A Week at Walt Disney World

And cue the sweet Florida sunset.  It was love at first sight.  We woke up at 0300 am to get on two different flights to Orlando.  This was worth the wait.  The dinner at Narcoose's was also worth it.  Steak, Lobster, Shrimp, Mickey Mouse shaped mac-n-cheese and yummy almond crusted cheesecake and chocolate gelato, need I say more!

Epcot was fun and Connor wanted me to do these fun photos.  They worked out better on my phone than the camera.

We enjoyed some night swimming but I can't remember if it was our first or second night, they all blurred together.

Cinderella's Castle at night.  We didn't stay for fireworks or the parade, we were so exhausted and wanted to get back to the hotel and sleep.  We averaged 6-7 miles of walking a day.

 Olivia's take on the Epcot globe:

We ate at Tony's which is where Lady and the Tramp are known for and so Marin and Olivia re-enacted the scene of sharing a spaghetti noodle.

 

This is a combination of princess vs. Star Wars.

Grandpa and Grandma's dream vacation was taking all their kids and grandkids on a trip to Disney World and now their dreams came true.  Thanks so much Grandma and Grandpa we love you!

My favorite shot of all time is this one of the parade at Magic Kingdom and getting a fun pic of this gal on stilts.  Loving the sun flare, something that I did not photo-shop in.

The kids loved getting soaking wet and cooling off at the splash park.

I mean SOAKING WET!

Love this pic and Grandma and Grandpa at yet another beautiful sunset.

Paul is looking for Captain Jack Sparrow. . .

Liv and I posing in front of Rapuzel's tower.  Olivia's favorite character.

Olivia was lucky enough to participate in the story with Belle.  She played Mrs. Potts.  This was a fun and interactive feature.

The girls also got their picture with Belle, they loved meeting the characters too!

We had a dinner one  night and met more princesses and this was my favorite part:  dessert!  We had dessert with most of our dinners.

Meeting Princess Aurora

And Snow White

and Ariel

After the dinner the girls created their own ad lib enactment of Frozen and sang "Let it Go" at the top of their lungs.

Meeting her favorite princess:  Rapunzel!

Carousel rides were a favorite and easy to get on, not too much wait time.

So we are NASA nerds and loved our bus tour at the Kennedy Space Center.  This is a pic of 39A and all of the shuttles with people were at this launch pad for take off.  Now, Kennedy won't be sending any humans up to space but they are planning on sending Orion up to Mars!

The Vehicle Assembly Building is so massive!  Everything is so massive at KSC, it really places things in perspective.  People went to the moon, just blows my mind!

Another pic of how huge this space ship is. ..

We were able to dip our toes in the Atlantic Ocean at Cocoa Beach.  This was the kids' first beach experience and they loved it.  They didn't want to leave.

Sea World visit was a rainy one, but we didn't let it stop us!

The kids were able to feed sting rays, seals, dolphins, and sharks.  This is Callie, she was a sweet young dolphin that loved being fed by the kids.

My favorite part of the trip was when we watched the dolphins from the under water view.  Marin had shoes that lit up.  The kids asked the guide if they could hear them and he said probably not but they can see them and they are very curious to new things.  Marin started to stomp her shoes and they lit up and got the dolphin's attention!  Such a neat interaction!

Our family decided that the Manatees are so cute and our Indy kinda looks like a Manatee....do you see the resemblance?

Well, I have over 600 pictures and would love to share everyone of them, but this is the end of the post.  Maybe I'll sneak in more photos later.

I'll leave you with one last favorite:  Momma Giraffe and Baby Giraffe loving on each other.

Skating through March

 

 

For the first time this March, we are seeing signs of spring:  Robins in the yard, warm sunshine with temps in the 50-60's, and Baseball registration.  Our weekends are also picking up and not being disturbed by weather, another clue that spring is on its way.  This past weekend we met our quota of activities.  Olivia had to two play-dates, Connor had one, we drove up north to the ISU campus and took our nephew out to eat, went to a hockey game with another friend couple, volunteered and filled up bags for Meals from the Heartland, went ice-skating, and then finally helped a friend take some ease off by coming over, playing with her kiddos, and catching up.  Phew!  Needless to say, this Momma was tired!

 

 

Here's some pics from ice-skating.  My back is not in shape for any balancing on knives on ice yet. . . since I recently injured my back again . . . So, I just take photos!

 

 

First time skating for Liv and second time skating for Paul.  They stayed close to the wall, but by the end of the time she was skating no hands but with Paul close by. 

 Connor also hugged the wall the first few times around and then got a hang of it and skated like a pro.

 They were taking off their gloves and hats, while I was donning them.  It was super cold in the stands.  However, being that it was 60 degrees outside, I could go warm up outside.  What a paradox!

 

 

 I think she's pretty proud of herself.  The winter Olympics were motivating for both Paul and the kids which is why they are on the ice.  Olivia wants to learn to figure skate now.

 

Think it may be awhile to let go of Daddy's hand for figure skating.

We got a new camera this year, it's been almost ten years with the last camera and after a few bumps and bruises, the battery door did not work anymore and it warranted too much finger work to take one picture.  So, I've been playing around with the different settings and getting used to the new feel of the camera.  Enjoy my subjects!

 Tatum in the sunlight . . .

 Close-up of Tatum's paws and I can see her gray whiskers.

 

 I think Indy would have smiled if I had a treat ready for him, he does not look amused.

 

 Olivia never needs a treat to smile for the camera.

 The dogs don't rough-house until the kids come home from school and Indy is always asking Tatum for some play time.

 

 

Just an ordinary day of Connor having a friend over and playing some video games.  Nolan isn't getting much game playing in since Indy wants his attention.

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for now, I'm sure after Spring Break there will be more pics to post.

Until then . . .