Home 6 Months

Shella May came home six months ago yesterday. It feels like she has been part of our family forever and we can't even remember what it was like before she was here. She blends in so well. We are so happy we waited the year for ICAB to find us the perfect match instead of looking at waiting children. First of all, we would have never picked a girl and it is great having one in the house. I love buying little things for her at the store and just doing girl things. My boys have never asked once for a haircut, but Shella May reminded me on Friday that I promised to get her hair cut after conferences. She is just more in tune with the world around her than the boys also. Not a slam on the boys because sometimes it's nice not to listen to emotions about every little thing. She is full of hugs and smiles and great to have around. She fights with Liam like they have been competing since forever, but they are also the first to help each other out also.

Feeling like spring

Yesterday the temp got up to around freezing, so we decided to take a nice spring walk. The kids love to watch the snow melt and follow the water down the street. They wanted to go with just sweatshirts on, but I compromised on letting them wear spring coats. The weather people are already predicting that our spring like weather will end this weekend, but I want to enjoy each day we have before more snow and cold comes.

Before we took off for the walk.

Like ducks in a row.

Liam navigating a puddleEven daddy came along.

Tea Party

We had a tea party last week. Shella May was excited because she got a new tea set and her cousins were coming over to party with her. At the last minute someone got sick at their house and they couldn't come. We had such a disappointed little girl, that we decided to come to her tea party. The boys dressed in their finest clothes and we had real tea and brownies. She was pretty excited to have a tea party and I'm sure we'll do more in the future. I don't know how many times she will be able to get the boys to come, but they are really good sports.

Okay so I told you it was a little chilly in FL, but that had more side effects than us being a little cold at the parks. The kids had cabin fever. Usually when we are at Grandma and Grandpa's we take some days to just hang out at their house, we go on walks, swimming, play shuffle board and just hang outside. Well due to the cold that wasn't as fun as usual. We had a lot more indoor play time with a computer, t.v.s and some toys. I wasn't happy with the amount of screen time the kids were getting on vacation and they were getting to the bored state of being mean to each other about what they would watch etc. Finally we found a family outing that looked like fun and was within our budget. (It was hard to find something to do for less than $20 a person, even Gator land was in that price range). We found a small, yet fun, Children's Museum about a half hour away. It was hands on and it even kept Lance's interest, although Lance is always a good sport about things like that.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Second Day at Disney

On the second day that we went to Disney it was a little bit warmer. I think it hit 50 for the high that day. We hit Magic Kingdom in the morning and then Epcot after lunch. I mapped it all out and we got there right when the park opened. We did Fantasy Land first and had all the rides in that area done in a half hour. The only long line we waited in all day was for Soarin' which was 90 minutes long, but one of our favorite rides.

Getting ready to leave for the day. I had to take a picture of them in their Disney t-shirts because we wouldn't see the shirts again all day.

In front of Cinderella's Castle. It was pretty chilly and windy.

Our first ride of the day was Dumbo of course.The Pooh ride is always a favorite with my kids.On the Jungle Cruise looking for the animals.At EpcotIn front of the Seas building at Epcot.

Our Day at Disney

We went to Animal Kingdom for our first park. We saw some shows, went on some rides and met some characters. It wasn't too busy and we walked right on most of the rides. It was a chilly day only 47 for the high, but we suffered through it. Lance went to the show "It's a Bug's Life" which was a big step for him. It is 3D plus and he hated it when we went to it 9 years ago. He has always insisted that we stay away from the ride since we went when he was 3, but this year he decided to conquer it. He still doesn't like the show, but he wasn't afraid. Liam went on Expedition Everest and Dinosaur ride. He liked both of them and liked going on the big rides. Shella May just loved her first trip to Disney.

On the Safari ride looking at the animals.

In front of the Tree of Life

Our Florida Vacation

We went to Orlando for a week and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. The first few days we just stayed around the house and played, enjoying the weather (although cool). We couldn't swim in the pool due to the cold weather, but they did ride bikes, take walks and play shuffle board.