Happy 9th Gotcha Day, Grace!

On August 31, 2003, (nine years ago!), one very scared, confused and angry baby was placed into my arms.  She was a wildcat of a thing and NOT happy about being stuck with us!  That was a rough beginning for all of us, but praise God Grace grew to like us and us her! :)  Now she has blossomed into a beautiful, energetic, creative, smart, happy, fun-loving, girl!  Happy 9th Gotcha Day, Grace!  We love you!  

Everyone watches as Grace is presented with her Gotcha Day gift - a fancy cloisonne butterfly barrette.  The tradition in our family is that on Grace's and Promise's Gotcha Days, they get a gift from their homeland.  I have a tub full of gifts for each of the girls (they wish they could go through those tubs!).

Grace proudly shows off her fancy barrette and gets a hug from Daddy!

Grace saw this picture and decided she did not like her smile.  She said she can't wait to get braces to help her have a beautiful smile!

Showing off her fancy cloisonne butterfly barrette.

                                                                                                              

What Happens when you give the Kids $12

When Nathan and I were the PIGs (Promise, Isaac, Grace, - get it?) ages, we absolutely loved it whenever we earned a few dollars. After getting paid, we'd carefully hoard our money until the next trip to the dollar store. Then, we'd spend it all on dollar toys and be extremely happy.

When the 3 little PIGs earn any money, they start thinking of what junk food they can buy with their money. So when they got home from Walmart, lo and behold they had bought 50 packs of Top Ramen noodles (yes, you read that correct - 50 packs!) and a bag of potato chips. Brilliant, kids, brilliant.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor cashier who had to check that circus out!

Many Faces

Great Wolf Lodge

Tuesday morning, after family worship, Mom and Dad announced that we were going on a surprise vacation for the next two days to Great Wolf Lodge. We were given 90 minutes to get packed and ready to go. My first thoughts were about school - do I have enough of a grip on my school to take two days out of my week? However, Mom assured me she had taken care of that.

Then, as I was feeding Joy Anna breakfast an hour later, Dad came in from loading the car and said, "Danielle, go outside and greet your guest for the trip." I couldn't help but think "What?!"

When I went outside, there was my friend Molly. I was absolutely stoked. Until an hour before, I had absolutely no idea that we were going anywhere, and now we were going to a very fun water park with one of my good friends.

When we got to the water park, we found out some more of our good friends were there too. It turns out, it was home-school day at Great Wolf Lodge, so we saw a bunch of people we recognized.

Another thing we found out was that Dad purposely had us leave early (and get there before anyone else) so we could eat lunch at Five Guys. That would be dad. :-D

At Great Wolf Lodge, there were many different water slides and pools for different ages and heights. I suddenly felt a little nervous, hearing that one of the slides had a drop (!), so I started with the "easy" slides. One of them had double tubes so two people could ride at the same time.

Nathan and Promise coming off the tube water slide

 Nathan tried to encourage Molly and I to try out the "Howlin' Tornado" water slide, the one with the drop, but I decided to build up to it. I wasn't sure how to deal with a drop. Finally, after trying all the other slides, I agreed to ride the Tornado.

In reality, I was so scared, I could scarcely breath. Wild adventure is not usually my thing. The tube for the Tornado held four people, so Nathan, Molly, Grace, and I rode it together. Then the life guard purposely flipped the tube so I rode backwards. Thanks a lot, dude. There were many twists then suddenly the enclosed slide got dark. There was a light up ahead, which I could barely see because I was having to look over my shoulder.

Then suddenly we were dropping. I'd guess the drop was about five feet. I started screaming, "I'm going to die!" When the drop ended, we ended in an open area where the tube flew up the sides. I was certain we were going to fall out so I continued to scream, "I'm going to die!" Then as suddenly as the excitement started, it ended. And I was still alive.

And would you believe it? The Howlin' Tornado became my favorite ride! Though every time I rode it, I still screamed like there was no tomorrow on the drop. The funniest part about the ride was when I rode it with Isaac and his friend Luke. Luke can seems very calm and steady, not the type of person who would scream on a water slide. But I was wrong. The moment the slide started moving, he started screaming like a girl. I was laughing so hard, I almost forgot to scream. :-D

Another funny part was Grace. She didn't have her "ears" on, so she could hear nothing. Whenever we went down a water slide with her, she'd cackle like a maniac. It was hilarious. But she was a big dare devil (surprise, surprise) and her favorite ride was the Tornado also. Actually, she drove the life guards crazy because she wouldn't respond when they blew the whistle at her... Haha!

And now here's some pictures from our mini-vacation.

Decoration on the wall of the hotel room. I thought it was pretty cool.

Some creepy animatronic creatures in the lobby who put on a show...

Stuffed wolf.

I wanted to get a picture of the front of the Lodge, since it was really cool with a wolf on either side, but it was raining so I had to content myself with standing under the portico getting side profiles.

The kiddy fort. Joshua loved it! The bucket on the top would fill with water then dump everywhere. I stood under it once with about five other people, only to be surprised at how hard the water came down. Seriously? They could knock someone out with it! Ok, maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration... :-D

My little friend, Sophie. :-D

Where Do I Start?...

I've been pretty remiss these days on the blog about what's actually going on in the Wilson home. School started back two weeks ago, and I started a second AP class, so I have been very busy. But hey, it's my LAST SEMESTER OF HIGH SCHOOL!!! *I do a happy dance, Mom cries.* I'll do an update on everyone, youngest first.

Joy Anna has figured out how to get her way. Everyone is wrapped around her little finger. When someone she wants walks into the room, she begins the tear-less cry since she knows they'll look for her and come pick her up. Another thing is she has started solids. We were looking for Zwibak, but apparently that isn't made anymore, so we found something called Baby Mum-Mums, processed rice rusks. She loves them. Her latest exploration is discovering that if she puts enough pressure on the corner of one of them, it'll launch up to five feet. Joy Anna has also discovered the hilariousness of slap-stick humor. For instance, last night we had popcorn. When the popcorn maker finishes, we unplug it and there is a moment of calm. Then one or two of the kernals always explode through the top. Joy Anna thinks that is the funniest thing ever.

Joshua has turned into Rudolph. If you've seen the picture of his face-plant, everything but his nose has heeled. One funny thing about him is he'll repeat himself over and over again until he's acknowledged, like a broken record. It goes like, "Mommy, what's for dinner? Mommy, what's for dinner? Mommy, what's for dinner? Mommy, what's for dinner? Mommy, what's for dinner? Mommy, what's for dinner? MOMMY, WHAT'S FOR DINNER?! MOMMY, WHAT'S FOR DINNER?!" And it repeats until he is answered. Like right now, it's "Daddy, is that sausage? Daddy, is that sausage? Daddy, is that sausage?" You get the point. He's a true boy, getting into everything and screaming at the top of his lungs.

Promise has become the family comedian. She says - or does - something hilarious and everyone starts laughing. Then she'll get offended. It's funny to watch. Recently, she was watching Joy Anna try out some solid food called "Baby Puffs" which were strawberry apple flavored. She had already asked Mom twice if she could taste one and had been denied twice. So she was just sitting next to Joy Anna watching her eat. At one point, she stretched and said enthusiastically, "I can just imagine how good they taste." About a minute later, Joy Anna dropped one on the floor and Promise dove (and I mean dove) for the food. Then she put it in her mouth, chewed, and said, "EW! That's disgusting." These days, the running joke in the family is looking at Promise at meal times and saying, "I can imagine how good they taste." She's a nut.

Isaac has been busy with school and chores. He manages to drag fifteen minute's worth of chores into an hour...Sometimes longer. He loves the zip line and is another family comedian. I love to sneak up on Isaac and poke him when he's not paying attention. The other month, he was standing in the hall with his back to me dancing and singing, totally in his own little world. I snuck up on him and poked him with a "Boo!" He jumped and screamed. Ever since then, he's been looking for a way to get back at me. So far, he hasn't succeeded. Yesterday, he went and was tested for school. He was definitely tired when he got home. Every single pair of pants he owns has a hole in the knee. Go figure.

Grace hasn't changed much except that she has glasses. Sorry, I haven't taken any pictures yet, but when I do, I'll definitely post them for everyone to see. She's really cute in them. Her usual outfit these days is jeans - with holes in the knees - and her Hurricane's sweater. She loves piano and is pretty good at it. In the past year and a half, she's progressed through two lesson books and is about to start her third. She absolutely loves the zip line and is an absolute dare-devil. Basically, she does whatever Nathan does. If Nathan runs and jumps onto the zip line instead of just sitting on it and going, she has to do the same. If Nathan holds onto the handle bars without sitting, Grace has to do the same. She's a tom-boy but loves anything fufu and frilly.

Nathan is no longer playing hockey on a team, which he sorely misses. Hockey is still pretty much his life and he's trying to merge into ice hockey. However, the time for ice hockey is from 11:45am-12:45pm on week days. I don't have time to make that two hour commitment in driving him, so he hasn't played much. Right now, he's working on animating a movie trailer for the book The Foundlings written by his friend, Matthew Christian Harding. So far, he's released the teaser trailer. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYIE6CE80SY&feature=g-all-u&context=G2ccea43FAAAAAAAABAA 


I am very busy with school, like I mentioned earlier. On Thursday, I turned 17. We decided to celebrate on Friday with the dinner and dessert of my choice and a family movie. We ate broccoli braid (my favorite!) and for dessert Mom made me the white chocolate peppermint cheese cake from the Southern Living magazine. It was a lot of work, but boy was it worth it! Once I download my photos off the camera, I'll post a picture. After dinner, we watched Dolphin Tale which was a really cute movie.  


Grammy came out Thursday night and took me shopping yesterday. Our goal was to find a summer dress that would meet the approval of me, Mommy, and Daddy. I wasn't really expecting to find anything since Mom's rules are that it can't be tight or form-fitting, can't be above the knee or show any part of the knee, and it must have sleeves. It's nearly impossible to find anything with sleeves, and what does have sleeves is six inches above the knee. Dad's rules are that it can't show a lot of chest or draw attention to myself in a way that would cause anyone (especially a boy) to look at me. My rules are that it must be pretty and attractive. I want to look pretty in it and not look like I'm wearing a tent. After about an hour's worth of searching at the mall, Grammy and I found several dresses at Belk that would work. We couldn't decide between two of them. They were both tank-top dresses with cute jackets. One was black and white, was just at the knee, and had a really cute black shrug with ruffles. Mom said that dress was too short since she saw the bottom part of my knee. The other dress had a purple, black, and white pattern and was a little longer. However, the neck was low and I didn't like the jacket too much. However, we decided to keep that one. It's really pretty! ;-D


I know this post was kinda long, but I hope you enjoy reading what we've been up to! 

Best of 2011

I compiled a video from last year's best photos and videos. It's just a quick re-cap of 2011.

I hope you enjoy it!

Zip Line Fun!

We got a zip line for Christmas! It's 200 ft long and holds up to 250 lb. Dad set it up today. However, it's too loose for us older people to do yet (our legs drag along the ground) so so far only the kids can do it. Dad hopes to fix the zip line for us older ones soon.

Anyway, here's a video I made of Isaac, Grace, and Promise doing the zip line. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

The night before Christmas, God sent a beautiful sunset, in honor of His Son. I was able to take some pics. Like I said, it was beautiful.

On Christmas, we didn't wake up until 8am... Ha! Gone are the days were everyone was up by 6am! Part of it is because Nathan and I are older and appreciate sleep, and part of it is because the kids stay up until midnight (due to excitement), then crash...

This year, everyone got a big present, except Joy Anna. She got books. (Mom's comment was "Joy Anna needs to start her own library!")

Joshua got a plasma car. It's small and holds up to 250lb. The rider's supposed to sit on it and put their feet in stirrup-type things. Everyone absolutely loves it and rides it as much as Joshua (yes, I've probably ridden it more than he has...) Anyway, his car is cool. The other present he really liked was his harmonica. (Brilliant idea, Mom. Do you hear the sarcasm?)

Joshua on his plasma car

Promise got lots of doll accessories. She got a doll highchair (it's so cute!), a canopy bed (over 2ft tall! It's gorgeous!), and a doll armoire. She was very happy and I believe all her accessories are "occupied" at the moment.

Isaac got the drum set he's been pining over. Ever since it's been set-up, he's stayed in his bedroom, experimenting and playing. He's in drummer heaven!

Grace got the American Girl doll she's been saving up for. She was excited to find it wrapped and under the tree and still get to keep her money! It's the new Marie Grace, the doll from Louisiana's French Quarter. It's a pretty doll. She loves it.

Nathan got an upgrade to our slow video-editing software. He's very happy. (Sorry, I don't have a pic for that!)

And I got *drum roll* the DSLR I've been wanting for ever!!!!!!!! I'm not good at showing emotion, so when I opened it, I said very composedly, "Oh, wow! Thank you!" Inside, I was dancing, jumping up and down, and screaming for joy. The camera's a Canon EOS Rebel T3 and it came with an 18-55mm lens. I am so happy and absolutely love it! I've already taken over 200 pics with it... *sheepish grin*. Needless to say, I'm in photographer heaven! Most of the pics I'm posting on Picasa (link coming) and this post have been taken with my camera. It's a big upgrade to my Canon Powershot SX20 IS. ;-D I've figured out Manual Focus and absolutely love it. Alright, I should probably stop talking about my camera and move on...

Pardon the mustache. It was a gift from Nathan. :-D

Mom got the brewing bottles she's been wanting. No, she doesn't brew beer, she makes kombucha and water kefir, both of which are very healthy drinks that have to ferment and fizz. She's very happy. I'm happy too since they're a beautiful crystal blue.

Dad got a bunch of chocolate from Mom. I think there were some ulterior motives going on... She bought him two boxes of truffles in case he were to take one to work. Yah, definitely some ulterior motives... :-D

Anyway, that's a quick recap of Christmas morning here! If you want to see more pics, I've put them on a Picasa album: https://picasaweb.google.com/113112312516189518414/Christmas2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOf3pci5wOmC6gE&feat=directlink Let me know what you think! :-D

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

O Christmas Tree!

So tonight I found out that Aunt Pam checks our blog frequently. Hi, Aunt Pam! We're looking forward to see you in May when I graduate! :-D

Last weekend, in honor of Promise's birthday, we bought a Christmas tree. The tradition started three years ago, after we moved. She thought it would be fun to get a Christmas tree, so we got one. Then she decided to make it a tradition - getting a tree on her birthday. However, since her birthday was on the crazy Sunday of the month, we decided to get it Saturday.

Here's some pictures from the event:

This one was too weird for me to pass up :-D

I heard that someone complained that there's nothing about Mommy and Daddy. In honor of their engagement anniversary (12/7/91) I'll do a post about them. Stay tuned!

He was full of himself and took every opportunity to get my attention and smile. 

Dad trying to lift a 10ft tree. It's the first one we looked at, the only one we looked at, and the one we took home.

See what I mean?

There was a playground

...and the kids had a lot of fun on it

And Grace needed help flipping upside down

But she figured it out.

When the Truth Comes Out

Thursday night, I was baby-sitting Isaac, Grace, Promise, and Joshua. While we were doing kitchen clean-ups, the kids were asking me for "naughty, funny stories." No kidding. So I racked my brain for funny, naughty stories. The ones I remembered had them laughing so hard, Promise, who was still eating, almost choked on her soup.

First, I remembered when Nathan and I were really little. Nathan had just read the passage in the Bible where Jesus is talking about what you do if someone who has sinned doesn't repent. If someone doesn't repent (I'm assuming this would be for a "big" sin), you're supposed to talk to them privately. If that doesn't work, then you involve a couple friends. If that still doesn't work, the pastors are supposed to meet with him. Finally, if the sinner still doesn't repent, he's to be publicly kicked out of the church.

Well, like I said, Nathan had just read that. And I did something to him that made him mad. I don't remember what it was. All I remember was making Nathan hysterical. We were outside and he was following me around because I wouldn't apologize. Then it started. "You need to apologize."

Danielle: "No, I don't!"

Nathan: "You know, if you don't apologize, I'll have to tell Mommy and Daddy."

Danielle: "Then you'd be a tattletale."

Nathan: "But the Bible says I have to."

Danielle: "Yah, right!"

Nathan: "No, really! I read it this morning! And if you still don't apologize with Mommy and Daddy there, then we have to take you to see Pastor Davey. And if you still don't apologize, then he'll have you kicked out of church!"

He was so worked up, he was in tears. He was dead serious.

I don't remember what I said next, but I know I didn't apologize. I also know that Mommy, Daddy, Pastor Davey, and Colonial Baptist Church never knew anything about it! :-D

Another story I told was about when Grace was still being potty-trained. Once, she was sitting on the potty, calling for Mommy to come "wipe her up." I was the only one available. She didn't like that idea. So she yelled and screamed at me and said she wanted Mommy.

So I left her. Yup, I left her stranded on the toilet. I don't remember how long she was there before her little legs got too tired. And. She. Fell. In.

Then I was the one who got in trouble.

End of story.

And of course, the kids thought that one was absolutely hilarious.

Then, it was the kids' turn for stories... They told me different funny, naughty stories I never knew about. Like the time they were all reading Calvin and Hobbes and found the comic where Calvin "takes a bath" in the toilet. You know, when he lifts the lid, climbs in, and flushes. Then he climbs out all sparkly clean. Well, the three little PIGs (Promise, Isaac, and Grace - that's their official nickname) thought that was hilarious - and brilliant. So that night, Grace decided to try it. However, only her feet could fit. So she put her feet in the toilet and flushed... Oh, Grace, you are so...you!

I know, this is so late...

But this is a public happy birthday to Gracie!