November!

Well, the last day of my favorite month has come upon us, sadly.  It was a really fun month with beautiful weather and lots of good times.  We started the month out right with the beautiful feast day of All Saints, and then had a nice and busy weekend with Anna's tennis lesson, family photo session with the super talented Ms. Karen (who also happens to be our wonderful neighbor), a gymnastics birthday party for Anna, and taking care of Lily and Nina's rabbit on Saturday, then a fun lunch with Grandma and Grandpa F. and another photo session for Erin for ballet on Sunday! 





Erin is going to audition for a 2-week summer intensive ballet camp next year and needed to get photos taken.  The following week, Bob had a combo trip to Boston and Toronto and saw a little bit of snow while he was up north!  We girls had a busy but routine week with school and the usual activities, plus my book club on Monday night.  Erin had a sick day on Thursday, but was back to feeling like herself pretty quickly.

That weekend, we had a great time with family hiking/fishing at Bass Lake on Saturday, and Grandma A. came up to visit on Sunday!  We put her right to work moving furniture for the painting project!  We also all enjoyed a really good steak dinner at the Angus Barn, thanks to Ms. Karen who treated us for caring for her cats and plants while she was out of town in October.  They had their Christmas decorations up there, so we really enjoyed that as well.  Monday, Bob had a day trip to New York, then was home Tuesday and then spent the rest of the week in San Francisco.  I had fun at a neighborhood ladies' night at a sign painting place in Fuquay, and otherwise we had the usual activities.  The painters arrived on Friday and worked that day, Saturday, and the following Monday painting most all of the downstairs (minus the dining room and office, plus both stairwells and upstairs hallway.  It looks so much cleaner and is really wonderful!  After a long debate, we went with a light gray (Agreeable Gray) that the painter recommended.  It was lighter than the decorator suggested, but we (admittedly Gina) didn't want to go too dark in such a large area.  It is subtle, but definitely a change for the better.  They also patched all the holes in the walls and window trim, so we are starting with a clean slate...almost like a new house!

Finley was less than thrilled with the painters invading his house, and the timing was not good with two of the three days that they were here being rainy, but it worked out fine.  He got lots of car time and we camped out in the bonus room when we were home.  I went to a day-long autism seminar in Durham on Saturday and learned a lot, and Bob left Sunday afternoon for a week in San Diego.  After he left, Erin and I took Finley for a hike at Crowder park and Anna went to play with Enzo and Luke.

The week of the 18th was otherwise fairly uneventful...Erin's music class cantored at school mass that Thursday and did a wonderful job!  Anna and Nina earned some money in their spare time after school, selling 3 kinds of trail mix:



We had a busy weekend with having dog friend Ruby over for 3 days, Ms. Mona's 90th birthday party, lots of light fixture changing out, Erin had Olivia's sleepover party, and Anna got to play with neighbor friend Caitlin while we went out for happy hour with Caitlin's parents and Ms. Kate.  Having Ruby over kept Finley very busy! 



Sunday, Anna went to play at her friend Caroline's house after church and we all did some yard work.

The last week of the month was a short one with just two days of school.  Then we had our first-ever Thanksgiving at home with just the four of us because my family was in Indiana and Pam and John were heading to the beach.  We had a great time fixing our favorite foods (determined by a Google Form) and cooking together! 





Friday, we avoided the stores but instead got started on Christmas decorations since Thanksgiving was so late this year.  We got a tree and also played in the backyard and had a fire in the fire pit.  Saturday, Bob set up the nativity at church and we girls ventured to Walmart and painted some pottery.  Then, we finished decorating and had a yummy pizza dinner at home and are currently hoping the Wolfpack can manage to beat Carolina - while we have no hope for a bowl this year, we are hoping to keep UNC away from one by beating them tonight.



In between the regular school, dance, piano, dog walking, chores, errands, carpool, tennis, work trips, appointments, homework, volunteering, meetings, and everything else that comes up, we have slowly been trying to get the house back in order post-painting and work on redecorating.  We did order a new rug for the living room, and I've been busy trying to sell off or give away the old stuff.  It's never easy to know what to do!

That was November!  It was, as always, a gorgeous month with lots of family fun.  Now we have a jam-packed few weeks until Christmas...maybe the condensed season will be a good thing...or, will it just make it crazier?!?

Erin is 11!!

Happy birthday to our sweet, wonderful Erin Michelle!  She is truly our pride and joy - she works so hard every day to do her very best, and we are made better people by being around her.  She had an extended birthday celebration, beginning on her actual birthday, which was a day off for grades 4-8 for a teacher workday.  Fun fact about Erin:  every day since first grade (maybe before), she's either had a field trip, a weekend, or a day off on her birthday!  What are the odds of that?! 





So, on her actual birthday, she had a fun mini party with friends Olivia, Vera, and Enzo coming over from 11-3.  They did some string art, decorated aprons, decorated and ate cupcakes, played inside and outside, ate tacos for lunch, and did a little dancing and watched some of Leap. 









Then, the 4 of us went to the Olive Garden, her new favorite restaurant, for dinner.



So, that was Wednesday.  Saturday, she, Anna, and Bob went to Concord for modified Uncle Camping due to the rain.  They had a blast camping in the garage at the Summer house!  Sunday after church, everyone else came over and we had a fun pizza party lunch, cupcakes for her, Chris, Cooper, and Maria's birthdays, and lots of playing outside after the rain stopped.  We also had mini trick or treating, and Finley got to meet Olive for lots of puppy playtime!

Her last birthday celebration was this past Sunday, when we got to see Grandma and Grandpa F. for lunch and celebrate Erin's and Grandma's birthdays!  So much fun!





So, Erin is now 11.  She will have her checkup in December, so we'll have to wait for that update.  She is really wonderful.  She continues to love playing school, but has also branched out to include other interests as well.  She recently purchased a "kidney table" from neighbor friend Ella and loves having her class sit there work on things.  This year, she is Ms. Megan the ELA teacher (shhh, don't tell her that she is practicing reading while she plays!).

Ballet is also still one of her favorite things.  She has said that she always feels happier after going to ballet class.  She is planning to audition in January for a summer intensive camp in Raleigh, which will be a new 2-week experience of full-day camps for her.  She also wants to try out for a ballet-based dance theater performance in January-March at her dance school.  Ballet is not for everyone, but Erin really seems to enjoy the quiet gracefulness of it, and she is always working to improve her positions and moves.

This year is her 4th year studying piano with the wonderful Ms. Margaret.  The lesson book (2B) she has now has gotten more difficult, but she keeps at it and doesn't get too frustrated.  She is considering participating in a regional piano event in March where she would memorize 2 pieces and perform them for judges.  Though that may conflict with the ballet thing; we will see what happens.

Erin has several good friends at school and has really become more confident with talking to other kids and raising her hand in class.  She has such a great personality - mostly serious, but also very silly at times.  She always tries her best and is so very disciplined about her work.  She is extremely faithful to her friends and family and is still super serious about her Catholic faith, as well.  This year, she started serving at Mass as an altar server, and she loves it!  In true Erin fashion, she has taken to making sure she can see the servers when she isn't "on duty" and watches to make sure they do everything right.

She continues to be our human calendar and calculator, which really comes in handy a lot!  She has become such a great helper and also is so much more independent this year.   She has become really great at showing empathy and noticing when someone might need help or if something isn't right...this excludes the dog, though...she and Finley are not close...but she does enjoy walking him with me, and she will offer to feed him or put him in his crate.

Erin has grown by leaps and bounds over the past several years.  It really blows my mind to think about how far she has come and what all she has accomplished.  She is truly amazing, and she's done it all on her own without us pushing her.  She makes us proud every day, and we can't wait to see what the next year brings her!

October!

Well, October is always very busy, and this one did not disappoint!  It started out like summer and ended like summer, but I am happy to report that November has been much cooler and more fall-like.  The first week of the month, the girls finished up their standardized testing, we had a fun play date here with Jimmy and Danny on the 1st, Anna had her friend Fiona over to play on the 2nd, and we finished the week with the annual pet blessing at school.  This year, we had a pet to take, and he loved it (but he was super hot and tired afterward!).



Anna had a fun day on Saturday with a tennis lesson and a roller skating party for Sarah’s birthday, and Sunday she had friend Gerald over to play.  I also had a friend over - Ms. Emily came to give an interior design consultation!  We got lots of ideas and help and are well on our way to making some changes.

Next week, Bob went to Boston and Atlanta in a combo trip.  I got to work in the cafeteria on Monday and also hosted the neighborhood book club that evening.  Tuesday and Wednesday were the exciting HVAC replacement days, which went fine and kept Finley very busy.

 
Friday was observation week at dance, and I loved seeing both classes in action!



We all enjoyed having neighbor dog friend Ruby over for the weekend.  She gives us hope that some dogs can be calm.



Saturday was cultural day - Anna went to friend Addie’s house for a movie outing and sleepover, I went to dinner and my mom friend Jenny’s play, and Erin and Bob had dinner at the Olive Garden and then enjoyed seeing Charlotte’s Web at Middle Creek High School.  There was culture for everyone (except Finley)!  The 13th was the first pancake breakfast of the school year at church.

The following week, Bob had another combo trip to New York and to Boston...and got to drive between them on Wednesday, when he reported pretty fall foliage in New England.  We ladies had a fairly calm week otherwise.  I hosted the school mom book club here on Friday and did a shrimp boil which seemed to go over well.  Saturday, we watched some Wolfpack football, Gerald came to play, and Anna got a haircut.

The next week was Erin’s 11th birthday week!!!  The kids were off school on Wednesday, her actual birthday, for a teacher workday.  She had friends Olivia, Vera, and Enzo over to play, eat lunch, do crafts, and decorate cupcakes.



Then we had a family dinner at Olive Garden!  She also got to cantor at school mass the next day with her music group, and she did a great job!



That Saturday, we had the first annual memorial 5K in our neighborhood for Mr. Tom and another neighbor who died this year.  Erin and I kept time, and Bob and Anna participated.



After that, Bob and the girls went camping at Ansley’s house with all the cousins and uncles!  They had planned to go to Morrow Mountain, but it rained.  They had lots of fun and still did camping activities like hiking and fishing, campfire, and made yummy camping food.  Everyone else met up with them there on Sunday for a pizza birthday lunch extravaganza!  So much fun!



The kids were off again on Monday and Tuesday for teacher conferences, which was a nice little break.  We did the usual other activities, helped watch Laney and Joey on Tuesday, and Bob went to dinner with old friend Josh.  Wednesday, Anna went to Old Salem with the fourth grade, and I got to go as well!  It was such a fun day, even though it rained a little bit.



We carved pumpkins that night.



Thursday was Halloween, and it rained again (!), but not until after trick or treating.  We had a very fun time with our neighbor friends!



So, that was October!  It was very busy but lots of fun.  We are all excited to be getting closer to Christmas, and I personally am excited for my favorite month of November coming up next!

September

Well, September was supposed to be fall, but it sure felt like more summer!  The beginning of the month was Labor Day weekend, and we enjoyed cat-sitting for Liz and David’s cats and going to the neighborhood end-of-summer pool party on Monday with Sarah in tow.  Tuesday was my first time back volunteering in the cafeteria since getting Finley, and it was so much fun as always!  Wednesday was back-to-school night where I got to hear more about the school year ahead.  Thursday the 5th was an unexpected day off due to Hurricane Dorian, which ended up not causing any issues here - just some damage off the outer banks area.  Erin saw Ms. Amy for reading practice while Anna and I took Finley for a hike at Middle Creek Park.





Friday was back to school on a 2-hour delay and the usual dance runs.  Saturday we watched some Wolfpack football and had a fun dinner out with Liz and David.

The following week was pretty standard with the main excitement being Finely chewing up Anna’s glasses.  We were able to replace the frames the next day since they had them in stock, and she made do for about a week until the new lenses came in.  Oh, Finley!  Friday the 13th was picture day and I enjoyed helping with that in the afternoon.  Saturday, I had a really fun trip to Charlotte with my friend Amy who I don’t get to see nearly often enough.  We drove there in the afternoon, had dinner downtown and enjoyed a fun comedy show by Jennifer Fulwiler at the Blumenthal.  Then we had some yummy dessert and snacks and stayed the night at the nice new AC Hotel at the Epicenter.  Sunday we tried out St. Peter for mass and then had breakfast at Amelie’s before heading home.  It was a great time, and all went well at home.

Bob went to Chicago for part of the following week, and otherwise not much was out of the ordinary until Friday evening when Bob and the girls headed to Indian Beach straight from dance class to stay at our neighbor dog friend Ruby’s condo for the weekend!  I, sadly, went to a mom friend Courtney’s visitation that night and funeral Saturday morning.  She had been fighting cancer for many years.  After the funeral, I drove to the beach and we had a lot of fun at the pool (cold water!), game room, picnic on the beach for dinner, and then church Sunday morning before the girls and I headed back for the dance school’s holiday cabaret auditions.  Sadly, neither Erin nor Anna got cast this year, but we are looking on the bright side of having Sundays free this fall!  Bob stayed behind at the condo to clean up before heading back.  Finley had a nice 30 hours at the kennel that weekend.











The girls were off on Monday the 23rd for a teacher workday, so we took advantage of that by getting them their flu shots.  Then we played at home with Laney until taking Laney and Erin to their piano lessons that afternoon.  Bob went to Atlanta that week, and we had the usual activities.  Saturday, Anna resumed tennis after a monthlong hiatus due to the coach’s and our travel, and then Erin had friends Olivia and Vera over to play in the afternoon.  After Vera went home, Olivia and Erin went to the pool and then we all (including Finley) went to Olivia’s house for a fun dinner.  Finley had the best time playing with Ginger!  Sunday, the girls and I, plus Laney and Joey, went to the pool for one last swim of the year before it closed, and then we all had a yummy Mexican dinner.

So, that was September!  As I write this, it is October 2nd and is still around 90 degrees.  We have promise of cooler weather starting on Friday, so I cannot wait!  October is going to be as fun as always with Erin’s birthday and Halloween coming up!

August!

August was a good month with a super fun trip and school starting!  The first week was fairly tame, including Erin’s first piano lesson for the year, until Friday the 9th, when we went to neighbor friend Kevin’s father’s funeral (which made the 4th funeral for us this summer!), followed by the long-awaited hot tub installation!  All went smoothly, and Bob and Anna were in it by the following evening once the chemicals got straightened out.



Sunday the 11th-Wednesday the 14th was our super fun Disney World trip!!  After returning, Erin had her second time as an altar server for the Assumption holy day, then we had a fun visit with Grandma and Grandpa F. on Friday the 16th!  That was also the long-awaited day of finding out homeroom teachers/class assignments.  There was some good and bad news there, but such is life and we got through it.

Saturday the 17th, Anna went to a pool party in the morning, and then we met Uncle Dale, Aunt Maria, and family at a brewery in Durham, where Anna and the boys had a blast in the downpour and playing with rocks!  Finley got to go as well since Hi-Wire is dog-friendly, which he appreciated.  The next day was the Back to School Mass/Meet the Teacher night, and all went well there.  Olivia came to sleep over that night, and we had a fun day on Monday meeting Enzo and his family at the pool for a little lunch pizza party!  Then, Sarah came to spend the night on Monday night, and they had a fun day on Tuesday as well, including a trip to Defy trampoline park.

 

Wednesday the 21st was the big first day of school, and all went well!  It has taken some time to adjust and settle in, but I think we are just about there.

The girls are right near each other now on the upstairs hallway, as well as having the same lunchtime, but I don’t hear of many encounters.  I had my back-to-back book clubs on Thursday and Friday of that week, and Anna was back to tennis on Saturday.  Dance classes started back up on Friday this week - Erin is doing ballet again, and Anna is doing jazz again this year.  Erin got to serve at Mass again on Sunday, and each time she seems to be a little more confident.  She really enjoys it!

The final week of the month was a little more busy as we adjusted to our new routine, including trying a regular carpool this year, which has been great for me!  I went to the dentist and had a haircut  in my newfound free time, and Bob spent most of the week in California for work.  Finely had some sadness about them going back to school and likes to walk them to the driveway each day when they leave with the carpool.  He is enjoying more daytime walks, though.  The last day of the month was our first Wolfpack football game, which we all enjoyed watching in the comfort of the a/c at home!

So, it was a good month; also, Erin lost 3 teeth!  We are now settled in for the school year and are all hoping for cooler weather sometime soon!

Disney World!

We had a wonderful time in Disney World this week!  This trip was more of a last-minute one and less planning was involved, which ended up being just fine.  We booked the trip in early July with a great coupon code for 3 park days and 3 nights on site at the Grand Floridian resort.  This was our first time at this resort, and we picked it partly because it was on the monorail, which we thought would be a big help in the heat, and also because it wasn't much more expensive than the value resorts with the coupon.

So, Sunday morning the 11th, we took Finley to the Pooch Pad where he didn't look back at us when they took him happily back to the kennel.  Then we headed to the airport around 9:15am, got parked, through security, and got Salsaritas lunch before our 11:25 flight, which left on time and was uneventful.  We hopped on the Magic Express bus and were at our resort 30 minutes later!  We got checked in and they had a room ready for us in the Big Pine Key building, which was a 5-story building separate from the main building...I think there were maybe 5 buildings plus the villas, something like that.  Our room had a pretty vaulted ceiling and balcony overlooking the lagoon. 



We got settled in, picked up our awesome Walmart grocery delivery that we had pre-scheduled in the lobby, and then hit the pool!  The resort had one big pool with zero entry and some fountains, and also another slightly smaller pool with a waterfall and a really fun water slide.  We tried both out and loved them!  It wasn't super crowded that afternoon.  The resort also had a small water playground area, but the sign said only kids under a certain height could use it...and even though we saw taller kids there, Erin refused to set foot in there and break the rules.  After swimming for awhile, we got dinner at the quick service Gasparilla Island Grill in the main building which was very good!  Then we happened upon a campfire with marshmallows on the beach area, which we gladly sampled. 



Then it was back to the room for showers and bed, but just as the kids were falling asleep, we heard some music outside our room.  We looked out and saw a neat electrical parade on the water!  We also heard the fireworks from Magic Kingdom but did not see them that night.

Monday was our big Magic Kingdom day!  We got up and had breakfast in the room, then hopped on the monorail and got in the park by 8:30.  We were able to walk down Main Street, but had to wait at the Adventureland entrance until rope drop at 9:00.  We got a peek at the fun opening ceremony but were all business zooming towards Big Thunder Mountain.  Since we booked late, we didn't have the best pick of FastPasses, but we did our best and worked the system as much as we could each day.  We got on BTM with a short wait, then on to the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, which was one of Erin's favorites this time (?).  We loved seeing Aladdin and Jasmine show up at the ride and even hopped on for a spin right before our turn!  Anna also appreciated the spitting camels there.  Then it was on to the teacups, one of our favorites, then Dumbo, the Barnstormer, splash pad for Anna, the Ariel ride, It's a Small World (another of Erin's favorites), then Anna drove a racecar at the Tomorrowland Speedway while Erin took another spin in the teacups. 







We happened by a show at the castle on our way to lunch at Tony's Italian restaurant, where Anna and I had super cheesy pizza and Bob and Erin got spaghetti and meatballs.  On that note, a high point of this trip for Erin was purchasing off the adult menu at each meal.  We could have probably squeezed her in as a 9-year-old, but we all know that Erin is a rule-follower and would not have stood for that.  Also, the kids' meals might not have been sufficient anyway...she ate most or all of her adult meals each time!

We enjoyed a view of the street party while we ate.  After lunch, we met Mickey and Minnie all decked out in special celebration outfits, then hit the carousel, Philharmagic, Pirates of the Caribbean (new for us...not too scary!), met Tiana and Rapunzel, did Enchanted Tales with Belle (Anna was the ottoman!), and got yummy ice cream treats - Mickey ice cream bars for Bob, Anna, and me and a frozen strawberry lemonade for Erin. 



After that, we were pretty hot and tired, so we monorailed back to the hotel for a short break before dinner.  We went back to a quick service favorite, Captain Cook's at the Polynesian, which was on the monorail as well.  The parents got yummy pork nachos, Erin got chicken and Asian noodles, and Anna got mac and cheese (I think).  After that, Erin and I walked back to the Grand Floridian along the water, hoping for another marshmallow roast, but it had started raining.  Instead, we watched a band in the lobby for awhile, played Uno in the room, Erin practiced some ballet, then we got showers watched the electrical parade.  Anna and Bob went back to Magic Kingdom for round two!  They did encores of the tea cups, Dumbo, Barnstormer, and Aladdin rides...and also got a peek at the fireworks on their way back.

Tuesday, we got up and out by 8:15 and rode the monorail to Epcot via a transfer at the TTC.  The entrance line at Epcot was long and slow, and we probably could have gotten there earlier than we did, but we did our best and zoomed over to Test Track first thing.  It was already about an hour wait, but the lines there always feel fast with entertainment and things like designing our racecar.  Everyone but Erin loved that ride! 



We redeemed ourselves with Erin shortly after with Living with the Land, a slow ride with lots of plants and greenhouses.  Then it was on to Anna's much-awaited Spaceship Earth, where we had to wait outside for 45 minutes or so.  Poor Anna toughed it out and was crushed when the camera didn't catch her picture, so she didn't get in the cartoon story at the end.  Sad.  We offered to ride it again later with a FastPass, but she refused.  Then we rode the Nemo ride and enjoyed seeing dolphins and other marine animals at The Seas pavilion.  We tried out the mobile ordering ahead for lunch at the Electric Umbrella quick service, but Mom didn't realize that we had to check in on the phone when we got there...so there was a short wait, but still probably better than waiting in line.  Bob, Erin, and I had yummy brisket sandwiches and Anna had chicken nuggets.

Then it was on to the countries via a super fun splash area for Anna, which required an outfit change.  We just walked through Canada and the UK, then enjoyed the panoramic movie in France.  We walked into Morocco and looked around and also saw a neat art exhibit in Japan.  We then got gelato, peach smoothie, and an Italian margarita in Italy...yum! 



Anna liked walking through the miniature village in Germany, and then it was time for the long-awaited Frozen Ever After ride.  It was a cute ride with a couple of mild thrilling parts.  Our last country was Mexico, where we rode the Tres Caballeros ride and admired the indoor "outdoor" market.  At that point, we all really wanted to ride Soarin' but had no FastPasses available, so we decided to give it a try.  Turned out that the wait was less than 30 minutes, so we all really loved it - especially Anna!  They had changed it a little since last time we were there - this time, we flew around the world instead of around the US.  Sadly, there were no orange trees with smell, but there were some other really neat sights, sounds, and smells! 



We got back to the room around 5:30 and deliberated about dinner for awhile before heading back to the Gasparilla Island Grill.  This trip, we were not on the meal plan...so, that combined with the late booking meant not many options were available to us as far as character meals or table service.  It was fine, though.  We had wanted to eat at the pool grill, but the pools were closed due to weather.  Luckily, they opened back up after dinner and were even the only people in the Courtyard Pool for awhile!  After swimming and going down the slide until about 8pm, we went back and showered before heading to the fireworks viewing spot at the resort.  The music was piped in to accompany the show, and we loved watching it! 



Then, it was bedtime...sadly, Anna had a rough night that night with an upset stomach.  She was up a lot of the night and was not feeling well the next morning.

So, after mulling it over, we got our checkout time extended to 1pm and got Anna and Bob replacement one-day park tickets to be used within the next two years (thanks, Grand Floridian!  They didn't have to honor them, but they did...it was up to the resort since we purchased a ticket package through them - we were surprised and grateful!).  You can bet that Anna will make sure they get used!  We decided for me and Erin to go on back to Magic Kingdom as planned...she also mentioned Animal Kingdom, but without FastPasses for the safari, Expedition Everest, and Avatar, plus longer travel times to get there, I was worried that we wouldn't get to do much in the half day we had.  So, AK next time!  We got to MK by 8:45 and watched the rope drop opening ceremony.  I was surprised to see decorations up for the Halloween party that were not there 2 days before...I think the party starts on August 16th.  I really enjoyed seeing the pumpkins, scarecrows, etc.





We were two of a very small group who rushed to Small World after rope drop ;) then got on the Ariel ride again, Dumbo, Aladdin, Tiki Room (new for us!), and Pirates again...utilizing FastPasses as much as possible.  We stopped to watch the show at the castle on our way to see Tinkerbell, then said farewell to Magic Kingdom and were back on the monorail by about 12:30. 



We picked up food for everyone at the Gasparilla Island Grill again (but most of us had different things each time we went!) and met Bob and Anna with the bags in the hotel lobby and had a picnic lunch with surprise visitors Tigger, Piglet, and Winnie the Pooh!  Our bus showed up at 2:15 and took us to the airport, where we had no issues getting through security and had a long wait in the terminal between early arrival and our flight being delayed for almost an hour.  We got dinner in the airport, boarded, and had a nice flight back to Raleigh with some pretty clouds out the windows!  We landed just before 8pm and were home by 8:45pm to Finley who Tara and Ella had picked up for us that evening.

So, it was a fun and busy trip, but we had a blast!  It is hard to beat Disney and all of the extra special touches that they have.  I'm sure, as Mickey says, that we will "see ya real soon!".  The rest of our pictures are HERE.