Spring Break - Day 1

After getting home late last night from the wedding weekend we went into spring break mode.  We are sticking around here the rest of this week, but packing in lots of fun so that the week feels special for the kids.  

Today was a trip to the zoo!  We met some of our new friends there and the kids all enjoyed it.  It was the perfect family to do something with because everyone has a playmate.  They have two girl and a boy very close in age to our kids. 

The weather was gorgeous, all of the animals were out, and it was the perfect way to kick off our spring break fun! The weather looks so great for the rest of the week that I spent this afternoon packing away the corduroy and sweaters and pulling out the seersucker and sandals!

Wedding Day

The wedding day was rainy, just as the weather folks had predicted.  It didn't put a damper on the fun though and in fact, the rain stopped just before the ceremony and although it wasn't the sunny backdrop I'm sure Kaitlyn had hoped for, it was still a beautiful ceremony.  

The girls and I went over to the venue early so they could be there for some pictures ahead of time and they loved getting to test out the dance floor, see all of the "big girls" getting ready, and check out all of the decorations before everyone else got to see it.  

The yacht club had awesome views and the girls loved seeing all of the big boats out the big glass windows.

The flower girls did a fantastic job and made us all proud.  They did just like they had practiced and felt so big and important getting to stand up with the bridesmaids during the ceremony.  

After eating at the reception, we all danced the night away. They had a band that played beach music, along with lots of other favorites, and we all had the best time. Harper even danced with the sweet ring bearer at one point and Handley loved the electric slide and cha-cha slide.  Hudson had to be dragged off the dance floor at the end of the night and he was hamming it up with all of the ladies. His signature move, which I unfortunately did not get on video was him laying down (think dead-bug) and wanting someone to spin him around on his back.  You'd think that would have gotten old, but nope. He did it over and over and over all night long.

Wedding Rehearsal Day

This past weekend my cousin, Kaitlyn, got married and we had the best time during all of the wedding festivities.  Handley and Harper were two of her flower girls and they were so excited about their duties.  We left for North Carolina on Thursday afternoon after school and got to my parents' house a little before midnight.  Friday morning the girls and I went with my mom to get our nails done and then it was time for the bridal luncheon. It was held at Capt'n Bill's, my aunt and uncle's restaurant.  The girls got to meet Mary Ryan, the other flower girl, and they all became fast friends.  Kaitlyn gave them all Bride Barbies along with monogrammed pearl bracelets and lots of other goodies.

After lunch the kids took advantage of the outdoor volleyball portion of the restaurant and went to town playing in the sand.

From the lunch it was time for the rehearsal. The girls learned all about their jobs during the wedding, where to walk, how to stand, and did a fantastic job practicing.

The wedding and ceremony were on Figure Eight Island over looking the water. It was such a beautiful backdrop!  

Next up was dinner where the mother of the groom outdid herself with accommodating the kids who were in attendance.  She had little bags made up for them with all sorts of toys, goodies and things to keep them entertained.  They also had a little room off of the main dining area with Frozen playing for the kids.

After dinner we made our way back to Capt'n Bill's for the after party.  All of the extended families of the bride and groom were there to meet, greet, and have a good time.  The kids danced, played, and ran around like crazy.  So much so, that Hudson slept until 10:30 AM the next day!

Six Flags Fun

Every year we look forward to the RT Family Picnic Day. It's always at a fun location and this year was Six Flags!  The kids were looking forward to this day and it was so cute to see their reactions when we drove up and saw the giant roller coasters from the interstate and then from the parking lot. I remember my brother's and I used to have the same reaction when we were little and would get so excited about all of the fun we were getting ready to have.

We spent the first part of the day trying to find rides the kids were tall enough to ride.  Handley and Harper really wanted to ride the big rides, but even Handley wasn't tall enough to do some of them.  Then, we got smart and just made our way to the kiddie area knowing they could ride all of those rides.  They had so much fun and the great think about that area is that there are no lines and no waiting.

After riding a few rides alone, we met up with our friends and the kids ran from ride to ride.

They also convinced Robby to stand in with them for the Mine Train roller coaster.  It was Harper's first roller coaster and she came off with a huge smile saying how much fun she'd had.  From the picture it looked like Robby had fun, too.

Handley and Avery were thrilled to get to ride the roller coaster by themselves and Handley was proud to keep her hands up the entire time (or so she says).

After lunch at the picnic pavilion, face-painting and balloon animals, we made our way back to the kid area for a few more rides.  Hudson got to try out his first ever roller coaster.  He looked terrified the entire time, but as soon as it stopped he told me he wanted to ride again.  Then we did a few of their favorites one more time before getting an ice cream and making our way home.

I've trained him well

On Monday, Robby and I got invited to go to the Banff Film Festival World tour.  It was an event that lasted about 3 hours and they showed 8 short films that had won awards and gained recognition at the film festival.  All the films focused on nature and outdoors and/or extreme adventure sports including canyoning and mountain climbing.  Most were things I can say with certainty I will never even have the desire to attempt, but it was still a fun event and very entertaining.

Gigi and Papa graciously kept the kids for us and by the time we got home they were all sound asleep.  When I went in to check on Hudson before I went to bed I saw some of this clothes laying on the floor by his closet.  You see, every night before he goes to bed he helps me pick out his outfit for the next day. I can only imagine that Gigi put him to bed and he realized he didn't have his outfit laying out so he took it upon himself to do it. What I loved even more was his choices...preppy plaid pants, a gray thermal tee and his green dinosaur flip-flops. I had to grab my phone and snap a pic. Robby asked me what I was doing and my response was, "I've trained him well."  :-)

This has been one of those weeks where I got over committed and over scheduled before I realized what had happened.  That on top of the design choices at the house that need to be made have had me running like crazy all week.  This morning I foolishly had volunteered for something at Handley's school that required me to be there at 7 AM. Which meant, we all got up and out of here by 6:15.  Needless to say everyone was tired this afternoon.  Hudson was a trooper though and has been such a great little assistant to me all week when he wasn't in school.  Today we spent a good hour at Sherwin Williams and he was so happy and content.  Then as soon as we got back in the car I looked back and saw him sound asleep. That didn't stop me from running my errands because he still is so good about transferring and sleeping in the stroller.  This is what getting up at 6AM and spending an hour at the paint store will do to you!

For the record, he slept his way through Wal-Mart and only woke up in the car later after I woke him to eat lunch.

In other big news this week, I picked up a copy of the kids' new favorite movie, Frozen!  I heard on the radio that it was being released on Tuesday and my first stop after dropping the little ones at pre-school was to purchase this fantastic movie.  I think it was a big day for lots of families with young kids because all over Facebook were posts about watching the movie at home for the first time.  My kids were super excited when I showed it to them and we had a full on movie theater experience (dark room, popcorn and all) after school today!  And while they watched, I spent another hour looking at paint colors!

A Horse Named Waffles and Ladybug Soccer

Handley's school had a family fun night last night.  She had been talking about it all week and I promised her we would go.  They had food trucks, desserts, face painting, a DJ and all of the kids ran and played on the playground with their friends.  It was a lot of fun and I'm happy we were able to make it.  In conjunction with the event was also the school's art show.  Every student had a piece of art work framed and displayed in the gallery.  Parents could purchase the framed art as a fundraiser for the school and I was happy to be able to bring home Handley's adorable cowgirl piece.  Her self-portrait drawing even included cactus, a colorful sunset background, swinging lassos above her head and a horse named Waffles.  I love it and she was so very proud.  I can't wait to hang it in the new house!  

 

  

We happened to run into a few of our soon-to-be new neighbors at the family fun night and they all decided to go out to dinner and invited us along.  It was a crazy crew with lots of kids, but they all had a blast and so did we.  I miss our old neighbors so much and I'm excited to finally get moved in and have new neighbors to hang out with and for our kids to play with.  Dinner ran late though and that meant we got home even later.  It was way past bedtime when the kids got to bed and we all had to be up bright and early to cheer on the Ladybugs...Harper's spring soccer team.  Today was her first game and she was really excited.  

She did great, played hard, and most importantly, had fun!  She ran the ball down the field 3 times and came so close to a goal each time. She also did great at goalie.  

After her game she had a quick change and was transformed into a princess for a friend's princess tea birthday party.  She was most excited because it was a drop-off party and she felt so big and grown-up being able to stay there without me.   

We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening at home trying to relax a little.  While the kids played outside and raked the yard with Gigi and Papa, Robby and I dreamed of what it will be like when they are able to play in the yard at our new house.  Things are moving along and we are all counting down the days!

Putting on a show

The girls spent all afternoon planning a big show they wanted to put on.  They got dressed in dance clothes, made decorations and signs and even had a concessions area.  The plan was after we were done with dinner they would perform.  And perform they did!

They first made sure everyone had refreshments for the show...which consisted of a fully stocked candy dish:

And then they got started.  My job, according to Handley, was to "pronounce" them and then start the music, so that's what I did.  And then they started dancing, cartwheeling, spinning, booty shaking and doing lots of tricking.  It was so cute and we all had so much fun watching and laughing with them.  I used to make up dances and put on shows all the time when I was little, so I just love seeing my girls do this, too.

Hudson is not one to be left out, so after his refreshments were gone, he hopped up and joined in the fun with their performance. He showed off his tumbling skills and ran around jumping from one couch to the next.

He was so cute today because when I let him pick out what shirt he wanted to wear he picked out this button up and told me he was just like daddy.

In other big news, I registered Harper for Kindergarten today! I still can't believe she is old enough to be going to that big elementary school.  I'm glad I can still call her a pre-schooler for at least a few more months.