100 Days of School!!!

Wednesday was the 100th day of school, and this year we had all three that hadn't missed any days of school so far!!! Those who haven't missed get to release a balloon at Flag Raising on the 100th day - so fun!!!!!!

Jamie - 7th grade

Kelcie - 2nd grade

Laura - 4th grade

Lift off!!!!!

There they go.........

Great Job, girls!!!!!

Doctor, Doctor!

For January, the Preschool was learning about Community Helpers, and so they asked if Lafe would go in for the Doctor. I think he loves doing it and it was fun to see Talin just beam that his Dad was there!

Checking ears...

Checking mouth.....

Dr. Talin listening to the heart...

Checking Blood Pressure

Dr. Talin - he let each kid dress up in his white coat.

Christmas Morning

SANTA CAME!!!!!

Before....... (those Green Machines are really fun!!!)

Laura - Science Lab

Kelcie - Doodle Bear

Ethan - Electronic Playground

Erin - Star Wars Legos

Kelcie - Squinkies Cruise Ship (cute!)

Talin - Scooter

Jamie - Karaoke Machine

Ethan - Down Comforter and Pillow (it was all in Swedish - Ikea- so he wasn't sure what it was!)

Laura - Harry Potter Castle Lego set - very requested and Santa was really nice!

Talin - Lego Table (Santa likes Pinterest, too!)

Erin - Cedar Chest - supposed to be for her birthday, but we couldn't find it in time. Santa knew where to get it!

DISNEYLAND!!! Mom and Dad gave them a trip to Disneyland! We ALL LOVE Phineas and Ferb, and we like to have the kids match so we can find them, so we ALL got Perry shirts to announce the Disneyland Trip. (Talin already had a Perry shirt, so he got Cars)

Fun Christmas!!! Fun to be with family and watch the kids enjoy their presents!!! Thanks, SANTA!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Earrings!!!

Remember back to Laura's birthday post.........and her soccer post? Well, Laura turned 10 this year, and at our house, that means EARRINGS!!! She has been SO excited! Counting down for the last year and a half! But, if you play soccer, you can't wear earrings. So, she had to wait........ BUT, today was her last soccer game, and she was absolutely going to get them pierced TODAY!

First ear - not even a flinch!!! No tears, nothing!

Second Ear.....

She picked the rainbow daisy so it would go with everything....

Tah-dah!!!! She didn't stop smiling ALL NIGHT!!! And, she's been so great about cleaning them (once again, a great reason to wait until 10!). Happy Birthday, again, Laura! They're beautiful!

Soccer

Laura has wanted to play soccer for a few years now, so this year we finally did it! She signed up with her cousin, Autumn, and I think they had a great time! She ended up on her friend's team, too, with her friend's dad as the coach! That was just lucky! It was fun to watch her learn and play, and the games were even more fun to be able to cheer for 2!

This was her first game. This was the game we learned that Laura and Autumn look too much alike for their coach.....and for us to cheer! So, we bought ribbons and tried to do their hair different.

Autumn Laura

Grandpa Carroll came to their last game! They're so cute together......

Fun season! She wants to play again, but she wants the same coach. So, we'll see.....

Student of the Month

Jamie and Laura were both recognized for Student of the Month for November for the value "Gratitude". I wasn't able to go because I had surgery 2 days before, but I snagged this picture from the school newsletter. Laura's right in the middle and you can tell she's not as excited as she would have been if her mom was taking the picture :( I don't have a picture of Jamie, but she got it for 2 classes. Congrats, girls!!! Great job!!!!!!!

Piano Recital

I've been teaching piano to my kids for the past several years, although not very consistent. Well, now I'm teaching 4 nieces and a nephew, plus my kids, and it's been fun and nice to keep my kids consistent! They had a recital and they did great!

Kelcie

Laura

Jamie

Are you ready for Christmas?

It's the day after Thanksgiving - time to put up the Christmas Tree!!!

Putting lights on our pre lit tree.........hmmmm.

Cute little santas!

Ethan's turn to put the star on the tree!

See the garland in the background? Lafe and the kids did that for me! There's one on the mantel, too and they look so pretty!

Florida - Friday

Our last day in Florida, we decided to go visit Blue Spring State Park. Lafe's brother told us to go because you can see the Manitees as they swim up the springs in the winter to stay warm.

At the Spring (just because their "springs" are bigger than our rivers!)

If you look under the hanging moss, there was a mama and baby manatee. So fun to watch them! We started talking to a guy who had just gotten out of the water, and found out that for about 2 weeks, the swimming season and Manitee season overlap and you're allowed to swim with the Manitees!!!!! We checked it out, rented snorkel gear, and went for it! We still can't believe we did that! ( I know nobody there would ever see me again, so I was ok :) ). It was amazing! They swim right up to you - so friendly! In fact, it was sometimes overwhelming to see that huge animal come right for you! We weren't allowed to touch them, but we definitely could have! They're so cute and friendly! We had such a great time swimming with them.

And, we happened to have swimsuits with us because we were headed to Daytona Beach afterwards......but, it was COLD! The water wasn't bad and we would have gotten used to it, but the air and wind - BRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! So, we got in to our knees and loved playing around with the tide coming in. I love waves in the ocean - it's so addicting to see how high they're going to go next....

Then, we decided to drive home a different way and maybe hit another beach. Well, we were getting close to Cape Canaveral, so we tried to find the Space Center. We missed - we found the RESTRICTED area and we're glad we didn't get arrested or anything, but then we were getting done so we just went back to Orlando. Great day! So fun to be able to visit more places than just Orlando!

Florida - Thursday

On Thursday, Lafe was done with the conference, so now we could PLAY!!! We, of course, HAD to go to Universal Studios to see the Harry Potter stuff!!!

Jurassic Park area, just past Harry Potter

Hogsmeade!!! You come up to it and it's amazing how realistic it looks! So AWESOME!!!!!!

Our first roller coaster - the Fighting Dragons, I think. OK, these aren't Disneyland Rides, folks! So many more TWISTS and TURNS and UPSIDE DOWNs!!! THere were two different roller coasters intertwined with each other. SO MUCH FUN!!!!! But, alas, I get motion sickness, and EVERY ride warned you about it. Of course the rides made me sick. Luckily, we found some Dramamine, and after 20 minutes, I was good to go for the rest of the day!

Inside the Castle - recognize the entrance to Dumbledore's office?

THe sorting hat. They made the rides so fun because there were stories being told as you wait in line and it all connects to the ride you're about to go on.

The Castle - REALLY COOL!!!!!!

HI!

Train to Hogwarts!

Hagrid's Hut - this is actually in line for the Dragon Roller Coaster - I think we rode that one 4 or 5 times!

Ron's Car - same ride.

LUNCH! We ate at the 3 Broomsticks - they are so efficient there - amazing how they got us all through that line! And, just so you know, the Butter Beer is really that good!!!!!!

Comic Area of Universal

After a long day of walking around the park (probably at least 3 times through the WHOLE thing!), we stopped for dinner at Bubba Gumps! It was yummy and such a fun environment! Everything was Forrest Gump and the waitress even quizzed you before you could leave. Yummmmmmmmm!