Nicholas has glasses!!

What a big kid! Now if Mommy can just figure out how to get pictures without reflections in the lenses!!

Nicholas requested that we take a silly picture

Our girls wanted to get their picture taken too

Today was a really big day for our boy. We picked up his glasses from the eye doctor's this afternoon. We had noticed he was having difficulty reading the clock that Lenn and I could both easily see. Then we tried a few other things and he would have to walk forward and squint. I took him to the eye dr about 10 days ago and right away we were told that he couldn't see well far away. So, he got to pick out glasses.

He's handling it all so well.......so much better than his mother. He's excited to wear glasses and to be able to see well. I don't want him or any of my children to have to deal with something like this until they're much older.......or preferably never. But thanks to genetics, Niko is blessed with the good and the bad and we'll chalk the nearsightedness up in the bad column.


Nicholas garnered a lot of attention at the eye dr's office today and as you can imagine, now Ella wants glasses. How could she not? The little girl glasses are not what they used to be......now they have several different choices of "Disney Princess" frames. Oh my!!!

Winter Fun

We've had so much snow this winter......I heard on the news today that we've had 33 inches so far and that's about 15 inches more than the average for our area. Last week was a crazy ice storm. I'm not sure how much ice we officially got but based on the ice we're chiseling away on the driveway, it seems like about a 2 inch solid sheet of ice everywhere. The ice made for great sledding. Lenn's office was closed part of Tues afternoon and all of Wed (2/2) and he was a super Daddy and took the big kids outside for some sledding both days. Then we received a surprise 5 inches of snow on Saturday so on Sunday afternoon, we took all 3 kids outside to build a snowman and have a snowball fight. This was Mae's first experience in the snow and she did great. She was not a fan of gloves and a hat but she eventually got used to it and just bolted around.

More Florida Fun

Ella with her favorite princess, Sleeping Beauty, in Downtown Disney

Our happy and nearly healthy family.......I'm holding a chameleon I had found for Ella......he bit me the first time I picked him up......then I found my courage and picked him up again......then I held onto his tail while I placed him on Nicholas's palm.......then he got scared and jumped to the ground.......and then I was holding just his tail and it was still moving!! Yuck!

Ella with her daddy.....on our last morning in Florida......our vacation house is in the background......I never did manage to get any good pictures of where we stayed......oops

Nicholas holding his piggy bank from "Piggy Bank Adventure".......his favorite activity in Futureland........he set a savings goal (retirement, vacation, college or bedroom remodel) and then took his bank to 3 different stations to play games and make money for his savings.......so cute.....he played 3 times!

Inside "Bruce the Shark" from "Finding Nemo"......we are smiling because Bruce isn't real......those are not real teeth!!!

Outside of the Living Seas area

My boys at Epcot

Lovin' the ocean......we stayed about an hour and Nicholas was completely drenched and happy as a clam by the end of our playtime in the water......he didn't seem to notice that the water was COLD!!

Ella's first ocean experience

Our boy dipping toes in the Atlantic Ocean!!

On Thursday, Lenn and I took Niko and Ella to the beach so they could see the ocean. We had totally worn them out the day before at Magic Kingdom but we wanted to try to get a beach visit in while we were in Florida and only 1 1/2 hrs from the ocean. We drove to Cocoa Beach and had an interesting time there.......Nicholas wasn't excited about going at all but ended up loving it, Ella slept most of the way there and then slept on a towel on the beach while Niko played. We now know that she was gearing up for the second round of major fevers and illness for the week. Poor girl. The boy, on the other hand, had a blast and did not seem to care that the water was freezing!!



Friday was another rough day for Ella but we left her to convalesce with Meemaw and Papa while Lenn and I took Niko to Epcot. We thought he would love visiting all of the different countries but his real love was Futureland. There were lots of computer games there.......like making your own video game.....fun. We also rode the popular 3-D experience called "Soarin'" where you feel like you are in an airplane flying over California and you can smell pine and orange trees, you feel the wind in your face, you feel like you're dipping your toes in the ocean, etc.......really cool.


Lenn and I are still trying to decide if we really feel like we had a vacation.......one of our friends told us prior to going to Florida that when you go away with your children, that is a TRIP and when you go away with just your spouse, that is a VACATION. So, no, we did not have a vacation but my oh my did we go on a trip!!!!

Florida Vacation--part 2

Ooh La La.......Fireworks!!!

Mae's thoughts about the fireworks.......she did so great all day.......she was a happy girl most of the day despite only getting two short naps

All bundled up and ready for fireworks (Ella is in the stroller......you just can't see her in this handy dandy self-made photo!)

Mickey and Minnie in front of Cinderella's Castle......the castle changes colors at night......nice!

Niko and Meemaw watching the parade......it was so sweet watching our boy wave to all of the characters going by

Trying to get Mae to nap......she did give up the fight on the train ride

Ready to ride the Dumbo ride

Meemaw and Papa with the grandkids.......soooo excited to finally be at Disney World!!!

Niko and Ella in their mouse ears.....posing on Main Street

My Mae Mouse in her mouse ears......the beautiful part was that she left her ears on for a long time!!! Cinderella's Castle is in the background.

On Wednesday, the troops were feeling much better so we pulled ourselves together and headed to Magic Kingdom. We really did have a magical day. The weather started out chilly and rainy but turned into a beautiful day. We rode as many rides as we could squeeze in, we saw several really great shows, and we ended the day by watching the fireworks over Cinderella's Castle. We had the best day.



Some fun surprises of the day......Mae loved the pirates in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Ella covered her ears and sometimes closed her eyes because she thought they were a little scary but Mae just waved and smiled at all of them......too cute! Also, I have now discovered my roller coaster buddy. Ella and Nicholas were going to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad......a medium-sized roller coaster that goes whipping around and through and over and under a mountain........we got to the point of climbing into our seats and Niko got frightened and backed out......so Ella and I rode by ourselves. She had a blast and as soon as it was over, she asked to ride again......so we did!! We were also surprised that Ella had no interest in waiting in line to meet the princesses and get her picture taken......don't know if she just didn't want to get that close to the "real" princesses or if she didn't want to wait in line. It saved us a lot of time not having to wait for princesses all day!



Niko's favorite attraction: The Monster's Inc laugh floor

Favorite ride: Peter Pan's Flight

Ella's favorite attraction: The Philharmagic 3D Show

Favorite ride: Big Thunder Mtn