Our Little Girl is Already 4!!

Izzy is 4!

This spunky little lady spreads joy wherever she goes.  She is smart, funny, joyful, and just a bit dramatic ;)

This was her traditional birthday surprise--a bedroom full of balloons.  She woke up with quite the smile that morning!

On her actual birthday, we celebrated with an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.  

A few days later, we celebrated with aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, and cousins.  She had a mermaid party...

She was spoiled, of course!  She got a mermaid tail blanket:

The one gift she'd been asking for unhesitatingly for weeks was a metal detector:

She loved her motorized scooter (too bad we have to wait for warmer weather to use it more often!).

And, my personal favorite part of the kids' birthdays... the cake.  She was in awe of her mermaid cake!

Grandma Selfie!  (Izzy is wearing her new Cinderella dress)

Izzy, in 4 short years, you have showed everyone around you how to enjoy the little things.  Although you are always on your own 'schedule,' you definitely find joy in everything in life.  I love how you pay attention to all kinds of details.  You literally bounce when you walk, and I can't help but smile when you smile.  And girl, you are smart!  You love books (and you're learning lots of words already!), you can play with numbers and sounds and colors like I cannot believe.  Your understanding of the world, the questions you ask, and the the vocabulary you use are so beyond your age of 4, it's not even funny.  You have a quiet determination and ability to stick with a task for a long time, and you don't usually get too worked up about things.  You can be a bit on the dramatic side, and although that can be exhausting at times, it's usually really funny (I'm sure I won't think it's funny when you're 14...).  You love being around your brothers, especially Cooper.  If he can do something, you try everything to be able to do that same thing.  You two play together so well most of the time.  You even like to snuggle in the same bed every now and then!  He is your protector, and you are his sidekick.  You're also a great big sister to Carson, and you're helping us teach him the ways of the world.  Fashion, hair styles, nails, and specific colors are creeping into your persona, and I'm not too sure how I feel about that.  You don't like black or grey because 'they're boring,' and sparkles are your favorite.  I think you might have more accessories than I do...  My favorite time with you is bedtime, when you ask your best questions and we talk about such fun stuff.  You think you're hilarious, cracking jokes that don't even make sense, and always goofing around instead of getting settled into bed.  But I secretly love it.

I love you, little lady.  You are just awesome.  I look at you and see what an amazing person you are growing into.  You are my favorite little girl-- and you always will be!  Have fun being 4!

Fall 2016 Family Photos

Shout out to the amazing Nicole Louise Photography, who always captures our family's personality!

Florida Vacation... Heading Home

Saturday morning we awoke and started the task of packing up for a day of travel.  When we got to the airport, I had fun talking to the kids about all their favorite moments from the week.

We also had some less-than-shining moments that day, considering we forgot Carson's Nuk somewhere (probably at the last hotel), our connecting flight was delayed by four hours, and we ended up flying after nap time instead of during.  But, we survived :)

The kids were a little emotional talking about the week, and it was kind of sweet.  Cooper and Izzy both talked about how much they were going to miss Florida.  We talked several times about why in the world we could not stay on vacation (I still, to this day, don't think they buy into my reasons!), and how fun it will be the next time we come back.

Carson got a nice long nap at the airport, and Izzy conked out on the second flight.  Easy peasy.

That flight out of Orlando was the only one of the trip that we were not seated within arms' reach of each other.  Izzy and Grandma sat together, and ended up next to an off-duty flight attendant who had fun talking to Izzy.  She even gave Izzy the Southwest heart pin right off her scarf, and gave her three pairs of 'wings' so she could share with her brothers.

These pics are out of order, but it shows Carson feeling like a big shot in his very own seat.  Our final flight was not full, so he got the full experience!  Having napped at the airport, we were all happy he had the extra space!

Words can only attempt to describe the amazing week it was.  We feel incredibly blessed to have had the chance to take this trip.  The memories we made are priceless!  Seeing and hearing the kids be so genuinely excited about every little thing, thinking of their smiles and their shrieks of happiness, and watching them get along so perfectly well made my week perfect.  We are already thinking of how we can save to go on another vacation!!

Florida Vacation: Magic Kingdom Day!

We had the most amazing time at Magic Kingdom on our last full day in Florida.  The kids were really looking forward to this part of the trip, and I think we saved the best for last :). It was such an awesome day!

We woke up extra early to be there as close to opening as possible, but even though we left the condo around 6:30 AM, we still didn't get into the actual park until almost 9:30.  I completely forgot how much of a little 'city' Disney World is, how long it takes to get parked and into the entrance, and then once you get your tickets, it still takes times to ride the monorail into Magic Kingdom itself.  But the kids didn't miss a beat--they thought every part of the day was great, and their faces when we walked in...!  I wish I could bottle up that excitement and save it.

We had worked out a little scheme of rides to go on for the morning thanks to some Fast Passes, and we never really waited all that long in any lines.  I had hoped we could get the kids on the Peter Pan ride, and Jeremy wanted to take the big kids on Splash Mountain, but Fast Passes for those rides had been gone for days and the lines were already an hour long when we arrived.  The great news was that the kids didn't even know what we were missing!  We're so mean, aren't we!?!?  

We got inside, spent the BEST $31 of the week on a hard-sided double stroller for the big kids, and tried unsuccessfully to get some pictures.  The kids were a little overwhelmed, and it was not a great time to get pics :)

We went to Fantasyland, and went right to Enchanted Tales with Belle.  It was the perfect start!  The kids got to be a part of a 'play' inside the Beast's castle.  Izzy was chosen to be a dancing dish, Cooper was the beast, and Jeremy was a knight in shining armor (he was thrilled).

There was an audible gasp when Belle herself walked into the room.  All the kids were so excited.  She was a part of the 'play,' and she even danced with the beast!

https://youtu.be/g-J6at95yeg

She took a photo with every character, and Carson wanted to give her a hug!  Melt. My. Heart.  

Throughout the rest of the morning, we went on more rides and got to meet more characters.  Meeting Ariel was so cool for the kids because they got to have a little conversation with her.  She, along with all the other characters all day, were always in character, and they really made the day magical.  Seriously, the place is magical.  Even as an adult, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face!  (Okay, spending $65 for lunch wiped away the smile for a bit, but just a bit!)

The classic Dumbo ride:

Izzy LOVED meeting Daisy and Minnie.  She was excited to show Minnie her "party nails" which had Minnie and Daisy nail wraps.  And she gave Minnie the biggest hug!!  Cooper was being too cool for Minnie, but she got him :)  She pulled him into a hug and photo, and surprisingly, he went along with it, with even a smile!!

The classic Teacups:

Vroom vroom!!

Cooper LOVED the go karts.  He was at the wheel, and he was simply giddy.  Jeremy couldn't stop laughing when they got off the ride.  https://youtu.be/2HmUqjWw8zI

Carson had no trouble making himself comfortable for a nap while we were go karting and planning our evening :)

The many family rides were so much fun! This was the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

We did end up with a good family pic in front of the castle!

Grandma, not so much...

Grandma really wanted to buy the kids a couple souvenirs from the park, so as the day came to a close, Cooper and Izzy both picked out a set of ears.  Carson wouldn't keep a pair on, so he got a Mickey ball.  And they all got a shirt, too!  I picked out a Christmas ornament for our tree, and Jeremy got a Diet Coke ;)

When it was time to go... it was time to go.  So we grabbed supper at McDonald's on the way to our hotel.  Of course, ice cream was in order to celebrate the amazing day!

We made the decision to leave our Indian Shores condo a day early and spend the night in Orlando to save four hours of driving... we needed to be at the airport by around 8 the next morning.  We had stopped at McDonald's and once those bellies were full, Carson and Izzy were out!  It was literally a 7-min drive!  Neither of them woke up getting out of the van, getting into the room, getting pajamas on... they didn't move!  (In the morning, Izzy was confused about where we were!!!)

We were all exhausted, but I spent nearly an hour looking through the pictures from the day and reliving the fun memories.  I wish I could bottle up their innocent and pure excitement from this day.  I am so glad we decided to spend the money to take them (we seriously considered not), and I'm so glad they got to experience it while they are so young and innocent!  The next time we go, I'm sure Cooper will be getting on the old side to enjoy the characters and the 'magic' of the place... maybe Izzy too (depending on how fast we can save up for another vacation).  Even Carson was so much more into it than we thought he'd be.  I didn't mind pushing a stroller all day, and in fact, I'd rent another one for the big kids in a heart beat.  I know they wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if their little legs walked the same 8.5 miles that ours did!

What a day!!