Disney Fantasy '14

You know it was an awesome vacation when it takes a full week to get back into the swing of reality. The Ballard family was present and accounted for in its entirety this year, as there was no baby to leave behind with Grandma, and yet, we got the bonus of Grandma joining us too! We so enjoyed these seven days in the beautiful waters of the Eastern Caribbean. We had a fantastic tour guide for St. Maarten who showed us all around his beautiful home. St. Maarten is an island that is peacefully split between France and the Netherlands. The two territories occupy the island and hold the distinction of being the smallest to exist separately on one island. That's just a small tidbit of the amazing history we learned. In addition to fantastic ports, we truly enjoyed the pools, activities, food, characters, clubs, and relaxation of this wonderful family vacation.

Super Six

Our Haley J turned six a few weeks ago. More than anything she really wanted cupcakes delivered to her kindergarten class. Her siblings surprised her with a massive balloon drop that they quietly constructed outside of the toy room while she played. She immediately opened her gifts when Dad walked in from work and wanted Fettuccine Alfredo from Olive Garden.  After returning home we enjoyed yummy cake and ice cream and everyone played with her new toys. Haley is such a fun, happy little girl. She makes us laugh constantly and says, "I love you" at least once a day. It's the best! Happy Birthday Haley J. We love you!

Cougar Craziness

Thus far the Ballard family has successfully carried out three awesome Cougar parties. We had a big conference for our church this past weekend so our party was set aside, however, with the amazing discovery of DVR we were able to return home spiritually uplifted and still watch our Cougs beat out Virginia. It was awesome! We don't need any parties to cheer on our team, but it's sure been fun to watch the kiddos support their Dad's alma mater with such excitement and gusto.

And They're Off

The kiddos headed back to school last week. We now cover 7th grade, 5th, 3rd, and Kindergarten. Ryley had a great experience with Calvert Online Academy last year and is excited to continue forward with them once again. All three elementary aged kiddos will head back for another year at Honeycutt, with Haley joining to experience kindergarten. It's been a big adjustment with all day school and her first time away from Mom, however, she loves her teacher, friends, and music class. She leaves hesitant, but returns to me running with a huge smile and hug. Azure is not excited to lose her "best play friend". She is slowly accepting me in Haley's place, although she reminds me daily that I do the animal voices all wrong. :) That statement is always followed with the question, "when is Haley home"? I foresee a great year of learning and growth!