Disney, Part 1

Has it really been two years already?  Time to head back to Disney for the last trip with free admission for one of our kids.  Cue the tears for Mom and Dad.  We waited until the last minute to decide to do this trip, so we ended up with awful flight times and no character meals, but hey, who needs sleep or convenience in the happiest place on earth?  Definitely not Pourciaus.  Here we are, fresh off the plane and riding the train to baggage claim around midnight...

Note to fellow travelers: if you arrive too late the Magical Express will be happy to carry you, but not your bags!  That brought our total of things to keep up with to 3 backpacks, 4 suitcases, 1 giant stroller, 4 kids, and two grandparents...

It took us until after 2 a.m. to get to the room, but the next morning these kids were ready to hop the monorail to the Animal Kingdom...

Another bit of unsolicited advice: if your Disney trip coincides with a Run Disney Race- move it!  Or don't plan ANYTHING early in the day.  Busses were not running from our hotel to Animal Kingdom because of the race, so we had to monorail to the transportation center to catch a bus.  When it became apparent that Stella and I were going to miss our first fast pass and probably our second (which was Expedition Everest, which Stella was obsessed with riding), Damon put us into a taxi thinking we would get there faster than them.  Almost 2 hours and a $50 cab ride later, we arrived at the exact moment as their bus!  It was infuriating to say the least.

We shrugged off our less than magical beginning and made it to the roller coaster in time, while everyone else set out to meet Mickey and Minnie.   But wait, where's Watts and Damon?

Well...remember that stomach virus Officer Watts had?  Thank goodness it laid low on the plane, but it was back with a vengeance on day 1 in the parks.  Pretty much as it was their turn to meet Mickey, Watts was struck with the urge to go, and when ya gotta go, ya gotta GO!  Damon and Thing 3 raced for the potties and made it in time, but it was becoming clear to dear old Dad that this trip was going to present some challenges.  They made it back in time to jump in for a couple of photos...

Meanwhile, Stella had conquered Mt. Everest and we even stopped to take some commemorative photo pass photos...

Two thumbs up for big girl rides!  (Gosh, I look tired!)

And back to the meet and greet for more character fun...

Poor Watts was so excited, but felt so rotten...

They also had a chance to meet Tarzan, which led to these hilarious pics...

Corinne was NOT sure about the guy with the dreads...

We got back together just in time to catch the amazing Festival of the Lion King, which is one of our favorites...

And Stella picked up a souvenir pin for slaying the beast...

More Disney fun to come!

Officer Watts

Watts' Pre-K class recently had Community Helper Day, and all the kids got to dress as their favorite community helper for school.  Watts wanted to be a police officer, and lucky for us, Tucker and Reid were police officers last Halloween, so we borrowed one of their costumes.  Isn't this the cutest little policeman you have ever seen?  

May I see your license and registration, ma'am?

Once we made it to school, Watts had the chance to take a photo with a REAL police officer!

Unfortunately, Officer Watts was only at school for about 15 minutes after this photo was taken.  He was then assaulted by the one bad guy even the badge can't protect you against: the stomach bug.  The poor guy spent the rest of the day convalescing on the bathroom floor.  Even though his police career was short-lived, I am so happy that Watts chose to emulate those who serve and protect others.  I can't wait to see what profession God has in store for my little man when he grows up.  Watts is truly a little protector when it comes to his family, and that's just one of the wonderful traits God has infused into his personality.  We love you, Watts!  

New Cousins!

Quick: what was the BEST Valentine's Day present you ever got?  

Whatever it was, I guarantee you it does not compare to the gift our family got this Valentine's Day.  

We got two gorgeous new cousins to love!  Harper and Riley Ourso made their debut on the 14th, and we're all smitten already...

The girls could not wait to meet their newest cousins, so we washed them up to their armpits and instructed them not to touch the babies...

But then Aunt 'Laina's mommy said they could sneak a quick cuddle, so I gave in...

You could not find two prouder big girls on the planet...

Sweet Harper had to spend a little time out of the room so we took turns snuggling Riley...

Welcome, Harper and Riley! We love you so much!

Father-Daughter Sweetheart Dance

Daddy and Pawpaw once again had two beautiful dates for the annual Father-Daughter Sweetheart Dance...

To see what these sweethearts looked like in years past, click here, here, and here.  One day even Cinderella, I mean, Corinne will get to attend the ball...

Stella was looking way too old in real high heels...

Watts took advantage of the distraction to have his own private date with Mawmaw...

 They went to see the Lego Batman movie for a few minutes, and then moved on to what Watts really wanted to do: shop for toys...

 I am not sure what he is giving a thumbs down to, because he had a great time, but he's cute even when his hand gestures are inapplicable to the situation...

Saturday Fun

The first Saturday of the month means another Home Depot kid's workshop for our crew.  In February we were building Valentine photo boxes...

Corinne is basically ready to paint from the second she crosses the threshold of Home Depot, so it is a little bit of a miracle that we were able to contain the mess to just her hands...

After a quick clean-up we were off to Story Time at Burden...

I believe these fruit kabobs had something to do with cupid's arrow, but to tell the truth I missed most of the story...

The kids had a great time making love monster puppets...such a great time that the poor volunteers weren't able to pick up everything when the event was over because our kids were still "crafting," AKA making a mess...

We had a nice background so we shot some more yoga photos...

Then we visited the most charming rustic playground in all of Baton Rouge...

We enjoyed the playground until Watts caught this swing with his face and started bleeding.  We try to never leave a playground until blood is spilled...

The playground even had a "Little Free Library" that Corinne and Cille were absolutely in love with...

2nd Generation Besties

On a random Saturday night in January we got a fantastic surprise visit from some of our "oldest" 

(as Grandma Tonie likes to call them) best friends, the Sharbono family!  We were so excited to see them that we had to celebrate with red meat...

Corinne missed out on this group photo, probably because she was already strapped into her carseat, but it makes my heart so happy to see these kiddos carrying on the best friend tradition into a whole new generation.  We hope to spend more time with this sweet family soon!