Big Sister x3

Leah holding her newest baby brother Elias for the first time.

Dr. Leah Zombie

Today was the annual PTA Halloween party at Leah's school. It was my fourth year co-chairing the party. Every year I say I'm not going to do it but it's hard to say no to Leah. She takes great pride in knowing her mom is one of the people working on putting it together. I know it makes her happy to see me involved in her school activities.

The last few years Leah has chosen to get a bit scarier with her costumes. This year she was adamant she wanted to be a zombie. We shopped for some items and today we put it all together.

We started with getting her doctor scrub top ready. We purchased a spine prosthetic and attached it to her shirt and added some blood splatter.

 A light base of gray followed by layers of 'flesh'. Leah had a reaction to latex so we used a combination of Elmer's glue & water along with toilet tissue. Layers and layers. I added a scar appliance and then finished with the make-up.

Leah stayed in character most of the party. It was great to watch her walk around with the zombie walk and talk.

 She was excited to enter the costume contest. Here she is as one of the top four.

And here she is after winning the first place prize! She was so happy. She really would've been happy with just making it to the top four. Winning really made her night. It was well deserved.

This was our last party together at her school and it was the best one yet. It's so fun to spend the night with her being silly and spooky.

Magical Moments - Day Six

So bittersweet waking up in the awesome villa knowing it was our last morning there. Leah wanted to stay another week, as did the boys. Alas it was time to go. The kids took one last photo together at the villa.

We headed to Magic Kingdom one last time and met up with Ariel at her grotto. 

 We saw Cinderella's Step-mother and Step-sisters. They were not in a good mood.

 For brunch we rode the monorail to Chef Mickey's at Disney's Contemporary Resort. If you love breakfast and brunch foods? This is definitely the place to eat. The kids loved it. Meeting Mickey and his friends was great too. It was the perfect way to end our visit to Disney World.

 Leah messed around with Donald Duck again, she asked him "How come there isn't a Chef Donald's?"

 After brunch we took the monorail back to Magic Kingdom and then the bus back to our resort. Grabbed our bags from the bellhop and got back on the bus to head home. The kids were not ready to go. We grabbed one last pic. We are very lucky to have such great people in our lives. It was a good trip and I'm thankful that Ruth and George took us all on it. I know it is one Leah won't soon forget.

Look To The Future In Tomorrow Land - Day Five

On our fifth day we headed back to Magic Kingdom to visit the other half of the park. Tomorrowland ended up being a favorite for the kids. As soon as we got there we saw Stitch. Leah was overcome with joy. She loves Stitch and was so happy to go hug him.

After Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin the kids headed over to meet Buzz in person. Leah has the best time with Buzz. She asked if he could go into Spanish mode. He had her press a button and then he started to dance, just like in the movies! It was great.

We finally made it over to the tea cups, Mad Tea Party. Spinning and spinning, Leah and Gabriel couldn't stop laughing.

We went shopping for a bit and Leah wanted to get herself a tiara and she lucked out with some pixie dust too.

We headed to the Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort to a dinner and show called the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. It is a Vaudeville comedy show, full of music, dancing and corny, silly jokes. The food is good, the drinks are nonstop and the kids were easily entertained.

 Leah's favorite drink at Disney was the Pomegranate Lemonde. She couldn't get enough of it. So good. 

Caution! Wild Animals! - Day Four

After a few days at Disney Leah was feeling right at home. She slept in a little today but once awake she was up and ready to go. She was looking forward to our visit to Animal Kingdom.

We walked around and looked at the animals on the way to Dinosaur. Before heading to Disney the kids spent a lot of time watching videos about the rides at the park. One of the rides Leah and Louis couldn't stop talking about was Dinosaur. It did not disappoint. They loved it. Then we headed to Dinoland and took some pics (again) with Goofy and Pluto. Leah really liked the Primeval Whirl ride. There wasn't a very long line so she went on it a few times.

Next up was Expedition Everest, a ride I was happy to skip but Leah could not wait to get on.

We had a delicious lunch at the Tusker House. This was in one of Leah's favorite areas at Animal Kingdom. It's vibrant, full of music and dancing. There was a character buffet lunch with Donald Duck and friends. I think Leah's favorite part of this place was the dessert. Delicious, a good variety and all-you-can eat.

 We finally got to take photos with Mickey. His safari outfit was perfect.

 We spent the rest of the day walking around, went on the safari ride, watched the parade. The kids saw the Lion King show. Afterward we lucked out and there weren't any lines for the characters. Pocahontas talked the Leah and Louis about their pins and really personalized their visit with her. 

 Leah joked around with Donald Duck and asked him why everything was all about Mickey Mouse and why there weren't more Donald things at Disney. He acted frustrated and threw a fit about it. It was super cute and fun.

Chip and Dale were a lot of fun as well. Louis had a Chip pin but didn't have a Dale one and Dale acted upset. Then Louis gave him a hug and he was happy again.

 Animal Kingdom closes earlier than the other parks so we headed back to Old Key West resorts and enjoyed a visit to the pool. They had a DJ and games for the kids to play. The water slide was a favorite with all the kids. It was a great way to spend the night.