Abby gets her ears pierced and Father's Day

Our flight back Friday went fine and when we got home, Abby had a few more presents to open. We saved some of the larger ones that couldn't fit in the suitcase until last.

This is a Gabriella doll (from High School Musical).

This is Abby opening her Hannah Montana makeup. She also got Disney Wheel of Fortune and Disney Guess Who? Both games, plus Connect Four, have been a hit. We've had fun playing the games.

It was also nice to come back on a Friday so we had the rest of the weekend to rest. We went to the lake where Kevin's parents live on Saturday night and hung out for a bit. Saturday afternoon, my mom came over to give Abby her birthday gifts and to take Abby to get her ears pierced!

Abby opening more books (she was still excited).

A jewelry box for her new earrings.

And after so much time watching Abby open presents, Adam finally got a present of his own, a new book.

My mom and Abby.

Abby getting her ears marked to get them pierced.

The big moment!

After no tears, she proudly shows off her pink daisy earrings. Her face got really red for a second and it looked like she was going to cry but once we gave her a mirror and showed her what they looked like, she was very happy.

Sunday was Father's Day. Seth's gift was to go pick out a new fire pit for the backyard.

The kids with Seth.

And then back in the groove. This week was slightly busier than I would have liked for a first week back. Work was busy and then I had to move offices on Friday so I had to pack on top of everything else. Tuesday night Abby had a Girl Scouts field trip, Thursday I went to Becky Stumpf's house to meet her new baby, Hazel, and to see her newly remodeled house. Both were gorgeous. I'm so happy for them. And I warned her I might steal her kitchen because it was fantastic.

Last night, Abby had a softball game. She has one more left on July 10 and then the season is (happily) over. Today Abby has a birthday party for her friend, Sophie, from day care. Tonight Seth and I are going on a date to see The Hangover. It's supposed to be hilarious so I'm looking forward to that. Sunday, Dawn and I have plans to go to the pool or have lunch if it rains. And Sunday night, I am taking Abby to see "Annie" at the Muny with Abby K and Kaylei. Should be a fun but busy weekend. At least next week is a short week - I'm off July 3 for the holiday weekend.

Day 7 - Finishing up at Hollywood Studios and Epcot

On our last day, we went back to Hollywood Studios to finish up what we hadn't seen. We got there first thing in the morning to try to beat the heat.

They have a show called, "The American Idol Experience," and it features guests at the park who try out to sing and the winner gets to try out in front of the judges for the real American Idol. The stage is a smaller version of the real Hollywood stage. It was pretty cool since Abby and I watch American Idol together.

Abby at American Idol.

Abby and Adam at the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular Show.

Seth and Abby with their 3-D glasses on for the Toy Story ride, by the far the most popular ride at the park.

Adam with his 3-D glasses on.

Around 3, we left the park and went back to our hotel to pack and get ready to leave. We had dinner that night at Teppan Edo, a Japanese hibachi restaurant in the Japan area of Epcot. Since Epcot was within walking distance of our resort, it was an easy walk there. This is me and Adam at dinner.

This was our hibachi chef. She was pretty funny.

Seth and Abby at dinner. Abby's not the best eater, but she loves steak so she did ok.

Our chef posing for us.

The view of the boardwalk at night on the way back to our room.

Can you tell I was tired of taking pictures by the last day? :)

So that's our vacation. All in all, it was great. If I had to do it over again, I would have planned some of our dinners and breakfasts a little bit better and woken up earlier on more of the days. I don't think I would go in the summer again, even if it means taking the kids out of school. It was just way too hot. But it was a great vacation and I'm thrilled that we were able to give that to our kids.

Day 6 - Magic Kingdom Part 2

On Wednesday, we had breakfast at Magic Kingdom at Cinderella's Royal Table, which is inside the castle. We were able to enter the park before it opened and Main Street U.S.A. was nearly empty.

Cinderella's Castle.

Meeting Cinderella.

The kids with Snow White.

The kids with Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty).

Adam raising his sword...

And Abby with her Magic Wand.

Abby with Jasmine.

The kids with Jasmine.

The last cake Abby got to celebrate her birthday. She was a bit bored with the whole birthday notion by then. :)

Me and the kids riding Dumbo, one of the most popular rides at the park.

The kids with the Fairy Godmother.

Adam. Love this picture of him.

Abby and Adam (because she realized there was a picture she wasn't in). :)

This is Abby waiting in line to see the Disney Fairies. The sign at the beginning of this line said it was 75 minutes and Abby was adament that she wanted to wait. It was probably the best character meeting we did, though, because they really made a big deal over Abby. It was really cute.

Abby and Rosetta.

Abby and Rosetta.

Abby and Tinkerbell. Tink was saying she loved Abby's "petal" skirt and wanted Rosetta to make her one.

Abby and Tink.

Abby and Fawn.

Adam asleep again.

Poor guy...

Happy girl.

We had dinner at a restaurant in Magic Kingdom called Tony's, which is reminiscent of the Italian restaurant from Lady and the Tramp. The kids were loving on their daddy.

The kids in front of the Lady and the Tramp statue at Tony's. Abby looks like she's either choking Adam or keeping his head up.

Seth, Abby and Adam with Goofy in front of Tony's.

After dinner, we found a spot on Main Street to wait for the parade. Here is the castle once it started to get dark.

The crowd waiting for the parade.

The kids waiting for the parade.

Mickey in the parade.

Cinderella.

After the parade, waiting for the fireworks.

The crowd waiting for the fireworks show, Wishes. It was crazy packed.

Fireworks.

The Grand Finale!

One more day...