Story Time

We popped into a Barnes and Noble Story time when we were shopping the other day.  I was excited to get a latte while we listened to the stories.  The kids of course wanted drinks and I noticed that there was a water pitcher and cups on a table.  Before I even drank my latte, Noah had 2 drinks poured nicely and placed on the table for both of them.  Boy they are getting easier every day!!!

Dress Up

Lots of strangers round here these days...

Disney World, Day 7 -- Going Home

We woke up early and headed to the airport on our way home.  Noah was very sad to go and was very worried that Mickey would miss him...

Overall, it was a great trip.  For a 5 year old I think it was absolutely perfect.  Noah was the perfect age for almost everything and he was still full of wonder, awe and joy.  For Maeve, there was little she could really enjoy... she loved the playgrounds and the smaller rides but spent a lot of time in her stroller.  I really don't feel the need to go back, but Paul felt that we should go back so that Maeve can have the experience Noah had.  I thought maybe we would go again but next time go on the Disney Cruise.  Or go back when they are much older and have a very fun early teen experience with them.  There are a lot of science type things that I think they would like as they grow older.

I was very surprised at the outrageous costs of everything.  I should have known better but it was way more expensive than I could imagine.  And, this is with extensive planning.  I ordered groceries to the room, packed our snacks in the suitcases, bought souvenirs before we left, etc.  I even bought our airline tickets with flier miles.  I packed most lunches from the hotel and we tried our best at dinners but it was hard to eat cheaply at dinner!

I wish we could have enjoyed more night time things but we never really got to that with the kids!

I would love to share all of our secrets and hidden ways to save if anyone is ever interested!

One of those days! Swimming fiasco

Well, we started doing swimming lessons again to get ready for the summer season.  Our new Y is not as close as I would like, but we love it so it is worth the drive.  We headed out the door with no time to spare, got to the Y and I realized that our bag with Maeve's suit and our towels was still at home.  And it was too far to make it home and get back for lessons.  I could have bagged it but the kids were so excited, so we RACED to Kmart next door to find something.  We had 10 minutes until lessons started.  And...  the ONLY two swim suits for girls were size 5T.  One with neon peace signs and one with black leopard neon.  Yikes.  I chose peace signs.  It was falling of her the entire time and every time she got out of the water it fell off!!! I wanted to put a sign on her that said -- I just got this and I would never dress my child in this swim suit willingly!  But alas, I couldn't.  Of course, she loved it!

Disney World, Day 7, Hollywood Studios

We rallied on our last day to head to Hollywood Studios.  We had a fun time doing behind the scenes movie tours.  Noah loved the Jedi Star Wars demonstration and ride.  Maeve, my mom and I watched a Little Mermaid show, and we all enjoyed the Muppets theater!  I think my absolute favorite part was the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground.  Everything was in giant size!  While the kids didn't quite understand them movie part (and really didn't get the 35mm film!!!) we all had a BLAST running around for a long while!!!

The dogs nose! It actually made sniffing sounds!!!

 

And for our last dinner out we headed to TRex which is like the Rainforest Cafe for Dinosaurs.  It was VERY loud.  But the dinosaurs were cool.  We sat in the iceberg room and it kept changing colors...it made it hard to see!!!

Disney World, Day 6, Magic Kingdom Part II

By Friday morning we were all exhausted. Paul and I had a meeting in the morning and then we headed to breakfast with Mickey at 11AM. Maeve had borrowed a Minnie costume from a friend who was Minnie for Halloween. Noah wanted to have a Mickey one but we couldn't find one anywhere! So, we got some red sweatpants, buttons, black pants and a turtleneck. I bought some yellow felt and the grandparents did an excellent job adhering it to Noah's crocs. They even made him a tail to add to his costume! So, we were set and ready to go!!!

At breakfast Mickey and Minnie made a big deal of the kids being dressed like them. It was very cute!!!

Paul got a hold of the kids costumes again and had a little too much fun!

After breakfast we headed to the park to get souvenirs and to catch a few rides we missed.  It was surprisingly cold after a week of 80 degree weather.

While on Main Street I came across some suffragettes lobbying for women's right to vote! My dad insisted we get a picture... very cool!

We finally found Daisy after we had been looking for her all week long!!!

And Noah got to ride Space Mountain with us!!!  

After a slow day at the park the grandparents took the kids back to the hotel and Paul and I headed to Epcot for a wonderful dinner out.  Paul received a tequila lesson and I had a guacamole martini!!! We got to hear a lot from our waitress who was an intern from Mexico.  It was neat to learn about the journey that the young people in Disney take to work there!

After dinner we took a long walk around Epcot enjoying the stores, tasting different food and drinks and them at our own pace!  We also were able to see the fireworks show which was fantastic!!!! 

I would have to say at this point I was completely ready to go home! I was tired and it wasn't warm anymore! But we had another full day ahead of us!