Arr, Matey!

One of our family's Christmas gifts this past year was a Disney Cruise! Yep, we packed up with Mammy and Papa and Uncle (and all of us, of course) and flew down to Florida-leaving the snow and cold behind. Or so we thought. Florida was pretty cold when we got there-down into the upper 30's at night. Thankfully, after about 1 full day at sea it got warm.

I think I will break this post into several different posts. There would just be too much for one entry.

We'll start with a shorter post!

One night was themed "Pirate Night" for dinner. Everyone was encouraged to wear their pirate apparel for dinner. We all have that, right? Well, last minute I decided to run to 50 different stores and attempt to collect cheap items to put together pirate outfits for 4 people. Here's the outcome:

Not too bad, if I don't say so myself. Black and red fabric from the store for doorags and red sash/belt. Eye patch and gold hoop from Party City and cheap black sweats for girls from Wal Mart. The girls really enjoyed this. You'll notice their facial expressions...so funny. Watch Ella's arm in most pictures. Funny!

So, donned in our criminal gear, we went to dinner. The girls were excited to see our servers (you'll meet them in another post, soon) had even dressed for the occassion. Uncle Dale taught them how to sword fight like a pirate (that explains the butter knives). Thanks Uncle Dale!

After dinner we met Captain Jack Sparrow. The person who played him did VERY well. Not only did he look like Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), but he spoke and moved like Captain Jack Sparrow. Hilarious. And fun. I don't know that Arthur enjoyed this part =) He got tired of having a hot head so he undid his do rag....he kinda lost the pirate flare....and looked...well...silly...well, more silly than the rest of us.

I wanted a shot by myself with captain Jack Sparrow! You would too, right? Well, Arthur said, "Now if we see Pamela Anderson out and about I can get my picture taken with her, right?" Now....that's different. Captain Jack Sparrow is fictional!! But, maybe he has a point.

After dinner and such we went to the top deck for a "Pirate Party" of sorts. There was loud music and a GIANT screen with a pirate Wii game and a bit of entertainment. Captain Hook made an appearance. He apparently tried to commandeer the ship. Mickey Mouse, via zip line, saved the day.  It ended with a pretty and pretty quick bit of fireworks. Apparently DCL (Disney Cruise Line) is the only cruise line that shoot fireworks off while at sea.

Please, continue to check back about every other day for a new cruise post! Also, I would LOVE for you to leave a comment so that I know you visited!

A Sneak Peak

Port Canaveral: Disney Cruise Line

The Zoo Mobile

The Zoo Mobile rolled by the local library. The girls and I went a learned a thing or two about a few strange creatures.

My cuties, waiting for the show to start.

A red tailed hawk.

A centipede from the Rain Forest. Seriously, I am beginning to LOVE Minnesota winters. Can you believe she put those creatures that close to her face. Bluck, I am itchy just thinking about it. Aren't you?

A budding photographer.

So, do you know-is this an opossum or a possum?

Petting the snake. Now, home for a de-germing bath!

Happy Birthday to Ella

We celebrated Ella's birthday a little early this year. Since we would be traveling on her actual birthday (Feb. 26th), I wanted to do the  friend party beforehand. So, we invited 12 little girls over to the house for a Hello Kitty birthday party.

For the most part, I try to give the girls a lot of creative control with their parties. Ella went back and forth between a Barbie Party and a Hello Kitty party. I even let her (as I have in the past) decide on her guest list. She pulled friends from preschool and church. I limit the number and she goes from the there.

I think she had a blast. She made out like a bandit! Our friends are so generous. Having family so far away, I really depend on friends when it comes to birthday parties!

Here's Ella with a few of the balloons!

 Ahem....McKenna did her own hair. It changed a few times throughout the party.

We painted kitty faces...

We painted wooden magnets. Here's Ella's polka dotted flower magnet.

The set up....here the girls are decorating their goody bags. We had shapes, stickers and die-cuts from the Cricut machine to use on the goody bags.

The friends who came...

 Look at that cute kitty face!

So cute! Meow!

We made kitty masks using paper plates, shredded paper and pipe cleaners.

 The girls decorated their own cupcakes. Ella picked purple and pink frosting. I also made Kitty Cream (red jello, whisked with whip cream). Of course, kitties love to eat fish...so we munched on Goldfish crackers as well.

The first toys she played with.

The mess afterwards....

She opened a few gifts from AL. Cioci Sara sent her felicitiy's riding dress. Ella INSISTS that it is a reading dress, however.

 Mom, the gift you sent....I haven't uploaded the pics yet. Sorry!

Arthur and I enjoyed helping Ella enjoy her 5th birthday party. It's hard to wrap my brain around her age! She will start kindergarten next year. Wow. Next birthday party--I will definately have a 3rd set of arms to help me get all of the pictures that I want. I wasn't able to get a group shot, or a picture of each guest with Ella. Oh well, these things happen, I guess.

Incase you missed it...

click here, especially if you are from Alabama.

You could have missed this post, also!  Or, this one.

Toothless Wonder

Today, McKenna lost her very first tooth. The night before Thanksgiving she was eating some pizza and discovered that it was loose. She called a ton of you. Remember? Well, today at school it fell out? Her teacher sent me these photos. Today was a special day at school. It was their 100th Day Celebration. Do you notice the 100 straws in the picture? The class had a celebration and some parents visited to help with stations focused on the number 100. Here's the email from her teacher:

Jessica,



She was very excited! We laughed that mom and dad didn't know I was part dentist part teacher! McKenna commented that I was part hair stylist too!!! (McKenna mentioned this because one day her pony tail was messed up and Mrs. Izzy fixed it for her.)


All week she has told me that she wanted to wait until the 100th day of school! She was very determined after we did the 100th day straw and money count that the tooth needed to come out! I tried to capture the 100th day straw count in one of the photos knowing this was an important piece of the tooth coming out! She is so cute because every place we go she smiles this huge smile to see if a teacher or a student will notice!!!! I can't wait to see her greet you and Ella! (Ella and I volunteered at the 100th Day Celebration today in McKenna's class.)


Glad that I could be part of such a special memory for her!


Jenny

A Princess Ball

Daddy took the girls to a "real" ball. They wore their Belle Holiday dresses from Aunt Leigh and put on lots of sparkles. They really danced, really met a few princesses and really rode in a carriage. Hopefully, Arthur will email the pictures he took and I can add them to this post.

Fifties day at school for McKenna

I suppose that I could have taken the time to move Arthur's slipper and the throw pillow before I took the picture. Yikes!

We Love Miss Katie

We had to be away for weekend (for work) so Miss Katie came to the rescue. She stayed with the girls and brought them to their various activities: library, YMCA, bday parties, church, choir, etc... She is awesome. We love her very much. I especially like that she hands out consequences as needed (much like myself). I felt totally at ease know that she was caring for the girls.

Matter of fact, she'd SO awesome that she snook these pics onto the camera as a surprise for me (knowing that I blog).

Miss Katie, apron and all!

Ella, balling the cookie dough.

McKenna, pulling them out of the oven.

Ella, transferring them to the cooling rack.

Final product!

Ella, er, I mean--Cinderella!

Making a mask.

Mmm...mmm...Monday

Leah's Yummy Hummus

1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
or 1 3/4 cups cooked beans
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup tahini paste
1/4 cup water
1-2 cloves garlic minces
2-3 T lemon juice
Dash cayanne pepper
Salt to taste (especially if not using canned beans)

Add all ingredients to food processor and process until smooth and uniform consistency. Store in refrigerator no more than a week. Unsure how it freezes. Serve with crackers, tortillas, cut veggies, on sandwiches, salads.

Happy Love Day

Last year for Valentine's day, this is what we did. This year was a bit more low key.

There were pink and red and hearts....

...little Valentine's Day gifts...

...and, my favorite, heart shaped pancakes!

McKenna's response, "Wow, Mom. I like this even more than the Wisconsin Dells."

Ella's response, "Not me mom."

Girls' Painting Night!

Recently we were able to enjoy an evening with just the girls! We had our friends the D's over to eat tacos and paint canvas.