A Visit with Uncle Ross and Aunt Ashley

This past weekend we got a visit from Uncle Ross and Aunt Ashley. They were going to be in the neighborhood, so we invited them over for dinner, drinks, dessert, and play time with the kids.

I made steak fajitas, corn cake, rice, and Chocolate Eclair Dessert (thanks for the recipe Heidi!) and we watched NCAA basketball games while we ate then played afterward. As usual, Ross and Ashley didn't come empty-handed as they can't help themselves from getting stuff for the kids. This time it was a "Toy Story" ball pit for Aidan and three movies for Ava ("Annie", "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and "The Princess Bride").

Trying out the new digs:
I guess Aidan thought Uncle Ross needed a goldfish cracker to compliment his margarita:

This girl loves her Aunt Ashley:
One of the things Ava (and Ashley) were looking the most forward to was playing with the dollhouse they bought Ava for Christmas):
Thanks for the visit guys. We had a wonderful time, and you're always welcome to come back any time :)

"Tige"

Last year for Sean's birthday, I bought him a Kinect for his XBox, and conveniently enough, Santa brought the game "Kinectimals" for the kids. In this game, you get to make your own pet wild cat and make it do tricks and play games to earn points and money to buy furnishings for their pet's home.

One day last week, Ava was playing with her cyber-tiger she appropriately named Tige (pronounced tie-gee), when her REAL cat started feeling needy. This goes to show that as cool as cyber-pets are, they really are no substitute for the real thing:

Celebrating 40 Sweet Years

As promised, here are more images from the surprise anniversary party. It completely went off without a hitch! The location was great, the food delicious, and the staff made everything perfect.

We had the sun room of the restaurant all to ourselves, and to keep it more of a surprise, they had some pretty white curtains blocking off some of the room. When the host was "seating" us he asked if we wanted a booth and I told him we preferred a table. He brought us around the corner and said, "How's this?" I think the look on my parents' faces says it all:
They really couldn't believe it and still talk about it today. When throwing a surprise party there's always that feeling of "Can I pull this off?" at the lunch, I went through all the little fibs I had to tell to keep it a secret.

Uncle Ross and his little miss:
Sassy boy (post-nap on Pepaw's lap):
Ethereal Ava:
In the room, I had a table set up with their wedding album and a framed wedding picture. When my parents asked me how I got their album, I told them the truth: a couple months ago when we visited them at their house, I just grabbed it and put it in my car. NO CLUE!!
I realize this pic should maybe have been up a bit earlier - oh well. Love this shot:
We were very fortunate in the fact that of all the people we invited, there were only three invites that had to be declined - with huge regret. I had most of the addresses, but needed to grab a few and when my Dad asked how I got them, I told the truth again: I asked my mom if I could check an address in her address book. I must be very convincing and a natural sounding liar. Is that good or bad?
A shocked momma and her devious daughter:
Cutting the cake just like they did 40 years ago:
A pretty decent shot - both kids facing the camera is a always a victory in my book:

Aidan Picasso and Ava Degas

One of the first signs of warmer weather is a little play time outside after dinner. And one of the first things our kids reach for is their sidewalk chalk. It is always fun to see what their creative little minds will come up with!

Genius at work. There's that tongue out again - means he's really concentrating and cannot be bothered:

I never would have thought Aidan would be able to draw people with so many features at this young an age. I think Ava was closer to 4 when she started getting really detailed with her people. Below you will see Aidan's rendition of our family - well at least three of us - according to him, he got bored so he didn't draw Ava (L to R: Mommy, Daddy, Aidan):

"Tiger":

"Cooper":

Chalk drawings are obviously very dangerous and proper safety should always be practiced. Good thing Ava was wearing her helmet:

She drew the stars by herself!

"Mommy":

Surprise 40th Sneak Peek

Our photographer Sara gave us a sneak peek of the images from the surprise 40th party. I am definitely liking what I am seeing so far and can't wait to see the rest. I thought I'd share some with you as an appetizer of more to come.

My mom HATES having her picture taken, so I hope she's not mad at me! But I do love this picture because you can tell they still love each other after 40 years:
My mother-in-law was so wonderful and handmade all the centerpieces for the tables. Since making all the centerpieces for Ross and Ashley's wedding, she's been "hired" to make them for several other weddings AND is making them for Drew's after-prom party:

The candlelight and the warm colors in the room made for a very pretty afternoon atmosphere. For the favors, I researched the various candies from the 1970s, and put together little boxes containing things like rock candy suckers, candy bracelets, Rolos, York Peppermint Patties, Laffy Taffy, and a few others:
The very pretty cake table:
I promise I will share more once I get the CD. Thanks again, Sara - you are the best!

Happy 40th, Mom and Dad!

Technically, their anniversary in February 19th, but we celebrated today with a surprise party! For months, Sean and I have been working very hard and very secretly to put together a party to celebrate my mom and dad's 40 years of marriage. And much to our delight...THEY HAD NO CLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had lots of dear family and friends come to celebrate. Some were from here, and some drove in from Ohio and Michigan to pay tribute to them. It was priceless to see the looks on their faces when they walked in - I even got a little teary-eyed myself.

Alas, I have no pictures YET. I never managed to even get my camera out of my purse - but we had our photographer and family friend Sara come to take pictures. I promise as soon as I get the CD I will share the special day.

Until then - for all of you who were at the party and also read our blog, a huge THANK YOU from the bottoms of our hearts. You truly made this a magical day!

Hugs and kisses

xoxoxo

Florida Vacay: The Long Journey Home

All good things must come to an end, and sadly, vacation is no exception.

We knew that because we had to turn our rental car in at 5:00 in the evening, and that our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until roughly 9:00, it was going to be a long night. Turns out, we had no idea just how long...

When we checked in at the ticket counter we were told, "Bad news, your flight's been delayed an hour. We can get you on a different flight if you want." We thought since it was only an extra hour, we'd tough it out. This was a hard decision especially since also at that moment Aidan was freaking out thinking someone was going to take his carry-on away from him. The nice girl at the ticket counter made them special tags for their bags so no one would take them.

We proceeded to go through security. Remember how well I said the kids did going to Florida? Well, this time, Aidan proceeded to have ANOTHER meltdown - this time worrying that someone was going to take his shoes away forever. Somehow during the entire trip, we were blessed with many understanding people who never seemed to mind his antics.

Once that episode had passed, we got to the gate and learned our flight had been delayed yet again. We were trying to decide what to do, and Sean thought it would still be best to wait it out, so wait we did.

The kids did a great job eating dinner, so we treated them to Maggie Moo's ice cream and they were so good eating that too:
Daddy being the resourceful guy he is, quickly pulled up a couple movies on his laptop to help pass the time:
Little did we know we would have time for the kids to watch two full length movies while we were waiting. When all was said and done, we were in the airport for 6 1/2 hours. But the kids were absolutely amazing:
Eventually we learned the delay was a result of some "mechanical problems" with the plane coming to get us. Upon learning this, I proceeded to have a meltdown of my own - crying and sobbing and fearing four our lives (a little dramatic, I know, but you know me and flying). We found out they couldn't fix the plane, so they sent a new one and I was magically cured! For our troubles, each passenger on the plane was given a free round trip ticket. Yay?

All in all, vacation was great. It of course was stressful at times like any family vacation should be. I would do all over in a heartbeat to be able to experience some of the great memories we made.

Florida Vacay: The Everglades Wonder Garden

Our last day in Florida, we had a few hours to kill before heading to the airport. Since Ava had thrown up twice the day before on her way back to the condo from Orlando (once in the car, and once in the parking lot at dinner that night) and we didn't feel like dealing with wet swimsuits in our suitcases, we needed something to do. This is when Sean goes all Clark Griswold and finds something cheesy and touristy to do.

That's how he found the Everglades Wonder Garden. It is apparently one of the oldest animal sanctuaries dating all the way back to 1936 where a guy began rescuing injured or abandoned everglades creatures and keeping them in his backyard. The backyard eventually became the Everglades Wonder Garden where tourists like us can spend $44 (with coupon) for our family to walk through and see the wildlife.

The kids do love animals, so they had fun! I must admit alligators freak the crap out of me! I felt very faint each time one of the kiddos got close to them:
Dr. Aidan Doolittle doing some "duck whispering":
The tour was very educational! We learned why some flamingos are really bright pink and why some aren't - the more shrimp they eat, the pinker they are because of the high levels of iodine in the seafood. Who knew?
This momma bear and her cubs weren't part of the exhibit, but they were seen meandering through the garden:
The sweet deer. Ava got to feed him some corn, and he became her BFF:
Sean's favorite. These turtles were getting their grub on when we were there. Turns out they really like them some carrots and salad. This one looks like it motor-boated the carrots something fierce:

I have never seen turtles move this fast - if at all:
CREEEPY! Can't you just imagine little fingers going through the cage?:
And our very brave tom girl. Add this to the resume of creepy animals she has pet (the list includes numerous snakes):

Florida Vacay: DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The biggest highlight of our vacation was of course our day at Disney World. For all of us, it was our first visit. It was a strange day because there were lots of really good "highs" but there were some pretty big "lows". There were a few times when Aidan had a complete meltdown (about 4 times) and he also had a blowout mess and destroyed his shorts. Of course I didn't have a spare, so I was sprinting through the park to find something to put on him. $40 later, he was the proud owner of a spiffy "Toy Story 3" sweatsuit. However, by the end of the night, all of those "lows" seemed to be canceled out by the priceless moments we had.
The first stops of the day were The Pirates League for Aidan and the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for Ava, Emma, and Laney. Sean took Aidan to The Pirates League to get transformed into a pirate. Apparently he was taking his gig very seriously and had a very stern look on his face the entire time.

Before being made over, the kids spin this wheel to determine their pirate name. Aidan was hereby dubbed "Christopher Damploather":
On his way to becoming a very scary skeleton pirate:
And in all his pirate glory. Arrrr:
Meanwhile...at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, the girls were getting their pretty on by becoming Disney princesses. Emma wore her Tiana costume from "The Princess and the Frog", Laney was Princess Aurora from "Sleeping Beauty", and Ava was "Snow White".

Talk about the red carpet treatment! The packages at the boutique range anywhere from a simple hair-do, up to the mid-range that also included nail polish and make-up, and the pimp package that added a princess costume. We opted for the mid-range and brought our own costumes. If you have a daughter ages 4-8 we HIGHLY recommend doing this! The entire day, the girls were greeted by the staff as princesses and were bowed down to a few times. Also a bit more to come on that...
The diva getting her first professional manicure:
The Fairy Godmothers-in-training keep the chairs turned away from the mirror during the make over to keep the big reveal a surprise. One of the last things they do before spinning the girls around is sprinkle "fairy dust" on their heads as they make a wish:
The big reveal. Doesn't she look stunned?
The princess on her throne (prom queen-in-training):
The three princesses:
We met up with Sean and Aidan and I got to see my pirate for the first time, and Sean got to see his princess for the first time. Talk about precious!
Oh yah...can't forget the cool hat:
The princesses and the pirate. These kids got SOOO much attention from the staff and guests:
And one of Ava's big highlights of the day. We were standing by watching Mary Poppins and her band perform some songs. When they were finished, Mary started to skip off to the area where she gives autographs and take pictures with the kids, when she spotted Ava and grabbed her by the hand. They skipped and danced several hundred feet with mobs of people following them. Every so often, Mary told Ava she was going to spin, and spun our little princess along the way:
Kids stand in line for at least a 1/2 hour to get this close to a character. Ava was lucky to be the first to be photographed. Mary was so sweet and lovely!
Mommy and Ava on Dumbo:
Sarah and Sean took Emma and Ava on Space Mountain. I was too nervous to take her (I'm not scared of the ride, I was scared thinking about my little girl being on that ride). Sarah and Sean played it right by not telling the girls anything about the ride. We're so proud of them for being so brave...although I think their faces may make you think otherwise:
Aidan, on the other hand, attempted to wait in line to meet Buzz Lightyear. This is one of the meltdowns I referenced earlier, and this is as close as he got:
Once the Electrical Parade began, all the meltdowns and blowouts that happened were wiped away from my mind and seemed to be all worth it as I watched the kids in sheer awe of the sights:
We squeezed in a family shot in front of the castle:
Remember all the attention I mentioned earlier? It continued during the parade! Alice from "Alice in Wonderland" looked down at Ava from atop her float, curtsied and said over her microphone"Well, hello your majesty!" The Dwarfs stopped to bow to the girls, and the best of all was when Snow White spotted Ava and came all the way over to her and said, "Oh, my twin!" Then she gave Ava a kiss on her forehead!! I tried to snap a pic, but the camera was very slow with all the lights. I did manage to capture the lipstick mark:
Pretty:
Daddy and his princess at the end of the night:
There were several quotes made by the kids that made my heart get all tingly and happy (and even a little teary-eyed):

• Ava (during the Electrical Parade): I must be dreaming!
• Aidan (waiting for our shuttle...unsolicited): I love you Daddy, thank you!
• Ava (leaving the park and hearing "When You Wish Upon a Star"): I guess dreams really do come true!
  

Live footage of Ava with Mary Poppins! Please excuse the orientation - I was trying to snap pics and grab this video and didn't flip it around. Sean assures me he can fix this, but we wanted to share anyway: