Christmas Season at Walt Disney World

Family picture at Epcot

Mimi, Grandy, and the boys

Sweet brothers

Connor getting his pirate name, Chris Warloather

Weston was named Ned Coalflint again

Boys really excited about becoming pirates

Connor getting his skeleton paint on

Weston getting his black beard on

Posing in a pic with Jack Sparrow, Connor's a little nervous

Weston asking Captain Sparrow, "Do you steal the treasure?"

Sparrow's reply was, "It's a little complicated..."

Connor proud of his new look

Ned Coalflint & Chris Warloather ready to take on "bad pirates"

Connor in full character

James & Daddy on the safari at Animal Kingdom

Weston wearing his pirate accessories another day

Family pic in front of the Tree of Life

Grandy, Mimi, & the boys

Our last night at the Magic Kingdom

The Kingdom entrance all decorated for Christmas

Weston with his Mimi & Grandy

The week before Thanksgiving, Will and I surprised the boys with a trip to Disney World.  We threw them in the car on a Saturday morning, telling them we had to drive to a meeting for Mommy (which wasn't a lie, because I attended a conference in Orlando later that week).  We had a flat tire an hour and a half into our trip, somewhere in rural Alabama.  Thank goodness there was a Wal-Mart tire service place nearby.  The boys walked around the toy aisles of Wal-Mart picking out things for their Christmas list as we waited.  Back on the road again, we were about two or so hours from Orlando before Will and I revealed the big surprise.  We handed Weston a card to read to Connor, telling them both that we were taking them to Disney World for an early Christmas present.  Weston didn't believe us at first when we told him, "We're going there right now!" 
We stayed at the Sheraton Vistana Villages Resort for 8 nights.  We spent 4 days in the parks with Mimi & Grandy, then I went to the ASHA convention the last few days of our trip.  While in the parks, Connor got to experience the Pirate's League for the first time.  He had a blast!  Weston was really excited to meet Captain Jack Sparrow.  James was a happy little camper, going through all the parks with us, and missing naps here and there.  He even took his very first steps one night in the living room of the condo.  Another night before dinner with Mimi and Grandy, we got the call from the doctor's office with results from the panoramic prenatal screen.  We found out that we were going to have a baby girl.  The boys were really excited about getting a baby sister. 
It was so pretty to see Disney World all decorated for Christmas.  We all had a fun time, and the boys are already saying, "when we come back to Disney World next year..." 

Halloween

Connor helping Daddy scoop out pumpkin seeds

James having fun with Daddy

the Jack-O-Lantern face Mommy carved

Boys all excited and ready to trick-or-treat

James the little viking

Weston the brave knight

James sorting through his candies

On Halloween night, we carved a pumpkin together and ate pizza.  Then, the boys got dressed up to go Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood.  It was freezing cold that night, but the boys didn't seem to mind as long as candy was the reward.  Weston and Connor loved their knight costumes, especially the swords and axes.  James, on the other hand, did not love his beard and hat, but he was a good sport.

Tailgating & the Tooth Fairy

Chloe with Weston, holding his tiny tooth

Weston very proud of this milestone

James holding the cowbell with Chloe

James and Marley

ESPN College GameDay broadcasted near our tailgate spot

James happy to ring a cowbell for the first time

Weston & Marley

Marley & Connor with their MSU suckers

James napped in the middle of all the excitement

Connor & Marley playing games on a phone

In October, our first MSU tailgate of 2014 year happened to be the ESPN College GameDay in Starkville vs. Auburn.  It was a great day for several reasons.  The Dawgs won and advanced to the number 1 ranking in the country, James experienced his first tailgate, and Weston lost his first tooth.  Miss Chloe was at the tailgate, and she told him that if you are in a special place when you lose a tooth, the Tooth Fairy gives you more money.  Weston decided that the tailgate was a pretty special place, so he asked Miss Chloe to pull his tooth.  He was very excited when it came out!  I was also thankful for Chloe, because after multiple trips to the ER for stitches with Weston, seeing him bleed makes me a little uneasy.   

Jamaica Getaway

Sandal's Grande Riviera

One Love, One Heart...Our butler's nightly turn-down service

View of our "private pool" from the balcony

Cabanas

View of the main pool

Our view of the ocean

Private dinner on the beach

Hanging out on our balcony before dinner

Dinner at La Parisienne

Dinner at Soy for sushi

Will returning from scuba diving

Scuba Steve

Ocean swim area

At our favorite pool hangout

Dinner at Kelly's Dockside

View from our balcony

Will and I got away for an early tenth anniversary trip to Jamaica the first week in October.  It was our first time staying at a Sandal's resort, and we were very impressed with the Sandal's Grande Riviera in Ocho Rios.  We were spoiled to have two butlers for the week, Olmondo and Alshane.  They were both Jamaican, so it was great to get to know them and hear about life in Jamaica.  Jamaica was beautiful and the people were very friendly.  They had the most beautiful smiles.  

Will and I enjoyed having breakfast on our balcony several mornings.  At the main pool near our suite, they played reggae music during the day. We sat on our balcony every afternoon around sunset.  Our favorite restaurant to go to at night was Kelly's Dockside.  It was on a dock out over the ocean, and the food was excellent.  We did a couples' massage in the spa, which was great.  Will also took a scuba diving class and went out in the ocean for a dive.  He loved it!  I might have gone with him (might) if I hadn't found out the day before that I was pregnant.  I am terribly afraid of sharks, but they say that there are no sharks in Jamaica.  So, needless to say, Parrott baby #4 got me out of a scuba diving adventure with Will. 

We missed our boys while we were away.  We brought them Jamaican soccer uniforms and soccer balls as souvenirs from our trip.