Jingle Bam Jingle Boom!

The other night I got some much needed alone time with Vera. She had been begging to go see the holiday fireworks at Hollywood Studios, and I finally caved. As always, we had a blast together. 

Waiting for the show to start with a healthy dinner of Disney pretzel and chocolate milkshake. 

I love my special one on one time with her. She is growing so fast and turning into such an awesome young lady.

Every mom/daughter date needs warm hugs

Veve with Moana

It was a great evening celebrating Christmas and Vera's general awesomeness. 

A Day with Two Princess'

The girls and I left Matthew at home on morning to work on all the house repairs without us girls getting in his way. The girls got to decide what we were going to do, and of course, the picked Magic Kingdom. Vera got to meet Princess Elena, and Goose went for her favorite of all time, Cinderella. 

Hands on hips, smiles on lips!

Discussing princess life with Cinderella. 

Lucy asked for a private twirling lesson

Being so close to Christmas, we left when the crowds started to get insane. Nonetheless, it was a great morning with my favorite gals. 

Vera's Class Party

One of the biggest perks about being a stay at home mom is getting to share special moments with the girls. I'm the room mom for Vera's kindergarten class, which means I get to help plan and attend class parties. I love it; I get to meet all those sweet kiddos and it makes Vera super excited.

Here she is decorating her Christmas tree with licorice garland. That poor tree was so laden down with candy that I'm surprised it was still standing. I'm also not entirely sure what happened to her hair, but she was happy so we'l go with "mess hair, don't care" as our motto. 

Vera and her buddies with their Santa masks

Ho Ho Ho

I sure do love my little Santa and spending time with her class. 

Florida Santa and Cookies

Disney is home to many magical things, one of which is Santa's vacation spot. He likes to come here for good weather and relaxation. The girls wanted to write him a letter and visit with him one last time before Christmas morning. 

Santa and Mrs. Claus looking good and loving the Florida weather. 

Shocking, I know. 

My two favorite holiday gals with the big man himself

Walking the Boardwalk after the big meeting

And then we walked to the Swan and Dolphin Hotel for some cookie decorating. Vera plastered hers with tiny little gingerbread man sprinkles, while Lucy went with a more traditional green and white mix. 

Having a blast as they were about to dive into two inches of frosting and sprinkles. 

Merry Christmas all! 

2016 Gingerbread House

Guga arrived to celebrate Christmas with us and the girls immediately put her to work on our annual gingerbread house. 

Guga and Goose with the finished product. Lucy would not stop sneaking gummie bears off the roof. 

After an emergency run to CVS for more candy, the house stood tall in all its sugary glory. 

Vera was a little upset that she could not eat the peach rings since they were needed for decorations. All in all this was the best house we've created so far. I love this tradition with the girls. 

Vera's Hard Work

Vera spent almost an hour making Guga's special Christmas present. Let's hope she keeps this kind of dedication in all she does. 

Visions of Sugarplums

With Christmas right around the corner, Lucy fell asleep while visions of sugarplums danced in her head. She just looked so sweet and innocent. 

A Morning with Our Favorite Disney Imagineer

With the girls out of school for the week, it was the perfect time to head to Disney with our neighbor, and imagineer, Mr Tim. Mr Tim, also known as Mr Wonderful, won many awards for his buildings, and the girls love spending time with him and hearing all about it. Vera has loved seeing Mr Tim's buildings all around Disney, and has even forced him into telling her about them on multiple occasions. I sincerely hope this leads her to a career in imagineering as well. Mr Tim gave the girls a personal tour of one of his building, the casting building. It was so awesome to hear all the inside information on a building we drive past every day. 

The girls and Mr Wonderful with the special Disney cards so they could enter the building. They thought they were hot stuff. 

Walking up the ramp and checking out all the hand painted murals. One side gave you a view of Disney property, and the other gave you a view of I4, complete with famous Disney characters in their cars. It was awesome!

Vera was very serious about applying for a job. She desperately wants to work at The Haunted Mansion. 

Lucgoose liked walking with Mr Tim the best though. 

Outside with Pam; they were loving life and their special day

Hard at work checking out all the potential jobs. Not until your sixteen girls. 

After our tour we enjoyed a nice walk around Disney Springs, and a great pizza lunch. It is so cool to have such awesome neighbors and friends in our lives. The girls see them as another set of grandparents, and I love that. God certainly knew what he was doing when he put them in our lives!

Charly and Elf Return!

It's that time of the year again...the elves on the shelves return. Vera loves racing downstairs to see where they've moved to from the night before. 

The first night Charly and Elf the Elf returned, they brought all the kids Christmas Mickey cups (A friend helped me score them for $.25 a piece at the Disney cast store) The kids loved eating their cereal out of them. 

The elves took a ride with some Little People and even met one of Vera's book buddies. She was terrified that I would accidentally touch them during this picture. 

They caused issues in our bathroom...

And they rode a magical unicorn. here's to another season of rushing downstairs in a panic because we forgot to move them! merry Christmas from Charly and Elf the Elf!

Clemson and the ACC Championship

This past weekend Richard and Kimberly came down and we spent the day cheering on the Tigers here in Orlando. I forgot how much fun games are when you don't have to travel. 

Two cool kids.

Our group picture in one of the super reflective mirrored windows. Nailed it!

Partying downtown at Church Street

Great night and a Clemson victory!

Lucy's Christmas Show

Lucy just participated in her first class Christmas celebration. The kids sang beautiful and told the story of Jesus' birth.

Lucy in the back row with the giant red bow in her hair. She did a fabulous job with all the motions and singing. 

Singing Away in a Manger

Laying down her sweet head

Just me and Goose after her big debut  

Well done Goose! We love and are so proud of you!