Disney World! Day Two ... More Magic Kingdom*

Our second day at Disney World was spent at the Magic Kingdom again ... there was so much to do and see, we were really glad that we planned two days to do everything!  We got there early again and were able to basically walk onto some of the really popular rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and the new Undersea Journey of the Little Mermaid!  Zachary wasn't a big fan of the rides but he tolerated them well ... His favorites were the Magic Carpets of Aladdin and the Astro Orbiter ... and, of course, the carousel!  Jennifer's favorite was Stitch's Great Escape, but she really didn't ride anything that she didn't enjoy ... except for the Jungle Cruise!  It was another long but super fun day!

Jennifer and me in the new part of Fantasyland - this was in front of Gaston's Tavern from Beauty and the Beast

Jennifer with Cinderella's evil step-mother!

Phil and Zach and Scott and Jennifer driving race cars!

We really enjoyed staying at The Polynesian resort - hopefully we can stay there again next trip!

Zachary and Phil checking out an afternoon parade from Main Street

This picture is actually from our first day, after going on the Jungle Cruise ... I remembered liking the Jungle Cruise when I was little, but it scared Jennifer!  She couldn't stop talking about the guy wanting to trade one of our heads for three shrunken heads ... she really did not like that!

Zach had been waiting and waiting to take a ride on the train ... we finally made it!

At the entrance to the Swiss Family Robinson TreeHouse ... Jen loved being our tour guide!

Our final ride on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin

The Incredible's Dance Party was soooo fun!

Disney World! Day One ...

We had such a wonderful trip to Disney World!  Phil, the kids and I drove to Savannah, Georgia on Saturday and stopped there for the night, then continued on to Orlando on Sunday.  That afternoon we checked into our room at Disney's Polynesian resort and headed to Downtown Disney.  The Polynesian resort was beautiful and the kids were so excited to see the waterfalls, tiki torches, and of course the Lilo and Stitch decor!  Monday morning we met up with Phil's parents and brother and took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom ... we got there early enough to see the opening show and rope drop ... of course, Disney did not disappoint.  It was a great start to our day!  Monday was all about Jennifer getting to meet the princesses - she got to meet Ariel, Belle, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty!  Zachary couldn't have cared less, but he did enjoy getting to ride Aladdin's Magic Carpets and Dumbo!  Here are some pics from our first day at Disney ...

Packed into the Jetta ... it was two long days of driving, but as you can see here the kiddos had plenty to keep them occupied!

There were plenty of naps taken those two days in the car!

Our first spotting of Lilo and Stitch paraphernalia!

Eating dinner at The Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney ... Fun Fact: the animals in the restaurant "come alive" every 10 minutes and there is a "thunderstorm" every 20 minutes complete with darkness, lightning, and the sounds of rain and thunder along with the animals "coming alive" ... our children were not fans of this and we had to eat quickly!

The Magic Kingdom day one!  Jennifer chose her Tinkerbell dress for our first day at the park and Zach wanted to wear his Donald Duck shirt :)

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin ride was by far Zachary's favorite ... he rode it a total of five times over the two days we were there!

It's a Small World!

The first princess Jennifer got to meet was Ariel, she was very excited that Ariel had her fin instead of legs!

Enchanted Tales with Belle was a super cute interactive meet and greet where the kids put on a play as a surprise for princess Belle ... then Belle gives them each a bookmark as a gift and they get a hug and photo-op ... this was really well done and a very special way for the kiddos to get to meet Belle!

Jennifer is still dressed as Tink but has added a Rapunzel hat ... Cinderella called her a Fairy Princess and Jen was super excited ... this meet and greet with Cinderella was fabulous ... Cinderella spent a couple of minutes talking with each child and was super sweet!

She then hugged and posed for pictures ... we had a fast pass for this so we didn't have to wait in line but it was well worth the 40 minute wait for the people that didn't have a fast pass

Sleeping Beauty was in the same room with Cinderella so Jennifer got to meet both princesses in this same spot ... Sleeping Beauty also spent a couple of minutes talking and interacting with each child, then gave hugs and posed for pictures ... Jennifer was so excited!

We conveniently exited the Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty meet and greet through a shop that sold princess dresses (of course!) and Jennifer got some super special pixie dust sprinkled in her hair ... that pixie dust is still in her hair four days later!

Zachary wanted to ride the carousel so Phil and I took the kiddos for a ride

Jennifer and me on Dumbo!

We ended our night with the Main Street Electrical Parade and I have to say this was my favorite
part of the day!  It was a hot, busy day and we were all exhausted ... but we were also excited for
day two at the Magic Kingdom!

Snow Day!

We got a couple of inches of snow last night and we had a blast playing in it all day! Jennifer taught Zachary how to make snow angels, they both ate their fair share of it, we had a snowball fight and attempted to build a snowman ... Jen even went sledding with the girls across the street at a big hill in the neighborhood. And, of course, there was hot cocoa!

Gorgeous weather!

January has had some beautiful, warm weather mixed in with crazy cold days! Today was a nice day so we stayed out for as long as possible, since tomorrow we have a winter weather advisory!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with family and friends!

Happy Birthday, Zachary!

We celebrated Zach's second birthday yesterday with a pancakes and pajamas party!  All the kiddos wore their jammies and we had pancakes, hashbrowns, yogurt parfaits, and a super yummy donut tower ... the birthday boy got to blow out his candle on a special donut this year!  Zach had tons of fun playing with family and friends and he especially loved getting lots of help opening all of this presents.  It was a great party and I'm so glad we got to celebrate our little guy with our close friends Liam and Lucas, and new friends that just happen to all be our new neighbors : )  And of course it's always fun having family nearby to celebrate with!
Zachary is such a fun two year old, he loves playing trucks and trains, climbing all over everything at the park and sliding all by himself, playing with big sis, scaring our cats Chester and Posey and watching them run away, and he always loves keeping up with bigger kids.  Even though he's still not saying a lot words, he finds a way to let us know exactly what he wants or what he's thinking - in fact, he can be pretty bossy without saying a thing!  He gets really excited about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but I have no idea how he discovered them.  When Jennifer is singing he likes to try to sing along, even after she tells him to stop ; )  He entertains himself by knocking down anything Jennifer is playing with and has started thinking it's really funny to run and make himself fall down and roll across the floor!  He's also super sweet, loves his blankie, and loves to cuddle, especially first thing in the morning.  He's growing into such a sweet and fun little boy, we're so lucky to have such a wonderful two year old!

Inflatable guitars and microphones are a must for birthday parties!

Two cuties!

Zachary's new bike - now he can keep up with Jennifer and our neighbor Noah when they play outside!

 Enjoying pancakes and donuts with Nana and friends!

He really wanted that present ... especially since Nana told him "Thomas the Train might be in this present!"

Getting lots of help opening all those presents!

Having a blast with all his new toys!

Our best attempt at a picture with the birthday boy!

Hanging out with Uncle Jeffrey!

Opening his present from Great Granny!

He loves it!

Jennifer wasn't getting as much attention as she would have liked!

Lucas enjoying his donuts!

The birthday boy and Papa!

Jennifer enjoying one of Zach's new books with Jill, Tammy and Grandma!

Uncles are the best!

The birthday boy with Uncle Scotty!

Granpa and Poppy hanging out!

Blowing out his candle ... and getting a little help!

The cutest two year old I know!!  Love you Zachary Mitchell!