Vernon Volumes text

Vernon Volumes text

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

100 days of school for Connor


Connor's school celebrated their 100th day of school this week. Connor's class assignment was to decorate a T-shirt with 100 items. Connor initially wanted to do buttons, but then we came across a cute idea online to do a monster shirt. Connor loved it, so we put it all together over the weekend. It took a lot of googly-eyes, patience, and fingers burned with hot glue.


Sunday, January 27, 2013

Date night!


Our neighbor Jim put together a date night for 15 couples in our neighborhood. We all rented a 30 passenger limo bus and went out on the town to party up! We went to "Seven Bridges" for dinner and drinks and then to some bars on Atlantic Beach including Ragtime. There were quite a few people we didn't know and we really had a good time meeting everyone and seeing the town.

Great Grandpa and Great Grandma come in town


This past weekend, Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Vernon came in town to visit. We met them for dinner on Friday and then they came over to our house to see it. We (minus Paige, who was in bed) all played Snorta together, and Connor had so much fun playing with them. They stayed with Grandpa Rick and Grandma Alice at their house for the rest of the weekend, playing games and then we met them for dinner again today on Sunday. We went to Clark's Fish Camp, and got a really good table in the middle of the big room. Lots of animals to see and we all enjoyed it.


We're looking forwards to visiting with them often while they're in Florida. They are in Daytona Beach for the next few months and it's always fun having them so close. Love you guys!

Disney trip - Connor and Mommy with friends

Connor's school was out on Monday and Tuesday this past week so Connor and Mommy decided they would go to Disney! Andrea invited Gina and Janis and they brought their kids along as well. It was a fun group and Connor enjoyed experiencing the park with other kids. They went to the Animal Kingdom on Monday and stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The view was amazing from their room. There were giraffes that were right outside their balcony. Connor is at a stage where he loves animals so he loved it all.

Andrea took a bunch of great pictures throughout the trip and a video of their room too.






















After the trip, I asked Connor about it to see what he'd say. I wasn't too surprised that his favorite part was the new stuffed animals he got!


Saturday, January 19, 2013

Stuffed Animals!


Connor is crazy about stuffed animals. There's not much he loves more in this world. Usually they're all over his bed, but some under the covers and some on the floor or in the closet.

This past week, the cleaners put all the animals together on his bed and it was crazy how many there were. Andrea snapped a quick pic that we had to share.

Connor's I9 Soccer and Paige at the park


Connor's doing another soccer practice now before his soccer team starts their season in the Spring. The last season, his team seemed to digress and struggle at the end of the season so we through this would be good for him. The soccer practice is somewhat remedial, however we think it's probably good for Connor to focus on the basics and do some drills. The first 30 minutes of the practice is drills and the last 30 minutes is a scrimmage. Connor did brilliantly during the scrimmage and scored 3 goals.


There was a playground nearby and Paige enjoyed herself climbing all over it and sliding and spinning. I got some cute pictures of our cute girl enjoying herself.







Paige's first day of preschool


On Monday, January 14th, Paige had her first day of Preschool. We've signed her up for two days per week (Mondays and Wednesdays).

We were VERY unsure of how it was going to go. You just never know with Paige. Thankfully she had a good night's sleep and was in a good mood in the morning. I dropped her off and took a quick picture before we went in. I didn't stay long and tried not to make it a huge deal and she went right in without any fuss.

When Andrea picked her up she talked to Paige's teacher, who said that Paige had a great day and didn't cry one time. She'd been a good girl all day, had eaten a good lunch, took her nap, and played well with everyone.

That night before bed I talked with her about school and took a short video of our conversation.

Christmas celebration with Grandpa and Grandma Vernon


On Sunday, January 13th, we went over to Grandpa and Grandma's house for a Christmas gift exchange. They'd spent Christmas and New Years in St. Louis and Chicago, so we waited until they got back to get together.

There was a big pile of presents! The kids were very excited.


They got us lots of games and both kids also got castle toys. Paige's is a Disney Princess castle and Connor's has knights with armor and cannons and catapults. They've both enjoyed them very much and have actually played together very well with their castles.



Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We love you!

Disney - Magic Kingdom


On Saturday, January 12, we went to the Magic Kingdom for the day just for fun. We went to Connor's flag football game in the morning and then we drove straight to Orlando afterwards. We ate lunch at Uno's (yummy!) and then went to the park. It was a little bit crowded since we went on race day (marathon, half marathon, etc), but it wasn't too bad. We waited in a few lines that were pretty long, but we still got to do lots of fun things and really enjoyed our day.

Paige really wanted to see Ariel after we rode the little mermaid ride. Connor likes her too.


Both kids really love the Merry-go-round. It's a nice ride since there's never a line.









Probably our favorite part of the day was the Interactive story with Princess Belle. The kids all played a part and Connor was the horsey. They acted out the story of how Princess Belle met, and fell in love with, the Beast. It was very cute and Connor and Paige were starstruck by the princess.



Belle thanked Connor for his amazing horsey acting afterwards.


Paige didn't participate in the play, but was very thrilled to take her picture with Belle.



After we were done at the park, we went back to Uno's for dinner (yummy again!) and then drove home. It was a long, exhausting, and awesome day in Florida. It was crazy to be standing in lines in our shorts and T-shirts, a bit hot, and then read on Facebook that there was a snowstorm in Missouri.