We're back! And oh, what a time we had. Pat and I keep joking with each other because between the kids and us I think we mention Florida/Orlando/Disney at least 25 times a day. We had such a wonderful time. After being away a week and a half it was definitely hard to make the adjustment back. I still have beach sand spilling out from piles of dirty clothes in my living room. I took almost a thousand pictures.

The kids were READY to go from the beginning. They delighted in the fact that their friends were in school and they were missing out!

Ready to leave for the airport, and SIS SPORTING A NEW 'DO! Shortest her hair has been since she was 2!


In the tram at the airport. The kids were great on the flights. Studs had a little bit of a hard time with his ears the first flight to Atlanta, but we chewed and yawned and were able to relieve it.


Arriving at the Orlando airport. The kids got so ridiculously excited about seeing just the statues that they had in the airport, we couldn't imagine how they were going to act the next day!




We stayed at the Marriott Grande Vista right across from Sea World, just 5 minutes from the Disney parks. What a place!


It was huge, with rooms and condo-like homes like we stayed in. It had a ton of stuff to do on site. NUMEROUS pools, fountains, kid's pools, a Pizza Hut, a candy store, etc... The kids loved their playplace that they had.


We went with Pat's parents and his brother, his wife, and 2 kids. Our place was great because we had a large common area and kitchen. Our room and bathroom off of the common area was large and we also had 2 more wings off of the common area where everyone else had their own spaces. There was a ton of room and it was ideal.


Our favorite was the screened in porch where we spent every night relaxing and enjoying the weather and scenery.


This was the pool, fountains, and hot tub that we used b/c it was right downstairs. We also used the main pool area which was 3 times the size of this!






Awww. Paradise. I was not prepared for the weather and did not pack well. I thought it would be cool so I brought lots of jackets, long sleeves, and jeans. Um, wrong. It hit 80 degrees every single day. We swam every day. We went to the beach. I had no idea it would be so wonderful and luckily we had a washer/dryer in our room so we were able to wash our bathing suits and warm weather clothes!


Sooooo much more to come! : )

FALL (in a nutshell)

Wow. Blogging is getting more and more difficult! We are go, go, go all the time. I have been working- a lot- and since my work is done at home in front of the computer I don't have a lot of desire to spend much more time looking at the screen. It's definitely been a whirlwind past few months and I know this will continue on into Christmas.

We are leaving for Disney World next week. Next week! We have had this trip booked for so long we are almost in a state of disbelief that it is here. But it's true! I've been scrambling to get everything in order. Not to mention, I'm preparing for our return when we jump right onto Black Friday and Christmas decorations!

So here is a "glimpse" of our fall (working backwards):

Halloween- Buzz Lightyear and Alice in Wonderland








Sissy's school had an awesome Fall Festival that we attended. The kids got to trick-or-treat at all the classrooms and then have pizza and games:





Sissy and her bf Klara











On Halloween they had a costume parade at her school and then their Halloween parties in the afternoon









Sissy had an amazing soccer season. She truly enjoyed her team and her coaches and she had a blast. The improvements they made were amazing.



School picture day:


In October Sissy performed and road in the parade at Greater Andover Days






With Nana and Great Gma after the parade


I cannot even believe this as I am typing it- but we did not make a family trip to the pumpkin patch this year. We were so busy we really didn't give it a second's thought until literally Halloween. Oh well, surely taking the kids to Disney makes up for that??? I did go w/Studs' class and he had a great time.



And loved the poor kittens that were running all over


Daddy also had a birthday!






So that's it! My next post will be recounting our Disney memories. Ahh- CAN'T WAIT!!!

Speak Now World Tour 2011

Last weekend Sis and I traveled to KC w/my sister for a Taylor Swift concert at Arrowhead. Sissy has been looking forward to it for months and it did not disappoint! Sissy wanted to wear hearts for Taylor, hence our heart shirt and leggings! It was an outdoor concert and we were blessed by a BEAUTIFUL night with no wind and a bright sky.

Our seats were definitely not close, but thanks to technology we felt like we had a front row seat!

Sissy doing her "heart" for Taylor, waiting for her to come out...



Her genuine first reaction upon Taylor appearing...








My pics were not exactly stellar, so I borrowed some from the tour website. This concert was great. No wonder she appeals to young girls, she spoke directly to them, in their language, the whole concert. She was so sweet and so beautiful. Sissy loved the fact that she changed her dress every couple songs. She couldn't wait to see what she would wear next!






Her sets were awesome. And she played many different instruments, from the piano to the banjo. It was very inspiring.


Sissy's favorite was this song/sketch with the wedding, of course!


And she thought the purple dress was the best!


At one point she flies over the crowd. There were a lot of cool ways to involve the audience. At one point they released tiny pieces of paper in the air and with the lights it looked like snow. The kids went crazy and it was sooooo beautiful!




I took several videos of her songs but accidentally erased all but one! So it's not great, but it's a tiny glimpse into what it sounded like.



I am so happy I took her! Usually this is not my sort of thing, I am much more of a Pearl Jam or U2 person and country is definitely not my choice. But she was amazing and Sissy thought it was the best thing she had ever seen. It is great for her to see such a great role model and someone she can look up to! We will definitely be looking for more TS concerts in the future!!!