Disneyworld.....without kids!!!!!

This was Eric driving in the car behind me on the Autotopia car ride. This was taken in the wee hours of the morning on our magic hours day.


This is us having lunch inside the Sci-Fi resturant at Disney's Hollywood Studio. It was designed to look like a drive in and you sat in little cars to eat your food and there was a big movie screen playing old sci-fi clips in the front. Awesome!!



Last week, Eric and I went on a five day trip to Walt Disney world, WITHOUT THE KIDS!!! We haven't been away alone together for four years and that was only overnight. This was the first REAL trip we went on alone since our honeymoon, so it was long overdue!

We had a blast! It was so nice to actually hop on a plane and physically leave the state. It made it easier to leave the kids behind and just focus on us. Plus, my mom was watching them so I knew they were in good hands. :) Disney truly makes everything magical and from the time we checked our luggage, we didn't have a care in the world. We stayed at a Disney resort, so once we arrived at the airport, all we had to do was go to the Disney Welcome Center and get on the bus for our resort. They took care of claiming our luggage and brought it to our room when it arrived. It was amazing! I have never been on a trip where I didn't have to worry about hauling bags around. The whole trip was full of Disney magic! Whenever we wanted to go to one of the parks, we just took a bus, monorail, or boat and we were there. No worries!

Some of our favorite memories of the trip are:

-Staying in the magic kingdom until 3 am. It was like a ghost town with only a very few people scattered here and there. We were able to walk on any and every ride we wanted to. It was amazing! They had the extra magic hours that night for resort guests, so the park closed at midnight for everyone else, but resort guests could stay until 3 am!!! And we actually managed to stay awake the whole time. We loved it!!!

- The animal safari at Animal Kingdom park. Wow! We were able to really get close with some of the animals. At one point, a baby giraffe, came right up to the truck where I was and if I had just stretched out my hand, I could have touched it. It was really hard not to!!! And the rhinos kept circling the truck and crossing the road in front of us. A few of them got close enough to touch as well. But I woulnd't have dared to try that. :)

- Eating at some of the five-star resturaunts Disney has to offer. Wow! Our favorite one was Citrico's inside the Grand Floridian Resort. It was sooooo good!

- Celebrating my birthday at Disney!!! It was amazing! I was treated like royalty all day. I was given a special fast pass for my birthday that allowed me to immediately walk on any ride for the whole day!! And at every meal, I was given a special dessert complete with candles. :) And they make you wear this button that has your name on it and says that it's your birthday and so the whole day, people kept saying Happy Birthday! (I actually didn't like that part) I was spoiled and it was one of the best birthdays I have ever had. :)

There are really too many to mention, but it was an amazing trip and it was so nice to enjoy Disney and all it had to offer from an adult point of view. We love going as a family too, but it was nice to determine our own schedule and do what we wanted without having to worry about strollers or extra bags full of snacks, diapers, etc. Eric and I definitely plan to again sometime!!

Easter Sunday

It has been a crazy long time since I have added anything to my blog, so I have a lot of catching up to do. This is a picture from Easter Sunday. Sean and Avery have matching colors on. They were so cute! Unfortunately, none of the pictures turned out that great, but hey, something is better than nothing. :)

We had a great Easter weekend and this year we tried something different. We asked the Easter bunny to bring the baskets on Saturday so that on Sunday we could focus only on the Savior and the true meaning of Easter. It was wonderful! On Saturday, we had an Easter egg hunt, colored eggs, and enjoyed our Easter baskets. Then on Sunday, we were able to focus all our thoughts on the Savior and his magnificent sacrifice and gift of eternal life for all mankind. It was the best Easter we have ever had and this is a tradition that we will definitely continue every year.

Snug as a bug in a rug....times 2

The other night, I went in to check on Sean before going to bed and this is what I found....I couldn't believe it! Avery had snuck into Sean's room and gone to sleep in his bed with him. It was the cutest thing ever! I called Eric upstairs and he couldn't believe it either. This is one of those moments that makes motherhood worthwhile, when all of those hideous, bad and crazy times are forgotten and all you can think of is how incredibly cute your kids are! :)

The Circus

Eric has been slaving away at work (what else is new)and because he has had to put in so many hours (some on the weekend) his boss decided to send our family to the circus so we could have some quality time together. So, two weekends ago, we went to see Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. It was great fun! We went early so we could attend the pre-show and meet the performers. The show was great and we all really enjoyed it! Seany had bought binoculars so he could see it in the greatest possible detail and he was enthralled the whole time. Avery did great and I think her favorite parts were the animals and the yummy treats we all ate. :)

Avery turned 3!!

How did this happen? My teeny-tiny baby has grown up into a beautiful little girl who likes dollies, strollers, cars, and all things princess. Where did the last three years go?

Her birthday was last Tuesday and we decided to just have a low key celebration because life is always so busy. For those of you who know us well, you know that this is a huge change because usually we go all out and make a big production of things. We are the NC Griswold Family....

We started out the day by taking Avery out to breakfast, followed by some errands for young womens (those never end, not even on birthdays) and then after we picked up Sean from school we had McDonalds, followed by a princess party and presents. It was just perfect and I even had time left over afterwards to play with her before I had to leave for mutual.

More IS coming....

Lots has been going on...birthdays, outings, etc...but our main computer is still broken and I can't access my pictures, so I haven't posted anything. My goal for today is to get the pics off of my camera and onto my blog. So hang in there, more will be coming. :)

Mystery Revealed

Okay, now that all the tests have been done and the results are in I will put everyone's curiousity to rest regarding Eric's medical drama. :)

Eric was diagnosed with skin cancer a few weeks ago and we have been going through a lot of tests and procedures since then. Today, we got in the final labwork and the news is good! They were able to remove all of the skin cancer and it hadn't spread to his lymph nodes, which is what we were worried about. So, basically, the cancer was removed and he has stage one skin cancer. That means that he is fine for now, but that it has a high chance for re-occuring so we just need to be dilligent in having him re-examined. He has to go a lot this first year, and then it starts to be less frequesnt every year after unless more comes back.

We feel so grateful that it was caught in time and hadn't spread! Thank goodness for aweosme doctors (having Duke nearby sure doesn't hurt) and the power of prayer.

Hopefully, now we can go back to life as it was and be done with the doctor circuit for awhile. :)