Disney!!

We had a truly magical week at Disney World!! We met MarMar, PopPop, Aunty Jen, Uncle Frank and Cousin Nate there- and had a ball together! This trip was for the boy's 5th birthday- Addie had been taken for her 4th birthday. The three of the kids played so nicely together and did great at the parks! Here are a few pics that sum-up our fun!!

We started off visiting the princesses- Cinderella was amazing!!

The boys telling Belle they are 5 (Nate would be 5 in 10 days, Alden, not so much- but he is now convinced that he IS 5 and will be turning 6 in August....)

Getting smooched- he blushed- so sweet!

Sunday was W-E-T! We only stayed for a bit and then went back to the room. Notice we are using a Disney stroller? Our other stroller was stolen the night before! Disney was great and offered us a free rental until we could make it to Target and get a new cheep-o stroller....

Downtown Disney- the Lego store and all their amazing creations was a huge hit with all 3 kids!

Epcot- or the gigantiss golf ball as Alden called it....

Addie was selected to be the spokeslady for our section of Lion King!!

And then all three kids were asked to be a part of the parade!!

"Fish are friends not food"- clearly that isn't true for kids....

In honor of the boy's birthday, we had dinner at the newer T-Rex restaurant in Downtown Disney- this is the lava birthday cake- super cool and amazingly yummy!

After a good dinner, which we managed to eat despite the meteor showers every 20min- the kids made their own prehistoric creatures!

Beauty and the Beast was amazing- Addie loved it!

The stunt show was breath taking- all the men loved it!

What time in the sun is complete without icecream?!? Alden discovered the frozen chocolate covered bananas and he ALWAYS picked that!

Our resort had an amazing pool- this was the slide which was super fast!

My two studs

Cinderella's Carousel!

Addie was thrilled to meet Tangled!! She was excited that we were invited back the next morning to french braid Tangled's hair....

Our last night there, we ventured back out to watch the parade and fireworks. Alden's tummy was upset, so he asked to stay back with MarMar and PopPop- we had a great time and the kids did great staying up super late!

It was a trip of a lifetime- thank you MarMar and PopPop!!

A REAL Snow Day!!

Snow was in the forecast for Monday all week- I was skeptical- it had been in the upper 70s on Friday for goodness sake! Thankfully Monday morning, at 5.48 am the phone rang- our county was opening 2 hours late due to the snow!! What a great way to start a Monday!! To make it even better, the kids slept until 7am- woo-hoo! We came downstairs and were greeted by this scene- I had a hunch that this much snow would cause a complete shut-down (stop laughing all you Northerner's- this is the south we are dealing with!!). And I was right- in the middle of breakfast, the schools closed for the day- yay!!

Same spot that just 3 days before they posed for pics in their Easter's finest- what crazy weather!!

Alden discovered a hidden talent- creating "gigantiss" (his word, not mine) snowballs!

All on his own, he created his MarMar and PopPop

Together with Addie, they created our family! Left to Right- Kierke, Al, Alden, Addie, Mommy- not bad considering how little snow we had to work with and how little practice they get!

I affectionately refer to these as "southern snowmen"- notice all the leaves, moss, acorns, etc, that are in them! We used just about all our snow to create these- the kids had a blast- thank you schools for closing- we fully used our day off!!

i9 Cheer Leading

Addie has totally embraced cheer leading and really has excelled at it- we are super proud! Here are a few pics from her final session

-Cheering for a game- there were doing a pyramid- Addie's half was fine, the other half, well, they are all 6 years old and under....

The favorite- Spirit- getting to jump and just hoot! Poor Addie- I forgot her pom-poms at home....

At the end of the final game, there was an awards ceremony- they were super excited!!

LOVING their trophies!!

Super proud of our cheer leader!!

The best part- having our Mommy-Daughter-Dates afterwards- this time, with Rita's!! It's been a very special 8 weeks- we are all super proud of all that Addie has learned and look forward to her joining i9 in the fall!

Happy Birthday, Gooey

Addie has a set of dolls that are affectionately called Gooey. She came up with that name when she was 2 years old and the name has stuck. Her dolls are constantly having birthday's- and usually we just sing to them and that is it. This time, she specifically asked for a cake, to sing, and for pictures to be taken and posted on the blog and facebook- ahh, the joys of children and technology! We made a heart-shaped cake complete with pink heart frosting. Gooey was thrilled as were the rest of us! It's the little things that she will remember- Addie, not Gooey- and it was a blast creating this memory with her!

Spring Has Sprung!

The other day the kids looked exceptionally cute- it was totally unplanned! We were actually ready for school a few minutes early so I grabbed the camera and snapped a few pictures them. So cute- it helps me remember how blessed I am!!

Morning Snow

We woke up Monday morning to a Winter Wonderland- that was already starting to melt. So what do you do with a snowy Monday that you already had off thanks to President's Day?? Put on snowpants over your PJ's and go play, of course!!

The backyard

Alden attempting to make a snowman- it didn't really work....

It WAS great for snowangles though!!

Pausing for a pic for Mom

Attempting to throw a snowball- it didn't work very well so we had a good laugh!

Alden loved running around- the crunching sound was his favorite!

Exploring the yard - they loved that it was deeper closer to the street

It was a great way to start off our day off- we added a Dr's appointment, lunch with friends, and then naps- perfection!!

SNOW!!!!

It snowed a bit last week but it wasn't even enough for the kids to run around in. So when snow was in the forecast for today, the kids were super excited! It was supposed to start around 3pm, but actually started on our way to church at 9am! Even though it melted, the kids held out hope that it would actually accumulate- and around 5pm, that is what happened!!

Last year when it snowed like this, I made the kids wait until morning to play in the snow- and it was so bitterly cold they had no interest- and by afternoon, it warmed up and it all melted away. I was NOT going to let this snow go un-played in! We bundled up, pj's and all, and the kids had a blast running around in the thickly falling snow!!

Ready to go!

And they're off!!

I forgot the flash was turned off on my camera- but you can still see their smiles and all the snow!

One happy little girl!

One thrilled little boy!

Look at how thick and fast the snow is falling! Who knows what we will wake-up to- but at least the kids had some fun!!