Delightful Disney!

I know it sounds crazy, but we really did pack up four kids (Hannah brought her friend, Anna), board a plan and head to Disney World the first week of December!  And it was a BLAST!

Hannah and Anna (try saying that 10 times fast), were two single ladies out on the town.  Figuratively speaking, mind you. But, knowing that they were of the ripe old age of 15, we felt comfortable letting them go on their own (you have to understand what a HUGE step that is for me).  I can't imagine why they would prefer riding all the roller coasters they wanted instead of standing with us in line to visit Mickey's house, but they did.  And it sounds like they had too much fun.  Just check out some of their pics! 

Lilly discovered that she was tall enough to ride anything she wanted.  So, it was one roller coaster after another for this little thrill seeker.  She even conquered her fear of all things dark and creepy to ride Tower of Terror AND Mount Everest!  No ride was too high, nor too fast.  She was in heaven!

 

Emmet was still a wee bit too short to ride most grown up rides, but that did not hinder his fun.  He had a great time visiting all the game areas and attracting all kinds of attention with his magnetic personality!  He even got to meet some X-Men and a few Jedi - though he was not so sure about Darth Vader!  Eric on the other hand was ecstatic to meet his Star Wars icon!  Even I got to fill a life long dream of touching a Storm Trooper and finally getting to feel what his costume is made of!

But the best thing for Emmett was getting to see "another" China at Epcot.  He was so excited and kept squealing that now he has TWO CHINAS!  He even met Mulan and informed her that he was from China, too:)   

Hello Harry!

For all of you want-a-be wizards, but are just plain old muggles out there, it will not be too surprising to learn that our family had the time of our lives visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios.  We hopped on The Hogwarts Express and and literally got carried away into a new world!

It really did live up to our expectations and it was fun to pretend for a day that we were at Hogsmeade.  The shops were super fun and delightful to the young (Emmett and Lilly LOVED Honeydukes),

the teens (can you say Zonkos?) and the "old" (Dervishes and Banges provided some very nice pillows for the basement, thank you very much).  But the true magic was to be found on the rides.  Flight of the Hippogriff 
 and Dragon Challenge rides were great,

but NOTHING could compare with the  FORBIDDEN JOURNEY!  It was a masterpiece of special effects that could make the most skeptical a believer!  Lilly even rode it twice knowing she would come face to face with a Dementor and a Dragon!

All in all, we LOVED living out our Harry Potter fantasies and spending a few magical moments riding dragons, hippogriffs and enchanted benches!

Fairy Magic

A Fabulous Fairy Gathering

For Lilly's 6th birthday, I secretly wanted to do something feminine and lovely.  I was so excited when she chose "FAIRIES!"  Here was my chance to girl it up and use purple and pink (a  color combination I usually try to avoid).  So, with a wave of my magic wand, a lot of internet shopping, and a little fairy dust, we had one fabulous fairy fiesta!  Feel free to fly around and amuse yourself!

Every Birthday Fairy would be lost without her wings, wand, and special birthday crown!

My first ever Birthday Crown!  Lilly LOVED wearing it!

The perfect pixie table all arranged in purple and pink

A Birthday Fairy needs her own personalized banner or else we would never know who's party it was!

I especially had fun making these fantastically sparkly Fairy Wands!

A fancy Fairy place setting

Fairies ALWAYS drink from "Crystal" Goblets!

Like always, I like the decorating, but the fairies loved the activities.  We began by putting sparkly make-up on each Fairy as she arrived.  Then they were sent off to decorate their Fairy Treasure box (later used as their take home "baggie").

After that, we played Flower Flight (musical chairs) where the girls earned their wings.

Then they designed miniature fairy gardens to prove they were ready to receive their magic wands.

  And finally we relaxed in the Fairy Bower and read a fantastic Fairy tale.

To wrap it all up, our little fairies dined on flower shaped sandwiches, star shaped cheese wands, and purple pixie grapes.

But Lilly's favorite part was her cake and presents!

Happy Birthday, Fairy Lilly!

A Little Monkey Business

It's not everyday your little boy turns four and has his first major birthday party!  It started with a little call to the wild as primates from all over the jungle were invited to help Emmett celebrate with a little monkey business.

This is just BANANAS!

Emmett was the cutest monkey in his special monkey shirt - even if it was too big!

Emmett has definitely figured out presents!

Of course planning and decorating were my favorite parts of the party!  Check out how CUTE it all was:)

Then there was the yummy food.  All "Monkey" themed of course: monkey shaped pancakes with bananas and chocolate chips, chocolate "monkey" cupcakes, chocolate monkey bars, and goody bags filled with all the banana flavored candy I could find!

Viva La France!

Some people thought we were crazy, but we just knew we HAD to go.  Here is a list of some reasons we used to convince ourselves it was a Sharp family NECCESSITY to go to France for Spring Break:

1. We needed to use Lilly and Emmett's new passports - what's the point in having them if they are only gathering dust in some drawer?

2.  Easter services at the Notre Dame is a once in a life time event

3.  Lilly has been asking FOREVER to see the Eiffel Tower - we didn't want to be responsible for destroying a little girl's dream!

4.  I've never been to Paris in the Springtime.

5.  Eric hadn't had a chance to properly show off his mission sites to his children yet.

What better reasons could we have to fly half way around the world with two preschoolers and a teenager?

Paris in the Springtime was fun, but wet.

And planning on Easter at Notre Dame ended up being one of those things that only occur in Fantasy World!  The line wrapped around the building and down the street several blocks!  Oh well, it was a fun thought.

The Eiffel Tower was a huge hit though!

Lilly's lifelong dream has finally come true!

We also visited the Louvre and gazed lovingly on The Mona Lisa!

After leaving Paris we had quite an adventure traveling around France.  We stayed in Chateaus, medieval cities, and even rented an apartment.  We saw Mont St. Michelle, Versaille, Lascoux, and many other wonderful places.  Enjoy a few of our favorite pictures!

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