Catch up time....

So it's been a while again and I would hope that you forgive me for my lack of free time. Anyway, a few quick items to go through... Early in September, we wished Kira a wonderful 4th birthday. Everyone had a good time, enjoyed some cake, and spent some nice time together. Here is a link to the rest of the picture book from this event.

We all wished Cooper a Happy Birthday. As you have seen, we went to the local hibachi restaurant because Cooper just gets mesmerized by the antics of the chef. Here is link to the remainder of the Cooper Birthday slideshow if you would like to review. ***PS - if you like a particular picture, you can ask me to e-mail it to you, or you can always get on the photobucket site and have them printed for only a few cents each (and no I don't own any stock in this company so it doesn't matter to me if you buy them or not).***

So, September birthdays moved into October festivities.. all with an eye toward Disney at the end of the month... There was apple picking.... Everybody got into the act... Olivia ...... Kira .... Cooper .... Kelly.... Scott..... Scott and Susan had a nice time... notice the throwback Eagles 'Dawkins' jersey... still didn't help, they lost to the Redskins that weekend. Grammy came out with us and showed us all the different areas of the farm from the tractor.. And the big inflatable pumpkin that we sat in front of for free and didn't pay the $7.50 per person the go in the corn maze. And there were meltdowns... and the rest of that fun day listed here. Finally, and this one probably deserves some explanation, but sometimes you're the vacuum and sometimes you're the target... The filth - dried noodles, grapes, bread crusts, etc - that collects under these damned baby seats is astonishing and this must be a weekly ritual before the entire chair gets carried down an ant hole!!! I do have some hard copy pictures of a Halloween party that Grammy, Mimi, and PopPop took the kids to and I think I even have a disc copy that I will try to locate and upload.. but the real Halloween took place in Disney itself this year, which was way cool!!!! Anyway, here is what Susan and I did while the kids were at the party.... Eagles-Atlanta... courtesy of the NovaCare luxury box... and of course the cheerleaders had to pay a visit.. sorry about the size and quality but they were taken from the phone.

Finally, we transition to our wonderful Disney trip.

For this, I will highlight some key moments and then just post the remainder of the photo album for your perusal. Nice to get down a little early with the 2 young ones and get some quality time before big sister shows up.. Very rare to have the time and patience for Kira and Cooper to stay in the same picture let alone hold hands... Very rare and impromptu visit from Daisy Duck .. even dad got into this picture because it doesn't happen often. The girls have their usual greeting for Ariel outside the villas.... and lest Cooper be left out. Just gotta love that sand bottom pool... plenty of fun with a few buckets... or the girls prefer the whirlpool to relax and float around. Of course, you have to take the breaks when you can get them... Kelly jumped right in to the fun before the Main street parade... And this was great... because Cooper was dressed up for Halloween as Jr Chef, ALL and I mean ALL of the kitchen staff from the Crystal Palace signed and presented him as honorary Lil Chef for the evening... way cool!!! Kelly meets Eeyore and Pooh with Olivia and Luke. The girls posed... and unsuspecting... I am kind of partial to the pictures when not aware. And Cooper during my favorite time of the day for him... And then there is Kira before...... during .... and after... with Fairy Godmother ... and with Cinderella. Peekaboo???

Start a new paragraph because I want to highlight what is probably Susan's favorite photo to this date... Cooper loves his mom.. and his sisters Olivia and Kira... and a date with Goofy..

Now I cannot even begin to tell you the enormity of the 'make your own sundaes' at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe, but suffice it to say the kids enjoyed it... Liv could barely get it into her mouth and well.. Kira's expression just about tells you all you need to know. Meet and greet with Stitch and Lilo.. Donald Duck and the girls followed by Mickey and the girls at Chef Mickeys... probably the best character experience as far as I am concerned (not even mentioning the amount of food for the price). Kelly got to meet Mickey... Minnie. The girls and even Cooper were enamored by Minnie. A quick ride in the front of the monorail.... a quick trip to see Lightning McQueen and Mater... and a quick bite to eat in the villa... All finished off with a little more pool time... I think Cooper will be ready for some serious swimming next year.. Kira trying out the face in the water maneuver and out of the water.... and Liv reflecting quietly as she tends to do...

Finally, I am trying something fairly new.. both in terms of the camera and posting videos.. so here goes the first attempt which is Kira on her first run of Test Track followed by her reaction. Keep in mind that once we got off the ride, told mom all about it, Kira was ready to go on again and again.... (just click the play arrow)


And the whole album (at least from our camera... PopPop and Uncle Greg have a whole disc full more....)

Be Well.. will check in after Olivia's 8th (are you freaking kidding me?!?!?) Birthday and Thanksgiving...

S