Disney 2014

This year's Disney World trip was the trip that wasn't supposed to happen (and maybe we should have stuck to that idea).  The kid and the mom were ok with this reality, but the dad simply was not. He just couldn't imagine not going back to the most magical place on Earth and it really depressed him.  So, we decided to go one more round.

The trip started off on a bad note.  We woke up super early to drive to my parents house so they could take us to the airport.  We stopped for gas and our car wouldn't start back up.  Uh-oh.  We should have known right then that it was an omen.  My dad came down, jumped the car and then we were good to go.

Days into our trip, Jim and Kaci both came down with fevers.  Fevers that wouldn't break.  Jim wound up staying in the room for 3 days, I had to cancel appointments I had made for Kaci, and days were spent away from the park taking care of 2 sickos.  It got so bad that we had to call a doctor to come on-site and see Jim.  What was worse, we were afraid we weren't going to be able to get home because of the Ebola fears at the airport.  Yikes!  To top it off, the car still wasn't working when we got home.

In hindsight, we should have just stayed home.

We did manage to get a few pictures from our first few days at the parks.

A year passes by...

...without a single blog update.  Oh well.  No excuse to give except...umm...well...I've got nothing.  I guess the blog just stopped being a priority and life got in the way.  I need to change that ASAP.  It looks like a year recap will soon be in the works (and hopefully that will make my mom happy).

Until then....

Soccer

This year, Kaci wanted to play soccer.  I wasn't looking forward to multiple practices during the week and then games on the weekend.  Our weeks are already busy with dance class and gymnastics class so I was really not looking forward to adding one more thing to our plate.  Luckily, another dance mom pointed me in the direction of the Campbell County North Soccer League.  The beauty of Kaci's age bracket is that they only practice for 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon and then their game is played immediately after practice for 30 minutes.  Only an hour time commitment each week while she learned if she even liked the sport?  Yes, please!  The only bad part was that the league communication stunk at the beginning (poor, poor, poor communication)  Enjoy some pictures from her very first practice and game.  (And she managed to score a goal in her very first game)

Karate Club

In keeping up with the random posts (that are not following any chronological order as of right now), I found pictures from Kaci's karate this school year.  A local karate studio comes to our school for a fundraiser each year and it is a win-win for both parties.  Our students are allowed to join the "Karate Club" which takes place one a week for about a month.  The kids then get to "graduate" and earn their white belts at a ceremony at the karate studio (where many students then wind up signing up for classes).  The studio gets lots of new students and the school makes huge profit off of the club.  Due to the time commitment (and just how gosh darn expensive karate classes are), Kaci only participated in the club.  She was super excited to earn her white belt and break at board at the graduation, though.

Ice Skating

Ice skating is something Kaci had been asking to do for quite some time.  Unfortunately, it's not like there are a plethora of skating rinks in these parts to choose from.  Yes, I know they exist but farther away then I'd like to drive.  This winter, I was so happy to learn that an ice skating rink would be opening right down the road.  Kind of...

Our town hosted an event called Christmas in Alexandria this past winter.  A great deal of hype surrounded the event (but in my opinion it was somewhat of a dud).  The biggest draw was their ice rink and Kaci couldn't wait to try it.  Each time we tried to go, though, it was closed due to weather, wind, or reasons unknown.  Finally two days before it was due to close, we were in luck!  We showed up and wound up being the only people there so Kaci was going to have the whole rink to herself.  We strapped on the skates and stepped onto the ice.  Ice?  Not quite.  The ice skating rink turned out to be made of plastic boards that left a terrible film on our clothes, but Kaci had a blast (I guess that's all that matters).  We were really impressed with her natural ability off the bat.  She only fell a few times and was even spinning by the time we left.  Hopefully, we will be able to take her to a real ice rink this next winter.

Halloween

When I started uploading photos from my camera, I couldn't believe how old the pictures were.  I mean, who waits until May to show pictures of their child in a Halloween costume?  This lady right here!  

Last summer, Kaci had really gotten into the Jake and the Neverland Pirates show on Disney Junior and decided that she wanted to be a pirate princess for Halloween.  I was kind of nervous about this costume choice because you never know what the weather is going to be like on Halloween in this part of the country.  Typically, it is cold, cold, cold and I've always gotten Kaci a fleece costume from Old Navy because they are just like sweatsuits and oh so warm.  Sure enough, it was cold on Halloween this year, but it was also rainy (yuck), so she had to be bundled up in many layers underneath her costume.  

I'm Back!

I know I've said it before, but I am a terrible, horrible, no good blogger anymore.  My last update was how long ago?  Well, I am now officially finished with my 2nd Master's degree (go me!) so there is no time like the present to get back on the blogging bandwagon.

I am currently uploading all the pictures on my camera (which date back to Christmas) so I'll soon have much more to update about.  Stay tuned!