Donuts with Dad

Forrest and Wilson had a fun time at Donuts for Dad last Friday.  

Our little ballerina

Ann Evelyn has always loved dancing around the house so over the summer she went to a princess dance camp for 1 week. She had so much fun!! They danced, did a craft each day and at the end of the week, they performed for the parents and showed us a scrapbook they had made that week! Wow! I couldn't believe they had done so much being there just an hour and a half each day. Look at the cute rapunzel braid decorating the door! Ann Evelyn is posing  :)

Since she enjoyed her week so much and really seems to love to dance, we signed her up for a class this year 

Here she is... Ready to go! How we love our tiny dancer!

Back to School!!

We have had a great start to the school year!! I can hardly believe that I have 2 in uniforms this year!  We are so thankful for our school-- for its Biblical foundation, precious teachers, sweet families... It puts my mind at ease knowing they are in a special place where they are covered in prayer and loved on so well - not to mention learning and growing too!  We are blessed indeed.

First day pictures...

my big 1st grader - Andrew loves staying all day and eating lunch at school!

and its Kindergarten for Forrest!  He is making new friends and learning what big school is all about. He is loving it!

Ann Evelyn is in a sweet 3 day 4 year old class. She loves school! She loves her teacher and loves playing with her sweet friends! And I love that she is home with me and Sarah Elizabeth on Tuesdays and Thursdays for our "girl mornings". We play games, play beauty shop, paint, go to the park, and do many of her other favorite things. Of course, SE loves playing with big Sis! Isnt it so true about our little ones growing up so fast? I really am trying to savor these sweet play dates with my girls!

The first day is a family affair!! Everyone is excited... And maybe a little nervous too!

           Forrest and Mrs. Valentine 

             Andrew and Mrs. Pilcher

           Ann Evelyn and Mrs. Moore

   We are thankful that Christ Covenant comes alongside us in training our children.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

 Proverbs 22:6 

Love these days!

This is a post that was from spring... somehow I never published it to the blog....

Love having everyone home for lunch and the afternoons. We are spending so much time outside this spring and it amazes me how good it is for us all. Fresh air and sunshine is good for the body, mind and soul. Thank you, Lord, for your beautiful creation you have given us! It is hitting me that next year is going to be different with Andrew being in school a full day. I am going to miss him!

Day 1!

We started the day early. I had planned a character breakfast at Chef Mickey's for the first morning.  I thought that would be a really fun way to start our trip!  We took a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then rode the Monorail over to Chef Mickey's.  We ate at Chef Mickey's on our last trip and really enjoyed it!  Fun atmosphere, yummy breakfast food and the classic Mickey & friends characters!

A monorail ride is always fun!

We didn't have to wait long for our table but we had the waiting area almost to ourselves... and how entertaining that the kids could watch Disney Jr while they waited. :)

Goofy is one of the guys' favorites and we saw him first!  He hung out with us for awhile.  We have a lot of pics with him!  Sarah Elizabeth was a little unsure.. after all he was big!

  

She was excited to see Mickey though!  Love this expression!

I love this one of the girls and me with Minnie.  May May made the girls outfits and they were so cute.  They both wore red-glittered Toms and got tons of compliments on them :)  

Minnie got a sweet hug from the boys!

After breakfast we rode the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom.  To me, the Magic Kingdom is what I think of when I think Disney.  So, I really wanted us to go there the first day!  As soon as we walked in, the horse and buggy pulled up with the Dapper Dans in the back.  They offered us a ride up Main Street to Cinderella's Castle!  So fun!!  The Dapper Dans serenaded us as we rode...we felt like we were in a parade :)  Such a special little treat!

One of the Dapper Dans with Sarah Elizabeth.

Andrew wanted to ride Splash Mountain first so we headed that way!  We all rode (except Sarah Eliz) and had so much fun!  Forrest didn't like getting wet and once was enough for Ann Evelyn, but Andrew was ready to ride again with May May and Bubby.  While he rode again, we met Woody and got his autograph.  Woody was great... such personality!

We rode several other rides... Thunder Mountain, Aladdin's Magic Carpet, explored the Swiss Family Robinson house, ate a Dole Whip - yum!  By this time, our crew was getting tired... we headed back to Cinderella's castle where we waited for the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Show... really cute!

Waiting for the show...

                                                 

Here it comes... Mickey and Minnie!

We danced right beside Woody and Jessie!

After the show, Mom and I decided to take the girls back to the room while the boys headed over to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear.  These 2 quickly became Forrest's favorites!

The guys came back after their time in tomorrowland, and we all took naps. Whew! We needed a little rest. :)  We went to Epcot for dinner and ate in Mexico. It was good and put us in a great spot to watch the fireworks. We love the laser and firework show at Epcot. A fun ending to day 1!

Here are Wilson and SE in front of Mexico. We took several rides on the Three Caballeros ride inside Mexico which the kids loved 

Beautiful fireworks 

Travel Day!

We got to the airport around 10 am Saturday morning to get ready for our flight.  The kiddos were excited about their 2nd time to fly!  They loved watching all of the action outside the windows while we waited for our flight.  We flew Delta because we had such a great deal using sky miles and a free ticket... the only downside of that was that we did have a stop in Atlanta.  So it was a pretty full day of traveling.  They did great though!

Having a snack and watching the airplanes...

Big smiles...

his shirt makes me laugh... a picture of Chewbacca that says "A wookie ate my homework.."  May May found the boys some fun t-shirts to wear at Disney!

This little girl was a perfect traveler! 

On her first airplane ride... she slept each time! 

After arriving at the airport, we rode the Magical Express to the resort.  This trip we stayed at Port Orleans - Riverside.  It was nice... a southern atmosphere... definitely a different experience than Wilderness Lodge.  Port Orleans was bigger, busier and more spread out.

Here are Forrest and SE looking out the window at the horse-drawn carriages while we waited for Wilson to check in.

The boys stretching out on the beds!  Our room had double beds and a foldout singe bed.  Then a pack and play was delivered for Sarah Elizabeth.  With luggage for 6 of us, it was tight!  Thankfully, Mom and Dad had an adjoining room so it gave us some space to spread out.  We may not have made it through the week otherwise! :)

After getting to our rooms and getting everyone settled, we decided to eat at the resort that night.  We were tired from traveling and had a busy week ahead so this was definitely the best option for us.  We told the kids we had a fun surprise for the morning so everyone went to bed excited! 

Baseball!

Baseball has begun!  A fun Saturday with these boys!! We have a National and a Philly!

The 6 year olds play coach pitch this year. They only get 5 pitches though. They can strike out or get thrown out at a base which is new this year. Another new thing is they can take more than 1 base.  Andrew had a single and a double tonight!

Forrest is playing coach pitch for the first time. He had 2 good hits and he fielded a ball! Way to go, Forrest-man!

I was proud of both of the boys for playing hard and having fun!

Surprise!! We are going to Disney World!!

In January, Wilson and I began planning a Disney trip.  (Well, to be honest Wilson was really the one who started the planning... because he is a great dad!!)  We went in March 2011, and the kids talk all the time about the trip and wanting to go back.  We decided this would be a great time to go... the 3 older kids are at the age where Disney is still magical and fun but they are also becoming more independent.  I am so glad we did... they were a great age to do so much!

We decided to surprise the kids with a scavenger hunt... or a treasure hunt as they call it!  They love doing these and their sweet May May has a treasure hunt for them almost every time they go over to her house.  It was perfect!  This was the day before the trip.

Wilson and I worked hard that Friday morning while they were at school... making and hiding clues, blowing up balloons, getting surprises ready... and packing!

The kids found this when we got home... their first clue!

The first clue led them to the garage where they found new toothbrushes and the 2nd clue! The 2nd clue told them they would be going on a trip!!  It also led them to Sarah Elizabeth's room.

In Sarah Eliz, room they were so surprised to see May May and Bubby!  The 3rd clue told them that May May and Bubby would be going along on our trip!  It also had a big pack of glow sticks attached and told them how they could use them on their trip at night! The 3rd clue led them outside to the trampoline!

On the trampoline they found clue #4!!  They were getting so excited at this point... big, big grins!!  The clue told them they would need their sunglasses and sunscreen too... notice they all put their sunglasses on!  As I was reading the 4th clue which led to our bedroom, they took off.  They heard part of the clue, knew where to go and didn't wait for the rest.

In our room they found the final clue and a balloon attached to a trunk... the clue told them to count to 3 and open the trunk..

1...2...3!

Out comes more balloons and a sign attached!  

At this point, they are still trying to figure out what it is!

Andrew reads, "Surprise!  We are going to Disney World!" :)

Then he asks... "Are we going tomorrow?!" and then breaks into a huge grin! He 'got it' first. 

Then AE and Forrest start to realize what is happening..

I love this face!!  Pure surprise and excitement!!

It's finally sinking in.... and they are excited!

Our crew... little kids and big kids so happy!  

The surprise was so fun!  Then the kids had the night to think about the trip and pack a backpack with their things for the airplane.

Here we are right before bed... packed and ready!  Disney World, here we come! 

My Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday to the sweetest little girl!! We love you so very much!!