Happy Mardi Gras!

We had a little Mardi Gras celebration again this year at the Whittington’s house! Carolyn grew up in LA, and she had so many fun ideas for our play date! All of the kids made Mardi Gras masks, wore colored beads, and enjoyed yummy snacks in Mardi Gras colors–they especially loved being able to put purple, green, and yellow sprinkles on their cinnamon rolls! Sarah Ann’s most recent favorite princess is Tiana from “The Princess and the Frog,” so celebrating Mardi Gras was super fun for her! Reece of course had a great time playing with his friends and all of Nathan’s toys!

And just because I can sometimes be a little sentimental about my baby’s growing up so quickly, here is a link to our Mardi Gras celebration from last year!

Happy Mardi Gras, everyone!

Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue

Our last night at Disney World we went to see Uncle Bo play Johnny Ringo in the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue! It is an amazing dinner theater with lots of delicious southern food and great entertainment at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort! Reece loved all of the dancing and being able to watch something while eating all of his fried chicken. Sarah Ann thought the show was hilarious, and she really liked it when Uncle Bo did the hokey-pokey! Uncle Bo also got to come see us during the show and introduced Sarah Ann and Reece to everyone in the audience! It was such a fun evening and a wonderful way to our magical vacation! We can’t wait to go back!

saturday at the park

Animal Kingdom

Did you think I had forgotten about the rest of our Disney trip? Believe me, I have definitely not–and the kids most definitely have not either! They still talk about it daily–they are so ready to go back!

On our final day we went to Animal Kingdom, and the kids had an absolutely amazing time! This was also Nanny and Pops’ first time going to the Animal Kingdom. It was a beautiful and very fun day!

We spent the morning in Dinoland USA. Sarah Ann and Reece rode the TriceraTop Spin and loved playing in the Boneyard Playground! They were so proud of themselves for digging up bones! Nanny and Mommy rode a little roller coaster, while Daddy and Pops played on the playground too! Then we went to watch the Finding Nemo musical–it was absolutely wonderful! It kept Reece and Sarah Ann’s attention the entire time, and Finding Nemo is now definitely one of their favorites!

After Nemo, we made our way through Asia and stopped for lunch in Africa! Sarah Ann and Reece really liked the African drums they got to play, and we also go to see a little African dancing too! Once we finished our lunch it was time to take our fast passes and head out on safari! It was so neat to see so many different animals up close. Reece’s favorite animals were the giraffes, and Sarah Ann was beyond excited to see a baby elephant walking behind his mommy! We saw hippos, cheetahs, lions, rhinos, gazelles and several other animals too!

By the time we were finished with our ride, Reece was sound asleep on Nanny’s shoulders, so we decided to take the train out to the Rafiki Planet Watch area. Reece took a little snooze and then he was ready to play again! We got to see lots of different animals, pet some sheep and goats, and learn how important it is to protect all of the animals in the world! Sarah Ann really liked taking care of the goats–she was not scared at all which kind of surprised me, and I’m so glad Reece was awake on the train ride back because he has quite the little obsession with trains these days!

Next up was the Jammin’ Jungle parade, and we had front row seats! The floats for all of the different animals were so creative, and Sarah Ann and Reece really liked being able to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, and Rafiki! We watched the parade right in front of Camp Minnie and Mickey, so that we could get right in line for the Lion King show once the parade was over. Sarah Ann received the movie for Christmas, so we were really excited about taking the kids to see it! They loved all of the costumes, singing, dancing, and acrobatics–and we even got to sit in the elephant section! Hakuna Matata is by far their favorite song! The show was a great way to end our fantastic day at the Animal Kingdom!

14 Days of Love, Part 2

The past few days have been filled with lots of love and lots of celebrating! It was so much fun seeing Sarah Ann’s excitement over sharing Valentine love with her friends and hearing Reece tell everyone, “Happy Va-tine’s Day!”

Monday morning we had some friends over for a little Valentine play date. We had a great time playing, snacking, and crafting! Sarah Ann loves anything to do with crafts, and Reece loves anything to do with food–so they were quite happy! All of the kiddos exchanged Valentines–it was so sweet, and Reece couldn’t wait to get into the candy! Sarah Ann really enjoyed looking at all the little cards and asking who each one was from. We are so thankful for all of our friends!

Monday evening “the girls” got special treats from Daddy. Mommy received a dozen red roses, and Sarah Ann received her very own pink roses! She was beyond thrilled–she definitely is Daddy’s little princess! Jeffrey sure does know how to love and spoil his girls!

Tuesday was filled with lots of love and special time too! While Sarah Ann was at school, Reece and I went on a little breakfast date to Chick-fil-a! I even let him eat a brownie for breakfast, since he kept trying to grab it while we were ordering! We had the whole play area to ourselves, so I went down the slide with Reece a few times, and he thought it was absolutely hilarious! It was such a sweet time, and I am so thankful for that precious and wild little boy!

Sarah Ann had a special Valentine’s party at school on Tuesday, and she was so proud of the new red dress she wore! They celebrated with cupcakes, books, songs, crafts and sharing more Valentine’s with their friends! Once Reece was down for his nap, Sarah Ann and I spent some time looking through all of her Valentines and crafts–I love how excited she gets about everything!

Tuesday night the babies celebrated with Nanny and Pops, while Jeffrey and I spent the evening together! We enjoyed an early dinner at Carrabba’s and then went to the movies. Our Valentine plans over the last 9 years have included lots of different restaurants, activities, shows, and trips–but I love the time we get to spent together, and I love my valentine more and more every year! I’m so glad he’s mine!

So, our 14 days of love might be completed, but my prayer is that we will continually fall more in love with Jesus and through Him love each other better and better all year long!

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. ~I Corinthians 13:13

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day from our precious little loves, who continually remind us of the sweet love the Lord has bestowed on us!

We hope that you all have a very special day filled with love and sweet moments!

But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.

~Psalm 103:17-18

14 Days of Love, Part 1

You know me, I love to plan activities, playdates and events for any and every occasion…so this year I decided to do “14 Days of Love” as a countdown to Valentine’s Day. With the kiddos, we made and decorated 14 hearts that each had a different activity on them. After we complete the activity, we turn the heart over to find a different Bible verse about love on each heart. I haven’t done a great job of taking pictures, but here is one from our Valentine movie night last week, and you can see the hearts on our mantle.

Our activities so far have included making several crafts, reading Valentine books, making Valentine’s for our friends and family, making Valentine cookies, taking a pink bath, wearing pink and red to dinner, going on a Valentine candy treasure hunt, and having our family Valentine’s day celebration! Sarah Ann has been loving the countdown and is so excited about celebrating Valentine’s Day–and Reece is just mostly enjoying all the candy he’s been eating!

Saturday was the day we celebrating our family Valentine’s day! It was a day full of cuddling, playing, and enjoying the time together. Sarah Ann and Reece started off by giving Jeffrey and I a great present–by playing in their beds by themselves and letting us stay in the bed until 9:30! It was amazing! After we all finally got out of bed, we spent the rest of the morning putting together and playing with the babies’ new scooters! Of course it would finally decide to become winter the weekend we are giving them new outdoor toys–but we braved the wind and cold so that they could ride their new scooters for a little bit! Reece is still trying to figure it all out, and Sarah Ann is pretty cautious–but they have been super excited, and I know they will be all over the cul-de-sac soon!

After naps, quiet time, and a lazy afternoon, we headed out to Moe’s for our Valentine’s dinner–Sarah Ann and Reece always pick Moe’s or Chick-fil-a when we give them the choice of where we are going to eat! Once we were done eating, we took Sarah Ann and Reece to see “The Muppets!” Sarah Ann and Jeffrey actually got to watch the whole movie, and from what I hear Sarah Ann spent most of the time dancing in the aisle. Reece did a great job for an almost 2 year old, especially when he had popcorn to eat, but we also spent a good amount of time playing in the lobby! But overall, it was a great little outing, the movie was cute, and it was a special way for us to celebrate with the little loves that God has so graciously blessed us with!

Sarah Ann Favorites :)

Sarah Ann still talks about Disney World on a daily basis! Since I’ve been working on posting about our Disney adventure, I decided to ask Sarah Ann about some of the favorites from our trip. I love hearing her talk about all that she saw and what she remembers! Enjoy…

Mommy: Sarah Ann, what princesses did you meet? And who was your favorite?
Sarah Ann: We saw Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel. Sleeping Beauty said we had matching dresses, and “Tangled” was my favorite!

Mommy: What was your favorite ride?
Sarah Ann: I liked the tea cups. I didn’t like any rides that went in the dark.

Mommy: Who did we get to see Uncle Bo play while we were at Disney World?
Sarah Ann. Um, the Prince. Belle is your favorite, but I like Sleeping Beauty.

Mommy: What was your favorite food we ate?
Sarah Ann: Pizza at Pizza Planet! They had games and rides, and the food was yummy!

Mommy: What was your favorite show we saw while we were there?
Sarah Ann: I liked the scary Monster’s Inc. laugh show. I slept in the Lion King show, and Reecey slept in the Beauty and the Beast show. Nemo was fun too!

Mommy: Who else did we see at Disney World?
Sarah Ann: Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Mickey, Minnie Mouse, Pooh and Tigger. But I don’t like seeing them close.

Mommy: Do you want to go back to Disney World?
Sarah Ann: Yeah! On Thursday!

‘ohana and a late night trip to the castle

after our fun day at hollywood studios, we were all ready for a delicious dinner! we were able to go back to our resort to rest and recharge a little bit, and then we headed to ‘ohana, which is jeffrey’s favorite place to eat at disney! he had been looking forward to this dinner for weeks! ‘ohana means “family,” and all of the food is served family style–it is soooo good! nanny loved the shrimp, while daddy, reece, and pops ate as much steak and pork as they possibly could! i’ve told you before, reece loves to eat meat! sarah ann and mommy enjoyed the food too, but mostly the atmosphere, and sarah ann really enjoyed getting to do the limbo and dance in a parade around the restaurant with maracas!

‘ohana is located at the polynesian resort, which is right near the magic kingdom. since we were so close and reece took a late evening nap, we decided to take a late night trip back to the castle! we rode the carousel and “it’s a small world” a couple times each, and the kids were so giddy the whole time! jeffrey bought them both light up toys, and they had fun taking them on the rides with them. during one trip on the carousel, reece had “buzz sit in my wap!” so sweet! as much as i like routine and bed times, it was so worth it to stay out late as i watched sarah ann and reece’s sweet smiles light up the entire magic kingdom!

Love is…

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I Corinthians 13:4-7