Disney Day 3 - Hollywood Studios

On Friday we went to Hollywood Studios. We weren't all that sure what to expect for the kids, but it turned out to be fun. Are you surprised? Anyway, it was here that Anna got to ride her FAVORITE ride -- Tower of Terror. For those of you not familiar, it is an elevator that you sit in that takes you up and "bams you to the ground!" (In the words of Anna.) You go down really fast and then back up and down a few times. It is fun and you really did need to be strapped in. There were lots of screams and giggles from our crew. It was also here that Anna finally got the toy that she had been waiting for. She was able to buy her Jessie doll. Jessie is the cowgirl from Toy Story 2. For some reason Jessie had replaced the princesses before we even left home. Not sure how that happened, but I guess it had something to do with the fact that both kids LOVE Toy Story 1 and 2.


While in Hollywood Studios, we also got to meet Woody and Buzz, along with Annie and Leo from Little Einsteins. Gabe got to see the Cars characters Lightning McQueen and Mater. Anna didn't want to have her picture taken with them though. We didn't get to see the parade here because of the weather. Of course, it rained almost every afternoon that we were there. Nothing too major, just a down pour and then the hot sun came back with lots of humidity. I am not used to the humidity anymore, since it is not as bad in MN as it was in St Louis.

The other fun milestone that we had in this park was Gabe riding his first upside-down roller coaster. He said it was fun and wanted to go again with me, but Doug said he was scared out of his mind. I think it was a little of both. =) I ended up not going on it..the standby line was getting a little long and I didn't want to wait in line. I was getting tired by that point in the day. And I was a little crabby having to put our ponchos on and off so many times.

After we were done, or had seen all we really wanted to see, at this park we decided to check in with Wendy and company. They were in Orlando and wanted to eat. Since Doug and I had been there a few days, we got to pick the restaurant. We ended up picking Outback Steakhouse. It was so yummy. Especially after eating sandwiches and "park food" for a few days now. To make it even better, we got here during happy hour so that made it better. The kids were so excited to see Aunt Wendy, Uncle Jay and John they didn't even want to sit by us. That's OK though, we know they love us.

Disney - Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

OK, so since my last post, I have put lots of pictures on facebook. But, I still wanted to tell you a little about our trip and each day. I have to say again, we just had an amazing time! The kids loved it and Doug and I enjoyed watching them have so much fun. Ok, so on to the Magic Kingdom... This park is really what I think about when I said Disney World. I know there are lots of other things to do in "The World", but this park is what always comes to mind.

We were up bright and early again this morning. We wanted to get to the park before it opened so we could start out right away. And, I knew that it took awhile to travel on either the ferry or monorail just to get over to the Magic Kingdom. It was a good thing our resort was so close. We were only about 7-10 minutes away, so that made it handy. Our timing paid off, we were the first in line to get through the first set of gates. Then we were one of the firsts to get on the ferry and one of the first to get off on the other side. Then we boarded the train and rode to the back of the park. We wanted to do the more exciting rides before the lines got WAY to long. It was awesome! We were able to get on both the rides twice and never had to stand in line!! The second time we rode Splash Mountain we all got completely soaked!! I am talking, undergarments wet and wet for hours soaked, even in the hot sun. It was kinda yucky! But, thank goodness I had my new mickey hat (which is made from recycled products - I thought of you Emily!) and my ponytail holder.

After that we slowly made our way to other parts of the Magic Kingdom. We even decided to wait in line to see Ariel. We saw her as a princess at the breakfast, but now we had to see her as the mermaid. We rode lots of rides, but only saw one show the entire time we were there. The kids were really into riding rides, so that is what we did. I didn't even get to take Doug to the Tiki Room...I was a little bummed about that. We did get to ride It's a Small World during a rain burst. Anna LOVED all the dancing people. (Doug and I vowed that we would start singing Zip a Dee Da Zip a Dee Aye if we got It's a Small World stuck in our heads. We did!) We did get to ride the Flying Carpets though. That was OK, except for the camel the SPIT on me during the ride.

We tried to watch an afternoon parade, but there was a thunder storm rolling in so they didn't dance in the street. But, it was still nice to at least semi-rest in one spot for a little bit. Throughout the day we saw a few different characters to get pictures with. But, the kids were not that excited about waiting in line just to get an autograph and a picture with the characters. So, we stopped at ones that didn't have long lines. =) We did take time to visit Mickey at the end of the day. We lucked out as Minnie was in with Mickey. So, we were able to get a family picture. I love it! Although it was at the end of a long, hot, rainy day, but we all look pretty decent considering...

The other thing I was sad about was that Space Mountain was closed for renovations. Well, next time we will be able to ride that. Gabe had a blast in the new (at least new since I was there last) Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger ride. You get in this car and get to shoot at Z targets. Well, the second time through Gabe scored 999,999 -- the highest you could get!!! We were all so excited for him. So, he picked out a Buzz Lightyear laser as his "big" souvenir from the money from Papa. It was another long day with lots of rain showers, but we still had a blast. And, the best part was it wasn't as busy as I had expected it to be!

Disney - Day 1 - Epcot

Our vacation to Disney World was absolutely awesome!! We had a great time and managed to fit all out souvenirs in the suitcases.

The kids had a blast on the airplane, but their mean mom did make them take a catnap before we got there. (We left our house at 7a to get to the airport early enough. Then we sat at the airport for 2 1/2 hours and then on the plane for 3 1/2 hours. They needed to rest and so did I.)

We went to Epcot our first day in FL because we had a Princess Breakfast scheduled. We thought it would be good to get it out of the way and a great way to start our vacation. Looking back, it was also a great way to get Epcot out of the way (sorry honey) since it isn't as exciting as the Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios.

The breakfast was in the Norway castle in the World Showcase. It was yummy and lots of fun. Doug finally got to taste lutefisk. It wasn't that good to me and I think it was just OK to him. But, he REALLY felt the need to try it. We also managed to find a couple rides and some hands on stuff. The kids loved the GM Test Track. It was a roller coaster in a car that put you through tests they do on cars.

We did walk through all the different countries, but it wasn't so exciting. The kids were tired, even after a nap on the monorail, and I wasn't that interested. We did manage to see Donald Duck in a sombrero though, so that was fun.

Kindergarten Graduation and Last Day of School!!

Thursday May 28, 2009

WOW, my little boy is growing up way TOO fast! He has already completed Kindergarten. Now he informs me that he is on to First Grade. I just can't believe how fast it has gone. I was talking to him about a VBS song I used to sing to him when he was just a baby. He just giggled and told me he wasn't a baby anymore. (He does remember the song and we still listen to that first VBS CD. It is actually still his favorite and we have 6 more since then!) I am excited that he is so grown up, but I am sad that he is grown up. I love being able to get out and do things with the kids and not have to pack the entire house.

To commemorate the passing of his first year in school, they had a Kindergarten Graduation. It may sound funny to those of you who are not used to this, but it was so nice. It was an easier way for us new/sentimental parents to be excited for the accomplishments of our children.

They each had a fun graduation hat with the tassel. But, they didn't fit real well, so a few kids lost theirs on the walk down the aisle. Gabe was one that lost his. He was walking funny and had a scared look on his face. Well, he could feel the hat sliding off. He lost it about the time he passed me and his face got so red. I felt so sorry for him. Thank goodness his teacher was on stage and she helped him get it back on. (Thanks Mrs Beers!) He was much better after that.

After the ceremony, we all went to the cafeteria for a little snack. We got to visit with our new graduates and then sent them back to class. Of course, the just changed out of their nice clothes and got to go outside to play. Later that day, the Superintendent of the school grilled them hot dogs at the park. Gabe was tired when he got home from playing outside all day.

Friday May 29, 2009

The next day was the last day of school. It was only a half day, so it was really fun again. hahah After we picked Gabe up at noon, we all went out to lunch at Pizza Ranch. The only bad thing was the kids still ate lunch at school! Gabe said he didn't eat much, so he could still have a piece of pizza. And of course he had to have dessert pizza!

I was able to help this year in Gabe's class. It was nice to be involved and see all the kids. As a thank you for helping his class gave me a flower. I replanted it and made Gabe take a picture with it the last day of school. (Are you even shocked at that?? -- You should be shocked that I totally forgot to take pictures of Anna on her last day of school. So much for keeping everything EVEN for the kids. hahah)

It is officially summer break now. We just have to finish packing for our vacation. We are heading to Florida to spend some time with Mickey Mouse. We will be meeting up with my sister and her family, so that will be fun. The kids are so excited about getting to fly in an airplane. We'll see how that goes....hopefully neither one will get motion sick!!

Of course, I will post more pictures when we get home.

Anna rides without training wheels!! Woo-Hoo!

For some reason the past few weeks, Anna's training wheels haven't been staying on. That translates into - she has been falling off her bike and getting really mad about it! So, finally Doug and I got sick of the issue and took the training wheels off. We had a talk to her about it and big ceremony putting the training wheels in the dumpster. But, Anna still wasn't too sure about doing this 2-wheeler thing all by herself.

So, it took her a couple days to feel comfortable. She would get going, realize we weren't holding one or running next to her, slam on the brakes (or just quit pedaling) and fall over. ???? (Why do that?? Somedays I don't get kids!) That would make her scream and cry and not want to get back on. So, we had to explain, or at least try to explain, that if she keeps pedaling, she will be fine. That was a hard concept to grasp for her.

Once we got that covered, we had to battle the issue of turning. She was so happy to go, but said she was scared to turn the handle bars. UGH! Finally I had to take the hard road with her and tell her that if she didn't start steering, she was going to have to stop riding. Well, guess what?? She steered -- turned and even turned around in the driveway which is much narrower than the church parking lot.

We are so proud of her! After a few days of practicing, she is now starting out all by herself also. Of course, we told her she was a natural! Especially since she is without training wheels a year before Gabe was. (If you remember last year, Gabe got his wheels off and took off like a rocket. He reminded us that he was more of a natural than Anna. Is that what they call sibling rivalry?!?)

The little video clip was taken before she could fully start out on her own. For some reason she went up on the sidewalk and couldn't get started again. If you look really close, she is on the verge of having a fit because she can't get going again. Patience is not her strong suit! She does such a great job though...enjoy! And yes, she is riding one day in a dress. She is such a girly girl tomboy! Has to have a dress or skirt, but plays in the dirt or whatever can make her dirty!!

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

We had a very fun Mother's Day. I got some fun things from both the kids. They were the best homemade, rather school-made, presents. For lunch we went to a friend's house for a picnic. The kids had a blast -- all three of them!

Yes, that is a snowmobile you see. We actually called it grass-mobiling. Anna got a little freaked out because she said Ricky was going too fast. Funny, she has never said that while riding with him before. Maybe it feels different on the grass...I don't know. I passed on the grass-mobiling, but I did take part in the 4-wheeling.

Thanks Gabriel, Anna and Daddy for doing such a good job helping me celebrate Mother's Day.

Crazy Anna

Mother's Day Anna woke up and got ready for church all by herself. She even added the finishing touches of make-up (thanks Kathy!). She was so proud of herself. She was ready to go to church and sit by Ricky. She even had her church sandals on. Well, she looked more like she had war paint on for church, so I had to get a few pictures. For some reason she wasn't in the mood for the pictures. Probably because I said we needed to wash her face, get her pretty dress on, and then put on different make-up. I am such a mean mom!