Magic Kingdom Day 1

I saw my sweet friend Courtney yesterday and her face was all lit up and she said, "Sooooo???? How was it... Are we not ready to talk about Disney yet?" hahaha... I needed a good 4 days to decompress and catch my breath before I could start re-hashing so.... I'm ready to talk and here is part 1! :)

We surprised Harrison and Hudson with a trip to Disney World for their 5th birthday! On Thursday night we had family over and at the end we gave them a little present and told them we were going on a special trip and for them to guess where we were going... they opened the little Mickey that said "1st Trip" and said, "Disney World." No screaming, falling out or dramatic guesses just Disney World in monotone. We figured out that they had NO IDEA what Disney World was so that helped my feelings a little since I had been planning this for over 6 months and was so nervous about telling them :/. Saylor got to stay with Mawmaw and Pawpaw and Nanny and Pop while we were gone because she is too little to ride all the boys wanted to ride and still takes 2 naps! We missed her SOOOO bad! We picked the boys up from school on Friday at noon and drove all the way to Orlando! It was an even 10 hour ride, with a few stops to stretch our legs and eat. I had re-joined the Disney Movie Club a few weeks before so we had 8 new movies to watch, here is the first 24 hours in pictures!

Here is how they rode, Angry Bird throws and headphones ON. They have always been good car riders so the drive was pretty non-incidental.

The first day of our Magic vacation, we checked in and they got their "Official" Happy Birthday buttons, which if you wear one of these, every.single.person. in the park says "Happy Birthday!" Hudson wanted to take his off about an hour into the day, he prefers to fly under the radar!

The very first character and autograph they got was from Buzz Lightyear, he has always been a hero at this house and as you can see from the awkwardness they had not been trained in character photography poses yet :) 

After riding one of the favorites, "Pirates of the Caribbean" twice they got some pirate weapons and this happens to be one of my favorite pics from the trip, very candid and the castle is right behind them.

This face is during the Wishes night time fireworks show, it was amazing, nostalgic, magical and as a mom a little emotional. They were enraptured with the whole atmosphere, the castle was lit up in different lights and the fireworks were huge and the classic song among many others "When you wish upon a star..." was playing as many different characters, namely Jiminy Cricket quoted lines from Disney movies about making a wish.

These are the moments that make all the effort worthwhile!

We were lucky enough to be with two BIG boys that really liked to ride all the things that we liked to ride, here we are in line for the Haunted Mansion and I had to get their pic with the headstone of "the twins" that was out front, this was at 9pm so they were total troopers!

The castle that triggered a million questions that were all precious, "Do all the princesses live there?" "Do they have any pets?" "Where do the boys live?"

This is right before we boarded our bus back to our room, a full day and a comfy stroller.

This is what we put in their pockets in case they got lost.

The boys bed on our first night, they thought that was so cool.

First family pic in line for "It's A Small World"

Another favorite (look at this face) Buzz Lightyear's ride.

This is me and Harrison after we shot up all the enemies and got our score, he assured me that we tied ;)

In the heat of the day on Jungle Safari.

Hudson wanted to try to carry the backpack, that first day we had our biggest backpack LOADED down with food and drinks....needless to say we seriously downsized after this day.

A few of the deets from the trip:

• We stayed 4-nights on the grounds at Coronado Springs Resort (bc this was the only option we had that had a QN/QN room and JP is too long for a Full!)
• We went in this order: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom (Downtown Disney), Hollywood Studios, and Magic Kingdom again (on their real birthday)
• We got the free dining plan and had one character meal each day.
• We rented a stroller from Orlando Stroller Rentals for a few different reasons but was very glad we did, we loved it!

The "Me" Bag

Hudson was chosen to take home the "ME" bag last week and he happened to pick Harrison's name for this week. Coincidence.....I think not! Hudson said, "Harrison whispered to me that his name was the only one one orange paper, so I looked in the hat when I picked and dug for the orange piece!" ..... Way to hook a brutha up! They have to bring a few pictures of their family, draw a couple pictures, put two toys that they love in and fill out a questionnaire and then they present it.

Hudson: Drew himself as a doctor when he grows up and on the beach is where is the happiest. He brought his deer antler that Uncle LJ gave him and his "iphone" (spy phone toy from a Happy Meal back in May! He LOVES it and keeps up with it!)

Harrison: Drew himself as a firefighter when he grows up and drew a picture of him eating a sucker, his "Happiest Place" :). He took his Build-A-Bear "Dash" and a ninja sword/knife.

Here is their soccer team for this Fall, all these kids are in their class except RJ, but we've been friends with RJ since they were babies!

(LtoR Brooks, Harrison, Christopher, Hudson, RJ, Ryder, and Collin)

Posing with his Me Bag toys before he went into school.

Posing with his toys as well!

We are surprising the boys with a trip to Disney for their 5th birthday and leaving tomorrow! We couldn't decide whether or not to have a party, obviously we thought we were spending enough on them but it was hard to explain to them while trying to keep Disney a surprise...so we had a little dinner for them tonight with the family and they got to each invite a friend. It was a sweet little get together. They wanted to be in Camo so we found some shirts, and camo paint and stache made a nice accessory!

Three Stooges

Putting some camo paint on.

I should've known....

That the very second I stepped foot back inside a school I would get strep throat and a cold! That stuff knocked me down.... and mommies don't have time for that. I finally feel alive again today. Saylor has been so sick too with a cold and stubborn ear infection (with tubes!). Here are a few pics from the week....

(Cringe!! I know.) This is all she wanted to do at the doctor's office, lay on the floor :(

My project this week, staining a board that is going to be a shelf behind our couch (Pinterest).

Big girl with a pony.

Hudson's head hit our concrete floor....

My homemade stain, vinegar and steel wool, it was a mess  but it worked!

The Golden Rule

This all started last week when the principal called me and and asked me to come tutor part-time. Without thinking I said yes! I thought this will be a good way to keep my head in the game and make a little extra cash. The boys are in preschool from 7:45 till 11:45 and that was when he said I could work. I found a precious lady that came highly recommended, "Khaki". We went and visited her last week and Saylor got down and played and seemed very comfortable. So I started the daily grind at 5:20 this morning. I was ready when the kids started waking up and actually it was a great morning. After we dropped Saylor off and she cried when we left (Hudson got back in the car and said, "I almost started crying") we had some time so I took them and got them a super sugary breakfast to make-up for my motherly guilt of Saylor :) We usually go through drop-off but since it was too early they went in the cafeteria and ate their treat before the bell rung. I will be tutoring 11th grade US History students on the vocabulary, syntax and testing methods of the US History State Test. I ended up being a History Substitute today and will be through the week...not what I had in mind but my mom was right, I think they will be using me any way they can and taking advantage of the extra help. We shall see :\ 

My big boys eating breakfast, donut holes and a yoo-hoo,  before school, Harrison still had his Yoo-Hoo bottle in his backpack after school (they have never had one before) and I looked at the sugar content and it had 41 grams of sugar!! Woops, sorry teachers!!

Saylor going to her first day at Khaki's house, waving bye with all of her collection (baby, blanket, juice, paci and backpack)

Here is one of her in Brantlee's dress, she reminds us all the time of our sweet B, they way she acts and is built is a lot like her. Thanks for letting us borrow this dress Brantlee!

This smart guy recited the Golden Rule at school today all by himself! He got an award and a sticker. That was their homework for September and we haven't worked on it like we should so I was very proud of his achievement!

16 months old

This is a little late but Saylor just had her 15 month check up (at 16 mos). She weighs 27 lbs and 12oz and is 31 inches tall! I think she will be long like her Daddy and Mawmaw. She doesn't say a whole lot but she has a lot to say .... Mama, dada, ball, bath, baby Mawmaw and nana when she wants to and variations of the boys names. She wants to be outside ALL the time no exceptions. She is still taking two 2-hour naps and sleeps all night. Except for this week, she has her first ear infection since tubes and I forgot about the fun that comes with those :/ We are enjoying our little girl and the reason she doesn't have to say anything because there are four people in this house that jump if she points to something ... we've got to stop!

She no longer loves her high chair, I think it is because the boys aren't in one, so this is her preferred perch which is fine except when I leave a BUTCHER knife on THE BUTCHER block... I am trying to be more careful. The boys stayed in their chairs until they were at least 3!

We found this jewel at a friend's rummage sale and it has been well worth the $5.

This is what it looks like while I get ready everyday....she HAS to stand in a chair at the sink, I need a bigger vanity if I'm going to have to share it!

Saylor and her big brother enjoying some fresh air. 

Buying just one

                                                    





I took the boys to the store one day last week to get an idea of what exactly they are into  and wanting for their birthday, it seemed like they were wanting totally different toys and it made me panic to think of just buying one of a single item so I had to make sure! They both fell hard for the new Power Ranger section and the other superhero toys. Hudson wants a scooter and a snake catcher and Harrison doesn't so this will definitely be the first time we have bought one of something :( It makes me panic a little to think of that day when Harrison falls out because he doesn't have a scooter! Maybe a lesson will be learned or maybe he will really never want one, he is asking for his training wheels to be taken off his bike so that might be his choice method of transportation :)

                                  

The bros after a run to the horses and back, they had to get their "energy" (exercise) as they call it.

                   

Sayor girl is ready to go pick up the boys from school.

This is Saylor and Pappy having an eye-to-eye moment, so sweet.

Sugar and Sixty

Well we made it through one of the longest and "boring" (per Harrison) storms yet, Issac. We came out fine and didn't even lose power. One day we had cabin fever and drove to see the grandparents. We prepared for this storm like Katrina was coming again! Although, now I have a "Hurricane Box" instead of filtering all the supplies out into random drawers in the house, so we are ready!

 I bought the boys a play gun I found on Clearance (that didn't work, ofcourse) and candy necklaces to get them through the first day... the worst decision I made that week by far, they were literally jumping off the walls, couches, stairs. At the first sign of no rain I had them out running the neighborhood!

 Sweet Sissy didn't see any problem with snacking nonstop along with everyone else those 3 days :)

Hudson loves this girl and is so good with her, she doesn't always return the affection. 

Mrs.Linda has a milestone birthday to day the young 6-0!! We celebrated this past weekend with her brothers and sister. Hey we all love a party!

 The Pierce grandkids, (Harrison 4, Saylor 15mos, Kali 6, Kayla 3, Hudson 4)

 Her beautiful and yummy cake, it was huge!

Sweet Aunt Martha and Mawmaw with Saylor 

Uncle Jimmy Brock, Aunt Martha Puckett, Mrs.Linda and Uncle Charlie Brock

We love you Mawmaw!