Monday, October 10, 2011

The Happiest Place on Earth...(vacation part 1)

This is the first of probably several vacation posts...too much to cram into one blog!

Labor Day weekend, we headed back to our favorite place...Disney World.  We went last year and had an awesome time, so we decided to do it all again...We didn't go alone this time - My sister Karen, her husband, Adam, and their son, Campbell also came along...

The drive is super long, but it is well worth it, once we get there.  We hit quite a few snags this time...Ashleigh was really sick that morning, Kristen ended up saving the day and taking her to the doctor for me...she also cleaned out our car for the trip, kept Ashleigh all day, and finished some bows for the girls so that I could finish packing...the biggest snag was- my van, which has a ton of cargo space, was benched for this trip - it had to stay behind at the Dodge dealership for over two thousand dollars worth of repairs...we missed the space, but were so blessed that my parents had a van that we could use - that got us there safely...it also has better gas mileage than our van, so that helped the budget a little bit!


On the way, Clay looked into the backseat and found that Miss Troublemaker (aka Ashleigh) had gotten into my purse and painted herself with my lip gloss...Apparently, a 12 hour drive was a bit much to ask of this 2 year old!
Ashleigh's war paint
We left on a Thursday afternoon and drove all night.  We slept a few hours and then drove the next morning to the Orlando Temple.  We visited the distribution center for some "supplies" and took a few pics...

 
Orlando, FL temple
 
Reagan wouldn't cooperate

Again, he didn't cooperate - but the rest of us look okay!

 After the temple, we went to lunch at a very overpriced McDonald's, then checked into our hotel.....


 To BE Continued...

Friday, October 7, 2011

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

Okay.  I suck.  Alyssa's birthday was actually on September 19th.  What can I say?  It has been a rough month!  I was sick for most of September with a nasty sinus/bronchitis thing, and I finally feel better now.

But, enough about me...
Minnie Mouse cake that was a labor of love...
She wore her new outfit to school on her actual birthday...
Our little Miss Alyssa turned 4 this year.  Where does the time go?  I am amazed at how much faster my kids birthdays come around than my own did when I was a kid...Things that make you go Hmmmmm....


Anyway, Alyssa is BIG!  Well, not compared to other 4 year olds, really...but, she is so big to us!  She just started school and is learning so darn much it is amazing.  She still has a major diva attitude like she always has - but, she is learning and growing.  I'm pretty proud of her.
Here's the loot!
For Alyssa's birthday, she got a tricycle and a little miniature Beauty and the Beast castle thing that she absolutely loves.  (Craigslist is an awesome resource!)  Grandma and Grandpa gave her a new fleece Cinderella blanket that has completely overtaken my Tinkerbell quilt that I made her last year...She got a super cute outfit from Aunt Kristen and a Belle doll from Aunt Karen...In other words, she hauled....again!



Modeling her new blanket