Ballard Bunch

Here you go, Mags. I got my sister's pics from Disney, and they were so great. Thanks, Caitlin! Walker brought his Peter Pan costume, since Lucy had several princess dresses she was bringing. People kept calling him Robin Hood! Jason and the kids with Pooh at Crystal Palace She just couldn't resist!! Lucy LOVED the Tea Cups Shrimp Chips from Japan at EPCOT Playing in the water at EPCOT (Elizabeth, you are to blame for me allowing my children to do this in the their clothes. I remembered your pics of your kiddos playing in the puddles on y'alls vaca and couldn't tell my kids no. Luckily, I had extra clothes in my bag. They did enjoy it!!!) Pluto and the kiddos The kids room at the house we rented *First time off property at Disney World. It worked great for our big party. I loved having a kitchen and laundry room available!!! Carousel- always a favorite. The one and only- Mickey Mouse!

I tried to get this post out before we left for vacation, but it didn't happen. But, I don't want the fathers and grandfathers to get overlooked, so here it is! Again, we are incredibly blessed to have our family live close, and to be able to see our fathers on their day. We had Jason's family over Saturday night for Mexican food, per Papa's request. Papa and his boy, givin taters Stickin close to Aunt D Playing with Uncle Jeff Sunday morning, the kids and I made a crumb cake for Jason for breakfast and gave him his annual photo calendar. The kids made their cards for Jason this year. I asked them questions about their awesome daddy and they told me what they thought. Here is a sample: Why is Daddy a good Daddy? (Lucy) He loves me so much. What is Daddy's favorite thing to do? (Lucy) Getting home and eat and talk. What is your favorite place to go with Daddy? (Walker) The zoo. Why is your Daddy a good Daddy? (Walker) He's not a bad daddy. I like it when he wres...

Walt Disney World June 2008 WOW!! What a great trip we had. It was such a fun week, I don't think I could have envisioned it going better. The kids were really good on the plane, and it was just as magical as I thought it would be seeing the kids reaction to the BEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!!!!!! Gotta do Dumbo if you've got little ones- and they loved it!!! They also loved it when it was called Aladdin's Magic Carpet and Triceratops Spin... Gran and Walker playing Pirates after riding Pirates of the Caribbean Enjoying Daddy's Turkey Leg She was so excited to see Belle on the same night she wore her Belle dress! My big boy going on Splash Mountain! Meeting Pooh during Breakfast at Crystal Palace Dancing and hugging Minnie at Mickey's Backyard Barbeque. The barbeque was a first for us, and it was GREAT. The food was really good, the entertainment was fun, and the kids had a blast getting to be up close and personal with the characters. Highly recommended!!! BYE! We had a gr...

Our incredibly official countdown calendar. We are getting excited, can you tell?? I thought this was a great excuse to try to teach the kids about calendar, time, etc. They have known all year that "after Father's Day is Disney World", but now that is close, I am going to see if they understand the countdown concept.

Caitlin and Sydney have been with us the past few days, and we have been having a blast. The kids are in heaven! They love their aunts very much, and I love the help!! Caitlin brought her Wii, which we love to play, and she brought the new game, Wii Fit. It is so fun, and the kids can even do it! Walker and Lucy love the soccer game, and the running. Walker also loves to try to do the tight rope. Doing yoga with me Hula hoop with Jojo

Friday morning was Craft Day, not my fortay, but Michael's makes it so easy to put stuff together, and it's not too expensive. They had fun anyway. Before After Before Working Hard After

Rachel Kerbel !!! Ok, lucky lady. I will ship your prize in the next few days. Thanks to everyone for "playing"!! Happy Cooking!

Oh, I cherish this time. For some reason I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, but I felt refreshed and not aggravated. I got up, made coffee and started some laundry. I got to have a cup of coffee and nice conversation with my sweet husband (about Disney World- less than 2 weeks!!). Then, he left for work and now I am at the computer and the house is completely silent. Oh, man this is nice. You just need some of these quiet times every once and a while. Thank you, Lord, for my incredible life. I am so blessed. My kids are healthy, we have a roof over our head, and a family that loves us and lives close. Thank you for these quiet moments, that you know I need so much. Sometimes I have to remind myself to stop and thank you, to be appreciative for all I have received. Your love is an incredible thing. Amen.

I have always like roasted potatoes (ok, so I've always like pretty much ANY kind of potato), but recently we have started experimenting with our roasting and trying more things. And, this is a great way to get the family to eat more veggies. Favorite things to roast- 1. Fingerling potatoes- toss in olive oil, salt and pepper 2. carrots- this is my NEW favorite thing. Chunk them pretty big, and again, olive oil, salt and pepper is all you need. They get soft, but not too soft, and nice and sweet. 3. onions- I love how sweet they get, great with carrots. 4. zucchini and squash- yum and very pretty, adds lots of color to your plate. 5. corn- I spread it with butter, add salt and wrap it up in foil. My favorite dinner to make right now is roasted chicken and veggies. I do a big baking sheet and cut chicken and veggies all about the same size. I slice up some onions, too. I season the chicken with either Emeril's essence or Paula Deen's house seasoning, and toss everything with...