My brother in law and his wife take their family on a Disney vacation every year. Right after Christmas they took their 10.5 year old son, 8.5 year old son, and 7 year old daughter and they said that it was their best Disney vacation yet. They really like the variety of activities on the ship and felt that it was very relaxing and enjoyable. I know that they are planning to book another one for last year since they liked it so much. In the past, they have gone to Disneyland, Disneyworld (several times), they have also gone on an Alaskan Cruise, and had several island vacations. It sounds like the Disney cruise was the kid's favorite vacation so far and at the top of the parents list as well.

We also got rid of boxes and stored the pieces in several large tackle boxes with labeled compartments for each game. It worked great and we still have a few stored like that. However, when we moved to this house we created a game closet under our stairs. We have a 3' by 2' door that opens to under our stairs. We have shelves installed between the stairs and we store all of our games there. We also put hooks up and hang bags from them that hold bulky pieces- Jenga, Rush Hour, and other games like that. My husband and sons are big gamers and we have lots of obscure games that have huge boxes. My husband tries to keep the boxes in good shape. Games that we can buy just about anywhere can be broken down if we need to but we try to avoid that now that we have a space for the games.

Levi Cyrus Roman Caleb Hayden David Jackson Ethan Samuel

One of my closest friends is a CPA and she always does our taxes even though I could do them myself. It is a great excuse for us to get together. We "have" to get together for lunch so I can give her our paperwork and we "have" to get together after she has finished our taxes for us to go over them. Both of us are busy but it really does force us to make the time to see each other. My husband is a plumber and usually we swap her tax preparation for a little plumbing work. It is a win-win for all of us.

My daughter prefers volleyball shorts under her dresses. They are shorter than bicycle shorts and we can usually find them in a variety of colors and patterns. She finds them more comfortable and she still wears them under her dresses and skirts. You might want to consider your daughter having a shorter hair cut or get a variety of fun headbands for her to wear. Sometimes her hair will be wild but there are options to tame it when you need to.

It is a tablet but this is what my son uses for his college classes and it works really well. It comes with a free year of Office 365 which is why we initially went with it. He has to type and submit papers online several times a week as well as create power point projects and this has worked great for that. We bought an adapter to allow usb in the mcro usb port. We have a portable hard drive that we use to back up and store data but this comes with backup in the cloud as well. It has a quad core processor and a detachable keyboard. It has worked wonderfully for his college classes.

My daughter's middle name is Elaine. Changing the e to an a would be just fine and it is not made up.

I use both. It depends on what I am making and my needs but I do use both along with a small hand wheel pastry roller.

I am in NE Colorado and we finally got above 0 around noon. It was -15 this morning, -35 with wind chill. We have about 2 feet of snow that has fallen here over the past two weeks and I have not seen actual roads since the 14th. All roads are snow packed and/or covered in ice. We have been over freezing twice in the past 18 days but only for a couple of hours each time. More snow is expected for Saturday. We are not expected to get above freezing until a week from tomorrow. We are really looking forward to our trip to Florida in two weeks. My husband is a plumber and has been working outside quite a bit in this cold- he needs a break.

We will do the same this year as always- host a party with 12-20 teens and young adults. They usually arrived around 7 pm and stay until noon. When they arrive, I have out some cookies, candies, cheese tray, veggie tray with spinach artichoke dip, popcorn, pretzels, and chips. Around 10, I add a nacho bar, pizza rolls, and homemade donuts. I set out a platter of various muffins, scones, and coffee cakes along with a bowl of fresh fruit around 2 before I go to bed. Some of the kids like to grab something then and some like to wait but I want the food out so they know what is available for breakfast. I usually fry up some bacon and pancakes late in the morning for anyone who wants a hot breakfast. We fill a cooler with bottled water, gatorade, and soft drinks for everyone to have throughout the evening. I provide a variety of drink options to have with the keurig and have cider in a crockpot as well.

We elevated one end of the crib and, later, tne bed for our son. We first used a 2 by 8 under one end of the bed to have the end elevated a bit. Over time we increased the heighth but adding books or boards to find what seemed to work best. Once we found the best heighth, we bought large cedar blocks that we had cored out so the legs would rest easily in them. My niece had severe reflux and we did the same for her when she would stay over. She had a pack n play here and we would elevate an end with books for her.

We are going January 12-17. I will let you know how it goes.

All of us- a trip to Disney World in January. Me- an apothecary jar Husband- DVD collection of corny sci-fi movies from the 80s- Flash Gordon, Dune, Last Starfighter, and Battlestar Gallactica (he thought this was the greatest thing ever) Son 18- credit card (tied to my account) and a Zelda map puzzle Son 16- book on epic battles thoughout history and an expansion set to Arkham Horror board game Son 14- Lego Star Wars Scout Trooper ship and a blue Link hat from Zelda Daughter (almost 12)- bed for American Girl Julie and a piece of American Tourister luggage Yesterday we let the kids open a case of various soda in glass bottles and Mario Kart for the WiiU. Both were a huge hit and the kids said that there were fine with only that for Christmas.

My in-laws gave our family a trip to Disney World in January. They cleared it with my husband and I in October but the kids just found out last week. The trip is for both our 40th birthdays, our 20th anniversary, and our son's graduation trip. We will be going in January. Our presents went along with our trip. I received Disney, Starbucks, and other gift cards to use on our trip from my husband, parents, and other family members. My kids gave me bath salts, perfume, comfy socks, and chocolates. My parents also gave me a sling type purse designed for the airport and theme parks and a lightweight shawl to take with. My husband also gave me an apothecary jar (two of our boys broke my favorite one earlier this year), gift cards to Bath and Body Works and Michaels, and some kitchen gadgets. We had a great Christmas and need to start getting ready for our Disney trip.

It is just the six of us and usually is just the six of us. We do a big special meal on Christmas Eve and have it for leftovers on Christmas Day. In the past, it has usually been a ham or turkey dinner with all of the fixings but last year we decided to change it up a bit. When I was growing up, we always had fondue for Christmas Eve and the kids really wanted to try it. We did have it last year but two of our kids were sick and did not get to enjoy it so they requested that I do it again and I am happy to. I cube up the beef and cook it before hand. I then place it in a large crockpot with a little bit of beef broth to keep it warm and moist. We have a mustard dip, garlic butter dip, horseradish sourcream dip, and a spicy tomato dip for the meat. There a a cheese dip for vegetables. Our dessert is a variety of fruits, marshmallows, and pretzels to dip in hot caramel and hot fudge dip. I make enough for us to have for leftovers on Christmas. I always make homemade cinnamon rolls for Christmas Day. I set out warm cinnamon rolls, muffins, bacon, and fruit for everyone to eat when they feel like it. I will have the leftover meat in the crockpot so everyone can serve themselves throughout the day. There will also be a variety of cookies, candy, and drinks available for us to enjoy thoughout the day.

I like to do something that I can place in the crockpot for everyone to eat when they are ready to. Taco meat, sloppy joes, meatballs, pulled pork, and bbq beef are all good. You just need buns, bread, tortillas, or shells and everyone can serve themselves when ready. I also like to have sliced veggies and a large bowl of fruit for everyone to snack on as well.

I bought my daughter this one from JC Penney at their Black Friday sales. It was on sale for $39 and it is great. My daughter loves it. It is light weight but really warm and comfortable. It comes with a sleeve that you can pack it into. It says that it is rated for 0 degree weather. She wore it to an evening parade last week that was just above 0 and said that she was warm and comfy. She got the plum color one and it is really pretty. She has got many compliments on her coat. I want to get one for me. We are in NE Colorado and warm coats are a must here.

My 18 year old son and I have both read the Maze Runner books and really enjoyed them. I think your son would enjoy them. I have read the first book in the Overlander series and enjoyed it but it is geared for younger kids than the Hunger Games books. The main character is 11 or so. It is a very clean book and interesting but not near the action and intensity of the Hunger Games. Maze Runner is more intense and has more action.

My 18 year old is getting some Mythology books and books from the Lockdown series. My 16 year old is getting Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present. He found this book at the Tattered Cover book store in Denver this summer and could not put it down. He is going to be surprised when he finds it under the tree. He is also getting books from the Strongbow Saga series. My 14 year old son will be getting the first two books in the Gregor: The Overlander (Underlander Chronicles) series by Suzanne Collins and books 4 and 5 from the Heroes of Olympus series. My daughter is getting some American Girl books. My youngest two are getting a Lego idea book and some Logic puzzle books to share.

My son lives at home while attending a nearby college. He is getting a wireless printer, a really good piece of carry-on luggage, gift cards for the movies and restaurants, a video game, gum, candy, and some clothes. I am sure I will pick up a few more things for him as well.

As others have said, you can use your own coffee and fill refillable cups. Also, my Keurig allows me to set the temperature. I like it hot and it is hot when the coffee is brewed.

I like Agricola but pretty much have it mastered. I usually win no matter who I play or how many are playing. You should try Caverna. My 18 year old son has that game mastered and I am still working on mastering it. It is not as complicated as Agricola and it is easier to feed.

Tueday- making two cheesecakes and several pies, assembling Cheesy Holiday Potato Dish (needs to chill at least 24 hours before baking), making layered jello dish, baking cornbread (needs plenty of time to dry out for dressing), bake scones and muffins for us to eat Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings Wednesday- slice onions, celery, and other veggies needed for dishes, make mashed potatoes and let them cool (I will reheat them in a crockpot because several family members like the crunchy brown crust that forms), make sweet potatoe casserole (will heat and add marshmallows on Thurday) make cranberry sauce so it can chill overnight, pull out rolls to thaw, set the table Thurday- bake turkey, make gravy, warm rolls, make cornbread dressing and traditional stuffing, plug in crockpots, bake potato dish and sweet potato dish, mix our special holiday drink, serve dinner I am the only one who makes anything for our Thanksgiving dinner and I will be feeding 12 this year.

We put ours up last weekend and always put it up the weekend after our son's birthday. We host Thanksgiving every year and it is our only chance to see family during the holidays. Our family enjoys seeing the house decorated. It usually takes me three days to finish decorating and I like to have it done before all of the holiday busyness kicks in. If we waited until after Thanksgiving, I am not sure when we would be able to put it up. December is already booked really solid for us. I enjoy being able to enjoy the decorations for a good 6 weeks and then I am ready to have them down before New Year's. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I am always thankful that I have my decorating out of the way and I can focus on a few other things instead.

My son wanted a bluetooth radio thing that you plug in the car. It will sync up to any bluetooth capable device- phone, tablets, ipads, ipods, etc. We bought won on Amazon for under $40 and he loves it. He can listen to all of the music he has on his phone and can charge his phone at the same time. It plays through the car's sound system and works really well. Last year, we bought him a Jackery- it is an external power source to charge electronics. It has come in very useful when he has been away and unable to charge his devices.