Third time is the charm...I hope...

In December of 2010 we spent a week at Disney with AG seeing all the holiday splendor and it was so beautiful. It was a great trip but it was also hard because all three of us were sick. (I was also 3 months pregnant with Avi-Kate.) Since then we've tried to go back to do all the Christmas stuff again just not sick. And the last two years we've had to cancel for various reasons. As it is last year everyone but Avi-Kate came down with a stomach virus...so I was grateful we ended up canceling. I told Andy that I can't keep planning on a Christmas trip and then having to cancel it. So here's hoping that this year we actually make it to Disney! Once again the kids don't know this trip exists but they have been asking daily when are we going back to Disney so the timing couldn't be better! For this trip we have a voucher to try Wyndham's Vacation Club at Bonnet Creek and we are curious to see how it stacks up next to Marriott's. Then we'll finish the last two nights at one of Marriott's Vacation Club resorts. We are going to try a new to us Marriott by staying at Harbour Lake. (At some point we plan to do a trip and stay here when it is hot so that the kids can take advantage of the amenities...they have a pirate ship water feature, putt-putt course, etc.) This will be the first trip where we have to pay for AG and I'm sad that our kid free days are numbered. Oh, well it had to happen sometime. Avi-Kate has another year of being free before we have to pay for her too. Our plan is to take advantage of this and get our monies worth out of the fact that we have to pay for AG while Avi-Kate is still free. 

This trip is going to be really low key and we are going to do everything that the kids want to do. Andy and I will be back in January for race weekend so we'll get to ride our favorites then. Also, it looks like we'll get to overlap with my dear friend, Evan, and her crew for a day. Last fall our trips lined up like this and we had an absolutely perfect day together. I'm really excited about getting to spend some time together with all our kids in one of our favorite places. I've booked a few dining reservations and analyzed the crowd forecasts to maximize our park time so the kids get to see everything they want. We are trying to really hard to prioritize trips like this right now when they are so little because they LOVE everything about it and get completely wrapped up in the magic of it all. Avi-Kate is going to be beside herself because in this last year she has come to love all of the princesses. Andy and I can't wait to see their faces and watch them take it all in. So here's hoping that in less than fifty days we'll all be at the happiest place on earth enjoying some much needed family time with our gingers.

Every year we go I pick up an ornament with the date on it...this is a special one from 2011 because it commemorates the Magic Kingdom 40th anniversary. And we also pick up an ornament or two for each child based on what they've loved that year.

I love seeing the castle like this. And I love the fact that we get to see it lit up in January for Marathon weekend. It's so beautiful to run towards it as you are running down Main Street U.S.A. 

(Sigh) Is it time to leave yet?!? These pictures make me wish we could pack and go right now. Thankfully at the rate that the weeks are flying by it'll be here before we know it. :)

Weekend at Hilton Head Island.

I can't believe that we are now in September and more than that I can't believe how little I've blogged this year. I've pondered a lot why that is and why I have been so apathetic. I love it and I love being able to look back on past seasons in our lives...and yet, most days this year I have yet to document our life in this moment. 2013 has been a hard year. It has been an emotional year with some pretty deep moments. Some of these moments in time I may be able to blog about and other moments might not ever get recorded here. If you are still reading this know that we are good and the kids are good. It's been a hard year but God has been gracious and has sustained us. 

This past weekend we went with Andy's mom and sisters to Hilton Head Island. This was the first time our immediate family had been to Hilton Head and we LOVED it. We stayed at Marriott's Barony Beach Club and it was fabulous! Within the last year they had remodeled the pool area and it was AH-Mazing. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more the kids or the adults. It will most definitely be on our list of Marriott places to return to. (I seriously wouldn't mind if we went back yearly.) I loved that it was only 5 hours from Rome and that it was easily doable for a long weekend. For this trip we went Thursday night to Monday afternoon. I left wishing that we had been able to stay a full week. Next time! :)

 We took advantage of the lower crowds and spent time each day at the beach and pool. I loved that our room overlooked the pool. In the afternoons we were able to leave the little girls up in the room napping with an adult while the older two swam all afternoon. I even managed to read an entire 400+ page book cover to cover over the weekend. Which is quite the accomplishment these days with small kids. I remember the trips we use to take to the beach before kids and I would read multiple books in a week. One day again...when they are older, right? :) Here are some pictures on the beach and at the pool...