The Cotten's (Props to Kelsey Call Photography)

Monday, June 1, 2009

Disney World May 2009

We have had a very busy May! I'm excited to finally have time to post our Disney World Pictures. We got to go to Disney World for 6 days. We did all of the main parks once, and we went back to the Epcot and Magic Kingdom twice. We stayed off Disney World at a Resort called the Regal Palms. It was a 4 bedroom 3.5 bath town home with a full kitchen. It also had an awesome swimming pool with a water slide and lazy river. We took full advantage of the Kitchen. Our fridge was broken the first day we got there, but they soon fixed it, and we kept if fully stocked. It really helped save on costs to eat breakfast at home everyday, and most days we also packed a lunch and snacks to take with us. We had a really great time at the different parks. They exceeded our expectations. Chloe especially enjoyed Disney World more than we thought. We were worried that she would be scared of all the characters and the loud parades, but she loved all of it. Her favorite part about Disney seemed to be the parades. She loved to dance with all of the Characters! Candy loved all of the fast rides! Her favorite ride was the Rockin Roller Coaster! Kassidy said that her favorite part of Disney was the merry-go-round even though she was too scared to ride the horses that went up and down. She just wanted to sit on the bench that was still. She was scared of the horses on the Merry-Go-Round, but she laughed when she was riding the tower of terror. She was so brave for most of the rides, but she would always surprise us and be scared of something unexpected. Poor tenderhearted Candy was scared of most things except for the fast rides. She did not like anything animatronic. It was nice that my mother and her husband David were also able to come with us. There were times where we were all able to split up and take turns riding with the younger and older kids. Disney makes it pretty convenient with things like the fast pass and a switch pass. The switch pass is for when someone has to stay behind with younger children. After 6 fun filled days we were spent, but then we still had the 17 hr. drive back. It felt like an eternity, but it was well worth the sacrifice to have these life long memories!

The traditional family shot in front of Cinderella Castle.


Minnie's house was just the right size for the girls!



The girls could not quite warm up to Mickey and Minnie!



Ride 'em Cowgirls! (Cinderella's Carousel)

One of the coolest parades...the characters came off the floats and danced in the street.


Chloe became part of an "interactive" experience...she was tickled!



The character that resembles Candy's personality the most....LOL.


The traditional Small World Ride: Chloe thought all the dancing "people" were funny, Kassidy slept through it, and Candy thought it was full of, well, cheese.



Something new to us this time: Spectromagic! One of the most unique parades we have ever seen. All floats and characters lit up with lights!


Can't get enough photos of that icon!


True Disney marketing at its finest...attending this fireworks show really does make you think Dreams can come true! (Chills felt by all)



Kassidy is a great speeder driver, especially with her custom hair ornaments by Krissy that came about due to her destruction of her headband...Candy is trying for a new character on Star Wars...

The girls could have stayed all day at the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground...we need one of those around here.

This was Beauty and The Beast show...obviously the girl's favorite.


Hard to tell that this is one of the coolest shows...we waited out a drizzle under panchos to see it...what a great story to tell!

If you strain your eyes very carefully you can see the sorcerer's hat in the background at Hollywood Studios. Chloe was beat. This was the way most days ended with mommy carrying a very tired Chloe in my life saver the blessed sling!

Can you tell how hot it was? We were melting the first couple of days...we conveniently chose days of record heat...pbbbbbtttt! Last time we were here this time of year it was in the 70's!

Um, a little disappointed at the petting zoo...c'mon Disney you can do better than a goat?!


This awesome tree at Animal Kingdom is a great pic site...o.k., o.k., it's not real.


The girls loved Animal Kingdom with all the animal rides.


Chloe and her first Safari!



Just hangin' out with the pack-e-derms!


Despite not being in the REAL safari, Disney made it seem like were really there! The girls thought so anyway...;-)



Some creative greenery at Epcot...I dare someone to take a picture in front of every character bush at Disney World....


Another Disney icon...It seemed a lot bigger in my mind...although there is a ride that takes you winding your way all the way to the top!


We wore the exact same clothing on our return trip to Epcot...just kidding...got Ryan out from behind the camera for this one.


Disney does a great job in keeping kids occupied while waiting for shows/rides. This is a fully functional sting ray tank outside a Nemo Show that mesmerized the girls.



Mommy and the Cutest Kassidy Mouse in all the world!

"We got the whole world, in our hands...."



This is our picture from the ride Tesst Track. This was one of Kassidy's favorite rides. This was one of the only rides that almost all of our family got to ride together. It was funny, because the lady in orange sitting next to Kassidy was deathly afraid of the ride, and Kassidy kept telling the lady that it was not scary, because she had ridden before. The whole ride Kassidy pestered the poor lady saying "see it's not scary." I just thought the whole thing was comical that a 4 year old was telling a 50 something year old not to be scared on the ride! She was definitely brave when it came to fast rides!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Kick'n It With My Girls

I thought I would post a few pics of me and the girls since it's mother's day.
Kassidy and I had a great time at her preschool for the Mother's Day Luncheon. We ate a minuscule amount of food, but had a lot of fun looking at some of her art work, singing songs, and reading books together.


This was a questionnaire that Kassidy's teacher's asked her about me. They read aloud the questions and answers and had the mom's guess which one was their child's answers. Kassidy had some really funny answers. It was so hilarious!

Here is Chloe and I having fun making hats out of the mixing bowls. This kept her occupied while I put up groceries. Isn't she a cutie!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Kassidy's Preschool Class Picture

Kelsey took this awesome class picture of Kassidy's preschool class. Aren't all of her classmate's too cute! Mrs. Lyles and Mrs. Ashcraft have been really great with Kassidy this year! She has loved every minute of preschool! She always can't wait to go on her school days. Thanks again Kelsey for your great pictures!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter 09!

We had an awesome Easter this year! We got visited by the Easter bunny in the morning, and then we had a great church service! Later that evening we went over to my sister Jen's house for Easter dinner, egg hunt and B-day party for Kade and my mom. In-between all of this we took some time to capture the day on film. I want to give major props to Susie Stewart for teaching me how to make bows recently. It has been great to make bows to match all of the girl's outfits! The girls are sporting some of my new found bow making skills in these pictures and in our Bluebonnet pics as well! Thanks again Susie!





Chloe was in such a good mood on Easter. What a great Easter present!


The girls goofing off as usual.


Poor Ryan so outnumbered by all of his sweet girls! Doesn't he look handsome in his Easter colors to match the girls?


Kassidy always too cute for words.


Chloe is such a daddy's girl. It is so sweet how her face lights up when he comes home!

The girls all smiled so great in this picture!

It was raining hard before we left for church and we had a hard time getting Candy to smile for any of these pictures. She has a fear of bad whether ever since we lived in the mobile home in Austin. She did smile well here though.

It is hard to get everyone to look forward at the camera, when no one is there to get their attention. It is a sweet picture anyways.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

SPARK Easter Egg Hunt

Jenny, Gabe and I took the kids to an Easter Egg Hunt for the SPARK program. Aren't Kade, Landon, Kassidy and Chloe the cutest cousin's ever?

Candy's GS Troop

We have been really busy this month with Candy's GS Troop! I have taken on the role of being the GS Troop leader! It has been a lot of work, but it has been fun to get to hang out a lot with Candy and her friends! Luckily my Mom has been generous to help out with our troop! She has been a big support. Thanks Mom!


This is part of our troop that participate in the Trash Bash Service Project! It was great, because the girls learned that working to help the enviornment can be a lot of fun!


Recently we took the girls in our troop to our first overnight campout! Here we all are standing in front of one of the tents we slept in! The girls kept busy with activities like archery, canoeing, different crafts, camping skills, and participating in a talent show.


Candy and I had a lot of fun quality time together! It was nice to hang out at all of the activities. This picture was taken at the archery range!

This was taken after the girls had exchanged pins they had made with different troops. They are sitting behind our Madagascar centerpiece that we put together.

This is my Mom helping the girls with volleyball at the makeshift volleyball court!
We can't wait to take the girls camping again!

Candy's Teacher's Baby Shower


We have had a crazy busy month! I organized a baby shower for Candy's elementary teacher. We had 42 students and 15 parents attend! They had a fun time doing shower games, eating cake and punch and watching Mrs. Johnson open her presents for her baby Caroline! As usual Ruth Palmer did an amazing shower cake. Everyone couldn't say enough great things about her yummy and beautiful cake!