Dana Edwards' Blog » Family

Myrtle Beach 2010 – Team Edwards Storms the Beach!

danaedwards — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:42:33 +0000

Ok, so we didn’t really “storm” the beach and we aren’t really a storm … but we did decide suddenly to shift our vacation plans so that we could accommodate school, work and vacation. Now, that I think about it, that’s probably not really “storming” the beach at all but it sure sounds more exciting to say “storm” than “visit” or “arrives and stays for a couple days”. It was really just a play on the fact that it is hurricane season and our family can be a bit much for a family of four.

As usual, we decided two days before the actual day that we were going to go to Myrtle Beach. I think

we do much better with spontaneous vacations. Our kids get more excited and they don’t bounce around the house for days asking if we are leaving that day to go. I have also found that there really aren’t any deals to be had at the place we like to stay – Embassy Suites @ Kingston Plantation. It’s very family friendly and the kids love it. I don’t think the value exchange of $50 savings for very happy children / wife is worth it, so we just keep going back to the same place.

What do I remember from this beach trip:

A calculator is both essential for a trip to the beach and bigger than an iPad.
Krispy Kreme is both technologically advanced and still the best donut in town.
Jellyfish stings still hurt. Email me for the full story or check my twitter feed.
Buddy really likes swimming at night.
You can’t have too many snakes in your bed when you go to sleep at night.
Men’s Toms (what are these?) are sparkly silver.
No matter how cute the kids are … paddle boats are very hard to peddle

That’s it … lucky 7. I don’t want to admit that I learned that Kingston Plantation overplays Electric Slide, Get Funky, and Cupid Shuffle way too much or that beers and drinks are $7 a piece there. Those might send the wrong message.

I guess we’ll go back again next year … but I can’t tell you on which day / month / time.

-Dana

Happy Birthday, Bear!

danaedwards — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 01:06:38 +0000

Happy Birthday!!! And yes, you can do whatever you want on your birthday! Just remember to thank mom for taking such great photos of you!

Lucy – The Expert Sleeper

danaedwards — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 02:02:09 +0000

Sometimes my family amazes me. Sometimes my dog is ridiculous. This time those are the same. Our dog is amazingly ridiculous. Most dogs would be ecstatic to go it for a walk. Ours won’t even wake up. LOL!!

This is not a forced photo by any means. Her eyes are rolled back in her head. I really wish I could sleep like that!

Enjoy the photos!
Dana

Little Buddy’s Solar System

danaedwards — Sun, 09 May 2010 17:31:39 +0000

Little Buddy is still crazy about the solar system! Then again, who isn’t? He drew this in Microsoft Paint at Mimi’s house.

He does have a few persistent questions – “Why is Pluto the smallest in the solar system?” and “Why is Jupiter the biggest planet? And plus it has a big hole.” and “Nothing else.”

-Dana

Family Project – The Solar System

danaedwards — Sun, 02 May 2010 14:28:05 +0000

We did a fun project this Sunday morning. Our sun is recently fascinated with the planets and our latest iPhone app – Solar Walk. More on Solar Walk later.

So, he came up with the idea on his own to make the planets. As we made them, he told us all about each one. Some are gassy giants and some are not. He explained which were hot, etc.

Anyways, he designed it and instructed is on what to do and this is what he designed …

- Dana

Edwards / Johnson Biggest Loser Showdown – Week 2 of 6 Results

danaedwards — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 17:17:58 +0000

The competition is getting is tough! Everyone is dedicated to making the 12 pound overall loss goal. The toughest part right now is continuing the diet through “tough times” like Jill and her mom going to Atlanta and eating anything in sight. Another tough thing to go through is doing a work site visit where there is a lot of rich food available.

These results are actually from this past Sunday the 18th of April. The next results will be posted tomorrow and will be for the current week.

This week’s biggest loser was me – Dana – and I lost 2.11%. Unfortunately, Deanna and Jill gained small amounts.

Here are the current total competition rankings as a percent of total weight:
1. Dana 95.95%
2. Deanna 96.93%
3. Jill 97.36%

Good luck to everyone following along and to my fellow competitors!

-Dana

How To Train a Dragon

danaedwards — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:59:10 +0000

The kids and I went to see How To Train A Dragon 3D yesterday and loved it! My son left the movie and was asking me if we could buy it. My daughter left the movie begging to go to McDonalds to get a happy meal and another dragon toy.

The kids had very different experiences at the movies. The girl who is 3 was very confused at the beginning of the movie during the raid scene. She was under the impression that all dragons are good. I couldn’t see her face but I think she may have even wanted to leave. Towards the end of the movie, she was very excited that you could train a dragon and it would be good. There may have been a point at the beginning where she was even scared. Again, it was hard to tell because it was dark. Her favorite dragon was Toothless because “he is the nice one.”

My son who was six was enthralled by the movie the whole time. I think he was mentally cataloging all of the different types of dragons. His favorite was the two-headed dragon.

For me, I thought it was very entertaining and wouldn’t mind seeing it again. The 3D was just so-so and the story was fun.

- Dana

Edwards / Johnson Biggest Loser Showdown – Week 1 Results

danaedwards — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:36:09 +0000

Our results are in for the Edwards / Johnson Biggest Loser Showdown. We had two folks join who weren’t Edwards’ or Johnsons so if they submit their % weight loss, we’ll have to change the name of the Showdown. Until then, we’ll just keep going with the same name.

I’m really proud of everyone so far. Jill and Deanna did great and completed the physical challenge of working out 4 days this past week. I did not make the challenge so I hope they don’t vote me off the Island!

Here are the results shown in % of original weight on 4/4/2010:

Deanna 95.9%
Jill 96.6%
Dana 98.0%

I guess this week that I will have to lay off the beer and cheesesteaks. Here I come!

-Dana

Super Girl and Her Frog!

danaedwards — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 02:25:17 +0000

I love this picture that Jill took of Super Girl and her frog …

- Dana

Edwards / Johnson Biggest Loser Showdown – Week 1 of 6

danaedwards — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:43:30 +0000

So the family and I were driving back from Easter, having eaten probably 25 pieces of cake, when Jill and I decide to drop some weight. Our friend, Paul, told us about his work doing a Biggest Loser Challenge and after some discussion we decided to do the same thing. Jill’s mom was in the back and she signed up too. To start, we each put $10 prize money into the pot. Each week, we’ll have a challenge and a weigh-in. The two that lose the least in % will add $5.00 to prize pool!

So we are all at starting weight so the standings should be obvious:
Dana 100%
Deanna 100%
Jill 100%

Wish us all luck and remember that anyone can join us if you’re interested!

- Dana