Magic Kingdom

Animal Kingdom

Disney World part 1

Loud and Proud we entered the state of Fl the day of the Tn vs Fl game and you better believe we had our orange on!


We began planning our trip about nine months ago. If you know me at all, this is completely normal. I wanted everything to be perfectly planned. I read the books, Googled, talked with several families that had already made the trip and started making the reservations. Like I said, everything had to be perfect. Well, after speaking to a few other moms one of the pieces of advice I really took to heart was "have no expectations, and your trip will be magical". SERIOUSLY?? I started praying that night that I would let go of my perfectly planned trip and let God do the planning..sounds ridiculous..I know :) I felt anxious, nervous, sick to my stomach for the next 6 months. Why am I like this??!! The week before school I was considering keeping my kids home so they wouldn't pick up any little virus lurking around their classrooms. I prayed about it..and once again God reminded me that I am not in control and they are his children. And..I thought I will never get anything accomplished with them home! Note to readers: Ava was diagnosed with strep throat 3 days before we left...yes, I spent every night up until we left anticipating J.Riley's symptoms to pop up. UGH!! Just a little reminder from the Lord!

The only thing the kiddos knew before school on Friday was that we were going on vacation. I got the privilege of announcing our surprise to them on Friday at breakfast. Unfortunately Brent had an early morning case so we caught it on video for him! So fun!!!

We decided to rent a mini van for this long road trip. More room, DVD player, navigation system..all the obvious reasons:) and the fact that no one I knew would see me actually driving the van:) was a plus! We packed up on Friday, picked the kids up from school and got on the road. Of course we had plenty of goodies to keep the babes entertained. I backed them each a Disney backpack with things like Slinkys, color wonder books, dry erase boards, snacks, figurines, flashlights..ect. We made it just outside of Savannah with relatively no problems. On Saturday we finished up the rest of the trip and pulled into our resort a little after lunch. Our Disney vacation had officially begun! Just one last surprise...My parents would be joining us!

We had such a wonderfully busy time! We saw everything! Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Fireworks shows, Laser shows, Meals with Characters and even managed to squeeze a little R and R at the pool. This will definitely be one of our most memorable trips as a family. AND NO, not everything went as planned and J.Riley did get strep throat the fist night we were there BUT it all worked out and we had an amazing time!

I do this blog for my children so I am going to post pictures with little things that I remember under them. Although, I have a feeling they will not need this post to re capture the memories!

Real Life

Future Olympians

I think not! Ha! My sweet girl is finally old enough to participate in a sport that is dear to my heart. I remember the day she was born, day dreaming that she would be in love with Gymnastics throughout her child her just as I was. I grew up in the dance studio as well as in the gym. It was something that I was never amazingly talented at but that I loved to be a part of. I loved the feeling of working hard on a skill and finally perfecting it. I loved being a part of team of girls. I loved bouncing and flipping and showing off. Here is a list of the reasons both my children are enrolled in their very first gymnastics class! Both my kids are in love! They are doing so well. Even though I only have pictures of Ava, J.Riley is doing particularly well. He has mastered the cartwheel after just three classes!

10 Reasons to Get in the Gym

1) Develop coordination
2) Develop flexibility
3) Develop strength and power
4) Learn to listen and follow directions
5) Gain self-esteem and confidence
6) Social interaction with peers
7) Learn to set goals
8) Learn fundamentals of movement
9) Develop skills to enhance other sports
10) It’s FUN!!

First day of Pre-K and 3's (August 9, 2010)

More Pink!