September

Mom and dad had some fun with month with a birthday party for our friend Andre, a meeting of our "Chow Club" group at Andretti's and a birthday party for Bonnie at Il Localino.  Colin came in second place in the go kart racing at Andretti's while mom was barely not last.

Avery (5 years, 1 month) - Avery is enjoying all her after school activities.  She has been working hard for her first cheer-leading performance next month.  She is also working hard at softball though her interest level is mainly about being with friends and getting popsicles.  Avery has developed a passion for playdates and is constantly making a mess of the house with her little friends.  She has also developed quite the opinion about how to wear her hair and what to wear which makes getting ready in the morning a long process.

Parker (7 years, 10 months) - Parker is enjoying baseball.  He plays shortstop but has been itching to get behind the plate and catch.  He had a great game where we went 3 for 3 with all extra base hits, got a ground out to second and caught a pop fly so he got the game ball.  He was quite proud.  He is also doing Cub Scouts again which he loves.

Carter (9 years, 4 months) - Carter was apparently too busy this month for any pictures, most likely because he is playing on 3 sports teams.  He is really enjoying his travel baseball team.  Getting all the cool swag is probably a big reason why.  And his Flag Football team is having a great season which makes it a lot of fun.

Siblings - In sibling fun this month the boys were able to take in a Georgia Tech football game and went to a fun Braves birthday party.  Their cub scout troop also did the Flag raising before a Lovett football game and it was streamed online.  They were all so serious about it because they were going to be on TV.  Mimi took Avery and Parker to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Fox Theater and the Boys started Cotillion classes. 

September at School

Carter has been adjusting well to 4th grade.  The amount of homework has definitely increased which he laments at times but he is able to manage.  Dad got to come to Family Share one morning where he taught the class about being an Engineer and had them build paper structures to hold matchbox cars.

Parker is also having a good year.  He got to bring a bag of things to describe himself to share with the class - he chose a picture collage because he likes to travel, a trophy because he is athletic and a sculpture he made because he is creative.  Parker has to wear chapel attire this year and he obliged mom by wearing a bow tie one day!  The other pictures are enjoying a snack of Hot Buttered Toast to go with a Mercy Watson book.  And a visit from a guest author (they ahve already had 3 this year!).

Avery is loving Kindergarten and settling into the routine.  She has been fortunate to have mom and dad get to come eat lunch with her a few times, typically accompanied by Chick-fil-A.  The other picture is where she participated in a STEM project where she made houses for some animals to protect them from a flood.  She has been working very hard on her sight words and hand writing skills.

Disney Fantasy - Fun on the Ship

In addition to all the fun at the ports, there was also lots of fun to be had on the ship....

Avery went to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and chose to get made over like Princess Anna.  She was been constantly asking about it the whole trip and was excited when it was her turn.  She loved her hair and actually kept the dress on for a few hours.

Carter and dad did the Mickey 200 where you get a potato, carrot, 4 wheels and some toothpicks and you have to make a race car.  Carter's car came in 4th so he got a hat as a prize.

We joined a trick or treat group pre-cruise so one morning the kids went trick or treating to 70 staterooms.  We came home with an extra bag full of nothing but candy!

There was lots of time spent in the kids club.  Avery brought home a mountain of art and projects she made.  All of which were to special to part with.

We enjoyed the pools and splash pads.  Everyone was tall enough for the Aquaduck this time.  Mom and dad even took advantage of some free time to ride it sans kids one night.  And Avery is always a fan of watching movies on Funnel Vision by the pool.  Descendants was the big hit this trip.

Mom and dad also took time for an adult only brunch at Palo and several alcohol tastings.  Chocolate and Liquor was a unique experience.

The boys loved the sports deck playing many round of mini-golf and booking time in the Sports and Golf simulators.

There were fireworks for pirate night.  Best observed from our balcony in PJs with late night pizza and french fries.  

Lots of midship detective agency was played... a great way to get in those steps.

There was dancing with daddy and characters.

Parker discovered the specialty dessert case upon boarding and was a regular visitor.  His favorite was the Caramel Tartlette.

Animator's Palate was the kids favorite restaurant due to the entertainment.  They loved talking to Crush and the games he played.  And had a blast watching their animations come to life and dance.  

Carter loved this trip because he was old enough to be able to check himself out of the kids club which gave him new found freedom.  To help we gave him an old phone that she the ship's app on it so he could message mom/dad when we wanted and he could check out the various activities on the ship to see what he wanted to do.

It was such a fun week and the kids definitely took full advantage!  Avery was already planning her next trip as we were walking off the ship.