Welcome, Spring!

For those of you who have been emailing, asking for updates and, specifically, a lot of pictures ~ here you go! :)

Spring is off to a good start in the Buckler household. We have been having a lot of fun, and this post is a random assortment of a handful of the things we have been doing to stay busy. Spring has been beautiful and nice ~ except for the unbelieveable pollen this year! And that was just the first wave of "Augusta Snow" this year.

Boots has started doing something we call "Coy Eyes" on a regular basis.

We have had fun with puzzles ~ especially those with LETTERS! Boots loves her letters these days, and we can't drive down the street without her hollering out letters and colors that she sees.

Alli Lane and her new best friend :) , Lacey Kate Talley, cannot get enough of each other. Literally. They are in class together at school, in Sunday School and Church together on Sundays, and in Choir and Mission Friends (these days, known as Singers and Seekers/Servers) on Wednesday nights ~ and that's not enough! Their playdates are record-breaking, and they have a blast ~ playing outside, watching movies, doing puzzles, playing hide-and-seek, playing dress-up, princess, and everything else you do when you are a 5 year old little girl!

Alli tells me that LK is lucky ~ for several reasons. For one thing, LK has 3 older brothers, and AL has always wanted an older brother ~ hence, her imaginary brother, Damon, who is older than her (not sure how Brad and I are supposed to have managed that one ~ adoption, perhaps?) but doesn't live with us. This is what she tells people, and I have actually had people ask if we have or had a son. Uh...NO. If you ask her further, she will tell you that Damon lives in the hospital (think: that's where she thinks her Daddy lives, so that makes sense) because he has the flu. But she clarifies for us that LK has real brothers, which is apparently even more cool than a pretend brother.

The other reason LK is lucky is that both of her parents are doctors. Apparently, I haven't proven myself as capable of taking care of the daily boo-boos that plague us these days, because she seems to think she needs her Daddy to "fix" it every time, saying "But Mommy, he is a doctor and will know how to take care of me!" Well, LK is lucky. She has a Daddy who is a doctor and a Mommy who is a doctor. AL has a Daddy who is a doctor, but he is gone all of the time, and her Mommy is "... (exasperated sigh) just a Mommy."

;)

Okay, once again, I am having trouble with blogger not rotating some pictures. So, bare with me, as the next 2 are sideways.

And yes, you can go ahead and make fun of me. Yes, I have my dogs in rain coat and (gasp!) booties. And no, I am not generally a person who dresses her dogs. But, I am desperate. I have 2 children, 2 dogs, and a house on the market. I am in real need of anything that will keep my house clean and not smelling of wet dog!

Another plus: they do look pretty cute ~ and they will at least bring a smile to your face. :)
Behold ~ Stanley and Doc, in all of their rain-geared glory!

When the pollen isn't completely unbareable, we spend time outside. We have been grilling out a lot.....

...and playing in the backyard.

I've been picnicking with the girls several times, as well. Here are some pics from one gorgeous afternoon at Covenant ~ a church playground we frequent!

The dinosaur, better known as "Tree-ah" that AL has loved to ride since she could walk!

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY, ALLI LANE!!!

March 16, 2010:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY SWEET, PRECIOUS GIRL!!

I cannot believe you are five years old!

Everyone deserves a cupcake for breakfast on their birthday!

Alli Lane had a birthday party in her classroom at school. She asked for Double Doozies, so that is what I brought. They are always a hit with these kiddos! :)

Ms. McGlone's Pre-K Class (PK3):

For supper, Alli Lane asked to eat at Teresa's Mexican Restaurant, which is only a mile from our house, so we are there all of the time! She and Boots both insisted on wearing their princess costumes from Disney. :)

Every girl needs a dance with her Daddy every once in a while.

This was absolutely precious ~ they all 3 danced and danced.....

When we got home, we ate cookie cake (another request ~ ahhh... her mother's daughter!) and opened presents.

One of her favorite gifts was the pink "silk" peignoir set we gave her. She looks like an angel when she wears it, and she feels so fancy and grown up!

After a birthday like this ~ beginning with Disney, and ending with an entire day of special fun ~ who wouldn't be grinning from ear to ear?! :)

Happy Birthday, my precious baby girl! You know your Mommy loves you and your sister more than anything in this world! You are my heart, you are my joy. I can't believe you are 5 years old; the time is flying by so quickly ~ too quickly. I thank God every day for the special, most wonderful gift of you.

I love you, Alli Lane!

DISNEY WORLD ~ Every Princess's Dream Come True!

The girls, all loaded up in the stroller for a day at The Magic Kingdom....

Brad and I have been wanting to take Alli Lane to Disney World for her 5th birthday for a long time, and thank you, Dede, for making that come true! We went to Disney in early March to celebrate AL's fifth (!!!) birthday ~ and we all had an absolute BLAST!

We stayed at Bay Lake Towers, at the Contemporary. It was very nice ~ we had a condo with plenty of room, easy access to the Monorail, and just a short walk to the front gates. We were there for 3 nights; we decided that for this first trip with the girls, we would just do the Magic Kingdom, and not try to do all the other stuff. It was the perfect decision for us. We spent the first day doing the park, and the second day, we had AL's special birthday lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table, where we met all of the princesses.

Disney does it right. AL had a button to wear that let everyone know it was her birthday, and everyone from characters in the parade, to street cleaners, to other workers and other guests stopped to tell her happy birthday. Boots had a button, too, that let everyone know it was her first visit, so people were welcoming her to Disney at every turn.

Both of the girls' heads were literally spinning from one sight to the next, unable to take all the magic and wonderful-ness in at once! Who could blame them?! Disney truly makes everyone believe in magic!

Beware ~ this is a seriously long post. I took just under 800 pictures in the short time we were there :) so it is hard to narrow them down. I did, though, and hope you enjoy! (I apologize for some that are turned sideways ~ I havent been able to rotate them yet, for some reason.)

First stop ~ saying hello to Mickey and Walt Disney, himself.




It's A Small World

The girls loved the teacups at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party and riding high in the sky on Dumbo!

Pooh's Playground ~ the girls, being grumpy, just like Eeyore

We really did it all ~ from Dumbo, to Minnie's house, to Tom Sawyer's Island, to a few roller coasters. We had fun on it all ~ but AL especially loved the fast, roller coaster-like rides!

Dede and Alli Lane riding Peter Pan

One of the many parades ~ hi Mickey and Minnie!

CELEBRATE TODAY!!

That night, we ate at The Grand Floridian. It was wonderful and had beautiful views of the park. We saw the sunset over the water with the park in the background. Little Boots was beyond exhausted and slept through supper.

Alli Lane was tired ~ but not too tired for dessert! Dede had declared that if it is your birthday, you can eat dessert at every meal! So, she did just that! This was a special Nemo dessert ~ complete with candle, of course.

By the way, you know your child has sufficiently celebrated (and eaten enough birthday desserts) when at the end of Day 2, she is begging not to have to "blow out another candle!")

We rode the monorail back to our condo, and we got back in time to go out on the observatory deck and see the fireworks! They were awesome, beautiful!

They were, of course, playing music, as well. Alli took that opportunity to dance.... Because, sometimes, you just have to dance!

We had a slow morning the next morning. Afterall, the girls had to have plenty of time to attend to their beauty regimin. If you are going to dress up like a princess for the day, you must do it right ~ and very princess-ly.

We began with bath time.

Boots was very interested in watching AL get her fingernails painted and insisted on having hers painted, as well. For once, she sat very still while Dede did her nails.

The girls lounged on the sofa while their fingernails dried.

Very princess-like, of course.

Once she was dressed and ready, AL ~ ah-hem, I mean, Princess Belle ~ was more than happy to pose for a few pictures.

Boots, on the other hand, was a very pouty little Princess Cinderella.

She refused to pose.

Dede and two smiling pricesses!

Me, with my BABY GIRL!

When I asked her how it was possible for her to be FIVE years old, she said, "Well, Mom, that's just the way life is."

Princess Belle with her Mommy and her Daddy

(A bit put-out with me at one point after Disney, AL told me that she wished she were a real princess because real princesses don't have mommies. I told her that of course they do ~ their mommies are called "The Queen!") :)

It was a gorgeous day ~ for being a princess and for doing Disney! :) As we entered the park, there was a parade, with lots of characters and lots of music...

...and again, Alli just couldn't help herself ~ she just had to dance!

(It was hysterical, precious ~ people were literally stopping to watch her dance in the middle of the street!)

Celebrating at Cinderella's Royal Table!

We met Cinderella...

and Snow White...

and Ariel...

(Alli Lane took a moment to ask Ariel, "Do you know that I watch you on TV at my house?" Ariel said that yes, she did know. AL went on to tell her that she likes to sing like Ariel. Not skipping a beat, Ariel promised to let Sebastian know, so that next time they are looking for someone new to sing in their choir, they will consider Alli.) :)

and Aurora...

and Belle.

After a wonderful meal, we all got dessert!

Actually, this time, AL got two desserts!

Her special birthday dessert was Cinderella's Slipper ~ a milk chocolate slipper on a bed of white chocolate, filled with chocolate mousse and sprinkled with berries.YUMMY!

Alli decided this was prime time to teach Boots how to do a proper curtsy.

Princess Belle and her Dede!

Boots had curtsying down to a fine art!

Boots-style, of course.

After lunch, we headed back out into the park.

Gotta love Pirates of the Caribbean!

I hate that this one is turned! AL is riding Aladdin ~ and she was sitting up and squeeling. I love her hair here, how well her curls show, and her little tiara was beautiful!

There was a lot of map-checking along the way.

Cinderella's Castle was gorgeous at night! This is Alli Lane's favorite picture.

WHAT A FABULOUS VACATION!!!!