M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!!!!

We made it!  We finally got to Disney about a week ago...we've been having so much fun, that I haven't had a chance to sit down and share many pictures.  Today, though, Kyran and I stayed in the camper for a break while Andy, Ben and Grannie and Papaw headed out to Animal Kingdom (since we closed Magic Kingdom down at 2 am last night, Kyran and I thought it would be nice to take a break).

Here are some pictures from the first half of our trip (warning, there are LOTS of pics)!!!

 The "crew" heading down the road...

 ...and, not too long afterwards, lol!

All banded up and ready to go!

Woohoo...we're in the park!!!

Getting Mickey's autograph

Flying like Peter Pan!

The whole gang...pretty excited to meet Mickey!!!

Giggling in line for Pirates (one of our favorites)!

 Ready for a wide safari ride (Ty was such a good sport with all the little ones)!

Crazy monkeys!

 Hugs and kisses for Kermit the frog!

Meeting Lightning and Mater!

 It's pretty hard to top Cinderella!

or Prince Charming!

 Kisses from the evil stepsister

Prince Charming with my little Prince Charming

 One of our favorite spots...dinner with Winnie and friends!

 They were so excited to see Pooh!

 Prince Kyran on his noble horse...off to save the princess!

 Catching the waves with Ariel!

The first week was so much fun...now on to the rest of the vacation!

Finishing the year strong!

Andy and I were invited to the school during the last week for the awards program.  All we were told was that Ben was going to receive an award, but we didn't know what.  We were so proud when we found out he received two awards.  He received the "Honor Roll" award for his academic achievements, and he also received the "Citizenship" award for following the pillars of good character (citizenship, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, and caring).  Each teacher chose one boy and one girl from the class, and he was chosen for his preschool class...super proud momma moment!  

 Standing up to be recognized for the citizenship award

 His certificates

Mrs. Corbolotti and Ben...he's sure going to miss her!  She truly is one of a kind and I'm so happy that she will always be Ben's very first teacher!

Where has the time gone???

I can't believe it!  I'm writing this post with teary eyes because I can't believe Ben is done with preschool.  Where has the time gone?  Where has this year gone?  180 days goes so slowly when you're a kid, but boy does it fly by as an adult!

Ben's school had a wonderful little ceremony for the 49 preschool graduates in the class of 2015.  They were so stinking cute and did a fabulous job.  I have to say, after working 9 years with this program, it was much much different to experience it from a parent's viewpoint.  I definitely shed a few tears!

Ben was lucky, Grandma Debbie, Grandpa Jim, Papaw, Grannie, Eric, Mandi, Ellie and Max all came to celebrate his special day!

 Getting a hug from Mrs. Corbolotti!

 It's official!

 Grandpa Jim, Papaw, Grannie, and Grandma Debbie with the graduate

We're so proud of our little guy!

Happy Mother's Day

This Mother's Day weekend was a great one.  We started off with Ben's soccer game (rain and all), and then the boys and I headed to town to meet Grandma Debbie and Aunt Stacey for lunch.  Stacey brought all of her girls, so the kids were in seventh heaven!  We treated Mom to lunch Walt's Other Pub...they have a whole wall that is dry erase, so the kids had a blast!  I'm telling you what, that is an ingenious idea...the kids were entertained the whole time and Mom, Stacey, and I actually got to visit.

 Kyran and Lucy are two peas in a pod...they're both cute little stinkers!

Ben was so excited for Grandma Debbie to see his "work" on the wall.

After lunch, we headed over to get pedicures.  Now, I love getting pedicures as much as the next person, but I had never gotten one with five kids in tow, lol (especially when two of them are about an hour past their naps).  But, the kids were wonderful.  Kyran and Lucy enjoyed their seats on our laps, taking it all in.  

Katie and Addie were being so good that Grandma Debbie treated them to their very own pedicure.  They were so excited, especially when they painted little flowers on their toes!  Ben and Kyran got treats too, ice cream from Coldstone!

We finished up the day with some shopping and then headed home right before the storm came through.  It was a great day with Mom and Stacey...two of the best moms I know!

Sunday was another great day.  I got to spend the whole day with Andy and the boys, just doing a lot of nothing.  We worked around the house most of the day and then took a drive to try a new pizza restaurant that my students had been telling me about.  After dinner we treated the boys to ice cream at the park, where we ran into friends who were out celebrating with their mom.  

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the day, but I can promise you that it was a perfect one.  I'm so glad that God chose me to be the mother of these two wonderful little boys (even though they can try my patience to the limit), and I'm so thankful for each and every day that I get with them!  

Spring Break 2015

Spring Break this year was a little different than past years.  Usually, we load up and head somewhere for 3-4 days, but we decided to stay around home this year.  Even though we stayed close to home, we made time for fun.  After celebrating Easter, we loaded up the boys and headed to Schaumburg for a surprise trip to Legoland Discovery Center.  Ben had absolutely no idea where we were going...he only knew we were going to spend the night in a hotel.  Needless to say, when we got out of the car the next day and he saw the huge giraffe, he was pretty darn excited!  Kyran did fantastic and had almost as much fun as Ben (I say almost, because I don't think anyone can love Legos more than Ben)!

 The boys loved the "building stations"

 Ben and Kyran built their own Lego cars and then had races down the track!

 I wish I could have bought these huge Legos...Kyran had so much fun with them.

After Legoland, we headed next door to the Rainforest Cafe.  The boys absolutely LOVED it.  I think it was the best lunch we'd ever had...no crying, no running around, and we all were able to eat our lunch at a nice leisurely pace.

 This was not the best picture, but it's the best one I could get of the three of us trying to take a "selfie".  

After lunch, we headed to our last stop, IKEA.  I have always wanted to go, but I've never been in the right area.  Since we were just minutes away, we decided to try our luck with going right at Kyran's nap time.  Lucky for us, he was an absolute angel!

 We're in the check-out line in this picture, and you can see that we are minutes away from a deep, deep sleep.  He was so cute...we found this bath towel and he insisted on wearing it throughout the store.  

Later in the week, I decided to paint our dining room.  I was tired of the green and since I grew up spending almost every spring break painting/re-decorating my bedroom, I thought I'd relive old times.  The picture doesn't really show the true color (it's only one coat), but it's actually a gray/blue.  I love the color and am glad to have the room back in order.

 Ben asked to have a friend over during break, and they had a great time.  The played outside in the mud, played super-heroes, put Legos together, watched a movie, played farm, and just had a fun day doing what boys do!

 We took a break for lunch, uptown, and the boys thought they were big stuff getting to sit up at the bar!

Popcorn and a movie...nothing better!