One more thing...

One more thing regarding our Orlando Fun: I neglected to mention that since we had "tire issues", we were late getting to the game, and had no time to stop for a "Real Dinner". Stellar Parenting Moment #1: the kids ate popcorn for dinner. Stellar Parenting Moment #2 came 4 hours later when we took them out for dinner at IHOP at 11pm at night. In Orlando. While we were driving there, I said to Ryan, "It's official. WE are the 'Bad Parents' we've been criticizing every time we used to come to Orlando, who keep their little kids out until midnight, eating dinner, and wandering the streets!!" So, while we were waiting for our food to be delivered to our table, in walks another little family with kids and BEN says, "Hey look! You guys aren't the ONLY bad parents here tonight!" I was too mortified to look over to see if they heard our suddenly VERY LOUD SON. Needless to say, we tried to pass it off as a "fun adventure" to the kids, after that. Whatever. Yup, Carly was so tired, she was in tears by the time her pancakes arrived!

Random Magic

Another McGregor Weekend of Fun... Friday night we took off for Orlando to catch an Orlando Magic basketball game. YES, we are BASEBALL fans, but the Magic get Ryan through the dreaded "off season". He is a fan of our HOMETOWN teams, and Tampa doesn't have a basketball team, so we cheer for the Orlando Magic. This is the fourth year in a row we've been able to catch a game, and it is always fun for all of us! Here's what we really LOVE about the Magic:

#12... Dwight Howard! Nice kid, and VERY fun to watch. Last year he won the Slam Dunk contest. Yup, he's good at that. Check out my VERY FUN canon camera with CRAZY zoom! We were sitting 3 rows down from the ceiling... same seats we got when we went with YOU, Tracy! HA! Dwight was way down on the court, you know, because he was playing basketball, not hanging out with the McGregor's.

Here's how our trip TO Orlando started... Flat tire on I-4. Ever been on that road? Ugh. ANYWAYS.... Extra special THANKS to the not-so-Random Road Ranger who pulled up to help just as our car fell OFF the jack and onto Ryan's hand. His left hand was resting on the flat tire, and the car came crashing down. I saw the whole thing and yes, screamed just as loud as Ryan did. We believe his wedding band saved his ring finger from the extreme damage it SHOULD have received... the ring is REALLY strong and now sports a very deep gouge in it. The Ranger finished changing our tire using the industrial jack that is so much better than the little tiny, ineffective one that came with our car. He arrived "Just In Time" and needless to say, we were so happy to have his help.

Here's Ryan's swollen hand, which is now QUITE bruised. Pretty minor injury, considering... He's a little sad about not getting to be the "Infamous Eight Fingered Piano Player". Only Ryan. The final portion of the tale is that we had just bought the tire in November and it was covered by the warranty and the very kind people at Tire Kingdom took care of replacing it for free.

And last, but certainly not least, our little Princess learned a new skill this weekend! Ryan hooked her up with VACUUMING (note the "shortened" vacuum, he removed an extender for her!) and she loved it! Remember when she was so scared of the vacuum cleaner, Mom? And you used to put it out in your room when you didn't want her wandering in there?!?!! HA! Now... look closely behind her: Ryan's been saving for months and finally got his new Sony HDTV! Actually $300 off at Sam's so he was REALLY happy about that!

Smiling...

Isn't she cute?! Caroline told me today that she always smiles "because it just makes me feel better!"... wisdom, from a 7 year old! She's about the most smiley person I know, and it started when she was 5 weeks old! (Above photo is at 11 months!)

Have you smiled today?

Mario Kartin' Cousins!

We are big "techno-fans". LOVE modern technology. Our kids even go to a Magnet school for technology. Here's our newest bit of fun: Playing video games with Caleb. In Texas. As in, he's in Texas, we're in Florida. Today was our first trial with this Wii wireless goodness and it was a huge hit! Nothing like being able to "play" with your cousins, 1/2 way across the country. In the picture, above, you can see Ryan trying it out with them, and "holding" the phone up to his ear, talking with them. Now, we need a speaker phone! On the TV screen, you can see Ryan's "race" and Caleb's "race" as they race against each other. Pretty exciting for the kids (and RYAN!)... Ok, Amanda and Torrey, you are next! And Isaiah? Tell Mama you need a wii with MarioKart!

Happy Birthday MOM!

Hope you have a GREAT DAY, Mom! We miss you and can't wait for you to get home!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Mmmmm.... Don't you wish Rochel was YOUR aunt??? Today was Carly's turn to bring snack in for her class (I think they picked her because her name is Carly McGregor and the closest thing they had to Irish Eyes-A-Smiling) and Rochel made these for her to bring in! BIG HIT. We don't really "celebrate" St. Patty's Day, but I will admit that I DID make corned beef and cabbage for dinner! Yes, Ben and Carly have put THEMSELVES up for adoption after that one! Actually they got to eat cereal, so it was a good night all around! While our dinner was yummy, it REALLY made me miss my Mom!!! *sniff*

THANKS for the cookies, Rochel!

The end of a great week!

We so loved our week with KRISTIN! Ben and Carly have each said, "I miss Kristin... I wish she were still here!" with big sighs. I know what they mean. We had a fun, mostly just hanging out and loving having another member in our little family.

We tried out a new restaurant on Friday to celebrate Kristin getting into Nursing School. Texas Roadhouse just opened up near Mom's house and it was GREAT! Highly recommended:) Carly learned a new trick while we were there... I told her, "oh, that face will get you far in life!" and she's been doing it ever since! You know, when she wants something... What do you think, Dad? Would it work on you?!?!?! We think Papoo might be the biggest sucker for it!

And on a sad note: One of our wedding gifts bit the dust this week. THAT IS SO SAD!!! We have loved this pizza stone for well over 14 years. Note to self: NEVER put a hot pizza stone on top of your stove when you forget to turn the burn off... we suddenly heard a loud POP, and this is what happened...

It was perfectly seasoned, too... oh well. And for something to look forward to... our amarillas are blooming, so red flower pictures are ready!

"She's a RUNNER!"

Well, since I have ditched my ipod when I walk for a while (I really need NEW music!) I now have plenty of time to think of things I might like to put on my blog... aren't you lucky. Today I decided I need to change the name of my blog...


In my mind, I am a runner. In reality... if you go for a walk, and "run" for a block, you are allowed to say you "went for a run". See how that works? But I'm really trying. I am so inspired by my husband. He is so consistent with running and training for races. He's not a fast runner at all. He's consistent. In fact, he's consistent in all areas of his life. Inspiring. Another thing I have been working on this week: being encouraging. I read this verse:

Proverbs 25:11 "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver".

And thought that was something I really need to work on. I am a firm believer that you just never know when something you say or do is going to really affect people. I prefer to try to POSITIVELY affect them... it certainly could go the other way. I've been thinking about this a lot this week, especially after talking with my sister, Tracy, and hearing the kind of week she's been having! ANYWAY... as I was out this morning walking, I decided it was time to try to hit one of my goals for the month of running for 5 minutes without stopping. I tend to just stop. Alot. So, I started... and just when I was yelling at myself (in my mind, thank you!) NOT to stop, I went past this house where a woman was out playing with her little kids. All of a sudden, she said to them, "She's a runner!". Being the dork that I am, I gave her 2 thumbs up and very dramatically said, "THANK YOU!!! OH THANK YOU!!" so, THANK YOU, random-lady-on-Island-Dr-who-made-my-day (because I am CERTAIN you read my blog). Those apples of gold made me keep going. To 5 minutes and 2 seconds.

Then I got to thinking about this Random Lady. And the fact that these words cross my lips a lot: "random girl in tampa thinking about you... random acts of kindness (RAK)... random blog entries...." get it? It occurred to me as I continued on, WAS that lady REALLY so random? When you leave a comment for Jonah's Mom (see icon at left) that a "random person is praying for you", is that REALLY so random? I mean, I believe that God is in control of everything. It's NOT so random afterall.

I also decided that it might be kind of fun to LOOK for the not so random moments in life...

BIG NEWS!!!!

Ok... this is HUGE! And I'm so happy I got to be a witness to this FUN NEWS!!! Kristin JUST FOUND OUT she got accepted to the Liberty University School of NURSING program!!!! AAAGGGHHHHHH!!!!! I'm so excited! I'm screaming all around the house and it's the best news!!! I'm all crying (duh!) and she's laughing at me! I'M SO EXCITED!!! No one understands better than a former nursing student how HUGE THIS IS! It's no easy feat getting into an extremely tough program that only accepts a very select few. So, CONGRATS KRISTIN!!!! I'm so thrilled to have shared this moment with you! And yes, the news even got a little grin out of my girl! FOR REAL!

Also, BIG NEWS... I worked last night and when I had gotten up (at noon) I immediately heard the washing machine going, and this could only mean one thing: Kristin was doing laundry. And When I went to bed, my washer and dryer were filled with MY laundry. (Are you sitting down, Rochel??) It's true, I'm a laundry nazi (Ask Rochel, who lived with me for a while, and made the sad mistake of touching my laundry ONCE... with excessive apologies afterwards!) and am completely neurotic about it for some crazy reason. So, of course, trying to be the ever-loving Aunt, I shot a quick prayer up to the Almighty for patience (completely sure He loves THOSE kind of prayers)... and was pleasantly surprised to learn my 2nd favorite fact of the day about my darling girl (1st was that she got accepted into her program)... she's about as crazy about the laundry as I am, and had completely laid everything out perfectly so it wouldn't get wrinkled!!!!! SHE's PERFECT!!!!!

*sigh* I'd keep her if it wasn't for those impending college bills:)

CONGRATULATIONS Kristin!! I'm so happy for you!

Best Friends

Another fun day... although, I might be the only one who thinks so... So, we started the day with Kristin's new do. A girl in our church cut her hair at her house and I think it came out very adorable! She's a totally stylin' College Girl! Next, we ran a few errands which Kristin wasn't too thrilled with (JoAnn's... but I was looking for a frame for Ben's room, and I did not even find THAT, and did not get ANYTHING else! What restraint!) then over to the mall for lunch (YUM) and a little more shopping. Coffee stop on the way home (breaking my girl in right!) then we relaxed for a little while...

Next, my parent's best friends, the Lewis', were able to come over for dinner! They are down in Florida doing some work and we were thrilled they had the evening free and were willing to come over for some McGregor-style fun. I did have to tell Aunt Ruthie she was a rotten grandma since she showed up here withOUT pictures of her son Steve's new baby! WHAT IS THAT??!?! She was able to redeem herself when we got Steve to connect with us on Skype. It really worked out better for us in the end since we got to see him trying to crawl around and he is super cute. We had a great time hanging out and talking. It really gave me my much needed MOM FIX. Of course, Aunt Ruthie isn't YOU, Mom... but she held her own:) And you will be happy to know that I am STILL stealing from you:)

I will close with Ben and Carly's FAVORITE!!!! They are thrilled that their cousin is here since they usually don't get to play video games during the week and well, we would HATE for Kristin to have to play by herself!!! Here they are thoroughly enjoying MarioKart! It is pretty fun to listen to them all yelling while they are playing!

I would like to note that Kristin is VERY MAD at me right now for posting the first picture... but I think she looks really pretty, and she's the one who took the 2nd picture (self portrait) showing off her pout. Her hair looks really great:)

Picnik, anyone??

So... just when I thought we wouldn't really have a "post" about our Sunday with our new girl, she showed me something new! We were just going to chill out all day... time change, church, relaxing... then Kristin goes, "Do you ever go to Picnik.com?"... you might want to check it out! You can't go wrong with FREE photo-editing, and it's the best FREE option I've found so far. If you follow my card blog, you KNOW I need some serious help with photography of the cards, so I'm hoping that once I stop playing around with all our OTHER pictures, I can work with those, too... Here's a little of the fun we had last night:

THANKS, Kristin! What are you going to show me today??!?!!

It's a GIRL!

The McGregor's are PROUD to welcome to the family, KRISTIN JOY McGREGOR! She came to us yesterday and we've been having FUN ever since. See? She even posed for a picture with her adoring cousin! I mean, SISTER. Don' worry, Laurie. We just remembered how much her college tuition is setting you back, and we will gladly make her a FLEMING again after our week of fun!

Ryan and I are THRILLED and yes, honored, that my niece Kristin wanted to spend her FIRST college Spring Break with us. Now I know what you are thinking... FLORIDA AUNT. Of COURSE she wants to "spend" her break with you. But so far, she hasn't made any plans to DITCH us, so I'm feeling VERY optimistic.

Soon after she got here, we took her over to Grammy's House to see if there was anything she "needed". SHE left empty handed. I'm going to have to work on that with her.

We did get a picture of the kids at Grammy's... Notice Ryan, doing what he ALWAYS does at Gram's House. We visited with Uncle Steve and I would like to make a note that I actually RETURNED everything I had previously removed from said house. Well, not the Mac N' Cheese dish, but that's only because Kristin might need some while she's here. Hey, she's missing her Grandparents, too. I did removed the "Shape" magazine's because I can not figure out WHY my father has a subscription to them... we need to talk, Dad.

Thought you might like to see the state of your retention pond, Dad. It's very sad, huh? We desperately need rain in our state! Kristin was commenting on how brown the grass is... there are watering restrictions, again.

And Tracy, I'm working desperately to try to steal this for you... however, Steve is now acting as an armored guard and I believe he has even BOLTED this to the wall. He has to sleep sometime, right?

After our "visit", we went to T'juana Flats for dinner. I did NOT take any pictures of the chips, Tracy... after the week you've had, it's bad enough that I am even mentioning us going there! HOWEVER! When you come next month, I am HAPPY to accompany you there each night for chips and salsa. Mmmmmm. Perhaps we could have THAT for Easter, instead of ham.

After our fun... Kristin and Carly made brownies! Kristin was so sweet teaching her how to read the directions and measure everything... so patient!!! Carly was loving it, since her Mama doesn't bake. Ever. So, of course, Carly in the kitchen made for funny moments... my favorite: Carly was so helping getting all the ingredients out and finding everything they needed and after the brownies were in the oven and Carly was licking the spoon (a FIRST for her, because like I said, I don't bake... and lets be honest, raw eggs? I had to let it go....) Kristin was very diligently putting everything away. So, she asks Carly, "Where did you get the oil from?" to which my very charming girl said, "Publix" and kept on licking... oh boy. Kristin and I might still be giggling about that...

Saturday Chores

It STINKS to be a McGregor. Welcome to SPRING in Florida... most places in the country rake leaves in the fall... not here! Our trees wait until March and then there are leaves EVERYWHERE. So, Ryan has the kids outside ALL MORNING long raking leaves and bagging them up. Those kids are really starting to pay off around here. I had to take a picture because that's my Little Princess, holding the leaf bag open with her mouth. Needless to say, she is over her week-long illness. Yes, WEEK-long.

This is Ben's "I'd-rather-be-raking-leaves-than-hugging-my-sister" look. Note the amount of dirt on the Princess. And I just cleaned their bathroom, too! Oh well... Before you feel all bad that they had to do yard work, they are working towards a new Wii game, and are HOPEFUL that their Dad is going to say that last weeks work and this weeks work will be enough to earn it!

Stay tuned for our exciting week with the new addition to our family....

Gasparilla 1/2 Marathon

So, Ryan is the Man! Since he was "all trained up" from running the Disney 1/2 and Full marathon in January, he figured he might was well go for the Gasparilla race last Sunday morning... he's been wanting to do this race for a while and it finally worked out! Unfortunately, a cold front was moving through as soon as the race started and the weather was TERRIBLE, so his time was a MINUTE under his last 1/2 marathon time. Don't you hate it when that happens?!?!? These are "Official Race Photo's" since none of us were there to cheer him on! I was working and the kids were with Aunt Rochel, plus, the RAIN!

Ok, so the pictures are a little wonky, but you get the idea! Pretty proud of him!

Sick Day

.... again. Just minor stuff, but enough to NOT be at school and infect the whole first grade. Actually, Sunday Carly had a random fever. You know, no symptoms, just fever. (Mom, she hasn't had a fever since... I knew you'd want to know that). Anyways, Ben asked her what her temperature was and she said, "102. You know, FOUR more degrees until, well, you know...(dramatic eye roll and "i'm-not-long-for-this-world-defeated-sigh")". Of course, after THAT information, Ben kept staring RIGHT in her face (hi, I have no concept of personal space) and saying, "are you dead yet?". Ah, big brothers.

Also for fun, I am including a letter I found that Carly had written to her cousin, Torrey. It is actually written on the back of the birthday letter she wrote to Tor, and yes, I will be mailing it a little closer to March 16th. Enjoy....

"well, one day the cat that never got sick, got sick"

...and an author was born.

Praying. 21st Century Style

Ok... so (no pictures today) I'm noticing an interesting phenomenon. I realize that by even MENTIONING this, I am totally going to look like a stalker, but bear with me... last month, my sister had this blog entry. Anyone who knows my darling look-alike, knows she loves other people's business. (Sweetie, it's true). So, my first thought was "Deep End". But I figured, I'd play along, and checked out Stranger Girl in Arkansas' blog. That blog lead me to this blog and before I knew it, I had 2 babies I was completely burdened to be praying for. I'll be honest. Felt a little uncomfortable being so worried over strangers (I SAID I WAS BEING HONEST!!!). But I felt compelled to go with it... so I prayed. A lot.



Did you take a minute to go to visit Kelly's blog that my sister mentioned? Do you know what she does? She has a blog. Do you know what she does with it? Talks about herself. Her baby. Her family. TV. Do you know what she REALLY does with it? She has this incredible ministry of reaching out to strangers and praying for them... particularly couples struggling with infertility, because she did, too. She posts links to other people's blogs. So the THOUSANDS of people (yes, you read that right!) who read HER blog will pray for them, too. Talk about a prayer chain. Welcome to the 21st Century.


I know this might be a little dramatic, but I'm going to put it out there anyways... I almost lost my son last month. It changed my life. Completely. I've decided that when God speaks, I think I will listen. Carefully. So, here's another little one to add to the list... want to be a part of something way bigger than your usual circle? Challenge ya to try it for a month... see if you don't learn something along the way...