Extended 4th of July Holiday

Back in June my brother Steven and his beautiful wife Rachel came out to Texas to visit my parents. Rachel was in the middle of swim lessons, but as soon as she finished her last lesson we headed up to spend the last couple days of their visit with them. I was really bad about taking pictures, which I'm kicking myself about now. But you see June was my worst month with this pregnancy. So, I was surviving... And it was nice to go up and be spoiled by my parents. Andy wasn't able to join us until a week later due to some training days at work. So, the girls and I enjoyed Steven and Rachel for a few days.

The highlight of our time with them was the girls playing on their phones or Steven's new iPad 2. I guess in California they couldn't keep the iPads on the shelf. In Texas Steven was able to walk right into Sam's Club and buy one. So, the girls enjoyed playing games on their fancy devices. Here's one picture I did grab - Steven on his iPad and Audrey's on his phone:

We spent Friday through Monday with Steven and Rachel. Tuesday they had to head home and we spent a few quiet days. Then Andy drove up Thursday night and joined us for the 4th of July weekend. We enjoyed some classics while visiting my parents - tractor rides, swinging in the swing, Chuck E. Cheese, fishing, boating, playing with minnows (Audrey even got so she was kissing them - gross!), enjoying lots of good food, and playing games in the evenings. We did add a new tradition - a slip 'n slide. The girls loved it! And my parents have quite a few hills on their property, so it worked out well.

Playing with the minnows while Daddy and Papa attempt fishing (no luck this trip with catching anything):

Love this picture! All ready for a boat ride:

Can you tell it's hot??? Rachel's face is just a little red...

Fourth of July evening:

On the 4th of July we enjoyed a barbecue. We had stocked up on quite a few different fireworks. The girls are still talking about some that scared them to death (namely. the ladybugs). Audrey spent most of the evening inside with Papa. Although she did enjoy doing sparklers... Rachel enjoyed the show for the most part. It's always fun to spend the 4th at my parents. The next day we drove home. Andy even drove the girls the whole way home and I got to enjoy some solitude as I drove his car home. He's a pretty nice guy! It was hard to adjust back to life after being spoiled for 12 days, but luckily we had other things coming up later in the summer to look forward to!

Halfway There

We have reached the 20 week mark - we're halfway there! This past weekend our little guy must have gained some strength because he was moving around quite a bit and it was noticeable even when I wasn't trying to pay attention to him. The first little movements were noticed around 16 1/2 weeks. I'm anxious for Andy and the girls to be able to feel him. Soon enough, I'm sure... :)

Things are going well. I am feeling good - other than being constantly hungry. Maybe that means this little guy will be our best eater yet! I find myself needing to eat every 2-3 hours. About 2 weeks ago, for the first time, a total stranger made the assumption I was pregnant. Wahoo! :) Especially since I've felt quite large for quite awhile. Miraculously I've only gained about 7 pounds. It seems like it should be at least 20...

It was fun almost 2 weeks ago to take the girls to the ultrasound. And our baby boy was quite cooperative. As soon as my doctor turned the machine on, you could see that it was definitely a boy! It was quite comical! I guess boys aren't as modest... It seemed like with our girls it took awhile each time (especially Audrey). Everything looked really good on the ultrasound. He even gave us a little wave.

And I've decided I've definitely turned a corner. You know when you first become a mother and you go shopping for yourself and end up buying things for your baby instead... Well, the other day I went to the store meaning to find some shirts for the girls. Never found any shirts for them, but I found several items for our baby boy. I'm trying to take advantage of shopping the clearance racks of summer clothes. :)

The most common question we get asked is about names. So, to be totally honest, we haven't even discussed them. It's actually something Andy and I both dread... We'll get there - we have 20 more weeks to figure it out. He'll for sure be _________ Andrew Smith. We are very excited for our little guy to join our family in January!

First Day of School

Well, we survived the first day of kindergarten! Rachel did great. After school, Audrey and I were waiting under a tree for her as she rounded the corner and she was all smiles. As we were walking home I was ever grateful we live close enough to walk to and from school. That car rider line is insane! And having been a former teacher, I'm glad I don't have to torture the teachers as they have to load the kids in and out of cars. I was never a fan of car duty... :)

Our biggest hiccup of the day was actually Audrey. She was not a happy camper at the gym this morning. When I picked her up, she was very sad... The lady told me that she was overwhelmed by all the kids there today. I think Rachel normally does a pretty good job of looking out for her, so it was a bit much without her big sister. She'll adjust...

This morning we all walked Rachel to school. Once we got to her classroom she knew exactly where she sat. She took a seat and got settled in. We took a few pictures and then were out the door. After school Rachel was so excited to tell me all about her day. She told me how they weren't able to play on the playground today because it was such a scorcher of a day. I hope these triple digits go away soon so she can enjoy the playground. She talked about what they did during the day. Rachel really enjoyed making and was proud to show me her school bus puppet. She explained to me her daily folder and what the rules were at school. Overall, I think she had a fabulous first day. Here are a few pictures (she totally cracks me up as she was quite the little poser this morning):

And we're off:
Getting settled in:
Audrey, Rachel, and Daddy:

We are so happy and excited for Rachel. This is the beginning of a wonderful adventure as she gets to learn and grow through the years. My hope is that she's always as anxious and ready to learn as she was today!

Just in case...

...you need a little laugh. Andy and I enjoyed a chuckle last night before going to bed. We found Audrey in this same position, but her pink blanket wrapped around her head as well. So, this morning when I went in to get Rachel up and ready for school, I couldn't resist grabbing a picture since Audrey was in a similar position.

We moved the girls in together just a week ago and they have adjusted quite well. We sometimes hear giggles as they settle down for the night, but most nights they are tired enough to just go to sleep. But for the most part they've done a fabulous job. And we usually only get one visit a night when Audrey needs to use the bathroom. So, not bad at all! :)

Epcot Center

Our third day was spent in Epcot Center. The one thing that we loved about Epcot Center was the fact that waiting for rides was done inside. Very nice! It was nice to get away from the heat somewhat and stand in lines in a building. The ultimate favorite ride of Epcot was Soarin' Over California. Although Andy and I were a bit disappointed that they weren't a bit more creative and did Soarin' Over Florida. But Rachel LOVED this ride. Andy and I each took a turn going on this ride with her. It was so much fun to see her excitement. I was quite surprised that she liked it so much. Unfortunately Audrey was too short, so the next time we go...

Both of the girls also really enjoyed the Nemo ride - we went on that at least twice. We quickly discovered that getting pictures with characters in Epcot was much easier. So here are a few:

A few pictures by "bush" characters:
A picture with the new Disney bear, Duffy:

At some point in the afternoon Andy went on a ride called Test Track - which no one else could go on. The girls had fun playing in the water fountains while we waited for Andy:
Here are the girls having fun at Journey into Imagination:

A family picture:
We checked out most of the countries. We really enjoyed the rides in Mexico and Norway. We enjoyed a film in France. While in France we were able to grab a picture of Rachel with Sleeping Beauty (Audrey was sound asleep):

She's awake now and happy!
Here's Rachel in Japan:

We enjoyed dinner in Japan - the girls love chicken and rice! We also really enjoyed a candy-making demonstration. We watched this lady make all these figures (the unicorn was requested by Rachel):

Outside the Nemo ride:
Inside the aquarium area after the Nemo ride:
A quick picture of Rachel as we headed out of the park:

A picture of the girls and I. Andy went to fetch the stroller and caught us snuggling by a fountain as we waited for him to return...

We headed back to our hotel and were able to watch the Epcot fireworks from the balcony of our hotel room. :)

Animal Kingdom

Our second day in Orlando was spent in Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom didn't exist when I went to Disney World years ago, so it was a first for all of us. This day was a very low-key day. It was nice! The park closed by 7 PM and we had plenty of time to do and explore all that we wanted to. We enjoyed several shows that day - It's Tough to be a Bug, Festival of the Lion King, and Finding Nemo Musical. Not only were the shows good, but they were a nice break from the heat! Here's our day in a nutshell:

We first went to the Maharajah Jungle Trek. We walked through the jungle and saw different creatures - our favorites were the massively huge fruit-eating bats and the tigers. I was glad we did this first before it got to toasty. Here's a picture of the girls in the jungle:

Audrey and I then checked out some more animals belonging to the ape family while Rachel and Andy went on the Kali River Rapids. Luckily Andy did a good job of shielding Rachel, so she didn't get too wet... Andy then went on Expedition Everest (which none of the rest of us could ride). He really enjoyed this roller coaster and went on it several more times throughout the day. While he was on the roller coaster the girls and I explored and found some characters to take pictures with:

We then met up at the Kilimanjaro Safari. The girls and Andy went on the safari while I had fun people watching! :) The girls enjoyed seeing all the different animals on their safari ride. I believe they went on quite a bumpy road in a truck like this:

Somewhere we fit in some lunch. We then discovered the Triceratop Spin in Dinoland - think, Dumbo ride, but you're riding triceratops. The girls loved this ride and we went on it several times throughout the day. I made the mistake of sending Rachel with Andy on the Dinosaur ride - think Indiana Jones, but with dinosaurs... It was a bit intense for her. Andy had a very scared, sad girl on that ride. Sorry, Rachel! :( The girls still talk about Rachel going on the Dinosaur ride and crying. So, yeah, I should have done my homework a bit better on that one...

The girls really enjoyed The Boneyard in Dinoland - basically a dinosaur-themed playground. Their favorite part was the tunnels and then the water:

They would have spent a lot more time playing around in there, but we were hoping to catch a parade, so away we went... On the way to the parade we took a picture in front of Discovery Island:

We then found a nice shady spot and enjoyed the parade:

Although we probably enjoyed more watching Audrey's excitement as she pointed, danced, clapped, and blew kisses...

After the Lion King show, which we thoroughly enjoyed, the girls enjoyed playing on some drums:

We managed to get a family picture with Thumper and his girlfriend:

The girls and I headed back over to Dinoland to ride Triceratop Spin (while Andy did another Expedition Everest run). On the way we ran into Pooh and his friends...

For some reason Eeyore was just too much for Audrey...
We also couldn't resist a picture with Pluto and Goofy in Dinoland:

As you can see, character pictures happened a lot more often in Animal Kingdom. If we did wait for pictures, the longest we waited was 5 minutes... We then decided to not eat dinner in the park and headed to Downtown Disney that evening for dinner and some shopping. We of course had to stop by a Disney store to pick up a few souvenirs for the girls. By this time they were asking for things, so we got it over with and didn't have to worry about shopping while in the parks the next 2 days. And we had to grab pictures of the girls outside the store with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty (no line here, either!).

Once again, we enjoyed our day. Animal Kingdom was fun!

Magic Kingdom

Our favorite park was definitely the good, old classic Magic Kingdom. We spent 2 days having fun in Magic Kingdom. There were lots of rides that we repeated several times and the girls loved it. Our first day there, Monday, wasn't too busy so that was really nice. We utilized the Ridemax program to plan out our day and it worked out well for us.

Here are the girls riding the parking lot tram, anxious for their first Disney experience:

As we walked into Magic Kingdom we headed straight back to Fantasyland where was spotted Pinocchio before anyone else did. The girls were thrilled!

Dumbo ride! I believe this was our first ride and quickly became the favorite. We repeated this ride (along with other variations) several times...

We got a lot of rides in the first 2 hours we were there. The girls loved Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. They were not fans of Snow White (I think the Haunted Mansion was less scary to them). The carousel, of course, was a hit. We also went to a show called Philharmagic, which Rachel enjoyed and Audrey tolerated. We repeated it on Thursday though - we quickly became fans of shows during the hot afternoon hours. Audrey did have fun sporting the 3-D glasses before she knew what they were capable of:
Here's Rachel near the carousel working hard to pull out the sword:We headed over to Tomorrowland and tried out the speedway. Watch out, Rachel's got control of the race car!

A picture with Alice before we rode the teacups:

The girls' favorite ride in Tomorrowland was Buzz Lightyear. I kind of wished they had incorporated more of the characters from Toy Story, but I think Buzz is definitely one of the popular characters. As we left Tomorrowland, we grabbed a picture of the girls and I on a bridge with the castle in the background:

On our way over to Adventureland we were able to snag one of the few spots left in the shade and watch "Dream Along with Mickey". The girls enjoyed seeing the princesses.

We discovered Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride in Adventureland, which is pretty much the Dumbo ride...

We enjoyed a little ice cream break in the afternoon:
The girls and I on the Jungle Cruise:
Playing after the Jungle Cruise:

We enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean as well. That afternoon we also watched the Country Bear Jamboree. Audrey really enjoyed this show. It was one of the few shows that she didn't ask when it was going to be over. I think she really liked the bears. We went back to Tomorrowland in the early evening. We did a few rides for the second time. We even did the somewhat dull Carousel of Progress. But hey, there was no wait and it was a cool place to sit for a good chunk of time. That evening we stayed around for the Electrial Parade. Of course we didn't get the memo about having to line up along the parade route at least an hour before the parade began. So the girls watched the parade on our shoulders and they looked awfully cute in their new Mickey Mouse ears:

We then headed back to our hotel. Audrey crashed on the way back to the hotel room. She was exhausted! Totally unresponsive, which is very uncommon for her. And of course Rachel had to pretend to be asleep as well:

Thursday we spent our second day in Magic Kingdom. I was grateful it was our second day, because it was much busier. And really the only ride we needed to go on was Splash Mountain - all the other rides were repeats. We definitely just headed back to the girls' favorites. First off was Fantasyland. Andy made a run to get fast pass tickets to Splash Mountain while the girls and I stayed in Fantasyland. We grabbed a picture with Mary Poppins:

This time we grabbed pictures of the girls on the carousel. We rode the carousel several times that day!

Our Ridemax-scheduled day got a little messed up due to Splash Mountain being closed for a few hours. But oh well, things still worked out. Rachel said Splash Mountain was fun, but she didn't have any desire to go on it again.

Our most unique adventure that day was deciding to duck into Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. This didn't get great reviews, so we weren't planning on it. But after riding the Buzz ride again and it was the hot afternoon, we decided to enjoy sitting down in a cool place. Well, it didn't disappoint because they were scanning the crowd for a two-headed monster and Audrey was on my lap, so we were selected. We got to answer a few questions about where we were from and the girls thought it was pretty cool to see Audrey and I on the big screen. They also thought it was pretty funny that they thought the Eiffel Tower was in Houston, since they actually know what the Eiffel Tower is and where it is... :)

We did several Dumbo rides again on Thursday. Here's Dumbo, Andy, and the girls:

We hung around until about 7:00 because we had to wait for our fast pass for the Peter Pan ride, which the girls love! After that ride, we grabbed a picture in front of the castle and then headed back to the hotel. We decided to take a quick swim that evening, since we were all tired of being hot and just wanted to enjoy playing.

Andy on the Monorail ride, passed out (pretending to be asleep, of course):

We loved Magic Kingdom. The girls are still talking about rides, characters, parades, etc... Rachel keeps on saying, "When I go back when I'm 6..." Not sure we'll head back next year. Maybe when Audrey is 5 and Rachel's 8... I was a bit nervous about Audrey possibly being too young, but she really enjoyed it and did well. And if you go when they're under 3, they're free! We also enjoyed Epcot and Animal Kingdom. So, more pictures to come...