Instagrammin’ in April

We had a fun and exciting April—we even got a new addition to the family!

spring break! | beautiful florida sunset. | harry potter at universal studios! | thanks, nonni and papa! | so happy to be spending spring break with these lovely ladies. | these two fear nothing. #drdoomsfearfall | oy, x-men tea cups. | butterbeer! | have you seen these wizards?? | hogwarts | love all of the harry potter details—the three broomsticks, every flavor beans, and the quibbler. | more pool time. | look who i ran into in tampa. | the suzanne outtakes.  #coppertailbrewery | usta team tennis player. | jack and his fun friends. | always exciting to see my photos used. | meet our new pup—olive! | olive’s outtakes…it wasn’t easy to get her to stay still. | hanging with this cutie in old salem on a field trip. | field trip chaperone. | coming to the end of the soccer season. | love having a walking buddy again. | happy birthday to me—fun time at a The Lunch Project luncheon with friends and then dao took me to little spoon eatery.

Spring Break – Universal Studios

Hogsmeade Village from the Harry Potter movies at Universal Studios did not disappoint.  The rides were fun but the best part was finding all of the clever details from the movies everywhere looked in Hogsmeade and Hogwarts…oh, and the butterbeer.  Yum.  We had quite the crew with the 10 of us there (6 kids, 2 parents, and 2 grandparents) and Universal was crowded for Spring Break, so there was a bit of craziness, but it was an incredibly fun (and exhausting) day.  Thanks, Nonni and Papa!

{Hogsmeade and Hogsmeade Station—you can take the train here to the other Universal park, Islands of Adventure, where Diagon Alley is.  Next time!}

{Zonkos and The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Hogwarts and the Sorting Hat inside.}

{We decided we wanted to eat at The Three Broomsticks later in the day, so we headed out to explore the rest of the park—Jurassic Park area, Dr. Suess area, and Marvel were the highlights.}

{Ivy was so good and cooperative—finally she got to ride something, a carousel.}

{Butterbeer!  Frozen was the best.}

{A toad  beat band.}

{We waited out some rain in a science hands-on museum and Ivy had the chance to run free.}

{It was a full day!}

Spring Break – Easter

On Easter morning we awoke to discover that the Easter Bunny had visited Nonni and Papa’s house, leaving a basket for each kid filled with candy and toys (actually, it was a sand-castle making beach bucket filled with candy and toys—the Easter Bunny must’ve been thinking ahead to our sand-castle building plans at Hilton Head this summer).  There were also Easter eggs hidden all over the yard and inside the majority of the eggs were puzzle pieces.  Once the two puzzles were put together the big kids had to work out the meaning of a message written on them.  It took a while, but once it clicked you couldn’t contain the excitement—we’re going to Universal Studios!!!

{Sweet Ivy’s first egg hunt.}

{He may have his bathing suit on, too, but at least Jack tried to look a little nice for Easter morning…it was straight into the pool after the egg hunt!}

Spring Break – Cousins!

Aunt Tracy, Jake, Zane, Drew, and Ivy rolled into Nonni and Papa’s house on Saturday afternoon and the cousins didn’t waste any time, jumping right in to a pick-up game of soccer.  Yay, cousins!  And—yay, Florida weather!  We’re so grateful Nonni and Papa were ready and willing to host this craziness.  I did not take a lot of photos on our trip, enjoying the relaxing time sitting by the pool and either catching up with Tracy and my mom and dad or reading a book (I think I got through two that week).  Let’s just say it was the perfect spring break, for everyone…although, Nonni and Papa probably needed a break at the end of the week.  

Florida for Spring Break

We flew down to St. Petersburg for Spring Break to join my sister and her kids for several days at my parents house.  Tracy’s crew wasn’t set to arrive until the day after we did so, when Nonni and Papa picked us up at the airport, we headed straight to the beach. It was such a beautiful and relaxing start to our vacation…and probably the quietest part of the week—fun with the cousins to come!

Instagrammin’ in March

It was a busy month for these kiddos as we transition from winter to spring.

wacky wednesday at school. | john glenn at the living museum. | respresenting spain at thinking day for girl scouts. | gym date for ella and baden. | school fun run—these kids rocked it. | bowling with toothy, jack’s class pet. | trail run at beatty park, my favorite. | i cannot resist this face, such a cutie. | donuts for the birthday girl—last birthday treat at school. | ella and julianna celebrating ella’s birthday with a show, dinner, and sleepover. #alleycatinaristocats | birthday dinner at brixx. #butterynoodles #herfave | usta team tennis begins! | love playing tennis with my girl. | and she’s off on her 5th grade trip to williamsburg and jamestown. | ferry ride. | just jack and me tonight. | having some rainy fun in williamsburg. | so proud of ella for going on her 5th grade trip all on her own. | father-daughter dance night. | which means another mother-son date night.  #luckylady #wingsandmarchmadness #hischoice | orthodontist—all set to decide which permanent tooth to pull. 

Birthday Girl

Ella’s 11!  On the evening of Ella’s birthday it was closing night for her school’s performance of Artistocats, a performance Ella participated in as part of Musical Theatre club.  Ella was an “alley cat”, the group of supporting singers and dancers for the show who are on stage for the show’s entirety.  We brought Ella’s best friend Julianna with us to watch the show, out for dinner afterwards (at Brixx, of course), and then home for a sleepover to help us celebrate Ella’s birthday.  Brava, Ella, and happy birthday!