Christmas morning excitement!

We had a great Christmas - we are so blessed! Here is a short video of Elyse and Andrew on Christmas morning. Santa scored big with our kids by giving them both a pillow pet!

Merry Christmas!

Father/Daughter Winter Ball

A local organization sponsored the Father/Daughter Winter Ball. When I heard about it I asked Elyse if she would want to go with Jeff and her answer was a resounding yes!

When she got home from school on Friday, we painted her nails and while her nails were drying I curled her hair. Then we put on her Christmas dress and she was ready for the ball! She was so so excited especially when she found out at school that her friend Maura was going to be there too!

Here they are all ready to go to the ball.

It was at a country club in Saugatuck and Jeff said it was a beautiful setting. As they walked in they had a professional photographer that took their picture. Their picture turned out super cute!!! He was also taking pictures throughout the night but the last time I checked they were not posted on the website yet. They had punch and then sat down for dinner. Jeff said they had little cards on the table with questions for the dad's to ask their daughters and for the daughters to ask their dads. Jeff said Elyse was really into asking and answering the questions! They had a speaker and some local ballet dancers did a couple of dances. Then it was time for the dads and daughters to hit the dance floor! Jeff said it was packed and everyone was having a great time! Here is a picture of Elyse with her friend Maura.
And no evening is complete without dessert! Elyse loved the chocolate fountain - here she is digging into a chocolate covered marshmallow - yummy!
Elyse is already making plans for next year (and was already talking about how she was going to put the picture of her and daddy from each year into a scrapbook - that's my girl!) - I'm sure Jeff will gladly take her again - they both had a great time!

Disney Hollywood Studios

So many times I have thought about finishing my blogs about Disney and now I am finally going to do it. It seems so long ago that we were there!


Our 4th day at Disney was spent at Disney Hollywood Studios. I think by this day we finally had things figured out as far as how to work the fastpasses to our advantage. We actually got to the park before it was even open!! Once we got inside - Jeff and Matt headed to get Fastpasses for Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster while the rest of us followed the herd to Toy Story Mania! I would say that Toy Story Mania is the biggest attraction at Disney Hollywood Studios - as we were getting in line to ride the ride there was also a line to get Fastpasses!! Here is Elyse waiting in line for Toy Story Mania.



Elyse and Kailey in line.

Here is Jeff and Andrew on the ride. You sit in these cars and you have a "gun" in front of you. Throughout the ride you make your way through different games where you have to shoot at various targets. You also have 3D glasses on because everything is in 3D. Sometimes when you shoot things - say a bottle of water - you actually get a little wet! It was a very fun ride and as you can see - Andrew loved it!!!

By the time we got off of Toy Story - we looked at our Fastpass tickets and realized that we could get another set of Fastpasses. So - we got 5 Fastpasses for Toy Story Mania - so the boys and Kailey could ride again later on in the day. We wandered around the park, rode The Great Movie ride, Star Tours and visited Lightning and Mater from the movie Cars. Here are the kids with Lightning and Mater. I love how Andrew has his hand on Lightning - so cute.

After getting some lunch - we left the 3 little kids with grandma and grandpa and headed to Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster. Both rides were very fun!! It was starting to look like it could rain - so we decided to check out the muppet 3D movie. That was a good choice because as we were in line to get in the movie - it started to rain. When we got out of the movie - it was still raining. The boys and Kailey headed over to Toy Story Mania to use their fastpasses. The rest of us just hung out underneath the shelter to stay dry. Unfortunately - we had planned on going to the 4pm showing of Lights, Motors, Action stunt show - but it was cancelled due to the rain. Oh well - something to look forward to next time we go! We had reservations at Chef Mickey's that evening and decided it would be nice to go back to the hotel and change into dry clothes before dinner.

One of the cool things about going to Chef Mickey's is you get to ride the monorail right inside the Contemporary Resort - where Chef Mickey's is located. Once again we had a lot of fun at Chef Mickey's - meeting Mickey and the gang throughout dinner. A few pics from dinner.

Kailey and Christopher with Mickey.

Elyse with Mickey. Kailey and Elyse with Minnie.
Christopher gives Goofy a high five!

The whole gang at Chef Mickeys!



This was our last night at the resort/parks - so we asked Elyse and Andrew if they wanted to to back to the hotel or go into one of the parks. They wanted to go back to Magic Kingdom - so we hopped on the monorail back to Magic Kingdom - while the rest of the gang headed back to the hotel. As we walked into Magic Kingdom - the electric parade was going on - so we were able to watch that and I'm so glad we did! It was very cool with all the lights and music! Elyse and Andrew wanted to hit some of their favorite rides - so in just a couple of hours we were able to ride Buzz's Space Ranger Spin, the speedway, Winnie the Pooh and Goofy's Barnstormer. Goofy's Barnstormer was the best - as we got to ride 3 times in a row!!! We would get back to the station and no one was in line - so we had the option of getting off or staying on and riding again! Of course - the kids wanted to ride again so we stayed on until we were forced to get off! We then walked around the castle at night and thought we would ride Buzz again but by the time we got back there - it was closed. So - we headed to the exit and watched the light parade again - this time from the top of the Train Station. It was perfect for the kids to be able to see everything! It was a great ending to our time in the parks!

Disney - Day 3

We headed to Animal Kingdom our 3rd day at Disney. When we got in the park, Matt and Jeff took our tickets to get Fastpasses for Expedition Everest, while the rest of us made our way to the Safari ride. We were told to do the safari first thing in the morning, as that is when the animals are most active. As the day goes on, the animals tend to seek shade and then you don't get to see as many of them. We rode a safari type jeep and got to see many animals, including a baby giraffe and a baby elephant. There are not as many "rides" at animal kingdom and so next we made a plan of what shows we wanted to see and when they were playing. The first show we saw was a 3D show called "It's Tough to be a Bug". Well - that show was tough on both the kids! I ended up walking out with Andrew who was screaming and apparently Elyse was crying too (but she wasn't sitting next to me, so I didn't know that she was scared). Andrew hates bees and the part that sent him over the edge was when it sounded like bees were buzzing all around you and then you actually get a little poke in the shoulder (of course Andrew didn't feel the little poke because he was sitting on my lap). Poor Elyse didn't even want to watch Toy Story 3 in 3D after watching this show! Next we headed to Festival of the Lion King - which was lots of fun! Elyse especially loved the monkey acrobats and she was in her element, clapping and singing along to all the songs! We had a really good lunch at Tuskers. Elyse loved the mini-corn dogs and ate 11 of them!!! It was looking like it was going to rain, so we decided to find a place with some shelter before the next show. We took the kids to The Dig, where they could dig in the dirt for dinosaur bones and it was covered so when it started to rain - we stayed dry. We rode a few rides in Dinoland - including Dinosaur. Dinosaur was a fun ride. They set you up as you are going back in time and your job is to bring back a dinosaur. It is very dark most of the ride with various dinos along the way but it is towards the end that a huge T-rex tries to get you and you have to make a quick escape if you don't want to be lunch =) Next up was my favorite attraction at Animal Kingdom - The Finding Nemo show. This show was incredible. Nemo and friends were huge puppets that people held on sticks and you really felt like they were swimming in the ocean. The story line was a shortened version of the movie. I really felt like I was at a Broadway Show - it was wonderful! We ended our day with Expedition Everest. This was a very fun and unique roller coaster where you actually go backwards for part of it - watch out for the Yeti! Overall, I really enjoyed our day at Animal Kingdom. I could have spent more time just wandering around the park - as it is a very beautifully landscaped park with lots of trails around the Tree of Life. Here are a few pics of the kids digging for dinosaur bones.

Disney - Day 2

We started our 2nd day with breakfast in Cinderella's castle. This was one of my favorite things that we did at Disney and Elyse's too! Elyse got to meet Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty (one of her favorites!), Ariel and Belle. All of the princesses were so sweet with Elyse, calling her princess and twirling her around. She loved it! All the girls got wishing stars and a wand and once all the princesses had made it around to all the tables they had a "Wishing Ceremony". The girls had to twirl their wands in the air and make a wish and they had twinkly lights going all around the ceiling during the wishing ceremony. It was all very magical =) Oh - I thought the food was great too - it's hard to beat fresh fruit and cream cheese stuffed french toast - yummy!

Elyse and I at breakfast.

Elyse and Kailey with their wands.

Elyse with Cinderella

Elyse with Snow White

Elyse giving Sleeping Beauty a hug

Elyse walking down the stairs in the castle after breakfast. I love this pic!

While the girls and grandpa were at breakfast, the boys explored Tomorrowland and we met up with them in Toon Town Fair. Elyse really wanted to meet Tinkerbell and friends, so Kailey and I stood in line with Elyse. Elyse got to meet Fawn, Tinkerbell and Terence. Fawn is the animal fairy and asked Elyse what was her favorite animal. Elyse said a kitty, of course, and Fawn took Elyse's wand and tried to turn Elyse into a kitty. Elyse thought this was so funny! Fawn told Elyse that her wand must be broken because it wasn't working. While we were in "Pixie Hollow" - Andrew discovered Goofy's Barnstormer - a kiddie roller coaster that he loved!!! He rode it 3 times that morning.

Fawn turning Elyse into a kitty.

Then we headed to Epcot. We took the monorail from the Magic Kingdom to Epcot - which the boys loved and was a nice change from the busses. While in Epcot we rode Nemo and saw Turtle Talk with Crush. We got fastpasses for Test Track and decided the kids (and us!) could really use a break from the heat. So, we headed back to the resort for lunch and naps. We returned to Epcot later in the afternoon, rode Test Track and then had dinner at Le Cellier in Canada. This must have been the day for great meals because I had a delicious Filet at dinner. I would highly recommend eating at Le Cellier, especially if you are a steak lover! I also got to try their Cheese soup - which was wonderful also. We got out of dinner just in time to get a spot to watch Illuminations. After Illuminations we got in line for Soarin - which was an hour long but so worth it! One of my favorite rides at Disney!! Tric and grandma took the boys on a few rides like Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land while we were waiting to ride Soarin. Everyone else headed back to the hotel after we got done with Soarin - but Jeff really wanted to ride Mission Space. So the kids and I waited while Jeff rode Mission Space. I'm glad he got to ride it because that was one of his favorite rides of the week.

Matt, Christopher, Tric and Kailey on the monorail

Jeff and the kids on the monorail

Grandma and Grandpa on the monorail

Stay tuned for Day 3 - Animal Kingdom!

Disney - Day 1

We had a wonderful trip to Disney that I can't possibly fit everything into one blog post so I am going to do a post for each day of our trip.

First off - we had a LONG car ride down to Florida but the kids did great! Thank goodness for portable DVD players!

Sunday night we spent some time at Downtown Disney. Although it was hot outside, it felt great to stretch our legs. We walked around, ate at T-rex (a dinosaur restaurant owned by the same company as Rainforest Cafe), shopped and had fun watching and dancing at the dance party. Christopher was really getting his groove on - unfortunately I forgot my camera - so I have no pics from Downtown Disney.

The next morning we woke up early so we could get to All Star Movies, check-in to get our park passes and head to Magic Kingdom. We had a great day exploring the Magic Kingdom. Some of the kids favorites from the day were It's a Small World, Buzz's Space Ranger Spin and the Indy Cars. We had dinner at Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends. The kids all enjoyed meeting the characters - although I have decided that character meals are far from relaxing! You are so busy taking pics and getting ready for the next character to come to your table that you hardly have time to eat! But they are a great way to meet the characters without having to stand in line and I would do them again.

The fireworks over Cinderella's castle were amazing! Elyse and I especially liked watching Tinkerbell fly from the castle to Tomorrowland! What a great way to end our day. It was a long and hot day but the kids were all troopers as we pushed them along from ride to ride. Andrew and Christopher both fell asleep as we were walking out of the park after the fireworks. Here are a few pics from our first day of fun!

Andrew and Elyse with Piglet.

With Eeyore

With Tigger

With Pooh

All the kids exploring the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.


Jeff and Andrew driving the Indy cars.

Kailey and Elyse on Dumbo.

Andrew on Dumbo - he was loving it!

Stay tuned for Day 2!

Wonderful Weekend

I have not been very good at this blogging thing - so here is my attempt to try and start posting more frequently.

We had a great weekend. I went out Friday night with my friend Jamie to celebrate her birthday and as usual we talked late into the night. Always nice to have some "girl time".

Saturday Elyse and I went to see Disney's Beauty and the Beast with Grace, Abby, Misti and Grandma. We went out to lunch and then to the show. I was especially excited because I thought we had great seats - we were in the first row in the balcony - so it would be easy for the girls to see without anyone in front of them. When we got to the show, we were told that they had closed the balcony (due to a low number of ticket sales) and that our seats had been upgraded to the mezzanine. We were not so sure about this - but it ended up being great. We were about 1/3 of the way up in the mezzanine and right in the center. And the best part was that no one sat directly in front of us - so it was very easy to see the entire stage! It was a great show and the girls all loved it!

Today Jeff and Andrew went fishing in the morning and we all went back out to the marina to enjoy the sunshine. The kids were so excited to get their suits on and play at the beach and in the water. Jeff worked on the boat - cleaning and such - while I enjoyed just sitting in my beach chair watching the kids play. It felt like summer! I'm ready for more days like that - hopefully this weather will continue into next weekend!

Tulip Time

We had a fun and busy Tulip Time week. I was dancing again this year and I think Elyse was my biggest fan! She came to watch me dance every time - even on the last night when it was a cloudy, cool and a little rainy. She even wore her costume every night, except for the last night. Besides dancing, the kids and I did the street scrubbing on Wed. and then stayed and watched the parade. We headed back downtown on Thursday to watch the Kinderparade. Next year Elyse will be able to march with her class in the Kinderparade! Unfortunately, Saturday was not a good parade day - very windy and cold - so we stayed home. And of course, it wouldn't be Tulip Time without a visit or 2 to the junk food vendors - yum!! Here are a few pics from our fun week.



Andrew didn't have his costume on this night - but I thought it was such a cute pic of the 2 kids.

Andrew loved filling the bucket up with water and then dumping it out when we were street scrubbing!

Elyse street scrubbing.

Christopher and Elyse before we started street scrubbing.

We met up with Dylan, Kenz and Christopher at the beginning of the parade route so we could all street scrub together. Here the kids are "practicing" their street scrubbing skills as they try and push the leftover rain water into the drain.

Elyse was into making silly faces this year when we were taking pics - so silly!


My beautiful little dutch girl!

Party in the USA!

The West Ottawa Competitive Dance Team held a clinic on a Saturday for K-5th grade girls. They learned a dance and then they performed at half-time of the basketball game this past Friday night. Elyse had a great time at the clinic. Here she is performing at the basketball game.