by Sarah | Jul 9, 2015 | All About Family, All of Us, Cystic Fibrosis, Disney, Make-A-Wish, Redefining Perfect, Special Needs
When you go to Disney World with Make-A-Wish you get to stay at the Give Kids the World Village.
The Village is a magical place where you are made to feel as if you are at home…vacation style. From the food, the pools, the games, the parties, and the visits from Disney & Universal characters–there’s plenty to do if you’re too tired for a park visit that day.
When you first arrive in the village, you immediately have no doubts this place was created for the kids and the kids alone. All the buildings are bright, colorful, and creatively designed.
You aren’t welcomed in, you’re welcomed home. After a brief intro into the amenities you’re led to your own villa. Where you can settle in and get comfortable. And boy did we.
On our first night we took full advantage of the large pool and splash pad. There’s a second, smaller and quieter pool down the road if you’re looking for just a little less noise.
The kids favorite part of every day was breakfast at the Gingerbread house. I mean, who wouldn’t love a meal eaten on a table of peppermint candies? 
(No, really, look!! <—-) They had everything from eggs, to pancakes, to donuts and Belgian waffles. Even if what you wanted wasn’t on the menu, all you had to do was ask and they’d scare it up for you. The teen was all set to sign up for bacon at every single meal.
Of course, another part that was super fun for everyone with a sweet tooth (so, everyone) was the ice cream shop–which is open for business all day long (and free, like all the food on site!). I mean, at GKTW you can have ice cream for breakfast! And yes, we might have done that on our last morning there.
Our villa was amazing in itself. Somehow GKTW gave Kennedy her dream home. Her favorite colors are purple and orange…and so was our villa! Once again designed for the kids, the bathroom attached to their bedroom was HUGE. A giant walk-in shower, a Jacuzzi tub, two sinks and plenty of space. Meanwhile Erik and I had a dinky little bathroom we could hardly be in at the same time. Thankfully we got blessed with a huge, comfy king-sized bed, which was so welcoming at the end of every night.
Every moment we were at the village felt like home. There was so much to do there, I almost feel guilty we didn’t spend more time there. It just seemed like in our week there, there was so much to see and do, we couldn’t possibly squeeze it all in.
There are so many more magical things about the village, but I know they like to keep some things to surprise those coming home for a while.
But, I will say that like everything on our trip, the Village itself was pure magic.
by Sarah | Jul 6, 2015 | All About Family, All About Kennedy, All of Us, Crap, Random, Redefining Perfect
I have this piece of artwork on my wall I made just a few years back. The wedding picture of Erik & I surrounded by our kids. On the left, pictures of them as babies. On the right, pictures of them “Current day”. Or, they were at the time.
Some days it catches my eye and totally stops me in my tracks.
At the time I made it Denver had seemed so old. Older than his sisters, who at the time were a mere one and two. He himself was just 9. The same age as Kennedy is today. 9 little years old. Now he’s a huge, attitude filled, stubborn teenager.
Molly aged in photography early. Before our eyes she became ‘model-ready’ in every single photo, with her sparkling blue eyes and perfect posing.
Kennedy tricked us. We thought we were safe with our doe-eyed baby girl. Her big brown eyes and constant laughter, temper tantrums and childlike wonder at everything, she’d for sure be our baby forever.
Then this happened.
I mean, HOW? When did she get so mature?
I try to focus on the things that keep her ‘young’.
Her firm belief in magic (not her attempts to get concrete proof of such things).
Her crazy laughter in the light moments (not the near-tween-like attitude she shows from time to time).
Her love of Monster High (not the extension into loving scary movies as well ~shiver~).
I’d just love for her to stay my baby girl for a while longer. With one leaving the nest next year, and another entering middle school…I’ll just ignore that she’s following right behind her sister toward departing the elementary school years. I’ll just ignore this stunning picture where she looks too old for her own good.
She is, and will always be, my bright brown eyed girl.
by Sarah | Jul 5, 2015 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, Photography, Redefining Perfect, Snapshot Sunday, Weekly Winners
As I miss the days of the Weekly Winners once hosted by Lotus, I wanted to start showing pictures again. Mostly because in the past few years as I became more involved in writing, my camera became a bit neglected. In hopes of reinvigorating my photography life again, as I’ve always loved taking pictures, and miss it.
I started by giving myself themes to follow, but have since decided to just go into it with my whole heart and show the best of the weeks shots and some of what happened in the week I’m showing.
Week – 6/21/15-6/28/15
A tiny inchworm we discovered outside. Tiny tiny tiny.
The Husband
Denver’s friend & mentor (& our neighbor), Marc, giving a touching speech at Denver’s Eagle Ceremony.
The Kennedy
My most interesting event this week – meeting the fascinating Mr Chen Guan Ming, the man riding a rickshaw around the world.
I did a full on photo shoot with my daughters’ and my Monster High Dolls. I LOVE these things, I admit it. My husband thinks it’s weird as hell that I love them like I do. I think they’re beautiful. These are just a few of my favorite pictures from the session.
Sweet Screams Ghoulia Yelps
Avea Trotter
Gloom and Bloom Catrine de Mew
Scaremester Clawdeen Wolf
And that’s it for this week! More to come next week…considering I get my camera back out 😀
by Sarah | Jul 3, 2015 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Cystic Fibrosis, Disney, Make-A-Wish, Redefining Perfect, Special Needs
Our whole trip to Disney and Universal was a magical experience. There wasn’t one minute the whole week that we weren’t in awe, happier than ever, and closer than ever.
We have so many tales of the fabulous magic that occurred that week. From our first day, and first stop, at Ollivander’s wand shop. There Kennedy (and her sister) were both chosen by Ollivander himself and received wands selected just for them.
Kennedy wanted to ride every ride, and proved herself a little daredevil. We covered a lot of Universal that day, and rode everything in sight. Kennedy and her sister got pictures with all of their favorite superheros.
Of course, at the Magic Kingdom there was even more magic to be had. We stopped for every photo opportunity, and the manipulations the Disney photographers manage was stellar. We started our day at the Magic Kingdom with Space Mountain and the rest of the day was just as exciting.
There are so many moments we could talk about. So many ways the trip was made magical for us. There were so many things everyone did, from Make-A-Wish, to Give Kids the World, to Universal, and Disney, that have us still talking about our trip. Moments that brought all of us so much joy.
There is one story in our week of magic that stands out above the rest. One twenty minute span of time that will be held up as the most magical and endearing of them all.
When we went to Epcot we mistakenly didn’t expect to see any princesses. Call us naïve on the behavior of all the characters that roam all of the parks. Halfway through our day we stumbled upon the beautiful Aurora. While the girls were meeting with her, the photographer let us know about all the other princesses and when they’d show up.
The photographer clued us in on an unscheduled appearance of Belle in her town clothes right outside of France. We killed some time, got some delicious French pastries (that our teen is still asking for to this day), and headed toward where Belle was said to appear.
Before Belle arrived, her photographer did. The kind lady spoke to our girls for a while, and suggested that Kennedy ask a few questions of Belle. Namely: a) What is your favorite dessert? And b) What is your favorite book?
Moments later Belle emerged from behind a building.
The beautiful princess made a beeline for my princesses. In a gesture we hadn’t seen even through all the magic of our days, she took Kennedy by the hand and kept her close as they chatted. When Kennedy asked Belle’s favorite book, Belle leaned in and whispered in her ear.
To this day, we still don’t know the answer ourselves—that is a secret held just between Kennedy and her new favorite Disney princess.
After that, Belle continued holding Kennedy’s hand, and the stories became more animated. As she dove into Kennedy’s question about her favorite snack, Belle talked about a trick Mrs. Potts once played on Lumiere, all the while still holding Kennedy’s hand.
For a good solid twenty minutes (give or take five minutes), Belle spoke with my girls. Her attention never wavering, and her hugs nice and tight.
Somehow she even got our picture shy teenager in as their very own “Beast” for a few photographs.
We saw many princesses, and some comic book heroes, but no other moment in time has stood out as much as this one. A moment in time that lingers with us, and most importantly, with Kennedy.
by Sarah | Jul 2, 2015 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Redefining Perfect
In our house the debate started years ago.
When Denver was young as we neared Christmas, Erik suggested getting him a Nintendo DS.
My first reaction? An immediate, resounding, “NO.”
After much debate, discussion, and a little cajoling, I gave in. The first child device entered our home.
From there it expanded. A Playstation, an iPod, a Wii, a tablet.
We thought our established rules were enough.
No accounts I did not know about.
NO accounts I did not know about.
I am to have access to ALL passwords, all accounts, all the time.
The devices did not stay in the bedroom.
I could take the devices and nose around at any time.
Did I mention – no accounts I didn’t know about?
I tried parental controls, but they were minimal on the early devices.
I tried communication (*side note: have you ever tried talking to a brick wall? It’s beyond fun, I promise. No, really. Come talk to my teen, you’ll love it. </end sarcasm>)
I tried prying and sneaking. Once it was known I was looking, sneak accounts were made. When I discovered the sneak accounts, more were made.
The past couple of years have been a nightmare that dissolved into all devices (including the school issued iPad) were taken away. The teen is now device-less save for a cell phone that is a flip phone–as dumb as they come.
So when the time came earlier this year to figure out a birthday present for the girls, you can imagine my immense trepidation when the husband yet again suggested, “What about tablets?”
Again the debate raged.
“Look what happened when we started down this road last time.”
“But we learned so much. We know now what not to do.”
“I know – but look what happened when we started down this road last time.”
“They won’t have internet access. We’ll have parental controls.”
“But…I won’t lose them to the devices like I did him.”
“We learned a lot.”
In the end, yes…we got tablets for the girls for their birthdays.
I made sure, despite the girls age of 9 & 10, that they had the best kid-friendly devices. I downloaded acceptable apps, I blocked internet access and everything BUT the acceptable apps (thanks to a kid-zone sort of app). So they can’t play with settings, or shop for more apps, they can’t see anything but the apps I chose for them.
They aren’t allowed to play on it EVERY day, and they aren’t allowed to play for them for hours on end. Plus, their time on the device is tracked (I can set limits, but have not yet).
I have learned from my mistakes, and while I’m still not entirely comfortable with the girls having devices, I’m much more comfortable with how we’re handling things this time.
Trust is earned, not freely given.
My noose might be tighter this time around, but experience taught me some painful lessons these past few years.
What about you? Do your kids have devices? What sort of restrictions do you place on them?
by Sarah | Jul 1, 2015 | All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All of Us, I'm A Reader, Redefining Perfect, Wordy Wednesday
In case you missed the flashing neon news flash, we went to Disney World last year. The trip included two days at Universal.
The absolute best part about that addition?
My youngest, Kennedy, had just discovered the Harry Potter movies and absolutely LOVED them. So around the time she made her wish it wasn’t just about Disney, it was about “seeing Harry Potter,” too.
Her excitement was palpable the whole few months leading up to the trip. She could hardly contain herself.
To help pass the time, I made a crazy suggestion.
Why not read the books?
And so the journey started.
Together.
We’ve had some spurts where we don’t read, but usually it’s Kennedy and me, snuggled together, getting lost in the world of Hogwarts.
It’s certainly not my usual rapid pace for reading.
It’s definitely different reading aloud.
But I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
Seeing the excitement in my baby girls eyes whenever I take out one of the books.
For Christmas she got my old Harry Potter complete set (as it was already worn and some spine breaking was all right), while I got a new set (isn’t it pretty?).
She pores over them when I’m not around (she thinks I don’t know), looking for her favorite parts.
Ron is her book boyfriend.
Hermione is her hero.
And there is nothing I love better than sharing my love of Harry Potter with her.
Everything is wrapped in the pure joy, excitement, and hope that there is a world of magic out there that she could take part in, even through the page of a book.
When you go to Disney World with Make-A-Wish you get to stay at the Give Kids the World Village.
You aren’t welcomed in, you’re welcomed home. After a brief intro into the amenities you’re led to your own villa. Where you can settle in and get comfortable. And boy did we.
(No, really, look!! <—-) They had everything from eggs, to pancakes, to donuts and Belgian waffles. Even if what you wanted wasn’t on the menu, all you had to do was ask and they’d scare it up for you. The teen was all set to sign up for bacon at every single meal.
Our villa was amazing in itself. Somehow GKTW gave Kennedy her dream home. Her favorite colors are purple and orange…and so was our villa! Once again designed for the kids, the bathroom attached to their bedroom was HUGE. A giant walk-in shower, a Jacuzzi tub, two sinks and plenty of space. Meanwhile Erik and I had a dinky little bathroom we could hardly be in at the same time. Thankfully we got blessed with a huge, comfy king-sized bed, which was so welcoming at the end of every night.
