Surprise!!!

After years of discussing it, we decided this year would be our year. WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY!

I wanted to tell the kids by doing something special, so I decided on a scavenger hunt. At the end would be the 

shirts that my cousin made. So, when we came home from dinner, the first clue was under a rock on our front porch. It read:

A scavenger hunt, 

Hip hip hooray!

Follow the clues 

And be on your way!

Clue #1

Where you go when you want to have fun!

Clue #2

Where the chickens go cock-a-doodle-doo...

Clue #3

Is on a tree...

Clue #4

Is taped to a door...

Clue #5

Where Daddy's truck was hard to drive.

The last clue sent them down the trail to their "hangout" where the shirts were in bags with their names on it. I thought for sure Kristen would know by the shirts and wouldn't need the clues on the bag. Here's the video:

Lauren was the one who got it! And while I expected more enthusiasm, especially since Kristen thinks Denny's would be a lot like Disney World, I guess they were still pretty excited. 

Our hotel room has been booked. We've already recieved our Disney and Seaworld passes and are planning to visit Clearwater Marine Aquarium to visit Winter from the Dolphin Tale movies. 

We've shown the kids the things we plan to do. 

And this sweet little girl is already worried about and missing Degas.

35 days until we embark on our Disney adventure!

Kristen's Party

For the past four years Kristen has been asking to have a birthday party with her friends. Ten was the magic number and she was so very excited to plan her party. She had a list a mile long. I wish I had taken a picture of that list. You would have thought her party was going to last for days. Her friend list was quite long too, so I set a limit. Six girls, because it needed to be an even number and because my budget couldn't afford more. Nor could my house hold more and my sanity couldn't take more. And then we started to plan. 

The party started out being a sleepover, then turned into a nail and movie party. She finally wanted to do games and give out prizes. Everyone had to get a prize though and she had big ideas for these prizes. So, since the grand total of girls came to eight, counting Kristen and Lauren, we headed to 5 Below and were very surprised to find tons of Tsum Tsum things, which was her theme. Everyone could leave with a Tsum Tsum themed prize! Even I was excited about that!

Next we had to figure out how we were going to determine who got prizes. One girl might win a couple of games, so the only fair way was to do a point system. Remember that show, Minute to Win it? Well, we decided to do games like cookie face, junk in the trunk, who's your mummy, and cotton ball scoop. We came up with, or should I say, Pinterest came up with 8 games and we awarded points. In the end they all got prizes based on their score.

We gave out Tsum Tsum bracelets, goody bags, little Tsum Tsum figures and Tsum Tsum balloons. Kristen wanted chocolate covered strawberries, one of her favorites, so we brought out the chocolate melter thingy and had marshmallows and sugar wafers to dip too. I finally entered into adulthood and purchased a punch bowl, thanks to Goodwill. I made punch for the first time. She wanted pigs in a blanket and we had chips and dip and cupcakes. And lots of Tsum Tsum decorations. She was finally able to have her party this past weekend after being postponed for sickness. 

She had lots of fun and received lots of great presents. She has told me thank you a million times. I love this girl and all her awesomeness. 

Weekly Wrap Up - The Week I Started Blogging Again

This week I decided to start blogging again. Hopefully I will stick to it. I hate that I have missed a lot of memories. My kids are growing (way too fast) and I want to capture all the memories I can.  

This week was the first full week of school we have done in two weeks. We have all been sick, starting with Kristen and ending with me. Now, starting over again with Dallas. He currently has strep. 

March is Women's History month so this week we learned about Amelia Earhart. Kristen is very interested in history. We watched a video of Amelia Earhart that showed pictures of her in black and white. Lauren wanted know why their clothes were always the same color and why they didn't wear makeup. She keeps us laughing. She's funny without even trying to be.

Kristen taped her Amelia Earhart cutout to her face. It was just a little creepy.

This one is doing so well with her reading. She loves the puppy Mudge books and is actually excited about reading. 

And I love these moments. When Kristen helps Lauren in school. I'm not sure how effective it is, but they do a lot of laughing. 

But, the best part of the week was when Lauren only got one problem wrong on her math test!

This was something worth celebrating!

March first was share a smile day. We read two books and talked about how a smile could change someone's day. They made collages of things that make them smile.

I thought Lauren's picture was of us, but then she informed me it was a picture of the neighbors. Apparently the neighbors are the only thing that make her smile.

March 2nd was Dr. Seuss's birthday. We celebrated by reading some of our favorite stories. 

Kristen read her favorite one to us.

We also made some edible cat in the hats out of marshmallows, bananas, and strawberries.

And we did some fun activities.

A successful week of homeschooling! I love my job!

Happy 5th Birthday Dallas!

This boy has spent his birthday sick. The stomach bug decided to grace him with its presence, and to beat it all he is getting the cold that both Kristen and Lauren have. So, it has been a pretty lousy birthday for the birthday boy.

He was feeling better this evening, so we sang happy birthday and he got a couple presents. He'll have to wait on his requested birthday dinner until he is back to normal.

This boy has had us all wrapped around his finger since he was born. I'm not gonna lie, he is spoiled and gets his way most of the time. But, when you've been this adorable since birth it's very easy to give in. 

From the moment he was born he captured my heart. There was something about having a little boy. It was different. He is always willing to help me. He helps me carry in the groceries, set the table and always keeps his room neat. Everything must be in its place. He did inherit my OCD for cleanliness. 

Most often you will find him and Kristen arguing. Kristen tries, but he is definitely a little bother sometimes. He's all boy and enjoys annoying her. That's what little brothers are for. 

But these two.....

The bond they share. Be still my heart. He used to ask for "my Nauren".  I love hearing them laugh together.  She definitely looks out for him. 

From the beginning he has kept me laughing, and wanting to pull my hair out. Sometimes at the same time. 

It has been such a joy watching him grow. He is super smart and loves school. He catches on to things very easily. He likes all things super heroes, ninjago, Pokemon, and his Papaw.  He also likes playing Barbies with his sisters, and would be very angry to know I have divulged that information. He loves playing the matching game and wii. He likes sunglasses, doing flips on the trampoline, dessert, and having a neat room. He loves his daddy and wants to be just like him. He gets upset very easily, but is easy to laugh as well. He likes to read. He hates sleeping in the dark, losing at anything, green beans, and doing crafts. 

I am so blessed that God chose me to be his mother. He completes our family and brings so much joy to our lives. Life would be very boring without this little boy. Happy birthday Dallas. I love you to the moon and back. 

Happy 10th Birthday Kristen

    

Well, she has made it to the double digits, and that is hard to believe. This poor girl has been pretty sick for the past two days and was upset she would be sick on her birthday. But, she woke up this morning feeling much better. For that I am grateful. 

It's very hard to believe that my firstborn has been in our lives for 10 years. I can't remember what life was like before her. I prayed for her and God blessed me beyond anything I could ever imagine.

I thought I was prepared, but had no idea how hard it would be going from just Paul and me to having a baby. I'd like to say I was a rockstar mom, but I was mostly a blubbering mess at the beginning. But oh how much I loved her!

This little girl grew and grew.

And then she became a big sister. And what a great big sister she is.

I have so enjoyed watching her grow. She has such a kind heart and keeps me laughing. She likes to read, write stories and loves doing art projects. She is always wanting to learn new things. She is great in math, but her favorite school subject is writing. She likes eating fruits and veggies. Her favorite drink is Root Beer. She loves anything strawberry and stuffed animals. She likes making videos and taking pictures. 

She hates potatoes, uncomfortable clothes, waking up in the mornings, and cleaning up. She is my messy child and definitely didn't inherit my OCD for cleanliness. But, I love her and all her messiness.

Today we celebrated her birthday by going to the mall so she could pick out something from her favorite store, although she now has a new favorite.

She ended up getting a purse and a charm bracelet that has her initials on it. 

Meme and Papaw met us for lunch and bought her a new wardrobe for summer. We fixed her requested birthday meal, grilled Carribean jerk chicken, mixed veggies and strawberry cupcakes. 

We ended the night watching Grace perform with the Powhatan High School Show Choir. 

Even though she is growing I still see my little girl who always wanted to dress up and be a princess and have tea parties. I love you Kristen and happy 10th birthday!