A Glimpse: Magic Kingdom

A Glimpse: Travel Day

Question of the Day

We are leaving tomorrow for a week of vacation.  Where are we going?

Hint #1:  When I woke up this morning, it was 19 degrees here.  It was 72 degrees there.

Hint #2:  I packed several pairs of mouse ears and a princess dress, as those are perfectly appropriate vacation attire where we are headed.

Hint #3:  I'm as giddy as a little kid because this place makes me feel like a little kid.

Hint #s 4, 5, and 6: 

I have spent the past 6 months planning, the past 3 months accumulating gear, the past 3 weeks watching the Florida weather report, the past 2 weeks trying to keep my kids as sanitized and germ-free as possible, the past week packing, and the past 2 days dancing around the house in excitement.  Disney, here we come!!!

A Snapshot of Life

I take lots of pictures, but some of my favorites are those snapshots of little moments that encompass what our life is like.  Here are some of those life snapshots from the past few months.

Mommy's helpers

When you don't get the Bear's game on TV

Her future's so bright...

Bedtime story

Spending the morning with my kids wore Caroline out

We love our Uma!

Can you spot the hiding boy?

Lunch date with my middle.

Big sister story time

So big!

Little chef

Daddy's little helper

Holding hands in the stroller

Waiting for the fish to bite

All too often a sight.  *sigh*

Adelie on her perch, listening to Staley read some books.

I love these little glimpses that help me remember all the little moments in our days.

Another Reason

Tonight as I was loading the dishwasher, Briggs pointed at the little bin where I put the dishwashing powder in the dishwasher and asked, "Is this where you put the sugar?"

Just one more reason it's a good idea to keep household chemicals out of the reach of children.

Basketball

Staley just finished up 6 weeks of basketball camp.  For an hour once/week, Staley learned to dribble, pass, shoot, and play defense.  They would work on drills to learn all these new skills.  For the last 3 weeks of camp, they also incorporated about 15-20 minutes of scrimmaging each time.  Staley loved it!!

I played basketball all through high school, so I'm glad that she loved her introduction to the sport.  I don't know that her love for basketball camp correlated to her skills at basketball camp.  It's safe to say that basketball did not come naturally to Staley.  She got down the basics of dribbling and passing and shooting, but putting it all together into a coordinated effort was a struggle.  They had lowered the baskets for the girls, and Staley still never managed to make a basket, even during drills.  A few times she hit the rim, which was the closest she came to success.  However, she didn't seem phased by that and was always enthusiastic about going.

When they scrimmaged, Staley did start to get a little more aggressive.  She would put her hands up, and one time she even stole the ball from another girl who was dribbling.  She still was a little timid when someone would pass the ball to her, but she was at least getting involved in the action.

Even though it didn't come easily to Staley, I love that she was an enthusiastic participant in basketball camp.  She was always smiling and skipping around and ready to try anything her coaches asked her to do.  Even when she was struggling, she never gave up.  Her skills might not have been up to par, but her attitude was top notch.

It also helped that Staley had some friends at basketball camp that she enjoyed spending extra time with outside of school.

Staley has already asked if she can play basketball again next year.  That gives us a whole year to practice up and maybe next year she'll make a basket.  But whether or not she does, I'm sure she'll be smiling about it either way.

Halloween Fun

It's no secret that my kids L-O-V-E Halloween.  They talk about their costumes all year long and get so excited about all the festivities that Halloween brings.  This year was no different, except that I was able to talk my kids into a theme, had very little costume designing to do, and even managed to get Zach in on the action.

Our costume theme started when my friend, Jenny, offered me this adorable scarecrow costume she had made for her son.  Obviously, I accepted without hesitation.  It was adorable, already made, and fit Briggs just right.  And then I didn't have to figure out how to make him a train costume, which was what Briggs initially told me he wanted to be.

Once I had a scarecrow, I remembered that Staley's cousin was Dorothy last year for Halloween.  Although Staley had settled on being a bumblebee, borrowing a cute dress from her cousin was hard to pass up.  A pair of ruby red slippers and a red bow was all I needed to complete this ensemble.

Although Adelie had wanted to be an owl, she's always game to go along with a plan.  She didn't want to be the Tin Man, the Lion, or the Wicked Witch.  However, when I told her about a fancy good witch who wears a crown and travels in a bubble...well, I had her hooked.  Since we have plenty of pink, crowns, and wands at our house, her costume was pretty easy to put together.  And although most people asked her if she was a princess, fairy, or ballerina, she didn't seem to mind correcting them, emphatically telling them, "I'm Glinda.  She's a good witch."

As luck would have it, when I told Zach's aunt about our theme, she just happened to have a twister costume in her basement.  A yellow t-shirt and some electrical tape later, we had ourselves a yellow brick road to complete the family theme.  And Zach got a lot of mileage out of his favorite line..."Come on, everyone.  Follow me!"

Our Halloween festivities started by going to the Pumpkin Patch Party at our (now old) church with some cousins last week-end.

There were games, snacks, cake walks, crafts, and lots of treats to bring home.  When we started attending a new church, one of the first things the girls asked was, "Can we still go to the Pumpkin Patch Party?"  The answer was yes.

I got to attend the Halloween parties for both the girls at their schools.  Here is Adelie with all her little friends from pre-school getting ready to perform a few little Halloween songs for the parents.

It was so fun spending time with Adelie at her school with all her friends.

Luckily the parties were on different days so I got to share in Staley's party as well.

We picked out pumpkins to carve.  Since Briggs picked out a non-traditional pumpkin, he just painted his instead.

The girls both helped carve their pumpkins.  They drew on the faces and helped with the carving, although both still needed quite a bit of help to carve them.  And none of my kids were willing to help clean out the pumpkin guts.  They were happy to leave that up to Daddy.  (So was I.)

Adelie's pumpkin

Staley's pumpkin

Although it was chilly, all my kids were excited about trick-or-treating.  And the fact that all the grandparents joined us made it even better.  We just walked around our block.  About halfway through, both girls got cold and were ready to head home.  But Briggs wasn't ready to stop.  Even before he had gotten his candy in his bag, he would ask, "Can we go to another house?" 

Another fun and successful Halloween in the books.  And don't worry.  The girls are already talking about what they are going to be for next Halloween.