Laila is 12!

 One, last year before Laila is a teenager; time is a thief! This year Laila had a family party so we got to see almost our whole family which was nice. 

She chose Jersey Mike's subs for the party and
I made an Oreo cake! Laila's interests this year are beauty products, shoes and clothing. She's growing up into a young lady and we couldn't be more proud. For her first year of middle school she tried the band, student council and has been on the honor roll every, nine weeks. She also continues to be in Girl Scouts and still loves to peddle those cookies! 

Laila also played basketball this past winter and was much improved from last year. She really worked hard and became an integral part of the team. Her love for the sport grew so much and she can't wait to play again next year. It was amazing to watch her progress each week in the games and she was even high scorer a couple of games. Her teacher at school also nominated her to attend the Junior National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. this year! We're beyond proud of Laila and are excited to see her continue to grow and be great at life. She's always been such a bright light in our life and in our family and I beam with pride when I look at her and think of what she has accomplished.
The sky is the limit for her! 

 

xoxo, 

Mom 

Lena turns 9!

 Last year in the single digits for Lena Grace! For her birthday this year she only wanted to have her friends sleepover. The party theme was 'dogs' since Lena's love for animals shines! We were glad to encourage her to help them on another level by asking her friends to make donations to the Circle Area Humane Society in lieu of gifts; she loved this idea! 

At her party we had a dog adoption activity in which all of her friends got to pick a puppy and fill out an adoption certificate for it. 

They played all night (some longer than others) and everyone had a great time. Lena requested a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and strawberries in the middle. The cake was delicious but it did fall apart when we cut it - made us laugh! 

Overall, I think Lena enjoyed her day. She got to see friends and family and spend the night with her friends! 

Lena started playing in her first year of 10u softball. She has some new teammates to get to know this year and we're looking forward to another fun season next spring/summer of '24. This winter Lena played basketball for her first time in the Biddy program at school and she had a great time! She learned the fundamentals quite well and had fun playing with a lot of her friends. They won some games and a couple of games she had some points. We are so proud of her and hope to see more Tiger basketball played next year. 

Lena is a kind, young lady who loves her family, friends and animals. Her heart is so sweet and we are so glad that God blessed us with her. She makes us laugh all the time and I couldn't imagine life without her. To the moon and back for infinity, we love you. 

xoxo, 

Mom 

Laila's GOLDEN Birthday!

 

Happy 11th Birthday, Laila! 

Even though the years seem to fly by and I can't usually remember what happened yesterday I can still vividly remember the day you were born. Being the first baby you taught us how to be parents! Everything was a first for us with you and lucky for us, although you were here a month early you were a good, good baby; ate well and slept well. We were spoiled, new parents! It's hard to remember what time was like before you arrived but you sent us on the fun journey to parenthood. Fast forward 11 years...

You're in 5th grade, heading to middle school next year. You've taken up volleyball, basketball, student council and still love girl scouts; you'll bridge to Cadette this year if you keep at it! You also received the Ruth Neff Outstanding Student Award for your D.A.R.E. program and Student of the Month and Bus Rider of the Month!

We had the family over to celebrate you and ate your favorite - taco bar! And then you had Katie and Lily spend the night. The theme was make-up since you're really loving all of the face care creams/lotions and starting to apply your own make-up - EEK! 

We took off for spring break this year and headed to the Great Wolf Lodge for a couple of days in Mason, OH. We had never been and you and Lena had a ton of fun in the water, becoming Master Magi's, picking out candy, racking up 1000+ tickets in the arcade and perfecting their mini golf and bowling skills.
Those wolf ears though!!

We're so proud of the young lady that you're growing up to be. You're learning that the harder you work at things the better you become; in life, in school and in sports. I'm excited to watch you find your purpose in life and to see all of the wonderful things that you choose to do. We love you beyond measure, kid. 

xoxo, 

Mom

Lena is 8!

 Lena is growing right up! We had a busy weekend scheduled for her birthday this year; party at home with Grammy and Mamaw, pottery painting with friends at Nellie Dog and then three softball games in Kentucky with her new softball team! 

She got a big girl desk and some Rainbow High Dolls (with their new car)! 

Some of her friends met at Nellie Dog Pottery and Paints in Chillicothe and they painted their own piece of pottery. They had cupcakes, cookies and ice cream and had a ton of fun! 

The weekend ended with three, good softball games. The girls had fun and we learned a lot about travel softball! 

Lena is growing in to a sweet, hard-working young lady. She's confident and kind and a great student! She loves to write and be challenged in math and did I mention she's funny? She's so fun to be around and is the most kind-hearted and compassionate little lady. We can never get enough of our sweet Lena Grace! 

Travis and I are so proud of her and she's loved beyond measure! 

Never change, my babe. 

xoxo, 

Mom 

Disney World 2021!!!

We finally got to go to Disney World after a couple years planning and rescheduling due to COVID. We decided on staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and purchased tickets for four park days: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. We left on October 17th and the girls got to experience their first airplane flight to Orlando (which they both loved)! 

We arrived to Orlando around 830am and hopped aboard the Magic Express to Animal Kingdom. We dropped our bags and hopped a shuttle to Disney Springs for the day. There we went to the LEGO store so that the girls could make their own, personalized LEGO figure and we ate at the Rainforest Cafe for an early dinner. 

We went back to check in to our room at Animal Kingdom and settled in for our first, big day at Disney, Magic Kingdom! 

Each morning the girls would request a wake up call from a Disney character but every day of the week it was Mickey. It was still fun to see the girls jump up and grab for the phone in anticipation! 

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and quickly realized how much there was to do there. I even got a little nervous that we wouldn't be able to fit it all in, in one day. After riding the Barnstormer and the Little Mermaid we grabbed two, HUGE cinnamon rolls at Gaston's Pub and washed it down with LeFou's brew - it's Frozen Apple Juice with a hint of Toasted Marshmallow and topped with All-Natural Passion Fruit-Mango Foam; SO good! After that we rode other rides like Peter Pan's Flight and It's a Small World. Lena even spotted Rapunzel's castle and saw Rapunzel and other princess friends! 

 

The Castle was so beautiful, we took so many great photos of it! And the fireworks show in the evening was so magical; these are just a few of my favorite shots! We were right up front and sang and loved every, minute of it! 

We had a late lunch, early dinner at the Beasts Castle! The girls wore their 'Beauty' yellow dresses and Travis and I wore Beauty and Beast shirts. The caste was so fancy, we felt like royalty. We sat in the main ballroom and the Beast made several appearances while we ate. The girls were impressed by the fancy fare and indulged in lit up drinks, fruit and snack plate appetizers and delectable desserts made just for them. Our meal was delicious and it was the perfect rest in the middle of the day that we needed to make it through until the fireworks show to end our magical day! 

Day 2 - EPCOT 

EPCOT was BIG! We did the most walking this day (24,000 steps)! We started off the day riding 'Soarin' which was super fun! We also rode other rides and took our time as we visited each 'country' around the 'world' of EPCOT. It was the food and wine festival so there were many, good food booths to choose from. I introduced Travis to 'pountine' (french fries with gravy and cheese curds on top) from Canada and it was a win! 

The girls saw and talked to Anna and Elsa and we rode Frozen Ever After - AMAZING! It took you backwards and we sang 'Let It Go!' 

For dinner we ate at Garden Grill. It's a revolving restaurant served family style. We loved our waiter and enjoyed seeing Mickey, Goofy and Chip and Dale! 

Our most FAVORITE ride, probably of the whole week was Remy's Ratatouille! It's a 3D/ride/story all in one - so much going on and so much to see and experience with special effects. 

We loved being a rat for that time! 

We took our time throughout the park and stopped often for breaks and snacks, of course! Here is Laila with a couple of her favorite finds for the day. 

The EPCOT 'ball' was so beautiful at night. It changed colors and looked rainbow at times! EPCOT was one of Laila's favorite parks that we visited. She even did some shopping and bought her fancy Loungefly bag in EPCOT. 

Day 3 - Pool Day at our Resort - Animal Kingdom Lodge

We really enjoyed our break day! The pool had a slide that the girls loved and a hot tub that made for a nice, relaxing day. We had time to walk around the resort and see more animals too! In the evening we took the boat over to the Boardwalk to hit up Beaches and Cream for dessert. We loved this experience and the location of the Beach Resort. 

 

Day 4 - Hollywood Studios - this day was my favorite! 

We had so much fun at Hollywood Studios riding Mickey's Railroad, Tower of Terror and the rides in Toy Story land. The details of this area were meticulous and it was great to see it all come together. We enjoyed seeing the Belle and the Beast show and the Anna and Elsa Frozen show. We also watched a Muppets in 3D show that was unbelievable cool; it sure is hard to pick a favorite! The day flowed so well and the weather was beautiful. We watched the characters in the parade and Lena got up close and personal with Chip and Dale. 

Day #5 - Last Day - Animal Kingdom Theme Park

Animal Kingdom was a BEAUTIFUL place. We rode the BEST rides there; Mt. Everest, Flight of Passage, the Kali River Rapids and took a Kilimanjaro safari and saw lots of animals including the biggest alligators we've ever seen in our lives. We had a DELICIOUS breakfast at Tusker House and we saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Daisy and Donald there! We also got to enjoy a kite show over the lake and tasted some pineapple Dole Whip! The girls did a scavenger hunt and stopped at several places to learn about animals and their habitats and could add stickers/badges to their resource books at each station. The Animal Kingdom theme park is a beautiful park to experience. Again we had beautiful weather the whole week and we can't wait to go back again and make more Disney memories!