This year the county that I work for planned a FULL week break for Thanksgiving. In short, IT WAS AMAZING! Some of festivities included: The First-Ever Friendsgiving Asian Food Edition, Jacksonville zoo adventures, three family Thanksgiving feasts, decorating for Christmas, MOANA, and lots and lots of shopping with friends and family!
In her own words, Addie’s birthday was the “Best Day Ever!” Waring’s cousin, Katrina, always does such a fabulous job with the themed food, decoration, and festivities! This has been the year of princesses for Addie (could be due to those Disney Annual Passes), so Addie was Rapunzel for Halloween and had the same theme for her birthday. Addie’s birthday was truly a blast, and I grateful to everyone who came to join us in the celebration!
I thank God each day for this sassy little girl with her big personality.
There is a magical time in a child’s life when they are old enough to walk, talk, and ride the rides at Disney World prior to turning three years old. During this time, they are deemed as “Mickey’s Guest” and they are FREE to enter and enjoy the park. If you are enjoying character dining or fast passes they are free to enjoy the ride or the food but there is no additional fee for their participation. TALK ABOUT MAGICAL…..
Addie has spent a total of 23 days at Disney as “Mickey’s Guest” and she loved every second of it. I know a lot of people say that there is no sense in taking them when they are so young because they won’t remember it, but seeing the look on her face as she had so many wonderful new experiences I know that it is worth it because I WILL REMEMBER IT! I will remember how her face lights up every time she sees the first sign for Disney World and shouts the names of the four characters she sees (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald). I will remember how after she meets each new character she walks about and says, “Mommy, I did it!” I will remember how much she loved to ride “super fast rides” and how she first called Splash Mountain, “Water Mountain” and screams “I think we gonna get wet…!”
If she doesn’t remember the 23 days she spent as Mickey’s Guest at Disney World this past year, it is okay because I WILL and I KNOW how much fun she truly had! Take a look and see!
The fall season has been just like I like it, BUSY! I know that most people get anxious when their calendar is overflowing, but in all honesty it excited me. While I can get burnt out as much as the next person, I truly love packing as much bank for my 24 hour buck as I can in each day. I love when my weekends are full of fun things with family and friends, and Fall is such a great time to plan these things because it seems like there is a festival or event around every corner. Fall is truly my kind of season! Here are just a few of the things we have been up to over the past month. (And…in case you have been wondering, we have been checking A LOT of items off of our Fall Bucket List. I will post the final list with all successes and shortcomings at the end of the month!)
Our grand plans for Disney World were foiled when massive Hurricane Matthew decided to crash the party. Back at home the power and water were out for days, but other than a couple of downed trees we have no damage to show for all of Matthew’s efforts. It is in times like these that we realize how blessed we are, and how often we take for granted the comforts from home. This very hurricane has caused catastrophic loss of life and property throughout the Caribbean, our minor discomfort simply does not compare.
But back to the fun from this weekend….we decided to take a visit to my grandparent’s camper up in Blue Ridge, GA for a few days. We spent some time apple picking at a new orchard, collecting leaves on a hike, visiting antique shops, eating cupcakes in downtown Blue Ridge (twice), visiting the famous Blairsville Sorgum Festival, and of course playing on lots and lots of playgrounds!
While we were a little bummed not to be going to Disney we thankful to be safe away from the storm. As a family we can find fun in almost any situation or location!
Recently, Addie and her cousins shared another “first” together as they watched a movie outside at the Highway 21 Drive-in. We arrived early in time to play on the playground in front of the big screen, order dinner, and comfy before the movie started. We borrowed my father’s truck, which turned out to be perfect for the trip. Three kids and two adults were able to get cozy and watch the movie under the stars together.
The kids had a blast, experienced something new, and just couldn’t hang in there with us for the ride home! I think that this Fall Bucket-List item will be a keeper for years and years to come!
Sweet Addie Faye,
You both broke and melted my heart tonight. After you went to the restroom you reminded me that we needed to wash our hands. We walked up to the sink and you said, “I can’t reach.” I told you that you were almost there, and you said “almost, but not yet.” I told you that it was okay that you couldn’t reach because I didn’t want you to grow up. You replied, “yes, but I need to grow up.” I asked you if you wanted to grow up, and you said “yes, I want to be big like you so that I can see you and talk to you.” Wow. My heart is in a million pieces. I love that you are putting it all together. The things and ideas that come out of your head and mouth amaze me each day. I can’t wait to see the woman that you will grow into, but I also want to freeze this very moment as you are snoring on the couch next to me.
Love,
Mama
Sometimes in life you just have to hunker down and wash the dishes. No, those clothes will not fold themselves no matter how long you wait for the laundry fairy to come. I don’t know about you, but at least at our house, we are in constant cycle of making and cleaning up our messes each week. Here is pretty much how it goes. Sunday….Ahh clean the house before small group gets here. Monday….man it sure is nice to come home to a clean house. Tuesday….hmm should I was clothes tonight? Wednesday….let pick up a little or maybe watch Netflix instead. Thursday…I wish it were Friday. Friday….PARTY. Saturday…PAAARTY. Sunday…AHHHH small group is coming MUST CLEAN EVERYTHING.
With the constant and continuous flow of activity throughout the week it can be exhausting just to keep up, let alone trying to be a “fun” mom. Then I look at pictures like this one below, and I remember how fast she is growing. Pretty soon it won’t matter if I am fun or not because her friends will be like waaay cooler than me.
As I am literally about to fall sleep over this keyboard, I pray tonight that God will give me the energy to be the mom who says yes to tickle tackles, one more bedtime book/song/story, exploring the back yard on leaf hunts, serving tea for two in the bathtub, coloring one more picture, and staying up for one last bedtime snack. I want to say yes more each day than I say no. Yes is such a small word that opens the door to amazing opportunity. There are instances each day when no has to be the answer (no, you can’t swing from the countertops/cabinets or ride our chihuahua like a horsie), but help me to remember to let her be little. Help me to remember to have fun. She is so much fun. I want to be like her when I grow up.
I know. I know. Technically we are not quite into the “Fall season,” but I am not going to semantics and silly dates get in the way of an opportunity to check off some pretty awesome bucket list adventures off of our list! Due to inclement weather school closures and an already scheduled 3 day weekend Waring, Addie, and I took the liberty to invite ourselves (sorry, not sorry) on a camping trip with my parents to Blue Ridge, GA.
We stayed in my grandparent’s camper on some family/friend property near Blairsville that has been outfitted for camping (complete with full hook-up and bath house!!). The pictures below pretty much speak for themselves. We had a blast!
Here are just a few bucket list items that have been checked off:
-Camping
-Apple Picking (September Wonder apples are the best….but we all prefer the Apple Cider Donuts!)
-S’mores
-Go to a Fall Festival (Blairsville Heritage Days Festival)
-Go to the Mountains (this was Addie’s first trip. Her first comment was “Mountains aren’t purple?—> The girl reads too many books!!
-Making a fire (okay, so technically someone else made it…but we enjoyed it!)
Now that we have a head start on Fall, we may be able to check off some bucket list items two and three times this season! Happy Fall Y’all!
Summer was so fun with our season-specific list of things to do that I think we just HAVE to create another fun-filled bucket list or this Fall! Here are some of the things that we will be up to in the new few months:
Daily Drops in the Bucket 