Last Day of School

Obviously, I am a little late with this post but better late than never!

Hard to believe she only has one more year of pre-school before Kindergarten. She is growing up way too fast and I am so proud of the big girl she is becoming.

A few things that I want to remember about Ava in the Leapers 3 year old class at Bright Beginnings...

-She LOVED school and her teachers, Ms. Sara and Ms. Kyoung, and couldn't wait to go every Tuesday and Thursday!
-She always gave me a kiss at the door and never hesitated or looked back as she walked into the door of her classroom.
-Her best friends were Lyla and Naomi.
-She took naps much more often this year than last year in the 2 year old class. She usually napped at least one of the days each week.
-Her teachers told me that she was very good at participating and speaking up in class (something I was pleasantly surprised about given her reserved demeanor around adults)
-We played at The Ark every day after school (or on the playground).
-Chapel days were some of her favorite.
-Her and I had a joint effort in picking out her school clothes. I gave her 2-3 options each morning and she chose from them and dressed herself.
-On a typical day the kids would do crafts, calendar/circle time (where they practice letters, numbers, days of the week, months, weather, etc..) bible stories, spanish, music and movement, centers, recess, and rest time.

First Day                                            

Last Day

Another picture from the first day of school in Sept. 2012 

We gave her teachers a pitcher with lemonade and a tag that said "thank you for pouring your heart into my life this year." 

 Here she is with her silly classmates!

What a great year!!

Disney World Day 4 & 5- Animal Kingdom, Mini Golf, & Flight Home

Last Disney World Post!!!!

 On our last full day at Disney we went to Animal Kingdom. It.was.awesome! The first thing we did was go straight to the Safari Ride before the lines got too long. I had heard the Safari ride was great but it far exceeded my expectations. I felt like I was actually on a real African Safari!

Trying for a group picture before be loaded into our safari mobile. 

We were seated in the very back which worked out nicely for pictures and we had better panoramic views. 

I promise Connor enjoyed it too!

Not sure if I have said this before but EVERYTHING at Disney World is done right. From the rides to the shows, to the characters....they really try to give you the best experience possible and every detail is perfect! I was blown away with this Safari Ride in particular. I thought we would be on a conveyer belt type bus with large fences between us and the animals and that it would be more of a zoo type feel. Not at all! We were on a real bus, with a real driver that was full of animal knowledge. To make the experience even more awesome, it ended up raining during our ride (which lasted about 20 minutes by the way! no short cuts with this one and I loved that!). We were covered while we were in the bus but the driver said that more of the animals were out since the rain was making it cooler for them. It still baffles my mind but they did not have any visible fence or barrier between us and the animals, even the lions! I was pleasantly surprised and it added an element of "danger" for me. Can you tell I was so excited about this ride?!

We saw so many hippos!

Alligators

I forget what they called this tree but it was neat. 

A view from where we were sitting in the bus. 

Giraffes!

 (we found out later on that there are treats in that tree so that they will spend more time there, making it better for us to see them)

I love this picture of them with the giraffes in the background

He was feeling a little left out since he was taking the pictures...ha! Classic Mikey.  

Elephants

The mama and the baby were so cute!! They were tossing grass onto their back and it was picture perfect!

A view of the safari bus behind us. 

Look how close we are to the Lions! You can see the male in the center between the rocks. Also found out that the rocks have a temperature control on them so in the summer they keep them cool to attract the lions (for better viewing) and in the winter they warm them. 

My little Munchie must have been a little scared. I would have been too if I were 4!

Ostrich eggs

Or is that an ostrich? African ostrich perhaps?? I don't know but it sat right there by the road so were just a few feet from it when we drove by. 

I wasn't as impressed with these exotic deer with crazy horns. After all, you can see stuff like that at the Burkhart Ranch!

It was pretty much raining the majority of our time at Animal Kingdom but we were prepared with rain coats and ponchos so it didnt really bother us. We were just glad it didn't happen when we were at Magic Kingdom. 

After the Safari we watched this neat Bird show. 

And then look who we saw! Russle and the dog from the movie Up. 

It was getting close to a naptime for Connor but we couldn't leave Animal Kingdom without seeing the Lion King show. We had some time to kill before the next show so while Mikey pushed Connor around in the stroller in hopes for a nap, the rest of us grabbed a quick lunch. 

Connor did take a nap in the stroller so that bought us some more time to enjoy the show without worry of a meltdown. I felt like I was seeing a broadway show of the Lion King. So so impressive! Once again, Disney World does not dissapoint. 

Not the best pictures but you get the idea. 

Connor sat on my lap and was fascinated the entire time. Ava had her hands over her ears the entire time but I know she still liked it. Just a lot to see and take in when you are little. It was quite the performance. 

She loved the flying ballerina bird of course

This is a little out of order but I let her order chocolate milk for the first time ever at lunch. Have to document that! #gobigorgohome right?! ;) Am I a horrible mother for not letting her have some sooner? 

I took this picture with my phone while we were waiting for our bus to take us back to the hotel. My happy beautiful girl! She didn't let rain ruin her fun at Animal Kingdom!

And my little guy....he was awesome the entire trip! I was so proud of how well they both did despite the fact that we were so out of our routine, walked a TON, and were a little sleep deprived. 

I started day 5 (the day we were leaving) with a breakfast date with this cutie. I think he woke up before Ava that morning so we quietly snuck out of the room to eat breakfast together downstairs. 

We learned he likes to grab noses and put his finger in ears when he's tired. 

Before we went to the airport we had time to get in a round of mini golf at Fantasia Gardens. It was also an extra special day, Gigi's birthday!! 

Ava and her Gigi (best friends forever)

She's been asking to play mini golf again every since this day. She loved it!

Our flight home was really rough, not gonna lie! Connor was not happy being contained and was extremely overtired. We tried our best to keep him quiet. It was stressful, especially when you look at the clock and know you have two more hours left on an airplane! But.....daddy finally got him to sleep in the last 45 minutes or so of our flight. 

And Ava drew this picture of her brother and said that his fluffy hair was blowing in the wind. :) 

We celebrated Gigi's birthday that evening with a BBQ dinner and cake and then the next day we headed to Papa and Gramielle's house in The Woodlands to celebrate Gramielle's birthday.

It was sad to leave Gigi and Bpop after such a long and wonderful trip with them. The memories we made were priceless! Ava is already talking about the next time we go. Im pretty sure she thinks we are going back next month! Sorry sister, gonna have to wait a little while.

These two were cute as can be as we drove away from Gigi and Bpop's house. 

Her message that we sent to Gigi...."I.Love.You."

If anyone is planning a trip to Disney with kids then let me know! I can give you all the tricks of the trade and tips that we picked up while we were there. If you have the opportunity to take your kids, you definitely should. It is a magical place! Trip of a lifetime!

Thanks again Gigi and Bpop for taking us on this magical adventure!!! We can't thank you enough. I will never forget the look on Ava's face as she saw the castle for the first time, met the princesses, and just the overall excitement that she felt that entire week. Best feeling in the world for a parent and we are so thankful for that! Love you!