5th Grade Holiday Luncheon

Let the decorating begin.

The big 5th grade event took place the day before Christmas break at Haw Creek Elementary where the gymnasium was transformed into a beautiful dining room thanks to myself and some other 5th grade parents. The kids were all dressed up and the lunch was catered in, (turkey, ham, rolls, mac & cheese, green beans)....and Ben's table had the best waitress (Me) for making sure their drinks were filled.

Here they are before leaving for school....cute kids! I had taught 3 days of etiquette training the week before. We talked about holding doors open, helping ladies into their seats, proper table talk, elbows off the table, etc. So when they were on their way our the door heading to school, Ben holds the door open for Rachel and I hear this comment back from her, "Thank you fine gentleman & Ben.... you know I would be thrilled to set next to you at any luncheon!"

Yum!

And my handsome boy!

Molly turns 6!

No, I can not believe it has been 6 years since this little princess made our family complete. The years have gone by way too quickly. Molly is so full of life. Her sweetness, independence, maturity & funny sayings.... keep us all laughing daily. We often find ourselves saying, "where in the world did she come up with that?" I really think she is 6 going on 16! The 3rd child is so different. And yes, the girl has an attitude at times that I wonder if we will ever survive her teenage years. But in the meantime we will take those times and get through them, the times when she is so completely innocent and loving, this times when she is doing things that Ben and Rachel would never think of getting into....cherish them all with hope that the next year doesn't go by quite so quickly.She had her party at Diamond Girlz Day Spa....really cute place. I am not sure she was thrilled with the facial....but was she ever so excited about getting sparkling nails.

The crew: (back row) Rachel, Audrey & Mallory.

Front: Ella, Oakley, Molly, Reecie & Hollen.
And then at home she just had to have cupcakes....if only she would eat it all....she licks all the icing off and gives it back as an un-decorated cupcake! Crazy girl, she asked us to just make them out of icing!

Closet Makeovers!

When we moved in, it was all about just getting boxes out and being able to live. Well.....the girls closet's were terrible. The set up was the basic wire shelves and very non functioning! Luckily for us...our friends that moved here did a redo of their closets (California Closets Came to their rescue) & they came to ours! Yea! So we used some of the stuff they took out to redo the kids closets here. So far both of the girls are done. Trevor and I did Molly's and Grandpa was here this week and he did Rachel's while Trevor was at work. We took down everything, repaired all the holes, painted and then started from scratch. Now I am happy and ready to get Ben's done soon too!

Here is what Rachel's looked like before:

And then after!

Molly's before:

& Molly's after!

Best Vacation Ever!

A year ago we booked a Disney Cruise and Universal Trip and finally the day arrived for us to set sail. And taking the kids out of school a couple of days the week before worked out great (teachers were great in letting them make up and get most of their work done before we left) and being out the entire week of Thanksgiving here made it easy and them only missing 2 days. The new Disney ship, Disney Dream was just amazing. We loved everything about it. The ship was beautiful, the room was so nice and spacious, we all loved the Aqua Duck ride on the ship, Molly loved Nemo's Reef splash area.....she was there for hours, they all LOVED the kids area and never wanted to leave it. We stayed on the ship in Nassau and enjoyed all there was to do on the ship. Castaway Cay, Disney's Private Island was amazing as well. The white beach and crystal clear blue water....awe!!!! That day we spent off the boat on the beach. Disney makes sure your kids are happy and when the kids are happy.....that makes you and your trip a happy one.

Family shot on while exploring the ship.

Love this picture of Trevor & Ben.

We saw the shows each night....they were all incredible. We liked them as much as the kids did.
Each night you rotated Dining rooms but your waiters came with you. Kids favorite was Animators Palate and the Nemo zooming around the room talking to you was crazy fun. Our waiters, Trevis & Ajus were so great with the kids. Every time we saw them they would make them all kinds of things out of the menus, such as birds and frogs. Trevis even colored and created a bouquet of flowers for Molly one day at breakfast. But Ben was thrilled with the magic tricks and all the fun they provided.

Arriving at Castaway Cay

Disney Dream = Happy Kids

We connected with 2 special kids counselors on the ship. This is Vix, the kids loved her and she loved them. They would never want to leave her!
After we got off the ship we drove to Universal and spent Thanksgiving week there. (Mon. - Thurs.) Missed having a big turkey dinner but had so much fun just being a family and riding rides. Our lunch that day was at the 3 Broomsticks & having a Butterbeer! LOVED the Harry Potter area and the Forbidden Journey ride....Best ride ever!!!! SOOOO Fun. Ben & Rachel rode it a dozen times in 3 days. Twice as much as Trevor and I. The Hulk roller coaster...uh...no way for us girls...but those crazy boys rode it A LOT!

Molly's favorite, no doubt was the Seuss Landing area. We rode those rides over and over.

A fun bike cart pull going back to hotel one night.