Finley Elisa

Well, it is Fin's turn to SHINE, and she does, every DAY!

The video is of Finley, just being herself and there is a little walking, too. She is almost ONE. I CANNOT believe it. That also means Christmas is coming. I always say we are so busy, but we keep getting busier. Just when I don't think we can add another thing to our day, we usually fit it in. Finley has been such a good baby and she is getting quite an attitude now. I wonder where this year has gone? I can still remember her in my belly. Just reflecting and rambling. Thanks for reading! Enjoy some baby giggles.

Other good news!!!! Jas shot a buck! YEAH on SOOOO many levels! I will post some pics soon, so you have all been warned!

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!

TAGGED!!!

Hello all...I was tagged TWICE while on vacation, so I am going to catch up, but I am only going to write seven things. (I am sure you are all glad.)

I was tagged by Amy & Kendra. THANKS GIRLS!!

1. No secret...I drive a mini-van. The crazy thing is that I have loved them since high school!

2. I went to 5 colleges for a total of seven years to get my Bachelors Degree in Nursing. YIKES!

3. When Jas & I moved to CA. We lived in a studio apartment without couches and our TV was the kind without a remote control! It took us 3 months to get couches.

4. I worked in the restaurant business for 8 years and I have considered going back. Buca di Beppo, here I come.

5. I am one of those people that will always answer surveys and I call or write businesses when I am extremely happy or upset with their service.

6. I am addicted to reality TV. I LOVE IT ALL. Shameless, I know, but this explains the next one.

7. My house is messy. Not dirty, just messy and cluttered.

Well, there you go. Now for the great news....I am tagging these lovely folks. If you see your name, you know what to do.

Katie

Carrie

Brandy

Kristine

Eric

Cheryl

Kris

OH! I am calling NO TAG BACKS!!

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!

Happy 4th Birhday Gabbie-Girl!

We had Gabbie's 4th birthday party at Just Jymnastics. Gabbie goes to class there once a week and we thought it would be fun for ALL the kids.

Gabbie decided on a Tinkerbell theme and her little flower girl dress worked perfectly.


Another family pic: Imperfection, but pretty cute and Gabbie looks so happy!






Just has a 50 foot trampoline in the floor that ends in a foam block pit. These two things were very popular!!! The kids were exhausted after one hour of play:)! You're welcome parents.

The ice cream cake was a hit and the kids were so good! Look how nicely they sat and ate.

It was very nice to have this party outside of our home. We had SO much fun and thank all of you that came!

All I can say is...WHEW!

J's bro got married to a his long-time girlfriend over the holiday weekend. They had a lot of very unique elements to their wedding and the end result was beautiful. We stayed in these huge, hotel-like cabins and the weather was AMAZING! (That is my kind of camping.) The girls were SOOO good. I was so proud of what a big girl G was.

My only request was that we get ONE family photo, since we were all dressed. All I can say is that I am VERY disappointed with the end result. This was the best we could do. I think that with the beautiful surrounding and all the HARD work, we could have slowed down and gotten a better shot. OH WELL!

This was G's debut as a flower girl. There were 3 of them and they did GREAT! The bride's mother made the dresses and they looked like woodland fairies, which fit perfect with the theme.

This is the entire wedding party in the heat of the moment. It's official...another female has been added to the Love Family:)

Whew...we made it through the weekend. I told J that I am praying that our girls hire a wedding planner when the time comes. Weddings are a lot of work and this one was worth it.

Well, I made a drastic change to my appearance this weekend...

Wait..

TAA DAAA!

What do you think? My stylist flat-ironed it for me, so don't expect it to look like this ever again, but it is fun!