Laura Ann was thrilled to bake pumpkin spice cookies today!!! Yum!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Operation Christmas Child
Saturday, November 12, 2011
A Visit from the Johnsons!
Laura Ann & Lee
The winner of the family photo session for their Christmas card!
I have so been missing my sweet friend, Natalie, since she moved to Albany in July & was super excited when she called to say that they would be in town this weekend! Dan volunteered to keep the kids Saturday for us to go to lunch. We did & had a great time catching up. We sat on the porch for the whole afternoon while the kids ran wild!!!
They all came back over Sunday after church to do a Christmas card photo shoot.....such a beautiful family!
They played & played & played outside & finally ended up sliding down our hill!!!
I have so been missing my sweet friend, Natalie, since she moved to Albany in July & was super excited when she called to say that they would be in town this weekend! Dan volunteered to keep the kids Saturday for us to go to lunch. We did & had a great time catching up. We sat on the porch for the whole afternoon while the kids ran wild!!!
They all came back over Sunday after church to do a Christmas card photo shoot.....such a beautiful family!
Katherine's Party
Friday, November 11, 2011
A Cowboy Celebration
The Cowboys celebrated the end of their season at the bowling alley tonight. They all had a blast & I think it is safe to say that God gave boys a few extra doses of the 'competitive spirit'.....wow! The funny thing is that Laura Ann, who could care less, WON!!!! Yes, you read it right.....she beat Daniel and every single ones of his teammates! It was only her second time to bowl......who knew? Maybe bowling is going to be her thing!! Ha Haaa!!!
Veteran's Day
These three spent Veteran's Day just like they did last year.....playing outside ALL DAY LONG!!!! They did finally come in for a late lunch & we talked about why they were out of school today. Boy, were they informed! Way to go first grade teachers! Daniel & Jeb prayed before we ate & were so sweet to include veterans, their sacrifices & their families in the prayer. Our freedom in the nation comes at such a high price. I am so, so thankful for all of the sacrifices made by veterans past and present. What a blessing it is to live in this country! I offered to take them downtown to the parade, but as usual, they wanted to stay home & play. Happy Veteran's Day!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Laura Ann's 4K Pictures
Monday, November 7, 2011
Day Seven.....Heading Home
And this is how our Disney trip ended........at "home, sweet, home" (Laura Ann said as we turned onto our street), with a mountain (or 2) of laundry!
This past week has literally been FULL OF FUN!! We have all had a blast & are looking forward to our next trip to Disney. Yes, the kids are already planning it. I think it is safe to say, though, that this family of home bodies is ready to be HOME. I can't wait to sleep in MY bed tonight!!!
Oh, and I had to document what my kids do at the airport (please excuse Daniel's hair). No, not play on a DS (even thought he had one in his backpack) or on my phone. My kids are in the floor (I know it is gross, but I was too tired to fight the battle), playing with cars & coloring! We were home by lunch and they spent the rest of the day doing the exact same thing......
Oh, and I had to document what my kids do at the airport (please excuse Daniel's hair). No, not play on a DS (even thought he had one in his backpack) or on my phone. My kids are in the floor (I know it is gross, but I was too tired to fight the battle), playing with cars & coloring! We were home by lunch and they spent the rest of the day doing the exact same thing......
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Disney Day Six
Today was our Epcot day, but this is how we spent a lot of it!!!
I learned today that the James family doesn't need to do a day 6 at Disney. We were all SO TIRED today!!! After a late breakfast this morning, we headed to Epcot. We rode our all time favorite ride, SOARIN, and Laura Ann got to join us this year. She loved it as much as the rest of us! We had time to ride Nemo and then it was time for our Princess Lunch at Akersus in Norway. My camera wasn't working this day, so most of the pics are with my phone & aren't that great. When we finished with lunch it started sprinkling & we made the decision to nix our plans for the rest of the day & head back to our resort. I kept offering to stay, but Daniel & Laura Ann were ready to for some rest. We napped, well all of us, except Laura Ann & just relaxed in our room for the afternoon. I was hoping to go to Downtown Disney for dinner & some shopping tonight, but the 3 lazy bums in the pic above out-voted me! We ended up eating at the resort for dinner & watching movies. Our super fun trip is coming to a close......we will be heading home tomorrow!
I learned today that the James family doesn't need to do a day 6 at Disney. We were all SO TIRED today!!! After a late breakfast this morning, we headed to Epcot. We rode our all time favorite ride, SOARIN, and Laura Ann got to join us this year. She loved it as much as the rest of us! We had time to ride Nemo and then it was time for our Princess Lunch at Akersus in Norway. My camera wasn't working this day, so most of the pics are with my phone & aren't that great. When we finished with lunch it started sprinkling & we made the decision to nix our plans for the rest of the day & head back to our resort. I kept offering to stay, but Daniel & Laura Ann were ready to for some rest. We napped, well all of us, except Laura Ann & just relaxed in our room for the afternoon. I was hoping to go to Downtown Disney for dinner & some shopping tonight, but the 3 lazy bums in the pic above out-voted me! We ended up eating at the resort for dinner & watching movies. Our super fun trip is coming to a close......we will be heading home tomorrow!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Disney Day Five
Game Day at Animal Kingdom
We went back to Hollywood Studios this morning for a quick breakfast at Hollywood & Vine & then headed to Animal Kingdom for the rest of the day. This park is our least favorite of the four, but we hit our favorite things there, The Lion King Show & the Kilimanjaro Safari & added a new favorite......the Expedition Everest roller coaster. Laura Ann road it with us a couple of times & tolerated it, but Daniel LOVED it!!! We met up with the Bryants again for a little while & then headed to our dinner at the Garden Grill in Epcot.
I should mention two B.I.G. things about today. One is that today was Dan's birthday.....and what better way to celebrate than at DISNEY?!? Needless to say, he was SO EXCITED to be here today! Ha! And the other big thing about today was that 'the game of the century' (as it is being called among the sports talk circuits), between Alabama & LSU was played tonight. Sooooo, there was much anticipation throughout the day leading up to this. The four of us had dinner & celebrated Dan's birthday with a slice of birthday cake & a candle this evening. The kids loved it & now both of them want to have their birthday 'parties' at Disney!! What a great idea! Then we headed back to our resort & met the Bryants again. The Daddys watched the game at the bar, while the Mommys & kids hung out on the playground. I had the kids in bed by halftime & watched the 2nd half in our room. The game definitely did not go our way & was a heartbreaking loss! :-( The good news is that we have one more day here!!! And I have to give a huge, big shout out to Dan for giving up our tickets to tonight's game for our family vacation. You are THE BEST DADDY!!! Happy Birthday to you!!! Maybe next year you'll go to the game & the TIDE will win for your birthday!
We went back to Hollywood Studios this morning for a quick breakfast at Hollywood & Vine & then headed to Animal Kingdom for the rest of the day. This park is our least favorite of the four, but we hit our favorite things there, The Lion King Show & the Kilimanjaro Safari & added a new favorite......the Expedition Everest roller coaster. Laura Ann road it with us a couple of times & tolerated it, but Daniel LOVED it!!! We met up with the Bryants again for a little while & then headed to our dinner at the Garden Grill in Epcot.
I should mention two B.I.G. things about today. One is that today was Dan's birthday.....and what better way to celebrate than at DISNEY?!? Needless to say, he was SO EXCITED to be here today! Ha! And the other big thing about today was that 'the game of the century' (as it is being called among the sports talk circuits), between Alabama & LSU was played tonight. Sooooo, there was much anticipation throughout the day leading up to this. The four of us had dinner & celebrated Dan's birthday with a slice of birthday cake & a candle this evening. The kids loved it & now both of them want to have their birthday 'parties' at Disney!! What a great idea! Then we headed back to our resort & met the Bryants again. The Daddys watched the game at the bar, while the Mommys & kids hung out on the playground. I had the kids in bed by halftime & watched the 2nd half in our room. The game definitely did not go our way & was a heartbreaking loss! :-( The good news is that we have one more day here!!! And I have to give a huge, big shout out to Dan for giving up our tickets to tonight's game for our family vacation. You are THE BEST DADDY!!! Happy Birthday to you!!! Maybe next year you'll go to the game & the TIDE will win for your birthday!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Disney Day Four
Magic Kingdom
We spent the morning at the resort 'resting' or at least that was my plan. Don't be confused by the term 'rest' though......it doesn't mean sleeping in or laying around in the room. Oh no, rest for the James family means getting up earlier than any other day & playing our hearts out on the playground all morning!! :-)
After lunch, we headed back to Magic Kingdom & met up with Bryants for a few rides before our appointment at the Bippity Boppity Boutique. Laura Ann has seen friends' pictures of this & as soon as she recovered from the shock when we told her we were on our way to Disney, her first question was, "Am I going to the "bippity boppity boutique"? She has been pumped since we got here, asking how many days until she goes. Today was FINALLY the day! She was SO EXCITED right up until we got the door & she turned on her shy act. Daniel went first & was transformed into a knight & then it was her turn. She warmed up toward the end of her transformation & was in RARE form the rest of the evening. We hit a few more rides afterward & then had dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table with lots of Princesses. We were all excited to go 'inside' the castle. It was definitely a magical dinner & Laura Ann loved every minute of it. We hit Frontierland for a few more rides before meeting the Bryants again for fireworks. And did I mention that it was COLD??!! We froze, but had a GREAT time! The castle lit up at night is absolutely beautiful!
We spent the morning at the resort 'resting' or at least that was my plan. Don't be confused by the term 'rest' though......it doesn't mean sleeping in or laying around in the room. Oh no, rest for the James family means getting up earlier than any other day & playing our hearts out on the playground all morning!! :-)
After lunch, we headed back to Magic Kingdom & met up with Bryants for a few rides before our appointment at the Bippity Boppity Boutique. Laura Ann has seen friends' pictures of this & as soon as she recovered from the shock when we told her we were on our way to Disney, her first question was, "Am I going to the "bippity boppity boutique"? She has been pumped since we got here, asking how many days until she goes. Today was FINALLY the day! She was SO EXCITED right up until we got the door & she turned on her shy act. Daniel went first & was transformed into a knight & then it was her turn. She warmed up toward the end of her transformation & was in RARE form the rest of the evening. We hit a few more rides afterward & then had dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table with lots of Princesses. We were all excited to go 'inside' the castle. It was definitely a magical dinner & Laura Ann loved every minute of it. We hit Frontierland for a few more rides before meeting the Bryants again for fireworks. And did I mention that it was COLD??!! We froze, but had a GREAT time! The castle lit up at night is absolutely beautiful!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Disney Day Three
Magic Kingdom
We were all excited to get to our most favorite park today.....Magic Kingdom!! I won't give another play by play, but you can see exactly what our day looked like from the pictures. I would say our two favorite things from today (although it was ALL grand!) were the Make A Wish Come True Parade (we had LOTS of character interaction) and our dinner tonight at 1900 Park Fair with Cinderella, the Prince, the Evil Stepmother & Stepsisters. The stepmother & sisters were a hoot & kept us laughing the whole meal! Laura Ann LOVED meeting Rapunzel today & we still can't decide if her hair is real or not. Daniel's favorite thing today was Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster.....no surprise there! We rode it several times! A funny note from today......when Laura Ann was about to walk up to meet Princess Tiana & Prince Naveen from Princess & the Frog, a real little frog jumped out of the shrubs in front of her! It was really funny & Prince Naveen pretended to know the frog, "his little friend". As any good prince would do, he got the frog back safely into the shrubs so that none of the little princesses in line would be frightened! Laura Ann thought that incident was hysterical & has talked about it nonstop since then!
We were all excited to get to our most favorite park today.....Magic Kingdom!! I won't give another play by play, but you can see exactly what our day looked like from the pictures. I would say our two favorite things from today (although it was ALL grand!) were the Make A Wish Come True Parade (we had LOTS of character interaction) and our dinner tonight at 1900 Park Fair with Cinderella, the Prince, the Evil Stepmother & Stepsisters. The stepmother & sisters were a hoot & kept us laughing the whole meal! Laura Ann LOVED meeting Rapunzel today & we still can't decide if her hair is real or not. Daniel's favorite thing today was Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster.....no surprise there! We rode it several times! A funny note from today......when Laura Ann was about to walk up to meet Princess Tiana & Prince Naveen from Princess & the Frog, a real little frog jumped out of the shrubs in front of her! It was really funny & Prince Naveen pretended to know the frog, "his little friend". As any good prince would do, he got the frog back safely into the shrubs so that none of the little princesses in line would be frightened! Laura Ann thought that incident was hysterical & has talked about it nonstop since then!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Disney Day Two
Hollywood Studios
We kicked off Day 2 at Hollywood Studios. We did the Toy Story Mania ride first thing (it was super fun!!) & then saw Buzz & Woody (they were a hoot!). After that we headed over to the Star Tours ride & rode it 3 times (low crowds today, so we got to enjoy rides over & over with no lines - yay!). We all loved it.....probably will be a new James family favorite. We watched the Jedi Training show & then headed over to the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Laura Ann wasn't tall enough to ride it, so she & I watched The Voyage of the Little Mermaid instead. Dan survived the Rockin' Roller Coaster with Daniel 3 times......but just barely & says that he will never do it again! Ha! Dan & I took turns on the Tower of Terror with Daniel.....yes, Daniel is fearless!! We finally took a break for lunch & then Laura Ann's favorite thing of the day....The Beauty and the Beast show (it's my favorite show at Disney too). After the show, it was time for the Pixar Parade, which they loved b/c it was full of some of their favorite characters. And an afternoon snack of Mickey popsicles wasn't bad either. After the parade, we got autographs from Winnie the Pooh & the Incredibles & then headed to the Contemporary Resort for dinner at Chef Mickey's. It was a great meal, complete with hugs & autographs from Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto & Donald. After dinner, we were totally & completely wiped out from our super fun day, so we headed back to the resort for an early bedtime!!
We kicked off Day 2 at Hollywood Studios. We did the Toy Story Mania ride first thing (it was super fun!!) & then saw Buzz & Woody (they were a hoot!). After that we headed over to the Star Tours ride & rode it 3 times (low crowds today, so we got to enjoy rides over & over with no lines - yay!). We all loved it.....probably will be a new James family favorite. We watched the Jedi Training show & then headed over to the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Laura Ann wasn't tall enough to ride it, so she & I watched The Voyage of the Little Mermaid instead. Dan survived the Rockin' Roller Coaster with Daniel 3 times......but just barely & says that he will never do it again! Ha! Dan & I took turns on the Tower of Terror with Daniel.....yes, Daniel is fearless!! We finally took a break for lunch & then Laura Ann's favorite thing of the day....The Beauty and the Beast show (it's my favorite show at Disney too). After the show, it was time for the Pixar Parade, which they loved b/c it was full of some of their favorite characters. And an afternoon snack of Mickey popsicles wasn't bad either. After the parade, we got autographs from Winnie the Pooh & the Incredibles & then headed to the Contemporary Resort for dinner at Chef Mickey's. It was a great meal, complete with hugs & autographs from Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto & Donald. After dinner, we were totally & completely wiped out from our super fun day, so we headed back to the resort for an early bedtime!!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Disney Day One
Dan & I have been planning this trip for awhile & could hardly wait to pick the kids up from school & surprise them. When they both got were in the car, with the camera rolling, we told them that we were on our way to the airport & were going to Disney. Daniel was ecstatic, just like I had imagined. Laura Ann, on the other hand, just had this pitiful blank stare & she kind of teared up. She started asking questions about her clothes & dolls & blankies. I assured her that I had packed everything she needed & that everyone we left at home would be fine while she was gone. It took her a couple of minutes to absorb the news & she was finally ecstatic too!
It was about 7:00 by the time we got to the resort, so we just ate & went to bed early! Can't wait for tomorrow!
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