Disney World Here We Come!!

I have finally gone through all my pictures and was surprised that I didn't take that many. I think we were so into the trip that we just forgot to 'capture the memories!' As most of you heard me complain, this was not a trip that I wanted to take but was willing to go along with Allie and fullfil her dream of going to DisneyWorld. I planned and researched for this trip for almost a year. I obsessed over the itenerary trying to figure out how to do Disney the right (perfect) way. I bought books, interviewed (or interrogated) friends who have gone, read Disboards until 2 a.m. several nights, and yes, even joined tourningplans.com for $8. We did the 6 a.m. (7 a.m. eastern time) call into Disney World for the dining plan reservations, including Cinderella's castle. We went to the zoo to practice walking from exibit to exibit in extreme temps. Finally the day arrived for us to leave. The day started at 5 a.m. in Waco and ended in Orlando, FL at 7:00 p.m. including a 2 hour stop in Atlanta to pick up nephew Blake. The kids were sooooo excited and Justin and I were exhausted already. Finally we made it to the hotel- Pop Century. Blake and Allie LOVED the decor. The plan was to arrive in FL at 4:30 but flight delays changed that. We had promised the kids they could swim so instead of eating dinner, we swam in the pool. Dinner was confusing because we hadn't figured out how to use the dinning plan yet. By 9:30 p.m. we had all swam, eaten dinner and made it back to the room. I finalized our plans for the next day and we packed the backpacks and laid out the clothes. We made it to bed at around 11:45 a.m. with a forceful itinerary to follow the next day at Hollywood Studios!

they had fun playing in the store

nice hats!

To be continued....

Coming Soon....

We are back from our trip to Disney World and have rejoined the world of reality. I'm trying to sort through the pics but it has been a while since I have used picasa. And for those of you who are wondering if my type A personality and need for structure caused a breakdown I'm happy to say that tourning plans work wonderful and yes, I followed every word!!! We did everything planned except for 2 rides and 2 shows. Not bad at all! We went to bed every night between 11/midnight and were up by 7:15 the next morning. Kids were tired, sometimes whiny, but by golly, they saw Disney! Now, hopefully it is out of everyone's system so that we can head to the beach next summer!!

Soccer and Birthdays

This fall Allie is playing soccer. Justin is her coach and she has 3 of her little girl friends on the team too. She has done a great job so far! There is definately more contact with the ball in soccer than in T-ball so maybe she will stay focused and actually play!! She has already tackled a few boys and another time she just layed on the ball so nobody could get it! Justin probably needs to go over the rules of the game with her again!

Allie's game face

allie and erika

she is not timid about going after the ball

After practice we did go out and purchase some soccer shoes, shorts and PINK shin socks. We are ready now! Go Cheetahs!

This just happened to be Justin's birthday. We started the day with our first soccer practice and then headed to the zoo so Justin could see the new orangetans and komodo dragon. Allie and I go there all the time but Justin hadn't been there in over a year so there was lots for him to see. We went home to have some icecream cake from Baskin Robbins, YUMMY!!!! It was wonderful especially since we were hot from our zoo visit. Our theme: Mickey Mouse (since we are headed to Disney). After a nap we headed to On The Border for birthday dinner. Even though it was Justin's birthday Allie and I enjoyed all the treats too! Happy Birthday Justin/Daddy! We enjoyed spending the day with you!

Ok, it was an extremely hot day and the icecream cake melted on the way home from Baskin Robbins. It didn't affect the taste though!

helping daddy lick the bottoms of the candles

Ready for a Visit

Allie loves it when family comes to Waco whether passing through or hanging around for a while (Justin and I do too of course). On the day that Rebecca and Jeff were coming to Waco for Melissa's graduation Allie was beside herself. She changed clothes several times throughout the day waiting to hear from them. Justin and I had been purging closets most of the day so when they called about getting together we threw on shorts and t-shirts but Allie came down the hall a little bit dressier! She said it was because it was Rebecca's birthday.

holding a picture for Rebecca and Jeff's belated gift card



she was so proud of her drawing

allie and aunt rebecca

We enjoyed hanging out with you guys even if it was short. I wish I hadn't gotten caught up in talking and taken more pictures but oh well. Next time maybe. Hope you had a great birthday Rebecca!