Disney Vacation Day 2

Hollywood Studios was another fun day for the girls.  While there aren't many rides, we did enjoy quite a few shows.  Kayla even said that she enjoyed the car stunt show the best. Marc was thrilled to hear that. ha!

Beauty and the Beast is always a fabulous production.

Indiana Jones stunt show

Brooke fell asleep during the car stunt show.  The LOUD car stunt show. Poor girl is used to her naps.  Macy was so excited to be holding her sleeping sister's hand.

My little Minnie Mouse.

We enjoyed the Fantasmic show. The scary parts don't seem to bother our kids. 

     

After Fantasmic we walked around the back area of the park where there were TONS of lights.  I was surprised, but thankful, to see the nativity as the first thing when you walked in. 

I have no idea what Macy is doing here, but I love it.  That's my girl!

Disney Vacation Day 1

We had a fabulous time at Disney World a couple of weeks ago. We went at a perfect time of year when it wasn't really crowded.  The lines were generally 20 minutes or less with many lines less than a 5 minute wait.  Can't beat that!  I have so many pictures to sort through, and I really don't have time for editing and cropping them right now.  Busy month!

Storytime with Belle in the new Fantasyland was super fun for the girls.  

 

 

We had the free dining plan with our vacation.  We didn't use this last time, and while I knew there would be a lot of food, I really had no idea. We opted to use most of our sit down service meals for character meals.  While the backgrounds in the pictures aren't quite as pretty when it is fellow diners, but it's a small price to pay for not having to wait in lines to see the characters. Our first meal was at the Crystal Palace.  The girls practiced their hula-hooping skills while we were waiting.

 

 

Can't pass up a carousel!

 

The Dumbo ride moved since we were there a few years ago.  Now they have a really cool waiting area and two dumbo rides to help speed up the waiting. 

 

The Barnstormer. I just love this picture of Kayla and Macy. Marc is telling the girls to hold their hands up and I am telling them to hold on tight and not let go.  Guess that's what a mama is supposed to say. ha!

We didn't ride the Toy Story ride last time, so we made sure to stop by this time.  I got so aggravated with Marc on this.   You have to shoot at these X's all around you.  There is also a lever that you use to turn your seat around to shoot more X's.  Marc would NOT leave that lever alone! As soon as I would get myself lined up he would whip me around. I told him I would not be riding that again with him. The second time we rode it I went with Kayla and Brooke. :)

And that wraps up our first day at Disney. The parks closed early most nights due to lower volume of people, so we pretty much stayed until park closing most nights (7-8PM). The girls did a great job with all the walking (and there were just a few stroller fights) and they slept well each night.

Thanksgiving and the Start of the Christmas Season

We enjoyed watching the kindergarten Thanksgiving skit with Macy this year. She and her friend Abigail were the turkeys.

When the kids are finished with the skit the parents get a chance to take on their rolls.  We then enjoyed a lunch with both of our school girls.

She has a candy addiction.  Some days she will wake up asking for candy. I tried to tuck their bags in the corner of the butler's pantry, but she knew they were there.  She would usually grab the small stool to reach up there, but this time she pushed the kitchen chair all the way across the kitchen.  Did she think I wouldn't notice??

Putting up the Christmas tree.

The one and only picture we took on Thanksgiving. 

So many more fun things to see and do over the month of December and the girls are so excited to get started on all of them!

More Fall Fun

I love this time of year and all of the fun things that go along with it. Fall Festivals. (Didn't make it to one.) Pumpkin Patches. (Not here either unless you count the field trip where the girls didn't get anywhere near a pumpkin except in the store.) Playing at the park. (Made it to the neighborhood playground once.) Playing outside in the beautiful weather. Well that one the kids have had a lot of. Instead we (and by we I mean mostly Marc) have spent every. single. weekend. trying to make our HOA happy. Granted the landscaping and porch staining had to be done, but there's nothing like some grumpy people who are extremely rude and threaten you with fines to get you spending most of the month of October working on appeasing them.  We have never met such rude people (and others who give in to whatever they want).  Thankfully we have met a few very kind people as well in the neighborhood.  And while the HOA saga continues, we are praying that we are at the end of it and they will back down.  I think our Disney vacation later this month is exactly what our family needs - time away with our family. But our yard sure does look good now!

Fall Fun

We took the girls to the Kroger shopping center about a week ago.  They called it a fall festival, but it was just a time for the kids to walk around and get some candy from the local businesses.  Other than getting candy, the girls enjoyed getting their faces painted.

Macy chose a heart with a rainbow.

Kayla chose a crown.

And Brooke chose "pink." A pink butterfly suited her perfectly.

Potty Training

All three of my children are officially potty trained and my life has been changed.  No more worrying about a diaper bag or changing diapers on a nasty public restroom changing table. Brooke was BY FAR the easiest to train.  We made the switch to panties one morning, she had three little accidents where she immediately stopped herself and started fussing about being wet.  A couple of days later she had two more small accidents, but I believe that is what made her transition from me taking her to the restroom regularly and her telling us when she has to go.  She stays completely dry during nap time and over night, so no more pull-ups for us. And to think I was worried she would be my most stubborn to train. ha!

School Fun

This has been a busy, fun filled year for my two school girls.  It has been interesting balancing schedules and work loads for both, but I like a challenge.  Well, I like a challenge that I can succeed at. ha!

Macy is finally getting to do all of the fun stuff that she remembers her sister doing two years ago.

And Wednesday treats are always something she looks forward to.

And it was her turn for Pancakes with Papa.  I helped coordinate this event, so I got to be a fly on the wall.  I just love seeing all of these little heads bowed in prayer. 

Kayla had her first research paper to write.  I'm sure this is the first of many, but she had such fun researching the giant panda and making this model.  He turned out super cute if I do say so myself.  Other than using the hot glue gun she did the entire thing herself.

  

Here she is giving her report.  I love that her teacher seeks to involve parents in the class and WANTS them to come in and see what their children are doing.

We have also had field trip craziness going on.  Normally we wouldn't attend all of the field trips, but so far I have felt that each one was important. For five weeks we had a field trip every week except for one.  It was crazy, but the kids had a good time.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to do these types of things with my children on a regular basis.

Macy's class trip to the pumpkin patch - probably not necessary in the scheme of educating my child, but a necessary fall event nonetheless.

So what does this picture have to do with school? Everything! It was obviously a pajama homeschool day, and this is how I managed to get a 2 year old entertained while I taught history to Kayla. While I refuse to sit Brooke in front of a television every day while I homeschool, some days I just need a little help.  Nothing wrong with trading a little Curious George for Mama's sanity!

This has been the year of sickness.  Kayla has managed to get pink eye and strep throat so far this school year.  She might get sick twice a year, so twice since school started is strange.  Macy has been dealing with congestion and sinus infections on and off for months.  Throw an ear infection into the mix for her as well. Marc and I have been battling the sore throat stuff for a few days too, and Brooke is starting to get congested now too.  This is SO unusual for us. Thankfully since they are actually in school for only two days a week they aren't missing a lot.  Homeschool goes on unless you can't get out of bed. :)  Kayla did miss one day due to strep, so I made her work on her paddle dolls (ancient Egyptian toys) for Market Day.  She is very meticulous, and it took quite a while for her to finish, but she did get a good dent in the project done that day. 

And Brooke wanted to join in on the coloring too.  She colored for over an hour.  I was able to get so much done around the house that I wouldn't normally be able to get done with her wanting attention. She is so used to having someone in the house to play with that it is hard to accomplish anything on school days. I have to keep reminding myself that is okay. She is only little once and before I know it I will have three girls in school and I will miss this time.

Market Day finally arrived.  We were able to borrow a costume from a friend, which I am thankful for.

The kids played games, made bricks, ate food that the Egyptians would have eaten, and did other fun stuff.

Bartering.  

They had such a good time trading the goods they had made. Mrs. Foster did such a great job making Ancient Egypt into a wonderful hands-on learning experience.

And of course we can't forget Pajama Day.  I think someone was a tad bit excited to go to school in her pajamas.