Where (we hope) the magic happens...

Oh my goodness. We're leaving for Disney World today! I have never been and Ryan hasn't been since he was a kid. We were thinking that Macauley, at 8, is the perfect age to enjoy the magic (although he has only a fuzzy familiarity with the classic characters, with more modern shows like Phineas and Ferb more on his radar). We used a travel company specializing in Disney vacations and I have a huge folder of tips and our itinerary they designed...quite a lot to take in. The company's owner visited our house yesterday morning in Mickey ears and a lanyard full of traded pins (something I guess you can do while you're there) delivered the folder and a box of pixie dust she said we could use to "make your own magic." Our flight leaves from Branson at 6 this evening. Guess I should start packing. I'm kind of information overload right now, but I'm still trying to figure this huge place out and would love any tips or suggestions (expert April Cole!). Wish I could see my Aunt Karen while we're there but it looks really far from Tallahassee... We'll be there for a week and have Park Hopper passes to do it all!

VIF: Summer Kitchen

Just some shots of my kitchen--click pictures to enlarge...linking up with Debra @ Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday...Happy weekend.

Happy Bday Catherine

Our sweet little friend Catherine Bay Rhoads turned 7 this week and planned her party all by herself with a "Justin Beiber Water Party" theme. To prepare, Macauley and I watched Never Say Never. And now I understand the phenomenon. The crowd was small, just 3 girls and 3 boys, with the water hose and oversized squirt guns as the entertainment and bagels and fruit for brunch.

We gave Catherine the Beiber notebook and an American Girls journal and some colorful pens. I also couldn't resist the cute chick tshirt at Target. Have you seen their new Vintage Varsity line inspired by vintage typefaces and graphics housed at the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum?

These two have been friends since before they even knew it...hope they always are.

Family Float Twenty-Eleven

We did our second annual "family float" and campout on the Buffalo River in Arkansas this past weekend, and despite the blazing temps, the 6 mile trip out of BRO was a success. We joined our good friends the Turners and the Rhoads, my sister Lane and her boyfriend Derek, and two other families, the Lindstroms from here in town and the Barones, who were visiting the Turners from sunny (but apparently cooler) San Diego. In all we were a party of 20, with a gaggle of kids. The Barone's poor little 1 1/2 year old Chloe cried about half of the float, bugged by her lifejacket and the heat and not being able to get comfortable. Occasional tears aside, the kids enjoyed swimming in the river and playing just as much as they did last year, and this year, there was no torrential rainstorm.

The Buffalo is known for its beautiful bluffs. I like this photo of the whole gang gathered in front of one that you could canoe right up under, as Lane and Derek are below. They brought along Chuck the pug and Cricket the yorkie.

We camped 2 nights this year, and I will say that tent camping in July, at least in this party of the country, is kuh-ray-zee. I ordered the Coleman Instant Tent for Ryan's birthday in May, and it really does live up to the name. It just pops up and comes down so easily. We invested in some battery-powered fans, including a Coleman ceiling fan, and they did help, but wow, it was hot. To further exacerbate matters, our air mattress bed wasn't inflating enough, ending up in a waterbed effect when we laid down and if I turned on my side my shoulder dug into the bottom of the tent. I woke up after the first fitful night feeling like I had been in a car accident, my neck so stiff and body so sore and battered. On night two, Ryan figured out the bed inflated better if he just blew it up and we slept better, probably just so exhausted from being on the river all day.
I'm not the best of campers, but my boys sure are. I think we'd like to make another trip to this same campground this fall with our friends, when the temperatures are cooler.