Animal Kingdom

Instead of going through another day like that at the Magic Kingdom, we decided to try out the Animal Kingdom for day 2. It was much slower paced and enjoyable and the park closed early making a shorter day, which was nice. We enjoyed a nice safari and the best part was that we happened to be in the right place at the right time where they handed each of us a dream fast pass (which means that there is minimal to no wait time on all the rides in the park). That was real nice because we could fit more in. The rides were a lot more exciting here too, although not as many and not a lot for the little kids. Our favorite part of the day was seeing Finding Nemo the musical. I just wish we would have had time to see the Lion King as well. Because it's not as busy here the kids had the chance to see a lot of characters as well. This is where they got all of their autographs.

Magic Kingdom

Unfortunately, although we still had fun, the magic kingdom was probably our least favorite part of the trip and yet the most anticipated. There was just way too much to try and fit in and we were rushing all over the place trying to do what all 12 of us in the party wanted and it made for a long day. The children didn't like all the big people rides and especially all the waiting on the ones they wouldn't go on. The parades were good (although we couldn't see real well). The rain that poured in the later evening made the night miserable for awhile. We were most anxious to visit the princesses, but after waiting in line for 45 minutes and not even getting half way through the line the girls decided it was not worth the effort. Poor things. The look on Taylor's face at the Swiss family Robinson tree house was pretty much the look on her face all day. I recommend taking a couple days here and not trying to fit everything into one day.

Daytona Beach & Canoeing

Since we were so close to the beach and I wanted to say I had been to the Atlantic Ocean we went on a day trip to Daytona Beach. It was fun for the kids and the walk on the beach was real refreshing. Unfortunately there had been a lot of reports on rescues from the rip tides there. The day we went supposedly there were 100 rescues and 1 person still missing. Scary. The canoeing was from our resort out on the lake.

Chip and Dale Campfire sing-a-long

The girls really enjoyed cooking smores, singing, and of course seeing Chip and Dale at the campfire program. Dani was a little too timid to hug Dale, but it was fun to see their first characters. Sam just enjoyed eating the rocks. They showed a Disney movie after, but it was already late, so we skipped out on that.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

This was the highlight of the trip for the girls. Thanks to grandma for making it happen. A salon where fairy godmothers in training do little girls' hair, makeup, nails, and more. You'll have to decide for yourself, but personally I think they look a little scary (although these pictures don't give you a good look). It was fun to see Dani with long hair. They sure felt pretty the rest of the day getting oohs and aahs from every one on the street. Taylor asked me to do her hair the same way the next day, but since I didn't plaster it with hair spray, it didn't stay very long.

Parks and pools

The playground at the resort was really neat. It was themed as ancient ruins and had swings, slides, sand "boxes," typical toys, and very nicely decorated. The biggest pool had a pyramid and included a spa and kiddie pool. There was a water slide that Taylor insisted she needed to try out. We look back and decided it would have been a good idea to rent a life vest. Daddy, not realizing Taylor could not swim, stayed in the vicinity to "catch" her, but once she came down he was too far away and the life guard ended up jumping in and saving her. Oops - lesson learned. She probably won't we going down any of those any time soon. The girls got blisters from their flip flops the first day and ended up having to wear their tennis shoes the whole trip, oops, make sure you take sandals with straps on trips with a lot of walking.

Our motel - Coronado Springs

Our favorite part of the trip was staying at such a nice resort. It was so relaxing and since we had nothing else to do (besides Mark in his conference) we went exploring and swimming and enjoyed the scenery. It was so beautiful there and the weather was gorgeous. It stayed in the early 80's the entire time we were there - not too hot, not too cold!

We're Back! At the airport.

On our way out. The girls were so excited to ride on an airplane. Oddly enough, even though the thoughts of Disney World were exciting, Taylor had a melt down before leaving. She wanted to stay home and was really distraught about leaving. It was hard to see it, because we had been anticipating the trip for so long seeing her so excited. Once there, however, all these feelings dissapated.

Climbling Trees

The girls were a little nervous at first to be so high off the ground in Grandpa and Grandma's tree, but then they decided it was kindof fun (as long as they held on for dear life). Luckily they can only get up with help, for now. Sam absolutely loves being outside and let's us know when he wants to be out there.

Tribute to my Grandma

I just wanted to take a minute to let everyone know what a wonderful person my grandma is and also realize how much we love her. She is an amazing, caring women whose greatest love and devotion is to her family. We're grateful for all the love and support she has generously bestowed on us and look forward to spending life throughout eternity with her. She has courageously fought her way through countless trials in her life. To name only a few, she laid her husband to rest at an early age as well as the passing of an infant daughter, fought breast cancer, and now cancer in her liver. She has been strong and has fought a good fight and will continue to do so until the end (which is only the beginning)! We love you Grandma and keep you in our prayers!

Portraits of Sam

Sam's 1st haircut

Before and after

Sam has had a trim around the ears and bangs before, but this time he got the razor. There really wasn't a whole lot to cut (as you can see from the pictures), but it needed to be cleaned up a bit. I was a little scared to do it (especially since I've never cut anyone but Marks and Mark was gone so he wouldn't even be around to fix it). I think it turned out decent enough, we'll just have to wait and see what Daddy says when he gets home to know for sure - I'll at least get an honest opinion. I didn't do it before we got his 1 year pictures taken in case I butchered it, but now I wish I had because he looks a lot cleaner now!