Disney Fantasy '15

In celebration of Dad's safe return home we pulled the kids from school and hopped on the Disney boat for a relaxing week at sea. We of course wanted to make certain it had "educational" experiences as well, so we took advantage of Western Caribbean hospitality and enjoyed port adventures left and right. Our first stop was Cozumel where we toured the Mayan ruins, then hopped over to the yummy chocolate factory where we learned how to make all things chocolate. Our next stop was Jamaica. Here we climbed the famous Dunn's River Waterfall. It's a 600 foot long waterfall with small lagoons and a few slides along the way. It was an awesome experience, in which not one of us fell (intentionally) during the entire climb. Grandma Darden and Azure stayed to play on the boat for this particular adventure, and once we showed them all of our great pictures they were glad to have done so. Kadyn and I had our first try at parasailing on this trip and we both give it two thumbs up and would return to the sky in a heartbeat. Hours of pool, beach, dance parties, and delicious dinners, we returned home with more amazing family memories to write in our journals. More than anything we are so grateful to have our family "whole" once again.

Yea and Nay

This post will be short and SWEET! Thatcher calls this the "Yea and Nay Day". Yeah, our Dad and sweet husband is finally home after a five month deployment to Kuwait!! Nay, it was the first day of school. This year we have kiddos in 8th, 6th, 4th, and 1st. That also makes this the last year that I have our "baby" at home with me, but Azure and I will make the most of it in a big way. We are so very grateful to have Steven home and for Heavenly Father's watchful eye upon us while he was away. He truly is in every detail of our lives!

Summers Sadly End

For the obvious reason of Dad's return we definitely wanted summer to end, however, we made certain to go out with a BaNg. The kiddos spent numerous days and evenings swimming with their wonderful friends. Ryley and Kadyn were asked if they would like to return back to the theatre for another week to add their voices to the teen version of Shrek. Would they ever?! It was another awesome experience for them both. Kadyn attended a week long horse camp with her good friends. They were each given their own horse for an entire week and learned how to take care of them, saddle them, and ride them. It was a fantastic few weeks to end a summer we were pretty excited to see end.

Frog and Toad

Haley J had her debut on the stage recently when she joined the cast of "Frog and Toad". She played one of the five moles and did an excellent job. Moms would find me after the performances and ask if "the blonde one with spirit" was mine. I of course said yes and then they'd end with, "well, I think she's found her niche." During her week away all day she not only found her niche but also learned how to run her pump all by herself! We had practiced at home prior to the play and the new administration in charge of the theatre was "coincidentally" very familiar with T1D and pumps (tender mercy, tender mercy, tender mercy) so this little thing took charge of herself and made certain her sugars stayed level. It was an awesome experience for her all around.

Now He's NINE

This cool kid turned 9 years old a few weeks back. We celebrated with our good friends at the movies, then returned home for cake, ice cream, and Thatcher's favorite part....PRESENTS! This little boy has been such a blessing to our family. He's sandwiched in between two girls on both sides and does a wonderful job of being brother, protector, and playmate to all. Happy Birthday Thatcher Boy!

Fun Fourth Celebrations

Kadyn baked, then we headed over to our good friends the Rodriguez family to swim, eat, play, and watch THE best fireworks show EVER! Joe and his neighbor really outdid themselves this year. I'm not kidding. They'll have to get a permit (and a large stadium) for anything bigger. It was AWESOME!