Disney World...

was SOOOO much fun!!

we recently got back from our second fun-filled magical trip to disney world.  this trip was extra special because it was made possible by my grandparents.  after they passed away last year, they were generous to leave behind some of their life's savings to me and requested that i do something special with it.  i talked to my mom about it and we decided that a fun trip would be the perfect way to honor them.  my grandparents LOVED family and traveling.  we decide disney was the perfect spot.  this was a destination that was guaranteed to create lasting memories and a place where everyone would have a FUN time.  i really wanted my parents to come with us.  soooo, we all ended up in orlando, florida for a week full of family and precious memories i will never forget.

here are a FEW of the highlights of our trip...

five steps into the magic kingdom and we got to have a meet and greet with these two famous mice- mickey and minney!  a perfect way to start our magical vacation.

walking down main street usa, taking in the first glimps of cinderella's castle.

jack's first roller coaster.  we even talked nana into riding too!

day 2.  animal kingdom

our little family about to have dinner with cinderella, prince charming, her step mother and the step sisters.  fun evening!

quick night visit to epcot, just the 4 of us.

jack and olivia were thrilled to meet pluto!  he is a fave around here.

gramps FINALLY gets to join us.  our first stop was the magic kingdom.  (you can see jack was not happy to be taking another picture!)

olivia and merida.  be brave!

magical moment for jack.  he met BUZZ!!  he was beyond excited!

the buzz lightyear ride was a family favorite.  i think we rode it 8 times. 

meeting jake the pirate was so much fun!  we are big fans of his at our house.

hollywood studios was so much fun!  we loved the toy story mania ride and the stunt car show.  good times!

late night fireworks at cinderella's castle.

olivia waited a long time, but finally got to meet her favorite princess, ariel.

there are hundreds more pictures that capture the hundreds more smiles and memories we made.  it was truly a wonderful trip.  thanks millie and papa for the BEST family vacation.  :)

i heart family photos...

especially when taken in beautiful kaua'i, hawaii.  these are some of my favorites from our photo session...

our little family

the fifers

pop and b

the whole fam

my gorgeous nieces

jack and olivia

 cousins and the best of friends

crazy christman :)

pure joy

sebastian and fawne from sea light studios were so much fun and made taking these pictures one of the highlights of the trip.  their talent for capturing our personalities and the love we all share for one another is a true gift.   these are pictures i will treasure for a lifetime.

hawaii highlights...

there is no way for me to really capture in words or pictures everything that we did on our hawaiian vacation.  it was so much fun and very action packed.  sarah and i tag teamed when it came to snapping pictures, so you can check out her blog if you want to see a few more pics from our trip.  here are some of my favorite pictures and memories from our amazing trip...

waking up to this view after one the best night's sleep i have ever had!!

we went to this local favorite for a yummy breakfast our first morning.  it was de-lish!! :)

we went whale watching.  it was fun until 6 of the 10 of our family got sick.  :(  the next several pictures were all taken before the seasickness began.  pop, christman, steph, and jack were the lucky ones.

whale watching with my beautiful nieces, abby and kingsley.

jack-jack. he loved the boat ride.

mark and me.

one morning the girls, rara, and myself all went down to the lobby and learned how to make traditional leis.  it was fun!

one the best parts of the trip was just watching these smiles reappear on their faces constantly. :)

 olivia REALLY wanted see a real waterfall.  i think she wanted to swim near one, but this one was too powerful for that.  we drove up to this one.  it was gorgeous and she was satisfied.  

you can't go to hawaii and not have some hawaiian shaved ice!  yummy!!

it was a big as jack's head, but of course we did a pretty good job of  eating them up.

so those are just some of my favorite moments from our week in paradise.  sarah shares her perspective and some more of the fun we had on her blog.  check it out here.  i am so grateful for this trip and to have shared it with my bowlin and fifer family.  the memories we made we will have for a lifetime and the bound that we have is truly one of my greatest joys.  when i think about hawaii, i will think of:  the palm trees blowing in wind and lulling me to sleep each night, driving around the island and seeing beauty in every direction, playing in the ocean with the kids, tubing through caves, hanging out at our amazing hotel, playing at the pool, a luau where everyone was completely exhausted, roosters and chickens everywhere, family pictures on the beach, and every smile along the way.  what a trip!!

aloha (good-bye) kauai!!  hope to experience you again one day.  

mahalo (thank you) to b and pop for this amazing trip!!  

and we are off...

our journey to paradise begins.  we picked olivia up from school and headed over to b and pop's house.  the kids were bouncing off the walls with excitement, and i have to admit i was pretty thrilled too.  our hawaii vacation was finally going to happen.  we loaded down the car and we were off to the airport.  there we met up with mark (he was coming from a meeting.  of course, he worked up to the very last minute) and the fifers.  i didn't get any pictures of our LARGE family hauling our load through the airport or security, but let me assure you it was a TON of stuff.  i did snap a picture of the kids "carry-on" bags.  that would be 4 backpacks, 4 american girl dolls, and 2 personalized travel pillows.

of course, moonbeam, created a little something special for o and j to use during the long journey.   these travel pillows were perfect and super soft and cozy!!

once through security we all took a deep breath! (funny story-- because i wear a VERY supportive underwire bra, i kept setting off the metal detectors.  funny now, annoying and somewhat embarrassing at the time.  but because of that,  i had to get a VERY thorough pat-down to clear security.  again, funny now, a bit annoying and very much an invasion of my personal space at the time.).  we then grabbed some lunch and then found our gate so we could board the plan to LAX.

olivia and b were plane buddies on plane #1.

jack made sure to review the safety briefing card before we took off.  he was my travel buddy the whole time.  :)

about three hours later we landed in LA and had a nice long (4 hours) layover there.  the kids played in the terminal, and once again we ate, this time dinner.  (priorities people!!)

cousins hanging out, giggling over some mad libs

finally it was time to board the plane #2.  this time when we landed (6 hours later) we would be in our final destination- kauai!!  we were all smiles and so excited that we were almost there.

plane #2.  all the girls got to sit together.  they were very excited about this sitting arrangement. 

next up, five full days filled with family and fun!!!

a little r & r in mexico...

was the absolute perfect christmas gift!  after the craziness that is the month of december, we headed to the maya rivera for four nights and five days of rest and relaxation.  seriously, we did nothing but relax and enjoy uninterrupted conversation for five days.  it was perfect!!  here are the ONLY pictures i took, but they completely capture our vacation.

mark soaking up the sun.  i am now over 30 and very aware of my wrinkles so i love the shade.  :)

my favorite part of the trip was our little beach cabana where we spent most of our time.  it even had our name on it.  

here it is-- shade, a little bit of sun, the ocean breeze, the sound of the waves, and the most friendly staff.  perfection!!

and here was our view.  can you tell i loved it?

ok, i'm ready to go back.  so mark if you are actually reading this, let's start planning our next beach vacay.  thanks babe, for know me so well and spoiling me with great trips like this.  love you!!

adios cancun...

we had such an incredible time!! hope to see you again soon!

my parents were super generous and took the whole fam (our little family of four, sean, and of course nana and gramps) to a fab all-inclusive family friendly resort for 5 days. it was so much fun!!

our wonderful hotel...

it was the perfect size, had wonderful food, super service, and lots of little "extras" that made it perfect for families.

we loved...

the hotel robes, that came in adult and kid sizes!!

jack really loved his robe. he wore it everyday and got this big grin on his face each time he put it on. :)

having breakfast delivered to our room.

bubble baths in the BIG tub!

playing on the beach...

and at the pool.

getting all dressed up for dinner.

and being together with family.
thank you mom and dad for a memorable and perfect vacation. i love that i have so many happy memories from family vacations growing up and now we are making more memories together as our family grows and changes. what a special gift. y'all are the best!!

where are we going next? we are ready whenever you are. :)