I bet some of you are wondering what's been up??
To sum it up-
I've been making some pretty
amazing memories with my family.
We just got back from a week long trip to Orlando where in it, we spent 4 days at Disney World, a day at Sea World, all while staying at the most beautiful timeshare my WONDERFUL in-laws so generously let us use. We have told them time and again, we wouldn't have been able to fully enjoy
and let loose on that trip if we didn't have such a HUGE expense waived. For that we are blessed. For that I am
so grateful for Parents like Eric's. I hope they understand that loud and clear.
Let me start by saying that I have a full. blown.
family now. This is more than likely it for us. So, it was nice to see how we work as a new family of four. What better way to test that than by going to Disney, right?!
We had plenty of opportunities throughout to do just that. We were determined to not let one.thing. keep us from having the time of our lives. With that attitude, we avoided all unnecessary bickering and just had a freggin blast. We discovered a new found respect for one another and for our girls. We found confidence needed to
run a family of four. Yes, Sir! We rocked.
Although.
Although, I did forget to mention
the tram.
The Tram gets you from the parking lot to the front gates of Disney. That was an experience. Getting on and off the ONLY thing NOT family friendly in the entire trip was CRUEL! Unloading and folding 2 strollers and loading 2 kids and yourself while trying to hold all the belongings you need that day (camera case, 2 backpacks, sweaters, baby carrier, and Minnie Mouse ears) all in about a minute was...difficult. After the first couple times we got the grove of it and after the 4th or 5th time though, we OWNED it : )
In the end though, we all worked together as a Kick-A team. We each played pretty important parts. Yes, even the girls. Em's job was to try not to get hit by parking lot traffic while mom and dad loaded up the tram. And Charlee's was to keep being her happy, perfect, content self. If you added a crying cranky baby to that already crazy stressful mix, I think that could have been the deal breaker for me.
But again, we rocked.
So now we made it to the park. Everyone and everything is loaded back up and ready for our first day of fun at Magic Kingdom! And FUN it was. Emmers wore a per-ma-grin all day. She quickly learned that Fantasyland was toddler Heaven and the rides it held were squeal worthy each and every time. She had a hard time at first about the waiting her turn in line thing, but what kid wouldn't?? Lots of snacks and Daddy tickles saved that from turning disastrous.
We bought a 4 day park hopper pass and we chose to only go to 2 of the 4 parks. Magic Kingdom was the main stay. We also checked out Hollywood Studios for a day and saw some cute Disney shows where Emme was able to meet her hero, Jake from "Jake and the Never Land Pirates".
Emme was able to ride on a lot of rides.
The Carousel was her favorite. We rode that 3 times
Small world 2 times
Snow White and the Scary Adventures 3 times
Peter Pan's Flight 3 times
Autopia 2 times
Tomorrowland's Rockets once with just Daddy
Dumbo 2 times
Tea Cups 2 times
Pirates of the Carribean 3 times (loved it, too)
Haunted Mansion (she did well. surprised us that she wasn't scared)
Jungle Book Cruise
Aladin's magic carpet ride
Tiki room
Swiss family tree house
We watched 4 different parades and 3 shows.
Best part is, Charlee was able to go along on most of those rides, too!
We have heard that the best time to go to Disney was the period of time after Thanksgiving and before Christmas. We did just that. It was magical!
To say I love this time of year, is the understatement of the year.
It has brought such happiness to my life ever since I was a child. Now that I have children of my own, it makes it even that much more exciting!
The parks were decorated SO beautifully and Sleeping Beauty's Castle was absolutely breathtaking when it was lite at night.
Enough talking. Here is the proof:
Orlando's Marriott Grande Vista
At the end of a long day of walking, this spa tub was enjoyed by all the family :)
Found a yummy Hibachi restaurant nearby
Thanks to "Salute to the troops" program Sea World offered, we spent a day free of charge!
The weather called for rain later in the day, so we enjoyed playing until mid afternoon with practically NO ONE in the park. It was wonderful!!
Everything looks better with Christmas decorations
They had an area in the park dedicated to kids Emme's age. It had about 6 rides and a huge play area. Em's was able to ride all the rides AND her FIRST roller coaster! You can't even see her in the seat next to Daddy :)
What an amazing creature
I really can't say enough about how good Charlee did the ENTIRE trip. She is such a blessing.
Disney's Hollywood Studio's
: )
Honey I shrunk the kids play area. It was really cool.
*Magic Kingdom*
Eating at a buffet where we had a meet and greet with Winnie the Pooh and friends! Tigger was an absolute crack up! He was so entertaining to watch him interact with people. The buffet was DELICIOUS too! It had the most amazing Salmon I've ever tasted! Yummo!
Em's second favorite was the Tea Cups
Mama's all time favorite
The Gang!
Hot Coco and Fireworks
This photo had absolutely NO editing done (except the writing I put at the top). The picture still doesn't do it justice.
I am SO grateful for this special trip.
I am grateful for establishments that take care and support their Military and making it possible for families to afford such a nice vacation.
I am grateful for 2 easy going, happy Children who slept the whole way home and by doing so cut our travel time home by 3 hours.
I am MOST grateful to my Husband, who insisted we took this trip. Who insisted that I got a spa day while on vacation. Who insisted we buy keepsakes we can have to remember forever.
Even if all of it made a pretty good dent in the wallet.
I appreciate that more than he knows.
I appreciate my family and the memories we get to make together.
me in my tracks. I am her biggest fan. She captivates me.
I have failed, and pray for a new day to bring a "do-over" so I can have another chance to get it right and do better. Admiringly, she is also a very forgiving person.
of me. I do.
