Farming with Grandpa Jim

Last weekend, the boys and I headed up to my parents for a 4 day weekend.  We hadn't seen them since before our Disney trip, and we were all missing them lots!  Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Jim had planned to haul corn in Friday, and have the boys ride with them.  But, some unexpected medical complications with my Uncle Dave made for a change of plans.  Mom headed north, to the hospital, and I took her place in the truck.  The boys had fun "haulin in" and Ben even got to get in the bin and help sweep up the corn.  It was a nice day helping out Dad.

 It's a little too loud!

 My cute co-pilot for this trip.

My co-pilot doesn't like to stay seated for too long!

Disney...take 2

Well, we've been back from Disney for a couple weeks, but I've just now had time to put the second half of our trip online.  We had so much fun during our entire stay in Disney, and hated to come back home.  But, all good things must come to an end...

Here's a look back on the second half of our trip!

Taking a break from the hot, Florida heat at the campground pool!

 Ben, trying his hand at removing the sword in the stone!

A few weeks before school was out, I realized that Ben's preschool teacher was going to be in Disney at the same time.  So she and I hatched a plan to surprise Ben.  It was so much fun...we went to Tomorrowland Speedway and had Ben look at the cars going by.  When he saw Mrs. C, he just absolutely lit up!  He was so excited to see her.  It was definitely one of the biggest highlights of the trip!

Spending some time with Papaw

 Somewhere, under Stitch is our own little Stitch!  We realized that Kyran certainly shares a lot of the same traits Stitch has!

 Enjoying a night at O'Hanas...getting our Luau on!

Kyran thought the best part of O'Hana's was the cupcake.  Yum!

 One night, Andy and I snuck out with just Ben.  We hit Hollywood Studios and one of our favorite rides...Toy Story Mania!

 Kyran got a kiss from Belle at "Enchanted Tales with Belle".  That was our first time seeing that, and it was a big hit with Kyran.

Ben's favorite ride this time was "Splash Mountain".  I think he rode it 4 or 5 times during the vacation. He rode it twice in this night, even talking me into going (I'm not a fan at all of drops)!

 On our way home, we decided to make a stop in Chattanooga, TN.  We went to the Tennessee Aquarium, and it was hit with all of us.  The boys absolutely loved it!

 Ben, Andy, Kyran and Papaw petting the sharks and stingrays

 I love this picture.  You can just "hear" the excitement in Kyran as he points to the different fish.

Sweet, sweet brothers!  Definitely love these two bunches!

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!