Phase 1

Our house has been in desperate need of landscaping for years.  Mike & I have been mulling over the details about it for longer than I care to mention.  I'm so happy to report that we finally planted the first landscape bed of our 2010 Outdoor Overhaul.  It was HARD work but we are really pleased with how everything came together.

1st load

2nd load

3rd load... the back of my suv is fil-thy!

8 hrs and $400 later...

My hibiscuses are blooming every day! 

I like the mexican heather we planted too!

Now, all we need is a handful of solar malibu lights and some fertilizer for the grass and we'll be all set!  We planted everything room to grow so I hope it all takes!  We have a lot more bricks and mulch in the garage so I'm really excited to start working on Phase 2!  Check back soon!

The Happiest Place On Earth

Earlier this week Mike took a couple days off of work so that we could take the girls to the Magic Kingdom.  We booked a time share package that gifted us two free Disney tickets and 3 nights in a hotel,  the time share presentation was a learning experience (to say the least) but it was worth it for the money we saved for a 4 day trip.   

The Magic Kingdom is a truly the place where dreams come true, it's a magical theme park that Mike & I LOVED visiting as kids.  As parents we were overjoyed to experience the "Happiest Place on Earth" with our own daughters.  I took a TON of pictures, it was hard picking which ones to post on our blog.  So these are the best of the best. 

Saying hi to Walt and Mickey.

Seeing the back side of water on the Jungle Cruise in Adventure Land.

Having lunch in Frontier Land after riding the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean.  After lunch Mike took Mikayla on the Haunted Mansion, she's a brave little girl, unlike her older sister who was chicken. :)  Oh well maybe Maddy will go in the Haunted Mansion next time.

Mommy was happy to see that Disney has added some healthy side options to the kids value menus.  You can choose grapes, carrot sticks and/or milk of you want to skip the soda & fries.  Maddy was getting over a stomach bug so were happy she ate anything.

Ready for the Dreams Come True Parade.

Ordinarily we skip the parade during the day and hold out for the Spectrum Magic Parade at night, but unfortunately there was no SMP planned on the day we visited the park.  So we made sure we saw this parade at 3 o'clock and we were so glad we did!  We saw Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella, Aladdin, Ariel, Lilo, Stitch, Mary Poppins, Snow White, Miss Piggy, Kermit, Woody, Jessie, Pinnochio, Peter Pan, Wendy, Alice and the Mad Hatter.

Fantasy Land!!! 

Riding Cinderella's Golden Carousel

The Mad Hatter's Tea Cups

OMG!  Cinderella!

Belle was the sweetest Princess!

Sleeping Beauty aka Aurora

In Tomorrow Land driving on the Speedway.

Mikayla & Daddy

Buzz Lightyear!

We love being in Tomorrow Land at night!  It's exciting!

There was no Spectrum Magic Parade but there was fireworks!  We got a spot right in front of Cinderella's Castle, it was an AMAZING display and the perfect way to end our day!  

Our new camera shoots beautifully and quickly at night!

Main Street was mobbed on our way out of the park, it was also starting to rain, lucky for us we made it on the first departing ferry and the first departing tram!

One last picture of Mickey & Walt.  Thanks for such a wonderful day!!!

Honor Roll

We just got back from our mini-vacation in Orlando, (blog post coming soon) and on Maddy's first day back to school we received her 3rd quarter report card!  We are so proud to announce that she made the Honor Roll!  Last quarter she came close, but she had a C in Math.  This quarter she raised her Math grade from a C to a B!  It hasn't been easy for her but with the support of her teachers and Mike & I, Maddy is excelling in school!

Math - B
Reading - B
Written Communication - A
Spelling - A
Handwriting - Outstanding
Science & Health - Outstanding
Social Studies - Outstanding
Art - Outstanding
Music - Outstanding
Phys. Ed - Satisfactory

Congratulations honey!  Daddy & I are SOOOO proud of you!

Easter Sunday Fun-Day

Easter Sunday we loaded up the girls and hit the road for Auntie Allison & Uncle Mike's house.  We love visiting the Perno Plantation, they always make us feel so welcome!  It was a very relaxing day!  

Cam the Ham's new trick. :)

Look at that drool!

Cam checking out the basket that the Easter Bunny left for him at our house!  The girls had special surprises too!  Grandma got them bubbles and new pajamas... and Auntie Allison bought the girls Disney bath dolls.  Mikayla got Belle & Maddy got Sleeping Beauty!  

MORE EGGS! 

The 3 cousins on the hunt!

A group shot of the kids takes effort!  This was the best shot I got!

At the end of the day when we were getting ready to leave we discovered Cam & Mikayla in the shower having a good ole time!  Yelling, laughing and jumping!  They were quite amusing!  Mikayla is 15 months older than Cam.  As babies the difference was huge now that they're both toddlers they are having a blast together!

Thank You Easter Bunny!

Ok, so maybe to Easter Bunny went a little overboard this year compared to last...  but he can't help that he's a bargain shopper.  He found some great stuff this Spring!

Maddy's favorite items are her new Disney Princess DSi game and a mermaid sticker book.  She also got sunglasses, lip balm, a puzzle, bubbles, a new 1st Reader book and the movie Barbie & the Mermaid Tale!

Mikayla's favorite treats are her Ice Cream Scoop game, her mermaid sticker book and the new Princess and the Frog movie.  She also got sunglasses, lip balm, bubbles and a princess board book.

Of course the Easter Bunny hid eggs for the girls too! :)

Easter Fun

Easter just wouldn't be Easter if we didn't color Easter eggs. 

Beautiful job girls!  Happy Easter!