SURPRISE - We're going to DISNEY

 

 

 

Out of character for me and Jason, we decided to plan a last minute trip to Disney World. We figured now was the time since I have been feeling much better (and I am not too big yet), the weather isn't too hot and we had heard the lines aren't bad in May. And somewhere in the planning we decided not to tell the kids we were going. It was a rough 2 weeks of hiding emails (Mia can read everything now, and likes to read my emails over my shoulder), packing the luggage and hiding it in my closet, getting in touch with Mia's teacher and getting her school work without her knowing, etc. But it was so worth it when we saw the looks on their faces when the night before we left we surprised them with new Minnie and Daisy shirts and said we were getting on a plane the next morning to go to see them in Orlando. That wasn't great planning on our part, because they were too excited to go to sleep. But we boarded the plane the next morning with 2 very excited children, and headed to Orlando. We stayed at a fantastic hotel out by the parks. It had a water slide that Mia liked all most as much as Disney. We spent one full day at the Magic Kingdom - and it was perfect!! Most rides had no line. We walked right onto Pirates of the Carribean and Haunted Mansion. Mia got to ride Splash Mountain 4 times, and Thunder Mountain twice. Lily discovered her love of roller coasters on Goofy's coaster in Toontown, and the girls (and Jason) did that ride at least 10 times. We couldn't have asked for a better day. The next day we headed to Blizzard Beach - one of Disney's water parks. That was a blast!! There was so much for the kids to do and we loved the big slides. To relax while on vacation, we spent a day just playing in the hotel pool, and then met up with meemaw and pop-pop for a few days at the beach. Disney was fun and exciting, but nothing compares to a few days of laying on the beach and playing in the waves. I am just so grateful to be feeling better and so I was able to spend this vacation playing and having fun with the girls. We made lots of memories, and look forward to going back in a few years to introduce another little one to the magic of Disney.

Here are some more photos from our great trip!!

Houston Astros Game

We are not much of a baseball family, but we decided to go experience the fun of the Astros! We loaded up on lots of junk food and once they were completely stuffed - pizza, hamburgers, french fries, cotton candy and ice cream - the girls actually really got into the baseball game. It was a great night out. The highlight was getting new pink hats so Mia and Lily can now show off that they are big Astros fans...even though they didn't win!

 

 

 

 

New Baby Ray

Big news in our house this month - Mia and Lily are finally going to have a little brother or sister!! I am 10 weeks along and soooo sick, but I keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it in the end. The baby is due on Thanksgiving Day, but with my c-sections the doctor has assured me I will be home long before the holiday. November will be a busy month for us, with Jason and Lily's birthdays on the 6th, and a new baby a few weeks later.

Mia is super excited - she was the one to spread the word, quickly, to all our friends and neighbors. Mia is always telling me all the things she is going to do to help with the baby. It will be nice having another little mommy in the house. Lily isn't sure what is going on, all she knows is that mom is no fun these days since all I do is lay on the couch. Lily has told me she thinks the baby is a girl and she wants to name her Sparkles...hopefully it's a boy so she won't be too disappointed. :)

Swim Team

So, another season of swim team has begun, and this year we have 2 swimmers. Lily decided the first day of practice that she wanted to jump in and swim with the big kids, and she did it!! One issue we had was trying to convince Lily that she needed to wear her swim goggles each day so that her eyes wouldn't hurt. She is a little stubborn (I have no idea where she gets that trait), but we finally got her to try them. Now she loves them. The other day she wanted to sleep in them, but we settled for leaving them on her nightstand while she slept. And then when she got home from school, she wore them until time for practice. I had to take a picture it was so darn cute!!

Lily and her goggles.

 

Princess Bowling

The birthday celebrations continued into the weekend - Mia's party was on Saturday. For her birhtday party this year Mia wanted to go bowling, but not just any kind of bowling - she wanted to do it princess style!! So we had a wonderful afternoon with her friends bowling in their tiaras, eating pizza and a yummy princess cake and then playing "royal" arcade games. Mia was truly the ultimate birthday princess and is already planning what she wants to do next year. :)

Our birthday princess!

 

Go Mia.

 

Varia and Mia - bowling (and school) buddies.

 

All of the princess bowlers!

 

Mia Turns Six!

Our Mia turned 6 on April 6 - we went from a weekend of Easter candy and fun, into a week of birthday celebrations and parties! Meemaw and Pop-pop flew in from Florida for the big birthday week. On Monday Mia was off of school so we had a girls day (just mom, Mia and meemaw) at the spa as a pre-birthday kick-off. Mia got her first pedicure and loved it!! She looked so grown up sitting there (all smiles) and enjoying the massage and toe painting. Her birthday was on Tuesday, and she got to wear a birthday girl crown at school and get all the attention (her favorite thing). We all went up to have lunch with her and took cupcakes for her class. After school we opened presents and went out to eat. We came home and continued to stuff our faces with chocolate birthday cake and ice cream. It was a great day!! Mia had so much fun and loves saying she is 6 now.

Getting her toes done.

 

Almost done - they just needed to add the flowers on her big toes. So cute!!

 

Opening presents, but still time to hug her sister.

 

Happy Birthday Mia!!

 

Easter Egg Hunt

I cannot believe April is almost over, and I have not posted anything! We have had such a great month and time has gotten away from me. So, I am going to do my best to catch up on some of the exciting things we have been doing.

Texas had great weather for Easter, and we enjoyed hunting for eggs out in the yard and by the pool. Finding the eggs the girls had colored was fun, but they really just wanted to jump in the pool. So, after our hunt the girls got to get in the pool to swim for the first time this season!! Another spring/summer of swimming is in full swing at our house.

Finding the hidden eggs!

 

Lily was so proud of her finds.

 

Ready to swim.