Ice skating

The girls LOVE ice skating with Uncle Caleb whenever we come to town.
(and yes we all find it ironic that we come to Florida to Ice Skate)

Cousin Thea even joined in the fun

 The boys skating

 Madison- beautiful and uneasy

 Cooper taking a lap with Daddy

All together at the rink :)

Lillian speeding by

 Momma enjoyed a coffee and watching them have fun on the ice

 Cooper was the first to be finished and was very content to sit with Momma and also watch

 He was also in charge of keeping the skaters hydrated

A fun time had by all. Until next time....

I got a LLAMA

The perfect Christmas gift to mark the journey of this past year. 

A donation to help take care of the Llamas

What better way to spread JOY then to protect the joyful animals 

A gift that brings me joy and laughter

Merry Christmas

Sending all our love to you on the this special day.

(this is the Sparkles "signature" pose.... I can't wait to reenact this when they are older :)

Christmas Pajamas

It is our family tradition to receive new pajamas on Christmas Eve and it is also our tradition to share this with whomever we are sharing the day with.

I quite enjoy the challenge of finding 5 pairs of coordinating pajamas and this year adding two additional pairs for Grammie and Grampie.
It was extra challenging to find pajamas in Indiana that would not be too warm for Florida.

After dinner, we gathered around to open this years pajamas.

Waiting in anticipation to open their pajamas

 Llamas!!!

 For everyone :)

 Lillian was a bit disappointed to not receive Llama pants

 My no picture son and his joyful father

 Decked out in our llama pajamas and ready to watch The Nativity Story (another Sparkman family tradition)
Then off to bed

 Christmas morning started with snuggles and a bit of electronics

 Then out to the tree for a quick picture before presents

Another wonderful year of memories

Magic Kingdom

By far my favorite park.

I could spent all 5 days just here.

At my favorite place with some of my favorite people

 Warrior Strong-

Riding Dumbo

Our Favorite Rides

Thunder Mountain
I love sitting in front of my sparkles (what a sad day it will be when they can no longer ride in one car) and turning around and watching them enjoy the ride (Cooper is always scared the first time but then asked to ride it again)

 Driving the cars (I think Lillian is getting the hang of it)

 Tea Cups

Of course my Cooper-man's very favorite ride (and always has been) is the People Mover 

Momma loves Peter Pan

 And everyone loves the Carousal

 Lillian's favorite is the Carousel of Progress (bad picture but the only one I got)

 The Seven Dwarfs Mine train is also a fun one

 And Madi wanted to try Space Mountain again (I think she will be a bit more caution who she sits with next time 😉)

 And of course Splash Mountain.... Nana opted out and stayed with Evelyn and Thomas is riding in the back between Uncle Sea and Madison

 My heart was full... we filled an entire boat :)

But besides the rides, there is so many other memories

Mickey Pretzels

 An extra large chili dogs

 Castle shows

 Penny pressing

 Selfies

 Parades

 Sister bonding (see the girls in the bottom left corner watching the castle show again)

 Family pictures

 Papa snuggles

 Racing to the next adventure (or away from the camera)

 Toothless smiles

 and lots of hugs

Yes the trip was exhausting and yes it might have been soon

BUT

Just as I did when I began the journey
I am choosing JOY
and I am celebrating that I have made it to this step
Surrounded by the people that I love (those with me in person and those with us in sprint) and whom love me

 Cheers to the continued journey and reaching the next milestone.