Wow, so much time has gone by since I last posted. There is no possible way to catch up with all the pictures....we have hundreds of pictures just from Disney alone. I am just going to pick a few highlights to represent each occasion and do my best to summarize.
In addition to doing this blog each year (and printing it), I am also doing a photo album online. I have decided that since I am struggling at doing both, I am going to combine them for 2013 and see how that goes. That might mean I take a break on the blog and post my writings and thoughts right into the photo album. There might be a "share" option along the way for those of you who want to keep up. I have a lot of catching up to do before I even get to that point. It makes me sad that I have not been able to keep up with the blog, but with all the kids sports and activities, it's just so hard to find the time. I used to have two hours to myself each afternoon when they napped or had "quiet time", but there's no quiet time anymore. I guess it's a good thing in many ways. Just not for blogging.
We went to Disney right before Thanksgiving, and the kids had an absolute blast. We were there for seven days, and here is the order of what we did:
Day 1 (Saturday night) 1: Dinner at Epcot (Food and Wine festival....it was CRAZY....we will definitely avoid that if we ever go back)
Day 2 (Sunday): Hollywood Studios
Day 3 (Monday): Magic Kingdom
Day 4 (Tuesday): Animal Kingdom
Day 5: (Wednesday): Epcot
Day 6: (Thursday): Hollywood studios again
Day 7: (Friday): Magic Kingdom again
There are so many pictures that I've decided I am going to do an entire photo album just for the trip.
To summarize, Colby was all about the thrill rides! Nothing there was too scary for him, and he loved the Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror (both at Hollywood studios) the best. He also loved Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. He was tall enough for everything and is definitely ready for the next step- the very scary and fast roller coasters at our local amusement parks. (He was two inches too short this summer for the scariest ones but did get to ride many of them) Another one of his favorite rides was the Haunted Mansion. He loved it and rode it twice- he talked a lot about the "ghost-es"....you know, plural for ghosts. He was not interested AT ALL in seeing any characters at Disney- they were just in his way as he ran to the next ride. (It did baffle me that there were so many kids much older that Colby that were really into the characters and getting their pictures taken with them.)
Miller was just the opposite- she loved all the characters! She took advantage of all the character spots and did not mind waiting in line for special photos with them. I have pictures of her with all of them. She especially loved it when Goofy touched her on the nose. She kept saying "That Goofy is soooo silly!". She also loved the smaller roller coasters and rides- Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster were some of her favorites. I have a feeling she will be following in her brother's footsteps and will be doing bigger roller coasters very soon. Another highlight for Miller was her princess makeover at the Bippity Boppity Boutique. She got her hair, makeup, and nails done, followed by lunch with the princesses at Cinderella's castle. As we walked through the park afterwards, the employees would look at her and say "Well, hello princess!". She loved every minute of it.
Here are my four favorite photos from the trip.
Arriving at the airport and ready to go with special Disney backpacks from Nana and Granddaddy.
The "must take" photo op in front of Cinderella's castle
Two princesses (and a pound of hair spray)
The last day at Magic Kingdom
Here is the rest of our November and December in a very brief summary:
For Thanksgiving this year, Nana and Granddaddy came to visit, and we all spent Thanksgiving Day in Richmond.
All the cousins
Granddaddy became a cat lover on this trip. We gave him this photo framed as a gift for Christmas and I know he looks forward to many more cat gifts.
Two Millers
I loved having lunch with Colby at school. One day he will be too cool for that.
Miller and Colby visited with Santa. Once at the coffee shop....
And they saw the "real" one at the mall.
Our Elf, Kicks, came back and caused lots of hijinks.
Nan came for Grandparents day at Colby's school.
Miller had an adorable Christmas concert with her class. Here she is with her wonderful teacher, Mrs. Susan. (and her red reindeer nose)
I made (my first ever) real cut out Christmas cookies that the kids decorated. Ok, well the cookie mix did come from a box, but I still mixed it up, cut them out, and managed to not burn them.
It snowed on Christmas Eve!
A few photos before church:
Daddy is up to something.
Nan read Christmas books before bed...
and Pop got some snuggles, too.
Santa came!
Savannah was testing out Miller's tent.
Waiting to come downstairs....and this year, we set up a motion detector in the upstairs hallway so that there would be no middle of the night peeking like last year!
Colby had a very Star Wars Christmas and was beyond thrilled. He declared at least ten times "THIS IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!!!!"
Miller loved her new paint and her bead set. She spent most of the day creating masterpieces.
