There is sooooo much that has happened since the last time I've blogged. We are finally settled into our new house and loving it! Our neighborhood is so active and full of kids Cooper and Chloe's age. This isn't so great for Maddie but that girl is so busy that she's doing just fine.
Summer 2012 began with swim team and us taking a trip to Clearwater Beach, Florida and Orlando, Florida. We flew into Tampa and spent a couple of days at Clearwater Beach. It was gorgeous and we had a great time. Then, we drove from there to Orlando where we spent three days at various Disney Parks (our first time) before Maddie's volleyball tournament began. During her volleyball tournament we fit in one more park and then spent the rest of the free time at the hotel pool.
First airplane ride. Very exciting and they did great...GOING THERE!
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So needed this...
Disney World Time!
Magic Kingdom! She was so excited at the entrance with the Minnie Mouse topiary!
We got there right when it opened and watched the characters come in on the train and do a little show!
She's hiding behind her chair!
Oh we are tired, sassy, grumpy, hot, delirious and hungry!
Hollywood Studios!
On this day, Maddie went with her team to Islands of Adventure/Universal Studios!
Super cute show!
Next morning...Animal Kingdom! She's ready to go!
Animal Kingdom was our second favorite park. Magic Kingdom was of course the first!
My boy LOVED the safari!
We rode this ride at least five times!
Mr. Gorilla, I'm so tired too!
As close as they would get to the Jungle Book characters.
Waiting in line for Donald Duck's signature.
This is our very first family picture taken with all smiles! Crazy! It took Donald Duck to pull it off!
Back at the hotel...for opening ceremonies I stayed back to swim with kiddos while Todd and Maddie did the volleyball thing. I hear it was pretty cool. Hoping to participate next year! We just didn't know what to expect!
One of the days of the tournament, Maddie played in the evening so we were able to fit in a short trip to Epcot. I hear we missed quite a bit while we were there. Hoping to spend more time here next time. The most exciting part was that Cooper was able to ride Soarin'. A very cool ride! Chloe wasn't tall enough so she enjoyed a Mickey Mouse Ice Cream. REALLY enjoyed it! All over her shirt enjoyed it!
We LOVED the talking turtle. One of our favorites!
We spent most of our time in the Nemo section.
Cooper and Chloe have loved Nemo since they were two years old!
While on vacation we celebrated Father's Day and Todd's birthday!
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Volleyball!
You are able to watch games if you constantly feed the twins snacks, give them headphones and a movie to watch, etc.
Rest while you can!
Or hang like a monkey!
Downtown Disney was fun as well!
Loved this dragon made out of Legos.
The highlight of Cooper's trip...
T-Rex Restaurant. We went twice.
You can have fun and not eat there but we did eat there on one visit with Maddie's team.
He asked me to take a picture with the dinosaur in the background.
Take the free water taxi when you want to sit and relax for a bit.
And the airplane ride home didn't go as well. Oh.my.word. Both times, Cooper and Chloe wanted a window seat. So, Todd sat with Cooper and I sat with Chloe. This meant that both Todd and I sat in a middle seat while a stranger sat on the outside seat. Do you know where I'm going with this? It worked FINE on the way there and that's what we all decided to do again on the way back. It starts with the most HUMONGOUS guy sitting next to Todd. Really? If you were that big, would you sit next to a guy who has some pretty broad shoulders??? So, this was already uncomfortable to Todd. The first thirty minutes of the two hour ride, Cooper decided to SCREAM for his Mommy! Full plane ya'll. So, after about thirty minutes of begging Chloe to switch with him, we passed the kids over the two strangers. Thankfully my guy was much nicer. You could tell he was a family man. Hour goes by, we are asked to keep buckled in, starting to descend, and then Chloe SCREAMS..."MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY" for the last thirty minutes. Seriously!? And, the last thirty minutes lets remember that no one is able to listen to their headphones anymore. The HUGE guy...he literally put his fingers in his ears. I wanted to go off on him. I didn't.
Todd said, "We won't be EVER flying again."
The rest of our summer has included celebrating mine and Maddie's birthday as well, visiting with family, having play dates, and lots of swimming! LOTS and LOTS of swimming. We have been taking swim lessons from a private instructor who does them in her backyard and it's been fabulous! They have made so much progress. They have expressed some interest in being on the swim team like Maddie. Maddie wants them to be on it next year and they would all be on a team together. We'll see. That would be kind of special. Maddie's brother, Carson is also on the team.
Maddie opening presents. She turned 14 and is going to HIGH SCHOOL next year! Oh my.
The beats...
Happy Fourth of July!
Um...who taught him this???
Watching fireworks with friends!
Visiting cousins...love these kids being together!
Not a care in the world...
Centerpoint Station in San Marcos. If you haven't stopped here, do so. Get some ice cream, fudge, great burgers, or shop! Cutest place ever!
This last weekend we went to Galveston with friends and cousins. This day was a great day until the last thirty minutes. My kids LOVE being with their cousins and LOVE being with friends. It was such a great day and I'm trying to hold on to the good memories of it and remember that Chloe ended the night safe and sound at the house playing with her cousins after. I've gone into details with close friends and families about what happened on this day already. We lost Chloe on the beach for 15 to 20 minutes and it was the worst 15 to 20 minutes of my life. My friend Meredith was with us and we have had time to cry together about it. My dear friend is taking some of the responsibility and I don't want her to. I am so thankful that she was there helping us. Fifteen to twenty minutes doesn't seem long when you aren't there but my little girl was lost on a beach. There was an ocean, a huge crowd of people and cars driving in the sand. The thoughts that ran through our minds were the unthinkable. I personally ran up and down the beach screaming at anyone who was listening, "Please find my daughter. Please help. Oh God, please keep her safe." My cousin Shay was the one that found her and was the only one that just kept on walking when no one else thought she could have gone that far. Praise Jesus! We love the beach and we don't want it to be an enemy now. But, we will be taking a break from the beach for awhile. At least until next summer. We've visited it three times this summer. We are good. But, let me mention how fun Schlitterbahn was. Oh my goodness, you should have seen the smiles on their faces as they went down the slides. Believe it or not, they pretty much were able to ride every ride with Maddie and her best friend Monica on a double tube. We had to ride each one at least twice. LOVED it! I want to go to the New Braunfels location next summer for sure.
This picture was taken about five minutes before she was no longer in sight.
My little girl has gotten some special attention since and has also gotten her ears pierced!
I am now back at work and I'm ready for the kids to be back on schedule. Maddie has been quite busy with sports, high school strength and conditioning and now is about to participate in a volleyball freshman camp that will follow with try-outs. Say a prayer. The competition is tough but Maddie is a super star!She'll kick some bootay! We have to get used to cheering for the cougars! She recently tried out for the club team and has advanced to a higher team. Club begins after the school volleyball season is over. Big things are happening as well with the twins for this school year. They are starting preschool, Cooper is going to do fall soccer and Chloe is starting dance.
Life is good!
