Sunday, May 21, 2017

Disney World part two!

More pics of our trip to Disney World!  We dedicated one day to each of the four major parks.  The day we went to Magic Kingdom we just didn't fit it all in.  So...the next day they had "magic hours" and the park opened at 7 am.  Yep, we were there at 7:00 sharp and walked up to any ride we wanted to.  I highly recommend the whole magic hour thing!!
Animal Kingdom was the last park we did and it was fun!  Going on the African safari was the highlight of this park, the kids loved seeing all of the animals!
One of my favorite pics from Epcot.  She wanted a picture in front of all the pink flowers.
Trying so hard to meet Mickey!!
Good morning Magic Kingdom!  The sun was just coming up!  So much fun to be there that early.  (we are morning people so this worked for us)
Bright eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to tackle the park!
You can't always walk through Cinderella's castle but they had it open that morning and inside we noticed the most beautiful mosaics all over the walls.  Each depicted a scene from a Disney movie!
Animal Kingdom opened at 9 am and so we left MK and went straight there.  They loved the animals!
Even the tiniest of animals were there!
And the largest...can you spot the rhino?
Waking up so early that morning finally caught up with this sweet girl.  Napping in the jogger for the win.
My crew on the nature walk.
And then back to the hotel for more swimming and Mickey ice cream bars!!
Until next time Disney World!!  
I wish he would stay 7 years old with BB8 ears on his head.  :)




Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Disney World part one

Last month we took a pretty big trip...we tackled the magical world of Disney!  Now, Disney is awesome, fun and magical, but it's a TRIP, not a vacation.  It was exhausting but we had a blast!  We did not go over the top with planning every single second of the day...we rolled with the flow and did things according to what the kids were up for.  Example...we had a story time with Belle lined up one day.  Sydney was OVER meeting characters so we ditched that plan and rode some rides instead.  Some three year olds dig characters, mine did not.  No big deal!
The pictures will do the talking, it was a memorable trip for sure!!

At DFW heading to our plane, they were SO excited!  Notice Minnie Mouse in tow.

We arrived at the Grand Floridian (amazing hotel by the way) just in time to meet Cinderella and watch her dance with Prince Charming.  We were off to a great start!


Checking out our hotel.
One of the first things Parker wanted to do that evening was ride the monorail all the way around, that's just what we did.  Parker with Nana and Geefather.

The next morning Parker and James headed to Hollywood Studios an hour before the park opened so Parker could get a spot in the Jedi training.  The rest of us stayed at the hotel and had a nice breakfast.  Sydney scored Mickey pancakes!!
And here Parker is doing his Jedi training.  He talked about this for MONTHS before we went.  We knew we had to make this happen.
Fighting Darth Vader.  
Parker is very into Star Wars these days so it was a good thing that Hollywood Studios was ALL about Star Wars all over the park!
Storm Trooper!!!
We just happened to run into this pair, Chip and Dale, while strolling through the park.  Notice...Sydney is not a fan of characters.
The next day was my favorite...Magic Kingdom!  
You could spend days in this park!  Sydney's face? She must have just run into a character, ha!  It was like a bad dream for her...if I could have the eye roll emoji here, I would! :)
Riding the tea cups!

Sydney was all about the carousel!
Before our trip the kids watched the classic movie "Swiss Family Robinson" and then we all climbed their treehouse at the park!  I'm so glad they watched the movie because the tree house meant something to them.
Riding the Tomorrowland cars with my little driver!
Dumbo ride! I recommend putting each child in a different Dumbo.  They fought over the "joy stick" of making Dumbo flying up and down. Sydney is so mad in this picture. #siblingproblems
That evening we ate at a nice restaurant and of COURSE we had to go to dinner decked out in our Cinderella dress!!  Love her.
The next day was Epcot and this park didn't disappoint either.  It was one of my favorites but the kids put it at the bottom of their list.
Why was it at the bottom of Sydney's list?  
Must have been because this was character meeting day!! We met everyone!
Minnie!  Sydney is trying so hard here.
After we tortured Sydney with character pics, we had fun visiting all the places around the world in Epcot.  We just happened to be in China during lunch and ate some really great Asian food!
After a full day at Epcot...all they wanted to do was hit the pool when we got back to our hotel and that was the highlight of their day!!  Stay tuned for part two...I won't take a month to post it! ;)


Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Taos 2017

Two weeks ago we took a family ski trip for the first time!  Living in Amarillo has a few perks because it's just four hours to the mountains.  We drove to Taos, NM and geared up for the unexpected...would our kids like skiing or not??

Here we go...headed up the mountain!  This is Sydney showing us just how big that mountain looked to her!
They were excited about getting fitted for their skis.
Getting fitted.  
Now, let me insert a little something here...I had NO idea how much work it would take to get little ones all geared up to ski.  I mean by the time we got boots, gloves, helmets and skis on...I was literally sweating in my ski gear.  Oh and just when you get them all ready to go outside, the inevitable happens..."Mommy, I have to go potty".  Lord have mercy!! ;)
Ready to take on the mountain!
On the bunny slope...Sydney was wanting to melt down here but she held it together.
They had private lessons for two days and their instructor Scott was amazing!!  He had the patience of Job and was just wonderful with them.
Heck ya!!  This is me on the lift right after we dropped them off!
A whole day just the two of us by ourselves was a treat to say the least.  We haven't skied together in years!
We met them for lunch and refueled for round two that afternoon.
God's beauty!
We met up with them at the end of the day to see what they learned and I was so impressed!  Just look at those tiny skis!

Me and my boy on the lift!  Parker was awesome, he picked it up so quickly and had no fear going down the slopes.
Goofing around at lunch our second day.
This is the "zipper".  Sydney was so proud to show me how she could do it all by herself.

She was so brave and even wanted to do the lift to go up higher!
At the end of our last day the kids wanted to go tubing!  They had a blast even though it was dumping snow and frigid!
 Saying goodbye to Taos!

As we drove away we spotted a beautiful site in the sky!!
Overall it was a huge success and we can't wait to do it again next year!!