Maddy's 9th Birthday

Our first born baby girl had another birthday last month. I say "another" because it seems like we just celebrated her 8th birthday. Now, she's 9!  Mike and I can't figure out how time goes by so quickly! We let Maddy choose the party venue from a short list of affordable options, she picked Lunar Golf!

It takes a few minutes for your eyes to adjust to the glow-in-the dark decor but it's a really cool place to have party!

Unfortunately, a few close friends and family weren't able to make it, but Maddy still had a great turn out!

After the party, we let Maddy open her presents from Mike & I. Since her actual birthday was the next day (a Monday) we saw no reason to make her wait.  

She was totally psyched over her new Lalaloopsy doll! 

The actual night of her birthday, I made her favorite dinner, pulled pork which we followed up with chocolate cake. 

Happy Birthday Madelyn Ann!  We're so thankful for our smart, caring, unique, beautiful daughter. We love you so much!

Easter Fun

Easter flew by in a blur this year. The girls had a 3 day weekend from school, so we kicked it off at home by coloring eggs and ordering pizza. 

Satruday the girls & I headed up to Grandma & Grandpa's for a family weekend. Lauren introduced me to my first mojito!

Maddy had come down with a bug, she threw up once that morning and then took a long nap. 

While Maddy napped, Cam & Mikayla played together all day. The rest of us enjoyed some time with Reese!

Unfortunately, Mike has to work Saturdays so he was the last one to join the fun.  He & Mike Perno grabbed a couple clubs and went out the backyard... which is the 17th hole of a golf course.

Twilight on the course is beautiful!

We all had a ball!  Not only did Mike & Mike play the 17th hole twice, we also swung the bat a few times.  Around this time Maddy woke up from her long nap and was feeling much better!  

When it got dark we came in and cooked dinner.  Everybody pitched in to make szechuan chicken lettuce wraps & shrimp fried rice. We didn't eat until 10 o'clock but our Asian feast was worth the wait!

Sunrise on on the 17th isn't too bad either...

The kids were all excited to see their Easter baskets bright and early!

The Bunny brought Reese some Easter goodies too!

After breakfast, we noticed some colorful eggs in the grass that we didn't see before. The kids had them in their baskets within minutes!

Funny story behind this pic... Grandpa didn't have a flash on his camera, so he wanted to take a group pic of the grandkids in the sun where Mike Perno stepped in an ant pile and was attacked by red ants! Ouch!  

Beautiful day. Beautiful girls.

After the egg hunt we kicked back. Mike Perno & Grandpa swam with the kids and we cooked up a yummy Easter Dinner!  This is our favorite way to spend any holiday... relaxing!

Disney!!

It's been a while since we've posted... I can't believe how times flies these days!  Spring Break was ages ago, but here's what did!

We went to Disney World!  It's been 2 years since our last visit, so we were due!  We arrived in Kissimmee on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Our first stop was Downtown Disney where we shopped and had lunch at the Rain Forrest Cafe.

Monday morning we met our best friends at the gate of the Magic Kingdom!  No, we didn't initially plan our trips together but it worked out perfectly that we were able to spend our day at Disney together!

It WAS Spring Break and the park was filled to capacity, but we still had a great time.  Disney is very accommodating to children with special needs. Because of Maddy's ADHD and Collin's aspma, we were able to get special passes that allowed us into handicap and fast pass lines with less wait time.  So the kids were in great spirits and we were able to ride all of our favorite rides!  The day flew!

Our favorite time at Disney is always the parades & fireworks!

Unfortunately, this was the only time that the crowds got to us.  Picture... standing room only from the Castle all the way down Mainstreet to the gate... Yep, and we were stuck in the middle of it!  Finally people starting moving enough that we could make our way out of the park.  Phew!

The next day, we had planned to use the free passes for Universal Studios Islands of Adventure that Mike got from work, but we decided against it.  We were tired so we requested a late check out at our hotel, went swimming and to lunch instead.  We have till December to use the Universal passes so we'll save them for the Fall.  

The Children's Garden

A couple weeks ago I rearranged my work schedule so that I could chaperone Mikayla's field trip to the Sarasota Children's Garden.  I went there once with Madelyn for a birthday party when I was pregnant with Mikayla so 5 years later, this was a big Mommy moment for me.

Mikayla & her friends dressed up in Princess dresses and posed for pictures.

After dress-up the girls posed for a few more pictures a the giant rocking chair.

Then it was time to explore.... First there was a pirate ship named the Black Pearl.

Then there was the bamboo rainforest...

A walk thru the touch & smell garden...

A visit with Snuffy the Dragon...

A walk thru the garden house... 

And some laughs on the playground!

I am so glad I was able to go on this field trip with Mikayla. It's hard for me to believe that there is only 2 months of VPK left.  My youngest daughter is growing up so fast.