Disney!

{via Google}

We're planning our first trip to Disney this fall! We've been promising the kids a trip to Disney for years and this fall seems like the perfect time! Honestly, I'm not a huge Disney fan myself and I haven't been that excited about it. I even tried to convince the kids to go on a non-Disney cruise instead but at least 2 weren't going to be swayed ha! So we're planning a week long trip to Florida with 2 days at Disney, 1 day at Lego Land and a couple days at the beach or just hanging out. Two days at Disney might sound far too short for some but I think that will be about all we can handle.. especially for our first trip.










I love planning vacations (I'm already planning the trip we hope to go on next year too ha!) so I'm already gathering all the info I can. Our goal is to budget while seeing as much as we can during 2 days at Disney. I've gotten lots of advice both ways but we're leaning towards park hopper tickets. Magic Kingdom is a must! The guys have to see Star Wars at Hollywood Studios and it really sounds like a really fun park to me too. I think we'll all enjoy it. I've heard great things about Epcot and Alex is dying to do some space stuff (?) over there. One suggestion I've gotten is to head to one park early in the morning, back to the Airbnb (hopefully we find one really close!) for lunch and relaxing. Then back to a second park around dinner time. From what I hear I think 3-4 parks is doable in two days.. but maybe that's crazy.. I don't know. We aren't huge on rides but plan to get fast passes.



Anyway, I would love any and all tips for Disney!! What shows are must sees? Best time of day to be at a park? Budget friendly ideas? (We are planning to bring our own food in.) Best places to watch fireworks? Any quiet places to sit and relax for while? Suggestions on gift shops outside of Disney where we can get fun Disney stuff at a bargain?



We have a 3 year old girl who loves Minnie and horses! A tomboy 5 year old girl who likes Princess Belle, really loves Lilo and Stitch and loves turtles. An 8 year old boy who likes Star Wars, science and all things boyish. A 10 year old girl who is kind of outgrowing the little kid stuff but will probably love a little of everything! Suggestions on things each might like would be great!? And suggestions on what to avoid?



Obviously I have tons of questions! I guess I am getting a little excited about it ha! Even if I'm not a huge Disney fan it'll be fun watching the kids experience it and I suspect I may enjoy it a lot more than I think I will!

New Year's Resolutions!

I'm about a month late on this one but oh well! I'm not really a New Year's Resolution kind of person but here are a few things I'd like to focus on this year.






1) Blog regularly and figure out what I want out of this blog. Then make it happen!



2) Keep up with all social media connected to my blog (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc)



3) Learn all I can about photography! I ordered a little add on kit for my camera with a gift card I got for Christmas. I'm still trying to figure all this stuff out. I'd love to take a photography class!



4) Start writing! I'd love to take a writing class too!



5) Budget, save and pay off some bills.....



6) Read the Bible.. at least keep up with what our life group is studying



7) Lose weight, keep it off! Exercise and get fit! (I've been saying this forever...)



8) Come up with a great cleaning schedule and stick to it.



9) Meal prep regularly



10) Come up with, and stick to, a great homeschool schedule for Gabby



What are your goals for the new year?

January happenings

I'm so behind on the blog! I still need to write about our trip to Texas and Christmas! I prefer to watermark all my photos but it can be pretty time consuming.. which puts me even further behind. I did find out that the program I use (BeFunky) just came out with a watermark program. Once I figure out how to use it that will really help a lot!



We got home from Texas on New Year's Eve and picked up our sweet puppy from the kennel. Poor thing had a bit of kennel cough and needed a couple prescriptions. Thankfully it wasn't too bad and he got over it pretty quickly!

S begged for a blonde, blue eyed Wellie Wisher for months last year. I asked her several times if she was sure she wanted a blonde instead of one that looked like her. She insisted she wanted the blonde. Well, she opened it on Christmas morning and set it aside. The next day she said she wanted to give the Wellie Wisher to one of her blonde cousins ha! We decided to sell it once we got home and I started looking for a secondhand, brunette American Girl doll. S turned up her nose at every single one I found on eBay or Facebook marketplace but ultimately decided this $24 doll from Wal-Mart was exactly what she wanted lol! She's hilarious! One of S's middle names is Isabela so she named her doll "Ella Isabela". :D

This little crazy is not interested in potty training. She turned 3 in October. We've bribed her with sweets, new toys and more. She'll be interested for a day or so and then want to go back in diapers. I told her yesterday that she'll have to stay in the baby (toddler) class at church and can't move into the 3 year old class until she's potty trained. It didn't phase her. She just grinned and said "Ok!" Ha! I asked if she wanted to be wearing diapers in kindergarten and she was like "Yeah." I don't know what to do with this child. The older three were trained the week they turned 3 and never looked back but Indie just does things her own way..



All our spring programs are just starting up again! S used to hate dance and begged to quit for months! I told her she had to try the older class before she could quit. She's gone to the older class (5 to 7 yr olds) for three weeks now and LOVES it! She was the one begging to go to dance this week ha! I knew the pre-k class was too boring for her. She does better around older kids (more of a challenge) than younger kids.

JG and I did a Girls On The Run 5K a few weeks ago. I walked the entire time but it was still fun! It was such a beautiful, spring like day! 

Both older girls had birthdays this month! S turned 5 last week and JG turned 10 this week! My mom flew out to surprise S for her birthday and stayed through JG's birthday!

S got another doll (Our Generation) for her birthday! She named this one "Honey Isabela" :D



Of course she had a to have a Ninja Turtle cake too!

JG turned 10 this week! I can't believe I have a ten year old! Her big gift was having her room redecorated. She got a dresser, desk, curtains and several accessories. I need to get a pic of her room. It's still a work in progress but looking pretty cute! She decided one a teal and coral theme.

The guys went camping with Trail Life last weekend so my mom and I took the girls to eat at Macaroni Grill and then over to the American Girl doll store. This was the first time the little girls have been since they were babies and our first time to the Charlotte store. This store is much smaller than the one we've gone to in Dallas but has a play area that I don't remember the one in Dallas having. The little girls had the best time playing with all the Bitty Babies for over an hour! Poor L missed her nap and was in meltdown mode by the time we left but they had so much fun while we were there!

With all this doll shopping/window shopping we've done lately we haven't seen a doll that really matches Indie very well until we happened to see this one at Target a few days ago! The curly, dark blonde hair, brown eyes and light olive skin are perfect for Indie! We've told her she can get this doll as soon as she's potty trained but even this bribe doesn't seem to be working right now. :/

The girls and I took my mom to airport Friday morning. It was really nice having her out here for just over a week!

2018, A Look Back (Part 2)

July - We spent tons of time in the pool! C and my husband flew to Texas to visit family. This was C's first time on a plane! 

August - The guys went camping (I think it was in August but it may have been in the fall..)

C turned 8! School started! And I celebrated another birthday!

September - We got settled into our fall schedule and prepared for Hurricane Florence. Thankfully we didn't get any damage from the hurricane... just lots of rain. The Sunday that we got all the rain from L started getting sick, had a seizure, fell off a chair and hit her head. She was fine but we spent a few hours in the ER having tests and x-rays. In late September my husband celebrated a birthday!

October - My mom came to visit! L  turned 3! We spent an afternoon in the mountains and celebrated Halloween!

November - November seemed to fly by! Mar marched in the annual Christmas parade (held the Tuesday before Thanksgiving) and we spent Thanksgiving Day with friends!

We had an amazing 2018! It was our first full year living in North Carolina. I hope this year will be just as wonderful!!

2018, A Look Back (Part 1)

A look back at our 2018....

January - Mar and I flew to Mexico for my sister's wedding! This was Mar's first time on a plane and her first time out of the country. We had a great time and can't wait to go back to Tulum!

 Sol turned FOUR in mid-January! 

and Mar turned NINE a week later!

February - We got our first pet!! A little 8 week old Beagle/terrier mix we named Eli! A couple weeks later we got our second pet, a bunny, for Mar on Valentine's Day!! Sadly, Mar turned out to be allergic to her sweet little bunny but we were able to find a perfect new home for her a few months ago.

March, April - My mom flew out for Spring Break. All three girls had their first dance recital, Alex started baseball and we celebrated Easter! 

May - J was Sol's soccer coach in the spring. Mar and I ran/walked in a 5K for Girls On The Run. And we moved from our three bedroom townhouse into a 4 bedroom rent house. Most importantly our new neighborhood has a community pool. We spent HOURS at the pool all summer!

June - School was out for the summer! We traveled to Florida for our 10 year vow renewal ceremony!! Lots of family and friends met us in FL to celebrate!!