Hollywood Studios

There were so many different things to choose from in Hollywood Studios. We were able to watch an Indiana Jones stunt show, ride in Toy Story Mania, go on a Star Wars Mission, and even watch the Little Mermaid! Fun for the entire family!!! We were on a time crunch that day so being the good parents that we are (ha/ha), we scarificed riding the roller coasters that I heard were amazing, for a chance for our children to become young jedis...they LOVED it! And our trip would not have been complete without this experience--a chance to fight against Darth Vader!There is a Jedi Training show every hour and they take the 1st 15 children in line to go on stage and become a jedi--we were able to make the last show of the day as Jedis 14 and 15--thank you Lord that we got those spots or melt down city would have occured! :) Check out the videos of the kids fighting Darth Vader--if you pay close attention to the end of Jones' video, he sticks his tongue out but it's kind of hard to see on the small video--it was hysterical! And yes Laynie loved it just as much as her little brother did...

Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney World was definitely the most magical theme park of all, probably because I love fairy tales, dreams coming true, and happily ever afters...

The kids were so excited to get started on Saturday, they wanted to ride Space Mountain first so we did, however they did NOT particularly like it...Jones was a big fan of Buzz Lightyear's Space ranger spin, and Laynie really enjoyed the shows and of course meeting the princesses!We had a fun filled day at the park and a magical ending...we dined with Cinderella in her castle and then watched the beautiful, amazing fireworks show...it was great!

Walt Disney World

We were fortunate enough to tag along with Daddy on an Engineering conference in January that just happened to be in Orlando, FL--home of Walt Disney World. We surprised the kids with this information on Christmas morning so we only had to 'count down' days for about a month. It was so much fun!!!!

The kids (and parents) loved just about everything that took place on the trip. Disney World is truly a magical place, Hollywood Studios is fun for the entire family, Epcot is very educational, and the Animal Kingdom is perfect for the animal lover. All the parks were unique and exciting with phenomenal shows and fun rides! :) Laynie's favorite ride was Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom, and Jones liked Test Track (or should I say it like him--Test Track BABY, vroom--it's a commercial) from Epcot.

We stayed at the Animal Kingdom lodge which was great--we had a view of one of the Savannahs there and could see all sorts of animals from our room, like giraffes and zebras. The food the was super yummy, and there were lots of activities for the kids to participate in at the lodge like feeding the flamingos and animal tracking with Donald Duck. We would definitely stay at the AKL again! :)The next few posts will highlight our trip at each of the parks and Downtown Disney so stay tuned! One of the fun things to do while waiting in the parks is to look for hidden Mickey's--Laynie is pointing one out in the photo below. Can you see it?

Snow Days!

Yesterday we definitely awoke to a surprise snow day--I had no idea snow was even in the forecast, but there was an inch or two on the ground. By the middle of the day it was snowing like crazy!!! The snowflakes were huge, and it was beautiful!

I don't know if my children are crazy or smart, but they didn't want to play in the snow yesterday at all (I think because is was snowing so much)? That decision was fine with me until late last night when I began to feel guilty that I had not made them a snowman after seeing all of the area snowmen when we ventured out last night to 'drive in the snow.' Daddy is definitely still a teenage boy when it comes to 'driving in the snow'--he even asked the kids if they wanted to do a doughnut?!? They said yes even though they don't know what a doughnut is, but no worries, Mommy vetoed that real quick! :)

So snowday #2 began with Daddy going to work, the kids sleeping in and Mommy finishing 'The Lucky One' by Nicholas Sparks (really good read, by the way)! Waffles for breakfast and some cartoons, then the snow adventure. Play in the snow, snowball fight, and yes I even built them a snowman. It was however, not as big as Laynie would have liked it, but that's what Daddy's are for, right?

Who knows how many more of these lazy, I mean snow days we will get--but enjoy them with your kiddos. We are off to make Valentine goodies now--I'll post pics of those treats in a bit! Happy snow day to you!

My Friend, Meredith

Meredith--doesn't that name make you smile? Well if you know the Meredith I'm thinking of then your answer is, "Yes it does." She became my friend on a camping trip one night long, long ago--and I'm so glad she did! She's one of my forever friends, and I have very few 'friend' memories that don't include her in one way or another. I often tell her she's the smartest person I know, to which she just laughs and says, "Oh Beth Ann, no I'm not!" She is though....

She's not only the sweetest gal I know, a great Mom, a super smart pharamacist, a talented musician (& majorette), now she can add computer guru to her title--ok that may be a stretch, but she is good at just about whatever she puts her hand to.

Her new love is blog design...she did my makeover, so what do you think? Does it make you smile? When I open blogger and see Mer's handiwork, it makes me smile... just like she does! Now just maybe I will be inclined to blog more, right dad?

Oh and by the way, the pics in the header (and other various places) are compliments of my other bestest friend from back home, Leigh Ann. I could go on and on about her in my friend memories as well! She's awesome too!:) For those of you reading this in the Ft. Smith/Van Buren Region looking for a photographer, she's your girl. Go here for her site and info.

I LOVE IT MER--thanks so much!

P.S. Look out kitchen pantry (or closet or toy room), here I come (inside joke)! :)

A New Look!

Yes--we are undergoing blog reconstruction on my site. Hopefully in the next couple of days it will be totally remodeled and inspire me to blog more frequently!!!

I already have a few posts in mind, so be watching and waiting (if anybody still even checks on me since I have been such a terrible, terribly blogger as of late)!

Promise it will get better! :)