel to watch the ducks go in for the evening. The place was jam packed, but I finally got us a spot. I can't tell you how many people were crammed into that lobby. I looked around and it struck me funny that all those people were fighting to see ducks walk in an elevator! Nevertheless, we stuck it out and sure enough, the ducks calmly walked out of the water, down their red carpet and into the elevator all in time with Sousa's King Cotton March.

5. "Saw Elvis' plane." "His bed has a seatbelt!" We did tour the "Lisa Marie" and the it was quite lavish compared to his home. The buckles on the seatbelts were 24 karat gold plate!! The kids thought the fact that the bed had a seatbelt was hysterical!

Today was a fun day. The kids really enjoyed everything we did here. Memphis is a great city and I can definately see us coming back. We are heading out after breakfast in the morning for the long drive home! We will post again tomorrow night because Scott and the kids want to do top 5 lists for the entire trip and we'll let you know what we've learned from our "Xtreme Vacation!"

The hotel made a mistake and gave us a smoking room. Scott thought it was hysterical that I used Febreze on the whole room.

We looked over at dinner and this is what we saw. Somehow Mandy had managed to get her shirt over her head. Thomas was trying to tell us, but he was laughing so hard he was crying!

Thomas having a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich (Elvis' favorite) at the Rockabilly Cafe.

Day Thirteen Pictures!

Thomas and Grace on Beale Street!

Goo Goo Cluster 5 layer chocolate cake!

Day Thirteen: Nashville to Memphis!!

This morning we hung around the gynormous hotel. Scott took the kids swimming and I wandered around some of the shops. We had lunch at a great restaurant in the hotel, then we went to Opry Mills mall and shopped for awhile. We left Nashville and headed to Memphis about 1:45. The highway between the two is long and lacking civilization. I swear, you'd better go the potty before you leave because there is not so much to stop at between the two! We got to Memphis around dinner time so we headed to Beale street and grabbed a bite to eat, and of course ice cream at Ben and Jerry's! We are, no joke, staying at The Heartbreak Hotel! The kids are just beside themselves over this.

Thomas and Grace's Top Five for June 13, 2005

1. "Swimming at the hotel." Thomas: "I did a flip in the water!" Grace: "I jumped in and swam back to the side!" I told you. This will always be a favorite. Part of me wonders if we'd just stayed in Dallas and swam everyday if they wouldn't have been just as happy.

2. "The chocolate cake at lunch." This is also the food picture of the day. I had no idea when Scott ordered it, just how large it would be. Everyone around us was staring when the waitress brought it to the table.

3. Thomas: "I got a spy wallet!" Grace: "I got dangle earrings!" At Opry Mills mall there was a store that had all kids of accessories. Thomas chose a bi-fold "spy wallet" that has two see thru card pockets. He's made is own FBI credentials (FBI Agint) and his spy ID...T.D. Milder-Spy. Grace chose a tiny pair of dangle earrings and keeps shaking her head so she can feel them move. (Julia...we didn't get to eat at the Rainforest Cafe, but we did look in the gift shop!)

4. "The hotel is fabulous!" They are in love with this hotel! The decor is circa 1973-ish. Probably very much what was in style when I was Mandy's age! They upgraded us to a "theme" suite. The walls in the "living room" are black and sliver with silver and gold 45's at the top of the walls. Gold entertainment center, black leather furniture...silver music notes on one wall. The bedroom is a vision of dark blue and gold. Heavy gold drapes, gold countertops in bathroom with a black sink...even the alarm clock is 70's....it has hands!!

5. "There is an Elvis channel on the TV!" Seriously...all Elvis...all the time. When we first got here it was a concert...now, they are laying in bed watching "Roustabout." Mandy LOVES the Elvis music and danced her heart out when we got to the room. Thomas can't believe how much Elvis stuff there is here in Memphis. He can't stop asking us questions about Elvis.

Thomas: Where did Elvis learn to sing?

Mom: Church.

Thomas: They sang rock-n-roll in his church?! Cool,I want to go there!

Thomas: Why is he sweaty?

Mom: He's singing and dancing and it's hot under the stage lights.

Thomas: Why is he wiping his sweat on that towel and giving it to that woman? That's not nice.

Mom: Well, she thought it was cool to have a towel with his sweat on it.

Thomas: Ewww....Gross!

We are doing Graceland in the morning, then heading to the National Civil Rights Museum and the Children's Museum (thanks Annette for the great ideas! We are eating there tomorrow night!!! Grace says Hi JULIA!!) Blogger's acting crazy again, so I'll post the pictures separately!

Blessings,

Leslie

Day Twelve: Columbus to Nashville

We headed out of Columbus early this morning and stopped in Cincinnati to visit Scott's Aunt Liz. From Cincinnati we headed on to Nashville, stopping in Louisville at the Louisville Slugger Factory. We are staying tonight at the Opryland Hotel, which is massive!

Thomas and Grace's Top Five for June 12, 2006

1. "The Peking acrobat show!!!!" They thought this was awesome. They couldn't stop talking about it. After checking into the Opryland hotel, we wandered around, had dinner and Scott took the kids to this acrobat show that was here in the hotel. They thought it was amazing!

2. "Playing the piano with Aunt Liz" (Thomas) "Aunt Liz playing Amazing Grace" (Grace) This was one of the major highlights of the day for everyone. Scott's aunt is an accomplished pianist and a former music teacher. It's always such a blessing to hear her play. Thomas was utterly transfixed and hasn't yet stopped talking about her. She showed him a few things on the piano and he's practiced all day in the car.

3. "Our hotel is so huge it takes 30 minutes to get to the pool." This is the truth. They are not exaggerating. Imagine 3 Disney resorts combined into one and that's almost the size of the Opryland hotel. It's beautiful, but you'd have to stay a week to figure out what all is here and how to get to it. The kids are overwhelmed by it all. They loved that it has a humongous sand box.

4. "Playing with Aunt Liz's cat." This one was Grace's. She loved Aunt Liz and the fact that she has cats. She spent the whole visit playing with the cat. I lost her once and found her and Mandy in the bathroom, sitting on a stool petting the cat! Aunt Liz was the big hit of the day...she's made the top 5 twice!

5. "Watching them make baseball bats." Once we realized we were passing through Louisville, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see them make Louisville Slugger baseball bats. This is one of the coolest factory tours I've ever been on, because you are actually in the plant. You can watch the machine bore a bat out of a solid piece of wood, sand it, finish it, brand it with the logo. And, everyone who tours the plant leaves with a tiny Louisville Slugger baseball bat. (We did have to confiscate them from the kids before they beat the tar out of each other. Not a good toy for a car ride!) This is a great tour, I give it 4 stars and 2 thumbs up!

We are on the home stretch now! We've made it to Nashville! Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Memphis. We are spending two nights there and then we head home. It's funny, most of you are probably thinking we can't wait to pull into our own driveway, but it's kinda the opposite. We kinda wish we could just keep going! I think we'll all be a little sad to see the trip end. However, there are certain things that are getting old and Scott saw one first hand today! He's been stopping at all the state signs and taking the kids pictures. Well, when we entered Kentucky he whips into the visitor center and yells, "Ok, let's get out and take a picture with the Kentucky sign!" Thomas and Grace both looked at him like he'd lost his mind and Grace says,"Just take Thomas's picture, I don't want to." and Thomas says,"I'm not getting out either." The thrill was gone. So, Scott went off and took his own picture in front of the Kentucky sign!

A couple more pictures from the day:

Thomas enjoying the acrobats!

Scott and the kids with Aunt Liz

Thomas and Grace at the fountain under the balcony of our hotel room.

Grace running the bases at the Louisville Slugger Plant!Scott and Thomas at dinner at the hotel.

Pictures of United 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA

Grace had lots of questions.

This is the small grocery/general store we stopped at the ask for directions.

Rodney and his wife are the owners of the store.

Thomas and Grace signing the guest book.

This is the road thru town to the memorial. Nearly every house had an American flag.

This is the road that leads directly to the site. The only man-made thing you can see from the memorial is a beautiful old farm house off in the distance.