Disney After Hours
I can't believe I haven't posted about this yet! Earlier in the month, Blake and I bought Disney After Hours Tickets - and let me tell you! This was the best money we've ever spent at Disney.
It's an additional ticket, but we did get a discount for being a passholder. Basically, you get access to the park 'after hours'. It takes place from 7-midnight. You not only get to experience zero wait times, but you get free popcorn, ice cream and bottled drinks. Every ride is open, just not the shows. Quite a few characters were also out for us to meet.
We are seriously considering not renewing our passes, and only doing After Hours in the future! The temperature is great. The crowds are minimal! Which is huge, considering the crowds have been unbelievable this past year or so. We literally walked on ever ride, except Slinky Dog Dash (which had a 15 minute wait.) They even let you skip the pre-shows, so you really do just walk on.
I definitely also filled my backpack with free bottled waters and sodas before we exited the park...
I can't say enough how much I love my Cricut! I don't think I got 2 or 3 days without making something. I hadn't anticipated how much I would enjoy feeling creative again! Vinyl decals are still my jam, but I've been experimenting a little bit with HTV (heat transfer vinyl) for t shirts and other fabrics! I've actually had 2 commissioned designs too. Just for friends doing their own projects, but it felt really good to save them a bunch of money.
It helps that I found a website that sells vinyl sheets for $.72!
I made myself a tank for Disney. I'm really happy with this design because I married a few designs together on my own. (You can buy a gazillion designs on Etsy, but it's always satisfying to make your own design.)
A decal for my (filthy) laptop:
A cup for my sister in law! This was my first time using foil vinyl, which looks SOOO cool. I bought quite a bit more. The rose gold foil is calling my name.
This was a gift for some family that was visiting. She loves french, and their cat is their baby. She loved this tea towel:
So, this was one of my favorite projects to date! It's a coloring t-shirt. You just use washable markers and the kids can color and recolor over and over again. These didn't end up perfect (Belle lost her nose!) but I am so excited to try more of these! Wouldn't this make a great party favor, in lieu of candy or cheapy toys?
My Niece and Nephew's Spring Break
Carter and Lennox - my sister's kids...Gia and Zane...Blake's sister's kids.
Even though spring is absolutely the busiest time for us, I wanted to make sure I got to spend time with the kiddos on their spring break. I played hooky and my sister in law and I took them to the Santa Fe Zoo in Gainesville. None of us had ever been, and it was really nice.
I thought it was funny that Carter couldn't remember what animals we saw that day to tell his parents. I do not blame him because there were Ocelots (not tigers or cheetahs), there were Gibbons (not monkeys) - lots of non-traditional zoo animals.
The Gibbons were amazing. The kids started 'ooh-ohh ahh-ahh'ing to one, and he started talking back! And then he called over his whole family! It was the neatest thing.
Carter's First Loose Tooth
So, I have to share this story. A little background though. I have this weird thing with loose teeth. I hate seeing kids wiggle their teeth. All my friend's kids have thought this was so funny over the years as they try to show me their loose teeth.
I really feel like it's because of my childhood. My mom would always trick us into pulling out our teeth. (I think this was because she hated seeing loose teeth too!) She'd be like "let me just feel it.." and then take it right out. Everytime. We fell for it everytime! I'm not saying my childhood scared me or whatever, but I just have this bad memory of loose teeth!
So, Carter has had a wiggly tooth for weeks. He also, giggling, loved to show me as I turned away! My mom and I were keeping him and his brother last week, and we both were over the loose tooth. He agreed to let my mom try to take it out, and then FREAKED when she did. The problem was it was now hanging on my a thread. It was like a nuclear meltdown. He freaked out even more when my mom said he might swallow it if she didn't get the rest of it out.
He finally calmed down enough and agreed to let me try. Well. I couldn't do it. I couldn't even raise my arm to his mouth. I went into a cold sweat and started feeling faint. I snapped myself out of it because I was holding Lennox.
Finally, mom was able to get the rest of it out. Carter also has a fear of blood-so when his mouth was bleeding the meltdown got worse. It was so bad! Mom and I just started laughing because it was such a terrible experience. I traded kids with her and I consoled Carter until he could relax!
My mom got him to snap out of it by saying let's go to the store and buy a big toy! The tears immediately dried up and he was fine. It was exhausting!!! My mom said my sister was just like that when she was little. But here he is, perfectly fine:
Family Time
We had Blake's cousin come stay with us for the weekend, and it was so nice to be together! We got to play golf, which is such a rare treat! Blake and I got really into golf when we were first married. We both have really nice clubs too. It's just so hard to devote a few hours to something like that with our current schedules. I love having family in town, because it's the perfect excuse to go do something like this.
It was a gorgeous day for it too! It's been warm here for a while, but this day actually had a wonderful breeze and it felt like spring is supposed to. One thing I love about golf is that it's slower paced, but you still get a good workout.
We ate at one of our favorite restaurants in town, and they had steamed oysters! It made me feel like summer is here!
Enjoying the little things in life.
I've been making a conscious effort to slow down and enjoy the little things. I take pictures like this all the time, but rarely share them. I thought this would be a good time to do so.
Is there anything better than fresh flowers on the dining table? I love tulips because they move around throughout the day.
I shared my hummus recipe 5 years ago! I still make it all the time. Most recently, I added fresh rosemary from my garden. 10/10 - soooo good!
My mom and I have been having lunch dates on Wednesday. I LOVE sitting outside to eat. This particular restaurant is called Little Italy, and they have the best greek salad. Mom and I always split a calzone too. Blake and I had our engagement party here, so it always makes me feel happy.
I planted a bunch of this kind of lavender plant in the yard this year, and they are doing so good! I love watching things grow.
The pugs! I actually didn't have all that many pug pictures in my camera roll this time. A rarity indeed! These guys are such a pain and such a joy at the same time. The weather has been nice enough that we leave our backdoor open in the mornings and evenings. Winston and Bailey love going out there to lounge on the couch. Meanwhile Delly sticks by me most of the time. I had to snap a picture when they were all 3 out there:
Can I just take a second to say how fortunate I feel to have chosen my perfect match? I am super sappy lately, but I just feel so proud of this guy. We are in our 9th year of marriage, but we've been in each other's lives for over a decade. Just thinking about who we were 10 years ago is crazy. It's crazy that you can change so much, but you can really grow together too. I have no problem saying he is the best thing about me. All that to preface this selfie that took many, many attempts!
You know what's funny? I have almost weekly thoughts about giving up blogging, and then I sit down and spend an hour typing up a post! There will always be something to share, I think.
Leave a comment below and tell me what's going on in your world!
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