Disney fun....

We just got back home from an AMAZING vacation.

Picture of our room by day...

And here it was by night....

The Disney Fantasy was A-MAZING!!

The view from our room....BREATH TAKING!

Everything was just FUN!

So many fun things to do...

We were joined by my parents!

This made our week even that much better!

You may notice that there is someone missing from these pics.  

We left Baby Girl with one of my besties at home.

I missed her very much....but we had a blast hanging with the big kids.

The kids had a great time.

Endless things to do....

Endless ice cream...

Fun everywhere!

Mysteries to solve around the boat....

And in Disney style....everything was beautiful!

We ate, and ate, and ATE!

First stop...St. Thomas!

The taxi ride was fun and scary....

Pirate Night!

A quick stop to sing a song :) 

The night ended with fireworks!

One of the many towel animals found in our room after turndown.

The kids got such a kick our of this each night.

San Juan

This dinner was SOOO FUN!  Each of us sketched a person and then Disney brought it to life!

Here is a clip from the final show....

Dessert for the kids..... Decorate your own cupcakes...

Big people dessert...

More fun on the ship....

We didn't have anyone interested in the prinesses this year....

I still had to get a pic :)

One of our waiters had nightly tricks up his sleeve.

Disney's Private Island....

Grandma and Grandpa took Alaina off to get a new "do".  

Last sunset...

Last show night...

What was my favorite part?

I can't even pick.
The food, the wine, the shows, the activities...

It was all so great!

My favorite part was the time with my family.
No phones....no interruptions.
Just good, quality time!

It was awesome!

Dressing up....

A really fun race...

I joined a few girlfriends last weekend for a really fun 5K.

It was called Color Me Rad.

Paint was thrown at us at each mile marker.

Mostly powder, but some liquid.

I got lost in the crazy cloud of paint for a little while.

Luckily my girls, The Pixie Chicks, found me and we finished strong.

It was sooooo FUN!!

Updates....

-Life is good.

-Big Sis is having a great year in 6th grade.  She has already changed so much this year both physically and personality wise.  She is becoming an awesome pre-teen with a not so awesome disposition once in a while.  We have decided to school her at home for 7th and 8th grade.  She is not thrilled about it....but she is not totally against it either.  She is feeling unsure....but I am okay with that.

-Baby Girl is still a blast.  She is really SLOW to get teeth.  She has 5 in front and one molar.  I hope she will be filling in soon.   In 3 days she will be 1.5 years old.  She still sleeps in my closet.  I tried one night to get her to sleep in her bedroom and after hours of screaming I put her back in the closet.  It is her happy place.  I don't have enough energy to fight it yet.

-Middle Sis is having a knock it out of the park year.  She finally has 2 teachers that are challenging her and has lit a spark in her.  She is such a people pleaser.  She is loving her year in gymnastic.

Little Brother is doing great also.  He is having a good Kindergarten year.  I'm so thankful.  I really went back and forth on whether I should send him.  I think I made the right decision.  I cried when I left his parent/teacher conference b/c she told me he was a very well adjusted little boy.  (If you have had a child that has almost driven you off of a cliff daily for years you will be able to understand why hearing "well adjusted" was music to my ears.)  He is really growing up.  I am so proud of him and thankful that I was blessed with such a wild spirit!

Ben and I are running the rat race but trying to be very intentional with our alone time together.  I am desperately trying to keep a connected family unit in this crazy world.  We just hooked up the television again.  I have a cell phone now.  We have i-pods and i-pads.....  we are running to 3 different activities

Lots of distractions.  Things that distract me from the truth.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old is gone and the new has come.
2 Cor 5:17

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  Deu 6:6-7

I'm still working on the right balance.  If you have some tips....I would love to hear them :)

It's good to be outside again!

As crazy as it sounds...

We play outside very little in the summer.

It's just too stinkin' hot!

Now that the cool down has happened we are loving our outside time!
(Well, all except Big sister.  She has discovered social media and she has been spending more time with her ipod then her family.  That is for another blog post.)

Fall Soccer

I waited all year...

Last Christmas I asked for a hummingbird feeder.

My mom got me two.

I waited all year for this.

It was totally worth the wait!

Can't wait until next year!!

Still Precious!!!!

Hubby and I still smile at her constantly.

Actually, everyone in the house is still very fond of her.

She is just sooo yummy.