Disney Vacation 2012 Part Two

Just a few more of my favorite Disney trip moments...

I don’t have any pictures of this next favorite moment but fortunately I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.  This year Brynn was eager to try out some of the big kid rides.  I was a little nervous about this but Dan rode Thunder Mountain and thought that Brynn could handle it so off he went for a second ride with Brynn in tow.  Well…she LOVED it!!!  Disney has this great thing called “parent swap” (allows one parent to ride with the older child and then allows the other parent who is waiting with a smaller child to ride without standing in line) which allowed me to then hop on with Brynn.  I swear to you that I will never ever forget the look on Brynn’s face.  Her hands were in the air.  She had her mouth wide open screaming and giggling.  I couldn’t tell you much about the ride but the pure excitement and joy on her face will stick with me for a very long time.  It was just priceless.  I think Dan and I each rode that thing two more times with her.

Another favorite moment happened at Animal Kingdom.  Dan and I had a whole plan of action set up for that day which included getting to the park when it opened so that we could get in the beginning of the line to ride through the Safari.  The Safari ride is really the big thing at the Animal Kingdom and if you don’t get in line early you are either going to spend an hour in line or you are going to have to wait several hours for your fastpass time to come up.  So as planned, we got their early and were waiting in the front of the line at the park.  While waiting we chatted it up with a family from North Carolina who had two children slightly younger then our two. The North Carolina family had the same plan that we did.  They were also planning to race to the Safari ride in the hopes of a shorter line.  While we were talking one of the Cast Members approached us and started asking about our families and where we were from.  She then invited us and the other family to go into the park early and go on a private Safari ride.  So the eight of us were escorted into the park before it even opened and taken on the ride.  It was incredible!  It was drizzling just a bit and since no other cars had been through yet, there were animals everywhere.  A friendly giraffe literally walked right up to our jeep to say hello. 

Months ago we scheduled Brynn to get her Princess makeover.  When I scheduled her I also tried to get Colton in for a Prince Makeover but couldn’t get him in because he was too young.  A Prince Makeover includes getting his hair spiked and then getting a shield and sword.  Makeover day arrived and Colton was mad that Brynn was getting a makeover and he wasn’t (in hindsight I think he had no clue what the makeover was all about but just wanted to do whatever Brynn was doing because she was so excited).  So when we went to check Brynn in I asked if there was anyway they could squeeze Colton in.  The fairy Godmother (aka: receptionist) said yes!  Colton was thrilled for about 2.5 seconds and then we walked through the door.  I think he was overwhelmed by all of the people and cameras but he made it very clear that there was no way he would be participating in the makeover.  Even though he was having nothing to do with the hair they gave him his shield and sword and he lit up.  He was hysterical!  He immediately proclaimed himself Peter Pan and was fighting off dragons, pirates, princesses, costumes, photographers and parents.  He carried that little sword around the rest of the trip (and I do mean every single day).  He proudly showed it to every single prince and princess and other character he met.  Who knew how happy a little sword could make that boy?!

Just after being handed his "sworf" and shield.

Princess Brynn.  If you are wondering about the birthday sash, it was her half birthday.  Lol, Disney celebrates everything:)

Trying to get a picture of them together but Colton was busy slaying dragons or pirates

Ariel was very impressed with is sword

My final favorite Disney moment was when we met Repunzel.  Brynn was really excited to meet all of the characters this time and Repunzel was on her “must meet” list.  Colton liked the characters from afar but was a little nervous when they were up close.  He would shyly go and stand next to them and gave a few high fives but he would not talk to any of them.  So, when it was time to meet Repunzel we were not surprised by the look of awe on Brynn’s face as she ran up to give her a hug.  You could just tell that she was meeting a superstar.  We were however surprised when Colton also walked up to Repunzel and started talking a mile a minute.  He showed her is sword and told her that he had met Mickey in Disneytown.  He even let Repunzel hug him (though he also played it cool and kept one hand down with the sword and the other in his pocket).  It was adorable.  He must have decided that had gone pretty well because he then walked right over to Ariel and did the same thing. 

We ended up meeting Repunzel a second time so that Brynn could get a picture with her in her Repunzel dress.

I am so grateful for this adventure.  I know we made so many amazing memories there however I must say that last night as the four of us were snuggled up at home on the couch I realized that I was at the “happiest place on earth” right at homeJ

Happy boy

Happy Half Birthday Brynnie

The kids and Daddy with his favorite princess

Disney Vacation 2012

Two years ago, Dan and I took the kids to Disney.  We had an amazing time and actually started planning a return trip while we were there.  We knew it would take us some time to save up enough money again but we also knew that we wanted to come back before Colton turned 3 (so he could still go for free).  So we set the date for October 2012 and started saving immediately. About 6 months ago we put the deposit down on the trip and were all set to leave on November 5th (Dan's birthday).  At the time we booked the trip there was literally no action on our house so we could never have dreamed that we would end up moving into a new house, selling our house, and packing/leaving for Disney all within 10 days.  It was a logistical nightmare but there was no way we could reschedule the trip that all four of us had been dreaming about for 2 years. 

So on November 5th we stepped over the mountains of boxes still waiting patiently in our house and headed to Orlando for some fun with Mickey Mouse.  It was amazing!!!  We tend to live a seriously over-scheduled life and it was a much needed break from the daily rat race that we live.  For eight perfect days I was able to spend every single minute of the day with those people who mean the most to me.  We had a blast...we celebrated Dan's birthday with Mickey Mouse, celebrated Brynn's half-birthday with the Princesses, we swam at the pool, went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and saw Santa, watched fireworks and parades and just got caught up in all of the Disney magic.  I could go on about the trip for days but I'm going to limit it to just a few of my very favorite moments.

Our days in Disney tended to be long.  We got up early so we could be at the parks when they opened.  We would then come back to the hotel for some nap/pool time and then headed back out to a park.  We stayed out late most nights.  'The night of the Christmas party we actually stayed out until midnight.  There was just too much fun stuff to do! The next morning we also got up extra early because we wanted to take advantage of the extra Magic Hours at the Park (This is when the park is only open to those people staying at the Disney Resorts.  It's amazing because there are no lines for anything!).  After another long morning in the park we decided that it would probably be best for all of us if we just hung out at the resort that night and got to bed early.  We were all feeling pretty worn out.  So that night we hung at the resort and decided to check out the outdoor movie.  This ended up being one my favorite things that we did.  Everyone just laid out their towels and cuddled up to watch the Incredibles.  We didn't make it through the entire movie (we were seriously that tired) but I just loved that simple cuddle up time outside in gorgeous weather and picture perfect scenery. 

The new Fantasy World (aka:  Belle's world) is not open to the public yet.  We knew they were doing limited public viewings but every time we checked they were allowing vacation club members only.  On our third trip to the Magic Kingdom we happened to be walking by that area of the park and I heard the cast member say to someone else "This is a very limited time so if you want to see the it, I suggest you go in now."  I turned around to look for Dan, who was oblivious to all of this and shouted at him to follow and we practically ran through the gates."  I'm so glad we were able to sneak in.  We had lunch in the Beast's Castle (which was probably my favorite lunch of all), we got to ride the new Little Mermaid ride several times, we visited Gaston's Pub and got to visit Belle's cottage where Brynn played Chip in the show.  Everything was beautiful and the technology they have used in this part of the park is unbelievable!

The Beast's Castle

Just chilling in the Beast's chair

We love Gaston

Under the Sea

Colton caught a little cat nap

Brynn as Chip

Another one of my favorite night of the trip was the Christmas Party.  Dan and I gave some serious thought as to whether or not we wanted to attend this.  We weren't really sure if we wanted to spend the extra money but in the end we decided that it will probably be several years before we make it back to Disney and because I love all things Christmas we decided to just suck it up and go.  I am so incredibly glad we went.  We were able to see the Castle in the first official holiday lighting of the season.  It was amazeballs...seriously magical.  The Christmas parade was unlike anything I have ever seen.  A huge army of toy soldiers marched down the street.  The Floats actually had a scent. So, when the Candy Canes marched by, you could smell candy canes.  Too cool!  The kids were thrilled when Santa made an appearance and we all loved the free hot chocolate and cookies that were being handed out everywhere.  Lines to get on rides were literally non-existent and we even managed to get a second preview of Belle's world!  It made me want to go home and immediately decorate for Christmas.

The Castle decorated for Christmas

Woody's Christmas dance party. We were able to dance with Bullseye, Jessie and Woody. This may have been Colton's favorite part of the evening.

Watching the Christmas Parade

Yea...we partied like rock stars:)

I've still got a few more things I want to write about but this post is WAAAAYYY longer than I intended so I think a part two may be forthcoming...

We Moved!!!!

Guess what?  I have a power cord again and am eager to catch up on my blog and have lots of to tell you about…weddings, Halloween, moving, hurricanes, and Mickey Mouse…oh my!  Lol!  Our lives have been beyond crazy lately and I can’t wait to fill you in on the details!

Let me start by telling you that WE HAVE MOVED!  I pray to sweet baby Jesus that we NEVER have to sell a house again!  It was unbelievably stressful!  I think the last I updated, we were waiting on the appraisal.  That ended up turning out great and we were all amped up to settle on Nov 1^st.  Our realtor gave us the green light to move into the rental house so we moved in on Saturday.  We had thought that we would have the entire weekend to move stuff but the weather Gods had other plans.  Hurricane Sandy decided to make an unwelcome visit to Delaware.  Things were looking very grim but thanks to our family and friends we were able to get all of the boxes/furniture/crap into the rental house in one day (Thank you, thank you, thank you family and friends!!!). 

Hurricane Sandy rolled in on Sunday so we spent all of the yucky weather in the rental house unpacking boxes.  We even got two extra days off of work to unpack.  That was a huge help but it still looks like the hurricane was INSIDE the house.

The rental house made out great!  We stayed warm and dry the entire time.  We lost electricity for only a few hours and that was in the middle of the night so we didn’t even miss it. We were particularly stressed out about the Seaford house.  It was hard not being there and knowing what was happening to that house.  We knew that any damages to the house could result in the delay of the settlement or it being canceled all together.  But even that stress was secondary to worrying about our family in New Jersey.  In the grand scheme of things everyone is okay but some of them JUST got their electricity back.  I hope I never see another hurricane like that again!  My heart just breaks for all of those who lost homes and family members. 

The Seaford house ended up doing okay. We did get a little bit of water in the basement but it wasn’t anything that we couldn’t clean up within a couple of days.  However, we then got work from our realtor that there would be no real estate closing happening that week.  I’m not sure I even understand it but apparently there was a possibility that FEMA would be declaring some areas a disaster area and due to that we had to wait to see what counties were affected.  We also needed to have a second inspection that would ensure that there was not damage to our house.  However, somehow by the grace of God we ended up getting the go ahead to go to settlement Friday (just a day late).We still aren’t quite sure how they were able to get us through but we suspect it was because the bank had already cut the check to the buyers.

We still aren’t unpacked but we are so happy to be back home in Felton.  This downsizing to make all of our stuff fit in a smaller house has been quite the challenge but I'm working on it and every single morning I thank God for my much shorter commute to work!

Family Portraits

I LOVE pictures and yet I have a precious few of the four of us all together.  I have been saying pretty much since the time that Colton was born that we needed to get a nice family portrait of us together.  I really wanted something done outside and during the fall.  One of my cousins started doing family portraits about a year and a half ago.  I saw the work she was doing and immediately fell in love.  So, last October I scheduled an appointment to get family photos done.  On the day before our appointment one of the children got really sick so we canceled.  Things then got really crazy for us so we decided to put the pictures off until the spring.  We scheduled a spring appointment (requiring a different set of outfits due to the season change) and the day of our appointment came and so did a monsoon.  So, we scheduled pictures for the following weekend.  A couple of days before our next appointment my cousin called to tell me that she was having some major problems with her editing site and was going to take a break from doing photos for awhile.  She recommended someone else but honestly I preferred Becky's photos so I just never followed up with it.  A couple of months later Becky contacted me and told me she was up and running again.  Yay!!!!  I briefly considered doing some summer pics on the beach but decided to just hold out until the fall.  We scheduled our fall appointment (requiring the third set of outfits) and then the week before Dan reminded me that he was running the Tough Mudder that morning.  I canceled again, telling Becky that I felt like this was never going to work out!  She promised that we would make it work and so we scheduled yet another appointment for last weekend . 

We awoke to a picture perfect Fall Day and neither of the children had fevers.  Whoo Hoo!  Halfway there!  So after a year of trying we FINALLY managed to get family portraits done.  I wish I could tell you that things went smoothly but Colton went into full head spinning monster mode from the very second we got there.  For whatever reason he did NOT want his picture taken and he was about as uncooperative as he has ever been.  We tried every form of bribery that we could think of and nothing worked.  Becky was super patient the entire time, even when Colton was screaming "NOOOOOOO!" at the top of his lungs.  We didn't get very many pictures of Colton alone but we did get some great photos of Brynn and a couple of the much sought after family pictures that I so desperately wanted.  She even managed to capture Colton looking somewhat angelic in a few pictures (I'm guessing there was a lot of photoshop involved!).  So it took a year of planning, 3 sets of outfits, and a somewhat stressful morning but in the end it was worth it.  It's a really good thing because it will probably be a LONG time before I undertake that little project again.

If you need family pictures taken please check out "Simply Photos By Rebecca Calvello" on Facebook.  She is super reasonable, unbelievably patient and does great work!

We're Moving...Maybe...

So I know we have been pretty hush, hush about our pending move but that is mostly because we still are not 100% sure that we are moving (and we are afraid to jinx ourselves).  That's right...we are officially 4 days from "moving day" and we are still waiting to hear from our realtor as to whether or not we can sign a lease.  Being the planner that I am, this is all a little more stress than I can handle.  We have made it through the home inspection, the buyers are conditionally approved for the loan...and therein lies the hold up.  They were "conditionally approved" pending the outcome of the appraisal.  For some reason the appraisal was not scheduled until last week and we are now just waiting on the lender to get back to us.  Apparently the lender and the realtors do not feel the same sense of urgency that we do (Seriously people?!  We don't know where our kids will be sleeping in 4 days!!!!)  We have been told that the lender believes that all is well but we have not seen anything in writing.  

So where does that leave us you may ask?  It leaves us in this all consuming sense of wait.  At this point our house is mostly packed.  This may seem pre-emptive but who can pack up their entire house in 3 days?  Not us!  So we had no choice but to take a leap of faith (or a gamble? You decided.) and just start packing. We have told the children that we are moving (my children need time to get used to big changes).  We took another huge gamble but putting a deposit on a rental house.  The non-refundable deposit took the house off the market for a couple of weeks so that we have time to discover whether or not we can actually sign the lease.  The bright side of that is that if the sale does go through we will have a place to live in 4 days.

So in 4 days we will either be moving into our rental home or we will be at our current house with everything packed in boxes, two children who are expecting to move, and we will have lost our deposit!  Sigh...at least we didn't pack the wine yet!

Please keep us in your prayers!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Karchner!!!

I bet you thought I had given up on blogging.  I haven't.  I was really boycotting in the hopes of getting my husband to get me that long ago promised power cord for my laptop.  He hasn't gotten me the power cord yet and now I'm just stressed with how far behind I am.  So the new plan is to go ahead and blog and then I will have to upload pictures whenever Dan takes care of the power cord....or when I get frustrated and just take care of it myself!

So…it was a huge weekend for the String Family!  I have a new brother-in-law!  That's right Patty and Ross have officially tied the knot!  Everything was just perfect.  When we got to the ceremony site, it started sprinkling so the ceremony was moved inside.  Then about 10 minutes before the ceremony we were taking pictures outside in absolutely gorgeous weather and my Sister-in-law, Leigh, managed to convince the venue to move everything back outside.  The weather was picture perfect for the ceremony!  It was such a perfect day.  Patty looked amazing (and Ross wasn't too shabby either).  All of the kids actually cooperated for the ceremony (it was looking iffy at rehearsal).  We all had an amazing time.  I can't wait to get my pictures uploaded!!!

Congratulations Patty and Ross!

She Scores!!!!

Sorry about being a blog slacker lately but honestly it's totally my husbands fault!!!  My power cord for my laptop died weeks ago and despite my constant nagging my husband has yet to take action to resolve this little matter.  I would just take care of it myself but I don't really know where to get one.  Soon, I will just say the heck with it and buy a whole new laptop:)  Just sayin Daniel:)

It is soccer Season for Brynn.  She originally wasn't going to play this season but then her BFF Carley signed up so she wanted back in.  We are once again on Team Wolfpack (we love Coach Jamie and Coach Daddy) but this year we are sporting brand new team colors (think glow-in-the-dark green). 

Brynn had a really great first game.  She didn't score but she played really great.  She has gotten a LOT more agressive and was really going after the ball.  She almost scored twice. I'm glad she didn't score because Daddy wasn't able to come to that one.  I did tell both Brynn and Dan after that game that I bet she would score her first goal this season.  Scoring a goal is a really big deal to Brynn. In her first 3 seasons she did not get a goal in a game. She did make a couple in practice but she really wanted that gameday goal.  She missed her second game because she had just gotten her tonsils out (I will also blog about this if Dan ever gets my powercord) so she was super psyched up for her game this Saturday.

A couple of minutes into the game (or is supposed to be called a match?) one of Brynn's teammates took the ball all the way down to the goal but then a little boy got in front of that girl and it was Brynn who kicked it in.  SCORE!!!!   She turned around and looked for Coach Daddy.  It was almost like she wasn't really sure it happened.  He had a huge grin on his face and held out his arms and she went flying across the field to him.  Coach Daddy gave her a huge hug and swung her around.  What a moment!!!!  So proud!!! Colton, Poppop and I were sitting on the bleachers cheering our heads off (you would have thought that she just kicked the winning goal in the olympics).  My Mom and Stepdad were on their way to NC but the following text conversation then transpired:

Me:  Brynn just scored her first goal ever!!!!! (In case you haven't noticed I love exclamation points!)

Mom:  OMG!  Grandpa is so sad he missed it!  Tell her we are so proud of her!!

Me:  She just got a second one!!!!!

Mom:  Wow!  Send us a picture of the soccer star.

Me:  And a third!!!!!

Mom:  Is she excited?

Me:  4!!!

Me:  5!!!!

Me:  Wait the last one didn't count

Mom: Why didn't it count?

Me:  No clue.  (What happened was that Brynn and the other girl were both kicking the ball and they couldn't tell who actually did it so they gave credit to the other little girl who hadn't scored yet.  I loved that they handled it this way! So nice!)

Mom: OMG!  How does she keep scoring?!

Me:  I don't know but that will be the last one.  They are only letting her play defense now because she scored too many:)  (In this leauge when a kids scores a lot and the team is winning by a landslide they will pull the kid and allow them to only play defense.  The point is to give other kids a chance.  It's really nice.  A girl on Brynn's team had been pulled prior to Brynn which is part of the reason Brynn was able to score so much.  And after Brynn got pulled another girl went on to score 2 or 3 and a couple of the boys scored).

Mom:  Well that's not fair!  Isn't the whole point to score?!  Lol.

Mom:  Tell her we are so proud of her!

It was AMAZING!!!!  I could not have been prouder if she really did kick the winning olympic goal.  She also made some great plays on defense and was so proud of herself.  We celebrated with a big ice cream party. 

I will add pics soon...you know, if Dan ever gets my power cord:)

Big Giant News!

Before I get to the big giant news I just have to say...."ugh"!!!  I am so behind on the bloggity blog.  I have so many things to tell you about.  I just made a list of things that I want to blog about and I fear I will never catch up.  Life is crazy busy right now which just makes it that much harder to find time to blog and the further behind I get the less I went to blog at all because it's just overwhelming.  I could just skip a few topics but the whole point is to preserve the memories for my family so I'm just going to have to suck it up and get back to it!  Lol...Sorry, that is the end of my pointless rant.  Now for the Big Giant News...

OUR HOUSE IS UNDER CONTRACT!!!!!  There are still a million things that could go wrong and I tried really hard not to count my chickens before they hatch but...let's just say that I know exactly how many chickens I'm expecting and am going to be super disappointed if they don't all hatch!  Last week was the two year anniversary of our house being on the market so I think anyone in our shoes would have soaring high hopes.  We are going to be doing a ton of praying over the next few weeks that everything goes smoothly!  If everything goes as planned, we will go to settlement on November 1. Please, please, please let everything go smoothly!

Because we have just sort of accepted that the house is going to be on the market FOREVER, we have done nothing to prepare for this.  So...we are in the process of trying to find a place to live while we save money/build our house (even though we can't sign a lease until we know the sale is certain).  We have also started doing some sorting/packing of things that we really don't need (can't pack important things just in case the sale falls through).

I'm a planner and the uncertainity of this will probably make me insane (even more so than I am now!).  In the next 42 days our entire lives could change...or not.  Ahhhhh!

Okay, I'm going to get back to counting my chickens.  Please pray for us!!!

Irrational Mama Post

Disclaimer:  I am an emotional basket-case right now.  The death of a friend, watching two friends fight for their lives, huge personal and career decisions to be made, the start of a school year (including my girl deciding this morning that she no longer needs Mama to walk her to her classroom), getting my house ready for a bridal shower and pending surgeries for both kids are just a few of the thing weighing on my mind right now.  The below post is a total irrational Mama Moment.  In the grand scheme of things this is probably me making a mountain out of a mole hill but...I'm understandably incapable of rational thought at the moment.  Enjoy:)

Both of my babies are scheduled for surgery next week.  I'm totally bugging out...

Colton is having tubes put in his ears.  Not that I'm in anyway saying I'm stress free about this one but at least it's round three for this particular surgery (or round 4 if you count Brynn's too).  We pretty much know what to expect and dread (at the top of this list is the post-anesthesia rage that leaves my child in a total head-spinning gremlin kind of demeanor).  I feel prepared and am just praying that we don't have any complications like we did the first round.  However, if we do have complications this time, we have learned some valuable lessons along the way and will be much more equipped to handle the situation.

Brynn is having her tonsils and adenoids removed.  I'm in a total panic about this!!!  I realize (somewhere WAY in the back of my mind) that in the grand scheme of things this is a minor thing.  However, when it's your baby about to go through it...it doesn’t seem so minor.  Our pediatrician had warned us months ago that this was probably in Brynn's future due to back to back to back strep throat.  She kept treating her with higher doses of antibiotics and the strep just wasn't responding at all.  I think it was the 5th or 6th time that I had called her in as many weeks that she told us that we needed to see the ENT asap.  I probably should have seen the writing on the wall at this point but I was still hoping the ENT would wave a magic wand and we could avoid this whole tonsillectomy thing.

The ENT did not wave a magic wand that day.  He did however manage to scare the crap out of me.  Because of the constant infections Brynn's "healthy" tonsils now look something like this:


                                      Picture coming soon...stupid computer!


That is not a picture of Brynn.  Her tonsils actually look worse than that because hers are touching.  Because her tonsils are so swollen they are a hot bed for bacteria and they are causing some pretty serious sleep apnea.  This was no surprise to Dan and I because we hear her choking and coughing several times a night.  So, in non-medical terms, Brynn literally stops breathing several times a night because her tonsils are so swollen.  Obviously...not good.  In fact, because her sleep apnea is such a big issue Brynn will have to stay overnight in the hospital (most kids get to go home).  I didn't ask many questions about this. To be honest, I'm thrilled that she is going to stay overnight!  I feel much better knowing that there is going to be a doctor nearby for at least 24 hours.  Once, I get her home I'm on my own but while she is in the hospital and can ask questions and share concerns to my hearts content.

We were not thrilled but left the ENT feeling confident that a tonsillectomy was necessary and the right thing.  However, once we started talking to people about the surgery people started to tell us awful horror stories.  People have actually said things like, "That is the worst thing I have ever gone through",  "That is a REALLY tough surgery for a kid. You need to prepare yourself" and,  "OMG!  That is SO painful".  So...now I'm straight-up terrified.  I don't think people were actually trying to scare me as much as prepare me but come on people sometimes...ignorance is bliss!!!

So how does a terrified Mama explain a tonsil and adenoidectomy to a very intuitive five year old?  I have NO clue?!?!  I want to be honest with her in a non-scary kind of way but I've never been through this so I really don't know.  I purchased a book to help out but it talks about "a magic mask that gives you happy air and makes you go to sleep" and states that "The best thing about getting your tonsils out is that you can only do it once.  Uhhhh...sorry, but that seems a little scary not to mention misleading!!

At this point we have told her as little as possible (remember...ignorance is sometimes bliss) and really talked up the all-you-can eat ice pops and ice cream.

I hate this, I feel scared, I feel totally helpless...I want to take my babies, run away and hide our heads in the sand!

September 12th is surgery day for both kids.  Prayers for all of us would be greatly appreciated!!  I wonder if they could let me take a hit from that magic mask?

In Loving Memory...

In Loving Memory of Casey "Wallsy" Walls....the little boy who put a tack in our teachers chair because she made me cry, the teenager who had his game face on at every Friday night football game and the Daddy who had pure adoration written all over his face every time he looked at his child.  You will be missed Casey!

Casey and Dre sporting their Friday night game face

Post-First Day of School Interview

Me:  How was it?!

Brynn:  Good.  I liked it.

Me:  Did you have fun?

Brynn:  Yes.  Mama, where are we going right now because I am starving?

Me:  We are going to pick up Colton and then we are heading home.  I'll get you a snack as soon as we get home.  So, tell me about your day.

Brynn:  We got to go to art!

Me:  Cool, did you make something?

Brynn:  No, we just learned about what we are going to do.  There are six tables and six boxes of stuff so every table will get there own stuff.

Me:  Cool.  Did you get to go to recess today.

Brynn:  No, we were just getting ready to line up for recess and then it started raining.  Some people in my school got wet.  A bunch of kids came in and then a teacher and then they were all wet.

Me:  Oh no!  So what did you do then?  Did you go play in the gym?

Brynn:  No, we went and watched a movie in our classroom.  It's good thing I didn't get all wet because I didn't bring any other clothes.

Me:  Did you eat in the cafeteria?

Brynn:  Yes.  That was before the people got wet.

Me:  Who did you sit next to at lunch?

Brynn:  Some kid.  I don't remember their name.

Me:  Did you make any new friends?

Brynn:  No Mama.  It was only the first day and there just wasn't time for that.

Me:  Oh well, I bet you make lots of new friends soon. What was your favorite part of the day?

Brynn:  Ummmm....probably watching the movie.  We did do some work.  We had circle time but the teacher didn't really teach us anything.  She just read to us.  And we colored a picture.  How are we supposed to learn anything by coloring pictures?

Me:  Well, you are learning to color inside the lines which helps improve your writing and your hand eye coordination.  And, you also did some writing on your picture which is good.

Brynn:  Mama, I'm really starving!

Me:  Ok Brynn...as soon as we get home.  Are you excited to go back tomorrow?

Brynn:  Yup.  I liked it.  I think tomorrow maybe we should pack a snack in the car for after school.

All set for day two:)

Colton is mad because he wants to go to "Big-garden" with Brynnie.

I Have a Kindergartner!

Tough day...as of 8:10 this am, I am the not-so-ready Mama of a kindergartner.  Waaaaahhhhh!

I have dreaded this day for a long time.  I'm a working Mama so it's not like being away from my girl is a new thing.  You would think that I would be a little more ready for this day...after all it does mean that our childcare bill just got cut in half.  However...I am nowhere near ready.  Pre school was like extended family for us.  There were only 20 kids in Brynn's class and less than 40 in her entire school and one of those was her brother.  That meant that we were able to get to know every single kid and their parents.  The kids at Pre-K are mostly teacher's kids and are pretty much the cream of the crop (ie:  parents who really care about things like education and discipline).

Kindergarten is a whole new ball game.  This is a giant leap towards Brynn's independence (ie:  a step away from being Mama and Daddy's baby).  We aren't going to know everyone at this school.  We aren't going to get daily reports on how our little precious did that day or about all the funny things that she said.  The teacher isn't going to text me with a cute picture of my girl in the middle of the day.  Waaaaaaaahhhh!

Brynn was so ready for this moment.  She proudly modeled her school uniform, new backpack and new lunchbox.  She walked into her classroom like a big girl and proudly found her seat at her table and began unpacking her school supplies.  She is excited...she is ready.

I am proud. I am so happy for her but I am NOT ready.  She is off on the next big adventure and I'm waving from the door and desperately want to run back for one more kiss and hug. 

Not a single tear from my girl.  I can't say the same for her Mama.

Standing outside the door of her class at open house

On our way to the first day of school

Here we go...

Mama is stalling by taking more pictures:)

Unpacking her stuff while Daddy tries to steal just one more kiss.

The Willman Crew

I forgot to mention that several weeks ago, my sister and her entire family were home. They made a whirlwind trip that was WAY to short for me but it was glorious to spend some time with them.  The kids are growing way too quickly for my taste and I hate that we don't get to see each other more often.  Anyway...I wanted to share a few pictures from their visit.

We had two family BBQ's to celebrate their visit:)

Kaylee is Brynn's idol so she soaked up every single minute she could with her.

I <3 this picture!  This is Kim, Ronnie and I's kids all together:)

You can not even begin to imagine the noise level...

 My niece Ava, who is 4 took my summer dance class this year.  It was so special to have her with me for the summer and I am SO SO thrilled that I got to be her first dance teacher.  She did a great job and was so stinking cute...and perhaps a little ornery:)  It really made the summer program for me.

While the Willman crew was here both Kaylee and Riley joined Ava at our dance class.  Kaylee was my assistant and Riley took the class.  I was in 7th heaven to have all three of them in one class.  The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have Brynn there too but unfortunately she came down with a case of strep throat that morning:(