Christmas Fun! (or mostly)

We had such a wonderful Christmas, despite the fact that Miss Emma Kate got a cold Sunday night. She was pretty miserable Monday and Tuesday :(
Though she was still soo excited about all of her gifts. She would get a present and say "I wonder what this could be?" ~It was too cute!! Ben was SOO excited that Santa liked the milk and cookies he picked out for him.
Santa brought Emma a Disney princess vanity set for her room and Ben got a Bike!! We all got so many wonderful things, We made out like Bandits ;)
Hope Y'all had a wonderful Christmas!!!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY EMMA KATE!!

Well today my little girl turned the big 3!! I can't believe she's three!! Well okay, she's been talking and acting like she's 3 for the past year, so I guess it's not that much of a stretch ;) What a fun day we had today, Daddy took the day off to spend with the Birthday Girl. He took Ben to school then Daddy, Emma and I went to the mall and found her Christmas dress. Then we went to lunch at Celebrity Bakery in Plano (yummy). They have the BEST iced sugar cookies and of course Miss Emma Kate got to eat part of hers before her lunch ;) Then we came home for nap. After Ben got home from school, we opened presents! Emma LOVED the Ariel doll we got her and all of the other gifts!! For dinner Miss Emma requested Lasagna, yum! Then we had Chocolate cake for dessert. Emma can't wait for her Ariel cake on Saturday!! What a great day we all had!!

Emma Kate,
You bring Mommy such joy and happiness!! You are such a sweet and loving little (oops~ Big) Girl!! I love you so very much!

DISNEY WORLD!!! Part 2

Sunday morning, we woke up and ate breakfast in our rooms. Then we were off to Animal Kingdom. I was so excited to see this one, I'd never been to it before!! The first thing we did was a 3-d Show based on A Bug's Life. Ben did NOT like it at all. I'll admit I wasn't expecting to get sprayed with water etc. Oh well...Then we went to look at some more cool animals.
The kids LOVED all of the animals and they have a really cool area with tons of Dinosaur rides etc. We went on a Triceratops ride that both kiddos really liked. Then My Mom and Sister took the kiddos to a Lion King show while Chris & I and my Dad, Brother and Uncle all went on one of the coolest coasters ever: Expedition Everest! We had a TOTAL blast!! Then we all met up for the Kilimanjaro Safari ride! We got to see tons of animals up close like Hippos, Alligators, Elephants, Giraffes and even some Lions. It was amazing!!

Then we ate at a fun pizza place and decided to head over to MGM for the parade. The parade was amazing!! It had tons of awesome characters like Buzz & Woody from Toy Story and the Muppets , Jasime & Aladin, The Power Rangers, Snow White and Miss Emma's favorite Ariel!! In fact, when Ariel rode us on her float she waved really big at Emma and told her she loved her shirt (of course it had Ariel on it ;) )!!! Santa even made a surprise visit!! After the Parade, we went to the Beauty and the Beast stage show. Oh My gosh, Emma was entranced~She LOVED it!! It was a really great show!! After that, Chris went with Erin, Colin & Uncle Greg on the Tower of Terror. While My mom, dad and I and the kiddos went to see some characters. We saw Lightning McQueen and Mator and we saw the Power Rangers!!! After that, we saw a Muppets 3-D show. Then we all met up for dinner at Mama Melrose's for yummy Italian!! It was great! By then it was dark and we walked around New York Street and got to see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights and hear Christmas songs. It was truly amazing!! It even "snowed"!! After that, we headed back to the resort and headed to bed.

DISNEY WORLD!!! Part 1

We started our fun-filled trip on Friday Nov. 16th. We got up EARLY and got to the airport via Super Shuttle~Ben thought that was pretty cool!! Then we got to ride on an airplane, it was the first experience for both kiddos and they both did SO well!!! We made it to Florida and then to our gorgeous Resort: Saratoga Springs around 1pm and had some lunch in their restaurant. Then we went and checked out our rooms. We had an awesome view of Downtown Disney from our balcony, it was too cool!! Then we boarded the bus to head to Epcot to take the Monorail to dinner. We went to Chef Mickey's Buffet at the Contemporary Hotel, we saw and got autographs from Mickey, Minnie, Goofy & Pluto. Miss Emma loved Pluto and she played with his whiskers when he came to the table ;) She also had to give Goofy a little kiss. Ben loved seeing Mickey & Pluto!! It was a wonderful start to the trip!

The next morning we went to the Magic Kingdom!! We got there in time to see their opening skit~it was so cute there was singing and dancin' and tons of characters riding in on Casey Jr. (ya know, the train from Dumbo)!! Our first stop once inside, was Breakfast at the Crystal Palace buffet with Winnie the Pooh and all his friends. Ben and Uncle Greg met us there on the horse & Buggy! It was so cute!! Emma Kate was SOOO excited when she saw Piglet, she just kept hugging on him and gave him a kiss on the nose ;) She also really loved Eyeore!! Mommy was excited to see Pooh Bear and Ben loved Tigger!! After breakfast, Emma HAD to go and see Cinderella's Castle up close!! So we went over and we were just in time for an awesome show right in front of the Castle called "Dream along with Mickey." There were tons of characters in it: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Cinderella & Prince Charming, Aurora (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty ;) ) and Prince Phillip & Snow White & her prince, Peter Pan & Wendy & Captain Hook. Even Maleficent (the witch from Sleeping Beauty) was there!! Emma could not believe her eyes, she was SOOO excited to see all the princesses! After the show, she said to me "Mommy I want to be up there when I grow up, I want to be a Princess!!"~It was TOO cute!! Then we went on Cinderella's HUGE Carousel and the Flying Dumbo ride! Ben LOVED the Dumbo ride, especially because he got to be with Uncle Colin!! Then we all went over to the Mad Tea Party ride (a.k.a The Tea Cups)~The kids got a kick out of "spinning the cup" with only a little help from Dad ;) Then Ben HAD to go to the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, so Daddy & Papa took He and Emma. They had such a blast "driving" their race cars and Ben won the race (or so he said ;) )! Then we all headed over to the Peter Pan ride, Ben wasn't so thrilled with this one~ oh well... Then the kids went on their first Roller Coaster!! The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm, Ben had to go on it with his Nana (he'd been planning that for awhile) and Miss Emma went with Daddy. They both thought it was really fun!! Good thing since both Mommy & Daddy LOVE Roller Coasters!!!

Then we all stopped for some snacks and then headed over to the Parade! By then poor Miss Emma was a little pooped out~she fell asleep on Papa's shoulder. Daddy held Ben up on his shoulders so he could see the awesome parade. He was really excited to see Chip & Dale!! After the parade, Gaga & Nana stayed with Sleeping Beauty (I mean Emma) and Papa took Ben to ride on Casey jr. (a.k.a the Walt Disney World Railroad) While Chris & I and Colin and Uncle Greg went on Space Mountain. It was pretty awesome!! Then we went to the Monsters Inc. Laugh floor show, it was really cute and Ben learned a new joke "why was 6 afraid of 7??" ..... "Because 7 ate (8) 9..." hee hee. He keeps telling that over and over!! We finished our day with dinner at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. On the way back to the bus we had to get some pictures of the castle all lit up at night, it was GORGEOUS!!!
What a great fun-filled first day at Disney.

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

*A special thanks to our wonderful Photographers Uncle Greg and Daddy*

Stay tuned for more Disney stories & pictures.....

Thanksgiving Lunch at Ben's School

Well the day before our trip to Disney, we (including Daddy) got to go to Ben's school for a Thanksgiving lunch. We even got our very own special table. We had sandwiches and cookies and all of the kids stood up in front of the class to say what they were thankful for. Some said funny things, but Ben said he was Thankful for his Mom, Dad, and Emma (Too sweet :) )!! Then we got to make a turkey out of an apple, Ben was so excited to get to eat it once we got home. Then off to spend the night at Gaga & Papa's house to be ready to go to the airport Friday morning...

Happy Birthday My Boy!!!

Today my little Boy turns the BIG 5!!! I CAN'T believe it's been 5 wonderful years since he's entered our lives. I remember the day he was born very vividly. It was a Sunday and we woke up and went to church. As we were sitting at church, the contractions began. I remember having some pretty good ones on my way up to Communion. Of course our entire church was very interested in that ;) Then after church My Mom & I went to Wal-mart (Cuz' ya know we needed groceries etc. )~that should've been the biggest clue that he was comin' that day. So needless to say the ENTIRE time I was there, I was having contractions. Chris was over at his Dad's finishing up a gorgeous bookshelf for Ben to fit all of the huge stuffed animals we had for him. SO I went over to my parents. We were supposed to be celebrating my older Brother's birthday that evening, with Turkey and all the fixins' (of course one of my favorite meals)~that didn't happen ;) ~Sorry Shaun ;)
So as the afternoon/early eveing went on and my contractions got even worse, we debated on calling Chris to tell him (as he was workin' hard on that bookshelf). We finally called and told him he better get here because we were gonna be calling the Dr. soon. He rushed over and we called the Dr. and they said to get over to the hospital right away as I was already dialated and effaced quite a lot~we found out that my Dr. had told the on-call Dr. that he would probably be hearing from me ;) So we got to the hospital and got situated by around 6 pm and my little bundle of joy arrived at 11:04 PM, weighing 6 lb. and 8 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.

Benny,
I hope you had a wonderful 5th birthday, You continue to impress me each and every day as you grow and learn new things! I love you with all my heart !!!

Happy Early Birthday Ben!!

This afternoon, Miss Emma Kate & I brought cupcakes to Ben's class at school to help celebrate his birthday(even though it's not until Saturday). The boys were so sweet and really enjoyed them ~I say boys because his class is ALL boys (yup 13 of them!). They all sang "Happy Birthday" to Ben and then they all ate their Chocolate buttercream cupcakes (they were Ben's request ;) )!!
What a fun time, I can't believe my little boy is gonna be 5 soon!!! ~ yikes ;)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

What a fun night! Gaga, Papa, Grammy Grammy & Nana all came up to see the kiddos in their costumes. We had lovely Snow White and a cool Fireman!!
The kids had a BLAST Trick or Treating!! Miss Emma Kate kept looking up and saying "Mommy I love to go trick or treat"! Ben was such a great big brother waiting up for Emma at each house. And boy oh boy did we get a TON of candy! Hope Everyone had a GREAT night!!

Say Hello to Ariel...

This week in my cake class, we made character cakes. I chose to do Ariel, since that is what Miss Emma Kate wants for her birthday. I had never done a face before, but I think it turned out pretty well (even if I say so myself ;) )...

Game Ball

What a fun T-ball game we had tonight. Ben really hustled after the ball and he hit really well. The coach complimented Ben on how well he went after the ball and Ben got the GAME BALL!! He was SOOO excited!! ;)
Gotta love T-Ball!!

Cake Class Fun!

The last 2 Tuesdays, I have been going to the cake class at Cakes Amore in Plano that Chris got me for my Birthday. I have had so much fun so far learning tips & tricks. Last night we learned pattern transfers with Piping Gel, it was really cool. Here are some pics from my finished cake:


..Can't wait for next weeks Character Cake :)

24-23
WHOOP!!!

Emma went POTTY!!

Yesterday, Miss Emma Kate & I went to the store to pick out a potty chair. Of course she wanted the one that has a crown lid and plays music after you pee in it. ;) Then this morning, she pee peed in it for the first time!! HOORAY!! Let's hope she keeps up the good work!

BALLOON FESTIVAL!!!

This weekend we went to the Plano Balloon Festival, Ben & Emma have been SO excited about this! We had such a blast! We had GREAT seats, the weather was so nice and the company was even better! Emma's favorite balloons were the Energizer Bunny and the Panda, Ben's Favorites were the Pirate and the Tree. Mommy's Favorite was the big 'ol Cow, I had never seen a balloon that big before. What a Great time we had!!

Playing Dress Up

Miss Emma Kate wanted to play dress up this morning while Ben was at school, and she was just too cute not to snap a few shots...

Now mommy just needs to figure out which one she's going to wear for Halloween...

More T-Ball!!

Here's some pics of Ben's T-Ball game last night, they did such a great job yet again!!

The Aquarium

Today we went to the aquarium with our Moms Club friends. We practically had the place to ourselves, what fun! We got to see all of the animals up close! Emma's favorite parts were the Sharks and the River Otters. Ben's favorites were the Tamarins, Sharks and the Jaguar. The kids were SO cute especially when they were looking at the River Otters. What a fun time!!

Fun on the Farm!

We went to visit MiMi, Lou Lou & Papa today in Lucas. What fun we had seeing their horses and running around their yard!! Thanks PaPa for taking Ben on a tractor ride as soon as you got home, he loved it!!!

Ben's 1st T-BALL Game

Last night was Ben's first T-ball game!! I went into it without very big expectations, boy was I wrong. They were all really good!! Ben played his little heart out. I couldn't believe how good he did hitting the ball and fielding!! After he fielded the first ball from the pitching rubber, he did a little victory dance (uh oh, we may get penalties later in his sporting career ;) ).
Thanks to Mr.Ed for teaching him"baseball ready", he kept repeating it during the game ;) All in all, the whole team did great!!

Ben's 1st day of PRESCHOOL

My little boy is growing up, today was Ben's first day of preschool. He was SUPER excited!! Here he is getting ready to leave the house:
When we dropped him off, he was fine, I was SOO proud of what a big boy he was!! When we came back to pick him up, he couldn't wait to tell me about his day. He loved playing and getting to read and going to the inside playground. He also really liked spanish. He asked me if he got to go back tomorrow, I'm SO happy he loves school!!

Is this Right, what are Your Thoughts??

After seeing this on a couple of Friends' Blogs, I had to try it out to see if what I thought was what the computer thingy would say...
Well Guess what?!? It didn't match what I thought AT ALL ~at least not for Ben, he's always looked SO much like his Daddy!!

Emma's I do agree with, I've seen pics of me as a kid and we do look a lot alike! ;)

Birthday PARTY!!

Tonight we celebrated my birthday with ALL of the Fam (well most of it anyway). Chris grilled awesome hamburgers & hot dogs and we had tons of yummy sides ~ especially my Fav Ole Dip!!
Then we opened gifts, I'm such a lucky girl!! And then we had delicious Chocolate cake!! :)

What a wonderful Birthday I've Had!!

Girls Day Out

My Awesome friend Narci took me out to lunch to celebrate my Birthday and then She took me to Sam Moon (it was my very first time ~ I know, BIG Shocker ;) )...What a blast we had!!!
It's cool to think we've been friends since the 9th grade, you're the best girlie!! :)
Thanks for the fun times and for gettin' me outta the house ;)

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Well today I turned the big 2-8!! ;) What a great day we had. Chris took the day off from work and I got to sleep in. Then Chris made us all a wonderful French Toast breakfast (My Fav!!)!! Then we played and hung out around the house. Then for dinner, they took me to Maggiano's~YUMMY!!!

We got home and I got to open gifts. I kept thinkin' it was Christmas, not just my birthday, I am totally spoiled!!! I got a ton of fun Cake Decorating things, and I'll be taking a cake decorating class at a cute cake place in Plano!! I also got some really cute necklaces & earrings~
I have to give props to Chris for picking out some really cute things along with a really gorgeous gift!!! Then we had yummy chocolate cake!

What a Wonderful birthday, I must be the luckiest girl in the world!!

YUM-O!!!

Gotta love S'mores!!! ;)

Obviously after this dessert, she's gonna be takin' a bath!!!