My 11 Year Old Pumpkin

Does celebrating a birthday in October get any more exciting?!? ~ There are endless options for parties, the weather is generally pleasant, sweets are in abundance, leaves are changing, mums and pumpkins decorate many homes and the list goes on. Karson is at the end of her volleyball season but still had three games scheduled for the week.  One landed on October 22nd which meant having a party on her actual birthday was out.   She also had a game Friday night and Saturday morning.  I wanted to try and squeeze her party in last week instead of waiting until this week with fall/school parties and Halloween.  I thought a pumpkin painting party would be PERFECT, and after looking at the schedule, figured Thursday would work as well as any.  My girlfriends and I love have pumpkin painting parties around the holiday, and I just knew a bunch of 10 & 11 year old girls would love it too.  

I churned out some invitations and pasted them on brown paper bag backing (love the way they turned out).  It was quick and cheap. I also attended a party at Jackson's a few weeks ago and was able to get some cheap pie pumpkins for $2.  I already had acrylic paints and paintbrushes.  I decided to purchase some a few accent pieces like pom poms, sequins, jewels, googly eyes and a few extra paints for more variety.

The weather was super cold last week.  I had planned on doing the pumpkin painting on the back porch because my patio table is rather large and more accommodating than my kitchen table.  However, the freezing cold wind and weather prevented that from happening.  I moved the paint station in the kitchen which worked out fine.

Karson had her hopes set on an ALL GIRLS party.  However with two little brothers in the mix, that doesn't always happen.  Matt texted me early in the day and told me that his dad was going to come and pick them up (Matt started his bowling season and isn't around much on Mondays and Thursdays).  I knew Isaac would be more than happy to get out of dodge.  Miles, on the other hand, woke up that morning talking about the party, the GIRLS and asked me over and over again when the girls would be getting to our house.  He couldn't wait!  Debbie came over to pick them up, and we couldn't convince him to leave.  Isaac told him to protect their room and darted out the door.  Miles hung around for a little bit of the party.  Colvin came by a little later and picked him up (even though he really had zero desire to leave--stinker).

I fixed some simple finger foods for the girls (sandwiches, smokies, chips).  I got a little carried away with the sugar.  I decided not to get an actual birthday cake.  I got her a small one last year and none of the girls ate it.  I went for the mini-cupcakes which were a big hit.

Blessed with amazing friends.  Love this group of girls!

The party lasted about two hours.  There were points during it that I couldn't even tell I had eight girls in the house.

And, then, there were points when I could. 

And, then, there were points where the make-up came out.

We had a fun night of celebrating and are thankful for the 11 years we've had with our special FIRST born child.  Karson received lots of cash for her birthday this year.  Honestly, it was the best gift since she's been saving up to buy an electric scooter.  I'm thinking we'll be making a trip to TRU real soon!

Miles Turns 7

Miles celebrated his 7th birthday on Thursday.  There's nothing more exciting at his age than a birthday.  He counted down the days and would tell me (even while we were at Disney) exactly how many days until his birthday.  I think he needs an advent calendar of his own for the month of October. He was smiling ear to ear when he woke up that morning.  We immediately got dressed and ready.  **Sidenote:  Thursday was a whirlwind.  Plano had selected that day for parent/teacher conferences so I had to find a way to schedule three separate conferences AND host a birthday party that afternoon. This would be easy to do if Matt hadn't started bowling this month, and the team practices land on Monday and Thursday each week. Did our  mention my lives are crazy, busy this month???**  We actually had to be at school at 7:45 because I had a conference with Isaac's teacher.  We up bright and early and got to give Miles his birthday gift.  I think he and Isaac managed to get each and every package opened and played with before we left. 

Can he get any cuter!?!?  Ms. Ferry was putting on his birthday hat when I got to her classroom that morning.  I wanted to let her know that I would be bringing donuts to the class that afternoon.  But first, I had another teacher conference to attend with Karson's teacher at 9:15.  I managed to get all three of my conferences in that day somehow.  

We are fortunate to live close to Chaney's Dairy Barn, and I thought it would be the perfect place for a party this year. I asked Miles what kind of cake he'd like and his answer was like music to my ears, a chocolate cake.  Woo hoo.  I love a good chocolate cake.  However, I didn't really have a party "theme" so I did my best to try and figure out what color scheme and idea would go well with Chaney's.  I went with a cow patterned theme.   Since our local Wal-Mart bakery is under renovation, I didn't want to take a chance on ordering my cake there.  I chose Kroger.  What an excellent choice it was, and I will probably go there in the future.  The bakery people are super helpful and attentive.  The cake was also delicious and as affordable as Wal-Mart.  I think the cow cake turned out adorable.  I was also able to find some brown and white table cloths and paper plates at Mighty Dollar.  We got complimentary balloons with the rental space. Brown, white and red were in abundance along with bandanna patterned napkins.  It was the perfect place for a fall party.

Little did I know that the weather was going to actually turn cooler this week--why, hello fall.  The day started out real rocky.  The skies were gray and overcast and a light drizzle was falling.  I was keeping my fingers crossed it would clear up (it had rained the ENTIRE day before).  The forecast said it was supposed to clear, but it certainly didn't look that way.  Fortunately, around lunchtime, the sun started shining, and all the clouds started to roll out.  Whew.  Chaney's is designed for outdoor play--there is not much to do inside the dairy barn itself.

The kids had a blast playing at Chaney's.  I think they were all just excited it wasn't raining. They were running all over the place.  Once all the kids arrived, we got to go on a hayride.

We even got to see and pet a baby calf.

Our wild crew!

My life!

Happy birthday to you Miles! 

Miles must have set a record of some sort for opening up presents faster than anyone.  He couldn't wait to open those presents, and I held him off for much of the night because I knew it would be fast and furious (and it was).  We are so fortunate to have such loving and generous family and friends.  Birthdays are a wonderful reminder of how lucky we are and how good we have it! 

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We spent this afternoon working on carving our Halloween pumpkin.  It's right around the corner, ya know!  Everyone in the family had a job.  Miles and I worked on carving the top and getting all the insides scooped out.

Isaac, the artist in the family, drew the face for our Jack O'Lantern.  He did a couple of sample drawings on notebook paper and let us pick which one we liked the best.

Working at hard at drawing the perfect face.

Karson and Matt did the carving of the face.

SPOOOOOOKY!

Wilderness Survival

October is always our busiest month of the year.  We generally travel for fall break, celebrate two kids birthdays, prepare for Halloween and fall parties, continue with school/sports/fall festivals/etc. and the list continues, such as parent-teacher conferences, basketball sign-ups, all you parents know the drill.  It's just B-U-S-Y!  I have a hard time keeping up with this blog during the month because there aren't many spare moments.  However, I have carved out some time to blog about our fall break DISNEY TRIP.  It's been a while since we've been to Disney.  Karson was in 1st grade the last time we went.  Disney Trip Round One The kids were young and only remember small parts of the trip. I have to admit I was not looking forward to the 12-hour drive.  I knew it would be tough, especially on Matt.  I do not help with the driving, don't like it, not good at it--I'm the perfect co-pilot =).  We decided to break the trip up on the way down since our reservations didn't start until Sunday.  My aunt and uncle live in Macon which made it the perfect stopping point on Saturday.  We didn't take off until after 2 p.m. because Karson had a volleyball game and arrived around in Macon around 9:00 p.m. My aunt is the perfect hostess and had dinner waiting and air mattresses out and ready to be inflated.  We only got to visit for a little while before heading to bed.  The next morning, she cooked a big breakfast for us and sent us on our way with fresh banana bread and bottled waters.  She's the BEST!

It's not often that we get the opportunity to travel through Georgia, more specifically, through the Valdosta/Lake Park area where we lived for a few months after Matt and I got married.  We decided to take a quick detour down memory lane and took pictures of our first apartment (Twin Lakes Townhomes) and the church we served at during those 8 months.  Our time there was short but incredibly special.  I sometimes wonder what life would be like if we had stayed?  Things that make you go, hummmm?

We made to Walt Disney World around 3 p.m. that afternoon. 

The rest of our family joined us not long after us.  They decided to make the trip in its entirety that day and left in the wee hours of the morning.  Beautiful does not begin to describe Wilderness Lodge.  Every little detail and carefully crafted and designed to look like your in the wilderness--wood, fireplaces, streams in the lobby, bears sculpted, rocking chairs, the whole works!  It's located right on the lake, close to Fort Wilderness where I camped as a child when my family came to vacation at Disney.  It was a different experience from the Value resorts (although we loved All-Star Music).

Our kids immediately changed into swimsuits and headed down to the pool.  Thankfully Evan and Elizabeth arrived within the hour and joined them.  I think our kids were so keyed after the trip, it was hard for them just to relax and enjoy.  Their excitement was overwhelming for them.

How cool is this place!  We had an actual beach right on the lake where the kids spent a majority of the their time playing.  I wish I had known, and I would've have brought sand toys for them.  However, there was a drink bar a few yards away, and they were gracious in giving the kids "digging" cups almost daily.

Enjoying a few moments in the pool.  Our friends the Justice's were also staying at Wilderness Lodge.  We ran into them on the first night but really didn't get to see them much after that.  The lodge is HUGE along with Disney. I'm anxious to post some underwater pictures that Shawn Justice snapped with his new waterproof camera.  I think the girls had more fun doing that than actually swimming in the pool.

It can tricky traveling with a family of five people.  There is usually not enough beds to accommodate us in a traditional hotel.  Thankfully when my sister organized the trip, she got us all rooms right next to each other on the same floor.  Karson and Miles wanted to stay in our room, but Isaac was totally fine with spending the night with Pops and Meme in their room next door.  It worked out perfectly.

The kids were pumped about getting Disney lanyards and entering into the world of pin trading with each other and the Disney employees.  I don't think Miles quite understood the concept because Isaac became a master at this skill quite and was wheeling and dealing trades with everyone.  At one point, he had traded with Miles for one of his pins and then turned around traded Miles's pin to Karson which made Miles SO ANGRY.  Of course, Karson traded it back to him and took Isaac's original pin.  Miles made no trades after that--to much drama for him.

Paul had purchased a Disney app on his phone which gave us lots of insight into the park(s) and what kind of traffic and lines would be there on different days.  Our first park visit was to Hollywood Studios on Monday.  His app was correct and the crowds were certainly not there.  We made our way to the most popular ride there Toy Story and got fast passes so we could ride it again later.

After Toy Story, we headed over to the Voyage on the Little Mermaid show and then to Tower of Terror which is my favorite ride (along with the Rock-n-Roller Coaster).  Everyone wanted to ride Tower or Terror which meant Miles had to ride it too.  It was the LONGEST 20 minute wait ever as he thrashed, threw fits, cried, wailed, you name it!  THEN, he met a little guy right in front of us who was around his age and convinced  him that the ride wasn't scary at all.  He was a little angel dropped straight from heaven, and Miles totally bought what he was selling.  The tears dried up, and he got excited about the ride.  That was short lived once we got on the ride and the elevator started dropping.  He told me, Mom, I'm scared.  Mom, I'm ready to get off.  It was brutal but thankfully short and sweet and nothing a Disney stuffed animal wouldn't solve.  Disney has a brilliant marketing team that properly places Souvenir shops along with Photo booths at the end of almost every ride.  It's like going through a check-out line with kids at the supermarket packed with candy.  Matt got him his first of several black and white Disney characters.  We also got to see the Lights, Motor, Action show and rode the Rock-n-Roller Coaster, Toy Story and Karson and I tackled the Tower of Terror one last time.  The weather wasn't to cooperative Monday, and there were light showers here and there.  We probably would've spent a little more time at the park, but the rain made it hard.

Off to Magic Kingdom on day two of our trip.  Since our hotel was on the lake, we got to take a boat to and from Magic Kingdom.  Very unique!

Let the Memories Begin! Welcome to the House of the Mouse!

We wanted to start off visiting Fantasyland which is Disney's newest area.  We rode the Little Mermaid ride and then headed over to The Haunted Mansion. This is the ride that Miles ALWAYS talks about and looks forward to the most.  I think he ended up on it three times during the course of the day.  We spent time in Frontierland riding Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain and made our way over to Tom Sawyer's Island.  Somehow we missed this entire section the last time we came.

The fort and draw bridge on Tom Sawyer's Island could have provided a days worth on entertainment. There were underground tunnels, hidden passage ways, a lighthouse, very cool activity center.

After lunch everyone was pretty worn out and ready to go back to the Lodge for a while.

However, we made our way back that evening for Tommorowland and the big production Disney puts on when the park closes (fireworks, movies, the works).  We rode Space Mountain, People Mover, Buzz Lightyear, and went to a Dance Party.  AND, we even got to have our picture made with the mouse himself, Mickey.

Animal Kingdom was our Wednesday stopping point.  The kids were anxious about Expedition Everest.  I really enjoyed Animal Kingdom and think I could spend my entire time there the Africa area--bright colors, music, street vendors, food, full of life kind of place.  We did two rounds on Everest and by the second time, I was ready to be stationary for a while.  My brain can't keep up with roller coasters anymore.  At one point, I didn't know if we were going forwards or backwards--we were in the dark.  We did the Jungle Safari tour, saw It's Tough Being a Bug and visited Dinoland.  Our kids were pretty pooped and ready to go back mid-day, but I think I could've stayed another couple of hours.   However...

...I could give or take Epcot.  I don't enjoy this park.  The highlight ride is Soarin', and it makes me motion sick.  I'm sure if I was there with adults only, it may be more interesting, but I would much rather divide my time at the other three parks with kids.  I decided to go to Starbucks and take Miles souvenir shopping while the rest of our party rode Soarin'.  We also managed to ride Nemo and Living Off the Land in the amount of time it took them to stand in line for Soarin'.  We made our way over to the countries for lunch and wound up in Mexico dining on Nachos, Tacos and churros.  Mexico is my favorite area of "the countries section of Epcot".  We rode the Three Amigos ride and then went to hear a friend of Paul's sing at the Spirit of America show.  The boys were D-O-N-E by this point and ready to head back (they didn't have to ask me twice).  We shot out of the park in the early afternoon.  Matt and Karson stuck it out to ride Test Track which we had fast passes for.  Me and the boys decided to take the Monorail back since I hadn't rode it since I was a kid, and they had never ridden it.

Epcot ended up being our last spot on the trip.  We debated on whether or not to stick around and go to Magic Kingdom on Friday since we had a park ticket for that day.  Everyone was ready to get on the road--kids included.  We were all super worn out and not looking forward to a 12-hour trip back home. We loaded up that morning and headed home.  Disney is magical, and I LOVE being there.  It's hard coming back to reality and life as usual after such a fun vacation.