Magic Kingdom

On our first full day in Orlando we decided to visit Magic Kingdom. The last time I was there I only had one child and let me tell you, it was a whole different experience! Just getting 3 kids dressed, fed and covered in sunscreen was enough to wear me out! Then the gear we had to carry was insane! Anyway, eventually we made it there and the kids were amazed by everything that they saw and heard. Sometimes I wonder if it is too much for their little brains to take in all at once. After getting our tickets (free by the way, thanks to a friend of Bry's!!), taking the monorail, renting a stroller and taking the first of many potty breaks we were on our way!

We didn't get to ride as many rides as we would have liked due to the long lines, the bathroom breaks, lunch breaks, etc. but we did have a lot of fun. Presley and Luke rode the big rides right along with us. I was so surprised by how brave they were. Bailey was excited because this is the first year she has been old enough to really enjoy the roller coasters. There really wasn't enough time in the day to do everything we wanted!

Me and my boy on the Buzz Lightyear ride. I think all of us loved this one.

After waiting in a very long line we finally got our turn on Dumbo! Presley loved it!!

I must admit I have a little photo envy over this pic. While we were waiting to ride Dumbo, Bre had a passerby snap this shot of her fam. I love this one!

Presley was so excited to meet Ariel that she was speechless, which is very unusual for her!

During one part of the parade they let the kids run out to dance with the characters. Luke ran straight for Mr. Incredible and gave him a big hug! He loves him! So sweet!

Bailey and Austin took every opportunity to sit in one of the little ones strollers and take a rest. This pic cracks me up. I love how close these two are. They were so hot and tired.

Presley and her PeyPey standing in line for Splash Mountain. She would cover his mouth every time he would try to talk. I wish I could get away with that!

Bay and Luke waiting outside the Crystal Palace for our Character Dinner.

Ponytails and no makeup were the theme of the week for Bre and I. It was actually kind of nice, maybe not for the people who had to look at us, but for us getting ready was a lot easier. :)

Luke getting a hug from Eeyore

Bay and Tigger!

Pooh and Presley. She was so excited to meet these guys!

Piglet, Austin and Bay

Way too much fun and sun for these two! We were so exhausted!

While waiting for a bus to take us out of the park, Peyton sat Austin's misting fan in his lap. When he stood up this is what we saw! Ha! He cracks us up even when he's not trying to!!

The Nick Hotel

After a long night of driving, the kids were so ready to get out of the car and check out the Nick Hotel in Orlando. We knew that we (the adults) would be too exhausted from the drive to do much else so we just let them explore and then later they went swimming and had a ton of fun on all of the water slides and things at the hotel. I wish I had pics of this part of the hotel but on this trip I really wanted to focus more on having fun with my kids than on getting great pics.

I HIGHLY recommend this hotel for anyone visiting Orlando with kids. First of all, we got it for a really great price. It is totally opposite from any normal hotel. Everything is geared towards the kids instead of the adults. Not to say that it wasn't fun for us because it was. The difference was that we didn't have to worry that our kids were screaming their head off or running through the halls or that your child just knocked their drink off the table because everyone else had kids doing the same things.

Really, it was awesome. I think we could have just stayed there the whole time and the kids would have been happy!

All of the kiddos sitting in Blue's thinking chair. Their were Nick character statues everywhere throughout the hotel. As well as character breakfasts, a daily "sliming" and a 4-D theater.

This was on the wall in our room. (For those of you not hip to all things Nick, it's Carl from the Jimmy Neutron cartoon.) The kids loved it but it kind of freaked me out. I could see it from my bed and I kept waking up thinking that there was a kid standing there. :)

There is only so much excitement an old man can handle. :) Notice the remote in one hand and his cell phone in his lap. :)

Wait! Did that just happen??

We're baaaaaack! A week of non-stop road tripping, theme parking, beach splashing fun is over! We arrived home a little after midnight from a 14 hour road trip. Bry and I unloaded the kids from the car, put them to bed and unpacked a weeks worth of clothes, souvenirs, garbage and sand and then I sank into a nice hot bath. After a few minutes of quiet relaxation I thought "Wait! Did that just happen? Is it over already?" Months of planning, days of packing, hours and hours of driving... where did the week go? Coming home is so bittersweet! I love my home and life here but it is so awesome to be with my family just having fun and spending time together. I don't know if my mind is ready to come back to reality just yet!

Anyway, after spending a week with my family and Bre's, there are a lot of stories to tell. I can't do that today because I am drowning in dirty laundry. So I thought I would break up the trip into different posts.

One of my favorite parts of riding the thrill rides at theme parks is looking at the photos they take of you while you are plunging down a huge hill at a million miles an hour. The expressions on the peoples faces crack me up. I've seen some funny ones. However, I don't think I have ever seen one that can beat this picture that was snapped on the Jurassic Park River Adventure.

Just in case you can't see it clearly enough in the first pic, I added a close-up. Look at Bailey's face! Her eyes are about to bug out of her head!!

We laughed so hard when we saw this that I couldn't resist spending the ridiculous amount of money for the picture! And by the way, she LOVED this ride! (Luke did too!)

Memorial Day Picnic

Call me crazy but tonight we are heading to Disney World with Bre, Peyton and their 2 oldest boys. I'm sure there will be lots of great pics and funny stories to post when I get back, so stayed tuned for that. :)

This week I have been so busy trying to get everything we need bought and packed that I never got a chance to post pics from our Memorial Day picnic with Dad. We all met at a little park in my neighborhood. Everyone brought their own lunch, the kids dug in the sand, tried to fly kites and just had fun playing and exploring together. It was a very fun, very chill day.

The Goforth's (minus Ella who was with her Honey).

Papaw and Bailey

Bry and Presley

Life with twins...you just do the best you can. :)

Papaw and Seth

Bubs, if you were still hungry we would have shared some of our food with you!

Bre attempting to show the kids how to fly the kite.

Brando and Luke making sand angels.

The story behind this picture is just as funny as the picture itself. I noticed Bry and Bubs standing by the creek, scratching their heads. As I walked up, I saw that they had thrown the football down into the creek water. I heard Bubba say "Get Peyton, he'll do it!". (That is a familiar phrase in this family.) Apparently, those two didn't want to get their pretty clothes dirty. :) Well Peyton, being Peyton, couldn't just go down and get the ball. He had to put on a show first. He took off his shoes and started to do a little dance. In the end, it was Austin who got the ball back for all of those "big, strong men"!

Bay's Busy Week

Bailey had a very busy week. First, she had Field day. Originally, it was supposed to be held outside but with all the rain and two cancellations they finally decided to hold it in the gym. She was a little disappointed but ended up having fun anyway. Then she had her end of the year party. I think that is her favorite day of the year. They always have the coolest stuff for the kids to play on. This year, they had a huge slide, a rock climbing wall, a cool trampoline thing, water balloons and games. They also had an ice cream truck come out so the kids could pick out their own treats. After that they went inside and had a class party with games and treats. I think her favorite part of the whole day was the rock climbing wall. She didn't think she would be able to do it but she pushed herself and ended up climbing it 3 times. She tried to do the hardest side and got halfway up. The lady told me that one was almost impossible to do without shoes though. I was so proud of her. I have to say, even though she is wearing a harness it was a little nerve wracking seeing my baby up this high!I felt much better once she was back on the ground!

This looked like so much fun! I wanted to try! She got to do flips and stuff too!
Some of the girls enjoying their Popsicles.
Bay and Mrs. Miller. She LOVES Mrs. Miller!

Bay and Ms. Yelverton. She has been very blessed to have such wonderful teachers!
The last class photo for the year!
Bay received some rewards on stage but the pics came out blurry. She was promoted to the 4th grade with an A average. She also received awards for bible memory, reaching her AR goal, having a poem published and she received one from her teacher for her great smile and the gift of laughter.

Ms. Yelverton and the girls. They do this every year. It's one of my favorite mementos from each year!!

What in the world do Mom's do all day??

Ever wonder what a stay at home Mom does all day?? Here's a little recap of my life this past week...
We had 3 doctors visits (Bry, Luke and Me).
A busted eardrum (Luke).
Organizing and pricing my stuff and Bre's for yard sale.
Setting up and breaking down yard sale.
Putting up signs with Bre for yard sale (that's a whole 'nother blog!)
Working my butt off for 2 day's at the garage sale with Bre (and Mom).
Pet Day at Bailey's school. (Bry actually helped me out with that one, thanks honey!)
Field Day (Bay)
15th anniversary date with my hubby (And they said we wouldn't last!!)
Toured a couple of preschools for Luke and possibly Presley.
Preparing and tagging clothes for uniform sale at Bailey's school.
Cut the yard in between all of the monsoons we had this past week!
Search for, buy and wrap a gift for Bay's friends bday party.
Drop and pick Bailey up from her friends party.
And then of course, the normal day to day stuff like dropping off and picking up kids from play dates and school, trips to the bank, pharmacy, etc., cooking meals, making lunches and snacks, grocery shopping, picking up toys, cleaning, washing, folding and putting up laundry, checking homework, bathing kids, dressing kids, drying and "fixing" kids hair, brushing their teeth, giving them their medicine and breathing treatments, playing with kids, picking up toys, wiping bottoms, wiping noses, breaking up fights, kissing boo-boos, putting kids to bed, reading bedtime stories, did I say picking up toys??
What will I do when they are all grown up? Probably sleep. A lot!

Pampered and Loved...for a while anyway.

After a fun breakfast with Mom and Bre, I spent the rest of Mother's Day with my beautiful babies and my wonderful hubby. They spent all day making me feel loved and special and pampered. Bry brought home Chili's for lunch so I wouldn't have to make anything.

I got lots of fun gifts. Bry bought me a cute pink Ipod Shuffle with the words "My husband adores me" engraved on the side. Then Bailey gave me a scrapbook that she had made for me filled with pics of her and sweet things she wrote for me. Luke walked in and gave me a purse that I wanted. He put it on his shoulder and walked around demonstrating how I should carry it, which was hilarious! Presley made me a crown in Sunday school that said "Queen for a Day" which I wore all through lunch. Prelsey kept telling me I looked "soooo cute" and like a "pin-pess".

After lunch he got the kids ready and took me to my "happy place", translation: Target. He bought me my favorite Starbuck's treat, a hot chocolate, and then we just walked around the store browsing and having fun together. Next, he drove me to Massage Envy. He bought me a membership for Christmas so I get to go once a month. He had made the appointment for me to make sure that I would go. He dropped me off and he and the kids had ice cream and watched movies in the car while I had my massage.

When we got home I took a very long bath and then relaxed while he gave the kids their baths and then put them to bed. Then we ended the night with Bry and I snuggling on the couch and watching the Celebrity Apprentice finale.

I have to say it was probably the best Mom's Day I've had so far. It was so awesome that they all went out of their way to make me feel special and loved. I know that reality will quickly return, bringing the screams, fighting and temper tantrums with it, but knowing that they appreciate me makes it all worth it somehow.

(Either that or I am still feeling really relaxed and mellow from my massage.)