Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Project 365: Week 40 & Week 41

Tuesday, October 1
We got home around 7 the night before, but "Baby Girl Rock" was not in the mood to get up and go to school.  Even kids don't like vacation let down!
Wednesday, October 2
Wyatt's first baseball game after vacation.  I missed it because Reese had practice, but he got the game ball!
Thursday, October 3
He lost his other tooth! He did NOT want anyone to take it out, and it was hanging on by a thread.  He even went to the dentist on Wednesday and the dentist offered to let him take it out himself, but he said no.  On the way out, he grabbed a bouncy ball from the treasure chest.

The next day he was bouncing the ball in the kitchen, and he missed it and he knocked out the tooth.  How funny is that?!?

That tooth is actually already growing in!
Friday, October 4
Showing off her new Ariel sweatshirt from Disney World.  If people tell her that they like it, she will tell them exactly which shop we bought it in at the Magic Kingdom.
Saturday, October 5
She slept like a dream on vacation, but she did NOT want to get back into her routine when we were home.  She was getting new teeth, and she woke up every night an hour after I put her down.  She had fun hanging out on the couch with Daddy.
Sunday, October 6
She and Baby Nina were on their way outside!
Monday, October 7
Love seeing these little feet in the back seat!
Tuesday, October 8
She referred to this as "cowgirl fashion."  She put the outfit together by herself.
Wednesday, October 9
Brian lost a baseball bet, and has to wear a Rod Sox shirt to pay it off.  This is how Reese felt about that little fact.
Thursday, October 10
In the middle of the week of rain.  It felt like it was never. going. to stop.  At least she had a cheerful attitude about it!
Friday, October 11
Brian's birthday weekend!  He has season tickets to the Admirals, so I was able to go to both hockey games with him that weekend.
Saturday, October 12
Love this smile!
Sunday, October 13
Brian's birthday!  He was doing a little pruning, and the kids insisted on keeping him company while they ate their lunch.
Monday, October 14
Reese and the American Girl doll that Aunt April gave her!



Monday, October 28, 2013

What Our October Looked Like

I feel like I've spent the last two months getting into the swing of things.

Over the summer I crave normalcy of our school schedules (which is why I like things like swim lessons and our school workbooks), but since school started things have gotten a little out of control.

We have lots of running to do every day with school drops offs and pick ups, but all these kids make for lots of activities, too!

On Monday mornings I go to school with Wyatt and help his teacher with AR testing in his classroom.
On Monday nights this guy has soccer.  He's scored two goals this season, and he has one more game tonight.

On Tuesdays I have to pick Hudson up from school at 11:45, and then double back to pick Reese up from dance at 1:30.  Then we have to pick Wyatt up at 2:15!

On Wednesdays Reese had soccer practice....

And Wyatt had baseball games (at the same time).


On Thursday nights Wyatt has soccer practice, but thankfully those are usually handled by Brian!

Saturdays haven't been much better!  Two soccer games and a baseball game (plus birthday parties), have had me on the go from 8AM-6PM some days.

Fortunately we did have an afternoon off.  And this guy took advantage of it with his Daddy.  Brian had new trees planted in the backyard as an anniversary gift, and Hudson helped him water them!

I feel like things are finally slowing down and I'm finally able to catch my breath.  And I'm really looking forward to Pumpkin Patch Parades and Halloween this week - and there may already be some Holiday season planning happening around here!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Project 365: Week 39 - Disney World 2013

Sooooo, catching up on Project 365, and finishing up the Disney World recap at the same time!

Saturday, September 21
Pulling out of the driveway!  We left home Saturday around 4PM (after a morning full of sports), and made it to South Carolina by 10!
Sunday, September 22
We finished the drive to Florida, and spent the day exploring our resort and dealing with our Magic Band issues.  But that's a topic for a different day.  While I was getting everything unpacked, Brian took the kids to one of the nightly movies that they show in each courtyard.  When they came back they were exhausted!  Reese had claimed this bed earlier in the day and Wyatt claimed the murphy bed.  But they liked being able to cuddle before bed!
One of our many train rides through the park to avoid the rain.  You know, before we embraced it!
Waiting in line for Toy Story Mania!  There was almost no wait when we got there 10 minutes before the park closed!
This was her, "I'm waiting in line, I'm about to meet Pokey" dance.  Yes, she calls Pocahontas, Pokey.  I guess she thinks they're besties.
Riding the Carousel at Magic Kingdom!  Who doesn't love a good ride on the merry go round?
Waiting to fight Darth Vader at Hollywood Studios!  
Riding Dumbo with my big boy at Magic Kingdom. He picked me to ride with...that's a rare occasion!  That tooth was barely hanging on while we were on vacation - he lost it two days after we got home.
Hanging out with Finley while we waited for everyone else!
Monday, September 30
A picture of Daddy and Wyatt with Mufasa and Simba before we left!  This was our section of the Art of Animation studios (we were facing the courtyard, so our room had a view of Scar and the hyenas.  This was at the entrance).

And a few others....
On the People Mover on Day 1!
How adorable is a tiny baby in a big poncho?
This is how the two big kids ended up sleeping every night.  Hudson actually slept in a pack and play in our room (we had two, so Finley did too).  It was so sweet to see them cuddled together after they fell asleep.  And it saved us from having to pull the murphy bed out!  This was actually the night that we got soaked at Magic Kingdom, so they were all trying to warm up under their boos (that's what we call blankets).
Riding the Nemo ride!
Sacked out at Epcot!
Boys ready to go to Animal Kingdom!
Waiting to meet Tiana.
Baby in a bucket on Tom Sawyer Island.
These two bonded on vacation.  She used to be mama's girl.  Now she goes to him all the time (and it kind of breaks my heart).
More People Mover fun!
A collage of our trip!
This guy turned into quite a runner.  Check him out trying to run from us at the hotel at 6AM before we left.  This is why people leash their children!

And this semi-concludes the Disney recap.  I may post some of our photo pass pictures once the CD comes, and I will definitely be sharing tips and tricks AND my magic band experience.  Just not soon.  More life has happened this month and I might (FINALLY) be caught up enough to blog about it!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Disney World 2013: Day 7

On the night before our last day at Disney, we asked the kids if there was anything that wanted to do one more time.  

Yeah, their must do list was long.  And we wanted to do our best to fit it all in.

That meant that we started our day bright and early at Animal Kingdom.  We hopped right on the safari, looked at all of the (amazing) animals, and then got held up by a white rhino fight.

You didn't read that incorrectly.
We really were stuck because the female white rhino and the newer male white rhino were fighting over which way to go.  
(Folks, allow me to take a minute to point out the guy with the iPad hanging out of the safari truck. Whyyyyyyy?  I don't get relying on an iPad to be your only form of photo taking.  Seriously.  You look ridiculous. And what if a white rhino tramples all over your iPad when you drop it?)
After the safari the kids were feeling the beat, so we stopped at the drums for them to make some music.
Big brother up front, little brother in the back right, Daddy on the left.  Brian tries to show off his junior high drum skills on occasions like this.
Our final mission was meeting Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, too!  The place where Pooh and Tigger hang out is a little out of the way at Animal Kingdom, so the lines are never too long.  And we love Pooh Bear!
Tigger wasn't too bouncy.  Reese was apparently over pictures at this point though.  She told me she was making silly faces, but I didn't believe her.  But she's obviously a truth teller.
We were at Animal Kingdom for about an hour and a half, and then left to catch the bus to Hollywood Studios.  One of the downsides of the Magic Band/FastPass+ system is that you can't fast pass things at more than one park each day.  The upside is that you can secure your passes in advance, so even though we didn't go to Hollywood Studios first thing, we were able to get passes for Toy Story Mania and we had a decent time.  A lady waiting at the bus stop with us said that her husband was already at the park and Toy Story's Fast Pass time was at 8:30PM.  Imagine her surprise when I told her that the Magic Band that she had been wearing all week (it was her last day too), could have gotten her fast passes in advance.  NOT HAPPY!

Something cool that we discovered late was that the old school tickets that they gave us still worked to get Fast Passes.  So even though the Disney system only lets you Fast Pass three rides a day with the Magic Bands, you can still get them the old fashioned way by walking up with your tickets and getting the paper pass!  It came in handy for rides we couldn't fit in - especially when we had Fast Passes character meetings (some of those you can only use the bands for), but still had rides we wanted to ride!

We stopped to meet Goofy!  I couldn't believe we hadn't met him yet.
We rode Star Tours again and did the back lot tour.  I always forget that this isn't just a boring tram ride - it really is a lot of fun. And the "thrill" of it always takes the kids by surprise!
By then our Fast Pass time was up for Toy Story Mania, so we grabbed our 3D glasses and headed on the ride.  
How cute are my boys with their glasses on?
I really feel like I need to take this opportunity to tell you about my score on this ride.  My highest score EVER - 129,900.  I think I actually beat Brian that day!

We left Hollywood Studios after seeing the Little Mermaid show, and took the bus to the Ticket and Transportation center.  From there we took the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

The Monorail (or "Monny" as we affectionately call it around here) was definitely on the Must Do list.  And it's our basic feeling that when you go to Disney World, the Magic Kingdom should be the very last park you leave.  Even if you're only there for a little bit.  There's something about Main Street USA and Cinderella's Castle that just makes you miss it more. And then you start planning your next trip on the drive home...

 We stopped to get Wyatt's picture taken with this Halloween decoration on the way in.  We can't just pass a ball player wearing the number 2!

And then we went to meet Jessie and Woody.  We thought that we may have just missed them, but they were still out.  Thank goodness!  This little boy would have been broken hearted if we missed his favorite cowboy.
It's too bad Reese is standing right on front, because I love the look on this boy's face.  Brian and I agreed that we wouldn't push him to see any characters that he didn't want to (like the princesses), and it was probably the best decision.  He really, really enjoyed the time that he did have with his favorite people - especially Woody!
Yeah, so I'm pretty short.  In case you needed proof.  Here I am standing next to a 7 feet tall cowboy.
(And yes, we wore out Anniversary pins all week.  Even got a free pretzel out of it on our last day!)
We rode Splash Mountain again for this girl. She and Wyatt just LOVED it.  I wish I had a video of how excited they got when we were on it.  Reese truly discovered a love for "adventure" rides while we were there this time.  And she gave herself a new nickname - Baby Girl Rock.  I have no idea where it came from, but that's what she would scream on every roller coaster or "big girl ride."  Insane, but hysterical!

The park was closing early for a Halloween party, so we spit up at this point.  Brian and his parents and the three older kids went to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz and the People Mover (every.single.day), and I was worried that if I went with them I would get blocked from going back to Liberty Square's Christmas Shop. Thank goodness I made that decision!  I still needed to get everyone their traditional ornaments (Wyatt gets Pooh, Reese gets Ariel, Hudson gets Tigger, and Finley gets Belle), and I would have been so upset if I didn't!

This girl and I found something just right for everyone!
And when we were done we waited right at this magical spot for the rest of our family.  Seriously. 
LOVE. THIS. PLACE.

We went back to the hotel so I could pack and put the Littles down for the night while Brian took the Bigs down to the pool.  No lie, they swam until almost midnight!  I guess a Finding Nemo pool really gives you a second wind!  And this isn't the last post.  I still have to empty my phone, and I have a few tips up my sleeve, too!