almost forgot...

while we were away, my brother got engaged! Of course I knew (I had seen the ring and heard about his night of plans...I had even seen the menu at the restaurant he planned to take his new fiance to after she said yes) but yet, it is still incredibly exciting! Yay for Nicole and Travis. Can't wait to see you soon :)

back to the real world....

We arrived home from Disney at 5:32 am on Monday morning. Of course, we had a simply "magical" time. I did't love the hotel, but my girlies did. They loved the pirate themed room. They loved the pirate themed pools. I hated how crowded the buses were and how far away our room was from food. But it was Disney, and my dislike for our hotel was quickly forgotten while enjoying time with the family at the parks and pool.

This year the girls went relatively nap free, which was much more tiring for Carl and I. They definitely had some opinions about what their favorite activities were (parades and shows topped that list) and we spent a lot of time kicking back and enjoying the entertainment. We spend a lot of time at EPCOT, one of the girlies (and my) favorite parks. We saw all of the shows and the parade at Animal Kingdom. We watched the fireworks at the Magic Kindgom from my favorite place, Fantasyland! Laney loved that the fireworks were coming from all around her (have I mentioned her love of fireworks before?).

Most of all, I just loved being together.

And now we're back in the real world....

and we're off

well almost. after soccer. tomorrow, we're headed to disney. first trip this year with the hubby. i. can't. wait.

i'm not taking a computer.
i'm not taking work related phone calls.

i'm going away. with my family. for some relaxation and togetherness.

see ya in a week!

beautiful morning!

I can't not blog about this morning weather. Its so wonderful, so like my favorite time of the year, fall! In fact, it was so pleasantly chilly this morning that I decided to boil some water for a cup of pumpkin spice tea instead of my usual coffee (unfortunately, i'm all out of my pumpkin coffee blend...need to go get some more).

Tonight, my lovely, extremely heat sensitive, Slate dog will have a nice, long walk (but not too long since he's still building his endurance for long walks back from the cool springtime). Laney also warns me that we can't walk him for too long because she will get tired. She thinks maybe she needs to ride in her stroller depending on how she feels after school....she cracks me up!

Hopefully this beautiful weather will continue when we get back from wonderful, but 90 degree Florida....

Yay for Traivs time!

I just got off the phone with my brother...its crazy, we talk so often, yet see each other so rarely. Anyway, I'm so excited that I will get to see him twice in October, once in November and twice in December! I'm staying with him and Nicole for a weekend and again for a night while travelling in the CT/MA area in October. I'm excited to explore the city with them without my kiddos. I definitely have not done New York as an adult without kiddos....well, ever. He (and hopefully Nicole depending on her work schedule) will be coming down for my birthday celebrations in November. Laney, Alie and I will be going up in December for a weekend AND he will be coming down for Christmas!

Yay for Travis time!

Back from the beach and back to school

I can't believe its back to school already. I know that I live for this time of year, I love fall! But it snuck up on me so fast this year. I have spent this week glued to my desk, and my phone, scheduling my fall travel. When did it become time to start scheduling my fall travel for work?!?

Anyway, with all of this brings my girlies last year at their current school. They are big pre-ks this year. The big kids of the school!!! I can't believe it (I know that sentiment is completely trite, but I still remember holding my little 4 pounders...) Carl and I made the decision to separate the girls this year, and so far so good. Of course, the opposite of what we expected is happening. Alie adjusted perfectly (always my little shy mommy's girl). She's even volunteering in class. She's coming home everyday (except the first day, when she evidentally "just stood there") and reporting on the class goings on. Laney on the other hand has been taking the separation a bit harder. She had tears on the second day of school, but seems to slowly be making the transition. Other than making a placemant and having a turtle in her room, I'm not really sure what she is doing in the classroom, but I'm sure its good.

I signed up to be class parent this year. I'm sharing my responsibility with another, more experienced class parent. She also has twin girls, though hers are older than mine. Her son is in Laney's class (clearly I'm the class parent for Laney's class). I'm already really liking the gig- kind of like an additional social outlet, which I really enjoy. I don't know a lot of parents at the girls school (outside of their good friends parents).

So that's that. The craziness of back to school supplies and getting used to new teachers. I've gotten the girls to school early every day this week, which in my world, is a HUGE accomplishment. Soccer starts next week, and we're going on another vacation (finally Carl is coming a long..woohoo!).