Airport Viewing

 This past weekend, we went out to dinner, and happily announced to our kiddos that we were headed to Disney in just under two months. After dinner, we grabbed some milkshakes and ventured to the airport to watch the planes land and take-off.

We brought our very own Disney Express plane that we had made last month and began enjoying the sights and sounds of the airport.  Elliana twirled and spun in circles with her airplane, making engine noises and having her "passengers" arrive at Disney World. Her plane would jump with excitement upon landing and I will never forget the smiles on her face as she spun and jumped over and over.

The plane taking off

Landing safely

Daddy & Maya enjoyed the views too!

Snack time

I'm cuddling with my girls this afternoon on my lap, look down to see
my almost 4- month old trying to eat her big sister's snack. I
couldn't help but laugh out loud and quickly snap a photo before
removing my infant from the death grip she has on the pretzel.

A hiking we do go

I've known it for a long time, somewhere deep in my soul, joy radiates from within when I am with my family, especially when we are hiking. When we are hiking, we have the opportunity to be surrounded by God's beauty, both in nature and in our family. There are no cell phone or computer interruptions, no requests for snacks. We are just fully engaged family members marveling in our ability to climb mountains, study plant life, appreciate waterfalls and most importantly, each other.

Elliana pointing to the sign warning us of bears...AFTER we saw the bear ;) 

 We just returned from 5 glorious days in the Smoky Mountain National Park.  Years ago, before we were blessed with these amazing children, T.J. and I would hike for hours and hours with nothing but a bottle of water in one hand and each others hand in the other. Fast forward 8 years and we now carry far more, travel half the distance and take twice as long than we used to...but boy, do we have fun. 

Maya standing in her first waterfall

 We sing, run, twirl and dance up the mountain top, sometimes on paved paths, sometimes on rugged terrain. Elliana ventures off the path wherever possible, preferring the rocky rivers and rugged terrain over the confinement of the marked trail. 

atop of the highest point, Clingman's Dome

Daddy and Maya, so cute a stranger stopped and snapped a photo of them :)

We ate lunch out of the SUV, filthy and stinky after climbing in 95 degree weather, truly making it our Sport Utility Vehicle as much as possible with our young family. I snapped photos as quickly as I could of the many adventures, the constant smiles, the abundant happiness. Regardless of how many photos I took, and trust me, I took a lot, I just couldn't capture it all. I couldn't capture the crisp summer breeze that dried the water from the waterfall off of our skin. I couldn't capture the squeals in Elliana's voice, the coos that Maya contributed or the worry of our three year old as the bear came out of the woods and into view. Digital photos might not have captured it all, but my memory and heart sure did. 

Sisters splashing amongst the Laurel Falls waterfall

Picnic lunch in Daddy's new car

Maya enjoying the hike at almost 4 months

Kisses for Mommy

My little adventurers

The black bear who joined us on our hike

75 days...

A few weeks ago, Elliana and I began making our own homemade paper mache airplane out of a 2-liter bottle. Yes, this was another pinterest project, though this one was initiated by my awesome friend Kelly, who is not nearly as intimidated by such things as I am. The kids were thrilled at the idea of getting dirty while making this project, even my super clean kid who kept saying, "It's okay to get dirty every now and then." Two coats of paper mache and a paint job later, our plane was ready to customize to fit our family. 

 Our children don't know it  yet, but in approximately 75 days, this family is Disney Bound again.  And, we couldn't help but make our airplane our very own Disney bound airplane, complete with photos of our family on one side, and favorite Disney characters on the other side. I LOVE it, and Elliana is throughly pleased with her paint and gluing job as well. I can hardly wait to share the news that we will be boarding a plane to visit those Disney characters again this year! 

Pinterest Popsicles

I admit, I frequent Pinterest a little too often. While nursing, watching tv, even during the occasional toddler meltdown just to escape for a few minutes. To imagine the possibility of having an abundance of time and resources to devote to craftiness, parenting, educating and domestic life, oh and the energy to do them all! Very rarely do I find a project that is not intimidating to me, and is actually possible to fit into my our lives, though it doesn't stop my from "pinning" away.  On occasion I do find that project, and oh what fun my kiddos and I have while working on it. 

Last week we made homemade cookie dough popsicles. Given we eat cookie dough far too frequently in this family, it seemed like a great recipe to try. It's here if any one would like try it as well. 

Elliana LOVED making the popsicles and ate more than a few handfuls of chocolate chips as we were pouring them into the popsicle molds. All afternoon Elliana asked if the popsicles were frozen yet, and she waited somewhat patiently until we had the time and energy to devout to eating them. But boy, they were worth the wait!

Elliana showing off her yummy popsicle