Good Stuff

Here is my "good stuff" list for the day:
--clean floors
--clean bathrooms
--LOVING everything I am learning from here
--Friends like Jessi who help me with all my photography questions
--a new modem which means the Internet hasn't timed out ALL day. It is heaven! About 10 times in 5 minutes, it would time out and we'd have to wait.
--For Brian, we got cable yesterday. We have never had cable the whole time we've been married, but we got it today. Mainly, we (Brian) got it for the Suns' season. The only benefit I see is that last year, he would want to watch the games, so he would go over to someone's house who had cable and watch it. Now he can be home. And I guess HGTV and a clear channel 3 and a few other channels are a benefit, too. And we have caller ID now, which is so strange. I don't know if I like it.
--I have mutual tonight--looks like we will be playing basketball with the priests (16-18 year old boys) and having ice cream sundaes after.

Talk soon!
Erin

Winter Trip

Brian and I just decided last night that we are going to take a trip up to Utah. Neither of us have been up there lately and the girls have never been. The Trimble family in West Jordan is going to have a reunion on Nov. 25th, so we finally made up our minds that we would go. We are going to stay in our time share in Park City and probably freeze our buns off. I am not looking forward to the drive up, but I think it will be a really fun time. We are planning to take the girls to see all of Temple Square (the Christmas lights will be on), we want to go to several temples, Gardner's Mill (for me!), other shopping and more. If you have any suggestions for fun things to do in the winter with kids, let me know!! We saw some sleigh rides they offer in Park City, so that would be fun, but we need suggestions! We plan to stay a week; we'll see how long the girls last (and Brian and I)! Off to look for some thermals and jackets and blankets and gloves and scarves, etc!!! I am totally not a cold-weather girl!

First Camping Trip

Eliza went on her first camping trip. Brian took Eliza up to Cherry on Friday afternoon and they came home on Saturday afternoon. On Friday, they set up camp, ate beef stew for dinner (Brian said Eliza ate a ton!), roasted marshmallows and watched the new Barbie movie in the tent. Brian said he was cold during the night, but Eliza wasn't and slept like a log all night. In the morning, they made a fire, had donuts, ate S'Mores, hiked up to see some Indian ruins, then drove through several smaller towns on Old Senator Highway and came home. She said she had a fun time but she didn't like having to go to the bathroom out in the open.

So on Friday night, Libby, Ellie and I went to Target and Old Navy and drove around looking at Halloween decorations. On Saturday morning we went to Becky's house to make cards for the young women birthdays for the year. Brian and I went on our date in the afternoon, then later, I went to Becky's again for a scrapbook night. I didn't do any work--just talked--and it was a great time.

Eliza doesn't have preschool on Monday or Wednesday, so that is a bummer. Hopefully we can find some fun things to do to pass the time. She said she wants to go to Campbell's and get a treat. I told her I was thinking more along the lines of something "free." We'll see what we find to do.

Happy Columbus Day.

Lately

Let's see...
On Wednesday night for mutual we went to the temple visitor's center to watch the Joseph Smith movie, which was amazing! It was very powerful and intense.

I went in the playroom yesterday and saw Eliza's Halloween costume all laid out perfectly. She loves it and takes great care of it.

The other picture is the result of what happens when Libby finds the package of Bubble Tape in the diaper bag and finishes it off. Look at that wad!

I ended up getting the soundtrack to High School Musical from iTunes. I have wanted it for a while, so I finally splurged and got it. We love it!

We broke out Elf and watched it a couple of nights ago and laughed our heads off. That movie is a classic and so hilarious. Watch it if you haven't seen it!

That's all! Have a great Friday.

One More Down!

Yesterday I had a huge deadline with having to get all the projects written up for an upcoming book so I could mail them off to be photographed. I had been so busy with other stuff I hadn't hardly had any time to get to them before last night. But I got them done and even though I was in bed after my early-bird friend, Kristi, probably had been asleep for 6 hours, I still got some sleep! So I am feeling pretty relieved today after the Fed Ex man came and picked up all eight boxes.

Other than that I have been feeling well. I was kind of sick at the beginning--more than I've been with any other pregnancy. I thought at first it might be a boy since I felt so different. But, alas, we get another sweet girl. And after how Eliza and Libby have been lately, I'll take another girl. They have been great and sweethearts.

I got Eliza's Halloween costume yesterday. She is going to be a cowgirl and a very cute one at that. Today she got some darling cowgirl boots that will just be the finishing touch. Libby is excited to be Cinderella. We have the dress, so I think we just need to get some "glass" slippers. And Ellie will either be a basketball player or a cheerleader.

Tonight we went to Sonic for dinner and if you haven't had their new Philly Cheesesteak sandwich you have GOT to try it. It is so, so good. I loved it. And it definitely is big enough to fill you up. Brian and I both loved it.

Happy rest of the week.

Lots of Pink!

We thought it was about time to share our big news since I can't hide it much longer. We are expecting ANOTHER girl. Yep. That is right. I am pregnant and due on March 5th. I am 18 weeks along, and we found out last week it is a girl. I was a bit disappointed at first but am excited now and it will be fine that we will have 4 girls. Brian was excited from the beginning. We told Eliza and Libby today and Eliza is sad that it isn't a boy. She said, "I love boys when they are little." She is excited though, and Libby couldn't really care less one way or the other. We just hope this baby is as great as Ellie. If she is, then I think I will survive!

In other news, my board "meeting"/party went well tonight. The food was great, the meeting part went well (although the husbands slacked in their duty of cleaning up dinner) and the games were a hoot and a lot of fun. I am just thrilled it is over. Now I can breathe a little easier.

Finally, Eliza and Libby love the show Big Comfy Couch that is on channel 8. They really love that show and have started acting out the show. For the past couple of days, they have had me tape them on our couch doing the show. Wow--they have a lot of that show memorized. It is very cute. I've attached pictures of them on the "couch."

One to Go

I forgot to mention the "One to Go". Someone commented that she wanted to see what I'm doing for the board meeting, so I took some pictures. Hopefully no one who is going to be there reads my blog so I don't ruin the surprises. Heck, I think only about five people read my blog, so we are okay!

My theme is "Back to School" and the invitations were done on a library card in a library pocket decorated very simply. Tomorrow night we are going to start with a dinner that is "school-ish." We are having sloppy joes (very homemade, thanks to my sister-in-law!), on homemade buns, with french fries, vegetable, capri suns, all in tray-like plates. At the end we are having dessert which will be little ice cream cups and brownies. After we eat dinner, the husbands are going to clean up and the leaders (wives) will have the "meeting" part of the night. For that I made little pocket portfolios with handouts/notes in them. I used Carol Wingert's concept from the Creative Escape class (thanks Carol!) and folded those cheap pocket folders from Target and wallpapered them with paper. I printed off the notes, folded them in half lengthwise and stuck them in. We are going to talk about four different "subjects": math (lost sheep--one and 99; budget, etc), English (reading scriptures, handbook, nouns: us, Young women, etc), science (experiment upon the word) and social studies (working the crowd at mutual and at church, not letting any girl feel alone or left out, etc). After our meeting we are going to play some getting-to-know you games with the spouses and we'll have dessert. As a favor, I covered the fronts of composition books to give to each leader.

Over the top? Probably. Fun to do and think about? For the most part. (Thanks Mom or the ideas) No, it was fun, but I will be glad when tomorrow night is over! I might be able to think a little straighter. ...Except that I have a huge writing deadline for Autumn Leaves for another book. I have to send all the projects back on Tuesday, so I will be writing furiously in every spare moment!

One Down, One to Go!

Young Women in Excellence was last night and it went pretty well. I hope the parents thought it did. The room looked great and so did the red carpet the girls walked in on. Everything went smoothly though and it was just a fun night for the girls to share what projects they had been working on. I included a picture of the room and one of the red carpet (with Kayleen--my awesome Laurel president--striking a pose!).

Artists in Residence

I had this post all typed out and was uploading it, when something happened and, whoosh--it was gone. So here is the Reader's Digest version.

--After much begging, Libby and Eliza got to make a little project using my stickers, paper and rubbings that I used on the stuff I am doing for my "meeting" for the young women leaders. For the past couple of days, they used their stickers and paper, but, of course, they wanted to use what I was using. So they got their wish and had a blast as you can tell from the pictures. Libby LOVES to use the brayer. She helps me out with that anytime I need to glue something down. She is there with the brayer going right over the top of it!

--Today was a whirlwind day:
-went visiting teaching
-bug man came and sprayed (hope we have less crickets!)
-picked up a new set of mailbox keys (lost ours)
-went to a school book fair where my mom was volunteering and the girls each picked out a book
-went to Sunrise Mountain and watched my cousin Katelin and our babysitter Sarah play in their volleyball games. They both won!
-trying to psyche myself up for another whirlwind day tomorrow!

Turning A Corner?

For the past several days, Eliza has been such a great, sweet girl. I am hoping we are turning a corner. Not that she was "bad" before, but she would definitely have her moments of slight defiance and also being mean to Libby. But lately, she has been so accommodating and helpful to me and very kind and helpful with Libby. It has been great. Who knows how long it will last, but I am going to enjoy it while it lasts. And when Eliza acts like that, Libby is so much easier and better behaved as well. It has been great.

Yesterday was the Primary program at church. Eliza did her part perfectly! I was nervous that she would get nervous and not do it, but she went up with her class and said her line. Her cousin, Abby, said her line, too, then as she was getting off the stand, she did a "hee hee hee" laugh. It was so funny. Today Eliza even said it was fun doing that. Tonight we are going out for ice cream to celebrate her bravery (really it was a bribe).

A couple times last week, I have enjoyed a nice cup of hot chocolate. I love that the weather is finally cooling down and fall decorations are in the stores. It puts me in the hot cocoa mood! ...not to mention that the girls have had me put on kids' Christmas songs. I love it!

This is a big/busy week. On Wednesday, we are having our Young Women in Excellence for the girls. And on Friday is the YW board meeting I have been planning and working on for the past month. I hope the ladies enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed doing it.

Happy Monday. And I had to include a cute picture of Ellie. On Saturday, she donned her first ponytail!

Sappiness

Do you ever look at your kids and wonder what they will be like when they are teenagers? Or spend part of your date night talking about what they will be like when they are older? Well, we do. We just wonder what their personalities will be like and what they will do for extracurricular activities, what trials they will give us, what happiness they will bring, etc. We think Libby will be a natural at anything she tries and also not afraid to try anything. She is just happy-go-lucky about everything and good at everything she tries. We think Eliza will also be good at what she does, but she will have to work at it a little more since she is quite the perfectionist. I think she will make a great nurse because she is so empathetic and helpful to people who are hurt or sick. And Ellie...well, it's hard to tell. I think she'll just cheer everyone on and be happy for everyone in whatever they do. Sappy, I know, but sometimes when I look at my girls that is what crosses my mind. I hope I am doing a good job so they are nice young women and do the right thing.

Today we booked our tickets for the Polar Express. They were all booked for overnight packages on the weekends, so we are doing a weekday, but it still will be a ton of fun. Although I am a little nervous about taking Libby. I mentioned something about it tonight and she cried and said she didn't want to ride a train or be cold. Here is Disneyworld all over again. I hope she can get some courage before December!

Family Haircut Night

Last night we went to Lindsay, my hair girl, and I got a hair cut and so did Eliza and Libby. This was Libby's first haircut ever! I posted a before (white shirt) and after picture. We kept it long, but she just evened it up a bit. And Eliza just got a trim. I even had to talk her into that. She was afraid if she got it cut she couldn't have long hair. But she was excited to get the "dead part" trimmed off. And I got some way-blonder highlights than I was expecting. I knew she was going to do some blonde since we both thought it looked good, but it is very blonde! I got home last night and Brian said, "Hi blondie." He likes it, but you can definitely see a difference.

Sorry for the quick post, but we are off on our date night.

Catching Up

I've been slacking on my posts here, so here I'll attempt to catch up on what has been going on.

Eliza started preschool last week and is enjoying it. She loves to make new friends and tells me every time I pick her up who she made a friend with. On her first day, she said she was just a little nervous and then said, "I think my heart is doing jump rope in there." I think we have another writer on our hands! I also think she will be a budding photographer. Yesterday she got the camera and said she wanted to take a picture of Libby. So as I was going to rescue the camera, I saw that Eliza had set up a backdrop in front of the window...it was her little studio. (I took a picture that I included here).

Libby has been well...Libby. Active, all over Ellie, cute, sweet, etc. She is just fun to have around. As much as Libby is all over Ellie, Ellie really loves to play with her and get chased by Libby.

Ellie is still crawling around everywhere and pulling herself up. She hasn't attempted any steps yet, so we'll just wait and see. She did get a fat lip yesterday (notice the picture). I was gone doing some young women stuff, so a babysitter was here, but apparently she was crawling and must have gotten ahead of herself and bonked her face, putting her teeth into her lip. So sad! I feels sorry just looking at her!

Brian is busy with work and working out. He has been going faithfully every weekday morning to either swim laps or to the gym at the resort across the street. I am proud of him for keeping at it!

And I am trying to keep my head above water! ha ha. A couple of books that I've worked on finally came out and I got my copies. My favorite though is Quote, Unquote Vol. 4. It's the one full of lines from movies. The other book is Designing With Color. There are three other books in the works now, so that is keeping me writing away. Other than that, I have been busy with Young Women stuff, such as invitations for Young Women in Excellence and for the YW Board Meeting we are having at the end of the month. I am excited about that one. It is going to be a back-to-school theme, and I have a lot of fun stuff milling around in my head. I hope I can do it all or at least most of it!

Let's see...what else. Oh yes...Creative Escape. We had a great time at this event. There were lots of special little things that we got like bubble bath and pink popcorn in our rooms at the end of the day, specially decorated room key, CE flip flops, lots and lots of free stuff and some great projects. I loved hearing Allison's photo class again and being reminded of what I need to do when taking pictures. She got me excited to do more with photography. The best part of the whole weekend though was just hanging out with friends. We had a group of about 8 of us who were in the same group and ate our meals together, etc. It was great and just a fun time to be away and relaxing. (I actually did get to relax during the meals!).

And I am so excited that it is finally cooling down in the evening. Last night we went out front with the girls while they rode bikes and played with the other girls in the neighborhood. I think Libby and Eliza liked riding in those little Jeeps that kids can drive. Eliza took a turn at driving and let's just say I'm glad we have a few years before she will drive a real car. But it nice to be outside, enjoying the weather and seeing the kids play.

That's all for now!

No Life and a Tuesday Funny

An update from the weekend: we went to game night, but I didn't take Life. Eliza decided to--right before we left--get out the game and strew the pieces all over the playroom, so I wasn't about to clean it up and take it. It worked out okay, because we stayed busy playing Apples to Apples, Spoons and Scattergories.

Today at Wal-Mart, Eliza pointed up high and said, "Look! It's a two-headed bike." I looked up and saw a tandem bike. I guess her name was appropriate--and funny!

One day and counting until Creative Escape! I am looking forward to it, although I'm not sure how much relaxing I will do. Eliza drew me a picture today, gave it to me and said, "I don't want you to forget me while you are gone on your trip." Sad.

This morning I watched High School Musical for the first time. Yes, it's a teeny-bopper type flick, but I loved it. I have been singing the songs all day. I think I will watch it again soon. (That is great for me considering how much I love movies!)
Off to bed..it's been a long day!

Randomness

Just a few random things and some random pictures on a Thursday...

--Libby is loving all her birthday presents, but she has really enjoyed Cariboo. It's a Cranium game, where you find colored balls ("treasures") and use them to open the treasure box. It's a fun game for kids. They have played it numerous times since she got it on Monday.

--Eliza had her "meet the teacher" tonight for preschool. She is excited and asked, "Can I start tomorrow?" (It doesn't start until next Wednesday). :(

--Libby wanted me to get down the "Life" game from the closet. I tried to discourage her because it's not really a little kids' game. Well, she persisted and I gave in. So I had a blast from the past and played a couple games. The girls kind of played (they liked filling their cars with kids), but I had way too much fun playing. I forgot how much I loved that game. We have game night with Brian's siblings tomorrow night and I think I'll bring that game. I don't think I'll have any takers, but you never know!

--Found out my brother and sister-in-law are expecting their third baby in April. Eliza is already bugging to know if it'll be a boy or a girl.

--Can't believe it's already September tomorrow. Before I know it, it'll be Halloween, Thanksgiving, then Christmas! Yay!

--A new month also means a new garden at 2 Peas.

--I came across a quote I loved the other day. It made me think about my friend Leslie. It's by Lisa Brennan-Jobs: "Friendship must be an exchange of wisdom, not just company. That goes against what a lot of people think. But I like being alone, so any friendships have to be meaningful and not just a way to pass the hours." I am grateful for her meaningful friendship! I don't really like to be alone, and I like being able to have great company, but I like the gist of the quote.

--Libby is really getting what prayers are all about. She has for a while, but tonight while she got her bath, she was playing with the bar of soap and she got some in her eyes. I tried to wash them out and dry them, but it hurt her for a little bit after. Well, when I was getting her to bed tonight, she said her prayers and in part of it she said, "Glad my eye could feel better." How cute!

--It's almost the weekend. Then next week is Creative Escape! I am so excited and need the "me time!"

Happy weekend.

She's 3!

Today was Libby's third birthday! And I think she had a really fun day and enjoyed being the center of attention. This morning Brian took the girls swimming, then after he went to work, I took the girls to the mall. We had pretzels for lunch and then they got to play in the play center there. We also spent some time in the puppy store looking at the puppies. (no--we are NOT getting one!) But that was a really fun time. Then tonight after dinner and family home evening, she got to open her presents from us and from my parents. She loved everything and had fun playing with it. It was hard to pull her away for bed.

She enjoyed looking at her vanilla cake, but she didn't eat any. She said, "I don't want the frosting on it." Strange! We scraped the frosting off, but she still didn't want any. And I bought Neapolitan ice cream and she liked all but the "pink", so we had to scrap around that part. So funny and picky at age three!

Need a Realtor?

I'm putting a plug in for my brother, Brian, who is growing his real estate business. If you or someone you know is going to be buying or selling a house or land, give him a call. He is very friendly and a great people person and will work for you to sell or buy a home. Here is his website: http://bmabee.com/. Give him a call!!!

In other news...it rained this morning and I loved it! We got a lot of rain and it was so nice to have it overcast and cloudy for a while. The lightening and thunder were a nice change, too! I could handle every morning like that. The girls are excited today to go to the pajama party that the kids' center is having at Frys'.

Weekend

This weekend was pretty busy. On Friday night Brian and I went out. We went to dinner at Abuelos, then did a little running around. On Saturday morning, I went to the Preparedness Fair that our stake put on. It was excellent and I learned some new things. I want to start bottling ground beef. If I could have that like I have my bottled chicken, I would be in heaven! That way we wouldn't lose all our meat like we did a couple of weeks ago when the freezer in the garage stopped working. Ugh! Chrystalyn also inspired me to want to make bread. Hopefully when Eliza starts school I can get another hands-on lesson from her and have success.

That afternoon Brian took the girls swimming, then he helped out with a move in the ward. That night I had a young women/young men activity at Sunrise Mountain pool. Woosh! It was a busy day.

Then Snnday was a good busy with a meeting and church and dinner at my parents' house. For young women's, our class is in charge of the fireside in October, so if anyone has any good ideas, send them to me! We can't think of what to do!

In an unrelated note, I came across and interesting recipe that I'd never heard of before. It's from this blog, (we are of no relation even though we have the same first and middle name) but you simply take two heaping spoonfuls of creamy peanut butter and plop them into a tub of Cool Whip. Mix it all together and you can either just eat it or use it to frost a cake or something. Doesn't that sound so good!?!?!? I think I'll have to try that sometime.

Here's to a great week.

Service Auction Update

The service auction was a success. We had a real auctioneer, and it was so amazing to hear him do his work. Wow--something I don't think I could ever do. I don't know how he gets his mouth to go that fast. There were a lot of great things to bid on, but I ended up winning a swimming lesson session for next summer from Sarah Updike. She has done Eliza and Libby's swim lessons for the past 2 years, so it'll be great to have one free next summer! It was a great service to give. Donise Price won my photo session. All her daughters will be in town in a couple of weeks, so we are going to do their photos. I am excited since they ought to be easy subjects and will hold still! Kristi Rogers and Leslie Wright won scrapbooking with Becky and me. I told her she already knows what to do, but I think she has some plans for us (like produce as many layouts as possible that night). It will be a blast hanging out and chatting. Oh wait--Kristi said there won't be any socializing that night--just working!!!

But it was a fun night and the cupcakes were yum. I also LOVED Leslie's caramel bars. I brought one home for Brian, but it didn't make it to him. Oops! I ate it while he was at basketball. I need some more or at least the recipe! So good.

Service Auction

Tonight for our Enrichment, we are having a service auction. This is one of the best nights each year. I can't wait to see who gets my service and what service I win. I decided to donate two things. I am donating one photo shoot and then Becky Higgins and I are doing a "Learn How to Scrapbook" night with Becky and Erin. We will do an evening of instruction, inspiration and treats. The winner can bring up to four friends and she also gets a selection of our books. I think it will be fun!

And for my treat, I am bringing "Cupcake Surprise". I've included the recipe if you want to make them. I actually haven't tried them, but I'll let you know tonight how they are.

Happy eating!

Cupcake Surprise

1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (18.25 oz) pkg. chocolate cake mix

Preheat oven to 350° or to the temperature recommended on the cake mix.
Prepare chocolate cake mix according to package directions, but do not bake. In separate bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until well blended, then stir in chocolate chips.
Line cupcake tins with cupcake papers. Fill 2/3 full with chocolate cake batter. Add 1 teaspoon cream cheese mixture to the center, and top with more cake batter.
Bake according to package direction for cupcake. Cool and frost with chocolate or cream cheese frosting.

Jet Lag and a "Home Helper"

We only went to Florida which is just a 3 hour time difference, but I am STILL feeling the jet lag from it. I think I might be over it today, but for the past week, it has been to bed early and up early. One night I went to be at 8 PM, which if you know me, is totally unlike me! But when 6:30 came, I was up and at 'em and not really tired. So that was nice. We were home late last night from my aunt's house so everyone slept a little longer, so maybe we are finally over it, but wow--I can't imagine what will happen when we go overseas and have a major time difference.

Item #2:
This afternoon I took the girls to Frys, then we stopped at McDonald's and I got them an ice cream in a cup instead of a cone. As we were driving home, I heard a snap, followed by a cry from Eliza and one from Libby. I was like what is going on?!?! Eliza was crying because Libby had bitten and broke the spoon and her lip was bleeding. And Libby was crying because it probably hurt. Once I pulled over and got her cleaned, up, Eliza talked to Libby the whole way, trying to help her to feel better. When we got home, Eliza laid out a blanket in the playroom, put a pillow down and put a blanket on top of Libby. She put her doll by her, along with some books. She even put in a movie for her and got her a snack.

I told Eliza that she was so compassionate and explained what it meant. She said, "That's what I want to do when I get older." I said, "Oh, be a doctor?" She said, "No, I want to be a 'home helper.'" I asked her what that was and she said, someone who helps kids who are sick or hurt and brings them toys and books and Polly Pockets and makes them laugh." Well, I think she'll be a darn good "homehelper." It was really cute to see her do that.

Item #3: I've included more pictures from our trip.

More Pictures from the Trip

I will post more in days to come.

Lots to Update

We are home now from our trip and it was a great time. True, it was so, so hot in Florida was miserable humidity, but we survived, thanks to the spray bottle/fan combo my dad bought in the park. That was a lifesaver. The girls had a fun time it seemed. Eliza loved all the rides she went on except for maybe Splash Mountain that I took her on. :) It probably didn't help that I screamed the whole way down on the big drop. It was fun to visit MGM and Epcot for the first time. I wish we would've had more time in both of those parks as there were some things we didn't have time to see. But we saw and did a lot.

Libby was such a turkey though and didn't want to ride on any rides or watch any shows. If we tried to get her to do it, she would let out a blood-curdling scream and we had to take her out. It was really weird. She did enjoy the tea cups and the carousel...she rode it at least 30 times--once going about 8 in a row without having to get off. She was in heaven.

Ellie did great considering the lack of sleep. She was so happy to be in her bed when we got home though and has been taking 3 hour naps.

My mom made the girls autograph books and they were all over those the whole time. They loved meeting the characters and getting their books signed and getting a picture. Libby would have to have someone go up with her and she would stretch really far to give her book to the character, but she really enjoyed it.


Here are some more highlights:
**We (minus Libby) really enjoyed Mickey's Philharmagic show. It's a 3-D show where you can reach out and try to touch the things. They also blew puffs of air at you at certain times and little blasts of water. At a couple of times, there were some sweet scents put into the air. Eliza LOVED it. She was reaching in front of her the whole time. Libby on the other hand, cried and my dad eventually took her out.

**Downtown Disney was fun. We did a little shopping and ate lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe. Every ½ hour they have thunderstorms in the restaurant. Libby did not like the place at all!!! She was so scared of the atmosphere and especially of the thunderstorm. So we took some trips out every so often. After lunch we went to Goofy's Candy Shop and had a hilarious time looking in the funny mirrors they have that distort your body. We could not stop laughing.

**the girls, especially Libby (strangely enough) LOVED the slide at the hotel. She probably went down over 40 times. She went over and over again and had a great time.

**The boardwalk at the hotel was a lot of fun. At night, there is a lot going on--little shows and attractions and kiosks. Eliza got her hair wrapped one day and it looks cute.

**AT MGM, the girls like playing on the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. Eliza got soaked and Libby ran all around.

**We also saw a Beauty and the Beast show—that was awesome—a live musical show.

**ELiza like "Soarin" in Epcot...it's just like the one in California Adventure.

**Libby was also afraid of the fireworks (big surprise), but I feel bad because after that, I told Libby she had better get to bed or the fireworks would come on. Well, she buried her head in the pillow and went right to sleep. It was nice though not to have to fight her on going to bed.

Overall, we had a fun time, but it is great to be home! Now it's back to reality. I have three books going big right now, so my entryway is starting to stack high with boxes. Gotta go!