• Travel & Vacation: Main Street Electrical Parade & Fireworks at Disney’s Magic Kingdom (Orlando, FL)

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    Electric Lights Parade

    After dark at Magic Kingdom they do a Main Street Electrical Parade and Fireworks every night.  You will need to check the schedule for the days you want to go, but it is pretty consistent most weeks.  The electric lights parade was awesome.  Even though we squeezed in all the rides we could before the parade the kids were still able to get front row seats for the parade (thankfully it was less crowded when we went).  The parade was fascinating, the girls loved it.

    A little bit after the parade was done we found a spot to sit down and watch the lights, music, and fireworks next to the castle at Magic Kingdom.  It was beautiful.  We ended up sitting right in front of the castle and had a great view!  The kids really enjoyed it.  After the fireworks we decided to go do a few more rides which we walked right onto since the majority of people were leaving at that time.  It was a great day at Magic Kingdom.  We had a few hiccups with a couple rides and shows, but everyone took it in stride and we had an amazing time together.

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    Fascinating

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    Bald eagle, flag, and fireworks!

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    Colorful castle!

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    Beautiful castle, lots of colors, music and fireworks who could ask for anything more!

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    Blue castle and fireworks!  I lost count of the number of times the castle changed colors and the number of different songs they played during the show.

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    Red, white, and blue – The castle is dark blue with white stars (a little hard to see in this picture) and the fireworks were a bright red.  Gorgeous!!!

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    Turquoise blue

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    Pretty pink

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    The kids loved it

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    A great ending to a wonderful show

  • Travel & Vacation: Swiss Family Treehouse, Tom Sawyer Island, Hall of Presidents, and Tomorrowland Speedway at Disney’s Magic Kingdom (Orlando, FL)

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    Silly Karlie!

    While at Magic Kingdom we had so much fun!  It was great to get a chance to spend time having a grand time together as a family.  We enjoyed our adventures and exploring the various places around Magic Kingdom.  While we were in line we had opportunities to talk and catch up on the various activities that had been going on over the past few days.

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    Jake and Karlie exploring the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse

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    Hanging out with my girls at the Swiss Family Treehouse

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    Having fun

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    My handsome man

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    Hiking through the treehouse

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    Target practice… on Tom Sawyer’s Island

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    Look out!  Did she hit the target?!

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    Fun times!

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    Checking to make sure we were coming

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    Exploring

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    The girls loved this moving bridge over the water.

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    This was my view across the river when I was crossing the bridge.  Pretty, but at a funky angle.

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    Jake figured out that he could splash the water on the girls when he bounced a little on the bridge, they thought it was great.

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    Hanging out

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    Pausing for a moment on Tom Sawyer’s Island

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    Hall of Presidents Show, very educational

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    The girls enjoyed learning about all the different Presidents

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    My driver on the Tomorrowland Speedway

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    She was a good driver and all smiles!

  • Travel & Vacation: It’s a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise at Disney’s Magic Kingdom (Orlando, FL)

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    Brina and Jake riding on the boat through It’s a Small World

    The lines weren’t too long so we were able to get onto several rides, however, we had a couple hiccups with some as well.  The kids liked It’s a Small World so much that we did it 2 times.  The Pirates of the Caribbean was a little bit of a disappointment because we stood in line for an hour and were 10 people from the front of the line when it broke down so we didn’t get to go on it.  It took us another 30 minutes to get back out because we had to wait for all the people behind us leave.  The girls did well and had a great attitude despite the long wait time.  The Jungle Cruise was a fun boat ride with lots of neat sights along the way.  The kids really enjoyed it.

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    Smiling and soaking in all the sights at It’s a Small World

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    It’s a Small World banner as you go in

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    Fascinating!

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    Always something to look at on the boat ride

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    Still smiling while waiting in the long line for the Pirates of the Caribbean

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     Catching up and chatting while in line

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    Yay, found a place to sit while waiting

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    Going on the Jungle Cruise

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    All smiles on the Jungle Cruise

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    Beautiful waterfall

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    They loved looking at all the animals and sights on the Jungle Cruise

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    So much fun!

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    Our family was able to spend some time in Florida, visiting friends and seeing the area!  We got to go to Kennedy Space Center, Sea World, and Disney Magic Kingdom!  We had a blast visiting the amazing places and spending time with our friends.  Thankful for the awesome opportunities to create memories!

    Last week’s goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Prep for Summer Break – working on it 🙂
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day – didn’t do this every day we were on vacation
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
    5. Plan & go on at least one family Adventure – went on a adventure to Kennedy Space Center, Sea World, and Disney soooo much fun!
    6. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – almost made it
    2. Review my upcoming goals
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst
    4. Finish reading No One to Call Me Home by Rev James J. Close

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Work on Spring / Deep Cleaning the House – work in progress
    3. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week – didn’t get home until the middle of the week and with everything going on so didn’t get this done
    4. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk
    4. Work on upcoming speaking engagement

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Be a blessing to a total stranger this week
    3. Email the updated praises, prayer requests, and schedule to our Community Groupemailed the updated schedule and information

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – working on it
    3. Save money for upcoming trips – starting it
    4. Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – work in progress
    5. Save money for upcoming home projects – on hold temporarily

    My goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Prep for Summer Break
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
    5. Attend the Girls First Grade Program
    6. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
    7. Swimming Lessons for the Kids
    8. Confirm the Schedule / Flights for upcoming Family Reunion

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Update my goals
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst
    4. Finish The Hunger Games by Susan Collins (recommended by several friends)

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up & cleaning the house

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated praises, prayer requests, and schedule to our Community Group
    3. Feed & Serve Homeless – 1 John Ministry

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
    3. Save money for upcoming trips
    4. Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes
    5. Save money for upcoming home projects

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results