Disney World

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go with Steve and the kids to Disney World and spend 4 enjoyable days racing to and from the best rides Disney has to offer. We visited all four parks - Magical Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. The kids loved every minute as did I.

Pop Century - the swimming pool was shaped like a bowling pin

Prince Charming - I will meet mine one day!!

3D Movie - Mickey Mouse put on quite the show

We got to summit Mt. Everest while here

We all had to spend a little time behind bars but made our escape by squeezing through

I had a chance to visit the Orlanda Temple while we were in Orlando

By the end of the week, Sarah was pretty tuckered out

Mary couldn't get this smile off her face the whole week (Sarah and David had the same smile)

The classic picture with Cinderella Castle

The longer we were at Disney World the better the kids slept at night

Mary and Sarah enjoying their treat from Disney World as we headed back to NC. It was a wonderful trip with lots of adventures and excitement!

Housing

It has been a few weeks since I last posted on my blog. Time continues to pass by and David, Mary, and Sarah continue to keep me on my toes. A couple of my friends were asking about my new housing situation so I thought I would post a couple pictures of my apartment. It is a cute one bedroom apartment about 16 miles from Steve's house. The apartment complex is relatively quiet and the few neighbors I have met are very nice. All of the furniture (except the kitchen table) is borrowed from my parents or given to me by some very generous individuals. It has been fun making a home of my own.

Well, there you have - a short tour of my apartment. If anyone ever visits the Raleigh/Durham area be sure to let me know so you can stop by and say Hey!!

New Year's Eve

For New Year's Eve this year, I attended a Black Tie Event in Raleigh. This was our group and if I do say so myself, we look smashing!!

Right at midnight, we toasted to an exciting 2011! This is the first time I have danced my way into a new year! I liked it!

Here we are dancing the night away. I wanted to get some video of me doing the Waltz but instead here is a picture of us doing a group line dance.

Christmas!

I had a very quiet, pleasant Christmas in Tennessee this year. At home, it was just my parents and little brother and sister (Christopher and Elizabeth). We watched several movies, played lots of games, and enjoyed being together. We had a white Christmas which has not happened for several years. Christmas Eve we had the missionaries over for dinner. After they left, Daddy read the Christmas story from the Bible and then we played Christmas songs on every musical instrument we own. (Violin, piano, dulcimer, guitar, bells, harmonica, recorder). It was lots of fun!!

The view from our front door!

Our Christmas Tree
Christmas decorations
Christmas Eve Dinner

December Excitement!

David had a field trip to the Museum of Natural Science and I signed up to go as a chaperone. I had a group of 5 high energy 1st grade boys!

This past week the kids all had appointments with the dentist, I could not resist taking this picture. I just thought it was so cute all three in chairs at the same time. Mary is in the red chair, Sarah is in the yellow chair, and David is in the blue chair. All three cavity free.
Steve took the kids to Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3 and I got to tag along.

After the show, everyone enjoyed the performance!

November Excitement

After Thanksgiving Day, we had the opportunity to attend the University of Tennessee football game against University of Kentucky in Knoxville. When we arrived, one of the gentleman in our box had access to the field and took us down there for about 15 minutes before the game started. It was pretty exciting to be so close to the players and coach. (There were some big boys!)

This is up in the box where we watched the game.

For a while now, we go up to White Top and cut a tree down for Christmas the weekend of Thanksgiving. We ride a horse and wagon up to the trees and then walk around looking for the perfect tree and as you can tell, we found another one this year!

Andrew and I standing by to mark this tree while everyone else continued to search, we ended up liking this one the best!!

Thanksgiving!

This year for Thanksgiving we ran a 5k in Johnson City Thanksgiving morning. It was a great way to start the day and build up an appetite for our wonderful meal. Andrew and Marianne pushed Lucy in the race. It was Lucy's first 5k!

Before our feast, we went around the room and talked about the things in our lives that we are each thankful for. It seemed a common thing was in each of our comments - there are many many things to be thankful for, small and big, but our family and faith in the Savior seemed to stand out the most. I am very thankful for the love of my family and the Lord!