Sweethearts on the Hill

It seems that there is a magical moment in every child's life where the concept of swimming just clicks. I remember Sam had his moment in the Renaissance Hotel overlooking Manhattan just before his 4th birthday. We had been driving for 11 hours straight, and he was so excited to get some energy out - he just started swimming all over the salt water pool.  Well, Charlie had his moment this past week in Orlando. While he was first a little angry that his mommy and daddy forgot his swim vest, he later become the happiest little boy in Florida!   Racing his big brother Great Job Charlie Hatcher!! So proud of my newest little fishy! Here are a few others of our day at the pool. I think I accidentally incriminated myself here … with a shot of Sam sipping on my chai :/   Is it just me, or does Sam look exactly Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber in this picture below??   Love. It.   Big Cannonball into the pool! Now a backflip...   Charlie g

Without a doubt, the light show and fireworks display over Cinderella's Castle was my favorite part of Magic Kingdom. It was sensational. Like nothing I've ever seen.  It began with the light show on the castle called "Magic, Memories, You!" When I say "light show", I'm not talking about a laser light show with colorful beams spanning across the sky. I'm talking about a magical show on the castle, which transforms the castle into dozens of glorious scenes. It was truly unbelievable. I can't imagine the engineering that goes into making it all happen.  In a matter of 5-10 minutes, the castle transformed from this...  to this...   to this...   to this...   to this...   and this...   then this...   and finally to this...   …and that's not even counting the dozens that I missed, or came out blurry. The entire show is perfectly orchestrated to music. It is a feast for the eyes, for sure. Shortly following the "Mag

Another highlight of our day at Magic Kingdom was taking the wooden log pontoon boat over to Tom Sawyer's Island. Not only did it bring back some great memories for me from the third grade in Mrs. Labadie's class - but it also proved to be an excellent photo op of my dear pleaser-son, Sam.  Between the low light of late afternoon, the reflection of the water, and Sam's love for making his mommy happy… these turned out to be my favorite photos of the trip  (favorite photos from a photographer's perspective… not necessarily from a mommy tourist perspective!) I know this appears washed out from the lighting… but I like the soft look of it ~ and I think his face is precious here.   I heart his sweet smile, and his eyes...   Here is another somewhat washed out… but again makes for a soft, sweet picture And, yes, Charlie joined us on Tom Sawyers Island… He's just not into doing the "how can I make my mommy happy" thing. He was off and

  We decided to spend only one day at the park - so we opted for the classic Magic Kingdom… and we were there from 8am until 11pm. It was a long, magical day!   I heart this picture of Sam and Charlie   I heart this one of Sam, too! The first thing we saw when we entered the gates was Tigger and Pooh   Then, of course, Cinderella's castle Our adventures began in Tomorrowland. Buzz Lightyear was the first ride we jumped on… and then Sam and Charlie got to meet the Real Buzz Lightyear as soon as we got off. They were beside themselves!   We went on a couple other adventures in Tomorrowland… most notably, Sam got to ride Space Mountain with his dad and was blown away by it! He loved it so much, he wanted to go back on it with me… so we did… and he loved it again. Meanwhile, Charlie and daddy went over to Fantasy Land and rode Winnie the Pooh, and then went on the carousel.   Then Sam and I jumped on with Charlie...   After several other rid