Disney World Vacation ... Day 1

Day 1

Sunday, January 19th.

We had a 10:00 am flight so we left our house around 7:30. We got to the airport, got checked in & through security (& thanks to the kids we did all this way quicker than Nick thought we would because they let us skip all the lines!) & then sat down & ate breakfast. 

I had to include this picture from breakfast because Alex being silly & the smirk on Addy's face literally makes me laugh out loud everytime I look at it!

This was the first time flying for both of the kids.

And they both did great!

But I mean, they pretty much had it made with their iPads & headphones!

We landed around 1pm Orlando time. Then we got our rental car (a Cadalliac SRX) and headed to our condo. Which was awesome! Once we were settled in, we went to Chili's for dinner & then to Downtown Disney to look around.

While at Downtown Disney, we went to the Lego store.

Rode the ferry from one side of the boardwalk to the other.

Went to Goofy's Candy Co.

Rode the carousel 

And ended the night with Nick & the kids talking selfies while I got us a delicious brownie sundae from Ghiradelli!

By the time we left, we were all four exhausted & both the kids were in tears :( Alex was sad & said he missed our house. And Addy couldn't find her C! We retraced our steps & just hoped that it was either in the car or back at the condo. And luckily it was. She had left it in the car. (And so for the rest of the trip, C was not allowed to leave the condo!)

We had a long but good first day!

Photo Shoot

Here are all the pictures from the mini session photo shoot that the kids did a couple of weeks ago...

(Photos taken by Dawn Wibben)

I just absolutely love all of them!

Lately...

Here's what we've been doing the past couple of weeks...

Alex went to a friend's birthday party. There were sack races, a pinata & a bounce house. He had a blast playing with all his little buddies from school!

The kids and all Alex's play group friends had a knights & princesses photo shoot. It was the cutest thing ever! Alex is the knight in red & black.

And here's my little princess!

After the knights & princesses photo shoot, the photographer did a mini session with just my kiddos. 

(These are obviously not the professional photos, but this is right after the shoot was over. I got the photos last week so I'll try to post them for y'all tomorrow.)

I went to the eye doctor & found out that I needed glasses (just a slight prescription that I don't have to wear all the time, mostly just when working on screens or driving at night.) So Alex & I went glasses shopping. I ended up getting these.

And Alex wanted to get these!

We had a Girl Scout meeting where Addy learned about money & earned leaves to go under her Daisy petals. We also went on a field trip to the bank where she got to go behind the counter & see the machine that counts the money, deposit slips, a counterfeit bill & stuff like that. 

And of course, as I'm sure you all know, last week we went to Disney World!

(Blog posts on our trip coming soon!)

My New Year's Resolutions

I don't make a big deal of New Year's Eve. 

I don't go out & party. I don't watch the ball drop or New Year's Rocking Eve or any of those shows. I don't eat black eyed peas & cabbage or whatever the traditional foods are on New Year's Day. But I do make resolutions.

This year I made 3 New Year's resolutions. 

Here they are...

1. Lose 20 lbs... that I gained since starting crossfit. I know that some of the weight I gained was muscle, but definitely not all of it was. I really let go of making healthy food choices & stopped cooking as much as I used to. So I need to get back to that & lose those 20 lbs I gained.

2. Run 500 miles... I haven't been running as much since I've been doing crossfit. But I'm stopping crossift & want to get back into running. It feels good, clears my head & keeps me thinner! 500 miles sounds like a lot, but really it's quite manageable. Breaks down to just 10 miles a week. (I'm already at 8 for the year so far, just 492 to go!)

3. Update my blog at least once a week... I write this blog not only so my family & friends can see pictures of the kids & keep up with our family, but also for myself. I'm not into scrapbooking, so this is my way that I can have all my pictures & memories nice & organized. So I get disappointed when I fall behind. I'm hoping to write more than once a week, but at least once a week will keep me happy!

And there you have it, my 3 simple resolutions. 

They should be easy enough to keep, don't you think?

Happy New Year

New Year's Eve has come & gone.

We had a nice quiet night at home with the kids.
We watched football & ate gumbo.
And sat outside & watched fireworks in the neighborhood.
(We didn't stay outside for long though because it was COLD!)

Alex fell asleep around 10:30 & Nick made it til about 11.
And Addy & I made it all the way til midnight.
(She asked to go to bed right after midnight, but she still made it!)

2013 was good to us & I'm sad to see it come to a close.

But I know that 2014 is going to be great too!

We're going to Disney World in January (in just 2 weeks!) & I'm going to Hawaii in Feburary! And Nick & I are talking about taking a trip to celebrate our 13 year anniversary in September.
Alex will turn 5 this year & will start Kindergarten!!!
Addy will turn 8 this year & go into 2nd grade.
And Nick & I will both turn a year older this year too. Lol.
If you want to know how old we'll be, just add 30 to each of the kids ages. (That's how I remember how old we are because I always seem to forget. Sad but true!)

And those are just some of the things that I know will happen. I'm sure there will be lots of other great things to come this year.

Happy New Year to you!

Lately...

Here's what we've been doing lately....
(And by lately, I mean like the last 3 or 4 months!)

We went to my cousin Amanda's wedding.
 Alex & Chloe had a lot fun dancing.

But Alex was really disappointed that he didn't catch the bouquet :(

Alex had safety week at school. He learned all about what to do if he comes in contact with a stranger (run, yell & tell), how to call 911 & all about firefighters.

The kids and I went to Chloe's 3rd birthday party.

Addy really got into the Peppa Pig theme!

And Alex tried to catch a duck! 

(There was a pond right outside of where the party was held.)

We got a new kitten. She is an all black cat & we named her Sasha.

Addy loves her!

We went to Minute Maid Park

where we participated in the Buddy Walk in honor of Addy's good friend Norah.

Alex learned about Thanksgiving at school and had a Thanksgiving party.

And Addy had a drum parade & a Thanksgiving feast at her school.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Nick's family & Maryse came & ate with us. The kids were really excited to get to spend some time with their big sister!

And we also celebrated with my family at my sister Kelci's house.

I ran the 10th annual fun run at Addy's school. It's a 5K & this was my 3rd year to run in it. I finished with a time of 25:36, which is an 8:04 pace. I'm not sure what place I came in though because the chipped times were totally screwed up. 

We went to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate Alex's friend Carson's 4th birthday.

And Addy had a blast rocking out on the guitar! 

(I absolutely love this video!)

Addy had her Girl Scout Christmas PJ Party. The girls played games, made smores & watched a movie. It was lots of fun! Roasting marshmallows was Addy's favorite part!

Mom, Brooke & I went on the Ft. Bend Casa Home Tour where we saw lots of beautiful houses all decorated for Christmas. 

And last weekend we celebrated Christmas at my Aunt Susan's house with my mom's side of the family. Love these people!

We've also had karate and crossfit and Girl Scout meetings and Girl Scout activities and school and volunteering and vet appointments (you wouldn't believe the shot schedule for a kitten!) and everything else!

Christmas with the Stricklands

By Thursday, Nick was starting to feel a little better, so we went to Lumberton for a few nights so that we could celebrate Christmas with his family.

Thursday night, the kids made a gingerbread train.


Addy was more into decorating it

And Alex, well he was more interested in licking the icing off his fingers! 

Friday night, Nick's brother & his family came over for our Christmas celebration.

First we opened presents (priorities guys!!)

And after that, we ate dinner (which was a giant pot of gumbo that I made) and then played cards (or 'shuffle' as Alex calls it!) It was fun night (even though Nick won the game & beat me by one measly point. I'm just a little competitive, lol, just a little!)

Here are a few family pictures of the Stricklands...

Nick, Eddie, Pat & Wayne (just missing Trinia)

Grant, Tracey, Jules & Wayne

And Us (the next morning before we left because we didn't get a picture that night)