Mitchell turns FIVE!!!!!

He did it!  In my mind, he's been five FOREVER...at least he has acted like he's five, so when the day came..."it wasn't a big deal" as Mitchell said :)

But it WAS a big deal!  Our little baby.  Our first born.  The thing that made us parents.  The thing that first made us experience love like nothing else we'd ever known. Our little padawan (star wars term) turned five.

He's having a Star Wars "friend" birthday party in a few weeks, and he just happened to be wearing his number five trip during his recent Jedi Training Experience during our trip to Florida...so the pictures seemed appropriate :)

One of the attractions at Hollywood Studios is a Jedi Training Experience for kids.  First step was to get them all dressed in their robes.

Out came the Jedi Trainer

Mitchell listened intently to his training tips :) 

He practiced using the 'force' with his hands (even though the trainer never even mentioned this)...this one he picked up from the movies themselves...or his Dad.  Jacob is often known to use the 'force' to get his way around the house.

They take 15 kids at a time for the training and perform it in front of an audience once a hour.  We had to arrive when the gates opened to get him on the list.  Hectic morning!

After much discussion, the lightsabers were distributed and they all practiced using them with the trainer.

Just in time because Darth Vader was just about to take stage to battle each of the children individually!

Maverick watched on from the crowd...maybe next time he will be old enough!

When it was his turn, Mitchell defeated Darth Vader with excellency:)

Good overcame evil once again....thanks to our little padawans (jedi trainees)

They each received a secret scroll.

"Hmmm...what is this?  Maybe a flute?"

Oh, a certificate of completion!  YES!

Speaking of "YES", Mitchell had a "YES" day on his birthday.  He asked (within reason) and we said "YES!"  More to come on that....

He's made the last five years the happiest of our lives.  He's given us a great purpose and for that we are truly thankful.

Turkey Day in Philly

The five of us traveled to Philadelphia to visit Jacob's brother and family for Thanksgiving.  

I couldn't quite capture it, but it was the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen!

Mitchell earned a 10 out of 10 on the flight, Maverick earned an 8....and little Macallan got about a 2.  Yep, he was TOOOOOO busy to sit still!  Here he is pictured climbing all over my laptop that I had out for the older boys to watch a DVD.  No such luck!  Little did he know, this was really a trial to see if we wanted to take him with us on our December vacation to Florida.  He failed miserably and earned himself a week with Grandma & Grandpa!

We were greeted at Chris & Amber's house by the rest of the family -- seventeen in all!  Amber and Chris have  BEAUTIFUL home, and we did all we could to leave it that way :)

With a little help, Amber made a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving meal!  Amber provided the food...

Chris provided the entertainment....

He planted a fart machine (yes, a fart machine) under Katy's chair and a fake cockroach in her wine.  It was an entertaining meal to say the least :)

You can barely see him, but my favorite part of this picture is Chris's mischievous smile!

Ewwww, cockroach!

Macallan enjoyed his first Thanksgiving meal, & the big boys enjoyed sharing their meals with their cousins :)

With 17 people in one house, cousin Allie tried to get some peace and quiet listening to music the hallway.

The boys were thankful for Greyson's Wii to help keep them entertained :)

 They also created their own fun out of just about anything, including our stroller :) 

  

Here's my fellow shutterbug, Maverick.  He's missing one important step...turn it around, buddy!

Eating and resting were popular activities for this trip!

Thanks to a cake from Aunt Katy, we had a little celebration for Macallan's 1st birthday!

Jacob and I got our fair share of cookie cake! :)

...and Allie!

The cake excitement wore the little guy out!

No more, Daddy!

So good to spend some time with the newest married couple :)

All of the grandkids got some love from Grammy. It's Allie's turn :)

 I guess the love wasn't just for grandkids.... :)

 Once most of the family departed, we stayed a few more days and took the boys out to see the city!  First stop was Sesame Place, a Sesame Street themed amusement park.  It was fun, but CHILLY!  In the 30s to be exact!

Okay, so not everyone would agree that it was so fun!

 The big boys enjoyed dancing with the parade characters! :)

We also took the boys to the children's museum.  We knew it'd be a hit when we saw the name...The Please Touch Museum...you don't have to ask twice, or really even once :)

Here we are at the Mad Hatters Tea Party.

Macallan enjoyed himself a little more at the museum.  Maybe because he was warm :)

We all really enjoyed our time in Philly!  Thanks again to Chris and Amber for hosting!  We'll invite ourselves back any year :)