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... 

July Book Basket...

Since this month is dedicated to the beach and traveling I decided to do a 'water/beach' theme for the month. I came to the conclusion that I need more 4th of July books in our personal library but I'm not sweating it this year since I just did a complete history/America themed basket in May for our trip to Williamsburg. Note to self for next year. :)

Sailaway Home by Bruce Degen
The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole
The Magic School Bus at the WaterWorks by Joanna Cole
Curious George Goes to the Beach by Margaret and H.A. Rey
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell by Lucille Colandro
Sheep on a Ship by Nancy Shaw
Pirates Don't Change Diapers by Melinda Long and David Shannon
Greetings From the 50 States by Sheila Keenan
Olivia Forms A Band by Ian Falconer
Coconut Mon by Linda Milstein
The Jolly Mon by Jimmy Buffett and Savannah Jane Buffett
Vivienne and the Giant Boots by Patrick FitzSymons
The Big Big Sea by Martin Waddell
A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
Wally the Whale Who Loved Balloons by Yuichi Watanabe
The Fish Who Could Wish by John Bush and Korky Paul


Like I said yesterday, we are in the process of completely reorganizing several rooms and moving things around. One of the things that we did is move one of the bookshelves that Andy made a few years ago to the den. It has six cubby spaces and some red collapsible bins to hold small toys/board books. One cubby contains some of the kids most loved authors including Mo Willems, Ian Falconer, and Anna Dewdney. The other open shelf is now my designated 'book basket' space. I've been wanting to have a designated shelf/space for themed books for awhile now. (Like the last few years!) However, it just didn't work till now. I really wanted it to be in a common/shared space in the house and not tucked away in one of the kids rooms. That way we can pull them out to read together on the couch. Since we moved the shelf in to the den the kids have spent more time pulling out the books and making use of them. (Which makes this teacher's heart very happy.) I also put on the shelf two ocean themed puzzles on the shelf for them to use. I can see us making good use of this as we head in to the second half of the year. I have a vast collection of themed books for the months ahead and I look forward to displaying them.

Pictures to come! Once I get everything the way I want it. We are still quite disheveled at the moment. I'm also mulling painting this fall. I ready to change up some of the colors in the house...

Family Update...

My friend, Erin, did a family update post this week on her blog and it was motivation to get my act together. So much has happened these last few months and it's time I got back in to my blogging groove. Here's a little of what we have been up to:

Andy

Has signed on to run a service bureau for a former client of his and will now be telecommuting from home when he doesn't have to travel. This should make for a highly interesting summer since we'll have both kids at home. At least during the school year when he worked from home AG was in school during the day. I'm hoping we find a balance over the course of the next few weeks. Regardless, we are grateful for this opportunity and some other things that seem to be coming together. Soccer finished up and Andy had a great time coaching AG in his first soccer season.  Andy has also taken up Crossfit and is loving it. 

Katie

I'm in desperate need of getting my act together when it comes to my blog...I've never been this sporadic with it. In other news I'm doing some stuff on the side with These Southern Roots and am hoping to dedicate some much needed time to it this summer. In addition, I'm also trying to revamp some of our household organization systems for the upcoming school year. My goal is to work on this stuff this summer so that I can get the kinks worked out before AG starts back to school in August. I'm still very involved with hospitality/events at our church and that keeps me busy. Running...I took most of the spring off to let me left leg heal from a stress fracture. I've run a handful of times since February and it looks like I'm healed. (Hooray!) When I have run it is pain free in my leg...granted my endurance isn't what it was but I can handle that if it's pain free. My goal for June is to slowly ease back in to running on a consistent basis. No crazy mileage or fast pacing just easy, consistent runs. Andy and I are looking at a big race goal for the winter season to complete together. (It deserves it's own post.) Training for that will start in July so easing back in to a running schedule is key for this month. Around the house...it's a mess! I've got several projects going on and need to take a few days to get caught up and on top of things. It's currently driving me crazy but I'm slowly tackling it and getting a bunch of stuff reorganized/purged/cleaned out. 

AG

 Getting to be such a big kid. Can't believe he completed his first year of preschool and that we are one year away from having a kindergartner. He had a blast on vacation and enjoyed learning/asking questions about everything. Continues to be a diehard Braves fan and enjoys telling anyone who will talk baseball with him about his team. I'm hoping to work on some special activities with him this summer while he is home. My goal is to get organized so that we can do projects together several times a week while Avi-Kate naps. He's really looking forward to going to the beach with my family in July and Andy's family over Labor Day weekend. Andy and I are tossing around several ideas for his fifth birthday this winter. Ideally, we'd like to do something special at certain milestone birthdays...we are still trying to figure out what this looks like but I like the possibilities.

Avi-Kate

 I really can't believe that in less than 48 hours she'll be two years old. She has changed so much in these last few months. I am so grateful that we had surgery when we did. Her speech and vocabulary is really starting to take off. (And for that I praise the lord.) She is a sweet, independent ball of energy that is always in motion doing something. Girlfriend loves her art supplies and is quite content to color masterpiece after masterpiece. She loves to cook in their play kitchen and take care of her babies. And she absolutely adores her big brother. (The feeling is mutual.) She loves to do whatever he is doing and spends most of the day trying to keep up with him.

Lastly, I love these two photos that I took of AG and our niece, Ronnie, this past week on vacation and had to share them. They've changed so much since the last time we were in Williamsburg. (It had been 2.5+ years since the last time we were there.)

Book List for May and looking forward to Vacation...

It's been awhile since I have done a book list for our book basket and in reorganizing things this afternoon I decided to pull books to post. The end of May brings a trip north to Virginia...one of our favorite places to vacation. I started visiting the 'Historic Triangle' when I was in elementary school and absolutely fell in love with the area. Shortly after we were married we took our first family vacation with Andy's family and we went to Virginia. Since then we've taken several trips back to the historic district but the last time we were there AG was 20 months old. After that trip we found out were pregnant with Avi-Kate. When I look back at the photos from that trip it amazes me what all has happened since we were last there. I can't believe it's been almost three years since we were there last. We are thrilled to be heading back for a week of good food, walking in the past, shopping at our favorite places, and visiting one of our favorite theme parks with lots of family time. Since I taught upper elementary school I have quite a large collection of books relating to Colonization and The American Revolution. 

Colonial Book Basket:

John, Paul, George, and Ben by Lane Smith

Those Rebels, John & Tom by Barbara Kerley

Katie's Trunk by Ann Turner

Samuel's Choice by Richard Berleth

The Lost Colony of Roanoke by Jean Fritz

Uncovering History at Colonial Williamsburg Archaeology for Young Explorers

D is for Drum A Colonial Williamsburg ABC by Kay Chorao

Imogene's Last Stand by Candace Fleming

Historic Communities A Colonial Town Williamsburg by Bobbie Kalman

Mary Geddy's Day A Colonial Girl in Williamsburg by Kate Waters

The Scarlet Stockings Spy by Trinka Hakes Noble

Let it Begin Here! Lexington and Concord by Dennis Brindell Fradin

George vs. George The American Revolution as Seen From Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer

Roanoke The Lost Colony by Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple

Redcoats and Petticoats by Katherine Kirkpatrick

The Folk Art Counting Book from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center Williamsburg, VA

If You Lived In Williamsburg in Colonial Days by Barbra Brenner

If You Lived At The Time Of The American Revolution by Kay Moore

Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? by Jean Fritz

Shh! We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz

Everyday Dress of the American Colonial Period Coloring Book by Peter F. Copeland

We The People Series of books:

The Boston Tea Party by Michael Burgan

Great Women of the American Revolution by Michael Burgan

Williamsburg by Judy Alter

African-Americans in the Colonies by Jean Kinney Williams

The Bill of Rights by Michael Burgan

The Declaration of Independence by Michael Burgan

The Battles of Lexington and Concord

Triangle Histories Revolutionary War Series

The Battle of Monmouth by Lewis K. Parker

The Battle of Harlem Heights by Mary Hertz Scarbrough

The Battle of Valcour Bay by Scott Ingram

I recognize that some of these are waaaaaaay over my kids' heads. BUT while the content might be over their heads the real photographs on the pages are great to look at and discuss. The Williamsburg We the People book is filled with photos of the historic district. This will be a list that I come back to as the kids age over the next few years. I am really excited about AG being older this time around. He'll actually be able to grasp some of the concepts that we'll experience and that makes this former history teacher's heart happy. Here's hoping this next month flies by because I can't wait to be back there after browsing through these photos earlier:

 Lunch with Elmo and Friends and lots of quality time at Busch Gardens is on tap next month. They've added several new rides since we were last there. Including a new roller coaster, Verbolten, that replaced one of our favorite coasters at any theme park, The Big Bad Wolf. 

 Our last few trips have come in the lates summer/ fall so I'm excited to see the late spring/early summer gardens. 

 AG has requested a new hat since this one now fits Avi-Kate, a colonial drum, and a wooden pistol like the one he is holding in this photo. We are going to buy Avi-Kate a mob cap but I have a feeling she'll be wearing AG's old tri-cornered hat everywhere she goes. 

 I'm elated about this...when we were there last they had started working on excavating and rebuilding the Public Armoury. Since we've been there they completed the project and we will actually get to walk inside this building that was a big hole in the ground last time we were there. 

 Afternoon hot chocolate at Charlton's Coffee House is a must do for me. Colonial hot chocolate is very different from today's hot chocolate. 

 Even in the rain Williamsburg is just beautiful to me.