Lunch!

Ever wondered how to eat a tortilla with a fork?


Exhibit A- Exhibit B-

Exhibit C-

Now you know! Love ya!! -Amber

No News is Good News

At the risk of sounding whiney and disagreeable, I will inform all of you how last week was for us. It wasn't bad, really, there's were was just the usual post-vacation annoyances to deal with. Life was a little crunchier than we wanted for it to be last week. Here's to hoping this week is sweet and smooth!
Sorry, but I don't have any pics to share. I had a really cute video of Julia, but one day, in a spurt of stupidity, I gave the video camera to Lydia to watch a video on. Before I knew it, she had deleted the video, and replaced it with five 3-10 second silent videos of her feet. :(
Plus, I have completely and utterly lost my mind (a.k.a my planner). I didn't realize how much I depend on that silly thing. I had it the day we left on vacation, but haven't seen it since. I was debating about whether or not to bring it along, and now I have no earthly idea what my final decision was. For all I know it could be somewhere in Florida.
Hopefully, though, it is not in Florida. Hopefully it is hiding out somewhere with our phone charger that was DEFINITELY supposed to be in our luggage.
I finally started all the laundry 2 days ago (don't judge), but I am still not done. A week's worth of vacation laundry feels like so much more than a week's worth of regular laundry.
Also, Julia and Lydia, seem to the think that they magically turned into real princesses while they were at Disney World, and have been ordering me around like I am their royal attendant. But, we're working on that. :) Don't worry though, we haven't been TOO hard on them. We have chalked some of that up to tiredness, and over-exertion.--- I also realized at the end of last week that while I enjoyed being with my family for a week, that with the exception of Dave, I really needed a break from them! (They needed one from me too.)
Regardless of those things, we are so enjoying being home. I love to able to put the girls in their own room, instead of waiting for them to go to sleep in a hotel/cruise room. I'm also grateful to have regained access to our full-size fridge, and our own bathroom! I also enjoy being able to watch whatever I want without worrying about waking up the girls. I love our house!
We are glad to back in the swing of things, too. We missed our church friends and neighbors. We're glad to be back.
On a side note, I forgot to mention in my before posts how wonderful the staff on the cruise treated the girls. They were so kind and attentive to them. Dave and I were very sorry that we didn't get a picture of the man who managed the dining room. Through a series of events, Julia became convinced that he was the Ship's captain, and called him that. He tried to convince her that he wasn't driving the ship, at first, but then he went along with it, and answered to "Captain." He remembered the girls' names after meeting them once, always adding Princess to the beginning. No wonder they have a princess complex! They were wonderfully spoiled by the staff on our cruise! The princess lunch at Disney World was just pink icing on the fairy dusted, pink cake!
Well, I better get off of here, and get my game face on. I am going to try and convince Dave that we are having popcorn for dinner. :) Love ya, Amber

The Wonderful World of Disney

We had a wonderful time at the Magic Kingdom, and I have the pictures to prove it! We got there the first day, just in time to see the castle show. It was a wonderful introduction to Disney World. We got to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, the princesses....all the favorites. We already knew that Julia loved all the characters, especially the princesses, but we soon learned that Lydia LOVES Minnie and the princesses too. She learned to say both Minnie Mouse, and Princess on our vacation.

Dave got us tickets to eat lunch with the princesses a few months before our Disney arrival, and it was great! Although the girls both love the princesses, they have opposite reactions to them. We have to hold Julia back until it's our turn, while gently convincing Lydia that Cinderella isn't scary. Maybe sticking her fingers up her nose is Lydia's nervous habit...?

Snow White was very sweet and lovable. Lydia warmed up to her very quickly.

Julia asked Ariel if she had legs or fins on this day. After Ariel showed Julia her feet, Julia was very interested in all the princesses feet.

Belle was the sweetest, best princess ever! She was so friendly and nice to the girls. This was the second time we got to meet her.

You might be able to tell from this picture that Princess Aurora was a little more standoffish then the other princesses. :)



Julia picked up this sword and said "Charge!"

The famous Dumbo ride!


We got to see some wonderful parades! Here are some pictures of some of the celebration.

We rode the carousel twice. The girls loved it and the lines moved quickly.

The girls loved touring Minnie and Mickey Mouses' houses. Julia is sitting on Minnie's fireplace.

This was Minnie's Living Room.

After touring their homes, we waited in line to actually meet Mickey and Minnie. Julia gave them hugs, but Lydia cried.

Unfortunately, Disney World did not leave our girls tantrum-free. Here is Lydia pouting even though she has candy smeared all over her face. With all the heat and snacks, we were all filthy and exhausted at the end of every day!

After the parade the next night, the Disney staff put hula hoops out. Dave was happy to demonstrate for the girls.

We waited in line to get to meet Belle and Aurora the day before our princess lunch. It was good to know how the girls would react to the princesses.We also helped Buzz Lightyear fight the war against aliens.
I finally had my camera in the car the last day of our vacation, and was able to get a shot of the Walt Disney World welcome sign.

Before heading home, we visited Downtown Disney once more. It is a Disney shopping center with free admission. The following pictures are from that fun day.

Poor Lydia!

We had such a great time!! I am already scheming about what year we can go back. :) Hopefully we'll get the opportunity sometime.

Thanks for checking in on our blog. M-I-C, see you real soon, K-E-Y, why? because we like you! M-O-U-S-E!! Love, Amber

Cruisin' in the Bahamas

The first part of our one-week Florida vacation was spent on a short cruise that sailed from Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas. We had a great time...there is so much to tell...I will use the pictures to help me explain....

This was our boat.

Our vacation included a lot of waiting in line. We waited in the airport, we waited on the airplane, we waited to get off the airplane, we waited while some guy tried to sell us a life-long vacation package, we waited while his managers tried to sell us a less expensive life-long vacation package, and then we waited to be checked in and board the cruise ship. It wasn't unbearable. I'm just sayin'...it takes a little time sometimes....

But, then, the waiting passes, and wonderful things happen. For example, you might get to lay in bed and eat peanut m&m's before drifting into la-la land for a few sweet hours.

And then, you might get to play in a splash pad on the back of the cruise ship while watching the Atlantic ocean pass by.

Or maybe, you get to enjoy a fishie slide, over and over again.

Sometimes, waiting is worth it. Aaaahhh.....

Here is what the Bahamas look like from a cruise ship.

Here is what they look like off the cruise ship.

Here is what the beach looks like in the Bahamas...

(I sort of have a picture of Lydia by her name, but she wasn't interested in posing. She was mad at the waves, the sand, and me (for exposing her to them.))

This is where we ate in Grand Bahama Island. We were wet and caked with sand, but the food was good, and what a fun memory it already is.

We walked around a little before heading back to our cruise ship for the day.

After the girls had a nap, we let them stay up late and watch the show that we had heard such good things about. It was so great! We watched a singer/impressionist, a cirque de soliel acrobat, and a comedian.

We slept so good every night!! Eventhough I've never worked so hard to vacation in all my life, I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to make such wonderful memories as a family. Hopefully, God-willing, this won't be the last time we set sail! -Amber