today.

we didn't think today would be the day. but God knew. the last day he would be here on earth. he was the best grandpa and the best great grandpa anyone could have. he didn't get to hear me say goodbye before he left this earth. but he knew how much we all loved, cherished and respected him. he fought long and hard for himself and his family but his heart was weak and today he took his last breath. now he is with our Jesus.

i remember walking to get banana laffy taffy with him at the stop and go behind their house. how we would stay at their house every day in the summer. how he came to all of my soccer games and dance recitals. how he paid for me to get a college education and that old toyota 1988 supra for me. how he helped me all the time with my accounting and finance homework. how he would lecture us all but out of concern and not anger. how he was so proud of me and me as a mom to our noah. he selflessly watched and raised noah during the day while we worked. noah adored his papaw. he always would run right to his papaw. he called noah his "little buddy". he loved to sit in his chair and read books with his papaw. his papaw helped this boy read many words at such an early age. he watched him from three months to almost three years. they always went to get the mail everyday and would both put on their baseball caps. how he would play "tar baby" and sing "trot a little horsey" just like he did when i was little. but mostly, they would just snuggle up in his big lazy boy and snuggle. we are beyond grateful to you papaw for all you did for all of us. words cannot do justice to how much you mean to us. we will always love you and always hold a special place for you in our hearts. we will never forget you and your sacrificial heart who always put us all before yourself. although you aren't here on earth anymore and with our Jesus, we will miss you each and every day. and until that day when we all meet again. we love you so very, very, very, very much papaw.

not so SCARY!!!!!!

you woke up with a raised red bumpy rash all of your face, neck, ears, arms and legs :( mommy freaked out a little (okay, a lot) and i forgot to pack the dye free benadryl and had to call up a pharmacy to rush us some over. turns out (well, i figured this out after we got home but it was prickly heat. boo)

we all took it easy and relaxed before we headed to the pool for a bit before our BIG night at mickeys not so scary. you loved the pool and loved the "big boy scary slide". you were so happy. we pretended we were in the little mermaid and when we went under the fountain, we changed into different characters. i loved it. then we sang the little mermaid song. it was so sweet. we then went back to relax and get ready for the Halloween party!! we were praying that you would do well since you weren't feeling that great.

everything ready to go!

eeeeeee!!! so much fun! momma (and G) worked so hard on these costumes and it was so neat to see us all together

you NEVER sleep! of course, you fell asleep right on the bus. poor guy wasn't feeling great :(

you were still sleeping while we went in... and in almost every pic you were sleeping :( we even saw wreck it ralph and he begged to take a picture with russell :) 

we wanted you to experience this fun night so after a while, we woke you up.. let's just say you weren't happy. broke our hearts. but after a while, you finally perked back up. you still were sick but we had to enjoy this night :) 

my first DOLEWHIP. i have been dying for one of these and man, they were even better than i thought!!

you finally perked up when we got to tomorrowland and got in line for buzz lightyear. then, he was out and we met him!! you were excited to see him. we LOVE toy story and it was so neat to finally meet him ;) it was such a special moment that we will always cherish.

dance party with mike!

and now.. your most favorite ride of all... GOOFY's rollercoaster!!! this was your first rollercoaster and you were so excited.. and man, it was a pretty intense ride for little kids.. but you LOVED it. i told you about holding your hands up and you did the whole time. you are fearless in everything you do. when we got off, you bolted and ran to get back into the line again. you bring back memories of when i was a kid. i ran right after you and we did this about 7 times total. you would have done this all night. we even rode it while the fireworks started to go off.. talk about amazing!

blurry but look at this face! pure joy

next, it was time to go ride the little mermaid! mommy was so excited.. this is my favorite disney movie. it was so amazing. you loved it so much. you hadn't seen the movie yet but you still loved it. 

then, we literally walked right up to meet ariel!! mommy was so excited. there is something just so special about meeting these real characters :) 

we then watched the villian light show - it was incredible

what a wonderful night! a night that we will always remember for the rest of our lives. 

toy story 2 picnic.

we got our dinner and headed out to the movie in the garden. we picked up some towels and took a spot while they were blowing up the big screen tv. you thought it was so cool. while we waited, we ate and then right as they were about to start, a cast member came up and asked if she could borrow you. you ran back and mommy and daddy were wondering what you would be up to. they had you come up to the front and answer some toy story trivia! you got them all right.. of course. it is one of your favs. then you got to be the director and yell "action"! you did great and bounced around. then you got a little souvenir.. 

what a great ending to a wonderful day!!

and watching our favorite part that we always act out :) what a magical time watching this at the real deal, DISNEY!!