Holiday fun!

December is always a fun month full of events and activities!  Since we are in a new city we are still trying to discover all of the things to do around the holidays and begin some new traditions.

This year, Reese and Sloane joined a Daisies group.   The girls all took a trip to see the Nutcracker Ballet.  This was the first time Reese and Sloane had seen this ballet...they were so excited!

One of our babysitters performed in the ballet... it was nice to see Miss Kelly dance.

The girls dressed up for the performance.  Don't they look beautiful?

After the performance, we joined a 1st grade Daisies group and all went out to lunch!  Our waitress was such a good sport....the girls had a blast!

The following weekend, our family had lunch with Santa! 

Brooks, Reese and Sloane each received a note pad, crayons and stickers to use while we waited for the food.  They also made a Christmas ornament and got a glitter tattoo.

My 3 babies!

Coloring!

Reese and Sloane seem to be getting closer now that they are older.  They are so cute together sometimes...

Sloane making her ornament

Writing her Christmas wishes...

Santa!

Sloane telling Santa what she would like for Christmas

Reese just gave Santa a hug

Then Sloane wanted to give Santa a hug

Santa pulling on Brooks' ears

Then he told Brooks he had a red nose like Rudolf 

Sloane could not stop talking to Santa!  She was so serious and so animated.

Holiday traditions

Our family is starting some new holiday traditions since we have moved to Illinois.

Now that we live so close to the great city of Chicago, we plan to take advantage of the events that happen in the city.

The Festival of Lights is an event in Chicago that includes a holiday parade and fireworks.

We decided to ride the train into the city....Brooks, Reese and Sloane were excited to ride the train for the first time!

Waiting at the train station to ride into Chicago

 The weather was perfect for the parade!  The commentary from Brooks. Reese and Sloane was priceless...especially when we saw the big inflatable characters like Rudolf!

Watching the parade in Chicago

Riding the train

 Brooks, Reese and Sloane are now old enough to participate in "Feed My Starving Children".

Together as a family we made meals for children in other countries who do not have food.

My heart melted as I listened to the trio talk about how they were helping other children....we want to them remember how fortunate we are to have food, clothes and a nice house.  

We also discussed how these children do not have toys and bikes like we do...a valuable life lesson.

I think this will be one of our favorite tradition in the coming years.

Sloane getting ready to pack a box of meals

Our family

Brooks and Reese making meals

Of course the holiday season would not be complete without a trip to see Santa!

Brooks, Reese and Sloane did notice that this Santa looked different than the Santa in Texas!  Sadly, this was a sign that my babies are growing up!  I am hoping to hold on to Santa as long as possible!

Disney World and Halloween 2012

Updating our blog has become a challenge since we moved to Chicago!  

The month of October was busy between preparing for our trip to Disney World followed by our first Halloween in our new neighborhood.  It is quite a shock to trick-or-treating in cold weather!  In Texas, we were always sweating to death and we would wear shorts sleeves and flip flops!

Here in our new city, we have to wear coats with our costumes.

Now that Brooks, Reese and Sloane are older, they have more comments and opinions about their costumes.  This Halloween, the costume choice changed on a daily basis!

At one point, we were all going to match at Batman and Bat Girls....

Then literally 1 hour before trick-or-treating, Brooks and Sloane changed their minds again and decided to go as Spiderman and a Fairy.  I was scrambling trying to figure out how to keep them warm in their new choices...especially Sloane in her sleeveless fairy costume!  

Our new neighborhood goes all out for Halloween!  Brooks, Reese and Sloane practically visited every house and collected quite a bit of candy!  Thank goodness Steve happened to have a trash bag....the Trio emptied their trick-or-treat bags twice during the night!  Steve and I even received adult beverages at one house!  All in all, it was a good night!

Reese & Sloane

Reese, Brooks & Sloane

Enjoying some snacks

Off to trick-or-treat

Notice the coats!

Steve and I had always said once Brooks, Reese and Sloane were 5 years old, we would like to take them to Disney World.  After months of planning, the time had come to take our vacation!

We wanted to make this trip memorable for the Trio since it would be their 1st visit to Disney World.

Every detail was planned from character meals, to Disney shirts for each day.

October was a good month to go because it gave us a break from the Chicago weather, and the parks were not too busy.....it was perfect!

Each day, we would collect "fast passes" and ride a few rides before riding the more popular ones....I think we were able to ride everything at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios...some rides 2 or 3 times!

Reese and Sloane visited the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and were pampered by Fairy Godmothers in training, while Brooks was made up as a pirate at the Pirates League.  

Then it was off to dinner at Cinderella's Castle.  During our dinner, we met Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Jasmine.  As an added bonus, we watched the fireworks show from inside of the castle while we ate dinner!

As luck would have it, we were able to watch the Magic Kingdom night parade after dinner....the timing of everything on day 1 was perfect!

Steve and I quickly realized that Disney World is like "Vegas for children"....you are only in your hotel room to sleep and shower!  Each day we would leave around 8:00 a.m. and return to our room around 10:30 p.m.

Brooks, Reese and Sloane were troopers...I think the fun and excitement would keep them going....the experience was priceless!

Chicago airport....off to Disney World!

Magic Kingdom

Day 1 - Magic Kingdom

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Tea cups!

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

 This entire experience with Reese and Sloane made me cry!  The expressions on the girls faces were priceless as they were transformed into beautiful princesses!  No words can express my emotions as I witnessed my babies ....it is one of my favorite memories from our vacation!

nail polish

 One of the best things about this experience is that the girls do not see themselves in the mirror until the end when they are all dressed up.  The look on their faces when they see themselves is priceless 

(as you can here with Reese and Sloane)

Outside of the boutique at Cinderella's Castle

I love this mosaic outside of the boutique (notice Cinderella's Slipper in the background)

Brooks at the Pirates League

Sloane, Brooks & Reese

Merida from Brave

Waiting to meet Cinderella

Reese & Sloane were so excited!

Dinner at Cinderella's Castle

Ariel

Sleeping Beauty

Snow White

Jasmine

 Parade after dinner at Cinderella's Castle...it was amazing!

All of the food is shaped like Mickey Mouse...fun!

Off to Hollywood Studios

The parade at Hollywood Studios!

Hollywood Studios

Epcot

Waiting for the fireworks at Epcot

Breakfast with Mickey and friends!

Last Day!

 This scene is after you ride Space Mountain....thought it was funny...a robot with cocktails!

We rode Space Mountain 4 times!  It was the family favorite!

Magic Carpet Ride

Our last day - enjoying some Mickey snacks

Our vacation to Disney World was one of the most memorable, exciting and emotional times together as a family.  I know we will have more experiences like these in the future, but I can't imagine anything better than our time together at Disney World!