4th of July Atlantis Style

We weren't expecting a whole lot of 4th of July happenings considering we were not in the US anymore. Much to our surprise the property had a crazy, huge 4th of July celebration. The carnival and amount of decorations alone was crazy but the fireworks show at the end of the night was amazing. We were all in awe the whole time. Even Drew who hates noisy fireworks, sat (ears plugged) in amazement through some pretty crazy loud fireworks. So go figure - you can leave the country and still celebrate!

Bahamas - Take 2...

No trip to the beach would be complete without Bahama Mamas. We spent a ton of time at the beach this time. Both Madi and Drew were into snorkeling and Drew really got the hang of it this time.

 Fortunately we were able to follow this sting ray at the beach for awhile while snorkeling. The best part was he was free to snorkel with! And to think Marty wanted to pay a ridiculous amount of money to snorkel with the sting rays. This was soooo much better.

 The kids favorite ride is the Rapids River. Madi managed to go flying off the tube during one of the rides through the waves again. They loved flying down the rocky rapids and going through the steamy caves. I think it takes about 20-30 minutes to get around the river each time but it is definitely a lot of fun.

 He really is having more fun than it looks like!

 Madi and I in our matching yellow stripes.

Drew needed his picture with mama too. We weren't quite matching though.

Bahamas - Take 1...

The Bahamas has definitely climbed up our list of favorite places to visit. It is gorgeous, there is tons to do at the Atlantis and the rooms are climate controlled. Not that that all doesn't come with a price - that is if you like to not starve. If you are reading this - you probably know we aren't the kind of family that likes to starve. We stayed a couple more days this time than the last visit and I swear we didn't get to as much as I thought we would including any spectacular pictures to replace some of the larger prints in the house.

 Here is our favorite bridge on the property. It just looks fun when you head up to it.

 Our sweet Madi Cakes

 Our sweet Drew Doo

It was just a little warm

Thanks for looking at something else Drew! :) 

Happy Birthday Drew!

We spent Drew's 6th Birthday at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Dallas. We booked a Shrek fun filled weekend. Madi and Drew both got "ogre" ears at check-in. Of course, Drew does not wear stuff like this but Madi sported her princess ogre ears on several occasions. The atrium in the hotel was amazing with lots of area to explore. We checked things out when we first got there and then had room service. After eating, we caught part of the parade and then headed up to the rooftop of the parking garage for the garage party and fireworks. At the garage party Madi wanted to partake in the hula hoop contest and she won for her group. She was the only one that didn't drop her hoop at all. (They gave everyone 2 before they were out.) The music played and Madi and Drew had fun with the music they knew from PE and of course Party Rockers - which we inadvertently still sing Packer Rockers... After the fireworks, we went back and played cards (yes, this 6 and almost 8 year old are obsessed with playin Euchre - they do awesome for how complicated the game can get.) The next morning it was off to ShrekFeast. We were greeted by taking an Ogre Pledge, and then served swamp juice right away. The food and atmosphere were great. The had "Redonkulous" Eggs and Omelettes which made us giggle and think of Uncle Ryan. There was also a gorgeous green chocolate fountain... MMMMmmmm..... Madi & Drew were most excited about the visit from Puss & Boots and he was pretty silly. The rest of the day we spent mostly poolside taking a small break in the afternoon to start the Quest for the Magic Beans and back upstairs for cupcakes and candles and then heading to the Paradise Springs area later. Many trips around the lazy river, a few zipline rides and  few times down the slide we were all pretty tired out. Back to the main resort for dinner and more cards and within minutes of hitting the pillow we had one zonked out birthday boy and big sister. Resting up to make father's day tons of fun the next day with a trip to Rainforest Cafe and the small Legoland nearby!

 In the atrium...

 Hula hoopin girl

 Prizes

 Dancing at the rooftop garage party before fireworks.

 Green swamp juice

 Shrek!

 Green chocolate

 Puss In Boots

 Princess Fiona

 Poolside with Bahama Mamas and some shade. The birthday treatment is pretty spectacular around here.

 SIX years old!!!

 Quest for the Magic Beans Scavenger Hunt loot - Keychains and Magic Beans, of course.

Blowing out his birthday candles.

Fancy Dance As Daddy Calls It...

Madi had her 6th recital this summer. It was a little touch and go with the injured foot for awhile. The night before rehearsal, she still couldn't put pressure on her left foot. Of course, this is the foot that her turns are all on. The night of rehearsal, I assured her it was okay if she didn't dance that night - that her foot needed to heal and she should be okay before the actual recital. I no more than got inside from the car and she was practicing and very proudly stating that she could do it. She was determined to dance that night. So with a bandaged foot, off we went. This determined girl danced so great!

The next week at recital she did even more amazing. She was by far the youngest girl in the class dancing with some girls almost twice her age and she was awesome! I am so proud of how hard she works to make sure she is doing things how she is supposed to. Already looking forward to next year.

 Before Dress Rehearsal

 With Blythe who has watched Madi for years and now gets to dance herself.

 With Raegan and Maddie

With the Rose Boys and Drew... Yes courtesy of Katie... all I see now is the crazy makeup! :)

Madi's First In-Town Urgent Care Visit

There was a standing joke for awhile at the Urgent Care in Wisconsin with the Dr. there that we should just make a standing appointment for our Christmas visit. We have been able to avoid those the past couple of years and had been able to avoid urgent care visits here altogether. That streak ended with Madi slicing her foot open on a piece of metal when she was playing one night. At first it looked like it should be okay but then we really felt like we needed to take her in. Her foot was infected and she needed antibiotics. Her friend ended up at Urgent Care with her with the same injury - opposite foot. They teased that together they made a set of two capable feet. 

 After getting some antibiotics we went about the rest of our day which included a visit to Aunt Sue & Uncle Genes. These kiddos must have played hard in the pool because about 15 minutes into our ride home this is what I found in the back seat.

Unfortunately Madi's foot ended up worse the next day. Lucky for us... Drew's best friend Ethan's mom was able to get her all taken care of and change antibiotics late that night. Thanks Ms. Amy!!!! Another trip to our pediatrician the next day confirmed the change of antibiotics and confirmed that healing had started.

She was finally on the road to recovery!

Needless to say, Drew broke his streak the next week by ending up with strep throat the day after school got out. Needless to say, we revisited the Urgent Care for a second time. Let's hope this isn't a start of a pattern.

Go Round Rock Cardinals!

Another season of t-ball has come and gone and is more than likely gone forever. We will enter the coach pitch era in the fall. Let's just start with this for the season... as die hard Brewers fans there are two teams that we do not like and do not cheer for. Those teams are the Pirates and the Cardinals. When the team names were assigned, I excitedly looked for our team and when I saw Cardinals I wanted to cry. Really.... I forwarded the email to Marty with one line... "You have got to be kidding me!" They weren't -- therefore we dreadfully decked ourselves out in Cardinals attire for each and every game of Drews and cheered on what would fondly be known as the Round Rock 6U Cardinals.

Drew had an AMAZING season. He has grown so much in the last year and really just loves to play baseball... wherever and whenever he can. Give him his glove and a ball and he will entertain himself for hours.

This season he mastered the slide into second, made a ton of great catches and even pulled off a few double plays. He is so much fun to watch and see smiling away out there.

 Opening ceremonies at Dell Diamond

Making a quick throw in...

 Swinging the bat...

 Making a stop...

 Thank you Rose's for coming out... I love the fact that all five looked and smiled on the first shot!

 Showing our love for Drew!