Disney

We took a four day vacation to Disney World this October. Very FUN! Disney was decorated in Halloween decor. The first day we headed straight for the Magic Kingdom. We were thinking since we were there in Disney's off season, we would have less crowds, (kind of true.) There were no lines for the Flying Carpets with Aladdin or the Pirates of the Caribbean, however, the lines for Its a Small World and Peter Pan were at least 40 minutes! (so we didn't get to do them on that first day.) My favorite ride was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad- a roller coaster for the whole family to ride. It was very fast, had cool Western scenery, had a couple of stomach dips, lasted at least 2 minutes long, and everyone had a smile on their face at the end of the ride.
We were able to see one of the parades and actually be in it. Bella wanted to dance in the street with the characters. We formed a long Congo line and danced around the float. We are about the forth or fifth people behind the man on stilts.
Victoria conquered her fear of meeting new characters by the end of the first day.

We went to Hollywood Studios later on that first day and played on the playground equipment of Honey I Shrunk the Kids- here's the kids jumping on the spiderweb.

We also went on the Star Wars ride and had dinner at the Brown Derby- it was okay, but I wouldn't recommend it for next time. I think we might have pushed it too hard on that first day- Bella was cranky toward the end and Victoria fell asleep at the dinner table.

That night we went to go see the Fantasmic, a firework and laser show about all the different Disney movies- pretty neat. Bella really enjoyed her Mickey Mouse Ice Cream.

The next day we went to Epcot- Jer's favorite theme park. The girl's really liked the Spaceship Earth ride (the one inside the giant silver ball- that transports you from the beginning of time to modern day) and the ride Soarin' (a ride that makes you feel like a bird flying past Redwood Trees that really smell.)

We also went to a character lunch at Epcot in the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall where we met all the princesses. The girls brought their dresses to wear.

Cinderella asked Victoria if she had a Prince Charming in her life. Her expression was priceless and we all cracked up.

In the afternoon, we went back to our hotel Saragotga and went swimming at one of their pools. It had a giant water slide that the girls were thrilled about. The water was freezing but the girls didn't mind.

My Little Mermaid in the hot tub.

On our walk home from the pool, Victoria started to have a major meltdown after seeing all the tiny lizards running across the Florida sidewalks. I didn't have the heart to tell here she had a giant lady bug in her hair.

That night we went back to Epcot and found a good seat to watch the firework show Illuminations.

About half an hour before the show was about to start it started to rain. I had brought ponchos for me and the kids to wear. Jer told me that he didn't want his poncho and that he knew it wouldn't rain, well... thankfully beer doesn't make you feel as cold.

It was a spectacular firework show- one I definitely recommend seeing.

The next day was awful. It rained the entire day. We were cold and wet the entire time. The lines at Magic Kingdom were insane still (crazy?) and the kids cried nonstop. We were not happy- this is the only picture I got with my camera because I didn't want to risk it getting wet. The one good thing that was I guess the highlight of the day was the German food, beer, and chicken dancing at Sommerfest.

On our last day we went to the Animal Kingdom. Jer is posing in front of the giant Tree of Life that has all the animals carved into it.

The rain finally stopped and the sun broke through the clouds just in time for our Kilimanjaro Safaris. ALL the animals came out! Here Victoria and Bella were amazed to see the ginormous hippos in the water. All the animals were 10 feet from our bus. We even got stopped for a couple of minutes when a giraffe refused to move from in front of our bus.

Later we went to Dinoland and rode the Dinosaur ride, a fast paced Time Rover that has you bouncing from dinosaur to frightful dinosaur in the dark. We also went to their playground called the Boneyard. We made dinosaurs roar to life by stepping on their foot prints and slid down the back of a dinosaur.

We had a magical time! (So corny, but true.) All in all, it was a wonderful trip, but we were a bit exhausted when we got home- I guess the mark of a good vacation.

An Early Morning

Saturday morning I woke up at about 5:30 and couldn't go back to sleep, so I figured I'd get some quiet to myself with a cup of coffee and my latest addiction- looking at Pinterest (a website that has a collection of ideas, styles, recipies, fun stuff, etc.) As I'm reading I hear footsteps and go to investigate. Bella and Victoria greet me at the bottom of the stairs with books in hand. They told me they woke up early to watch the sunrise and read a book. Love it.

Bella's Birthday

We celebrated Bella's 5th birthday on Sunday at Pump It Up- a giant building full of bounce houses and slides. FUN!

Daddy and Mommy took turns playing monster and chasing the kids around. I think the kids won this game- a good workout!

The gang.

Bella really wanted a unicorn cake and we looked up on the Internet the type of unicorn she wanted, then Market Place did the rest. I really want to learn how to use an icing bag and draw on a cake- I think I could do it.

I love this picture. Bella had just opened a card from Hannah with a pair of pop out lips that come to give you a birthday kiss.

Bella and the gang had a great time! Success. Happy Birthday Bella!

Blowing Bubbles, Ice Skating, and More

So much has been happening around here, so I'll just start by sharing some of the pictures that I've collected. One day after a birthday party that Victoria attended, Victoria and I decided to take an hour for ourselves, so we went and played hide and seek at a park and took a nature walk. This is her under the tree on our nature walk.
Bella goes to school every afternoon for two hours, but in the mornings we still have our time to play. One day I taught her how to catch a bubble on the stick after you've blown it.

We found out that Bella has grown to over 42 inches this summer, so she asked us to take her to Six Flags to ride a real roller coaster. Of coarse, she wanted to ride the one that her sister has been able to go on the entire summer- the Judge Roy Scream (Victoria's favorite ride). She liked it. Jer took her. He said she was in awe after that first drop and yelled "Mommy!", but after the second drop she was screaming in delight. Later, she also went on the Shock Wave (double looped roller coaster) and Crazy Legs (looks like an octopus that spins and dives). She loved all of them. I preferred the Parachutes. Jer got to ride the New Texas Giant- he said it lived up to all its hype and felt like he was flying.

Victoria is in Girl Scouts this year. They meet once a month and have lots of mommy-daughter things to do, like ice skating at the Stars Arena. This was her first time to skate. I was very surprised to see how natural Victoria picked it up. In the beginning she held onto the rail and used it to scoot around the rink. A couple of minutes later she was holding my hand and skating with me. A couple of minutes after that she was skating all by herself. She fell about three times, but said it didn't hurt. Wow! I don't remember ever learning something so fast- must be Jer's side of the family.

Stephen, Jessica, Stella, and Roman came over Saturday night. The girls put on a Princess show and showed us how to wave like a real princess.

School, Soccer, and Church Fun

With Victoria back in school, Bella and I have been working on writing letters. Last week she made an artwork for her Sadowski grandparents (a picture of her and Grandpa Joe- in plaid- and Grandma Mary) and wrote two letters, one to them and another to Chloe.
"Dear Chloe, How are you? I am fine. I like school and soccer. I miss you. Love, Bella." (Obviously I helped her by writing what she wanted to say on a dry erase board, then she copied that onto her paper.) Victoria is doing great in school. She came home yesterday with this story that she wrote in school all by herself. This year they'll be working on spelling, but it hasn't quite gotten there yet... "I went to my grandma's house (Grandma Carol) for a sleepover. She is a sugar Grandma. She has yogurt pretzels. Her house is awesome. We played dress up together." Precious!

Last Friday, Victoria sang at her school for Friday Morning Live (basically it's their morning announcements and a school wide pep rally for the kids and any parents who want to come.) It was a cute song and I was impressed that she remembered all the words and movements in just less than 2 weeks. I couldn't get any really good pictures of her- the girl in front of her had a side pony tail that kept getting in the way. This was the only picture I got that I could see her whole face- she's in the second to top row beside the blond boy.
It's official. I am now a Soccer Mom! Bella is number 10 on the 4 year old soccer team called Cherry Bombs. She played in her first soccer game on Saturday. It was a blast! Here she is shouting "Cherry Bombs!"

Practicing before the game.

The girls in a huddle before their game started.

The game and my star player :)

Bella scored a goal and was a little surprised, especially since everyone was yelling so loud.

I love her look of determination with her tongue sticking out, she played this way a lot.

Bella got another goal.

It was a great game and she had so much fun.

Victoria went to her first CCD class this past Sunday. They gave her the Hail Mary to memorize, although she really already knows it. After church I decided to take some pictures since we were all dressed up.