Tourists on our "Stay"cation.

I have tried to take advantage of every day that I am off from work. Sometimes the weather does not cooperate, but their are still a lot of things to do. (It's not like it's been blizzarding this month.) Being a native of Rapid City, I knew we had cool stuff around here, but now that I have kids, I am trying to see all of the fun that the Black Hills has to offer.

We will not be going on a BIG vacation this summer, but hope to pack in all the sights around here. We've done some things this week to get our tour started.

We planted a small (very small) herb garden with some tomatoes. I DO NOT have a green thumb, so I am relying on Gabbie to help keep this garden alive!

I really want to plant some tulips, peony bushes and dahlias this year!! If anyone has any suggestions or tips, PLEASE comment! I am gonna need all the help I can get.

OOPS! Gabbie got a little out of control with the hose. Sorry Fin.



I think Gabbie will survive! She had a little spill on her bike.
The first of many, I'm sure.

Gabbie is learning to ride the bike. It seems we are a bit behind, but Gabbie loves it! Our goal is training wheels off by her birthday in the fall.

Finley wants to ride a bike too!

Sorry Fin, that's a little big.

Gabbie had her "End of the Year Program" at school.

The pre-school program was great this year. They concentrated on ABC's & 123's.

These girls are her "best friends" and we enjoy watching them all grow.

ONE SHOT!

(is all this picture took!)

Good Job Gabrielle Amelia!

We visited Bear Country USA last week. It was a little COLD and REALLY windy, but it was fun. There were only a few other cars going through the park, so we really took our time.

Do you think the "DO NOT TOUCH" sign also means "DO NOT SIT"???!!!

The Buffalo

The Bear

Doesn't he look friendly?

The Reindeer

Our Mother's Day Brunch
Gabbie & Finley and Brayden & Hadley

The ER Kids at a baby shower
(and there are more to come!)

Finley at Reptile Gardens.

We love this place and they really give the locals a great deal! We will visit MANY TIMES!

One of the birds at Reptile Gardens. There large bird show starts this week.

Nana Betty, and us in the dome at Reptile Gardens.

The shy bald eagle and not-so shy Gabbie

We hope you are all having a fun Spring! I hope we can add many fun pictures to our Stay-cation album!

Disney Magic (Part II)

This is the final installment of our Disney memories and it already seems so far away :( I will apologize now for the randomness of these pictures. I really need to refine my blogger skills.

I had to lead with a pic of Fin. She is so sweet and has been left off of my blog, because of the subject matter. She is walking... not always, but mostly on her own. It isn't as stressful as when Gabbie walked? This pic is from our day at the pumpkin patch and it has been one of very few that required some winter gear, but doesn't she look cute!

This is our little "Tinker Bell" exhausted! The day Gabs had her makeover was a big one.

This was Gabbie's Fairy God Mother, Maye. See the one piece of hair stinking straight up...the FGM's have quite a sense of humor. The stuff they use on their hair is interesting, but it works every time.

THE REVEAL!!!

This was the night we celebrated Halloween at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. They decorate Magic Kingdom and have a Villain Parade and lights. It was really amazing how different the park looked. Our glasses are for the 3D movie we were about to see. It was probably our favorite thing. It's fun to hear Gabs talk about it. Ask her.

"I feel like someone is watching us?!?!"

:)

This was a magic moment for all of us! We had a breakfast at the Tusker House in Africa in Animal Kingdom. Donald and friends joined us in appropriate attire for the safari!

We miss you Mickey!!!

MY FAVORITE CHARACTER!!!!

I will say Goofy is one tall, dark & handsome dog.

Can you tell who Gabbie liked? She says, "Mom, look at her beautiful eyes!"

As I roll mine.

Our WONDERFUL Host!

Again, our food was GREAT!

Thanks Donald.

A fun view of Italy in Epcot.

In Chicago O'Hare on the way home.

SOOOO SAD!

Hollywood Tower of Terror

The one BIG ride I REALLY wanted to go on. It did not happen.

NEXT TIME FOR SURE!!

One of the characters in the SpectroMagic Parade of Lights.

There were plenty of Oooooh & AAHHHS!

This was one of MANY figures at our hotel. They are HUGE! It was very fun for kids.

Can you see Gabbie?

And last...our first Henna tattoos. I think I need another.

So, there you have it. We would like to go back in October 2012. Wanna join us?

Disney MAGIC!!!!!

Well, we've been home from Disney World for over a week and I am still coming down from the high! I want to start by saying that EVERY business and EVERY person could take a lesson from the outstanding customer service we received while staying in Orlando! Every single "cast member" was pleasant and always addressed Gabbie. We stayed at an All-Star Resort and I was so glad we decided to stay in the park. There are so many little extras when you stay in the park. We dropped our luggage off at the airport in RC and did not see it again until it was in our room. (We had already been shopping!) Our vacation anxiety melted away when we got on the airplane. The weather was HOT...in the 80's EVERY day with humidity. I heard it snowed here while we were gone:) !! We did leave Fin in RC and we missed her, but we CANNOT wait to take her back! Lookout Disney the Love's will be back in October 2012!

Here are some of our favorite pics. I think this is the first of a few Disney posts ;)

We had dinner with the Princesses in Norway at Epcot. Sleeping Beauty was a BIG star that week because of the re-release of the DVD! Aroura was very sweet to Gabbie. Look at that face! Can you understand why my happy tears flowed so easily? PS Dinner was great too!

Princess Jasmine was my favorite (& I think Jas liked her too...). She was stunningly beautiful. I think Gabbie was in awe!

Princess Ariel was sort of silly..she called Gabs a Starfish and I don't think Gabbie will ever forget it!

Well, Cinderella's appearance at this dinner was quite a surprise. Cinderella hosts her own dinner in Magic Kingdom, and when I made these reservations the women made it very clear that "Cinderella will probably not be at this dinner." Things must have been slow that night at the Royal Table ;)

These were some of Gabbie's Fairy Godmother's at the Bippity Boppity Boutique. Gabbie had a Princess (or Fairy) Makeover. It was one of the most memorable days! Again, the happy tears flowed freely! PS I want that job when I retire!! I will post a makeover page soon.

This was Day #1 at Magic Kingdom. We were watching a show at the Castle. The smile on Gabbie's face says it ALL!

This was also day #1. Gabbie spotted Mary Poppins from a mile away and Gabbie LOVED her umbrella. Dreams really come true at DW!

We indulged in some fun things. Gabbie got her face painted. She got her hair braided and we both got henna tattoos. The face painting is free hand and it looked so good! Of course she chose the Tinkerbell!

OOOOHHHHH! EPCOT! I was so impressed with the "big golf ball" at Epcot. I took lots of pics of it.

This was the way our Princess Dinner started. Belle posed for picture after picture, as did our little Princess throughout the week. I think I will leave you with these pics and show you some more later!

You know that commercial when the mom and daughter get on a ride and then the mom turns into a kid...that was me!

Orlando...HERE COME THE LOVE'S!

I know...It's been awhile, so I figured I had better post before we leave for DW! We have been pretty busy and I have not been taking many photos, hence the vaca from posting.

Gabs is liking the pre-school portion of daycare and Fin is moving up to the Tiggers Room at daycare. She will now get to go outside, and do art projects, but she is losing her morning nap time, which makes me sad.

Here is one photo from our August session @ Legacy Photo & Design. Amy is AWESOME! We finally had to make some decisions and order our pics. This one is still one of my faves!

This is my new digi!!! It was a birthday present for myself/family from myself/family! I had convinced myself we needed a new one for our trip. It is a touchscreen and it is a 10 mega-pixel. (I did not even know they made them?!) Just prepare for MANY MANY pics from DW!

I just had to throw this in. DW is HUGE! Maybe we will come back skinnier from all the walking. Wouldn't that be a perfect world!