We just got back from a really fun week in Florida! We had a great time with my parents and sister, who was down there for the first part of our visit. A brand new splash park and playground just opened that's within walking distance to my parent's house, so we spent the first few days playing there, and then James came down and met us and we went to Disneyworld! It was wonderful! It was burning hot and there were tons of people, but it didn't matter--we met our good friends from Colorado there--they had already spent a few days in Disney before we came and they figured out the whole fastpass/babyswap thing and we ended up not waiting more than 15 minutes in any line. It really was a fabulous time!
The favorite rides were:
Ashley-
Space Mountain, for sure--she rode it 4 times! She was really excited about all the "mountain" roller coasters since half of her preschool class has gone this year. She was also really excited to see the princesses' castle--I think one year we'll go to lunch in there so we can actually go in. She was just like James and wanted to go on as many big rides as many times as she could.
Paige-when asked, she'll say EVERYTHING was her favorite, just not the Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios (yes, my 3 year old rode that...twice...she may have nightmares for the next year...) Paige was BARELY tall enough to ride most of the rides. In fact, in her crocs, she wasn't, but I thought ahead and brought these slightly platform sneakers and she could get on all the ones that Ashley could except for Space Mountain. Paige really liked
Splash Mountain and I did, too!
Michael-was a great trooper. We had him in the Bjorn and stroller and he just relaxed and enjoyed the ride. He learned to drink ice water out of a bottle while we were walking around and there were plenty of opportunities for me to sit and nurse him, so he was happy. He got to go on quite a few rides and he really seemed to like
It's a Small World--he kicked his legs and looked all around and "talked" excitedly. There were lots of shiny, colorful things to look at. He loved to watch everything and especially liked the Mickey show in front of the castle and the Playhouse Disney show at Hollywood Studios--in fact, I was trying to discreetly nurse him during the show and he kept arching his back and twisting himself out of the blanket, so I had to give up.
Me-I was really impressed with everything at the
Magic Kingdom. The rides were great and they seemed longer than rides at regular theme parks. (and it helped that we barely waited in line!) The people working there were so nice and the characters were amazing. We saw Ariel and Belle sing and it was beautiful and we got to see Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White perform right in front of the castle and we met Wendy, Peter Pan, and June (from Little Einstiens). Wendy loved Michael (or acted like she did!) and said, "oh, I have a little brother named Michael, aren't little brothers wonderful?" to the girls and was so natural it took me a minute to realize she was talking about the Michael in the movie, not an actual brother. I thought the Magic Kingdom was way better than Hollywood Studios and I think we'll skip all the other parks until the girls are 10 or so. The fireworks show was better than some 4th of July shows I've seen and the end of the day parade was great! I loved it!
James--I'm not sure what his favorite part was and I can't ask him because he's been asleep for a while now. Two days at Disney and then a 10 hour drive home the next day seems to have worn him out, for some reason. :) I think he had fun
taking a break from work and school finally. He loved that the kids were so adventurous and got a great workout pushing our double stroller with three kids in it around the park.
So that was our great week. Surprisingly enough, I barely took any pictures. Here are the ones I have:
I think Paige must have been more impressed with the show than James!
I'm not sure how she managed to do it, but Paige slept through the entire fireworks show--even the grand finale with about 15 fireworks going off at once!
We took this pic for my niece, Madeleine, Minnie's biggest fan :)
I'm not tired! I normally stay up until 11. Wait..does 11 come after or before 7...
What a great time!
We went to the beach this week! James had a week-long conference out-of-town and two of my sisters-in-law, Emily (with her 2 kids, Mary and Ben) and Charie (starting high school this year!), came out to keep me company and go to the beach. We had a great time!
Our last night on the beach:
Ashley's 5th birthday is this Friday. I found this jewelry box nearly 1/2 price at Pottery Barn Kids online and am so excited--she is going to LOVE it! I'm really impressed--I ordered it late Saturday night and it arrived this afternoon (Tues) personalized (it's a sticker, not paint, but it still looks good, I think). Ashley always tries to stash her "treasures" in my jewelry box so I was going to go to the Disney Store and get her a princess one, but this is way nicer, will look pretty on her dresser, and (hopefully) will last until she's a teenager. So if you need to get a present for a little girl anytime soon, I highly recommend the "Large Abigail Jewelry Box" at pbk. I think I might need to order one for Paige and save it for her birthday...
The princesses!!
