The Hughes Family: November

I had been looking forward to November for many reasons--Cooler temps, the beginning of the holidays, time off from school but most of all because November meant our long awaited trip to DISNEY was upon us!

But before Disney we had to get through the first two weeks of November so we kept ourselves very busy, hoping it would make the days pass even faster.

Matthew's Dad flew in for a short visit because he was buying Matthew's old company car. It was a quick trip but we were happy to have some time with Poppie.

Windy days are a frequent occurrence in Texas and they make for the perfect opportunity to fly our kite!

Before a Christmas tree, Christmas lights, cookies, decorations, gifts, stockings or an elf show up at the Hughes house, THIS happens first...ALWAYS. We look forward to filling our shoebox each year as a special way to get into the true spirit of Christmas. We've been doing this since Kyndall was a toddler and I love watching her genuine excitement as she shops for the gifts and then meticulously packs her box for a little girl far, far away. It's a great reminder to be thankful for all we have been given, which is so much more than we deserve!

In mid-November Matthew was presented with an opportunity that he could not pass up to accept a promotion to the Dallas service center which is a much bigger facility than Garland. He opened Garland when it was brand new back in 2017 and got it up and running and helped make it the successful service center that it is today. He worked tirelessly for almost two years to get it off to a great start and although he never envisioned leaving so soon, this opportunity to take on an even bigger center was not only an honor but a great opportunity for our family. Unlike all of his other promotions, this one did not require our family to move which is why it was so easy for him to say yes! He has a little bit longer commute due to the crazy Dallas traffic, but he is excited and honored to be named the new manager for the second largest facility in his entire company. We are very proud of his hard work!

Fall nights are perfect for a back porch fire and s'mores

Kyndall and Malani at a birthday party....two peas in a pod.

Chef Kyndall made us pizzas for dinner

I love everything about fall!

Disney was getting closer!

Kyndall came home with this award, given by her teacher for displaying compassion. I am so proud to have a part in raising this amazing little human who offers empathy and compassion so freely. All the good grades and perfect test scores will never make me as proud as this does!

Kyndall's art teacher at school is so sweet to send me pictures periodically and I love it!

Sweet Huckabee and his little toothless self....Poor guy doesn't even realize when his tongue is hanging out!

Matthew's company hosted a family day for the employees and it was held at his new facility in Dallas. It was a great opportunity for me to meet some of the people who work for Matthew as well as some of Matthew's superiors who flew in for the big event. They had bounce houses, face painting, balloon animal making, catered BBQ lunch and best of all, they scored Billy Dean and Jamie O'Neal as the entertainment...Two of my absolute favorite country stars from the late 90's and early 2000's. It was a fun day!

Matthew and Kyndall with the "Mighty Mite" which is a prized replica of the SEFL trucks

Our family with the president of Southeastern Freight Lines

Matthew had to do a lot of speaking which is not his favorite thing but he did great!

All the managers for the region

Billy Dean and Jamie O'Neal!

She wasn't even alive when they were popular but she was still starstruck to be in the presence of "famous people"

We were able to go backstage and meet Jamie and Billy...Perks of being the boss!

Kyndall and I left a little something in Matthew's office before the day was over

As soon as the family event was over we were off to the airport because it was finally time for DISNEY!

Kyndall has the amazing ability to make friends wherever she goes....Her sweet smile and charming personality are just magnetic, even to babies it seems!

We arrived in Tallahassee well after midnight, spent the night with my parents and then got up bright and early Sunday morning to head to Orlando!

We checked into our resort and immediately found our way to the FOOD!

Since my parents and my sister and nephews are Florida residents, they had an extra park day with their tickets so they spent our first afternoon at Animal Kingdom while the rest of us explored our hotel and then made our way to Disney Springs.

Running from Stitch's "spit" up above!

At the Lego store Kyndall was able to assemble a piece of the mosaic celebrating Mickey's 90th birthday

Her piece was hammered in

While wandering around Disney Springs I found a restaurant named after me....

We had dinner reservations at Animal Kingdom Lodge that night, where we met back up with the rest of our crew.

Dinner at Sanaa

This picture was taken exactly five seconds before Wyatt accidentally backed himself into that partition and it went crashing onto the shoulders/heads/dinner plates of some poor unsuspecting souls on the other side. We know how to make a scene!

Dessert that you can paint! This little artist loved it!

Ain't no tired like Disney tired...And this wasn't even a park day!

Back at our hotel, ready to crawl in bed so we could tackle Magic Kingdom the next day

Writing in her journal to document her vacation. I love that she enjoys writing to preserve the memories the same way that I do! It's the reason I keep this blog going, after all.

Up at 6:00 am and ready to catch the bus to Magic Kingdom!

First views of the castle!

While we were at Disney, Kyndall decided to start herself a smashed penny collection. Each time she saw a machine we all stopped and waited for her to make a penny. This time she had a little help!

Delicious Dole Whips!

Oh...yes I did!

I think we rode Small World half a dozen times!

Wyatt's first rollercoaster! The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Before our trip was over he rode it at least four times!

Our long day caught up with Poppie!

Bless their hearts....This is what 16 hours in the Magic Kingdom will do to you!

We slept for about five hours then got up and went straight back to Magic Kingdom for day 2!

We had breakfast at "Be Our Guest"

The Haunted Mansion is my very favorite ride at MK!

Matthew and his favorite president

Just like our visit in 2015, Matthew was chosen to be a part of Belle's performance. Belle is his favorite princess and the only woman I'd ever worry he might leave me for! Ha!

Wyatt was chosen as the beast

Kyndall was chosen as the horse

She was all about getting those autographs

We had dinner with Cinderella and the step sisters over at Grand Floridian Hotel

The step mother was not happy to find Wyatt on his tablet while sitting at the dinner table!

She had absolutely no clue what this was!

Icees just taste better in Tomorrow Land!

Her first time riding Space Mountain and she loved it! Not surprising since she's such a thrill seeker!

Disney knows how to do fireworks like nobody else!

I think it was at least 11:00 by this time and we'd been on our feet for 16 hours but the kids insisted on just one more round of Small World. Again....ain't no tired like Disney tired!

Bless their hearts...They were such troopers! They survived two very full days at Magic Kingdom with minimal whining but it all caught up with them as we waited in line for our bus to go back to the hotel at midnight.

Things an Aunt/Mommy will do so her babies can sleep comfortably. Want to know how much drool was in my hand by the time I got off the bus?

We checked out on Wednesday morning and had one last hoo-rah by eating breakfast at Wilderness Lodge before heading back to Tallahassee. Do we look tired or what?? Disney is fun but it's definitely not a vacation!

We bought the photo pass so here are some of my favorite pictures that the Disney photographers took....

The next day was Thanksgiving so there was no time to rest! We spent the day in Two Egg at my Grandma's house just like we do every Thanksgiving. I didn't take a single picture.

My family traditionally celebrates my birthday a little early while we're in town for Thanksgiving. My parents and my sister drove up to Thomasville to meet us for dinner and then came back to my in-laws house for cake and gifts.