Saturday, November 17

 Roger and the girls played at Hollywood Studios all day and then met Christie at the Backyard BBQ for dinner. As always, we had a GREAT time. After the show, Roger took Ellie-Kate back to the hotel while Christie and the other girls headed back to Magic Kingdom for the fireworks display and electric parade. Chelsea bemoaned the fact that she missed rushing the field with her fellow Bears after Baylor defeated Kansas State; however, all in all, we had a fun time! We got back to the hotel around 1:30 a.m. again!

November 16, 2012: Magic Kingdom

 We ate breakfast with the Pooh friends at Crystal Palace and then Christie had to head to the conference for another day of meetings. Britti and Chelsea decided to park hop to Animal Kingdom, but everyone else just stayed at MK for the day. We all  reconnected for the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party that night, and Christie and the older girls actually closed down the park, getting back to our hotel room around 1:30 a.m.!

November 15, 2012

 We started our day at Tusker House, and we got to eat with Donald, Mickey, Daisy, and Goofy. After breakfast, we took a safari ride, and we saw so many animals. A giraffe came right up to our truck-- wow!! Roger and I had to leave as soon as we finished the safari ride to get ready and then attend the conference. Roger had a presentation, and Christie had a business meeting and then the Second Vice President Candidate Forum. Both were much fun, and they went well. Meanwhile, Britti and Chelsea took care of the little girls and made sure that they were safely transported to EPCOT for dinner in Germany with Roger. We all got to re-connect for Illuminations at EPCOT around 9 p.m.

Disney, 2012

 November 13: We checked into our family suite at Art of Animation resort, and it is such a fun resort! We stayed in the Finding Nemo area, but the complex also featured a Cars section, Lion King section, and Little Mermaid section, with themed rooms, pools, and playground-- much fun!

 Wednesday, November 14: We had breakfast reservations at Cinderella's Castle, and Ellie-Kate did so well with the characters. Yes, she still told Cinderella that she didn't want to be touched, but she smiled for all of the pictures, and she was genuinely excited to visit with Ariel and Jasmine. After breakfast, Christie had to leave right away for the conference to speak at Legislative Assembly and participate in the 2013 Planner's meeting and the Nominating Committee meeting. The girls and Roger spent the day at Magic Kingdom, and Chelsea arrived late on Wednesday night.

November 10-11, 2012

 We had a fun time at the OU basketball game on November 10.

Ellie-Kate performed with the children's choir on Sunday, November 11.

November 6-8, 2012

 Emmy made the high honor roll for the first quarter of seventh grade by earning all A's!

 We celebrated Britti's 26th birthday with dinner at Abrio's and then presents at home.

Anniversary reflections... November 1-2, 2012

Hi everyone--

It's hard to believe that it has been four years since we visited the specialist at Nationwide Children's Hospital on November 1, 2008 and learned that all of the seemingly scary sounding issues on Ellie-Kate's medical report were not so scary after all. We finished that conversation, rushed for the phone, and then waited overnight to learn if "our baby" was still available. Anyone in the whole world could have "locked in" on her during that long evening, but, blessedly, she was still available, and, at 7:30 a.m. on November 2, 2008, Ashley called with the great news that "Kristen" or "An Yu Fan" (to be named "Ellie-Kate by us) was going to be our little girl! Praise God!!

More updates soon--

Christie