This was Katie's first year to dance at Robin's Dance Studio, and she loved it! Her class performed a Ballet & Tap number and they were all fantastic. Here are just a few of the
hundred's of pictures taken on the day!

















The finale this year was the Daddy/Daughter dance. After only one practice a very nervous Andy and excited Katie turned up for the rehearsal, and by the end they were ready for the big show! The dancers and the audience loved every minute of it!

Our Walt Disney World Vacation

During our trip I kept an email journal of each day, glad I did b/c I never would have remembered everything in this much detail:

Wednesday, 13 April

2:53 PM

Our Arrival at WDW

We arrived with such ease to WDW! Got on plane easily, and kids were fantastic during the flight. Hopped right off the plane, got our bags and made our way to the Magic Express check in. We were very impressed. We were ushered straight onto a very nice coach and ten minutes later we were off. They played a welcome movie en route which the kids loved. Everyone around us loved Jack especially the driver who got a personal introduction to Jack's Mickey Mouse!

Our hotel was the first stop the bus and it is gorgeous, and we got a great room location. After a quick bite to eat the boys went back to the room to rest and the girls (with the help of the great double stroller waiting for us with our groceries at the hotel) were off to explore the property. Katie was anxious to go swimming and to go on the river cruise that connects our hotel to the downtown Disney area.

We are off soon for our dinner with Mickey, which is a good thing because immediately upon arrival Jack has been requesting him!

More later, stay tuned!

Thursday, 14 April

9:30 AM

Day 1, Magic Kingdom

Chef Mickey’s last night was a huge hit! A quick bus ride to the Magic Kingdom, and then we walked over to the Contemporary hotel. The whole place seemed to be buzzing with excitement, but with a nice early reservation the restaurant was not too chaotic. All of the characters made their way to our table and signed the kid’s autograph books (glad I purchased those immediately) and posed for pictures. Jack was a little weary, but Katie welcomed them all with open arms. They ate good dinners and I was pleased with the buffet as I was able to sneak some veggies on to their plates. They were so excited at the thought of the ice cream machine that they ate every bite.

We did a ride on the monorail back to MK before taking the bus back to our hotel. It was a great way to start off our Disney adventure!

Well after a very rough night (which included multiple bed assignment changes), we managed to make it to the magic kingdom right when it opened. We were greeted by Barbara and her antique fire truck! After a ton of pictures we got a private ride around town square! Then we were pleasantly surprised by a quick trip into the town square theater where we met Mickey and Minnie for another picture session. Afterward, it was straight up Main Street to Cinderella's castle. It was magical for both kids! Then a ride in Dumbo, Prince Charming's carousel, Peter Pan and then it's a small world. Not a bad morning! Lines were not long at all, but you could sense that would be short lived.

Now Katie is having the royal treatment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and the boys are sneaking in some more rides.

Thursday, 14 April

7:30 PM

Day 1 Magic Kingdom, part 2

Well after the boutique the girls and boys were reunited and the boys loved our princess Katie. Jack opted to ride the carousel again with Mommy while Katie and Andy rode Winnie the Pooh. Then it was time for our lunch at the Royal Table in Cinderella's Castle. We were immediately greeted by our hostess herself, Cinderella! After autographs and photos we made our way up the tower stairs to the royal dining room. We were not there long before we were greeted by Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel and Belle! It was amazing. Katie was a little quiet at first, but then she warmed up and was chatty with them. I had a tear in my eye a couple of times; this is what the whole trip was about. The kids had a great lunch which included a princess wand and a sword for our little prince!

After lunch the boys went back to the hotel for a nap and the girls went and rode the tea cups and then saw a 3d show starring Donald Duck (the boys saw the same show while Katie was getting her hair done). Then we saw the Dream Along with Mickey show on the stage in front of the castle and then had great views of the big celebration parade. Again they were both star studded events and Katie was in awe!

We were pretty hot and tired by then so we went into the hall of presidents and caught the 25 minute show and relaxed and chilled out (Katie had a quick cat nap!)

Katie wanted to ride it's a small world again and when we finished the boys met us for another spin around with Peter Pan.

Then we made a dash for Tomorrow land where Katie and Jack took me and Andy around the race track. I think we are both glad they are years away from driver licenses! After that we managed two back to back rides on Buzz Light-year which was the highlight of his day. They were treated to a new Buzz and Jessie from Toy Story!

We were tired and hungry (and a little grumpy) so we went for a hot dog and French fry dinner and all were happy.

We are now back in the room, cleaned up and playing nicely with our new toys and hoping for lights out soon.

Friday, 15 April

3:30 pm

DAY 3 ANIMAL KINGDOM

The animal kingdom was a big hit, but seemed a lot more crowded. We went straight in and caught the Lion King show which once the kids warmed up to it they loved. It was spectacular! Then we were off o Africa and the Kilimanjaro Safari. This was a great ride. We saw lots of game animals, rhinos (black and white), giraffe, hippo, jaguar, flamingo, lion (although it was hardly visible). The big jeep ride itself was very entertaining as we were chasing poachers through the Harambe wildlife preserve.

Then we took a train ride to a conservation area where the kids pet some goats and sheep and we saw a black vulture demonstration. (If we were to go back, we would probably skip this part.. not much more there than what you would find in your local zoo’s petting area)

Then thanks to the great fast pass system we did the safari trek again! At the end we were exhausted and hungry and stopped for chicken nuggets and apples!

Then after a quick walk through Asia we saw some tigers, we decided to head back to the hotel since both kids looked exhausted. So we missed out on a few things, but we did manage to spot Safari Minnie and get a quick autograph. We grabbed some ice cream treats and headed for the bus stop.

On our way now back to the hotel, hopefully for some swimming time before dinner.

Saturday, 16 April

6:51 AM

END OF DAY 3 – Animal Kingdom

After animal kingdom, Jack and I took a nap while Katie and Andy went swimming. Then we caught a river boat from our hotel to the downtown Disney area. It reminded me a little of Kemah, just about 4 times the size. We had dinner at a South American restaurant. We sat outside and when they finished their dinner the kids performed for the whole patio by dancing with the one man band. They had a BLAST! We were pretty entertained as well! I have video!

Before returning on the boat to the hotel we managed a little choo choo train ride.

That was day 3.. On bus now to start day 4 back at the Magic Kingdom.

Saturday, 16 April

2:28 PM

Day 4- Magic Kingdom

What a day! Good thing I kept a running list, or I never would have remembered what we did. On bus now back to hotel to catch naps in hopes of going back to magic kingdom tonight for the electric parade and fireworks!

Here is the rundown of our morning:
Dumbo
Tea cups

Autograph from Alice in Wonderland
Tomorrow Land Speedway
Astro orbiter
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Buzz again
People mover –ride along and see inside some of Tomorrow Land attractions

Monsters Inc show
Buzz Lightyear’s autograph
Carousel of Progress
WDW steam train to Frontier Land
Woody & Jessie autographs (long line, but worth the wait)
Aladdin magic carpet ride
Mickey & Minnie autograph in town square (just a quick one again before lunch)
Lunch at Tony's (from lady and the tramp) in Town Square

Andy and Jack went back to the hotel
Princess autographs (Cinderella, Belle, & Sleeping Beauty). Katie told sleeping beauty that her prince's name was Jack!

Caught the end of the parade with all the princesses again (they sure were quick getting out of the town hall theater to get on their floats)

I can't tell you how many times I have had tears in my eyes on this trip! It was such a perfect age to bring Katie; she has been star struck since we arrived! The emotions for all have been over flowing!
Katie and I head back to the hotel to sneak in the room to nap along with the boys.. we have big plans for the evening!

Saturday, 16 April

10:00 pm

Final trip to MK

Well after good naps we headed back to MK for dinner and the evening festivities.

We had another fantastic character dinner at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eyeore! The kids went nuts (Andy did a little as well ;))! I did not remember who the characters were supposed to be, so it was a nice surprise. An even greater surprise was that they honored our reservation 90 minutes late!

After dinner we made it to two rides, Aladdin and it's a small world before finding a spot to watch the electric parade. Well worth our late naps and late evening. The kids got to see all their favorite characters again from the top of our shoulders. The parade was all lit in bright colors and set to music, done up Disney style! It was a small nightmare getting away from the Castle toward the front gate, but once we found a path we slowly eased out. We did not stay for the fireworks b/c we are already pushing the kids and we have an early breakfast in the morning.

On bus now back to hotel. We have a final character breakfast in the morning before we enjoy some pool time. Bus takes us to the airport at 1 pm.

What a day!!!

Sunday, 17 April

12:48 pm

Our final day :(

We took a bus and then a boat to the Polynesian resort for breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Pluto and Hawaiian Mickey! Great atmosphere and good food. The kids very quickly warmed up to Stitch despite being a little funny looking! Jack finally had a hug for Mickey and with a little prompting thanked him for having us at his resort! Then back to the hotel to pack and then a quick dip in the pool.

We are being spoiled; the resort offers airline check in and baggage check, so we are done. All we have to do is head straight for the gate.

Finishing up our lunch now and the next stop is Orlando's airport.

Goodbye from Disney World!

My top tips for a successful Disney Vacation:

1. If you have young kids.. have a stroller!!! We rented ours from Magic Strollers. It was waiting for us at the hotel when we arrived and we left it with the bell hop when we left.. perfect!

2. As a time and money saver we ordered groceries (snack, breakfast items, & bottled water). They were delivered as well to the room and enabled us to be at the parks bright and early to take advantage of early morning no wait times.

3. Character meals, character meals, character meals! They are the best way to see a lot of characters and avoid those long lines in the heat. The food was good and the characters come to you.. great value for money!

4. We did character meals on our travel days instead of doing the parks, it was a great way to say hello and good bye to WDW,

5. Fast Pass! This is such a great system and really enables you to do more! If you are waiting in line for a ride that you think you might want to do again, grab a FP while you wait. Then when you are done you can just do the ride again (or after a snack break)!

6. We had at least one meal reservation each day, this gave us a focus and enabled us to plan around an event. We had a outline of an itinerary, but had room for changes/diversions.. all in all I think we planed the exact amount, not too much and not too little for our family.

Besties...

Katie has formed a very sweet friendship with a friend from school and fortunately for me and Jack she comes with an adorable & spirited little sister and a mom I truly enjoy hanging out with! The Boettiger girls have become a household name and I constantly hear, "will you call Ms Kathleen to see if Sam and Kaitlyn can come play." We have had a great time with these girls this year and am sure there is more to come!

Spring Break in Mansfield

This was the first year of many where I will appreciate sping break from a different perspective. Long gone are my joyous carefree lazy spring break days of either hitting the slopes or the beach. Now spring break means, "How am I going to entertain all three kids for a week on my own??". Well problem solved.. send one away!

We packed Katie's bag and hit the road and met Meme 1/2 way between Houston and Dallas. They had a fun filled week of movies, shopping, zoo, museum & baking! She spent 4 nights away and spent most of those nights curled up with Meme! Somehow I don't think either one of them minded one bit!

Here's hoping next year I get to send two kids! :)

Katie's first camping "trip"...

We decided it was time to dust off the old tent that hadn't been used since I was about 6 months pregnant with Katie and see if we could have some fun! So up it went in the back yard and the kids thought it was great. It provided hours of entertainment and was the easiest camping trip I have ever been on! With the amenities of our house only steps away, Katie and Andy embarked on her first camp out. We even got out the little BBQ pit and tried to roast marshmallows! It was not overly successful, but we had fun trying!

Jack joined Katie and Andy for story time in the tent and then was nicely tucked up in bed and Katie and Andy were tucked up in there sleeping bags. They had a nice time chatting away until someone couldn't hold her little eyes open any longer and they tried to sleep blissfully under the stars. Unfortunately we live in the city (well maybe not the big city, but it is certainly not rural), and lots of cars drive past the back of our house at all hours. So it wasn't the peaceful nights rest Andy remember from camping during his childhood!

What it did accomplish however was that we might just be ready for a family camping trip come this fall.. if we can find a willing grandparent to keep Luke (Katie is ready, Jack is probably ready, but we are not ready for Luke ;)!!

Traditions...

Well the conversation went along the lines of, "can you remember when we started this?" and "nope, just seems like we have been doing this forever"..

Well at some point in 2010 the Fisher family and the Hanhan family started have weekly play date dinners and it has been a sanity saver! Alternating between each others houses Terez and I have been sharing the joys of post nap time boredom, dinner, and the post dinner chaos once a week. It is by far the single appointment in my diary that I look forward to the most!

The kids absolutely love the time, part of it is getting out of their own home, but it has a lot to do with the friendships that are forming! All six kids get along marvelously and Katie does not seem to mind at all being the lone girl of the group. Don't get me wrong, the play time has had it moments and plenty of time outs and lots of warnings, but certainly not b/c they are not playing nicely, probably more b/c they are just a little too excited to be with their friends. This week we took the jeep out for a test drive for the first time and it was a hit! I can see many more rides to come in the future!

This is one tradition I hope we continue for years and years to come!

A Goal Accomplished

Well after months & months of training, lots of hard work, sweat and probably a few tears (more on my part than his) and completed his first 1/2 Marathon. The kids and I could not have been more proud. It was a cold & rainy day and was not what Andy envisioned for his first big race. But after a lot of planning and taking into accout all the factors at hand, Andy headed out weather proofed as he could be to the starting line.

Terez came and sat with Luke and the big kids and I hit the race course (warm & dry in our minivan) and followed Andy along the course stopping ahead of him, staking our spot and cheering him on! The kids were great little cheer leaders and got very excited to received a high five & kiss from a very soggy Daddy.

More cheers were to come when he got home and showed off the medal.. and now the running bug is firmly implanted and the planning has begun for the next racing season... Go Andy go!