Hollywood Studios

We arrived at Hollywood Studios this morning to find that the park was safely protected by storm troopers as this is a Star wars weekend. Real stars from the movies are here for the weekend for autographs, parades, etc.
We had a morning breakfast scheduled to eat with the characters from Playhouse Disney, Cara could see them inside while we waited to be called and was so excited
We met JoJo
We were a little afraid of Leo from Little Einsteins
Goliath from JoJo's circus was a little scary too
After breakfast we saw a great stage performance from our favorite shows on Playhouse disney like Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, and My Friends Tigger and Pooh. This was a huge hit with Cara.
Sitting on Daddy's lap during the performance for a better vantage point


We are back at the hotel for nap time, so Mommy took the time to download the pics and make a blog post. We are looking forward to a fun evening back at Hollywood Studios. Hope you enjoy!

Animal Kingdom

Meeting Donald Duck at our character breakfast, although Cara kept saying duck, duck when he was across the room, when it was time for him to visit our table she was very nervous that he was so close. She did blow him kisses as he walked away.
She was just as leery of Mickey, although she kept yelling Mickey as he walked away
Safe in Grandpa's arms she was a bit more friendly with Daisy Duck
She clung to Grandma when Goofy stopped by, she wanted nothing to do with him up close
But Daddy didn't want to hurt his feelings so they posed for a picture together
On safari, the giraffe is right next to the road, Cara thought that was pretty neat
We met Pocahontas and Cara loved her, played with her necklace, talked to her, and didn't want to leave her side.
This is how Cara enjoyed the "Lion King" show, sound asleep on Daddy

Another busy and hot day! After an enjoyable breakfast with some of our "friends" we headed off to the safari and saw lots of animals. We saw two neat shows "Finding Nemo the Musical", and "the Lion King". We spent some time in a petting zoo area where Cara loved chasing the goats. We had a late lunch/early dinner at the Rainforest Cafe before heading back to the hotel. The weather cooperated for an evening swim, followed by yummy ice cream for dessert before retiring for the night. Another fun busy day awaits us tomorrow!!

Epcot

We took Cara to Italy...she said "cyndi and Danilo"
With Chip and Dale
With Pluto
At the restaurant for dinner

Just a quick sampling of our day at Epcot, we have lots more pictures but no time right now. we are off to Animal Kingdom for a breakfast with Mickey, Goofy and, and Pluto. We wanted to make sure our faithful readers got some new pictures! We should have more new ones later tonight, it is a short day at the park so we should have more blogging time later!

Magic Kingdom Part 1

Mommy and Cara on Main Street
Cara on the railroad
The 3 of us on the Transit Authority ride
In front of the castle
Mickey and Minnie bonsai trees
Grandpa and Grandma walking with Mommy and Cara

What is there to do in the middle of the afternoon, in a tiny hotel room, but blog about our day prior to nap time. Daddy and Cara are catching some zzz's while Mommy kills time on the computer. So here is a sampling of our day so far. A big highlight was meeting Mickey and Minnie and getting our picture with them, although it was taken on the disney photopass so I don't have it to post on here. Cara was so cute she was nervous but intrigued and I think if we go back (and wait in line again), she will be more eager to see them and not be afraid. This evening we are eating dinner in Cinderella's castle with the Fairy Godmother and hitting more rides before concluding our night with the lighted parade. Hopefully Daddy and Cara are well rested for a busy evening.

Cute Cara story: last night after running around so excited between our connecting rooms, we told Cara it was time to go night night. So we headed into our room and shut the door between the two rooms. Cara went straight to the main door and said "daddy come on, car?". She was ready to get in the car and go home to go night night. We finally convinced her this was "home" for the next week.

We're Here!

Checking out the airplane, hmm...who's sitting behind us?
Shortly after take off and until we almost touched down, this was Cara
A clue to where we are....Disney World!

After an EARLY morning start, an uneventful flight with a sleeping Cara, we arrived in sunny, hot Orlando. Grandma and Grandpa F have joined us for the fun vacation. We took the Disney Magical Express, which picked us up at the airport and dropped us off at our hotel, so we didn't even need a rental car. After checking in and checking out our room, we headed to the food court for some lunch. Cara thoroughly enjoyed her mickey shaped rice krispie treat. We spent the late afternoon shopping at Downtown Disney, dinner at Planet Hollywood, and a quick evening swim once back at the hotel, although our swim was cut short due to lightening. Tomorrow we are off to the Magic Kingdom.....stay tuned!

Graduation means the school year is officially OVER

Cara passing out programs at graduation, too bad the ceremony was half over the she was doing it during speeches

Cara and Mommy

Cara working hard at Daddy's computer in his office

Yeah, running around the band room is so fun, plus this is picture shows off her dress, which looked so cute on her!!

School has been out for over a week, but now it is officially over since another graduation has come and gone. A busy day for grad parties and saying goodbye to another year of seniors was on our agenda for Saturday! Cara did so well at graduation, even though it was SO hot in the gym, that is why her cheeks are so pink in these pictures!

So now that summer is officially here guess what time it is???? VACATION time! We're headed off in the morning to Cara's first official vacation-plane ride and all! Come back often as we hope to post lots of pictures during the trip!

Yummy corn on the cob

We had some friends over for dinner on Thursday and one item on the menu was corn on the cob. Cara loves corn so I had shaved some off a cob for her to eat, but she thought it was way more fun to eat it straight off the ear after Daddy and I got one started for her. How cute is that?! Our big girl just amazes us everyday!

Being Silly

Cara was enjoying the latest Motor Trend magazine while sitting on her potty chair (fully clothes), note that her feet are down in the middle of the seat

The other day Cara and I were playing on the floor in the family room and she started grabbing the pillows and a blanket and told me to "go night night". So we had a little cuddle session! Daddy couldn't resist capturing the moment!

Look Daddy's guitar! Cara loves the guitar, probably more than Scott!!

Driving my car, last time Grandma and Grandpa A came for a visit they brought this fancy red car for Cara to use at our house. The radio plays music which she loves to drive and sing to all around the house!

11 years of Teaching

Mommy and Cara "cheesing" for the camera

Daddy thanking his graduation seniors for a terrific year

Cara wanted to get up close and personal to Daddy while he was talking

Not the best picture, but her dress is so cute in the front and this is the only picture I have


As I was getting the pictures for this blog post I noticed this same date (5/23) from one year ago and thought I would share! What a difference a year makes!

Friday night was the Fine Arts Awards dinner for the seniors! Scott is graduating his 11th class since he started teaching. He has been at his current school longer than any other school, so it was weird to see these kids graduate since he had them since middle school. Cara was so good during the dinner and all the awards. Everyone in the audience enjoyed her yelling out "Daddy" while he was up making his speech. She really does a good job of entertaining!!

Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone! Thanks to my friend Gigi and her cousin, we were able to attend the 500 Parade in the VIP seats today. Cara was in awe of all the floats, ballons, and people! Daddy and Mommy got a bit sunburnt, thank goodness we sunscreened Cara! What a fun day! Silly Mommy forgot the camera, but it was nice just to sit there and enjoy and not worry so much about getting "the shot".

Birthday Present

Cara got an early birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa A, a sand and water table! Cara helped Grandpa put it together. It was a little too cool today to play with water, but she was having so much fun with the sand it didn't matter. This will provide hours of fun this summer! Thanks for the early birthday present!

Being Silly

Cara playing with the seat to her potty chair! We have had a potty chair for a couple of months now and she shows interest in using it at times, but usually with her clothes on! The other day she went missing and I found her in the bathroom sitting on the potty (fully clothed), with a book in hand. So cute, I went to grab the camera and of course she got up and would not recreate scene. She is quite the ham as evidenced by this picture!

Busy Weekend

The jazz band on stage at the 1940's Musical Revue, Scott is playing trumpet standing in the back row

Cara sitting with Grandma and Grandpa A during the show

Cara thrilled to finally see Daddy (it had been since Sunday that they had seen each other)

Mommy and Cara on the bridge, Grandma F, Great Grandma E, and Grandpa F after the show

The 3 of us after the show


We had quite a busy weekend! On Friday was the first performance of the 1940's Musical revue. We enjoyed listening to tunes like In The Mood, Summertime, and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. The jazz band was absolutely phenomenal. Scott worked about 16 hour days all week, so he put Cara to bed on Sunday, and that was the last time they spent together all week. So she was so excited to see Daddy on stage during the performance, she kept yelling "Dada" at him. When they would close the curtain between acts she would yell "bye bye Dada". Everyone in the audience was enjoying her shout outs! Grandma, Grandpa F, and Great Grandma E came with us and we met up with Grandma and Grandpa A for dinner before the show. Cara was in awe to have all her favorite people in one place together.

Saturday was a day off for the show, so Mommy and Daddy took advantage of having Grandma and Grandpa A in town, and spent the day working in the yard. Got all my flowers planted, the beds weeded and remulched, and the lawn mowed! It was a gorgeous day out. Cara got to go on a picnic with her grandparents down to the pond in the neighborhood.

On Mother's day, not only did I get to sleep in a bit, I got woke up to my favorite breakfast-pancakes! Yummy! Daddy and Cara surprised me with roses and a nice spa gift certificate for some pampering! Yeah! I also got a great surprise that day that I was canceled for work, so I got to spend the evening with my family. Scott had another performance of the musical that afternoon, so after that he took us out to eat at Ted's, one of my favorite restaurants! What a busy weekend! No wonder Cara and I were so lazy on Monday!!

Happy Mother's Day 2008

I can't believe I get to celebrate my second Mother's Day! I thank God every day for the giving me the gift of motherhood to this precious miracle who brings such joy to my life. I still have to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming. I love hearing her call me Momma. I love that she wants me when she is hurt or sad. I love that she cuddles and gives kisses. I love her with all my heart, so much that is aches at times. Thank you Cara for being in my life! Your presence is more than any gift I could ever hope for!

My mom and I, 1976

I was about 2 1/2 when this picture was taken, so a little bit older than Cara is now, but I can definitely see the resemblance between the 3 of us. Happy Mother's day, Mom! Not only are you a wonderful Mother and Grandmother, you are my best friend. Thank you for everything you have ever done in my life!

To my mother-in-law, Steph:
You did a terrific job of raising two wonderful, caring, generous, and loving children. My husband is a better man because of it, even if he won't admit it :) You are also a wonderful Grandmother and I know when Cara is old enough to type this herself she will tell you. Thank you for all that you do for the 3 of us.

To our grandmothers:
Although we don't see you as often as we like, know that you are always in our thoughts. We wish you a very Happy Mother's Day from all of us!

To any other Mother reading this blog entry I hope you have a terrific Mother's Day!

Great Cara Story

Last year for Cara's birthday she got this placemat of all the US presidents. We have been slowly introducing them to her, so far she knows (can say and point to- Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Bush). We of course think she is so smart that she can remember them and point to them. So last weekend Scott had some money on the coffee table in the family room, and Cara walked over, picked up a $5 bill and said "Lincoln". So then we held up a $1 bill and she said "Washington" (well- she says "washwa" but we know what that means). We always thought she had memorized the place and name on the placemat, but to see her name the money was incredible. Every parent wants to think their child is really smart, and we are no exception :)


Sorry for the lack of posts this past week, Scott and I were both busy with life but nothing blog worthy! The musical at Scott's school is next weekend and we will be so relieved when it is over as our schedules will get back to normal! Then school will be out for the summer before we know it!