Time for the Beach!

We're always ready for a break from our Disney vacation!  This year instead of going to Cocoa Beach, we ventured further to the Siesta Keys Beach.  Randy heard it was really pretty so we thought we would try it out!  Holy Cow... SO worth the drive!

Joe and Lindsay's house was right along the freeway to the beach we were headed to so we stopped by to say hello and they gave us a few beach items.  Joe had to work and Lindsay had class so they couldn't come with us.  Avery was excited to try out this little number Joe had!  You ride it along the waters edge.  It looks really cool watching someone do it, but we all had a hard time figuring it out!

Just a day at the beach!  A well needed day at the beach!  Grabbed this shot of them right before they took off to get in the water.

It was a little colder than the kids expected... but they got used to it!

My little surfer dudes!

 Randy's ready to try out the surf board.

 We stayed for hours!  I love how the beach gives you so many different things to do.  Including the ever famous burying in the sand.  Speaking of sand, the sand at this beach was amazing!  Softest sand I'd ever felt.  It was even softer than in the Bahamas!

 And of course sand castle making was on the list!

 Austin turned into the SandMan for a while!

We found lots of beautiful shells to add some special touches for our sand castle... and to take home with us.

Ok, so the craziest part of our beach trip was that we found my sister!!  Sara was in Sarasota, FL with a friend and I knew this beach was close to that.  I texted her to let her know we were going to be at a beach close to her called Siesta Keys and she was like, "I'm here too!!"  We figured out that we had set up beach spots maybe 1/4 mile apart from each other!

 We had an amazing day!  Beautiful weather, gorgeous water, softest sand... but being together was the best part!!  This will not be the last time we see this beach!

This was just what we needed... now back to Disney!!

Animal Kingdom

Our second day at Disney World was spent in the Animal Kingdom.  This is a great park, especially on a hot day because there is lots of shade!  

 The Safari is our favorite thing to do in Animal Kingdom.  Instead of trying to get a fast pass for it, we decided to just get there at gate opening and ride it first.

I made sure Ashton was in the middle.  It really is crazy to me that we just ride through an African-like Safari with wild animals in an open vehicle!

Being there first thing in the morning, we were hoping all the animals would be out and enjoying the day.  And they were!  I saw all my favorites!  The sweet baby giraffes.... 

 and even the baby elephants!

I always want to see the lion, until I see the lion!  This is the real reason Ashton sits in the middle!  He was up on the top with all the lioness right around him!

 The whole time the kids kept saying in their crazy, speech-impaired voice, "we're going on a Safari!"  They're so silly!

Next we ran over to get fast passes for the Everest Expedition and then headed to Dinosaur Land USA.  There's a couple fun rides over there.  We got Addie back on one of the roller coaster rides that Ashton was too little to ride still.  But we could all go on this dinosaur ride.

 It's not often that Randy and I get to ride on a ride together!

 There are some great shows in Animal Kingdom that we always try to hit.  Here is Randy and Addie in the Finding Nemo show.  No cameras during the show, so I sneaked this before the show started!

And of course the Lion King is a must!

 But the ride we rode over and over again was the Everest Expedition!  At first we used our fast pass but for the most part, every time we stopped back by it, there weren't many people so we just kept riding!  We couldn't get Addie to try it out, I was so bummed!

Avery and I on the ride! 

 Addie and Ashton were very patient with us riding this so many time!  They kept busy by getting their face painted and eating frozen lemonade!

Hollywood Studios at Disney World!

So excited to be off for Disney World again!!  I have to say, the first time we went I figured we would be back in 5 years.  But we couldn't stay away!

The kids were so excited to be back on an airplane again!  Our limit is about 10 hrs in a car.  Once you pass that point, we are flying!  Not because the kids are bad, because they do great in the car.  But neither Randy or I enjoy driving long distances.    

The reason we couldn't wait 5 years to go back?  Ashton was already saying that she didn't remember any of it!  I knew last time she couldn't ride all the rides but I thought for sure she would remember Disney.  It was too much for Randy to handle... we HAD to go back!

 Welcome Home!!  That's what this sign feels like to me.  There's just something magical about getting to this point, it brings all the excitement back.  Even for us old folk!

Mike and Sully were there to greet us into the park!  We tried a different kind of shirt arrangement this time.  Last time we did Disney shirts but they didn't really wear them once we got home.  We went a little more practical.  First day we were in our OU shirts!

 We started with our absolute favorite park at Disney World... Hollywood Studios!!  Tower of Terror is my favorite ride.  Not all of my family feels the same way about that ride, but they all have favorite rides and they all seem to be at this park as well!

 One of those favorite rides is Toy Story Mania!  A whole family favorite!  We started here and grabbed a Fast Pass so we could come back again.  We knew this was one we definitely wanted to do more than once but the lines for this ride are crazy!

 Our family loves competition... so we always compete to see who has the most points at the end of this ride.  Randy won every time, but some of us weren't so far behind!

 Next we hurried over to watch Beauty and the Beast.  We wanted to make sure we got good seats!

This is such an amazing show and we were all excited to see it again!

 Lots of time for pictures!  Had to throw this one in as well as it is me and my twin!  As least that's what so many people said.  Avery and I have the same shirt on and I guess we are starting to look alike!  I could only hope to be as pretty as she is!

 The show did not disappoint!  Well worth the wait and one of our favorite shows at Disney World!

 Next up, and amazing car show!!  Rock on!!

 There was even a special guest appearance from Lightning McQueen!  Super cool!!  They showed us how they do all the car chases on film, we loved it!  I actually don't think we got to see this last time so I'm really glad we took the time to experience it this time!

 Time to use our Fast Passes!  Woohoo!  Love this ride.  Randy and I are still kids at heart!

It's fun to walk through the line and see all the old toys that we use to play with while we were growing up.  I was never good at Etch-A-Sketch!

 So darn cute!!

They've got their 3D glasses on and ready to try and beat Dad... didn't quite make it but there will come a day!    

 Addie is actually our most timid rider.  This was her one and only ride on Tower of Terror!  We should have saved this ride for later!  She had a hard time riding anymore rides after this!

 This was a fun Star Wars ride that we also experienced for the first time!  It's one of those rides that doesn't go anywhere but you have your 3D glasses on and we feel like you are flying through space.  It was a blast.

 Like I said, Addie was unsure of any ride by this point!  Look at her scared face!!  Ashton is taking care of her!  It took some coaxing to get her on this ride but after it was over she liked it!

 Took a little break from the rides for some American Idol!  Avery is the biggest fan in our family for this show.  

 Then it was off for more fun... Rockin' Roller Coaster!!  I believe Addie took this picture.  We told her she couldn't be in the picture if she didn't ride and she was ok with that!  But hopefully next time we can talk her in to riding with us!  This was the only ride in the park Ashton was too small to ride.

First Ever 5K!

 For starters, I don't like to run.  I think all my kids take after me.  Actually, Randy has said that he doesn't like to run either so they must take after both of us.  But he and I have been getting up Mon-Sat and running different routes around our neighborhood, anywhere from 4 to 6 miles.  Now, when I say we go run, I mean we run and fast walk.  It takes us about an hour, depending on which route we take, but it keeps us out longer and it's not so hard on our joints.  Yes, we are getting old!!  It also makes it more enjoyable to not run the whole time and a little easier to talk to each other!  Now, up until today I had never ran more than 1 mile at a time.  But Randy was helping with this new 5K in town supporting the United Way and I wanted to support him.  We all did!!  They had a fun run before the 5K that we signed the kids up for.  It was an early, cold Saturday morning, and at this point the kids were second guessing their decision!

 See how cold they look?!?  They were cold AND nervous... just like me!  Avery had a soccer game so she didn't get to, or "have to" as the other three would say!

 The nerves were gone after their race, and it was fun to have a cheering section for when Randy and I ran by!  My mom was also there to stay with them and cheer us on.  Here is Ashton and her buddy Kate Hubbard after their fun run.  They did great and were much happier when they were done.  I think it woke them up!

 Megan is a runner and has run in many big races, but since she is in her last trimester of pregnancy she did the fun run with the kids.  I was so glad she ran with them because my kids were so nervous!  And if I was pregnant I wouldn't have ran at all!!  She's such a trooper!  Kyle ran in the 5K with us.

 At first Randy said that he was going to stay with me.  Not long after you start there is  a big hill you have to run up... halfway up I was going to tell him to go ahead but he was already gone!  I was ok with him leaving me, I wanted him to do his best.  I wanted to do my best as well and I wanted him to be proud of me but I was having a harder time.  I couldn't tell if I was out of breath already because of this hill or because I was so nervous!!  I had never run around so many people before!  But I told myself I was going to keep running.  My goal was to not stop running.  And I made it!!  Randy did awesome, I was so proud of him!  He even got a medal!!  It was our first 5K ever and he got 3rd place in his age group!

And to my complete surprise, I got 2nd place in my age group!  I was just happy I kept running the whole time!  Everyone says after you run a 5K you can't stop.  You get addicted.  Well, I didn't get that feeling!  I still don't like to run but I do LOVE going out and running/fast walking with my husband!  That's something I look forward to almost everyday!  Emphasis on almost!!  It's still not easy getting up early!  

Our first 5K, and we both placed.  What are we going to do next?!  We're going to Disney World!!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy Birthday, Randy!!  This guy does so much for us and we love to celebrate him!  Randy's birthday just so happened to fall at a crazy time of year this year.  As if the day after Halloween isn't hard enough to remember!!  Randy has taken on helping with a new 5K in town for the United Way and it happens to fall the day after his birthday.  And then the day after that we are leaving for Disney World!  But we took some time to take him out to breakfast.  Donuts, of course!  The breakfast of champions!  

Every year Randy tells us he doesn't want anything for his birthday... but I know that he loves gifts.  Especially when they are homemade from his kids!  They love coming up with their own gifts and I know it means so much to Randy also!  Those meaningful gifts from the heart are priceless.  But we also got him a few things for his first 5K the next day and to take with him to Disney World.

 It had always been suggested to me when I was a young woman to write down qualities I was looking for in a man so I would have an easier time finding that right guy for me.  Top on my list was always someone who would be a good father.  Through the many years of dating Randy I saw his eyes light up when little kids were around.  He loved playing with them, teasing them, and they loved it right back!  I knew he would be an amazing father, and I have four wonderful children to attest to that now!  We love you, Randy, with all our hearts!  Thank you for being the most amazing husband and father!!  Happy Birthday!!