Disney World 2015

We went to Disney World to celebrate the sweetest boy in the world turning six years old!  Since Connor was a baby I've wanted to take him to Disney for a birthday and six was the perfect one to do it for.  We spent four nights there and had an absolute blast!  We stayed at The Grand Floridian which was amazing.  We were less then 5 minutes from the Magic Kingdom, the resort was beautiful and are room was right on the water with views of the castle.

Connor went to Disney World right before turning two and I think he remembers a few things from it, but it was so much fun to see him experience the magic of Disney again.  And Allie was just the most magical age; Disney World and Cinderella's castle are now everything to her.  The trip alone was worth  it just to witness the magic Disney had on our kids.

We arrived Tuesday afternoon and had an early dinner at Chef Mickey's followed by a Pirate & Pal's cruise with Captain Hook to watch fireworks.

We met Mickey and all of his friends at Chef Mickey's.

His first birthday celebration at Disney.

 Getting ready to take off for our pirate cruise.  When we returned Peter Pan was waiting to greet the kids!

 Wednesday which was Connor's birthday we went to the Magic Kingdom!  Connor wore a birthday button and I think every employee told him Happy Birthday which was pretty awesome.  We rode almost every ride and met almost every character there.  We ended up splitting up for a few hours so Connor and Michael could ride roller coasters including Space Mountain while Allie and I went to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for a princess makeover and had lunch at Belle's castle.

One of the coolest moments was when we met Mickey Mouse.  We were taking a family picture with Mickey so I had put my phone/camera away.  What do you know Mickey sang Happy Birthday to Connor and I missed it!

Connor had a special birthday dinner at The Tomorrowland Terrace restaurant.  Of course it was a little chilly so we didn't make it for the fireworks and Allie slept through it but nonetheless it was still a special birthday dinner of nothing but desserts and watching fireworks and Connor enjoyed it.  The good news is we still were able to watch fireworks from our balcony.

Meeting Chip and Dale, they were very into meeting characters.

 Happy Birthday Connor!

Ready for her fairy godmother to make her over.

 It's a hard life for a princess; hair extensions and nail polish all at once.

 All made up and transformed into Elsa.

 As soon as we were done at Bibbidi Bobbidi we rode the carousel once and then went to meet Elsa and Anna.  Allie was excited for Anna but she nearly lost her mind when she met Elsa.  She and Elsa had a lovely chat and Elsa even showed her how to have ice powers; it was truly magical!

 Showing off their ice powers.

And then we met Tinkerbell.

 And Ariel.

 And rode Dumbo.

 And then met Goofy and Donald.  While Connor was meeting these two Allie was off chatting with Minnie and Daisy.  After meeting Donald he became Connor's new favorite since they are both cranky!  He ended up buying a Donald Duck hat and stuffed animal that he carried around for the rest of our trip.

 Thursday we ventured over to Disney Hollywood Studios.  The main goal for this day was to have Connor in the Jedi Academy so he could battle Darth Vader and we managed to do it.  We were there when the gates opened and literally ran across the park to get him signed up!  

Connor was able to go on a stage and get instructions from a Jedi on how to use the force to battle Darth Vader.  He got to wear a robe and use a real light saber and he defeated Darth Vader.  Of course when it was his turn to battle my phone froze so I have no pictures.  I did get a few before he battled.

Entering the stage ready to become a Jedi.

 Cutest Jedi Ever.

 Showing off his Jedi certificate after defeating Darth Vader!

We had two fun meals while at Hollywood Studios; we ate lunch at Pizza Planet and had dinner at Hollywood and Vine and then went to the Fantasmic Dinner Show which was amazing.  Connor rode his favorite ride there, Tower or Terror and Allie loved the Frozen Sing-a-long show, Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid productions.

Friday Allie and I went to the Perfectly Princess Tea Party with Aurora which was at our hotel.  She of course loved it and wore her Aurora dress.  She drank tea, ate cake, danced with Aurora and went on a princess parade.  I had so much fun watching her in her element and couldn't have been more thrilled with how much she enjoyed it.  

While we were having girl time Connor and Michael went to Downtown Disney to have "bro time".  They ate lunch at the T-Rex cafe and then headed to a giant arcade where they played video games for three hours!  Allie and I headed to Downtown Disney that afternoon where we shopped, ate ice cream and somehow worked our way into a princess parade.

 Allie and Aurora.  Aurora asked Allie what she wanted to be when she grows up.  Allie responded with "a Rockette".  Aurora thought that was a pretty cute response so they went and did high kicks together in the middle of the tea party.

 At Downtown Disney in the princess parade.

Connor thought the Lego store was pretty cool and I thought the giant Lego Buzz and Woody were pretty cool.

Our last big event at Disney was dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming and her step mother and ugly step sisters.  Again, we all had a blast and Allie wore yet another princess gown.  The big surprise of the night was when one of the ugly step sisters decided she had a crush on Connor and wanted him to be her boyfriend.  She even gave him a big kiss to show him her love.  He was so embarrassed yet so proud at the same time and it was so cute.

 Ready for our last Disney dinner.

 My prince charming and his love stamp.

I think we all agree that Disney was beyond magical.  Michael and I had so much fun watching Connor and Allie take in the magic that only Disney can deliver.  We made wonderful memories that we will cherish for a lifetime.  We are very blessed that we were able to do something so special for both Connor and Allie and I hope they know how blessed we are to be their parents.  I can't wait for our return in 2017 to celebrate princess Allie turning 6.

Sick with the Flu

Well I've been away from the blog once again.  We went to Disney to celebrate Connor's 6th birthday, more to come on that!  Of course a few days after we got back I came down with the flu, but at least I didn't have it while we were at Disney.  This was the first time that I ever recall having the flu, thankfully it wasn't too horrible thanks to Tamiflu!  Of course Allie came down with the flu too.  I started feeling bad Tuesday night, not realizing I was coming down with the flu Allie and I laid in my bed watching dance moms and sharing a bag of gummy bears (good mommy/daughter binding time) of course I'm sure that's when I gave her my germs.  Luckily we are now both on the mend and ready for a new week!  I also managed to get three cookie orders knocked out during this time, ugh!

I started feeling bad Tuesday afternoon, Allie brought me Lady to make me feel better.  

Sick on the couch and this girl decided she needed to put makeup on!

Connor's SkyZone Birthday Party

We celebrated our little man turning 6 years old on Saturday.  For six months he has told me that he wanted his birthday party at SkyZone, of course his wish is our demand!  We had over 25 friends there to celebrate him and bounce their hearts out.  Connor choose a Tom & Jerry theme for his party!  Luckily they actually make a few Tom & Jerry party items so we were all set.  In the past year Connor has really become such a "big" kid which was completely evident by the party he choose, the way he played with his friends and the gifts that he got.  The past few years it's been all action figurines of superheroes and Ninja Turtles.  This year it was all about Nerf guns and Nintendo DS games.

We are beyond blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family that came to celebrate Connor with us.  He's a pretty amazing little guy.

Uncle Wade was the life of the party.  He jumped with Allie, was attacked by every 4-7 year old boy at the party and was the Target of Michael and all his friends with their dodge balls.

 The birthday boy in action.

Homemade cupcakes in Tom & Jerry colors.  Connor requested chocolate cupcakes and didn't even take one bite.

 I made cookies for party favors along with goody bags filled with T&J stickers, candy and bottle cap necklaces that I made.

 The most handsome boy in the world.

 I hope all your wishes come true.

Artist & Storyteller

Connor has become quite the budding artist and story teller, lately everyday he draws a picture and writes a sentence for Michael or myself.  Here was today's message; I like to play with day along with a picture of them wrestling on the couch.

NYC with Great Friends

We made an epic return to NYC for a fun, long weekend with some of our very best friends.  We surprised Michael's best friend Adam Nuse who now lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky for his 34th birthday.  Our other friends Aaron and Mackenzie Guevarra and Nathan and Jenny Diaz (all friends from our days in Corpus) also flew up to surprise Adam.

I've now decided that New York is like Las Vegas, you need to go at least once a year!  We arrived Thursday afternoon and met up with everyone before the Knicks vs. Rockets game, we also managed to meet up with our friend and neighbor Chad who was in NYC working.  

Friday we did a fun breakfast then we headed down to the Financial District to visit the 9/11 Museum.  I really had no idea what to expect at the 9/11 Museum but it was beyond poignant and moving.  I could have spent all day there; it's amazing how much you forget and the personal touch they put on it was unbelievable.  Friday evening we went to dinner at Joe Allen's then headed to Broadway to see my first Broadway Show, It's Only a Play and boy was it only bad!  It had a great cast; Martin Short, Stockard Channing, Matthew Broderick and F. Murray Abraham but it was boring so we left at intermission and made our way to an Irish Pub.  

Saturday we had an amazing bunch at Sarabeth's which was recommended by our friend Chad.  Afterwards we did a little shopping at Barney's and FAO Schwartz and a carriage ride in Central Park.  That evening we had an AMAZING dinner, probably the best I've ever had at Il Mulino off Park Ave.  Adam's boss is the owner of the restaurant and it's impossible to get into, thank goodness for connections!  We also had a pretty famous neighbor at dinner, Larry David who apparently lives around the corner.  After dinner we went to a Comedy Club, Caroline's on Broadway where we saw Michael Che who is a co anchor on SNL.  He was hilarious and it was a great way to end the night (at least end it for me).  After the show it was midnight and my feet were killing me from my shoes so I called it a night while everyone else headed to a 80's & 90's dance club.  Apparently they had quite the time, they came home at 3:00 and Michael had a hangover for almost the entire next day.

New York was freezing but it really wasn't that bad, and truthfully it was fun to experience it in the winter.  Each day we were there the highs were in the 20's and the lows in teens.  I learned that it you have a good hat, scarf, gloves, jacket and boots that you won't be completely miserable.

Of course the best part of the trip was spending time with wonderful friends.  Everyone got along great and we literally laughed the entire time.  What a blessing to have such wonderful friends and friendships that won't fade no matter the distance between us.

Our first night in NYC heading to Madison Square Garden.  It felt like 7 degrees this night!

 We had amazing seats!

 You could never pull this look of in Texas, it's the norm in January in NYC.

 An inspiring sight at the 9/11 Museum, the survivor stairs.

 Another day of exploring.

 Toasting to great friends.

 I do it every time I'm in NYC, jam to Jay Z on the Subway.

 Michael took us in the wrong direction, the highlight however was seeing the Quuensboro Bridge which I loved since it is one of my favorite shoes.

 Michael did this Sunday at every step of our journey home.

Until next time New York.

New Year's Eve

We had a fun New Year's Eve with all four members of the family.  I think since we were so busy with Christmas and having guests in our house that I didn't put one thought into New Year's Eve, which meant no babysitter.  But we still managed to have fun!  We had an early dinner with the Smith family (Chad, Ashley, Cooper and Cambelle).  Then we headed to our neighbors (Michelle and Anthony Riley and then Jason and Alania McGraw's) for a progressive NYE party.  I would have never guessed that we would have made it until midnight but we did and all with smiles on our faces!  The kids had a great time playing with their friends as did we and we even had a balloon drop at midnight!  Cheers to great friends, neighbors and fun!