Soccer Part 2

Soccer was a big hit with H! She loved the 45 mins of fun each Tuesday. This was just a 3 week course, so unfortunately, it's already over. It did give me a good idea that she'd be up for a more formal soccer program in the future.

The kids started out by warming their muscles up with stretches.

Hannah and her sweet friend Emerson. Emerson was H's first friend in NC! They met at the pool.

Parachute fun

Obstacle course and drills with Coach Tiffany

Kicking a goal!

Free play at the end of class on the trampolines.

Daddy/daughter date night

Wes and Hannah went on their second annual daddy/daughter date night at CFA. This is such a great tradition and one that both get excited about. Hannah gets to dress up. This year, she chose her best "twirling" dress. She was so proud!

We'd been talking about H and Daddy's special date all day.  We only have one car seat, so when Wes picked up H to put in my car she got very confused. All of a sudden big crocodile tears started welling up in her eyes and she said "I want to take daddy's car!" She apparently thought since it was a date with Daddy, it was only right to ride in Daddy's car. Wes didn't even hesitate and took the time to transfer the seat. After all, it was their special night!

The report from dinner was a good one. Hannah came bounding through the door and promptly showed me her cow and flower. She told me all about dinner saying, "I had ketchup, fries, lemonade, and ice cream! Daddy had a cookie." A great time was had by both! There was even a cow sighting :)

Snow Day, part 2

We have had quite the Winter in the SE this year. I know my northern and western friends laugh at our Winters, but we have had a few legitimate stints of weather this year. Our last weather system was a prime example of that. We had about 5 inches of snow in our area. Hannah and Daisy had a blast! Daisy begged to go outside all day and I indulged her a bit by staying out an extra half hour throwing the ball after Hannah went inside. That dog!

I mean...look at her smile!

Again, we were ill-prepared for Hannah to go in the snow. She doesn't even have rain boots. The poor child cried when I put mine on saying her feet were cold and she needed boots too. Poor child... We neglect her so...;) she seemed to enjoy the snow any way.

It's really not the snow we have to worry about though, it's the ice. We got a good bit of ice this time, which makes it pretty much impossible to leave the house. We were a bit nervous we'd loose power due to falling trees, branches and just the general weight of the ice n the power lines. Our power flickered throughout the day, but thankfully we never lost power. 

By Friday, the snow and ice were melting. Hannah actually cried when the snow started to melt. Hmmm... Maybe her Denver roots are shining through. She was so sad! We still have some snow in our yard, but for the most part it is gone. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is such a fun holiday, especially with kids.  Hannah has been discussing love this month in school. They've made lots of Valentine crafts, including a Valentine bag. Hannah chose Goldfish as her special Valentine treat to bring to school. We crafted homemade cards to go with them. I cut out the shapes and showed her an example of the completed fish. She did the rest. She "painted" glue on each fish, put on tons of "sprinkles," and attached each piece of the fish. She had a great time! And it was the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon :)

"Painting" on the glue

Applying the "sprinkles"

Finished fish! 

We made special Valentine cookies for our family dessert on the big day. H loves to cook and pulls her kitchen helper to the counter any chance she gets. She loves measuring and pouring the ingredients into the mixer....and every now and then sneaking a taste of the ingredients :)

Opening Valentines on the big day!

Disney Part 3

Day 5- Epcot

We started day 5 off in Epcot with breakfast at Akreshus. Since we had an early breakfast reservation, we got to enter the park before the general public. So fun! This was great for picture ops!

Akreshus is every princess lovers dream come true. ALL the princesses were at breakfast and each stopped by our table to say hello. Each family is brought in one at a time. Everyone gets to meet Belle and have their picture taken with her before being seated. Once again, Hannah did not disappoint with the explosion of happiness about seeing Belle. She talked her ear off...Again!! When it was time to be seated, I had to grab H by the hand to lead her out. When I felt a tug of hesitation, I looked behind me to see that she still had Belle by the hand and was also dragging her to the table! HA! That was one of my favorite moments from the trip. That girl and her love of Belle!

Breakfast was unbelievable! Some of the best food we experienced on the property! If you're reading this and are thinking about eating here, please do it! The cheesy hash browns are to die for!

First up, Cinderella! H was excited to show off her ball gown and dance.

Next up, Princess Aurora. 

Up next, Ariel. This Ariel was special to us (we come from the same land ;)) I think mommy was more excited than H on this one!

Ariel sure did make our day!

And, finally, Snow White. My princess was in princess heaven!

After breakfast, we were ready to hit the park. I'm actually kicking myself a bit for this, but Ana and Elsa (from Frozen) were making their park debut that day. The line was 45 min to see them and we by-passed it due to the long wait and having not seen the movie. Oops! H ended up loving the movie and loving those girls... Mommy fail! Now, I understand, the line is over 3.5 hours long to see them! Yikes!

I had our day pretty much planned out. There were specific characters Hannah had not yet met and we really planned our day around seeing them. 

First, we had to get in another photo op with Mickey and Minnie! It never gets old!,

That smile...every.time!

We headed over to Morocco to meet Aladdin and Jasmine. This was a funny meet and greet. Hannah had been so excited about seeing Jasmine, but when Aladdin showed up she was having none of it.  She were quite timid, to the point where Aladdin backed off and then jumped into the picture at the last minute without her knowledge. It was hilarious!!! Wes and I chuckled.

We met up with the rest of the Vance clan for a few rides. I could tell Hannah was getting tired at this point. It had been a late night followed by an early morning. She was so groggy, that she fell asleep on Wes during the Epcot ball ride. It was a sweet, and rare moment. He definitely took it in. She woke up right after we got off. 

We headed to Hollywood Studios that night for the Christmas Lights Spectacular. It did not disappoint! The photos don't begin to do justice to this amazing lights show. All of the lights are coordinated to "dance" to the music. You can even buy Mickey Ears that have lights that dance....in perfect harmony to the music. How they do that, I don't know. Amazing!