My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

It won’t be long before the girls are engrossed in their homework…

…but I have a feeling Jimmy may not be quite so focused on his studies… 

Jimmy: “What??  This isn’t an Apple?  I can’t work on this thing!” 

The girls NEVER would have thought of standing on something to grab an out-of-reach contraband object.  

I’m not sure whether Jimmy’s ingenuity is due to his physical coordination or simply his willful personality!  Although his physical coordination may also be in question, since he tumbled from his perch just seconds after I snapped the picture! 

I’m not crafty.  Not with decorating, not with kid activities, and definitely not with food.  But when I saw this idea in Family Fun magazine, I had to try it.  All you do is decorate hardboiled eggs to look like bunnies and chicks with a few on-hand ingredients.  Tasty and cute! 

Although the recipe called for black sesame seeds for the eyes, I thought mini chocolate chips worked just as well (and they certainly made the girls happy!).  The “feather tufts” are chives, and the nose is a carrot. 

The bunnies (or long-eared mice, depending on how hard you squint), gave me a little more trouble.  The recipe said to use chives for the whiskers, but I couldn’t get them to stay in the egg properly, so I resorted to broken toothpicks. 

I thought the little rooster was cute.  I only did one of him, using carrot instead of bell pepper for the feet and cockscomb, but he was probably my favorite!

Cock-a-doodle-do to you!

Two of my favorite places to visit in Orlando (other than Magic Kingdom, of course) are Downtown Disney and Celebration.  Not only are they exciting for the whole family, they also don’t cost a dime to enjoy, unless you’re like us and get dragged into stores and ice cream shops by two very persuasive little girls.

My sister-in-law Julie with our crew at Downtown Disney:

The girls admiring the Seven Dwarfs made entirely out of Legos:

Alli joining a merry Becky on the Downtown merry-go-round:

Jim daring Becky to race through the fountain in Celebration (the girl’s got skills – she successfully navigated the spontaneous water bursts all evening without getting wet!):

Susie and Jonathan sizing up a real baby alligator in the pond:

Susie promptly recording this memorable moment in her new princess notebook (courtesy of cousin Alli):

Alli and Susie – best buds:

The guys keeping an eye on everything while sporting their new matching hats from Pappy:

Ah, Magic Kingdom.  What can I say?  I love it.  Probably as much as the kids, and that’s saying a lot.  Especially since there were princesses involved.  Take a look:

Becky’s ready to get this show on the road. 

Her whole world revolves around princesses, and these princesses did not disappoint.  She was star-struck.   

Susie was also very excited, although a bit more timid.  I think she felt she was meeting royalty.  

The girls found even the scenery to be awe-inspiring (Becky would like to take this moment to inform her viewership that her favorite color is red, just like Ariel’s hair). 

The cousins all loved the live performances throughout the park.  

They especially enjoyed their front-row seats at the parade (I think Jim was just happy we got to sit down for a moment!). 

Jimmy found the whole experience to be entertaining, but exhausting. 

We ended our amazing day with a visit to Mickey and Minnie (I had nearly forgotten about them, what with all the princess-obsession in our home).   

The Magic Kingdom once again proved itself quite magical!