Our Celebration of a Sad Occasion...Oct 2016 PTR

[oopsiDAISY]

We have had a very busy last couple of weeks. We drove to Iowa for Easter. That was a super hard trip, but well worth it. We drove all night Thursday night, got there Friday morning, and left at 3 Sunday afternoon, getting back home at 4 Monday morning. We were exhausted, but it was a great weekend. We went to see Brian's brother and his family. We got to see our neice and nephew in a church Easter musical, which was neat. We had an egg hunt for all the kiddos. The rest of the weekend, we spent gathered around the table just talking and playing card games. It was perfect! We did make our resurrection rolls that we do every Easter, but I did not get pictures this time. It would have been difficult with SIX kiddos all gathered in the kitchen taking part. LOL!

Here are pictures of our egg hunt. My sister-in-law's sister lives in Iowa, too, and her kids joined us for the egg hunt. All together there were 10 kids for the hunt..so much fun!


The lady on the end is SIL's mom, Jilllian is the 10th kiddo missing from the photo.



There were LOTS of eggs found:



We drove Brian's mom's car up to Iowa. Her cargo area is SMALL. I wanted to take our Easter baskets, but they simply would not fit. In the spirit of making do, Easter was just stacks of goodies on the table this year:



Last night we were finally able to do the countdown activity we have been holding onto for a few weeks now. We did Disney themed activity sheets last night during dinner. We started out with one of those sillly fill in the blank stories, where you ask folks to give a noun, verb, adjective, etc until the story is filled out and makes no sense at all. My kids love these, and never cease to giggle at the silliness. We moved on to a picture find where you find the hidden objects in a picture. This one was Snow White themed. Since we are all good at this stuff, we made it a little competition to see who could finish first. I won. ;-) Next we did a pretty difficult maze with Mickey trying to get to Minnie. Brian finished this one first. Lastly, we did a "finish the picture". Mickey and Pluto were on this picture with Mickey pointing to the sky. We were to draw something in the sky for Mickey to be pointing at. It was so much fun! Here are just a couple of random photos of the dinner table fun:





We will do our next countdown activity this weekend.

 

[Pluto0809]

Sounds like a wonderful Easter and lots of Disney fun!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

It was perfect! We did make our resurrection rolls that we do every Easter, but I did not get pictures this time.

I thought about you all Easter and your rolls! and doing it with 10 kids! WOWZA!

There were LOTS of eggs found:

Looks LIKE SO MUCH FUN!!!! Sp glad you were able to see everyone.. Yet i am sure you were all BUSHED! phew i know i would be that is a LOT of driving!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Sounds like a wonderful Easter and lots of Disney fun!!

We had tons of fun. It did take our bodies a while to recoup from such a whirlwind trip, but no regrets!

I thought about you all Easter and your rolls! and doing it with 10 kids! WOWZA!

Looks LIKE SO MUCH FUN!!!! Sp glad you were able to see everyone.. Yet i am sure you were all BUSHED! phew i know i would be that is a LOT of driving!

You were exactly the friend I was thinking about when I posted the recipe for the rolls on FB a few days before Easter. I just remember you always saying you wish you could remember to do it each year.

It was a lot of driving, but no regrets! For sure, we will try to make our trips up there longer in duration to make up for the massive amount of driving involoved.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

What a busy week we have had! It started this past weekend when Charity played in a basketball tournament. She had three games over two days. She is playing with a travel team, and has a tournament every weekend for two months. It keeps our weekends busy, but she is LOVING it, so that is what matters!

Yesterday started out SO GREAT! I went to Math class and found out I made my highest test grade yet for that class this semester:



Work stayed busy, but not frantic. I was in a GREAT mood....right up until the time I left and found THIS in the parking lot:



So, I got security to come change the tire (I was wearing a dress). The poor guy was pretty old, and it took him about an hour to change it. Then I headed straight to the tire store to get it fixed...which took ANOTHER hour. Needless to say, by the time I was done with all of that, Brian offered to pick up dinner so that I would not have to cook...and I took him up on the offer wholeheartedly! Because, guess what...I still had to go home and do Math homework for another two hours.

So, enough with the real life Debbie downers, let's get to what we all REALLy come here for...some Disney fun! On Sunday we did our weekly countdown activity.



Know what Mickey fruit and cheese is? Just one of our FAVORITE Disney things, ever!!! Seriously, the kids got excited when this one was drawn. We did it last time we did countdowns, and they remember well. It is super yummy, and I always serve it with something else equally tasty.



An then, to add to the magic this week, I have THIS coming up Friday!!!! See the top date on this magnet?



ADR Day, YAY!!!!!!!! AND...I may or may not be doing a DOUBLE DIGIT DANCE on Saturday for my July trip!!! So yeah, even after a tough evening last night, there is still MUCH to be excited about.

**** I did send a nice thank you card with a gift card in it to the super nice and helpful security guard who came to my rescue last night.

 

[Chicago Mo]

You were exactly the friend I was thinking about when I posted the recipe for the rolls on FB a few days before Easter. I just remember you always saying you wish you could remember to do it each year.

It was a lot of driving, but no regrets! For sure, we will try to make our trips up there longer in duration to make up for the massive amount of driving involoved.

YAY!!! Im so glad! NEXT year i am going to make this... I HAVE TO! this year was a bit of a whirl wind we didn't do any of our Easter fun until Friday.. THEN we didn't do the Egg war until TUESDAY AFTER EASTER!!! it was crazy...

It keeps our weekends busy, but she is LOVING it, so that is what matters!

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO FUN FUN FUN!!! GOOD LUCK!

I went to Math class and found out I made my highest test grade yet for that class this semester:

THIS IS AMAZING!!! Congratulations!!!

DR Day, YAY!!!!!!!! AND...I may or may not be doing a DOUBLE DIGIT DANCE on Saturday for my July trip!!! So yeah, even after a tough evening last night, there is still MUCH to be excited about.

**** I did send a nice thank you card with a gift card in it to the super nice and helpful security guard who came to my rescue last night.

Car problems are the WORST! so glad the security guard was able to help!!! That would have been the pits to change it in a dress!!!
I am sure he appreciated the thank you card! A little bit of kindness can go far.

SO EXCITING!!!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I got all the ADR's we wanted today!!!!! So, now I can start revealing our plans for the week, woohoo!!!!

 

[disny_luvr]

It looks like you guys had a great Easter! As always, your Disney activities look like lots of fun.

YAY for making your ADR's! Once I start booking things, the trip always seems real and closer, too. I can't wait to hear where you are eating.

Congrats on the great math grade!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

YAY!!! Im so glad! NEXT year i am going to make this... I HAVE TO! this year was a bit of a whirl wind we didn't do any of our Easter fun until Friday.. THEN we didn't do the Egg war until TUESDAY AFTER EASTER!!! it was crazy...

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO FUN FUN FUN!!! GOOD LUCK!

THIS IS AMAZING!!! Congratulations!!!

Car problems are the WORST! so glad the security guard was able to help!!! That would have been the pits to change it in a dress!!!
I am sure he appreciated the thank you card! A little bit of kindness can go far.

SO EXCITING!!!

Girl, you guys are always so busy!!! Your life would WEAR. ME. OUT! Have you been able to get your car back, yet? What have you been doing for transportation in the mean time???

It looks like you guys had a great Easter! As always, your Disney activities look like lots of fun.

YAY for making your ADR's! Once I start booking things, the trip always seems real and closer, too. I can't wait to hear where you are eating.

Congrats on the great math grade!

Easter was so much fun. The trip up there is tough, but we do always have a great tme when we do visit. I am so excited about our ADR's...and about sharing our plans with everyone on here! I am SOOO READY for this trip!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Our Disney activity this week was so much fun!!! This week we looked at all of our old Disney photo albums together. We had such a great time looking and reminiscing. We also has some homemade chocolate milkshakes in our Disney resort mugs while we walked down memory lane. Jillian took the photos on her i=pad, and I must say, I was disappointed in the quality. They are quite fuzzy, but you get the idea.






AND...as an added bonus for the Dis~friends...I have scanned some of our favorite photos of Disney trips past for you. I cannot believe how little the kids were when we started going. Our first trip was with my parents in 2006...Gabe was still in my belly!!!



And check out my girls...this is Jillian with my dad watching the castle show at park opening:



And Charity with my mom:

http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/c...a-446d-bb68-f79b68f422cd_zpsb3rlaqzn.jpg.htmlhttp://s1131.photobucket.com/user/c...a-446d-bb68-f79b68f422cd_zpsb3rlaqzn.jpg.html


The next batch of pictures were taken the next time we went, in 2011. This was our first on-property stay, and this is when we were HOOKED!



Brian captured this photo of Jillian, and we have always loved it:



This epitomizes Charity's personality:



And look how little my baby boy was!!!



Continued in next post...

 

[oopsiDAISY]

As I said previously, after our 2011 trip, we were HOOKED! Disney offered free dining in 2012, and Brian and I pulled off the biggest surprise ever for the kids... We got them up early from bed on a normal school day, and told them we were FLYING to Disney that morning!!! They had never flown before. This photo was taken right after we got there. You can see the excitement on their faces, especially Jillian's:



This is when we had our very first Dis~meet, too. You may see a few familiar faces in this photo:



A family photo:



When we went in 2013, my parents joined us again.



Agian, I am amazed at how the kids have grown and changed:



In 2014, we took our first Disney cruise.







Last year, we took the year off to catch up on a few things financially. So yes, we are VERY ready for our 2016 trip!!!!

 

[disny_luvr]

I seriously love all your old Disney photos! Thank you so much for sharing. I remember some of these photos from other TRs I've read.

Sometimes I feel like I'm taking too many pictures and not enjoying the moment, but boy do I love having those photos to look at.

 

[DMGeurts]

I am so far behind...

Loved the Easter photos - it's a bummer about not having room to bring the baskets, but I am sure the kids were super excited to spend time with family - so it didn't matter.

And congrats on your great score - that's awesome!!! I have no doubts that you will do great in school - I know it must be a huge struggle to juggle family life, working and school... but you are DOING it!

And love all of the flash back Disney photos... I love the one of Gabe in your belly - that's so cute!!! It's amazing how much our families have grown since we first met!

Wishing you a great day!

D~

 

[Chicago Mo]

OH SO SWEET! I just ADORE your pictures and watching them grow in Disney!!! Thank you for sharing!!

I am in a Disney funk.. so looking at your pictures helped!!!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

OH SO SWEET! I just ADORE your pictures and watching them grow in Disney!!! Thank you for sharing!!

I am in a Disney funk.. so looking at your pictures helped!!!

Ah, glad it helped! Yeah, I actually have been in a funk, too. It looks like our July trip may not happen, so my wait is gonna be longer. And I just want to go NOW! We have not been since 2013, and that was just one day in the parks and one day at Blizzard Beach. Really miss my happy place.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Ah, glad it helped! Yeah, I actually have been in a funk, too. It looks like our July trip may not happen, so my wait is gonna be longer. And I just want to go NOW! We have not been since 2013, and that was just one day in the parks and one day at Blizzard Beach. Really miss my happy place.

This is going to make your family trip that much more amazing!

What happened to the july trip!! I am so sad to hear this!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

This is going to make your family trip that much more amazing!

What happened to the july trip!! I am so sad to hear this!

So far we do not have enough students for the class. Many of our students are here on some sort of scholarship, and scholarships do not cover summer classes. :-(

 

[mickeystoontown]

I was playing catch up on the updates and found myself smiling ear to ear. Your countdown activities always look like so much fun and those pictures of past trips are fantastic!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I seriously love all your old Disney photos! Thank you so much for sharing. I remember some of these photos from other TRs I've read.
Sometimes I feel like I'm taking too many pictures and not enjoying the moment, but boy do I love having those photos to look at.

Yes, I have been reporting on the Disboards for quite a while now, so many of the pictures were repeats. I do not think I had shared any from the 2006 trip before, though. We really enjoyed looking at all of them again together. I always feel like I don't take enough pictures, LOL!

I am so far behind...
Loved the Easter photos - it's a bummer about not having room to bring the baskets, but I am sure the kids were super excited to spend time with family - so it didn't matter.
And congrats on your great score - that's awesome!!! I have no doubts that you will do great in school - I know it must be a huge struggle to juggle family life, working and school... but you are DOING it!
And love all of the flash back Disney photos... I love the one of Gabe in your belly - that's so cute!!! It's amazing how much our families have grown since we first met!
Wishing you a great day!
D~

I really hated leaving the Easter baskets behind, but there was just no way unless someone held them in their lap for 12 hours...that was not gonna happen!
I am so proud of my good grades. I have had to work HARD to earn that A in Math, but it is so worth it!!!

I was playing catch up on the updates and found myself smiling ear to ear. Your countdown activities always look like so much fun and those pictures of past trips are fantastic!

So glad my updates could bring a smile to your face. I am taking this report at a fairly slow pace. I am busy and so are my Disfriends. I want this to be fun and easy for everyone!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I am going to post a Disney countdown activity update in the next post, but in THIS one I wanted to share a little bit of IRL fun. Two weeks ago we were informed that Charity's middle school dance, scheduled for this past Friday, would be semi-formal. Cool, between her and Jillian, Charity would have several pretty dresses to choose from to wear.

Then on Tuesday of last week Charity informed us that all of her friends were going formal with it, long gowns and tuxes. REALLY? for middle school? I had a hard time wtih this. Brian and I are on a super tight, well planned budget now since we did the whole Financial Peace University class. BUT, this was Charity's last year in middle school, and many of her very best friends would be going to a different high school than she would be going to. I really wanted this to be special...but, what is a Mamma to do?

Well, whether you believe in God or not, I know that God came through for us. A dear sweet lady that attends our Friday night addiction recovery meetings just so happened to bring us two grocery sacks full of formal dresses that were from her church thrift store. THEN, when I was speaking to another friend about this whole semi-formal/formal thing SHE offered to do Charity's hair and make-up for free. Charity found a dress she liked, we applied a few safety pin seams to it, and it worked wonderfully for her. She found some shoes in my closet and some jewelry I had, too. Behold, Charity's 100% FREE 8th grade formal look:







And walking the red carpet for the 8th grade walk:



Can't you just see the confidence on her face? She was LOVING it! She made me so proud that night for so many reasons. She could have whined or complained about wearing a thrift store find after knowing her friends went shopping for brand new dresses. She did not. She could have been embarrased to be wearing something that she percieved as "less than". She did not. She wore it proudly and got SO MANY complinents on it. To top that off... she ended up dancing with one of the new boys in her class. Apparently, this is a boy not considered to be "cool" or whatever, but she danced with him gladly. She got so many messages when she got home from classmates telling her how cool it was for her to dance with him. When I posted these pictures on FB the next day, I had comments from friends and fellow church members saying that Charity is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.

We make choices every day in parenting, tough choices. Do we allow our kids to make decisions for themselves? At what age should we? Do we indulge all of their "wants"? Do we allow them to do things just because "all my friends are doing it"? Parenting is hard, parenting against the "norm" is even harder. We know that we will not always have the amount of influence in their lives as we did when they were little. At some point, we are left to just see if what we did as parents will "work". Moments like this Friday night proved that parenting is hard....but there IS reward!