Sunday @ Disney

Sunday morning we made it to the Magic Kingdom around 8:45 to watch the Welcome show. Mickey and some more characters ride the train into the station and let a family throw out pixie dust to open the park. It was a really neat little show and we had time to get our bags searched and go through the ticket gate beforehand, so we could go straight to the rides at 9:00. This was the crowd level we were expecting and only waited in line five or ten minutes, if at all, to go on a ride. We rode rides in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, then headed to lunch at Casey's. Evie saw the end of a show at the castle as we were walking to lunch and wanted to see it. It worked out that one was starting about five minutes after we finished eating. The kids loved the Mickey's Dreams Come True show. Evie got to see it three times throughout the week. During the show Mickey asks what your wish is and Evie said she wished she was a princess. After the show, we let the guys take Andrew to ride the race cars again while Nana granted Evie's wish with a Snow White dress. We then decided to camp out in a spot to watch the parade and have a snack. The ice cream parlor had Tofutti (egg &milk free) ice cream, so we got some ice cream and sat in front of the castle. It was a long wait for a 3:00 parade. This was the only time we watched it because mid-afternoon is a tough time for preschoolers. It was completely worth it though. The kids loved all the characters and Evie had a special moment with Dopey. Since she was dressed as Snow White he came over and kissed her hand. It was really sweet!

After the parade, we got the kids to the bus stop and sent them back to our resort with Nana and Papa. Phil and I took the monorail over to Epcot to have dinner and see the Candlelight Processional. We had a wonderful dinner in Japan at Teppan Edo, then had some time to walk around before our show. The Candlelight Processional was incredible. Virginia Madsen was our narrator. She read the Christmas story pretty much straight from the book of Matthew, and throughout the story the orchestra played and the choir sang traditional songs and hymns. It was a very special experience.

Group picture


Andrew's favorite ride~ the Tomorrowland Speedway

Mickey and Minnie in Dreams Come True

Our little Snow White

Saturday @ Disney

We drove half the way on Friday evening, so it wasn't too long of a travelling day on Saturday. We arrived at Pop Century around 3:00, got checked in, and headed to the Magic Kingdom. The wait for a bus should have prepared us for it, but we had no idea the park would be so insane. Disney had filmed their Christmas parade that day and Hannah Montana was there, so the whole place was just packed with people. Within 5 minutes of being there,however, we ran into our good friends from Charlotte that we haven't seen in a few years. I'm not sure what the odds of that happening are, but I actually saw four families throughout the week that I know. By this point we were all hungry, so we went to Cosmic Ray's for dinner (it was a madhouse!). It took us about an hour to get our food and eat it. We were all a little overwhelmed and wondering what the rest of the week was going to be like. We walked out of the restaurant and spotted the teacup ride. We decided to do this one ride and then call it a day. As we were walking back out the castle had been lit up to look like it was covered in ice. It is beautiful anyway, but it is amazing with the lights.

On our way!


Cinderella Castle

The kids first ride at Disney ~ Teacups

Cinderella Castle covered in "ice"

Disney World

We had an unbelievable time at Disney World this past week! Here are a few of our very favorite pictures. I've started working on a post for each day from our trip. Just one post would have just been enormous!

Mickey's Dreams Come True show at Cinderella Castle

Andrew with Lightning and Mater

Evie with Cinderella

Hair drama

The before

The damage~bangs completely gone, top thinned out, and the left side is considerably shorter than the right


The fix

Thanksgiving weekend

We ate lots of Turkey on Thursday

Fantasy of Trees on Friday

Andrew's favorite tree. Look closely and you will see the lights are Cars characters.

Evie decided to give herself a haircut on Friday evening

Floor dining & Christmas decorating

The kids have been asking to have a picnic since Friday, but it has just been too cold to do it. However, Andrew's teachers informed me that he was wonderful at church, so we rewarded him with something he had been asking for. We picked up hamburgers and fries for lunch and had a floor picnic. I guess it is special anytime we eat somewhere other than the kitchen table. After our picnic we started decorating for Christmas. The kids were great helpers and it was definitely the fastest our tree has ever gone up. I am usually doing it by myself or the kids are spreading pieces everywhere, but they are finally big enough to sort branches by color and bring them to us.

Eating fruit roll ups during the picnic
All of Evie's ornaments are in one small area on the tree

Andrew being silly

Andrew went to the barber shop for a major haircut this morning. He got to watch Daddy get his cut first. I was worried the clippers would scare him, but he did great! I was the one who was really nervous as I saw how short his hair was being cut.

My two guys after their haircuts having lunch at Sonic

Gobble Gobble

Evie came home a with a family project last week from preschool. She was supposed to creatively decorate a Thanksgiving turkey. Evie and I finished it up this afternoon. Pipe cleaners, a golden raisin, sprinkles, and multi-grain cheerios made an interesting turkey. She is quite proud of it!

Andrew's new obsession

Around Evie's 3rd birthday she became obsessed with Sleeping Beauty, so I have been waiting to find out if Andrew would go through a similar phase and what it would be that he just loved. Last month he discovered Cars and now quotes the movie and keeps a Lighting McQueen with him almost all the time. He told us earlier this week that his name is now Mater. It is a really cute movie that is perfect for a little boy who has always loved everything on four wheels. Thankfully, my children have chosen movies and characters that I also like. Watching and talking about Barney or Elmo daily may have just pushed me over the edge!

Andrew cheesin' with his Lightning McQueen

So excited about a shirt with Mack, Mater, and Lightning on it!
(He is also going through a phase where he undresses himself a lot)

Tagged

I've been tagged by Amanda to:

Open the 4th picture folder on my computer

Choose the 4th picture in that file

Explain the picture

Tag 4 people to do the same

This picture is from 1/13/08. Evie is the princess and Andrew is her prince. He is being a great brother by playing along and dancing with her in the living room.

I tag Bridgette, Mary Beth, Celena, and Cynthia