MKL Cardinal Game

Our Khoury League program got to walk around the warning track before the Cardinal game on June 13th.  Each team could have two coaches walk with the team, so Brandon and one of the other coaches got to walk around the warning track with our team!  How exciting!  Although once he sat down, he took off his pink uniform shirt!

The weather was beautiful and we were actually sitting in the shade!!!

I think the kids even enjoyed the game this year. . . we made it all the way until the 8th inning before we left!

Caleb is sporting his new sunglasses . . .

notice how many different ways he wears them?

This is exactly how I wear mine, I guess he noticed:

I thought this was funny. . . not sure how he thought to wear them like this.  I missed the picture of them hanging on his shirt. . . like his Dad wears them.

I think Sarah looks cuter in my sunglasses than I do!

I love taking in a Cardinal game during the season with the family!

I especially love the nachos!

Coach Pitch Softball

Sarah finished her third year of Khoury League and I think she really enjoyed it!

Our original coach got a new job and moved right at the beginning of the season, so Brandon & I volunteered to co-coach with two other Dads on the team.  The other two coaches were awesome!

This was my first experience coaching and I had a great time!

I am not sure if I will do it again next year, but if I get the opportunity to work with the same two Dads then I just might!!!

By the end of the season I even worked up the courage to pitch during a couple games!

I didn't even hit any of the players!

Daddy was the catcher for the entire season!

What a great Dad!

Our little team . . .

Bella, Katie, Bailey, Jackie, Ava, Marley, Delainey & Sarah!

Emily's Birthday

Happy be-lated birthday to my wonderful, loving, kind and beautiful sister!!!

We got to spend an evening together eating out and getting makeovers!

It was a wonderful evening.

I cherish my relationship with my sister.

Caleb's Toddler Bed

My little boy is growing up!

He is completely potty trained; he has recently been brushing his own teeth (he puts on the toothpaste);

he has been dressing himself.

And now, he has been sleeping in a Toddler Bed!!!

These pictures are from his first night in the bed, July 3rd.

He must have been completely exhausted because he fell asleep and stayed in bed all night!

Well, sadly, that only lasted for 3 nights!

Then the battle began . . .he would get up & come find me, then back to bed, he would get up, back to bed.

One night this pattern went on for 7 straight times!

So back to the crib we went . . .

I don't remember having these issues with Sarah - she has always been one that needs her sleep, much like her Mom!  Once she goes to bed - it's lights out!  I guess she spoiled me!

Now, a couple weeks after having to sleep back in the crib, he has slept in his "big boy bed" for the last 4 nights without getting out of bed once!  Brandon has been wonderful with helping me transition Caleb to the "big boy bed!"  I guess when Daddy speaks, he listens.

Caleb is so cute in the morning, running into our room!

This morning he was pulling his blanket, carrying his small green John Deere pillow and his stuffed giraffe.

I love hearing his happy voice in the morning, especially when he gets excited and says "Good morning, Mommy!  I did it. I stayed in my bed all night!"

A 5 Child Weekend!

Yep, that's right. . . 5 kids!!!  WOW!

Andy & Kelli went to Jamaica for their 10th wedding anniversary,

so I was given the most wonderful opportunity to spend time with my nephew & two nieces.

They arrived around 4:30 on Friday afternoon and stayed until after church on Sunday!  Several people asked how I liked having 5 kids and I responded that it was easier having 5 kids than 2!!

We had lots of activities to keep us busy, including swimming twice; the kids loved the slide!

It was one right after the other . . down & splash. . .down & splash!

Thankfully the weather was beautiful Saturday morning and the kids got to play outside for a couple hours!  They rode bikes, played tractors, moved dirt and rocks, and played on the swing set!  It warmed my heart watching all the kids play together!

We also went to a friend's baby shower on Saturday afternoon and much to my surprise - they were the only kids there!  I was prepared though - I had coloring books, snacks, tractors, books & barbie/ken dolls to play with!  They were very well behaved, well except for Caleb throwing his shoes at the ceiling a couple times, but other than that - all the kids played together and were for the most part quiet!  I was beaming with pride when another mother complimented all the kids on their behavior!

After the baby shower was more swimming (the second round) and then movie and popcorn time!

We watched "We Bought a Zoo."  The little ones weren't quite as interested, but once the popcorn and Sprite came out - all was well!  Matthew fell asleep on the couch - he played so hard in the pool - you should see how fast he can swim!

What I learned from my 5 Child Weekend:

• Kids eat a lot of food, which means not many leftovers!  I used an entire loaf of bread for French Toast!
• After the kids play in dirt during the morning, don't shake out the clothes inside.
• Dirt can cover a small child's body - face, arms, legs, knees, elbows and feet.
• Showers work best for all kids and in an assembly line fashion - brush teeth, use the toilet, wash their hair, wash their body, dry off, jammies, dry off and dry hair.  One right after the next and before you know it, you're all clean and ready for bed!
• If the kids swim for around 2 hours in the evening they sleep really well at night and don't fight bed time.
• There is always someone to play with.
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  I love having a house full of kids!

Rides, rides and more rides!!!

Here is a list of rides we went on each day . . . in no particular order; I just wanted to have a record of which rides we all rode on!

Magic Kingdom (Day #1):
  Splash Mountain
  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  Tom Sawyer Island
  Jungle Cruise
  Country Bear Jamboree
  Pirates of the Caribbean
  Swiss Family Tree House
  Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade

Magic Kingdom (Day #2):
  Crystal Palace Breakfast with Winnie the Pooh characters
  Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe 
  Peter Pan's Flight
  It's a Small World
  The Haunted Mansion
  The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  Monsters Inc Laugh Floor
  Mickey's Philharmagic
  Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride
  The Tiki Room
  Goofy's Barnstormer

Epcot:
  Le Cellier Steakhouse
  Illuminations (the evening light show)
  Soarin
  Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Cabelleras
  Maelstrom
  The American Adventure Show
  O Canada! Film
  Living with the Land
  Journey into Imagination with Figment
  The Circle of Life
  The Seas with Nemo & Friends
  Turtle Talk with Crush
  Ellen's Energy Adventure

Animal Kingdom:
  Tusker House Restaurant
  Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade
  Killimanjaro Safari Expedition
  Festival of the Lion King
  Maharajah Jungle Trek
  Kali River Rapids
  It's Tough To Be A Bug
  Finding Nemo the Musical
  The Boneyard
  Discovery Island Trails

Hollywood Studios:
  Hollywood & Vine Restaurant
  Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade
  Toy Story Mania
  Voyage of the Little Mermaid
  Studio Backlot Tour
  Beauty & the Beast Live Show
  Muppet 3D
  Walt's Life Movie
  The Great Movie Ride

Disney World Favorites

After we got home, unpacked & washed all the laundry I sat down and was asking the kids about their favorite Disney rides, restaurants, etc.  Here are their answers:

Favorite Rides @ Magic Kingdom (Day 1):
     Brandon:  Splash Mountain
     Laura:  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
     Sarah:  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Jungle Cruise
     Caleb:  Swiss Family Tree House

Favorite Rides @ Magic Kindgom (Day 2):
     Brandon:  Mickey's Philharmagic
     Laura:  Mickey's Philharmagic
     Sarah:  Mickey's Philharmagic and Peter Pan's Flight
     Caleb:  Goofy's Barnstormer      

Favorite Rides @ Epcot (Day 3):
     Brandon:  Soarin
     Laura:  Soarin
     Sarah:  Soarin and Turtle Talk with Crush
     Caleb:  Character Greeting with the Fab Five (Mickey, Pluto, Minnie, Donald & Goofy)

Favorite Rides @ Animal Kingdom (Day 4):
     Brandon:  Killimanjaro Safari Expedition
     Laura:  Kali River Rapids
     Sarah:  Kali River Rapids and Finding Nemo the Musical
     Caleb:  Kali River Rapids

Favorite Rides @ Hollywood Studios (Day 5):
     Toy Story Mania was everyones favorite!!!
     Sarah:  Walt's Life Movie Presentation
     Caleb:  Muppet 3D

Favorite Places to Eat:
     Brandon & Laura: LeCellier Steakhouse @ Epcot
     Sarah & Caleb:  Hollywood & Vine @ Hollywood Studios

Favorite Snack:
     Brandon: Pineapple slush
     Laura:  Mickey Mouse Pretzels
     Sarah:  Mickey Mouse Ice Cream
     Caleb: EVERYTHING

Favorite Park:
     Brandon:  Epcot
     Laura:  Magic Kingdom
     Sarah:  Animal Kingdom
     Caleb:  Magic Kindgom

Cocoa Beach

Cocoa Beach!!!

This was the perfect way to end a Disney World Vacation!

The kids loved the beach and the waves;

Brandon and I loved relaxing with the family!

We ate a Coconuts on the Beach;

the shrimp was awesome . . . Sarah loves shrimp and I found out the next day that Caleb loves Mahi-mahi!

This is how we enjoyed spending time at the beach:

(above is one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip)

The kids wanted to "surf" like Daddy & Uncle Jason, so

Brandon took them out and let them ride on some small waves.

They loved it!  They were naturals!!

They also enjoyed sitting on the boards waiting for the waves to crash into them.

This activity made me a little nervous because they were laughing so hard they could barely stand back up after getting knocked over!

My surfers. . .

Love this family. . .

Sarah's perfect sand castle; she made this one all by herself!

We took a quick shopping trip at Ron Jon's;

the kids were practicing their "real surfing."

We also spent some time at Jetty Park and saw a lot of sea turtles.

After a few attempts, Brandon got the perfect picture!

A path walking to the beach at Jetty Park.

Enjoying the pier, talking to the fishermen, looking for sea turtles and

enjoying the sun!

Overall this was one of the best favmily vacations!

The kids loved Disney, meeting the characters, the beach, the waves . . .

but most importantly we loved having our family with us.

This is a wonderful memory we can all share for many years to come!

always

Hollywood Studios - Day 5

Our final day at Disney World was spent at Hollywood Studios.

The weather was overcast which cooled the temperature a little;

this is the only day it rained, but only for a little while.

And like a good boyscout, we were prepared!  Well, everyone except Grandpa Ken . . he gave away his rain poncho to someone after riding the Kali River Rapid yesterday.  He took Caleb's poncho and we made a quick dash back to the hotel just in time to catch the bus to the airport after a quick bite to eat at the resort.

My favorite ride was the Toy Story ride!  It was in 3D and it was so fun!

Caleb just loved the glasses!

You sit in these bench type seats with a cannon in front of you and you shoot balls at your targets; everything is in 3D and your seat is moving the entire time, so your targets are always changing, but all themed to the Toy Story movie!  It was so much fun!

We also saw Beauty & the Beast on stage - it was really good!  However, Sarah said her favorite was watching a movie about Walt's Life!  We also enjoyed The Great Movie Ride - I think Caleb loved all the close up action!  Speaking of action, the Behind the Scene tour was really cool - we especially like Catastrophe Canyon.  It is unbelievable all the cool special effects that are put into movies!

We had lunch at Hollywood & Vine, which was a character lunch.

We met Special Agent Oso, June from Little Einsteins, Jake from Jake & the Neverland Pirates,

and of course. . . . Handy Many!

We got a quick picture right before leaving of all our Handymen!!

Next stop. . . Cocoa Beach!!!