Universal Studios Day 1

Sean and Aidan's flight made it safely to Orlando late last night.

And this morning we were ready to take on Universal Studios!

 

Maura was excited because she thought sign said she was tall enough to ride the Rock It rollercoaster.

But later that day when she was measured at the ride's entrance the attendant could just barely squeeze a sliver of his finger between the top of her head and the measuring stick.

She was one sad little girl.

 

Harry Potter world...

the whole reason we planned this trip.

Riley is big into Harry Potter and we knew he would love every second of this...



 

 

 He enjoyed every last little detail.  Things the rest of us wouldn't even pick up on.  And all the workers are really into character, which Riley loved.  He joined right in with them.

 

Our attempt at a family picture...

 



 

It was really super hot by this point, and the water rides felt soooo good!

 

Finally, we made it to Seuss land with all my little Things.

 

 

It's quite the group effort to get Audra to look AND smile for a picture...

We look like the paparazzi !

 

And here is the end result...

not quite a hint of a smile,

she wasn't really in the mood.

 



Evidence of my tween and teen enjoying themselves

It was a long, fun and hot first day at Universal !!

FLORIDA or Bust !!

It's road trip time...

Except it was just me, Riley, Maura and Audra making the journey from Pennsylvania to Florida!

Aidan had a soccer tournament at the shore so he and Sean would fly down to Florida afterwards and get there the day after us.

 

I had thought I could squeeze our trip into one blog post, but I have so many pictures I want to include so this will be the first post of a series.

 

Friday...hitting road for the first leg of our journey

 

The 3 kids did great!  Which I am so very thankful for since I was driving alone with them.

We drove about halfway the first day {although it took about 10 hours due to traffic!} and stopped at my brother's house in North Carolina for an overnight break.

 Maura enjoyed playing Just Dance with cousin Hanah

 

The next morning (Saturday) we were up and on the road about 8am. 

Riley was certainly ready for a great vacation!

 

About 9 hours later we arrived !!

 Dinner and bed was all I could think about at that point.

 

Sunday we relaxed and laid low most of the day. 

I was a bit concerned about the weather forecast for the week:

And then I thought, hey...I could do this job.  It's the same forecast for each day this week:

Thundershowers with a high of 93 degrees.

 

We spent the day enjoying the pool at the resort:

 

 

And then went to City Walk for dinner (and a little touch of Universal Studios):

 

After dinner I got a few pictures of 3 of my kiddos with Universal in the background

 

 

 

Then we headed back to the resort,

snuggled up in our PJs,

and waited for Daddy and Aidan to arrive after their plane landed at 11:00pm

Last day of school

We made it!!!

 

School's out for summer...

 

Here is Maura this morning before her last day of 2nd grade:

And Audra before her last day of Kindergarten:

 

Our last time waiting for the bus until next school year:

 

She sure looks excited for summer break!

2nd grade DONE!

3rd grade here she comes :)



 

Dance Recital

It's Dance Recital Time !!

 

Here are the girls all dolled up on our way to dress rehearsal last night.

 

 

Audra took dance lessons her first year home but last year she took the year off as we were in the midst of some medical issues with her.  That fall we were sorting through her neurological/EEG issues and then she was diagnosed with the immunodeficiency.

 

But this year we are on top of all her medical issues and so she is back!!!

And ready to take the stage again :)

 

Yes, my nearly nine year old was in the 3 year old class...

but she fit in just fine!

 

My girlies waiting for their turn on the big stage at dress rehearsal...

Pictures on the "red carpet"...

 

 

This morning we got up and did it all again...

hair, make up, bows, etc.

And then we stopped for donuts before the big show.

 Yes, Audra is having a lollipop for breakfast,

don't judge...

Anything to keep her happy and excited about getting up on that big stage :)

 

I was a backstage mom for Audra's class so I got some cute pics of her...

 

 

My beautiful ballerina girls after the show:

 

And here is the best dance teacher in the whole wide world...

My longtime, sweet friend,

Miss Shannon

 In what seems like many moons ago,

I used to dance with my dear friend "Miss Shannon" in high school.

We were inseparable then,

and now my precious girl looks up to her and loves learning from her.

 

School Activities...Part 2

Yep, the fun end of the school year activities haven't let up yet!  It seems like everyday one of the kids has some kind of celebration, activity or field trip.

At this point in the school year I'm sure the kids and the teachers are all counting down the days, hours and minutes until summer break. 

I *think* I am too.

By the last month of school I am always ready toss our busy morning routine out the window! 

While I am looking forward to lazy  mornings of sleeping in and lounging in PJs,

I also know that I have 2 kids who like to be busy and 2 kids who wouldn't mind sitting in the same old place at home all day long. 

This summer could be interesting !!

June 1st:

Audra's fishing field trip
...and she caught a fish!!

Audra with two of her biggest cheerleaders: 

her hearing support teacher and her personal aide 1:1

Both of these wonderful ladies spent a lot of time with Audra each school day, helping her to be the best that she can be.  

June 10th:

Audra's field day

 

Our very favorite, Mrs. L got a workout with Audra

 

Audra had the most adorable cheering section...

I was watching Tatum and Teagan for a few hours so I brought them along.

Audra just loves these "babies" !

 

Aidan and Maura both had field trips within the past week.  And they both went to the Franklin Institute.  Maura was super excited and has been talking about it for weeks.  Aidan on the other hand remembered going in 2nd grade and couldn't understand he they had to go again in 6th grade.

Turns out....

Aidan had just as much fun and Maura did.

I would think just about anything beats a day in the classroom at this point in the school year !