Trick Or Treat 2009

Just a few pics from this year's festivities.
The Blue Man
The Butterfly
"50 Cent"
The Hot Dog
Gasp! Everyone looking at the camera!

Post-Vacation Overload - Day 2; Part 2

Oh dear. Life seems to have gotten away from me and I desperately need to get some of these vacation photos on here so I don't forget anything. So, I will try to be better in the next few days.

After spending a good part of our first full day at Hollywood Studios, we caught the bus to Epcot as we had dinner reservations at The Coral Reef. I wish I had some video of the kids' excitement over this restaurant. Our reservations were early enough that I we were able to request and receive a table smack dab in front of the giant aquarium.

These pictures certainly do not do it justice and if you notice, both Ian and Kyra were practically climbing on the table to get a closer look. Honestly, I don't think they would have cared if they had anything to eat because all they did was watch the the tank. Their favorites were the rays, the sharks and the sea turtles.


After dinner, we stayed in the Coral Reef area. The Disney people have really done a great job revamping the old "The Seas" exhibit. They turned it into a Nemo themed exhibit complete with a ride in a clam shell.


During Turtle Talk with Crush, Ian got to ask Crush what turtles eat. Crush then asked Ian what his favorite food was (answer: mac 'n' cheese) and then asked if it caused him to "get the bubbles"; yeah, that got him laughing. Nothing like a little potty humor from an animated turtle! They also played in this shark area except Kyra was a little frightened of the oversized sharks. She always had to be with someone for a picture.


Now, you would think that would be enough for our first day, but as you'll see in the next segment, there's always more . . .

First Day of School

I interrupt this series of vacation phots to bring you "first day of school" photos. Kyra started preschool on Monday. She can hardly contain her excitement about school. It's amazing that I got any pictures as she was all energy!


This is her "princess" backpack. She had been coveting this baby since she first laid eyes upon it at JC Penney's. I gave it to her on Sunday night and she carried it around until she went to bed.

There was definitely no separation anxiety for this girl. She marched right into school, found her cubby and got right to work.


Tuesday was Ian's turn! I can't believe I am a mom to a 5th grader! Even though I see him everyday, I can't believe how much he's grown from last year.
Obviously, you don't get as many pictures on the first day of school when your child starts growing up. Kyra had to get in on the action this morning but I think it turned out pretty cute.

One change this year is that I will be taking Ian to school since it is on the way to Kyra's preschool and they start close to the same time. Ian gets theadded benefit of a little more free time around the house, but then again, he had to put up with his paparazzi mom this morning.

We're hoping for a great year all around!

Post-Vacation Overload - Day 2; Part 1

We packed so much into our first "full" day at the World, that I am going to have to break it down into separate parts. Of course, with so much in front of you, it's definitely hard to decide where to start. After much debate, we picked "Hollywood" Studios (for all of you "old schol" folks, you can't really say that; Rich and I consistently still refer to it as "MGM"). There was a method to our madness. First off, it had a wide variety of attractions that suited both ages and, most importantly, the kids would get to eat at Pizza Planet!


We spent the first part of the morning riding "the big rides"; Ian immediately fell in love with Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster and revisited an old favorite from his memories of Dinseyland - The Tower of Terror.


Even after her encounter with the royal family the night before, Kyra was still a little leery of the larger than life characters - even the ones that didn't move or talk. If you notice in this picture, here fingers are in her ears because Lightening McQueen's and Mater's motors were "too loud".

After much debate, Kyra decided she would go see Jo Jo and Goliath but only if Daddy came with her. She was very tentative when she approached them but the characters saw that and played peek-a-boo and extended hands (and paws) for high 5s to gain her trust. When Kyra discovered they couldn't hurt/maim/frighten her, she declared that she was "brave" and pushed Daddy to the side.

After that, there was no stopping this little girl when it came to securing character autographs. She was very proud of her princess "autograph" book and clung to it while waiting in lines.


Kyra with June from Little Einsteins practicing her dancing skills.


Handy Manny was a huge hit as well.


And so we wrap up the first part of the day. Stay tuned for more . . .

Post-Vacation Overload - Day 1

Well, eight days at Walt Disney World is apparently not enough to see it all, though we did give it our best shot. I'm currently weeding through over 800 pictures that I took throughout our trip and since I share photos on this blog for family to see, I'm going to try to break them down so you aren't all overloaded at once.

These pictures are from our first day in Florida. The day started rough - over a 3-hour delay due to mechanical problems on our flight. We were supposed to arrive in Orlando around 10:30 but didn't get in until around 1:30. Since the flight was supposed to leave originally around 7:00 a.m., we had been up for a long time and were tired. Luckily, our dinner reservations were early at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian.

Kyra was selected by the manager to open the doors to the dining room with a "Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo". When the doors swung open, there was Prince Charming waiting for Kyra.
He took her by the hand and escorted her to the table. It brought tears to this mommy's eyes!
Later, during the dinner, Kyra also had the first dance with Prince Charming (after Cinderella, of course). I don't think Kyra ate much during dinner because she was so enthralled with the characters in the dining room. Needless to say, she got over her most of her fear of characters rather quickly.

Not to be left out of the picture, while Kyra danced with Charming, Ian caught the eye of Anastasia and she pulled him out of his chair to dance. I believe Rich has some video, but Anastasia tagged Ian as her future husband and began grilling him with questions including how much money he had and if he thought she was beautiful. This made for great fodder the rest of our trip.
To add to his pre-teen embarrassment, Lady Tremaine - the wicked stepmother, also came into the picture and began grilling Ian about why he found Anastasia so attractive. Look how red his cheeks are!

As I said, Kyra got over her mortal fear of characters with Prince Charming and Cinderella, but it was a little different when it came to the wicked Stepmother and the stepsisters. In fact, she went under the table when Lady Tremaine arrived.
We coaxed her into pictures with the stepsisters though but only as long as someone else came with her!
I've been to quite a few character dinners at Disney, but this one, by far, was the most interactive. This was a most magical way to start our trip and we had one happy little princess!

Photo of the Week - April 12, 2009

I had forgotten how difficult it is to get a picture of these two where both of them are smiling and looking at the camera! Anyhow, this week's photo is Ian and Kyra in their Easter finery. Kyra had been looking forward to wearing this dress since it came out of the shopping bag. Apparently I chose well because I was told it was "so princessy!" Ian, on the other hand, just wore what was given to him (I guess I'm lucky he's too young to complain about having to wear pink stripes!)

Happy Birthday, Kyra!

It's hard to believe three years have gone by since we welcomed our baby girl into our hearts and home! She makes me smile (and want to pull my hair out a lot of times, too!)

The big party is tomorrow, but she is in full birthday glory today!

Cheap Laughs

Ian and Kyra were playing on the patio today when all of a sudden, I armed myself with some leftover dollar store silly string from a Bible study lesson. I just love getting silly with those two!

A Moment of Fun in the Sun

July has finally brought some warm weather! After Kyra's nap yesterday, I decided to get industrious and finally set up my Target bargain from the end of last season. Ian kept Kyra occupied while I inflated the thing and once I was finished, the two of them could not wait to get out there! Admittedly, it is quite baby-ish for someone Ian's size, but he found ways to have fun nonetheless. Alas, the inlfated dolphin ended up biting the dust by the end of the afternoon due to an industrious collaberation of the two of them but for only $7, I couldn't really complain. Of course, they were bugging me this morning already to set it up, but considering the temperature has dropped into the low 70s with a very chilly wind, I think the sprinkler is out of the question for the day. But, here's a few more pictures of the afternoon:

Ms. Kyra in her "rainbow".

Silly big brother on the soon-to-be deflated dolphin (but it wasn't the weight that did him in!)



Have a great day, everyone!

Some pictures from the long weekend

Well, it was a very busy weekend and I can't say that I ever want to be in a car for that long again for a good while. Now that Kyra is fully potty trained, there's even more stops in between making for close to a 6-hour trip one way. We are home now - physically and mentally exhausted. Here are some pictures from the weekend though:

Kyra enjoying the 4th of July cookout at Grandma Pokey & Grandpa Tiger's house

Ian and my nephews chilling out after playing "running bases" most of the day

Swimming at the hotel after a long day was a great way for the kids to unwind before bedtime. I just love Kyra's expression in this one

Cannonball!!!!

On our last night, Kyra got "brave" and attempted to swim all by herself. I swear she is smiling while she is partially submerged as she was so proud of herself.

And, to appease Ms. Arlyn, here is a picture of me. No visit "home" would be complete without a visit with my two best friends from high school.