It's the little things...

This post is totally random- but I find it's important to find the joy in the little things!

A new Chick-fil-A opened near us and they have Family Nights on Monday evenings. We decided to check it out while MarMar was in town and it turns out that Mike and Al both had to work late so it was perfect for K and I! I heard on the radio that there would be face painting, but I didn't tell the kids since I didn't want the kids disappointed. We were in luck as there was a very small group there- so everyone got their face painted!! Addie choose Hello Kitty....

Alden wanted balloons- and the lady gave him glitter- sigh...

The CFA cow came out- and my kids were thrilled- our friends the W's were not.... We had a great evening- good food, great friends, amazing memories!!

Next, our vacuum was on the brink of going caput- so you can imagine how beyond thrilled I was when Al told me about a deal he found at one of his Home Depots!! This is Love- finding me an amazing vacuum at an amazing price- happy early, early birthday to me!!

And speaking of love- look at all the love on this couch! We were so blessed to have my inlaws watch the kids while we went on the cruise, but due to his work, Dad P had to go to Northern Va for work Sunday evening through Tuesday evening, so Mom stayed Mon, Tue and Wed with us. The kids loved having them around- and so did Kierke!

Life is all about the little things- God is good, and strive to enjoy our life!!

Our Disney Romanoff Work Cruise

Al's company hosts a mangers meeting once a year and invites the spouses. This years "meeting" just happened to be on a Disney Cruise Boat, The Dream! I have never been on a cruise so I was extremely pumped!

We left VA Wednesday, drove to Savannah, GA- Al driving a 12 passenger van, full of luggage and other managers from his company. Bright and early we headed for FL- when this came into view, the excitement hit the roof!

After we parked the van, Mr. Romanoff snap this picture- good thing we ran into him and his wife in the parking garage!

How amazing- 2 huge pools, a clear slide around the entire ship, and huge screen showing classic Disney all day, and evening! There was also a burger place, icecream, and soda all right off the deck! Perfection- thank you Disney!

As we waited to depart and our rooms to be ready, we took in a round of Goofy-Mini-Golf!

Our room was simply amazing! We paid a little bit extra to get a room with a balcony- and it was well worth it!

Sailing off into the sunset- headed to the Caribbean!

Our first, and sadly, only show- The Golden Mickey's!!

Friday we woke with this view- the Bahamas!!

Touring The Straw Market- some guys invited Al to help them carve with small hatchets.

Back on the ship, we were greeted by Mickey and Minnie- and NO line to see them!! For those of you that know Al, you know what a big deal this picture is!

Here we go- we tried out the slide that went around the boat and some friends snapped this for us! It was freeeeeezing but breath taking and well worth the wait in line and the cold temps!

Us and Atlantis and the background!

Our room- Disney thought that Al was his father and treated us like we were members of the Vacation Club, even after we told them we weren't them, they kept giving us the free stuff that they give Members!

Yummy and fruity- and free!

We were invited to this special restaurant along with the VP and 2 other managers and their spouses. It was to thank and honor them for their hard work.

Saturday we woke to this view- ahhhhhhh- Castaway Cay, Disney's private Island

SO clear- and so cold!

Ready to go para sailing- a nice French couple took pics for us- gotta love the universality of an iPhone!

Off we go!!

It was simply amazing. Nice to scratch something off our Bucket Lists!!

Also para sailing were Lisa and John- both crew members. It was John's birthday- and he was actually one of the chefs who had made our dinner at Remy the night before! Lisa's job is to help people choose excursions! We learned a lot about what it takes to become a crew member, what daily life is like, and even how much better it is on Disney than other cruise ships....

On our way to Al's Award Ceremony- love that water!

What cruise is complete without some shuffleboard?

Award #1- VOC (voice of the customer) above 9.60

So proud!

Award #2- greatest improvement of VOC

Award #3- top in his division- SO PROUD!!

Donny (friend), Rick (director- aka boss), Al- great men- Rick was very happy- his district was the most heavily awarded (Al did get the most out of anyone, but I'm his wife and I'm allowed to brag!)

This may seem random- but anytime you came anywhere near a place that served food, there was a crew member there handing these wipes out....

After talking with a crew member, they pointed out that all the stars on the carpet- the top of the star points to the front of the ship- VERY helpful when you are trying to find your way around the ship!

The adult pool- so quiet and the bar at the end is pretty snazzy!

So quiet- I snapped this on our way to breakfast Sunday morning before getting off the ship- this is the quietest it ever was!

What a breathtaking sunrise- good-bye Disney Dream, hello reality.... It was an amazing, amazing trip!!

Too Cool for Cavities!

I'll admit- I'm a bad mom. Addie has only been to the dentist once before today and Alden has never been. In my defence, I do have some valid reasons, but I won't go into that here. Today we went and the kids were amazing! We took them to our regular grown-up dentist- not a special place geared for kids.... The kids did great and the staff was blown away at how well behaved and cooperative they were- whew!

SO excited to be getting his teeth cleaned!

Being perfect for x-rays

Too cool- he loved the glasses!

Opening wide like a lion- cavity free!!

Addie having the dentist check her teeth. She gave her the sobering news that it may be awhile before she looses some teeth- according to the x-rays, her permanent teeth are close to the baby teeth, but not close enough for her teeth to be falling out soon...

Cool girl- cavity free!

My kids are far from perfect so that just makes me extra proud of how well they were today- way to go kiddos!!

Budding Talents...

I've been warned a zillion times that my kids would grow-up super fast- and boy has that been true this week!

Addie has been writing non-stop. I really need to scan some of her "stories"- just this weekend she filled 6 pages- front and back! Her favorite topics- Kierke and her family. She is putting together complex sentences- 2 ideas joined with conjunctions- which makes this teacher-Momma super proud! We are encouraging her to sound out words- or else we would be spelling words all day long. Her spellings are super cute- speshil=special, Kerke=Kierke, favrit=favorite. We love this passion of hers and look forward to seeing it evolve!

Alden also loves writing, but more recently he loves drawing. Part of the kindergarten entrance test involves the drawing of the human body. It's not just any body- it has to have the basics- head, arms, legs, body, eyes- but also eyebrows, ears, fingers, feet, & neck. He also loves drawing all his shapes in all different colors and sizes. Way to go, buddy!!

Gimme a "C"!

Ever since our Homecoming football game at Liberty, Addie has been obsessed with cheer leaders- she even convinced her teachers that she WAS a cheerleader! You can imagine her excitement when we told her that her Christmas gift was that she was actually going to be a REAL cheerleader! Some friends of ours run the local sports league and for the first time, they would be offering winter cheerleading!

Here they are starting off- calling up all the cheerleaders- can you see the excitement in her sweet little face?? We knew that they would be getting uniforms, but she didn't want to run the risk that she would be the only one not to have a uniform (some of the girls in this squad have cheered for this league in the spring or fall and would have those uniforms). I am so proud of her- even though the room was full of strangers and you could tell she was a little nervous, she marched right up when they called her name. I am so proud of the little lady she is turning into!

In her new, spiffy uniform- SO excited and a tad bit nervous!

Sitting in the gym with her friend Ella (love that she has such a sweet friend on her squad!) very intently listening to her Coach talk to the parents.

Circle Time- discussing good sportsmanship. Raising her hand to state that she wants to have fun and work hard- that's my girl!!

Everyone in for a loud "Go Team!"

Stretching.... Man that girl is limber!

All lined-up and ready to start learning some moves! Aren't they an adorable little squad?!

Practicing some jumps

Since it was the first day- the basketball players just scrimmaged so the squad didn't cheer for it. Normally they will put on a half-time show and cheer some for the game. To state that she was devastated to not cheer this week is an understatement! The girl wants to encourage, shake her pompoms, and chant her cheers- g-o, let's go, g-o, let's go!

She loves this- and I have a feeling I'll be sitting through a good number of athletic events watching the sidelines and my adorable little cheerleader!