Our Disney Trip!

In July we took another amazing vacation. It was the four of us, my sister Kristin, her husband Jeremy and their kiddos Austin and Katie, and my mom and dad. The first part of the week we took the kids to Disney World! I was just as excited as the kids because I couldn’t wait for them to experience everything. And I had not been there in many years so I wanted to experience it all again. It may have seemed we were crazy for going in July but it wasn’t too bad. Yes it was hot. Yes it was busy. But we still had an amazing time. We decided to not stay in the park since we were only there for a few days so we stayed at a condo about 10 minutes from the park. It saved us a lot of money and it wasn’t bad being away from the parks. If we didn’t drive down there it may have been a different story.

The first day we got there we visited Downtown Disney which is almost like a park itself but it is free. Blake kept asking when we were going to Disney because he didn’t see the castle. We had to keep telling him we were in Disney. The second day there we went to Animal Kingdom. Like I said before I hadn’t been there in many years and a lot of folks told me not to bother going there. However my kids love animals so I knew we would have a good time. I am SO glad we went. We had a GREAT time and the kids loved everything. Blake even rode his first roller coaster!! I was so proud of him…even though I know he did it just because Austin wanted to go and he wants to do every single thing he does. He was scared to death the whole time but when he got off he said “THAT.WAS.AWESOME.” He is so funny…I think he didn’t like that it was in the dark a little and it went backwards for half the ride – which I really didn’t care for either. I am really not a roller coaster person so hopefully Austin can take our place when he gets older.

We also go to do a meal with the characters. We did the Safari Lunch with Donald. All of the characters were there but Pluto and the kids were SO excited to get to take pictures with them. They got to interact with them for a few minutes which made their day. The food wasn’t so great but the experience was worth it for the kids. We also loved the Safari which was the first thing we did at Animal Kingdom.

The third day we went to Magic Kingdom. I was most excited about this park because we had reservations for the girls to go to Bippity Boppity Boutique and the boys to do a Pirate Adventure. And of course the castle and the characters. I really forgot how big the park is. We got there at 9am and left at 11pm and didn’t get through the whole park. Next time I will for sure break Magic Kingdom up in two days so we don’t miss anything.

There are so many things I loved about Magic Kingdom. First is Bippity Boppity Boutique. Katie and Kylie got to get their princess dresses on, get their make-up and nails done and get their hair done. They were in heaven and it was awesome to get to sit there and watch them. While we were doing this, the boys were doing the Pirate Adventure. They dressed up like pirates and got their own pirate name! Blake and Austin both loved it.

At the end of the night, there was the parade and the fireworks. Aaron and Jeremy took the boys to see the parade so that Kristin and I could take the girls to see the princesses. It was towards the end of the night and I knew I had to take Kylie to see them. It was a meet and greet so I knew that Kylie and Katie would want to do that over the parade any day. We stood in line for over an hour but it was completely worth it. There were three of them there – Rapunzel, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Cinderella. By the time we were at the beginning of the line, the parade was over so the boys got to join us. It.was.awesome. Kylie still talks about it today 2 months later that meeting them was her favorite part. It is worth the wait if you have little girls. Blake thought they were pretty too. He was really shy around Aurora so I think he liked her best.

Some of our other favorite things about Magic Kingdom were:

- Dance Party with Goofy & the Chipmunks

- Splash Mountain

- Pirates of the Caribbean

- The Jungle Cruise

- Finding Nemo the Musical (I HIGHLY recommend! It was amazing!)

- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Blake’s second roller coaster and Kylie’s first!)

So that was our quick trip to Disney. We had an absolutely amazing time and now I know what we need to do and what the kids like best for next time. Some suggestions for others going:
 

- Get a stroller at any of the parks. Even if your kids are older, they will need a break. We didn’t rent them beforehand but you can rent the double strollers at the park which were great for us.

- Take an extra change of clothes for everyone if you are planning on going on any of the water rides. I didn’t need them but Aaron and Kylie needed them when we rode a big water ride at Animal Kingdom.

- Take snacks for you and the kids. It was mostly to keep them occupied when we had to wait in line (like an hour for Big Thunder Mountain).

- Map out the spots you want to hit first before getting to the park. That way you will be organized and get to the attractions you really want to see.

- Do the PhotoPass. It is free and you just present a card when you take group pictures with the characters. You can combine cards when you are all done and then purchase the whole CD which is what we did (my parents did).

- Do the FastPass when you can. We only did it once but it worked out great. We got the FastPass for Splash Mountain then got in line for Big Thunder Mountain. So right when we got off of one, we walked right up and got on the other. It is awesome when you are the one with the FastPass but not so much when it is someone else.

I am sure there are so many more things I can add but I made the mistake of waiting to write this post. Overall we had a fantastic time and I cannot wait until next time!

Much to blog about - Our Anniversary & A Beach Trip

I have neglected the blog. Again. It has been a busy summer and will continue into the fall but I want to get better at keeping it updated with all of our accomplishments, trips, parties, etc. So the next few posts will be catch-up for me. From May 8^th until now…especially since Kylie’s birthday is on Monday and I have to blog about that for sure. I still have Blake’s party to blog about!

In June, Aaron and I celebrated 8 amazing years of marriage. It doesn’t seem like it has been 8 years then again it seems like it has been longer. I love our beautiful family we have created and I appreciate him more and more every day. We have already planned out where we are going for our 10^th anniversary and I can’t wait!

Also in June we took a trip to the beach with Aaron’s family. We went to the Outerbanks, SC and had a great time. The kids loved the beach…well Kylie didn’t like the sand and salt water but what princess does? They had a blast swimming in the pool, building sand castles and playing with their cousin John (or baby John as the kids call him). It was a nice relaxing week for all of us. The drive was long but we broke it up on the way down. We drove straight through on the way home so it was a long 13 hours. I will go back but we will break the trip up both ways…especially with the kiddos.

 

That's it for now for this post. Next post will be about our trip to Disney!!

A Basketball Baby Shower!

A couple of weekends we threw a baby shower for my cousin Amy who is having a baby boy in June. Since her and her husband are basketball coaches, we knew we couldn't go wrong with a basketball themed baby shower. The shower turned out so cute and I think everyone enjoyed themselves!

 

I can't wait to meet the little guy! Just a little over a month and he will be here!!

 

 

Happy 5th Birthday, Blake!

I said it last year and I will say it again...my baby boy is growing up way too fast! 5 years ago today God blessed us with a beautiful baby boy. He has taught me so much about being mom and has made me a better person. Aaron and I are so lucky to call him our son. HERE is my post last year with some really cute baby pictures and I couldn't resist adding a few to this post.

And this picture was taken at his party this past weekend.

He has matured so much within the last year it is unbelievable. He is so smart and I am so proud of the progress he has made with his speech. He is the sweetest little boy and LOVES his mommy, daddy and sissy.

Some of his favorites right now:

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

- LOVES chocolate milk

- Favorite foods: Spaghetti, pizza, chicken nuggets

- Favorite sport: Basketball and Baseball (at least right now)

- He can write your first and last name

- Sleep...it is never a fight at bedtime...and you love to cuddle with mommy

- He LOVES to play...either with Kylie or with Austin and Katie..or even by himself

- Loves learning new things...even doing homework sent home from school

- Loves singing and dancing...he has to have the radio on when we are in the car and most songs he will say that that it is his song

- Loves being outside...either riding his scooter, playing on the playset or just playing in the yard

I believe last year was the first year, but I created a questionnaire to ask each kid a certain set of questions on their birthday. This was I can see how much they change from year to year. I love that I videoed last years because he has changed so much since then! Below is the video from tonight when I asked him the same questions from last year.

 

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Our Family Update Overload

It has been over three months since I have blogged and I can't even tell you why. I think about blogging at least a few times a week but most of the time I lack the desire. I would rather cuddle with the kids when we put them to bed or hang out with Aaron. Blake is playing Tball and our weekends have been pretty busy with birthday parties, showers, family time, etc. Aaron is also taking another class but tonight is his last night.

 

 

 

The first update I have is that I have a new job at work. I have only been in the position for 8 weeks and I love it already. The area is completely foreign to me but everyone has been very patient and open to share their knowledge. My responsibilities are completely different than my previous position and I am looking forward to learning all about my new area.

Our family also had a few birthdays since the last time I blogged. My nephew John turned 1, my nephew Austin turned 7, my brother-in-law Jeremy had a birthday, as well as my niece Katie turned 5. We did a lot of celebrating over a few weekends which is always fun. The next big birthday is Blake's!! I cannot believe he is turning 5!!

John's First Birthday (January)

 

Austin's 7th Birthday (February)

 

Katie's 5th Birthday (April)

We also finished up Blake's first basketball season at the YMCA. He did much better in this league compared to soccer. I really think he just doesn't like soccer. He got so much better with the more games we played. We bought him a basketball goal for outside but haven't gotten to use it much yet because of the cold weather. I can't wait until this summer to get outside with him and Kylie more! Aaron and I were his coaches so we had fun with all of it. Next year Kylie will be able to play so they will play in the same league and on the same team....needless to say we will be coaching again next year.

Speaking of sports, Blake has already started Tball. Aaron was volunteered to be the assistant coach which I know he is really excited about. Blake has done pretty good with the exception of a few times when he was really tired. We ended the game with him crying and coming off the field. Tonight was much better. He was so excited for his game and he hit the ball from the pitch!

We also made a trip to Washington DC to see my brother and his fiance. My sister Kristin and her husband Jeremy went with us and we had a great time. I had never been before so we did the touring of the city. Basketball was still going on so we watch a lot of games as well.

 

My cousin had a baby girl, Kennedy, who is SO precious. Kylie absolutely loves her and would take her home if she could. I wish I could spend much more time with her but life gets in the way. I hope this summer I am able to see her more often.

Easter came and went pretty fast as well. The kids get so excited about holidays now. I love how much they have learned in their preschool about Jesus and what the holidays are really about. Kylie still tells me that Jesus died on the cross at least once a week.

 

 

 

One of the biggest changes we have had is that we got a new puppy!! We rescued her (Lexi) from a shelter which makes me feel even better that we got her. She was abandoned but seemed like she was not abused or mistreated. She is a pit bull (which we wanted) and a little smaller than Jackson. We think she is around 7 months old but we aren't for sure. She is so sweet and is really good with the kids.

So there it is....Most of the happenings in our family over the past 3 1/2 months. There are many times that I feel like I can't keep up with life....work, kids, family, friends, blogging, Facebook, Pinterest...so I choose. I try not to let it get to me, to let it take over my life. I will admit that there are many times that feel like I am not a good wife or mom because I can't make the cute little lunch sandwiches or the homemade cookies I saw on Pinterest. Or because I can't fix a nice, healthy dinner every night or keep my house cleaned and organized. So I step away and reevaluate and tell myself that it is not worth the stress...what matters is that the kids and Aaron and I are happy. Many of my friends have blogged, posted on FB or shared articles with me of this very thing. It all makes sense and most people feel this stress, unless they are superwomen and can be a mom and work full-time while crafting, sewing, cleaning, and organizing everything in site. So I choose not to sweat the small stuff. If I have time to blog, then I will. I hope that is more often than not, but again I am not going to stress about it. We have a busy summer coming up....like the beach and Disney and I am SUPER EXCITED! I will at least blog about those adventures.

Until next time...