First day of BIG SCHOOL!

Jaiden officially became a "big girl" yesterday with the start of Kindergarten (AKA "big school")!
She picked out a new outfit to wear -- green and pink pants and a matching white shirt with green and pink turtles and hearts -- and used her new polka-dot bookbag.... ah, I mean messenger bag. (She's not too keen on how to carry it though, so we'll likely get out the Dora backpack so it's a bit easier for her!)
She loves her classroom and her teacher, and she's met some new friends.. but she says, "I can't remember all my new friends' names."
She's memorizing her car pool number and remembering to check the blue folder with me every night. So.... so far, so good!
The funniest thing is, when we got home yesterday, she asked: "Do I get to go to the big school all the time?"
Ah.... yes.... little does she know that this is just the beginning...

Happy #5, J!

My baby girl just turned 5... and we had a fun-tabulous SpongeBob SquarePants birthday party at Pump It Up this past Saturday with family and friends.

All of us -- adults included -- enjoyed the "big slide"... although many ended up with some nice "burns" on exposed knees and elbows. (I guess the kids know the secret to having fun, unscathed!)

After the party, Sean and I took Jaiden to Build-a-Bear, where she created "Ballerina," her fuzzy pink bear who wears Hello Kitty clothes. We even stopped for ice cream on the way home.... we were worn out from all the fun!

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY, JAIDEN!

Graduation... from pre-school

Is it just me, or are kids graduating way more often than they used to?!? (I remember graduating from high school. But not from junior high, or kindergarten, or pre-school, for that matter!)
At any rate, this Friday is Jaiden's graduation from pre-school.... how cute! They have been practicing the "graduation song," and they will "walk." (I wonder if they'll get diplomas?!)
It is a big milestone, since Jaiden and some of her friends will be starting kingergarten in the fall. She is very excited about "big school."
So, congratulations, daughter, on your pre-school graduation!

Pirates of the... Birmingham area...?

With the much-anticipated third installment of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean slotted to hit movie theaters this month, I thought it would be appropriate to include a photo of Sean and me in the Caribbean, dressed like pirates (well, sort of!) ... at a Pirates IN the Caribbean party (from our honeymoon cruise)! What a blast!

Honeymoon highlights

So... I just realized that I never kept my promise to put up a post with some details and photos from our honeymoon!
Until now!
Sean and I had the most unbelievably AMAZING time! We embarked on a cruise to the Western Caribbean ... on the Disney Magic. And it was magic!

To name just a few of the fun things we did ... we ate delectable food all week, swam with stingrays, rode dune buggies in Cozumel, enjoyed sunsets from the ship, watched fireworks (on the boat), attended magic shows and musicals, had a "Pirates of the Caribbean" party... in the Caribbean, snorkeled at Castaway Cay and got stung by sea urchins! (Ouch! Ok. So that one wasn't particularly fun!)

Sean and I agree that neither of us has ever had such a wonderful vacation... In fact, as soon as we got home, we started planning another Disney Cruise!
Yeah. We're dreaming about it, anyway!
The fact is, crusing becomes addictive. You don't have to think; you don't have to drive anywhere; you don't have to debate about where to eat. It's pure bliss and relaxation! You can do as much or as little as you want to do....
And what FUN!

So cute, I can BEARly stand it!

Once again a post on our blog has been reduced to the utter cuteness of a baby animal. This time it's a baby polar bear... from Germany... named Knut! Oh, he's just waaayyyy too cute!

We did get married... right?

Ok. So, while it's been nearly 3 months since the wedding, Sean and I keep joking about how surreal it was... especially since we have yet to see the wedding video!
Yeah, obviously the wedding pictures are done... (as you can see from this and previous posts) but for some reason, we think that the reality will sink in when we can actually watch the event take place!
Sure, we lived the moments first hand, but the memories are mixed with a haze of emotions, planning and queasiness... ha-ha!
Simply put, the whole ordeal was so magical and so wonderful, that we just can't wait to relive it again!