A Disney Thanksgiving

So you know we're officially crazy? Well, Donnie was crazy when we met. I was normal. (I hear my family laughing ...). But over the years, we've become crazy together. We have 4 kids, and we're not officially "done" (check Crazy Box #1). We drive 30+ hour round-trips just to go home and visit family during the holidays (check Crazy Box #2). We home-school (Box #3), home-birth (Box #4) and now, to top it off, we take our children to DISNEY WORLD over a major holiday! If you ask me, that tops the list. Surprisingly, it was a restful, refreshing vacation. Maybe I am truly insane....

Day 1, Downtown Disney

Does it get any cuter than this?

Day 2, EPCOT

Day 3, Disney Hollywood Studios

Sarah got to meet The Mouse!

We met up with Karla's family (my best friend from high school). Abby of course made the kids her instant new BFFs.

Abby rode both the Rock-n-Roller Coaster AND the Tower of Terror. She cried and shook the whole way up, and LOVED both of them. Did the Coaster twice actually.

I don't know why there are so many pictures of me from this trip... Look how TALL Abby is!

On the way home, we said, "hey, after 3 days in Disney World, why drive straight home? Let's get lost on some little Florida back-roads." We drove through the Lake Helen historic district. It merited a freeway sign, but here's a tip ... don't waste the gas. Unless we missed something, which is entirely possible. We meandered a little more, and ended up in De Leon Springs.

There's a lovely spring that's cordoned off into a swimming hole (okay, well, actually it is CEMENTED off, to keep the alligators out, of course). We'll have to go back in the summer and swim. There was a "resort" there from 1920's - 1960's ... think of the resort in "Dirty Dancing" and you'll get a good picture. It is quite beautiful there. And, there's a slide just for us!

And that was our Thanksgiving. No turkeys were killed during the filming of this holiday.

November

I love November in Florida. It is gorgeous. Well, usually. This one was a bit hot. As in the 80s. Hot. But there were a few cool days, with lovely blue Florida winter skies. Here's Eli, growing up way too fast.

Sarah at Connor's A-Maize-ing Acres. If you look closely, you can see the red mark left by a yellow jacket sting on her left cheek.

Ezra loved climbing the haystacks. In his Sunday best. The boy loves button down shirts way more than an average four year old should.

Corn and haystacks are great, but the hit of the day was definitely the giant pile of sand!

We've settled into a good rhythm for school. This is what is looks like at our house. Here's Abby, doing actual schoolwork, and trying to hide out in our front room.

Ezra in the family room, half dressed. He loves tracing. Loves it. Again, more than your average four year old should.

Sarah during school-time. Really, you never know what Sarah's going to do. But she makes a great Athena.

And Eli, crawling around and drooling.

I'm thinking of writing into Iron Chef with a new secret ingredient for the cooking show: children! Just throw a random daycare onto the show floor, and let's see how well those chefs can pull together a lovely meal. All joking aside, this is really how it looks when I cook dinner (notice the pots on the stove...)

I love this picture. They look so obedient. I am sure it only lasted for a brief moment or 2!

Fourth Birthday! He's been asking for a skateboard for YEARS, literally. Finally got it. He's pretty good on it, too. Better than Mommy would be. Not that I'm trying...

I love them! They're hilarious and fun and sweet and snuggly. And they don't hit each other TOO much.

October

I love Ezra with long hair. I'm also cheap, but I'm terrible at cutting hair, so the long shaggy look works for me. Unfortunately, it drives Ezra crazy. So here is a picture of before...

And after! Abby and Sarah also had a lot trimmed, but the difference isn't as pronounced on them.


Eli decided that he'd been too easy on mom for the first 7 months of life, so it was time to take to the stairs. The tile stairs. Ugh. I'm considering buying a bunch of those gel-pro mats and lining my floors with them...

One of our last pictures of Sarah with her pacifier. She gave it up soon after this.

A rare moment of playing happily together. I am pretty certain that soon after this picture there were blocks being thrown at each other.

Hansel and Gretel.

Aunt Kristi and Uncle Heath came down for a visit, and we made a trip down to St Augustine for the Greek Festival ... here, a tired baby at the end of the day!

Ezra made a very decent attempt at the rock wall.

More soccer in October ... and it is still HOT!

Time to carve pumpkins... I think Arby is waiting for scraps to fall so he can snarf them up.

Trick or treating! Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and Marian's maid.

Let's go get some candy!

Even Mommy and Daddy are a little crazy...

Ezism #4: Stop Licking the Grocery Counter!

Hmm, wonder how we got the swine flu? Well, actually, Donnie brought it home from work (thanks Vipers!). But I'm sure grocery counters are full of all kinds of fun microscopic stuff.

September = Soccer

September started soccer season, or rather, HOT soccer season! Abby hasn't played for several seasons due to moving and new baby, so she was very excited to play again.

Sarah and Ezra are the happy spectators for everything involving Abby... well, maybe a little sweaty!

MomEm and Papaw were able to make a game one weekend - here's MomEm and baby Eli, before they got too hot!

Time to celebrate Miss Sarah's birthday! This is her "don't even think I'm sharing this cake with you" look.

Opening presents (some of which were regifted from big sister Abby's old things!)

And what do baby brothers do during birthday parties? Oh yes, eat the wrapping paper.

Big E and Little E (though the jury is still out on which one will be which!)

Eli, future helicopter pilot...

Ezra, future graffiti artist... (this is on the wall by our front door)

Tired from his art endeavors, Ezra asleep in the chair with Ab. So here's the funny thing about 3 yr olds ... impulse control. There's always something they just.can't.stop. themselves from doing. With Abby it was "making soup." (Using every ingredient in her bathroom to whip up concoctions ... we finally had to empty it down to nothing but towels). For Ezra, it is writing on things. Walls, furniture, himself, you name it. Instrument of choice is black marker. I've had to corral all writing implements in the house into one basket in the kitchen! Wonder what Sarah's personal method of destruction will be ...

Road Rash

Ezra got this shiner today. Poor buddy. He was just walking across the road when WHAM! Face plant. I thought for a bit that his nose was broken, but the swelling went down very quickly. I told him the pattern on his head looks a lot like Spiderman...

Here is Eli doing his sitting up thing. We are in trouble now. (Yes, he's playing with a doll. But he's pulling her hair, so I think that's an acceptable little-brother kind of playing!).

You probably can't tell from this picture, but it's pouring down rain. We were in the middle of schoolwork one day when the clouds burst open, and ... "pleeeease can we go play in the rain?!" So they did.

And here is me trying to cook breakfast. It's a good thing we have all this countertop space so the kids can ALL sit up there and help me!