37

Travis Frank Kraupp turned 37 yesterday! Here are 37 must knows about the dear ole dad at our house:

1. Though he just kind of mumbles the words when it is time to sing in church, Travis always has a song in his heart. He is always singing to us, to the kid's friends, and to anyone who is near and dear to him. Usually, the songs are some he has created. This morning at lamb weigh ins it was, "this lamb is your lamb this lamb is my lamb..." to the tune of This Land is My Land (of course).

2. Travis loves his work (most days).

3. Travis loves being the bishop (most days).

4. Travis is messy.

5. For Travis, having fun is easy to do.

6. Travis loves to laugh, and laugh hard.

7. Travis finds traffic laws to be optional. This is reflected on his driving record.

8. Travis makes his wife feel like a gourmet chef my hmmmming at each bite, not matter what she makes.

9. Travis loves giving kisses to his kids.

10. Travis loves to tease.

11. Travis is a morning person!!

12. From Annie: Travis is an awesome dad.

13. From Jake: Travis lets me drive the feed truck.

14. From Emma: Travis is a hard worker and is handsome.

15. From Megan: Travis bites me and I say thank you.

16. From Justin: Travis threatens to eat me.

17. Travis loves pop.

18. Travis loves steak.

19. Travis loved his mission.

20. Travis is a texting fool, he and is cell phone have a very close relationship.

21. Travis always smells nice, unless he eats garlic. Oh dear.

22. Travis is a worrier.

23. Travis has a temper that ignites and flickers quickly.

24. Travis pays Emma to rub his neck.

25. Travis takes the longest showers in the world.

26. Travis bites his nails until they bleed.

27. Travis loves to go out to eat.

28. Travis rarely stays up late.

29. Travis would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.

30. Travis looooooves to mow the lawn.

31. Travis is not a Mr. Fix It.

32. Travis usually forgets garbage day.

33. Travis is NOT observant.

34. Travis hates to read anything but the scriptures.

35. Travis cannot grow a beard.

36. Travis will watch his favorite movies again and again and again. (Maverick! Apollo 13! Secretariat!)

37. Travis fills a home.

Happy Birthday Travis! We sure love you and are grateful to you for all the joy you bring to our lives.

33

Tuesday morning (May 3rd), the kids got up for school like it was any other day. They had breakfast and then when it was time for them to get dressed we had them all sit on the couch and handed each of them a gift. They opened them youngest to oldest. Each had a t-shirt: WE ARE GOING TO DISNEYWORLD! They were excited, but got really excited when we told them our flight left in a few hours!

Everyone traveled really well on the flights over. When we got to Orlando we picked up our divine 12 passenger van and we were off to our resort. Since it is my 33rd birthday today, I thought I would share 33 highlights of the 581 pictures we took. Ah yes, that is Grandma Jo in the pictures. Bless her heart for taking eight days to spend with us. We could not have done this without her help! We even got her in a swimming suit and on a roller coaster! Shhhhh, don't tell Grandpa...
Day one we went to the Magic Kingdom

See the hat on Jake's head? It was a victim of the roller coaster ride. Jake loves roller coasters! It seems a little out of character for him, but he loves to go fast and high.

Day two we went to the Animal Kingdom. The Lion King and Finding Nemo shows were amazing!

Day three we went to Epcot

Day four we went to Sea World. Yes, I cried at the Shamu Show. Grandma, Megan, and I got soaked.

The dolphin show at Sea World is incredible! Divers, acrobats, and all of our favorite--dolphins!

Day five we went to the Kennedy Space center and then to Cocoa Beach. Travis has a deep love of the space program. I have a deep love of the way Megan says space ship. She replaces the 'p' with a 't'.

There is such a sense of patriotism that comes with Kennedy Space Center and the space program. I will not confirm or deny reports of a confrontation I may or may not have had with some punk high schoolers from India on our tour bus.

After NASA it was on to Cocoa Beach where we ate at a restaurant on the Pier.

The kids looooooved playing in the ocean. It was hot outside and the water was warm. Justin was constantly talking about the bubbles and the water.

Day six we went to Hollywood Studios. Justin started each day getting out of the van and having separation anxiety for his blanket.

Florida was definitely hot and humid. Check out how curly Megan's hair is in any of the pictures! We could judge how humid it was by how tight or loose her curls were. We took a lot of breaks in the shade for snacks and water.

Justin and Megan were so good to stay by us. For the most part they rode willingly in their strollers. Justin did really well on the toddler leash I found (notice the absence of Justin AND Megan in this sentence)

After Hollywood Studios we went to Downtown Disney for dinner. We ate at the T-Rex cafe. It is filled with dinosaurs that come to life and every twenty minutes there is a meteor shower. So fun!

Check out the Woody and Buzz in the Lego store in Downtown Disney. They are made entirely from legos. There are many people who went home with a picture of Justin. He couldn't seem to stay away from Buzz.

After Downtown Disney we went back to the Magic Kingdom so we could do every one's favorite rides again. We almost succeeded.

Annie's favorite ride was actually at Sea World. It was my favorite ride too. Hanging upside down with our feet dangling was the most fun I have ever had on a roller coaster.

Emma loved space mountain. She claimed to love it five years ago in California, but also said she never wanted to do it again.

Jacob loved Splash Mountain and the Wild Train Ride. He looked so serious in all the pictures they take on the ride, but claims to have loved every bit of it.

Megan loved It's a Small World. Half way through the ride she gave her dad a big hug and told him how much she loved him.

Justin could have done nothing more than conquer the evil emperor Zurg in the Buzz Lightyear ride. When I took him out after riding the first time he was literally shaking. After about five minutes he finally muttered, "Buzz Lightyear". He is more in love with Buzz than ever.

When he is talking about Buzz, he points his finger. He made sure everyone in line knew all about Buzz. Some poor kid was wearing a buzz t-shirt at Hollywood Studios and Justin was his new best friend.

Last but not least we watched the Main Street Electrical Parade.

After the parade we did Space Mountain one more time. While we were in line fore the roller coaster Grandma was able to watch the fireworks one last time with Jake, Justin, and Megan.Megan may have loved the firewroks even more than she loved It's a Small World.On our last day we could have gone to the Disney Parks again, but chose instead to swim at our resort. The pool was amazing. It had a lazy river, beach, and our favorite--a slide.

At one point Jake caught a lizard and of course chased me with it all through the pool complex I shrieked. He was relentless!Yesterday morning we had to get up at 2:00 in the morning Florida time (that is midnight Boise time) to catch our flight.

It is so nice to be home, but oh how we loved Florida. It was wonderful to be together and have nothing but fun for a full week! I am so thankful we were able to go. Now, just a week left of school and it is SUMMER!

Happy Easter

Easter was such a nice day. It was stake conference and we all got to go together as a family to church and we even got to sit together. The kids were so good. Smart little things that they are--they know when a parent is or isn't out numbered and behave accordingly.

After church we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the traditional Easter egg hunt and dinner. Dinner this year was extra special because--MARC AND KENNA TOLD US THEY ARE HAVING A BABY!!! Shortly after the news and the discussing how Kenna is feeling constantly sea sick, Meg pooped on the floor. It's true. Hence the lovely dress she is wearing for the egg hunt. It was mine! I have never seen Kenna move so fast and Karen laugh so hard. Oh, the joys of candy overload.

Because she is fair and not because she has a compulsive need for order Grandma weighed each child's candy to ensure each had the same amount.