Happiest Place on Earth

Well, I have finally arrived at my last batch of pictures from our trip to Orlando in NOVEMBER.  Ha!  Honestly though, I swear yesterday was Christmas.

Anyhow.  We got to enjoy the Magic Kingdom with my mom AND my sister, which was an extra special treat.  My parents let my sister skip (GASP!) school to experience the day with us (aka help with the small ones).  I have to say, it is funny having a sister half your age.  There were many times that I would turn to my mom and say, "I was NOT like that when I was her age."  Of course, mom would just look at me and smile...  Jaci is very much a 16 year old, but she is smart and has a good head on her shoulders AND she's my baby sister and I love her and the boys LOVED her.  She definitely had way more energy than me!  And she so (mostly) graciously played Lego Harry Potter with Henry for hours on end so he could learn the ins and outs of getting through the game - just in time for us to go home!

What was I saying?  Oh yes.  Magic Kingdom.  Pictures!

Having grown up here, I never, ever, ever wait in line to see characters.  But unfortunately, I saw Pluto, pointed him out to Henry, and oh pickles (that's really what I said, I promise) we were then waiting in the hot and humid line with a one year old who did not want to sit in the stroller and did not want to stand still in line with us for HALF AN HOUR.  Ugh.  Being the awesome mom I am though, we made it (having nothing to do with a Grandma or auntie, I'm sure) and got our picture.  And look who is not even looking!

Then, making our way down Main Street, we ran into some ol' friends, the Dapper Dans:

And then it was already about lunchtime.  Mom had made us special reservations for the character lunch at the Crystal Palace - a serious treat.  The characters there were from the Hundred Acre Wood and both boys were excited.  What was most fun for me was seeing how much more excited and not nervous Henry was to see all these giant animals.  He really IS growing up!

Epitome of cuteness:

Right?  You have got to know Henry to appreciate the awesomeness of this next pic:

Eeyore used to be my favorite Disney character...until I had to be him in costume in the Easter parade circa 1995.  Do you see how big his head is?  Did you know that Easter in Orlando is 98 and humid?  In any case, he's still cute - especially with my children.

Then!  Another *GASP!* moment!  Tigger led a congo parade around the restaurant and guess who was FIRST IN LINE to join him???  MY HENRY!  I know!  Unbelievable!  He might have made a face when some older kid got in front of him in line, but he still had fun.

Me and my own personal Goofy

I mean, honestly...isn't Tigger the best?!  He was so funny with the boys.

See?

And then, WHAT?!  Henry kissed Pooh.  Who is this child?

Pooh got him back, though. :)

After a ginormous and delicious buffet lunch, we started on the rides!  I didn't get many pictures of this due to strollers having to be parked and small children having to be carried in lines.  Oy.  Again...really...missing...big strong daddy...

Henry and I did the cars by ourselves because Wyatt fell asleep.  Yes!

We caught the second half of a castle show.  Something about love and magic.  There was lots of smoke and fireworks so the kids thought it was rad, even though it was mostly a bunch of princesses they've never heard of.

Time to wait for the afternoon parade!

And one of my favorite pics to date.  My kids sharing a $20 bucket of popcorn!

Can you see how HOT we all are?  Do you see the sweat in my kids hair?  Do you notice that my mother is still wearing long sleeves?

The second half of the day went by in a blur as we enjoyed many, many rides, many, many treats and a slightly stressful hot dog dinner. But then it was dark and they have brought back the old ElectroMagic Parade!!!  Talk about reminiscent of my childhood.  So awesome.  The boys were enamored with all the lights.  Oh, and characters.  Also wearing lights.

Waiting for the parade to begin:

Fast forward a few days....  We went to Hollywood Studios (what used to be MGM) in the evening to see the Olson Family's Spectacle of Dancing Lights, which is always cool.  Majorly cool.  It even snowed soap.  Here's a pic.

Wyatt and Henry, lovin' the lights.

Wyatt was telling Jaci all about what was happening

Here's my precious mother with her grandsons.  Please note that the boys are wearing long sleeved T-shirts but my mother is wearing a sweater and a jacket AND a scarf.  Because it WAS about 67 degrees.  Don't you see the soap snow?  Brrrrrr.

After this, we got in line for Toy Story Mania.  About halfway through the looooong line, Wyatt had a wardrobe malfunction that involved a new diaper so mom and Jaci took Henry on the ride.  Needless to say, it was his favorite ride of all!

Sadly, that's really the gist of all my pics in Orlando.  I can't believe I didn't take any pictures at my parents house.  Oh well.  At least I got a picture of this ginormous Christmas tree.  In early November.

The End