Ian got to ride and airplane for the very first time and was excited. Alison would have been more excited if she would have had a window to look out of. For some reason, our row did not have windows. She was pretty disappointed. We waited and waited to get going and Alison asked "When do we blast off?" We giggled because she was so eager to get into the air. Ian sat and played with the seat backs and tray tables for a bit and then ventured across the aisle to a grandma sitting in the opposite row. She had a mighty mouse shirt that had lots of little rhinestones on the front. It was funny watching Ian stroke the picture set squarely on the woman's chest. Our kids are so funny!
I know I haven't blogged in a while, but I also don't want to recount every detail of the trip, so I will just talk about some highlights. Magic Kingdom was a big favorite of Alison's and the teacups and Dumbo, Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh were the favorite rides. We got to visit with Tinker Bell and her fairy friends Iredessa and Rosetta. We waited an hour to see them. Ian was very nervous around the "real people" characters and loved some of the costume characters like Mickey and Minnie, Pluto and Goofy. He also enjoyed Winnie the Pooh and Piglet most when we had dinner with them. Alison proved to be a little more daring this trip and tried to figure out what was "real" and what was make believe. She is a big thinker, that one!
SeaWorld was by far Ian's most favorite place to be. Alison didn't want to admit it, but she fell in love with it too. She wanted to love Disney parks more - but I believe it was a toss up. Afterwards, she told us she wants to be a SeaWorld animal trainer. We found the best souvenir - a SeaWorld Barbie with a Shamu, dolphin and sea lion to train and she can take it in the tub. Ian wouldn't stop saying Shamu and still says it ALL THE TIME. He got a Shamu stuffed animal and some mini whales and dolphins for the tub. Ian loved watching all the fish, dolphons and whales swim. Ali liked the Sea Lion show and we went back to SeaWorld 3 times. They have a big roller coaster that was pretty cool - even Derek rode it. I rode the Atlantis ride and got soaked!
So, we did Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom (the safari was the best part), Sea World, Aquatica (where we all sunburned really bad except for Ian), Disney's Hollywood Studios - formerly MGM Studios. Here is where Ian saw the most characters and LOVED Bolt and Chip & Dale. Ali and Derek learned how to draw Goofy and Ian and I had fun walking around meeting a lot of characters. I an met Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater. I asked Derek to ride the Tower of Terror and he did. He made the mistake of referring to it as a scarier version of the kids ride at Lagoon called Ladybug Bop and Dinosaur Drop. Ali was insistent she wanted to go. So, she and I headed up to the ride. I was sure we wouldn't make it past the lobby since it looked like a scary, haunted hotel. But, she kept telling me it was all make believe and wasn't real - so she checked her fear at the door. We got on the ride and I knew the whole time this wasn't going to end well. When we made the first drop, she came off her seat about three inches. I had a hold of her the entire time - but she started to cry and was not enjoying the up and down, especially the part of rising off her seat and then slamming back down. She held back the tears after it ended to let me know she would NEVER ride it again. We were so proud of her!
We went to Downtown Disney for some dinner at T-Rex and some shopping. At once Upon a Toy - Ian got two Mickey Mouse dolls (one hard and one stuffed) and ALison got to fill a box full of My Little Pony ( dolls) and all the princess clothes. Whatever you could squeeze into the box, you got for $12. Not too shabby! She got the best deal of all. Epcot was next and then back to Magic Kingdom. SeaWorld without Derek proved a little difficult. Our stroller fell apart (the wheel fell off and the axle broke), so I had to find a new one. We drove to three different stores, but ended up with a great stroller to finish the trip and hopefully last us 5 years like the last one. The kids got to play in the water this time at SeaWorld and it was so much fun.
We relaxed at the condo a lot and even got to watch the Space Shuttle take off in the distance. That was so cool! Even though we were all sick at different times, this was a great family vacation and it felt like one. We loved having the full kitchen and used it to our advantage. We definitely left there with a Disney Hangover, but had such a great time with the kids. We are grateful Derek had the 2 1/2 days of conference so we could come along and enjoy Orlando with him. THANKS Derek for taking so much time off to play with us!
The weather cooperated the whole trip. It was at least 85 degrees every day we were there and then it rained for 4 days after we left. That was good for us but sad for all those Spring Breakers out there.
We came home to see all the hard work our concrete guys did for us with our patio and RV pad. They finished pouring both areas by the next weekend, before it started snowing again. We love it. Now, Bella can't eat the rocks and we have some great space in the backyard to entertain our family and guests.
Alison is back to playing soccer and has another game tonight (Tuesdays at 5:00 pm).
We also went to Idaho Falls this past weekend for Derek's sister's baby blessing. I got to help Derek's parents paint a tree on their wall downstairs. They stamped apples on the tree and wrote all their grandchildren's names on them. The saying on the wall reads... "Grandchildren... the apples of our eyes". It turned out really well and their basement looks so good with the new paint, wallpaper, borders and decor.
We are all better and ready to see what April has in store. Spring break is April 6th - 10th and Oh - We are taking ALison to go see WICKED on the 11th. We can't wait!
