Me, My Thoughts, and I

The Greatest Show on Earth...Grace's Birthday Circus & Carnival!

Come and see the Amazing Grace as she turns another year older, consumes heaping amounts of cake & ice cream and blows out the death defying birthday candles!!

(this was part of the invitation we sent out!!)

Grace turned 5 on August 8th! Neither one of us can believe that she is 5 years old! It seems like only yesterday... She immediately checked herself out in the mirror the morning of her birthday to see if she looked "older"! Too funny! She is so very excited to be 5!

She chose to have a carnival themed birthday (this might stem from us seeing Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus last summer). We had it in the gym at our church. We set up a few "carnival" type games (basketball toss, bowling pin knockdown, pin the tail on the donkey, etc). The kids received tickets to play the games a few times & they got prizes at each station. They had fun taking turns whacking a clown pinata & of course we had the usual cake & ice cream! It turned out to be a fun party!! She enjoyed herself & the time with all of her friends! I think my favorite part was watching her as we sang "Happy Birthday" to her before she blew out the candles on her cake! She acted shy, but I knew she was really loving EVERY MINUTE of the song since it put her as the center of attention!! She was a hoot!

She racked in on the gifts! She got some cool Barbies (she LOVES Barbies right now), a Webkinz unicorn, a cool picture frame, a tea set & tea party book, Operation, a cool rolling tote with her name on it, some sidewalk chalk & paint, a few Polly Pockets toys, a do-it-yourself scrapbook kit, a V-Tech kids digital camera & money!

Overall, she had a very happy birthday!!!

We spent last week in sunny Florida! Our first stop was Tallahassee to visit our friends, The Brown's. We hung out with them & then continued on to Sarasota, where Darren's company has a beach house. The house is great...pool in the backyard, plenty of space, shops & restaurants close by & the beach just minutes away. What more could you ask for?! This was our third visit & each time we create more & more memories. We slept late, lounged by & played in the pool, made a few trips to both Lido Key & Siesta Key beaches, ate lot's of yummy food, took naps & just had a great time!

If you're ever in that area of Florida you must try out Siesta Key Beach! It has been ranked one of the top beaches by the Travel Channel. The sand is incredible...it's 99% quartz, so even on the hottest day it's not hot! Okay, enough about that... Luke was not a fan of the beach...more specifically the sand! He could not stand for it to be on his hands or feet! He didn't mind splashing in the waves as long as you held him otherwise he was most comfortable relaxing in a beach chair! Grace loves the beach...everything about it. She splashes in the waves, builds sand castles & hunts for any type of sea shell she can find!

Probably the highlight of the trip was our visit to both Magic Kingdom & Hollywood Studios! We got tickets & decided to surprise the kids. We loaded up in the car on Tuesday morning & didn't spill the beans until moments before we drove into the park! Grace was excited...Luke was clueless! Our first stop was Magic Kingdom. As soon as we arrived it began raining & it rained off & on (more on than off) the entire day. However, it was still magical! We rode a few rides...Grace's favorite being the tea cups! She kept saying, "faster...faster...faster!!" Then we ducked in the Judge's Tent to escape the rain & low & behold we found the lines to meet the Princesses! The wait was 75 minutes, but we only waited 30! Grace was so excited!!! I was a bit emotional!!! Finally it was our chance to entire their "throne"...we were the last ones in our little group...Grace was in awe! She just stared, clutching her autograph book & waiting her turn to see Cinderella, Belle & Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)! She approached Cinderella & made a new friend instantly! Cinderella invited Grace to sit down with her & they talked for what seemed like forever when in actuality it was only 3 or 4 minutes! Now, I was the one in awe. It was as if Grace was the only little girl that had come to meet Cinderella that day! She was so patient & loving & the epitome of a "princess"...one that my little girl has immortalized in her mind! I was so grateful!! We were literally in there by ourselves...the others had gone & they hadn't brought in a new group yet. They took a picture together, then she took Grace by the hands & spoke encouraging words to her & then gave her the sweetest hug ever...the whole room let out a succinct "awe"! Next, we moved on to Belle, who was just as patient & sweet. Our princess encounter ended with Aurora. Ever since Grace became a fan of the Disney Princesses I had dreamed of taking her to meet them. I was so excited to live out my little dream & I was even more excited that she was able to live out hers! The rest of the day was just as magical...even with ponchos & soaking wet shoes!! Grace was also able to meet Jasmine & Aladdin!! She loved Jasmine (that was her fav princess of the day), but she was a bit shy in front of Aladdin!! We also had the chance to snag autographs & pics from Pluto, Tigger & Pooh, as well as Chip & Dale! Luke's fav was Pooh...he just kept saying, "Pooh...Pooh...Pooh!!" By early evening the rain hadn't stop & we were all on the brink of being miserable & sick of being wet so we headed to our hotel to dry out & rest. The next morning we took off for Hollywood Studios. Both kids had another fun day! We watched the Playhouse Disney Live on Stage & met Handy Manny afterwards! Grace was a part of the Block Party/Parade, which she loved! The weather was much nicer...even had a cool breeze! Luke really came to life...he was so excited to meet the characters. We finally found Mickey Mouse & Luke ran up to him & fell into his arms...he stayed there while Mickey signed our book & we took a pic! We had such a fun time!! We took a ton of pics & created many magical memories!!

Like all good things our vacation had to come to an end. We were sad, but ready to get back home. Nothing like sleeping in your own bed!! On our way home we stopped back by The Brown's & spent the 4th of July with them. We took the kids to this little water park/pool they have in their neighborhood. It was a huge hit with the kiddos! Then we all headed to this huge field where they have their annual fireworks shows. It was the most amazing fireworks display either of us had ever seen! Grace loved every minute of it & Luke, well, he wasn't much of a fan & ended up falling asleep within minutes of it starting!