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!

First Day of Kindergarten

Wow, I can't believe the first day of school is over! Allie woke that morning with a huge smile on her face. She quickly dressed in her favorite pink color and requested pancakes for breakfast. She ate a few but I think she was too excited to eat. I wanted to have plenty of time to savor the morning so by 7:15 am we were ready to go. We took a few pictures and then headed out the door. Justin decided to come along with us. We got to South Bosque, parked, and started walking toward the school (I videoed her every step). Once inside, we had to wait in the lunchroom until they dismissed the students to the rooms (pretty dumb on the first day of school I think). Walking to her room I started getting really nervous/anxious/excited for her. She couldn't wait to get there. She hesitated for just a short moment then walked into the room followed by mom and dad. She said hello to her teacher, Mrs. Czimskey, and then found her seat. When there was a break in kids coming in, I sent Allie to her teacher to get a picture. She also gave her teacher the book we bought her, Mrs. Bindergarten Tales. I made her go to the restroom before we left (I wanted to make sure she knew where it was). As she sat down at her table she stared looking around. I think it just hit her that she didn't know anybody. She looked up at me, grabbed my hand, and said, "Don't leave." I knelt down and gave her a kissing hand and she gave one to me. We waved goodbye and walked out the door. We made a beeline to the front door and to the car. It was quite sad without her. I knew that I had several friends who have gone through this that were praying for me so that's how we were able to leave her and drive off school property. Justin took me to breakfast but I wasn't really hungry. On the way to the grocery store the tears began to fall. Allie always goes with me to the grocery store. We stop by chef David's to see what he is cooking and taste all the samples. This time, I was all alone. I began to put food into the cart but decided to head over to the toys just because. I ran into another mom who had just dropped off a Kindergartener and we laughed that we met on the toy aisle. It was nice to talk about how kids, the difficulty of leaving them and things we would change about the school. We talked for about 1 1/2 hours just standing there in the aisle slowly moving our cart forward and back for other people to see the toys we were blocking. It just felt theraputic to discuss our circumstances and for a short time, we weren't dwelling on the reality. I rushed home to put my defrosted food in the freezer. I ate lunch, picked up and then around 1:30 I began pacing the house. I made a poster for Allie on her favorite pink color and hung it on the front door. Then I made some cupcakes for snack. I set the table with cupcakes, icing, and all types of sprinkles for her to choose from. It was only 2:40 now. I picked out a movie for her to watch knowing that she would be tired. I made a pallet on the floor with her down comforter and pillows. 2:51 p.m. I didn't know what else to do. Thankfully Kristina (neighbor down the street with a Kindergartener) called and asked what I was doing because she couldn't concentrate on anything. Feeling her pain, I packed up some cupcakes and icing and headed to her house. We prayed for our girls when it was time for them to board the bus. The arrival time was suppose to be 3:41 pm but we knew this first day it would be behind. Still, in 104 degree heat, armed with camera and video camera we couldn't wait any longer. At 3:30 pm we headed to the corner of the street, the bus stop. Another mom was already there waiting. Finally around 3:56 p.m. we saw it. I can't believe it but I think I heard all of us scream. As we ran to the other side of the street I videoed the bus coming down. The doors opened and 3 older kids got off, silence and a long pause. I was headed to the steps to climb aboard when I saw Erika headed down. I immediately began snapping pictures and holding the video camera at the same time. I didn't even bother to say hello to her; just kept filming and snapping. When I felt I had enough, I grabbed her up and squeezed her to death. She was so quiet and tired. I couldn't wait to grill her but she wasn't in the mood to talk just then. We shared cupcakes, milk, and M & M's, cuddled on the pallet and watched Curious George. Slowly she began to share more but this first day wore her out! It was a great learning experience for us both. We have begun a new season in our lives (Justin admitted that actually none of this affected him since he is at work all day) and are thankful that God is leading us through it. The paths He has for us are numerous and I'm slowly taking steps to see where they lead.

ready to go although her face doesn't show it

walking to the car

the backpack: Allie had talked all summer about what type of bookbag she wanted. It had to be darker pink and have all the princess that she wanted on it. It was difficult to find because most bookbags that we found only had 3 or 4 of the princesses. We went to Academy to look but didn't find the one she wanted but did find a lunchbox. As we were in line to check out I looked on the wall at the front of the store where they had more bookbags hanging up. All of a sudden, my eyes were drawn to a bookbag at the very top. There it was! A bookbag with all the princesses that she wanted on it and it looked like the gaudiest bookbag I had ever seen. I knew that it wouldn't be long before she noticed it but I wasn't going to say anything. Then I heard a gasp and she turned around and smiled. I knew she had spotted it. I finished paying and then we headed to the wall. I couldn't get anyone to come over so I grabbed a bookbag, climbed on the first shelf and knocked it down. It was love at first sight for her and I knew I had to let go of my idea of her having a bookbag that I was thinking of and let her enjoy this one. I still think this thing is tacky with all the roses on it but she loves it!

I missed her walking in the door so I made her go back and stand in front of it.

Allie and Mrs. Czimskey

this is blurry but i love the expression on her face when she found her name!

playing at her table

allie's poster read: happy 1st day of Kindergarten Allie!

getting off the bus

i think the bus was hot

allie and erika

I'm so glad the first day is over!! I can't wait until next summer!

Preparing for the big day...

These last 2 days Allie and I have spent time together. It's really no different than any other day other than the fact that I perceived it different. I was trying to soak every bit of her up hoping that would make up for the fact that she will be leaving me tomorrow to go to Kindergarten. WOW! Can't believe that day is here. We've practiced getting off a pretend bus, opening milk cartons, carrying a food tray, and gone through pretend situations where she had to make a wise choice on what to do (if your friend is walking up the slide and wants you to join her what are you going to do?). Cheesy, I know. But I have always guided her and corrected her. Tomorrow, she will have to use what she has learned in the last 5 years to make her own choices without me being there. 40 hours a week she will be in the hands of someone else who has 18 other children to teach. Thankfully, God will be with her. I pray that the Holy Spirit surrounds her and continues to guide her footsteps. I will miss her. After Meet the Teacher last night she was so ready for Kindergarten. She made a new friend, Amy. She is so excited and can't wait. I couldn't eat dinner tonight. I'm so nervous and anxious about this new season of parenting. I know it's just the beginning but it is the end to the way things have been since God gave her to me. I'm excited for her and can't wait to hear all about her day! Here are a few pictures (137 to be exact but not all included) of our days together.

On Monday we headed to the zoo to see the new orangutans and komodo dragon habitat. It just opened and even though it reached 107 degrees that day, we had a great time. We met friends Michelle, Sarah, and Matthew there.

walking up the ramp to the new part and checking everything out

thought she saw something


komodo dragon: this one was more fascinating. the real one is only 2 years old and pretty small

i love the play area in the new habitat

allie's favorite: walk on chimes

eating some celery. they really are cuties (behind the fence)

playing in the spray area of the playground

soaking wet

leaving the school after Meet the Teacher night

She got to pick where she wanted to eat for lunch today. Chick-fil-A of course! Thanks to Libbie, we now have icecream when we eat there! She is pretending that she is freezing while eating her icecream. She loves to see Mr. Jake there and looks for him at every visit. Thankfully, he came out and talked with her.

she ate the whole thing

Yes, she talked me into letting her ride in the little cars at the mall

After lunch, we headed for a mother/daughter pedicure. A special treat for the two of us. We missed out on one when Grammie was here!

She enjoyed the back massage from the chair and soaking her feet in the blue water, just like Mommy's.

playing outside in the 103 degree heat!

enjoying some watermelon

my sweet little Kindergartener! I love you!!