Memorial Day Parade

 On Memorial Day, we spent some time at our local parade to honor those service men and women who have given so much to serve our country.

I'm linking up with Deb Duty Photography for This or That Thursdays.

7

It is hard to believe that seven years ago my life completely changed.

 Caitlin has grown up so much over the last year.  She is finishing up first grade.  This year, she went from barely reading to ferociously reading chapter books.  I have to stop her from reading too long at bedtime so she gets enough sleep.

 She has become much more confident.  She loves to answer questions in class and stands up for herself.

 I love how excited she was to receive chapter books for her birthday.

Seeing Caitlin grow up into such a cool person makes me happy.  Go see Leigh vs. Laundry to see more photos that will make you happy.

I'm also linking up with the Tiggerfic Tuesday Blog Hop or Bounce. 

Population Boom

I love some ecards.

Happy Friday!

Exercising to Relax

I am answering  Life Well Lived Getting Happy questions:  What are your favorite relaxation techniques? And what benefits do you see from practicing them? 

The way I relax is by exercising.  Exercising helps me release endorphins and feel good. Not only do I physically feel better after exercising but while I'm exercising I can make a plan of action. Having a plan of attack helps me feel less overwhelmed.

You can join the discussion at Blogher.com. Also don't forget to enter the Life Well Lived Sweepstakes. You could win an Ipod Touch.

Mother's Day Card

This was my Mother's Day card from Davey this year.  It appears I looked pretty one day when he was 3.  I love to do laundry. I do a lot of laundry but there is no love there.   And most importantly he loves me because I do nice things for him.

Check out more wordless at 5 Minutes for Mom, A Beautiful Mess, Naptime Momtog Live and Love Outloud and Wordless Wednesday for more wordless photos.

Happy Birthday Little Boy!

Davey recently had his 5th birthday.  That just blows my mind.  Time goes by so fast.  Davey is still my baby.  He will always be my baby.  He still loves to cuddle with me in the mornings.  In the past year, he went through another year of preschool.  He writes his name and letters pretty well now. He is a brave little boy who battled Darth Vader and won! He loves his Angry Bird game and all video games.  He actually watches his dad play an alien video game.  We call him the mayor of preschool.  He always waves and says hello to everyone at school.  He is very independent and practically pushes me out the door when I drop him off at school.  At kindergarten orientation, he was the first child to line up when they separated the children and parents.

Seeing Davey grow up into such a cool person makes me happy.  Go see Leigh vs. Laundry to see more photos that will make you happy.

I'm also linking up with the Tiggerfic Tuesday Blog Hop or Bounce.  If you are interested in Disney's X Pass, check out my pass on our experience with the testing.

Testing the New X Pass/Fast Pass

Disney World is testing out a new fast pass system (sometimes called an X pass.)  We were lucky enough to get to try it out on our trip 2 weeks ago.  We were approached at the Disney’s Magical Express check-in and asked if they wish to take a survey. We said sure.    The cast members explained that they were testing out a new fast pass system.  They asked us for a day that we would be going into the Magic Kingdom.  They gave us a list on attractions that could be fastpassed.  We were allowed to pick a total of 4.  The first date did not work for us due to advanced dining reservations at Cinderella's Castle. 

The second dayworked out great.  We had fast passes for Splash Mountain for between 9:10-10:10, Peter Pan's Flight between 10:55-11:55, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh between 12:05-1:05, and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin between1:35-2:35.  When you get in the fast pass line, there is a scanner for your fast pass card.  If the scanner turns green, you are in the time frame.  If the scanner turns red, you are not in the time frame.  The process itself was very easy.

We were also allowed to use our regular passes to get more fast passes.  We get to ride a ton of rides the day we tested out the new fast pass.  Keeping track of the times was easy.  They emailed the confirmation of times and we could check our smart phones.

The possibility of being able to plan your fast passes before you even go on your trip is so incredible.  It makes the idea of going during a busy time more appealing, since you know that you are guaranteed to get on some of your favorite rides.  A Christmas break vacation is no longer out of the question.

Disney Fireworks

We kept the kids up late to see the Wishes fireworks at Disney World.  They were quite impressive. You really have to camp out a spot ahead of time to get a good location.  We lucked out. These were my favorite shots.

I'm linking up with Deb Duty Photography for This or That Thursdays.

Terrifying!

Check out more wordless at 5 Minutes for Mom, A Beautiful Mess, Naptime Momtog Live and Love...Outloud and Wordless Wednesday for more wordless photos.

Photo With Mickey and Minnie

We got back from our vacation to Disney World last week. We had such a good time and made so many great memories.  Go see Leigh vs. Laundry to see more photos that will make you happy.

I'm also linking up with the Tiggerfic Tuesday Blog Hop or Bounce.

The Extra Suitcase for Disney

We are getting ready for our Disney trip. We are flying Southwest Airlines this time.  They let you to check 2 bags per person.  We are going to take an extra bag this trip for food.  Bringing food will help save some money. Here are most of the things in that suitcase: cereal cups, Disney princess fruit snacks, Star Wars fruit snacks, granola bars, M&M fan things, sunscreen, aloe (from when I miss a spot with sunscreen and get burned0, Poptarts, cheese crackers, Sharpie markers for character autographs, and 12 waters.  Not pictured but added later was individual packs of pretzels, Archer Farms Simply Balanced apple pear powder (for H2O bottles), nut packs, and rice krispie treats.



I also packed some glow sticks from the dollar store and some light up sticks.


The extra suitcase for our Disney trip makes me happy. Go see Leigh vs. Laundry to see more photos that will make you happy.

I'm also linking up with the Tiggerfic Tuesday Blog Hop or Bounce.