The Most Magical Place on Earth!

Last month we went to WALT DISNEY WORLD!  Here is our trip in pictures.  Bear with me, there are a ton of pictures from my phone and camera, a lot of them out of order.  We had a blast and I just wanted to get ALL the pictures in this post!  

Since our family apparently loves long road trips, we decided to drive the almost 1100 miles to Orlando, Florida!  We woke up very early, drove through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and finally ended up in Pensacola, FL, where we stopped for the night.

All the kids did SO surprisingly well in the car.  Before we stopped at the hotel, we got a look at the gulf of Mexico.  We tried to find a beach for the kids to play on, but were so tired and hungry and it just wasn't happening.  Anyway, beautiful!  

Resting up at the hotel in Pensacola.  They had a little pack and play crib for Ben, which I put right beside my bed. He SCREAMED and cried for about 30 minutes, then wiggled around for about 30 more, then finally feel asleep.  Exhausted was the word of the evening.

Thank goodness Memaw and Papa have an awesome time share where we could all stay together, with a kitchen, washer/dryer, and LOTS of fun stuff for us to do right outside our door!  The first day we went to check out the pools and did a little swimming.  

Monday, when Aunt Kelly, Uncle Tom, and cousin Emily got there, the kids went to do a fun little sand craft, then we went to play some mini golf (girls against boys- boys won)!

I think we stopped counting after ten or eleven strokes :)

Tuesday, We went to Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios!

Animal Kingdom-

 Characters from "Up"!

 Daisy Duck! (After Daisy, we finally gave up and bought the kids some autograph books and pens, so that all the characters we waited in line for would be able to sign)

 Nate loved  Dino-land at animal kingdom.

 The first ride we rode at Animal Kingdom.  Nate was nervous, but loved it.  They had levers where you could control making your dino go up and down and Lilly kept pushing ours all the way up!  They've never been big on rides, so I was proud of them for doing so good.  They really loved it!

 Ben's awesomely comfortable (not) stroller we rented at Animal Kingdom. Poor guy, he did great considering what he was dealing with!

 Finding Nemo musical show was awesome.  We sat right in the front!

 Meeting Pluto and Goofy! (See the autograph books?)

 Safari train ride was another one of our favorites.  Saw some coold animals and got to rest our legs!

 Leaving Animal Kingdom to get on the bus to Hollywood Studios.  Someone already ready for a nap!

Hollywood Studios!

 Disney Junior Live show!  Mickey, Doc McStuffins, Jake and the neverland pirates, and Sophia the First.  All our favorites!

 Green Army man from Toy Story was nice enough to stop and give us autographs and pose for picture.

 "Honey I shrunk the kids" movie set up.  Having just recently gotten into this movie, the kids loved roaming around in here!

 Monsters, Inc!

This was like a big "Frozen" themed snow/ice pit where kids could play in the snow (and parents could cool down a bit- it was HOT outside!).

Sweet baby, finally getting that nap in..

We stood in line a LONG time to meet Buzz and Woody!!

Back at the pool just relaxing, the next day.  We took a day off in between park days to relax (great idea that Kelly and Tom suggested ).  I'm so glad we did, we needed it!  More pictures from Wednesday down below.  After swimming, we went on some paddle boats at the resort, and then went to check out Downtown Disney!

Here are some phone pics of Magic Kingdom!   "It's a Small World" was our first ride!

Spinning tea cups!!

DUMBO!

Racing a car!

Safari Boat ride!

These pics are from Wednesday-- pool, paddle boats, and Downtown Disney!

More shots from Magic Kingdom!!!  Can you see our family in the bottom right hand corner?!  Look at that castle.  Awesome!

We had to ride a ferry to get over to Magic Kingdom.. You can see the castle in the distance.

Dumbo ride!

Winne the Pooh ride

It's a small world, after all!!

Definitely Lilly's favorite part of Magic Kingdom.  Meeting Elsa and Anna!  We waited well over two hours, but having known it was going to be a terribly long beating of a line way ahead of time, I think we both were prepared and handled it pretty well!

Wearing our Disney World shirts as soon as we got home!

This was such an awesome trip, one that none of us will soon forget.  We are so lucky we were able to stay with MeMaw and Papa at their time-share resort (THANK YOU!!)!  It was even more special that we got to experience Orlando and Disney World with them and Uncle Tom, Aunt Kelly and Emily!!!  Truly a magical place and we are looking forward to taking everybody back in a few years when Ben gets a little older!

Kindergarten- First month down!!!

Well, I knew I'd have to wait until I was a little less emotional about this transition, to blog about it.. I can't believe it's been a month!  I was dreading the transition and fearing the unknown so much, and the kids really could not be doing better. They were a little nervous the first day, but we had met some kids on "meet the teacher" night, so we knew some familiar faces and I think that helped.  They have already grown up so much, just in this first month.  They are still 6 and thrown tantrums and can be very whiny when they don't get their way, but overall I can really see some changes, especially in Lilly.  She is so sensitive and shy I was very worried about how she would do, but school has been great for her.  She's really learning how to play in bigger groups.  We've already had our first parent/teacher conference and both teachers reported they are doing great and are very well behaved (I believe it- because when they get home, they unleash IT ALL and GO CRAZY!!!).  Interestingly, Lilly is really advanced in her reading and writing, but is having a harder time with the reading comprehension.  Nate is doing good with writing too (for a BOY :)), but he is having a little harder time with reading, but doing awesome with the comprehension!  So they are kind of opposite!  Nate's teacher said he always helps her keep the class in line (eye roll), which doesn't surprise me!  Mr. Tattle Tale!  She said he always sits perfectly still and minds all the rules.  No surprise there, I just wish he would do that for me!  He's really had some selective listening lately, but I know it's because he tries so hard at school and then needs to let loose a bit when he gets home. He has already been asked to be a "Bronco Buddy" which is someone who helps new students and shows people around and stuff.  HA, such a social bug.  Lilly has really been enjoying making new friends, too.  It took her a few days to understand that just because someone wants to include more friends, doesn't mean they don't want to play with you (she's more of a one-on-one player, I think).  But for now when I come pick them up, they're all smiles with tales about everything they learned and how much fun they had on the playground, which makes my heart very happy.

FIRST DAY PHOTOS BY THE DOOR!

Phone pics!  Walking to school..

Nate with his teacher!

Come on, Mom!  You're embarrassing me!

Lilly sitting at her table in her class, ready to get to work!

I took this on the first day, when I had to wake him up from his nap to go get them after school!

More phone pictures of the first couple weeks of school..

They do this every day when they walk in (hold hands).  Nate was willing at first but now I have to nudge him a bit.  She needs him for security so much.  She knows her way to class but has such a hard time walking "by herself".  There are so many bigger kids in the hall and she thinks holding his hand is the only way to make sure she doesn't lose him in the crowd.  Nate's so independent, I'm not sure how much longer it will last.  :-/

I go have lunch with them about once a week.  I'm taking advantage of it while they still want me around!  I love that they still get excited to see me :)

Picture day!

LUNCH!

Ben's doing so great- he has loved the alone time from day one!  He just roams the house like he owns it, and loves being able to play with nobody in his face!  It is taking me some time, and I'll admit I cried a lot the first week, but I'm getting used to it.  I have my editing to do, and of course love getting one-on-one time with Ben, which I've never really had before!  It's nice, but sometimes a little TOO quiet, and I miss my big kids.  Always wonder what they are doing and if people are being nice to them.. and of course, if they are being nice to others.  I'm so proud of them and the little people they are becoming.   I had nothing to be worried about!!!