Where dreams do come true

On October 17 we headed down to Orlando for a magical trip! Disney does everything right. When we checked into our resort, all the girls received carnation flowers. Sarah came down to join us for a couple of days and the Davis family also met us down there.

Here we are starting off very early. The Magic Kingdom opened an hour early for resort guests and I wanted to take advantage of that hour.

There was a cute pre-show before the park actually opened. Mickey and Snow White and a couple other friends arrived on the train.

Here we are on Dumbo. This was one of the things Mad was most excited about. She loves Dumbo. We literally walked onto the ride. This was the perfect time of year to go. We were able to ride everything we wanted to and didn't wait longer than 15 minutes for any ride. Most we walked right on.

Goofy Barnstormer roller coaster. My little daredevil loved it and even started putting up her hands. We were able to stay on this 3 times. They offered us a 4th but the adults needed a little break!

When Mad saw Cinderella, I literally had to hold her back since it wasn't our turn yet.

In this Hall there was also Aurora and Rapunzel. They paled in comparison to Cinderella. We saw Cinderella first and when Madeline got to the other 2 princesses, all she wanted to do was talk about Cinderella. Sorry, Aurora and Rapunzel.

Madeline got to dance with Mickey!!

This moment melted my heart. Madeline was going to be Tinkerbell for Halloween. We had her costume and she was excited. We got in line to meet Tinkerbell and when we finally got to her, Mad was in awe. I told her to tell Tinkerbell what she was going to be for Halloween. I thought she would say " I am going to be Tinkerbell.". Instead, she looks at Tink,  points at her and says " I going to be YOU!!" It was my favorite moment of the day. Just seeing her joy and belief and excitement. Tink also seemed to enjoy Madeline a lot.

Sarah and I are on the train.

Fantasyland has overgone a major renovation. They are also opening a new section. Later in the afternoon as a surprise, they opened the new Fantasyland part. We were able to ride Ariel's brand new ride plus meet her in mermaid form!

Here is what a successful day at Disney looks like....

Another day we went to Animal Kingdom and met Pocahontas. I had never been to Animal Kingdom and it was really neat.

We ventured to Sea World for a day and then Downtown Disney for dinner one night. It was truly a magical, wonderful trip. Mark hadn't been since he was a tiny baby so it was so special to see him and Madeline and all their new experiences. I highly recommend going this time of year. It was perfect. We literally were able to do and see everything that was on our list. The one small drawback was that there were record high temps, in the 90s each day. It was hot but it wasn't crowded!

I have always loved Magic Kingdom and Disney but this trip was so special to see Madeline experience it all. She keeps talking about everyone we met there and everything we did.

Thanks for the memories! We'll be back someday!!

Fun at the Fair

I ride horses on Wednesday mornings and Madeline sees me in my breeches and riding boots. She always tells me "I ride horses like Mommy". Well, that opportunity presented itself at the Cumming State Fair. Madeline spotted the ponies and had to ride!

She had a great time!!

She loves this huge slide.

DC and the White House

In August I headed to DC to visit Sarah. We spent a lot of our time watching one of our favorite things: The Olympics! Our Olympic watching together started long ago in 1998 in our freshman dorm when the Games were in Nagano.

We took a paddle boat ride near the Jefferson Memorial.

Sarah got us East and West Wing tours of the White House. It was really neat! One of my favorite things to see was these walls for the President, Vice President and First Lady. They each have an area where there are lots of pictures of them and the images change almost weekly. It was cool to see shots of the day to day activties. I do hope that in a few months there will be photos of the Romney family on the walls! No photography is allowed inside the White House so these are all from the premises.

In front of the West Wing.

Where the press briefings are held...

Police Night Out and a new toy!

Police Departments around the nation hold National Night Out. It is an evening where the community comes together to see some cool demonstrations, have food and some giveaways. This was mine and Madeline's first time attending and it was quite interesting. Fire trucks were there. The canine dogs did a neat demonstration and then Mark's SWAT team did one as well. It was quite impressive but also a little unsettling. I rarely see him in action mode and in this instance, the team was taking down a fleeing car with criminals. The SWAT truck was also there and the kids could see and hold some of the equipment. It is all quite heavy and I am thankful they have it. If your community holds one of these, I would recommend going. It was a fun evening.

Here is Madeline with a badge and headphones.

Madeline received an awesome present from Nana and Grandad. This pink Harlely Davidson Power Wheel! I am actually a little jealous as I never had a power wheel. Just a hot cycle you had to pedal. She loves this thing. She is such a pro now. I have to charge it often.

Random Fun

Madeline decided she would take a nap on the stairs. Please note that baby Cinderella is tucked in with a dish towel. I love to watch Madeline with her babies.

Riding in the car!!

I am a huge Olympics fan! I made these cookies for Madeline's class to celebrate. Mark said he was sure the two year olds would get the rings. I had to hunt really hard for black mms!!! I was quite proud of how they turned out.

Family Fun in Florida-Destin

Our next stop in June was Destin. I was too busy at the pool and beach to take pictures there. Someone was all over the place! We still weren't a fan of the sand. I love sharing Destin with Mark and Madeline. Some of my favorite places have now become their favorites!

Madeline eating an ice cream "samooch". It is so adorable to hear her talk. She says " Hold you" when she wants you to hold her.

Family Fun in Florida- Compass Lake

** Disclaimer, sometimes when I log into Blogger it posts my pictures in a different way, in the order I put them. Then other times it posts them out of order. So just bear with me.

We headed off on our Florida family trip. First stop was Compass Lake to visit Grammary. We had so much fun playing in the lake, relaxing, reading and eating! Grammy also came along for the visit. We love you, Grammary!

Noodle fight!!!

On the dock!!

6 years!

May 20, 2012 marked our 6 year anniversary! We celebrated on our cruise! Looking forward to many more! I have a serving tray with areas for pictures. I decided 6 years ago I would put a picture of us each year on May 20 so we can see how much we have changed!

Freedom on the Carnival Freedom

Mark and I had a wonderful trip to celebrate our 6th anniversary! We took an eight day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Freedom! My quote was "Eight days and not a sippy cup or diaper in sight! Nice!!" Our itinerary included days at sea, St Thomas, Antigua, Tortola and the Bahamas. It was so nice to read, relax and hang out with my fabulous husband. We missed the little one but it was wonderful! Thank you to our parents for splitting Madeline duty for the week!

May 20, 2012- our 6th anniversary and it was formal night on the ship

Here we are before a show in the theatre

On the beaches of St. Thomas. We then headed to our traditional drinking place for nachos and bushwackers, as we have for the last 4 times we have been to St. Thomas. It is our fun tradition!

On the ship, there was an adults-only retreat called Serenity. I loved these hammocks.

Antigua (locals pronounce it antiga, which goes against my spanish pronunciation of the word meaning "old" but I like to sound like a local)

We took a catamaran sail around the entire island of Antigua. The crew was awesome and lively, we snorkelled and also sailed quite fast through rough waters. It was fun!!

Devil's Bridge in Antigua

In Tortola, Mark headed off on a fishing charter and I took a boat to Jost Van Dyke. Here is a beautiful picture: a bushwacker on the Caribbean beach. I read and relaxed while soaking up the rays.

I took a walk and found this coconut!!

Ahhh, warm chocolate melting cake. My absolute favorite dessert and what I had every night of the cruise along with a glass of milk!