Monday, June 28, 2010

Fantasic Family Photos

My friend, Sarah took pictures of our girls a few weeks ago.





















I just love these pictures. I am so glad to have updated pictures of our "big" girls. There's nothing like having a baby around to make you feel like your toddlers are all grown up!!

We had a great time with Amelia and Baby Lydia, and our time flew by. I have a lot of fun pictures that I'll have to share soon. I just wanted to get these fun pictures up first! Love, Amber

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Busy Little Bees

The next two weeks are going to be packed for us! We're planning to have fun though! First, my sweet friend, Amelia, and her darling baby, also named Lydia, are coming tonight! I am going to pick them up at 9:35 at the Houston Hobby airport. I hope I find them okay!!
My friend and her daughter get to stay until Monday morning, and then we are going to drop them back off at the airport and rush to our first day of VBS at our church. We will be packing up early every morning next week and attending. It'll be a dose of fun with extra craziness.
In the middle of the week, Dave is going to California on business. Hopefully VBS and packing will keep us distracted from his absense. I'll be packing, not only for VBS, but also because we are going to go to Bartlesville for a week!!! So, Dave flies in on Thursday at 11ish p.m. and we will be leaving right after VBS on Friday to make a 10 or so hour drive to our hometown. I am hoping for an extremely relaxing week away, and I am trying not to focus on all the projects we will be leaving here at home. I am trying to redirect my attention on all the wonderful people we will get to see instead!!! Like I said, these next few weeks will be packed for us--- theoretically and literally!!!
I hope this blog makes sense and is legible. My kids have been whining, fighting, screaming and shouting pretty much since they woke up from their afternoon naps. But, I love you all so much, that I decided to try and let you know what's going on anyway. :) (Hmmm... maybe that's not love. Maybe it' pure vanity! Ha!) Love, Amber
P.S. When the girls and I walked to get the mail today, Julia said, "I am going to go ahead and walk home, Mom. It is so hot out here. The sun gives me a fever." I couldn't agree more!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Lunch!

Ever wondered how to eat a tortilla with a fork?


Exhibit A- Exhibit B-
Exhibit C-


Now you know! Love ya!! -Amber

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

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

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

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