Disney World with Savannah & Alyssa

Mike booked a trip for Savannah, Alyssa, & I to go to Disney World for a girl trip. He took them last year, so I guess it was my turn. I was a little sad to go without my babies, but go I did. We stayed at the Polynesean Resort. It was perfect. We were right on the monorail so it was easy to get wherever we wanted to go. I had no agenda. I just wanted to be with my girls. I haven’t been able to give them undivided attention the way I used to. It was fun to hear their ideas and thoughts.
It was fun to say, “Yes.” My can we get our faces painted? “Yes”. Can we stay until the park closes? “Yes”. Can we go to all four parks in one day? “Yes”. But we didn’t. We decided that Epcot was not our speed. Can we entertain the entire line by playing “ninja”? “Yes” These are the things I hope my kids remember about me when I’m gone.
My girls think I am the all knowing Disney expert. It’s nice that they still respect me in some regard. While we were eating dinner one night we were having a deap discussion about which character we would most want to be. Alyssa wanted to be a Princess or a Fairy because they can talk to the kids that come to see them and they get to stand in an air conditioned building. Savannah wanted to be Minnie Mouse or Piglet, because who doesn’t love Minnie Mouse and Piglet? They were astounded when I said that I would want to be the Mickey Mouse in Fantasmic. At the End of Fantasmic. What?!? Mickey Mouse?!? He’s a boy! Here comes the wisdom of me. “No, No young children. Look closely, it’s a girl under there. Mickey is too short for a man to pull it off. Any Mickey is fun, but the one at the END is the hero.” What?!? More than one Mickey in the show? “Oh, yes my little students. Let’s go watch.” The final count was 5 or 6 different Mickeys. But we all agreed that we would want to be the 2nd to last Mickey. He’s way on top of the mountain and he overcomes evil.
We had a great time. I love my girls so much. They bring smiles that don’t quickly fade away.

This young woman was visiting from Chile. She was so scared to ride the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Alyssa assured her that it was the greatest ride ever. She asked if Alyssa would please be her partner for the ride. Alyssa was a sweetheart and said, yeah sure.

Tennesee

One of Savannah’s gym meets was in Tennessee. Mike’s parents flew out to come with us. It was amazing. Savannah did a good job. She was a little overwhelmed by the whole situation. They had two different meets going on at the same time. She had a hard time focusing, but it was still fun. We booked the hotel that we thought was right outside the convention center where the meet was held. Um, nope. Luckily for us, Mike booked the wrong hotel. The one we stayed at was the “Wilderness Lodge”. We had like five bedrooms and a huge tub that was bigger than the Jacuzzi my grandparents had when I was little. The best part was the indoor water park. Everybody had a good time, me included.

Savannah

Savannah has been so busy this year. She has just completed her competition season in gymnastics. She was excited to be a prep-op gymnast. Up to this point she had always competed compulsory routines. Which meant that every gymnast did the exact same routine. This year she had her own floor music and her own beam routine, and bar routine as well. Optionals are fun. She got to show her cute personality through her routines. I’m really proud of Savannah. She is not the strongest gymnast on her team, but she is always excited for her friends and proud of herself as well. I admire Savannah. She has a strong sense of self. She knows who she is. She’s a good example to her friends and she is a missionary in every situation.

Savannah informed me at the beginning of the season that I wasn't a very supportive mom. Truthfully, there are moms that hang out at the gym the entire time their daughter is practicing. I just don't have nine extra hours in my week. But, I did sign up to be the team mom. This basically meant that I would give the girls a cute treat after each of the meets. The booster club gave me some bags to put the goodies in. They weren't very cute. So, I did a number on them. I think Savannah understood that I love her and support her, but I just can't sit around for 9 hours in the gym.

Before and After

Savannah qualified to compete in the State USAG Prep-op Gold gymnastics meet in Acworth. She did great. She got her first 9. She scored a 9.0 on beam and placed 6th in the state. We’re proud of her .

Arial View

Vault

Bars Beam

Floor
Savannah has decided to take a step back from gymnastics after this. She wants to be home with us more. She wants to be in the school play and run track. She’s going to swim this summer and decide if she wants to swim year round. She is such a talented fun girl. She’s good at everything. I’m proud of her.
Savannah turned 12 just before the first of the year which meant she could play….wait for it…..church basketball!!! Savannah has moves that church ball has NEVER seen.

She hustles better than anyone, and you should have seen the way she led the rest of the bench in a cheer.

She actually did get a lot better as the season progressed and helped the team win the Lilburn Stake championship. The weekend of the tournament Savannah was dying to have a slumber party with her friend Allison from 5th grade. Allison is a rock star basketball player and jumped at the chance to sleepover and play in a tournament. It took Allison a few minutes to gain the respect of the older girls, but it wasn’t long before the whole stake could see that she was a secret weapon. The team won 3 games in a row that Saturday. The championship game was to be held the next weekend. Savannah was going to be in Tennessee for a gym meet. This did not deter coach Amy from contacting Allison and inviting her to participate in the final game. They won the game and I think it was thanks to the missionary efforts of my oldest child, Savannah Mae. Allison and her family had a great time at the game. It gave them a positive outlook on the church. Who knows what could happen?

Savannah is a good sister. She loves her sibblings very much. She'll be a great mom some day.

Alyssa

Alyssa has been having a fun 2011 so far. The week long snow day in January gave her a chance to build a snow fort and ride 4-wheelers with her friends.

Alyssa & Hunter vs. Savannah, Chloe, & Emily

She received from Santa a guitar and lessons. Brother Mitchell from the Lawrenceville ward called us soon after the 1st of January to set up the lessons. Santa is awesome, and so is Brother Mitchell. He comes to our house every Tuesday. He had Alyssa hooked the very first week. His first question to her was, “What do you want to learn?” When she responded, “Taylor Swift and Sweet Home Alabama.” He then started playing Sweet Home Alabama. She was in awe and ready to learn. Every week before he leaves our house he takes the time to tell her how talented she is and how proud of her he is. My Alyssa thrives on positive reinforcement. I’m very grateful for Brother Mitchell. Alyssa loves to play and sing for all of her friends, aunts and uncles, & parents. Alyssa has started her spring soccer season. She has the same team and the same coaches as she had in the fall. Alyssa has been practicing during recess at school. She loves to give me the dailey report of which boy she beat on the soccer field or whos’ goal she blocked. She gets very passionate when someone interferes with the play of the game. Alyssa scored 3 goals in her first game. She has been enjoying the goalie coaching she gets during each practice. She loves to show me how dirty and nasty she gets when she’s goalie.

Keeper of the Year

Fancy Footwork

Give me the BALL!

Throw in

Not Today, This Ball is MINE!

Nice Hustle!

Coach Mike

Alyssa decided that she would like to participate in the science fair at school. She talked with her cousin Cammon about what a good project would be. She decided to test what liquid pansies like to drink. I bought 4 pansies and she labeled each container A-D. She fed one water, one olive oil, one baking soda, and one lemon juice. She thought that the one fed water would thrive the best. I thought so too. But surprise, the lemon juice did the best. Alyssa fed the plants for four weeks. When we were out of town, she arranged with Chuck Dalton, our neighbor, to feed her plants. Alyssa was very proud of herself when we went to set up her presentation. Her teacher, Mrs. Anderson, was there and very attentive to Alyssa. I love to watch Mrs. Anderson talk to Alyssa. She hugs her, she tells her that she is “precious”, she is always loving. I’m very proud of Alyssa. She’s a good girl and a light in our home.

Making her presentation board

Day 1

Baking soda, week 4