Disney World!

Disney World was truly magical! This was such an incredibly fun and memorable family vacation. I am so so happy we finally did it! We stayed 5 nights at this amazing Disney rental that was only minutes from Disney World. The house alone was worth the trip! The kids loved all the Disney toys, games, and dress-up clothing. The pool was also a ton of fun for everyone. We spent two days at Magic Kingdom and one day at Epcot. Next time we are in Florida, we would love to explore Universal Studios and Animal Kingdom.

Here's a group photo of everyone at Magic Kingdom. Our huge group included four of my brothers, one sister, and my parents. It was so much fun to have so much family there! We missed the ones who couldn't make it!

We got there super early and were able to take a bunch of photos in front of the castle before it opened. The weather was really hazy and overcast, which made for yucky photos of the castle. But the overcast skies kept the temperature comfortable. When the sun came out the second day, we were HOT!

Seeing Cinderella's castle was a dream come true for Lorelei!

Best buddies! These two rode every single ride together and Colby helped Evan be brave on some of the bigger rides, like Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain.

Lorelei loved all the rides, but one of her favorites was the Little Mermaid ride. Her very favorite was the Seven Dwarfs roller coaster! So happy she was tall enough to ride every single ride!

and a few from Epcot...

We loved Epcot! We could have spent all day just touring the World Showcase. There are 11 countries. I wish we had time to sample food in each country, but we did have dinner in Morocco. It was tasty!

Norway was lots of fun because of the new Frozen Ever After ride. This ride was one of our favorites! Dan bought some Norwegian candy and a souvenir ball cap. He is of course partial to Norway since he served a mission there.

Sadly, I didn't get any photos of the fireworks. Both Magic Kingdom and Epcot put on incredible firework displays at night!

The last day at the Disney house, we spent the day swimming, relaxing, watching movies, and playing games late into the night. We also had a large family dinner at the Golden Corral. So grateful for this time we all had to be together! These precious memories will last forever.

sweet cousins

Love watching these two play dress-up!

Rae was very serious about her lip gloss application :)

blueberry key lime cheesecake bars

I made this dessert for Memorial Day, and it was so delicious I have to blog about it! This is the perfect summer dessert! We served it with cool whip and blueberry pie filling on top. Recipe found here.

easter weekend

Easter weekend is one of my favorite weekends. I love that it's a three day weekend and we get to spend time with so much family. We had an Easter egg hunt at our home saturday evening for all the cousins. Here's a few photos after the egg hunt...

I can't believe how tall Dario and Aiden are getting. A few years ago Elayna towered over everyone.

After church on Easter Sunday, I attempted to take a group photo of the kids in Grammy and Grandpa's backyard. Benny was being silly and wouldn't stand up. He kept hopping around like a frog.

You can definitely tell these were taken AFTER three hour church. Evan had already removed his suit coat and tie and messed up his hair.

all my sweet girls. I am so blessed!

these two...

Even with a four year age difference, these sweet boys are best buddies. So thankful they have each other!

*someday i will figure out how to widen my blog to fit larger horizontal photos.

wax museum

Evan was WWII hero Louis Zamperini for the wax museum at school. He did such a great job! We are so proud of him for memorizing all of his lines.

"Hello my name is Louis Zamperini. I was born January 26, 1917 in Olean, New York. I was a long distance runner at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. During WWII I served in the army air force on a B-24 bomber that got shot down. I survived 47 days in a life boat before getting captured by the Japanese. After my release I became a motivational speaker and I carried the Olympic torch for the 1998 winter games in Japan. I died on July 2, 2014. I continue to make a difference in the world by inspiring others to never give up!"

*he wore a cool army belt for the performance at school. we forgot it for the photo :(

Here's a photo of the real Zamperini

If you've never read the book Unbroken, I highly recommend it. It's one of my favorites.