Ainsley is TEN

How is my tiny little girl that I feel like was just in my belly, in double digits?! 

Ten just seems so old. Which therefore makes me old, so this one hit hard all around. 

She of course wanted doughnuts for her birthday breakfast. And wanted doughnuts to take to school to her friends. Waking up on her birthday was different this year, as Philip was in Africa and it felt weird not having him here. But this pretty lady picked out an outfit she wanted to wear to school, and asked for a room makeover as her gift. 

That night she wanted hibachi for dinner. Mom, Dad, Matt and his family met us there to celebrate. We were under strict instruction not to tell them it was her birthday. She did not want the drum, singing, attention of any kind. 


We came back to our house for homemade cookies and cream ice cream. 

I don't know what I was thinking, but that weekend I let her invite 5 girls over for a party. So 5 4th grade girls were dropped off at my house and I loaded them and Parker up and took them to the trampoline park to celebrate. I quickly called in reinforcements and Mom and Dad met me there to help me pick up pizza and drive back home. 





These girls had so much fun jumping and playing and being wild. 


We all survived and she had a great birthday. Philip was able to text her on her birthday which she loved. She had been asking to get her ears pierced but Philip wanted to be there for that, so she patiently waited until he got back before getting to get them pierced. We went to Tattoo Charlies and they did an amazing job! 

So, now we have a 10 year old. with a grown up looking room, that she loves to spend time in by herself with the door closed. and earrings. that she takes care of all by herself every day. 
I'm not ready for this. 

Christmas 2023

This is us at church on Christmas Eve after getting home at 3am the night before. Our flights got delayed, cancelled and switched around trying to get back from our cruise in FL. By the grace of God, we found 12 seats on a direct flight back to Cincinnatti. Once we finally made it back, we were stuck on the tarmac because we had no staff to direct us into the airport. Once we finally did, our luggage was frozen inside the plane. Then we spent the next several hours waiting on luggage they lost, and then drove 30 mph home in an ice storm. BUT, we made it back! 

We made it back in time for Santa to come!! 

Christmas morning was so fun as it always is with kids. 

The excitement and joy is truly one of my most favorite moments ever. 


Christmas was a little different this year, so Mom and Dad came up to our house instead of us going to them. We missed Aunt Annies brunch Christmas Eve morning, because we were still sleeping. 

But we did make it to Gtown the next day for MUDBOWL! 

We celebrated at Joys and the kids had such a good time together. 

Parker loved his new Maverick suit. 

For New Years we headed to the lakehouse with the Burtons where we did not stay up until midnight, but rang in the new year around 11pm instead. 

Disney Cruise!

For Christmas this year, Mom and Dad took all of us on our first Disney Cruise! Since the kids are all into Harry Potter, we decided to go up a few days early and go to Universal's Harry Potter World before we boarded the cruise. We kept that part a surprise and told them at the airport with fun Hogwarts letters Rachel made the kids. 


The flights there were thankfully uneventful and our hotel was close enough that we were able to walk to Universal. 

We had so much fun riding the rides and doing all things HP. 

We got interactive wands, tasted butter beer, rode the Hogwarts Express, and got to meet up with Aunt Whitney! 





We boarded the ship with no problems and during the mandatory safety meeting, poor Millie got sick. Which did not make for the best start to the cruise but we all did our best to make the best of it. 

The ship was beautiful and had so much stuff for the kids to do. 

The bunk beds were a hit and so was the privacy dark out curtain between their beds and ours. 

The kids especially loved hanging out in the circular window. 

We took a pirate cruise ship that was fun. The kids got to assist in capturing the bad guy, singing songs and being on a real pirate ship. 


We got off the boat at Nassau and walked around the market. 

I randomly ran into a Lexington fire fighter and his family that were there on a different cruise. 


The meals were amazing! We rotated through different restaurants but kept the same waiter each time. He became to know my kids wanted "lots of noodles!" most every night lol. 

Our day at Castaway Cay was probably my favorite day. The Disney owned island was so fun and pretty. We swam with the stingrays, rented bikes, and played in the ocean all day. 



Pirate night on the boat was also fun. Everyone dresses up, even the characters. 


The water slides on the ship were "so fun" according to Parker. They also loved the multiple pools and the huge TV screen they could watch movies on while in the pool or eating on the pool deck. 

We would definitely go on another cruise. We loved it and had such a great time. Hopefully next time Anna Beth and Millie wont be sick. But we still made memories that will last a lifetime! 

One of those memories being the cluster that was trying to get home by Christmas Eve (which we did, at 3am).