DISNEY VACAY - day 6

ANIMAL KINGDOM!!!!!!  This was the day we were all waiting for.  We love Animal Kingdom, but with the addition of Pandora we knew this would be our favorite day!  Unfortunately it rained ALLLLLLLL DAY LONG.  We wore ponchos, changed into flip flops and made the best of it!  One of the highlights was hopping on a dino ride and a downpour starting... we were all SOAKED by the end.  Five of us were laughing... Kamy was NOT! :)  She was not a big fan of walking around soaked.  (I think she gets that from me!).  We rode Mt. Everest 3 times, saw the Lion King show, ate lunch with the characters at Tusker House, loved the Bug's Life show... and fell in love with Pandora.  What an amazing place Disney has created.  The rides were SO worth the wait!  The flight on the Banshee was the coolest thing any of us has experienced... worth every minute of the 90 minute wait. We stayed for the night show which was breathtaking.  What a perfect way to end our time at Disney. We got back to the hotel super late, packed up, and told the kids we were heading to the beach the next day!

DISNEY VACAY - day 5

Dad finished work and got to join us today for a day at Magic Kingdom!  It was so much fun to go back and ride all our favorites and do things we missed. We met Merida and Alice and Tinker Bell. Rode the fastest roller coaster at Disney ... the Barnstormer - who knew????  We even tried a new treat - a Cheshire Cat Tail.  Kids were on the hunt for their perfect souvenir, so AFTER a full day we headed to Disney Springs to walk around there.  Happiness.

DISNEY VACAY - day 4

All we did today was relax.  Kids didn't even start moving until 11!  We headed out to the pool around 12.  We swam, floated, ordered lunch by the pool... and then crazy storms came!  We headed in and vegged out ALLLLLL afternoon and then had snacks from the room for dinner.  It was the best lazy day ever!  I think the kids had actual clothes on their bodies for a total of 3 hours!  LOVE!  We only took one picture.  A selfie with Kamy by the pool as she was trying to convince me she needed braids or a tattoo... we got NEITHER!  :)

DISNEY VACAY - day 3

Woke up early AGAIN to catch the shuttle for a full day at Hollywood Studios!  We had tons of fun on two of our favorite rides - the Rockin Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror!  The highlight of the day had to be all of the characters we met... Kylo Ren (SO SCARY!), BB8 (so cute!), Chewbacca (loved giving hugs!), the Jawa guys (never said a word), and Olaf!!!!!!  Every time the Storm Troopers walked by the talked to Bentley because he was wearing a Storm Trooper shirt.  We ended the day with a late dinner at the 50's diner because the kids love being told by someone other than me to get their elbows off the table!  We took dessert to go and ended the night watching the Star Wars show!  It was amazing and Bentley loved every minute of it!  Everyone was so tired by the end of the day and can't wait to chill tomorrow! Too much fun!

DISNEY VACAY - Day Two

Today we Explored MAGIC KINGDOM!  So much fun.  We were up early to catch the shuttle from the hotel at 8AM and caught a taxi back to the hotel at 10 PM.  It was hot, SO humid, and REALLY crowded.... but I didn't lose anyone, we didn't have any tears, and most of the complaining came from me!  It was a perfect day!  Bentley and Kamy can ride EVERYTHING!  We all rode EVERY ride together.  SO MUCH FUN!  I don't even like rides, but seeing all the kids experience the rides makes it all worth it!  Everyone's favorite was Space Mountain!  The worst part of the day was a 50 minute wait for Thunder Mountain that turned into TWO hours in the heat with no fans in the middle of the day! :)  We rode all the old school rides... Dumbo, Ariel, Peter Pan... and saw as many shows as we could!  We ate lots of junk food - lots of Mickey Bars and popcorn!  We stayed for the night show which was AMAZING.  Just beautiful.  What a happy first day!

DISNEY VACAY - DAY ONE

Today we headed to Orlando.  Just me.  AND FOUR KIDS!  We started "vacationing" right away with a stop at Starbucks!  The kids did great going through security and listening... except for Ken who packed so much change in her wallet they had to look in her carry-on! :)  We stayed at a beautiful hotel (JW Marriott) with an amazing pool!  We arrived so late there were no kid friendly food options... so we ordered room service! :)

Best Vacation EVER!

We just returned from an AMAZING trip.  5 days in Orlando and visiting Disney and then a SURPRISE Disney Cruise.  What an amazing vacation we had!  Going to document it by day... because quite honestly we had SO much fun and have SOOOOO many pictures, one blog post would be overwhelming.  Feeling so blessed and grateful to be able to do these things.  Sure do love these kids!

summer of running

this has been one of the best summers EVER for being active with the kids.  i have run more WITH a kid than without!  ken has run SO many mile for cross country (with the team and on her own!).  i wish we'd done a better job of keeping up with the count so we'd have a grand total!  mck set a goal for herself of 80 miles and has almost reached it.  b had to run a timed mile each week for soccer and improved his time by over a minute.  and kam, who HATES to run has made the choice to run with us several times without being forced!  the worst part of running in texas in the summer is you HAVE to be running by 7:30 because it gets HOT fast! so we've been up early A LOT!  making the most out of each day.  we don't talk much when we run, but i love the talks as we are walking to warm up or cool down. makes the heart happy. love. 

ken comes home

after a week at cheer camp we have one tired girl.  she had so much fun working hard and getting to know her cheer friends.  i am so excited to see what this year brings for our sweet kid.  can't wait to hear all about her week when she gets home from celebrating her friend's birthday and sleeps for 12 hours!  love. 

b turns 8

how is it possible that our sweet little guy turned 8 today??????  he is such an awesome kid - smart, funny, athletic, and so, so loving.  he kept reassuring me that turning 8 was okay because he'll always be my baby.  love.  

we spent the day doing what he planned.  donuts for breakfast, main event for mini golf, bowling, lazer tag, rock climbing, games, and more lazer tag.  presents at home.  dinner at hat creek with grammy and grampy.  frozen yogurt cake at home.  and a special surprise - sleeping over at grammy and grampy's!  he had a great day, but was anxious to get back home to start on his new lego sets!  love this kid.

kam's last baby tooth

kam lost her last baby tooth tonight.  it fell out while i was flossing her teeth.  the tooth fairy was generous... tic tacs AND $10!  she was a happy camper!  i am way too emotional this week... too much growing up.

hamilton pool adventure

we've lived in austin way too long to have just now experienced hamilton pool.  it was really cool.  a pretty hike into this gorgeous natural swimming hole.  the surroundings are just perfect.  kids had so much fun swimming and splashing and jumping off the rock.  there were giant catfish that swam WAY too close to the shore and freaked us all out a little bit.  we will definitely be returning.  maybe for a hike in the fall.  love.

off to cheer camp

our sweet ken is off to cheer camp.  her first high school "thing"!  it was a busy week - freshman pool party, two days of practice, a send off dinner (complete with the gifting of AMAZING backpacks filled with all sorts of cheer goodies!) and then off to a&m for uca cheer camp week.  she was excited and nervous... but heading off to do something she really has fallen in love with.  can't wait to hear about her week.  love.                                                                            

watching women's soccer

we watched a GREAT women's soccer game final tonight.  so fun for mck to see women playing this sport she loves... and the rest of us enjoyed it too.  after sitting through 12 raffles and winning nothing... they scored the best price of the night!  a ball signed by the lonestar women's team!  love.  

pool time with the pups

we've done a great job of getting in the pool almost everyday this summer.  our puppies don't seem to enjoy getting in the water, but today we were encouraging them to swim and float with us.  graham wanted no part of it and leo couldn't wait to jump off the float and onto the side.  

holla mode - thai ice cream

we crossed off another summer list item of ken's with a visit to holla mode... a thai ice cream trailer.  it was SO cool.  the ice cream mixture is poured onto a freezing slab and then rolled up into these beautiful curls of ice cream.  it was a pricey treat... but worth every penny.  love. 

visit to the capitol building

kam missed out on a visit to the capitol building during the school year, so she added it to her summer list.  such a beautiful place with lots of history and a million storied to tell.  we had lots of fun exploring and ran into a nice guy who gave us some fun facts.  love. 

outdoor movie and night swimming

beauty and the beast and some pool time tonight!  so much fun to watch the movies on the big screen.

  

mck gets braces

mck got her top braces today.  we loaded up on lots of sticky foods yesterday to get ready for 9 months- a year of doing without all the things my mini-me loves... air heads, laffy taffy, caramel popcorn, and gum!  she picked a light blue color elastic (to match her outfit!) and looks so grown up i keep tearing up!  love.   

mck spends five days at a&m soccer camp

mck had such a great time at a&m soccer camp.  five days of no parents, three soccer seesions a day, hanging out in a dorm, eating college food, staying up late, and being with girls who love the sport she loves.  does it get any better?  she is such a rock star and continues to grow in her skill and love of soccer!  she came home, chilled out for a bit, and then went to her Force soccer training.  love.

first sight of our girl after five days!

camp check out.  mck scored THREE awards!

saying goodbye.

the girls.  such a sweet bunch of tough soccer players.