Last Friday I took the three big kids to see The Nutcracker Ballet. We go most years at Christmastime and they love it!
The Tivoli Theatre is a great place for pictures, however we were in a hurry and only got this fuzzy shot.
While we went to the Tivoli, Tad took Jude to the Creative Discovery Museum. We didn't realize that it was a "free" day at the CDM! A plus for us! We ended up taking the big kids to play...can't pass up a free day! I didn't get any good photos of Jude, but got a couple of the other kids.
We haven't been there in a while and it was interesting to see what they gravitated towards to play with...different from when they were little.
A grainy picture, but Jude worked hard on this magnetic Nativity. Glad I saved the kit from last year!
The countdown has begun! We've made paper chains for counting down the days til Christmas, although Jude wants to save his to put on the tree. The kids have a box of little chocolates and each day they get to eat one piece til Christmas. We also have a big advent calendar that we use, and lastly,
Lila and I made this cute craft that counts down the days.
It seems like a lot, but it really isn't that much, and it helps to brighten our mornings in December!
Jude celebrated his 5th birthday on October 15! We've been so busy that we haven't had a birthday party yet, but it's coming up.
We had co-op on his actual birthday. I took made from scratch cupcakes to share with his class. Then we met Tad at Mr. T's for pizza and ice cream. Afterwards, the kids really wanted to stop by the playground, so we stopped for a little while. They had a lot of fun playing together.
Cannot believe Jude is already 5! Drennan told him he is now a big boy, so Jude really likes to tell people he is 5 years old.
I've given up on trying to blog major events because let's face it I just don't have the time to sit at the computer that long. BUT I can get a little time in here and there to make some shorter posts.
We've been plugging away at school this year. I can't believe it's already the end of September! We've been busy with school, soccer, church, scouts, and music.
I managed to get a snapshot of Lila in her cute Alvin and the Chipmunk pjs that she decided to leave on, on this particular day. She's working in her school corner (that she keeps adding decorations to!).
I'm pretty sure that coffee mug had a little coffee that Micah fixed himself. Guess he thinks he's as tired as I am in the mornings.
I'm not sure where Drennan was during this photo shoot. Apparently he was not in the room since I don't have any photos of him. Next time...
Today was Twin Day at co-op. Drennan and Micah dressed alike. I added Jude into the mix with them. Lila dressed like a friend. They were soccer twins.
It seems I never have time to post on my blog anymore. If I ever have the chance to sit at the computer for longer than a few minutes, then one of the kids almost always asks to use it. And between school, soccer, and the regular running around, I usually choose laundry over blogging. Gotta have those clean clothes!
This time, however, I wanted to take the time to post a picture of Jude. One morning a couple of weeks ago he decided he wanted to be a policeman at co-op. So, instead of arguing, I just said to go ahead and be a policeman. He made such a cute one that I snapped a photo.
We didn't get a lot of pictures at Magic Kingdom this year. It was so hot and we were still so tired from our day of travel that we weren't thinking straight. But we still managed to capture some of our day.
In order to get to the Magic Kingdom you have to travel by monorail or ferry. We normally travel by monorail, but on this morning the ferry was the only way in. The kids liked traveling by water, but I don't think we'll take the ferry again....it took too long.
I have finally gotten the chance to get some more of our Disney World pictures off the camera. There were so many pictures from Epcot that were different from the ones I took with my phone, so I had to share them.
We were the first ones in line at Epcot Character Spot. Possibly because most of the people go to the rides first. Tad and Drennan had gone to ride something else, so the rest of us stood in line. We were technically there at 8:55 and they didn't let us in til 9.
What we didn't know was that the coolest thing about being first in line is Mickey Mouse himself comes out to greet you, hold your hand, and walk with you to where you can have your picture taken!
The next two pictures were taken right before a thunderstorm came. The clouds made great shade for pictures.
After standing in "France" under shelter for 10 minutes to keep from being lightning struck, we ventured on to "Great Britain" to eat. The fish and chips were really good. Everybody liked them!
Then we went into the gift shop in Britain because it started raining again. Fortunately, Mary Poppins walked in right behind us! You can see that Jude looks soaked.....and Mary Poppins looks perfect. I guess she used her umbrella.
While signing autograph books, Mary Poppins was asking the kids who kept their room the tidiest.
Final shot of the evening. The weather was still looking dreary, we were exhausted, and every step we took made wet, squishy sounds, so we decided to call it a night at Epcot.
We decided to go on a hike Sunday afternoon since we recently purchased a pass for Cloudland Canyon. It was a lot of fun, but being Memorial Day weekend it seemed everyone else had the same idea!
On the way back we wished we had a kid backpack carrier. Jude was very tired of walking after running down and then back up the trails. Maybe he can build his leg muscles up before our next hike! :)
