Turks & Caicos 2011

We have been planning this vacation for months so we would have been really excited when it finally arrived but the Wellmann's couldn't come because Melissa is in the middle of chemo, the McCready's cancelled because her sister recently passed away, and the week before departure Jenny's boss asked her to please cancel her vacation for work!  Moral of the story is maybe it's bad luck to plan a vacation with the Maziur's!

So off we went by ourselves!  First stop was the big city.  We were laying over in NYC and excited to take the kids into the city and see my friend Genieve and her family!  I have never met her husband or her kids so it was such a wonderful evening!  Matt got to go to the official Yankees store (where it took about 30 minutes to pick something out) and we took the kids to the M&M store so Marlie could get a little treat too!  What a great start to the week!

Then it was off to Turks! The resort was as great as we imagined and the beach was gorgeous!

We were like kids in a candy store...literally!

The Sesame Street characters were all at the resort! The kids got to bake cookies with Cookie Monster and Explore the gardens with Grover.  Marlie fell in love with Abby!

We had a great time playing on the beach! Marlie could have sat in the sand and built sand castles all day! Matt learned how to snorkel and it was neat because he got to see lots of fish! Matt and Daddy could have played in the water all day!

I enjoyed walking on the beach and just tried to take it all in so I could remember it when we were back home! This is what my Heaven looks like...except the sun won't be quite as hot and you won't have to put on sunscreen! And while I'm at it, maybe my skin could be like Matt's.  It's amazing how tan he is from this trip and we use sunscreen like crazy! It's the most beautiful honey brown color. 

We only left the resort one day.  Dad planned a wonderful trip for us.  We boarded our own "ship" (as Marlie called it) with Captain Alex and Alido.  They were great.  Alido took better care of my kids than maybe we would.  He was so careful with them every second.  He chased this kids around on the boat and was so cute!  If you ever go, please go to Silver Deep and request these guys.  Money well spent!  We decided we wanted to do some fishing.  Matt caught (or I should say Alex helped Matt catch) lots of fish and Dad and Marlie caught a few too!

I think Marlie had more fun throwing the fish back in rather than catching them!

Then it was off to a beautiful beach to look for sand dollars.  This beach reminded me a lot of Great Exuma and I could have stayed here all week! Matt was the only one of us that found a sand dollar.  Alex and Alido found about 10 for us and the kids were excited!

On our way back to the marina we saw JoJo the famous T&C dolphin!  He was swimming offshore and Capt Alex sped up the boat, got him right in the wake and JoJo put on a show for us.  The kids were so excited to see him jump out of the water.  It was the perfect day!  Thanks Dad for planning that trip for us!

We spent time in the evenings at the shows and surprisingly Matt was the one who was ALWAYS on stage.  The kids danced like crazy and Matt dragged Marlie up there anytime he had the chance!

We did a photo shoot on the beach too and I will cherish these pictures.  These are my favorite...

We had a really wonderful time! I spent time studying the kids and learning their similarities and differences.  Marlie is a homebody!  She was ready to come home on day 4.  Matt could have stayed forever.  He made friends with lots of kids, even those that didn't speak English!!  Matt loved the camp and Marlie just wanted to be with us.  Matt is going constantly and Marlie will tell you when she wants to take a nap.  But at night, Matt is out like a light and Marlie tosses and turns for at least 30 minutes.  Matt wants to do everything on his own, but Marlie wants help reaching the toilet paper in the bathroom!  Marlie is thankful for everything and Matt sort of expects everything.  We need to work on that! But both kids love vacations, love dancing and love shrimp!  They must have eaten shrimp for every meal except breakfast! It was so much fun!  There are some more pics in the slideshow. I can't wait to do it again! 

K Grad

We just got back from a wonderful vacation in time for Kindergarten Graduation.  I'll update you on the trip later! 

Matt's birthday is 8/31 so he is the absolute youngest in his class.  Next year he will repeat Kinder at Fall Creek Elementary.  So I never thought we would attend this year's Kinder Graduation.  BUT...the teachers and parents said it was going to be great and so literally at the last minute I figured why not? We have already explained to Matt that he will go to Kinder again next year at a new school and he understands. 

I'm really glad we went.  The kids sang the cutest songs and the teachers put together an awesome video with pictures from the year.  The room was decorated with these cute profiles of all the kids.  Funny I spotted Matt's right away.  I guess both he and I need to work on our posture!! 

They walked in so proudly and took their seats.  Alphabetical order blessed Matt with Hannah McCready on one side and Alena Kozul on the other! Lucky guy!

Then it was his turn to get his diploma! He was so proud!

They were most excited about throwing their hats off at the end of it all.  Surprisingly only 1 went flying really high and it wasn't Matt's! 

Our fabulous room Mom got all the kid's fingerprints and had this cute pot made for Ms. M.  It was funny because Matt sort of took over presenting it to her like he did it all himself!  Oh goodness. 

I love this picture of Matt, Caden and the girls!  Somehow we missed Hannah in this pic.  After graduation Sarah (the twins Mom) said Alena was so sad that "the fun boys" (Matt and Caden) won't be at their school next year. And Caden got very sad too that he will also be going to a different school.  Unfortunately that school is not Fall Creek either! Well...I am REALLY sad about it all too.  But I know we will see Caden a lot and the girls live in the neighborhood so we will make a point to see them too.  Plus Marlie thinks the world of them!  And we like the McCready's way too much to not hop down the beltway to see them!

Afterwards, the kids wanted to go to Chick-fil-A to celebrate so we all went!  The owners treated them to milkshakes and the boys had fun chasing the girls.  I am really going to miss this group of kids and parents!!  What a wonderful year it's been.  I feel very blessed and know God put you all in our lives for a reason!

We are so proud of you Matt for working so hard this year.  You learned how to read already and add and subtract.  You write beautiful stories and draw great pictures.  You have made such wise choices in friends and have behaved pretty good all year!!! We love you more than you will ever know!  

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Hola amigos!  The kids had their Cinco de Mayo performance at school yesterday.  They were too cute! Instead of a cute pony tail with a bandana I decided Marlie was going gangsta style!  It's too cute.  I think her and I will have to wear them more often. 

 Here's Marlie getting ready for the big show with her friends.  

And here's Matt with Isabella (who he admitted was one of his favorite "girl" friends recently) and Cyril.  I was trying to get a pic with just Matt and Isabella but Matt was way too shy and Cyril jumped right in! 

The show was great.  We have learned that Marlie loves the stage.  She was singing her heart out and doing some sort of Mexican alphabet dance.  Matt did good too but since he's on the tall side, he got put in the back and we could barely see him.  Urg...oh well, the kids had fun and it was cute seeing everyone dressed up! 

Marlie's First REAL Recital

By far the highlight of our weekend was Marlie's first real recital.  She had a recital last Fall but it was small.  This was a big one at the gym at Kingwood High School.  Uncle Leon (or should I say Great Uncle Leon)  came down from Wisconsin and Grandpa came from SA. 

As you guessed I was pretty nervous.  Marlie nailed her routine at rehearsal but she has never performed in front of that many people!  As soon as we walked into the gym she said "my tummy hurts".  Bless her heart she was nervous.  But she did GREAT!  She sort of went into "deer in headlights" mode a few times but then picked back up quickly.  She was so adorable.  We could not have been more proud. 

Doug posted the video on YouTube so we could share with everyone.  It is so cute and so funny!! She is the last one to walk out.  A few cute things...notice how she puts her hand on her tummy before and during the show.  Those butterflies were really working!  Also notice how she smiles real big when she puts her hands on her box to arabesque. Then watch how she just nails the beginning and end like she's way older than 3.  Marlie you were gorgeous and adorable!  I can't wait until the next recital!!

We went home to take a nap after lunch at Marlie's choice - Pei Wei.  When we were laying down she said "Mom thanks for taking me to ballet every day".  I'd take her every day!!!