Disney World, October 2013

For Fall Break we went to Disney World this year.  8 wonderful days!  It was warmer than I thought it would be, between 85 and 90 degrees and very humid.  We bought time share points and stayed in two different condos.  Saratoga Springs for 4 days and Animal Kingdom Lodge for 4 days.  We had a kitchen and had groceries delivered as well as bringing a suitcase of food.  The first night we were there we went to the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.  There were a lot of characters, trick or treating and a great parade and fireworks show.

Katie was supposed to be a Mad Hatter and we were going to buy the hat there, but didn't get it purchased before the party.  The next morning we had a Princess Breakfast at Cinderella's castle.
Emi loved it!  We saw quite a few princesses during our visit, here are just a few of them.

 

We went to the two water parks this time, and they were a lot of fun!  The water slides were really great and the weather was perfect for swimming.

 

 

One of the highlights of the trip for Katie was getting a hug from Stitch at a parade.  She loves Stitch!  She was very adventurous and tried all of the big roller coasters.  She didn't like them all, but she tried them.

 

My mom and sister went with us, we all had a great time! 

Nice photo bomb, Anna!

 

Katie did get her Mad Hatter hat, and this was pretty common, falling asleep on the shuttle.

Even Princess Emi likes to nap with a crown on.

 

While Gregg, Pam and I rode some of the bigger rides, the kids and my mom didn't want to ride, they got to see some characters and go on some other rides.

 

Disney World is not a relaxing vacation.  But we didn't do as much this trip as we did last time.  We pretty rarely went back out in the evening, especially if we went early in the morning.  I am a big believer in going at opening and riding as much as you can before it gets crowded. 

Can't wait to go back!

 

 

 

Katie's 11th Birthday

Katie turned 11 on Sunday.  It was a birthday weekend extravaganza!  On Saturday she had a party and invited 5 friends.  She wanted to have a cooking party.  The kids made their own pizzas, then they made apple muffins and pumpkin cookies.  They also decorated their own cakes.  They had a great time. 

After the party we went to the Castle Pines Fall Festival and then to the fireworks that night.  They never used the fireworks at the Fourth of July, because of the fire conditions.  It was a great fireworks show!  Sunday, Katie had pancakes for breakfast.  Gregg is getting good at making pancake letters for whose ever birthday it is.  We went to church, then in the evening We had chicken divan for dinner and red velvet cake.  We got her a new bike and a photo book.  But the gift she has been playing with the most is a rainbow loom from Grandma Linda.  It was a fun weekend, but I was exhausted by the end of it!

 

 

Labor Day Weekend

Well we are into our 4th week of school already.  We are getting the routine down. Last year, Emi went to school 2 times a week.  This year she is going 4 mornings a week.  It has been a difficult adjustment.  Every morning she asks what we are doing and when I say school, she says "Again?!"  She seems to be doing better this week, maybe because she had Monday off!  Anna got braces a few weeks ago, so that is another adjustment.

 

This weekend we went to my uncle Bill's cabin near Florissant, Colorado.  We left Saturday morning and took the boat out with us.  His cabin is very close to 11 Mile reservoir, so we spent several hours on the lake fishing.  Got to see some family I haven't seen in a long time.  It is beautiful there. 

The girls enjoyed jumping on the trampoline and throwing sticks for the dog Nillie.  My Mom got to see all four of her brothers on Sunday.  They haven't been all together for several years.

 

My uncle Mark also has property there and we got to see his cabin and barn that were built in the 1920's.  The barn is really cool.

 

Home Again

Well we have been home almost 2 weeks.  It feels great to sleep in our own beds! 
School started last week. 

Anna is in 7th grade this year.

 

 

Katie is in 5th grade.

 

 

Emi is in her 2nd year of preschool.

 

We have been getting back into the routine of school.  I actually kind of miss the hotel.  It was so easy to keep everything picked up when we all had a limited number of things.  I didn't have a crazy long to do list like I do at home.  I am always trying to go through things and get rid of more possessions.  It is really hard to do that with all of the kid clutter.  They never seem to want to part with anything!

 

We are going to try to make up for some lost boat time in the next few months.  Last weekend we went to Chatfield just for the morning.

 

And just yesterday,  Gregg and I tried something new, stand up paddle boarding. 

We rented gear in Edwards and drove to a lake in Eagle.  It was kind of far to go, but a beautiful little lake.  Of course the paddle boarding was a little tougher than it looks, but we did okay.  Of course Gregg didn't fall once.  I fell several times, but only in the water once.  I enjoyed it and would love to do it again, Gregg not so much.  Maybe I can do it again the next time we go to Hawaii and he would like to try surfing.  The day was beautiful yesterday and Gregg even did a little fishing.  It was kind of a fun date day for us.  Thanks to Pam for watching our kiddos.

 

 

Manhattan again!

We got up bright and early again this morning to get on the Long Island Railroad to Penn station in Manhattan.  The LIRR was great!  Very clean and nice and it only took about 35 minutes to get into the city. 

 

We got some Starbucks.  It is funny how much Anna and Katie love Starbucks.  Then got on a double decker bus for a tour today.

 

We got off the bus at the World Trade Center to view the 9/11 memorial.  It was very nice and they are still working on construction of the new towers.  Anna and Katie asked a lot of questions.  Anna was just 6 months old when it happened, so they don't really realize how much 9/11 changed us as a nation.  We need to talk and learn about this more when we get home.

 

Next we went to Battery Park and looked at the Statue of Liberty.  Too crowded to go, so we did the free Staten Island Ferry instead and got some good views of the Statue from the boat.

 

We got back on the bus and went around the lower East side, up to the bottom of Central Park and back to Times Square, where we got off and walked to Rockefeller Center.  Katie had seen a sign for a new store for the Cake Boss.  She loves to watch those baking challenges on T.V.  So we walked over there and got a few cookies.

 

At this point it was almost 6.  We didn't really eat lunch, we had some hot pretzels from a cart and an apple we brought from breakfast.  We were getting tired and hungry.  Even with the bus, we walked a lot.  We went to a bar and grill and got some soup and an appetizer sampler, close to Penn station and got back on the train home at almost 8.

 

We are worn out and ready for bed!  The day was great and we had such nice weather!  No rain and about 79 degrees.  Such a difference from that sweltering first weekend.