Day 5-Part 3

We finished out our day at the Magic Kingdom with the "Wishes" fireworks. I think we wore them out!

Day 5- Part 2 The Princess Lunch

We've finally arrived in the Magic Kingdom! This was, by far, my favorite park. Brooklyn, my mom, and I attended a lunch in Cinderella's Castle. Brooklyn had her picture taken with Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Alice, and the Fairy Godmother. Sleeping Beauty is her favorite. It was great to see the sparkle in Brooklyn's eyes when she came to our table. During the lunch, the children were told to make a wish with their magic wands. Brooklyn wished she could fly. She's still waiting for it to come true!

Day 5: Part1

We called Orange Lake Country Club home during our stay in Florida. It was only a few miles from Disney and had all sorts of fun attractions. The kids favorite was the water slide at one of the pools. By the end of our stay they were landing in the water and swimming away, unassisted by anything but floaties. That's definitely progress by one little girl who doesn't like to get her face wet!

It is lovebug season in Florida. They were everywhere! Brooklyn attempted to save every lovebug that landed in the pool. We had quite the collection by the end of our swim.



Xavier amazed me at the pool. He went from totally relying on us to keep him afloat to swimming on his own. He did what he called "big jump" by holding his breath, jumping into water over his head, and allowing his floaties to bring him to the surface where he would laugh and start all over again.

Day 4-The Animal Kingdom

I'm realizing that I could spend the next week in front of the computer writing about our trip so I'm going to try to be brief. The Animal Kingdom was definitely right up Xavier's alley. He loved all the animals and the jeeps that bumped along the safari. He says the Lion King show was his favorite part of Disney.


Andy and I were able to get away for a few moments(thanks to my parents) to ride Expedition Everest. Brooklyn was afraid we were going to be eaten by the Yeti! The ride was fantastic! It's been so long since I've been able to ride a good coaster!


Brooklyn was chosen to go up front during the Lion King show and do her best elephant trumpet. I was so proud!

Disney is doing a program for the year 2007 called "The Year of a Million Wishes." For our "wish" we were pulled out of the line of the Triceratop Spin(because of the matching animal print outfits created by Grandma) and given dinosaur masks to wear. We then rode the ride twice in a row without getting off. The kids felt so special!

Day 3--MGM Studios!

Let the fun begin! We started our Disney adventure at MGM Studios. It was Mothers' Day so the crowds didn't seem to be as crazy as usual. Brooklyn and Xavier both enjoyed the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and we enjoyed being in out of the hot sun.




Next, we ventured over to Lights, Motors, Action! The kids both seemed to think the show was too loud, but Andy loved all the stunts, especially because the cars were Opals.


We spent quite a bit of time in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids play area. The kids didn't want to leave!

After the parade, we headed back to the condo. We didn't want to to expend all of our energy on the first day. Onward to the Animal Kingdom!

Road Trip!

Last Friday we left for our first major road trip to Orlando to see The Mouse. We hit the road as soon as Brooklyn was out of school for the day. After 10 hours in the car, we arrived at our Atlanta, Georgia destination for the night. The kids were absolutely wonderful in the car! They did a great job of entertaining themselves and we only had a few "are we there yets?" We had a wonderful visit with some family friends before we headed out again. Day two on the road didn't go nearly as well, but it had nothing to do with the kidlets. We were rerouted off of I-75 in southern Georgia due to the wildfires. Most of GA and part of Florida were covered in smoke. It was like driving through hundreds of miles of fog. No fun! We were sent about 100 miles out of our way to avoid the thick smoke. By the time we arrived in Orlando at 9:30 we were all stir crazy and ready to be out of the car!

One Day With the Kings

We spent Wednesday at the zoo with the Kings. The kids always do so well together! They RAN through the entire zoo in the almost 90 degree weather. Brooklyn would not let go of poor Jonathan's hand. Xavier and Drew are finally starting to act like buddies. As usual, when it was time to go, there were lots of tears and "I wish you didn't live so far away!" It was great to see you, Michelle!

My favorite time of year!

Spring is my favorite time of year. I love the budding trees, flowers and new life after a bleak winter. I also love tutus and dance recitals! Brooklyn is really in her element when she is able to dress up, wear makeup, and do all things girly. We had great fun getting ready for her dance pictures. She was definitely ready to strike a pose this year! I had no complaints about not being a Pineapple Princess. I can't wait for the recital!

Let the training begin!

I've decided to attempt a triathlon in July of this year and Andy may join me. The weather is finally nice enough to get outside to bike. We turned our workout for the day into a family trip to Glacier Ridge Metro Park. It was such a beautiful day! Xavier cruised in the trailer and Brooklyn rode the tag-along. She felt like such a big girl! It is one more step toward losing those training wheels. Maybe by the end of the summer...she's not the most adventurous of kids.

Go Sundaes!

Brooklyn has decided to play soccer this spring. I'm wishing it had been a little warmer so I could have shown her a few things before our first game. It's not surprising to say that on her first trip out onto the field, she scored a goal for the other team! She's having a great time playing and I'm enjoying being an assistant coach. We are light blue and our sponsor is Dairy Queen. Since Dairy Queen doesn't serve Mac 'n' Cheese, our team decided to be the Sundaes. We are a team of girls and the coaches are girls, so we had to have the most important soccer accessory...matching hair ties! Thanks to Xavier, Grandma, Oma, and Opa for being part of our cheering section this weekend while Andy manned our garage sale. I'm looking forward to a great season!

Green-eyed Monster

On St. Patrick's Day this year we drove over to Dublin to attend the parade and Blarney Bash. Andy had to work so I braved the crowds and cold on my own. We barely made it in time for the parade, but Brooklyn had plenty of time to gather lots of goodies. Xavier was content to sit in the stroller and watch. Occasionally, a parade participant would plop some candy on his tray as they passed by. How nice!


After 45 minutes of parade, we decided to beat the crowds and head into McDonald's for some lunch. The kids really perked up after some nuggets and hot chocolate!


We ran into the Bautschs and the Beaumonts at the Bash.

After lunch, we headed to the Blarney Bash. The kids had a great time making crafts and participating in the activities. The main reason for attending the Bash was for Brooklyn to attempt to retain her crown as "runner-up" in the greenest eyes contest. She was sure she would win this year. Unfortunately, there were at least 30 kids that entered the contest this year and she didn't even get looked at. She's so small! She was so disappointed! It helped a little for her to know that the winner from last year was there too and he didn't get looked at either! All was well by the time Andy showed up and we had a wonderful family evening.

A Future Santana?

Xavier absolutely loves to play the guitar. He'll spend hours strumming and singing his own "tunes." His favorite song to play and sing is "Oh, God" a.k.a. "Step by Step." We spent some time recently at a friends house practicing for an upcoming praise and worship time. Xavier spent almost the entire evening sitting with the guitarists and strumming along. Thanks for sharing your guitar, Miriam!