Zippity Doo Da... DISNEY

I always tell Simone that the only bad part of fun things is that they always have to end.  And that couldn't be more true this past week.  We had the most AWESOME Disney vacation!!  Simone did better than we could have imagined, and we all had more fun in one week than we ever thought possible.  We had a big camera glitch and lost more than one pair of sunglasses, but beyond that.... it was practically perfect in every way, as Mary Poppins would say!

 Even though Simone is a Disney veteran, she didn't remember much of her younger visits.  So for her, everything was like the first time.  Going through the gate on the first day was like magic for her, and the magic just kept coming.  We arrived for the opening ceremony, which totally captivated her.

We stayed at Shades of Green again and just loved it.

Simone really loved meeting the characters and collecting their signatures in her autograph book.  She was so committed that she INSISTED we wait nearly 30 minutes in the blazing sun for Daisy Duck despite all kinds of negotiations to abort.

 And naturally Simone took the opportunity to practice her archery while waiting for Merida.  Simone likes her because she has curly hair too.

This year we were lucky enough to score a reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table inside the castle.  They did a great job making the kids feel special with photos, magic wands, a wishing ceremony, and make-your-own sundaes.  Simone picked her own pink crown especially for the occasion.

No trip would be complete without the electrical parade and a visit to downtown Disney -- perfect after dark fun!

playing at the Lego store...

 ...and a Ghiradeli sundae with daddy.  Yes, he does have a Mickey sticker on his head--his favorite place to put stickers.

At EPCOT Simone and her cousin toured the world showcase, festively posing in each country...

 Simone and Madalyn also had a special afternoon at the Alice in Wonderland Tea Party--Madalyn as the spitting image of Alice and Simone as the Cheshire Cat.   Personally, I thought they made the most adorable two guests of them all, of course I'm incredibly biased.

And finally a few random shots... 

at the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review.  Don't ask me what Simone's face is all about, she really was having fun.

 Simone thought this humongous Mickey hat was pretty cool.  She actually asked for pictures in front of it.

 On the Toy Story ride -- my vote for best ride at Hollywood Studious.

Geared up for the Star Wars ride, which made me incredibly motion sick.  But Tony and Simone loved it.

And even the rain didn't get us down.  Simone just suited up in her Minnie poncho an pushed on.

Our Chip and Dale campfire sing a long was the only thing to get rained out.  But that didn't stop the girls from getting into the chipmunk spirit.

Well, that does it for this trip.  Until next time ...

A Little Dream Come True

Ok, so as a very girly mom of a very girly little girl, I have long awaited this day.  With so much focus on the house, it's been months since mommy and Simone have hit the mall.   Well, today Simone not only asked to go shopping (be still my heart), but when we got there she shopped like a professional.  It was adorable, and a big dose of just how much she's maturing. She wanted to pay for her own things and carry her own bags -- once again, a reminder that our little girl has grown up.    We hit a couple stores and then met up with daddy for dinner, where she was a perfect little lady and made short work of a whole plate of asparagus.

After dinner Simone wanted daddy to come to a store with us, and he obliged.  But one kids store was his limit before he made a beeline for the Apple store to check out his next iPad.

Simone quickly followed, but had about 2 minutes of interest in the place, and quickly started asking, "Daddy, can we please leave here?"  ....ahhhh.... I just love her.

Can you believe this?  It's like she's 16.  It was so fun -- definitely won't mind many more years of afternoons like this. 

We had a great afternoon, and Simone managed to score some new clothes, which she definitely doesn't need.  But who can resist, right?

Herndon Festival

We had an extra special Thursday night this week.  Mommy and daddy left work a little early to take Simone to the Herndon Festival after school.  This year, Simone was big enough to go on all of the rides without an adult, and she made sure to try them all.  Our brave little girl darted to the very first car of the little roller coaster.  To be honest, I think she was pretty underwhelmed by it's tameness.

 Then a spin on the teacups...

She really liked the sky drop.  It wasn't terribly high, but it made her laugh.  She said it was like an elevator that goes up and down.

 The swings also rated high on her list of favorites.  As she watches me post these pictures, she wants me to note that also tried the fast race cars, the antique cars, the carousel, and the very big slide.

 And finally the helicopters.  By about 7:30 the lines had gotten long -- really long-- and Simone was starting to get a bit wired/tired.  So we grabbed some dinner (which Simone devoured), had an ice cream, and headed home.

All in all, an particularly perfect evening.  Just the right amount of fun family time for a very fine early summer weeknight.  Hopefully, the rest of our summer will include several more of these little adventures.

Memorial Day

Grammy and Pop brought two of Simone's cousins down to visit us for Memorial Day weekend.  To say they had tons of fun would be a major understatement.  Simone and Kamryne played so long and so hard every day that the two of them could barely keep their eyes open through dinner.  Mommy and daddy took advantage of Simone's playtime to get lots of housework done, so pictures of the weekend are fairly sparse -- but here's a few.  

We went over to the mall on Monday afternoon where the girls couldn't resist a ride on the carousel.The entire weekend was sunny, HOT, and humid.  So we got swim time in every day.

 And on Sunday evening there was a concert at the clubhouse, so we brought our picnic blanket and some snacks and went to listen to the music.

The night was full of entertainment because after dinner Simone and Kamryne put on a play for the adults.  I'm having trouble uploading the video at the moment, will need to recruit daddy's technical assistance.  Stay tuned....

Meeting Sam

Today we took a ride up to Maryland to meet Simone's newest cousin Samuel George.  He's just 2 1/2 weeks old, and just about the most pleasant little guy I've ever met.  Even though Simone spent most of the time playing with his older brother Jack, she did take some time to say hello and help with his feeding.

 Then out to play.  It took a few minutes for Simone to figure out the mechanics, but then look out.  I don't think they left an inch of the lawn or a single tree dry.

 We ended the visit with a short trip over to the local ice cream place.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous today so we ate outside and then let the kids play a little more on the benches, which when you're a kid, double as a play set quite nicely.