Becoming a Brownie

After two years of being a Daisy scout, Ava has graduated to Brownie status! The ceremony took place on a beautiful, sunny day at the Girl Scout compound.

We are so proud of our little Brownie girl!

Summer Has Arrived!

Both girls have finished school for the year, and summer has begun!
Lily completed her second year of preschool a few weeks ago. She learned so much in Ms. Jane and Ms. Janice's class. Her favorite activity was the writing center and she enjoyed doing art projects. She also learned most of her letters and numbers. Her best bud this year is her friend Lucy.

Ava finished her last day of first grade yesterday. She also had a school year full of fun and learning! This year she excelled in reading, writing, and music. She had many different friends from all grade levels. She loves to learn about God and has a knack for using technology.

My wish is that both of my girls always enjoy school as much as they have this year!

Mama's Boy

Bennett is 20 months old today, and I am amazed at how quickly he is morphing from my baby boy into my little boy. I am so lucky to spend each day watching him grow and learn!

He is OBSESSED with anything on wheels. When we drive in the car, he spends the whole time pointing out buses, cars, trucks, motorcycles... When we are home he plays with his cars and "choo-choos". He even spends time reading up on all of his favorite vehicles!

Even though his obsession keeps him pretty busy, he does participate in the housekeeping at times.

And he tries to stay well-rounded. Here he is exercising his intellectual abilities.

He is certainly a lot more daring than both of his sisters. He loves to climb, slide, run, bike, you name it! Yep, here he is on the big slide by himself. 

Bennett has been such an amazing addition to our family. We all enjoy him SO much! He reciprocates our affection on a daily basis with all of his hugs and kisses. He is a gift to us all!

Great Day to be a Mom!!

I enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day with my favorite little people last weekend. First Lily treated me to Mom's night at her school. She shared her journal with me, gave me lots of homemade goods, and sang some songs for me.

Then on Mother's Day I was treated to beautiful flowers, a break from daily chores, a long nap, and a steak dinner.

We also celebrated with Mimi, Aunt Mel, and Emine at brunch. This is what happened when we tried to get a picture to commemorate the occasion.

The adults were much easier.

As always, Mother's Day reminds me of how grateful I am to have so many wonderful mothers in my life- sisters, aunts, grandmothers, friends, cousins, and OF COURSE my own beautiful mom.

Spring Break in Florida!!!

On Christmas we surprised the girls with a trip to Disney World, but they had to wait until Spring Break to go. The past few months have been filled with anxious anticipation, to say the least. So when the time finally came, they were ready to burst!

After a two-day car ride, we were definitely ready for some fun in the sun. Easter Sunday was our first full day there, so we hunted for Easter eggs and headed off to a beautiful church service.

 Then it was back to the house for some pool time.

We were up early the next morning for our first day at the Magic Kingdom. Day one was ALL about the princesses. When we weren't standing in long lines for photo ops and autographs, the girls were becoming princesses themselves at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique.

Turns out, chasing princesses is hard work! This is what late night looked like...

Thankfully, Tuesday was a day of rest. We enjoyed an afternoon by the pool and went to Downtown Disney in the evening. Unbeknownst to us, the kids are into motorcycles! They loved testing out the Harleys. We also checked out the Lego store.

On Wednesday we headed to Animal Kingdom. First we checked out Dinoland and played on the playground.

We had to get our picture taken in front of the Tree of Life from Lion King.

Then we went on an awesome safari and saw LOTS of animals!

We went on a train ride, where we got up close and personal with some animals. Then it was on to meet our next princess, Pocahontas.

We caught a couple of shows- Nemo the Musical and the Festival of the Lion King. We were in the front row for Lion King, where Papa got to be part of the show!

And our day was complete with a visit with Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger.

Thursday it was back to the Magic Kingdom. One of the highlights of our trip was breakfast with the princesses inside Cinderella's castle. This is where Bennett finally noticed the princesses. What a ladies' man!

We met a few more characters, including the Mouse himself. The girls participated in Belle's story time, where they walked through a magic mirror and reenacted the story of Belle and the Beast. VERY cool!

We rode a few rides, including Small World.

And then it was nighttime which, in my opinion, is the most magical time of all! You just can't beat the Electric Parade, Castle show, and fireworks. Pictures don't do it justice.

After a long day, two out of three kids were zonked out. But Ava was raring to go! She dragged us all over the park to ride rides and eat late night snacks (ok, we weren't complaining) until well after midnight.

After our VERY late night on Thursday, Friday was another day of rest. We slept in, swam, watched a 3D movie, and went into a town called Celebration for dinner and dessert.

This was a vacation that we will remember for years to come! Having fun and spending time together as a family is truly priceless.