home sweet home

Thanksgiving for us means visiting family, eating a grand feast and too much of it, slowing our pace for a few days, and giving gratitude for life's many blessings.  This year, in a move very unlike me and Papa, we planned a family vacation to Florida.  To be fair, this is our first family vacation ever, aside from trips to different states and countries to visit extended family.  But, this was our first destination-determined-by-us vacation.

The choice was obvious for our Harry Potter loving family - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Oh yeah, the children are 9, 7, and 4, so we should really throw Walt Disney World into the mix.  And we did just that.

This Thanksgiving was a harried, festive, fast-pace, exciting adventure for our family.  A memorable one to be sure.  I am so thankful we did it - for the magic, for the wonder, for the smiles, laughs, and good times spent with just the five of us (and 50 million others at both parks). 

The trip started with a surprise announcement - an early arrival to Florida and an extra day at Universal.  

In the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (otherwise known to us as Harry Potter world) we shopped Hogsmeade, traveled the Hogwarts Express, toured the Hogwarts castle, flew on our broomsticks, purchased our very own wands from Olivander's, flew with the Hungarian Horntail, sampled butter beer, pumpkin juice, chocolate frogs, and Bertie Bott's every flavor beans (even dirt, yuck!).  The detail in the shops, the classrooms in the castle, and the staff all led you to feel as though you walked right into the hidden areas of Hogwarts, complete with soundtrack.  John Williams will create the perfect ambiance anywhere!

Next on our agenda was Disney.  Our hotel was alive with our favorite characters and we were transported directly into the movies.  The children took turns sleeping in an anemone with Nemo and Marlin.  We were greeted at our buildings by seagulls, Mr. Ray, and Crush and the pool was alive with color.  Every minute of our stay was filled with visual and auditory stimulation.

Swallowing every ounce of the feminist inside me, I treated the girls to a princess makeover.  They thoroughly enjoyed every minute of their transformation.  Oh boy were they sweet!

We had to slip in a few photo shots with our favorite character - Goofy.  Of course, this is because Grandpa is goofy and he likes Goofy.  So we had to say hello on his behalf!

There were so many other magical moments to share, but I'll stop with these highlights.

After all this excitement and wonder, I have to admit that I am oh. so. glad. to be home.  To celebrate our final destination, I promptly poured myself a cup of coffee, baked bread, and made my traditional chocolate chip cookies.  It felt wonderful to have my family behave with as much excitement over my homemade goodness as the day we entered Hogsmeade.  It's good to know they appreciate home and all that it means.

It's good to be home!

this moment {birthday surprise}

Linking with SouleMamma and many others:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wishing you a weekend filled with many moments worth celebrating!

right now

As summer fast approaches we are excited to celebrate with summer zest.  Right now, we are:

 

:: finishing the soccer season with a double header and making a day of it

:: realizing it might be time for coach (Papa Bear) to retire his cleats, but certainly not time to retire from coaching

:: enjoying my new camera, trying out each setting and finding the sports setting quite useful at said soccer tournament

:: tasting every strawberry we can pop into our mouths

:: canning and freezing half pints of strawberry jam and grateful to be pulling out the canning supplies again

:: enjoying our first dip in the pool at Grandma and Grandpa's house

:: discovering the joy of swimming when even the four-year-old can touch the bottom of the pool

:: preparing for something special (more on that later this week)

:: loving and gifting our very special father, with the written word and reading out loud, perhaps the most precious gift ever given

We hope your weekend was as fun-filled and celebratory as ours!  Happy summer!

gifting

I am NOT gifted at gifting.  Really, there are likely few who are worse at gifting than I.

Especially when the person-to-be-gifted is a classmate of my child whom I have never met. For this group, I have a hard time with re-purposing or thrifting and new toys are so expensive.  Never mind that new toys really just seem to be more stuff.  I'm ashamed to admit the stuff we've broken, lost, or thrown away from birthday parties.

You can imagine my joy when I dreamed up a gift that was practical, thrifty, cute, and perfect for the little girl having a spa birthday party. You have to keep a secret if I tell you what it was, though.  Shhhh!  We purchased a fake nail kit with nail polish ($10) and added a few of our own unwanted colors along with leftover lipgloss (all unopened of course), bundled with ribbon from recycled packaging.  Ta da!

I'm not naive to think I'm now well equipped to gift, but I am celebrating this one success!

mother's day and other happenings

There's a lot going on here these days - baby showers, mother's day celebrations, graduations, May Day celebrations, soccer, gymnastics.  It's all moving so fast.  So, here's a recap of our weekend!  I hope yours was as joyous and full as ours.

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

We are...
:: Getting all dressed up for aunt's baby shower, a first for Pie and Peace
:: Watching the new mama grow, both physically and in love with her first child
:: Being slightly bored at the baby shower as the grown ups talked of breastfeeding and lives changing and diapers and daddy's
:: Finding cell phones to play on and an old bag of legos saved for some day
:: Falling fast asleep in the most awkward position on the way home from the shower
:: Laughing at baby sister sleeping that way
:: Being forced back up the stairs on the morning of Mother's Day with hushes and whispers and excitement
:: Acting surprised as Pie shares with me their plans to serve breakfast in bed and reassuring Mr. Man and Peace who think me knowing has ruined the day
:: Listening joyfully to the directions and patience of Papa as the breakfast feast is prepared
:: Loving each and every handmade gift given with all the love and joy and pride these three littles can share
:: Sharing that love and joy and thankfulness with my own mother and our mother-to-be
:: Lamenting the recent passing of mothers of two of my students and knowing what a difficult day this must be for these two young women
:: Finding comfort in the response of our college community for both women in the time of tragedy
:: Knowing I'm the luckiest woman and mother in the world and wishing I could stop time and hang onto the moment. just. a. little. longer.

Peace

celebrating Earth Day

Appreciating nature:

Spending time outdoors:
 

Supporting our local EarthFest:
 

Purchasing upcycled jewelry:

Holding our own Earth Day Prayer Service:

Reading stories:

Happy Earth Day!