2nd Grade Musical

Tonight was the 2nd grade patriotic musical at school.  Handley's class, along with the other 9 2nd grade classes, have been practicing for this for a few months.  They've been learning songs, learning their lines, and gearing up for the big night.

After dance today we did a quick change, ran through Chick-fil-a for dinner for the kids, and then made our way to the school.  I though we were early (30 minutes ahead of the start of the show) and I still had a seat WAY in the back of the cafeteria. That's OK though because when it was time for her class to come up and say their lines the people behind us didn't mind us standing to get a better view.  

She did great and they all sang their little hearts out.  I loved seeing all of the red, white, and blue and it made me super excited for summertime and the 4th of July.

Weekend Update

Our Friday started off so sweetly!  At pre-school the three's were doing a "spring sing" and we got to hear our boy sing in the big church.  I kept asking him what songs he was going to be singing and he couldn't ever tell me.  I wasn't quite sure how this would all go down.  All the kiddos did so well and I was super proud of Hudson.

He was so happy to find us in the crowd and although he might not have sang all of the songs, he stood up there, smiled and waved to us every chance he got.  Here he is walking of the stage and still waving!  

He was so happy to have Robby and I both there to see him sing and felt so proud of himself for doing a great job.  

When we got home that afternoon he and I stayed outside to play and enjoy the sunshine before going to pick up the girls from he bus stop.

On Saturday, Gigi and Papa came to watch Harper's soccer game with us and then stayed for dinner.  Harper did great, ran fast, and even got to play goalie for the first time this season.  She had a lot of fun and loved having fans cheering for her.  

This morning the girls enjoyed waving palm branches in "big church" for Palm Sunday.  They looked so sweet and I am so happy we are involved with a church that does so much to include children.

We spent the rest of the day playing outside, enjoying our new swingset, having a playdate with neighbors and ending the evening with scores over the campfire.  It was a wonderful weekend and we are excited about just one more week of school before Spring Break!!!

Orlando - Day 4 {Disney World}

On our final day in Orlando all I wanted to do was sleep.  Seriously!  Disney is exhausting, but knowing this was our last day I really wanted to make the most of it, so we were up and ready to go bright and early.  We had to go ahead and check out of our room so we quickly got packed up, had the hotel hold our bags, grabbed a quick breakfast, and again rode the shuttle to the Magic Kingdom.  

Very early on we tried to ride a lot of the rides in Fantasy Land before it got crowded and we succeeded.  We rode the Tea Cups (twice)...

...then Dumbo...

...then Barnstormer (twice)...

...and finally the classic carousel.  

Around this time we were scheduled for our first Fast Pass and we made our way to ride Ariel's Undersea Adventure.  The kids liked it, but they all kept asking when it was going to go fast. Ha!  They all love the speedy rides best.

After the ride we stopped in a few gift shops to let the kids look for a souvenir.  We had told them they could each pick one thing. Hudson actually picked his with no trouble the day before.  He wanted a Buzz Lightyear "grabber" as he calls it.  It looks like the things you pick up trash with so you don't have to actually bend over to pick it up.  In fact, I saw the people working at Disney using something very similar to pick up trash.  I have no clue why he wanted it, but he did so we let him have it.

Handley settled on a pair of earrings that had her birthstone and a princess pen...both great choices in my book.

And then there is Harper.  This girl cannot make a decision to save her life.  And it isn't just about which souvenir to pick.  She is this way with EVERYTHING.  What shoes to wear, how to wear her hair, what book she wants to read at night, what snack to take for school.  She will hem and haw over the simplest decisions for worry that she will make the wrong choice.  We went back and forth between 2 gift shops at least 4 times before we finally forced her to pick.  And you want to know what she settled on...a Frozen coffee mug.  Yep, all of that for a coffee mug.  :-) Whatever.  She was happy and has proudly sipped her hot chocolate from it at home.  Part of her back and forth paid off though because one of the employees at the store saw and he sprinkled magic fairy dust on her hair.

Around this time everyone was needing a break and I was happy to learn earlier in the day that the parade that is usually at 3 PM would also be happening at noon that day, which meant we would get to see it!  This is one of my favorite things about Magic Kingdom.  We found a shady spot, parked ourselves and the stroller, and waited for about 30 minutes for it to begin. Robby went off to find us some lunch and the kids were content to just sit and relax for a little while.  We ate in the shade and then it was time for the parade!  It was fun seeing all of our favorite characters sing and dance on amazing floats.  

Of course the girls loved the princesses and Tinkerbell best, but Hudson loved Captain Hook and this dragon.

And no parade at Magic Kingdom would be complete without Mickey and Minnie!  

After the parade we split up and took advantage of some more Fast Passes.  The boys went to visit Mickey...

While the girls said a quick hello to Rapunzel and Cinderella.  

After meeting back up we did one more switchero.  The girls went with Robby to ride Space Mountian, which was their absolute favorite ride of the entire trip.  While they were off doing that I took Hudson back to his favorite ride, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin and then finally it was time to head out.  We got frozen lemonade on our way out of the park and sat together to eat it while we waited on our shuttle.  While we were sitting there recapping our trip, Harper said she hopped she wasn't dreaming.  I asked her why and she said because she'd just had the best time and hoped it all really happened.  That was the sweetest possible thing we could have heard and the best way to end our trip.

For memory's sake, we'll just pretend that is when the trip ended and forget about the long security lines, rushing through the airport, dealing with a very tired and very cranky 3 year old who didn't want to ride in the stroller, me swearing we will never all bring carry-on luggage again, and the exhaustion we all were feeling when the "magic" of Disney had worn off.  I'm going to let all of that just slip out of my mind and remember ending on the good note.

Seriously though, it was an amazing trip, the kids were as well behaved as they could be (considering one of them was 3 years old) and I know we all made memories as a family that we will be talking about for years to come.  And that, my friends, is what matters most!

Orlando - Day 3 {Braves Spring Training}

After some quick downtime on Saturday afternoon we got changed and ready to head to the Braves game that evening.  Our shuttle took us back to Champion Stadium and we were lead to a pavilion area in the stadium with appetizers, drinks and dinner for all of us.  The kids had fun getting their own drinks from the dispensers and I was happy to have some sweet tea!  I joked with Robby that it tasted SO good because it had been a couple of days since I'd had some.  He laughed and said he though I was going to say it had been a couple of weeks. Seriously though, I love my sweet tea and it was so good on that hot evening.  

Worn out from our day at Disney, Hudson spent the first hour or so like this: 

It was much needed for him, so we just let him snooze away! 

Meanwhile, the girls and I had fun exploring a little bit of the park and watching the players warm-up. 

Before the game began, some of the players came up for an autograph session, which the kids loved!  They each got a baseball signed with about 12-15 signatures.  They have proudly displayed their baseballs in their rooms at home.

It was finally time to eat so we settled in at a table where we could both eat and see the game.  Again, they had adorable baseball themed centerpieces.  

After filling up on hamburgers, hot dogs and all sorts of Mickey Mouse deserts like ice cream bars and rice crispy treats, we found our seats to watch the rest of the game.

All three kids loved watching the game, cheering for our team, and enjoying the nice evening (once the sun went down).

We had one more day in Orlando, so you can read all about it tomorrow!  

Orlando - Day 3 {Disney World}

It was so hard waking up early and getting everyone going Saturday morning because we had already had two jam packed days, but the promise of Disney got us all moving.  We enjoyed a quick breakfast buffet and the girls loved checking out all of the fancy food.  Handley was super impressed with the coconut bowl full of fresh fruit.

We took the shuttle over to Disney and were ready to start our fun there.  Unfortunately, because of being tried and just being a 3 year old, it wasn't off to a good start for Hudson.  He was having a meltdown already (before we even arrived at the park) so we were really worried how our day would go.  Thankfully, after basically forcing him on the first ride, he suddenly changed his tune and realized exactly how much fun he would be having at Disney.

The kids all loved the race cars at Tomorrowland Speedway and the fact that they got to drive.  Hudson couldn't even seen over the steering wheel so he spent most of the time looking out the side to know where to go, but loved every second of it!

We had to be back for the Braves game by late afternoon so for our last ride of the day, we made our way over to the Buzz Lightyear ride and had a few minutes before our Fast Pass began.  We decided to grab some popcorn and let the kids eat and have a break in the shade for little bit. (Side note- We went though more popcorn during the two days we were at Disney than I though was humanly possible.  My kids love popcorn and it as the perfect snack to grab and go as we made our way to the next ride.)  It was so hot while we were there (almost 90 degrees) so the break in the shade was welcomed by all of us.  While the kids were snacking I happened to look over and see Buzz himself, taking pictures with kids, and the line wasn't too long.  I pushed our stroller right over and we all hopped in line.  Hudson is in LOVE with Buzz and was so excited to meet him in person.

Right after that we made our way to the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin ride.  All of the kids loved it!  Basically you use your laser to shoot the aliens and earn points.  It was so much fun and as soon as we were done the kids all wanted to go on the ride again.

After our last ride we made the trek back to the front of the park to catch our shuttle back to the hotel.  We were all exhausted from the heat and all of the walking and needed a quick break back at the hotel before we made our way to the Braves game that evening.  I have lots to share about that, so it's going to have to wait until tomorrow!  Check back then to read about the rest of our day!

Orlando - Day 2

On Friday morning we all slept in, which was much needed after such a busy first day.  Robby decided to go exercise while the kids and I met up with Kathy and her kids for an amazing breakfast buffet. I was a little worried about my VERY picky Hudson finding something he would like, but then I spotted the Krispy Kreme doughnuts and knew I didn't have anything to worry about!  After breakfast we let the swim for about an hour before we needed to get ready for one of the real reasons we were in Orlando...Braves Spring Training.  

We were there as part of a group with the Braves and we were treated to an amazing experience with them.  Just before lunch we loaded up on the shuttle bus to take us over to Champion Stadium which is part of the ESPN Wild World of Sports.

It was a hot and sunny day, but being in the ballpark was a blast.  Donald Duck threw out the first pitch, which was so cute.  

The kids ate popcorn, did the tomahawk chop, and cheered for our team.  

 After the game we came back to the resort to rest.  The kids really wanted to swim again, but I knew it would serve everyone well to have a little downtime so that is just what we did.  Two out of the three kids fell asleep.  Then it was time to wake up and get ready for the party that evening.  It was a dinner and welcome celebration for all of the people involved with the trip.

When we showed up we were greeted with what Hudson called a really tall man.  :-)  He couldn't figure out how he was that big!

The tables were set with these adorable centerpieces perfect for the baseball themed event...

And we were all amazed by the carved watermelon, too! 

There were tons of activities for the kids including nail painting and sand art, but their favorite by far was the DJ!  Handley definitely takes after me because I couldn't get her off the dance floor!

Hudson had a fun time running around and doing is fancy dance moves, too. 

It was a really fun way to end the second day of our trip.  Thankfully, everyone was still worn out and went to bed right away so that we could get up early and be ready for DISNEY in the morning!  Check back tomorrow to read all about it!