Disney with LaLa Finale: Chef Mickey's

We like to leave Disney with a bang by having brunch at Chef Mickey's on the way out of town!  Somehow the excitement of one last character meal and over-stuffed bellies as we get in the car takes some of the sting out of the reality that our vacation is over.  I had to pull out the most wintery clothes I could find for everyone, as it was cold and cloudy once again, but that didn't stop us from having a great meal with Mickey and the gang!

 Getting ready for a delicious, high-calorie meal!

 I think Elizabeth enjoyed this event more than anything!  She couldn't wait for each character to get to our table, and as they would leave, she would say, "More Donald Duck... More Goofy....," until we could distract her with the next character.

 Meeting Pluto, of course!

 We had to get a big group picture with the Mouse himself!

 Elizabeth insisted on giving each character a "huggie" and a "kiss" as they walked away!

Good times!

"I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a Mouse." 
-Walt Disney

Disney With LaLa: Hollywood Studios

The next day of our trip, we went to my favorite park, Hollywood Studios.  It is usually so easy to get around, and I absolutely love the 50's themed restaurants, decor , etc.  There are some great shows to be seen, such as Beauty and the Beast, and my favorite restaurants are there, as well!  On this particular day, it was much more crowded than I'm used to, and we had several downpours.  We had a great time anyway, but this was the day I realized we probably won't be trying to "do Disney" the week before Easter ever again!  Apparently, the weeks before and after Easter are among the busiest of the year, and I would believe that, having been in August, May, October, and now March.  Disney knows how to handle a crowd, but when I can hardly walk from one place to another because of all the people, it's too many, even for me!

 Abby Kate's hair was super curly in the damp, Florida weather.  It looked adorable!

 Sassy and cute! 

 Eating at the Sci-Fi Drive-In Theatre - my very favorite Disney restaurant!

 The girls and I had a movie night a few weeks before our trip, so they could see Honey I Shrunk the Kids.  I was hoping the movie set playground would still be there, so they would make the connection!  It was, and the girls had a great time playing on the playground, although it was so crowded, it was hard to keep up with all 3 kids!

 Elizabeth enjoying a little playtime!

 Since the girls and I are such Coca-Cola junkies, we had to get a picture in front of the giant Coke bottle, right outside the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground.

 Meeting our buddy, Jake.

 Getting ready to watch Disney Jr. Live.  The girls loved it, and some of their new favorite characters had been added, such as Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Sophia, from Sophia the First.

 Having fun in the rain.

 I never knew there was an actual Pizza Planet restaurant until this trip.  It hit the spot for dinner that night.

Elizabeth chilling after a fun day.

Disney with LaLa: Magic Kingdom

Hello again, all!  It's 3:30a.m., and I'm having a little insomnia (thank you, growing baby), so what better way to spend my time than updating my blog??  Since I'm still on our Disney trip from March, I'll just pick up where I left off, and maybe by the time the baby actually arrives, I won't be nearly 3 months behind!

 LaLa thought the girls needed Disney princess costumes to wear to our Princess Lunch at Cinderella's Castle, so she let each older girl pick out the dress/accessories of her choice.  Christa chose Snow White, and Abby Kate chose Ariel.  The dresses were.... not cheap, and I briefly regretted forgetting to pack the ones we have at home.  But I have to say, they are much better quality.  All of our princess costumes fall apart after a couple of times of wearing them, but these are still holding strong!

 I have the hardest time getting a good family picture in this spot.  I think this is the best we've gotten, yet!

 Elizabeth was in one of her moods and wouldn't pose with LaLa.

 Elizabeth wasn't thrilled about posing with us, either, but we got this shot :)

 Getting ready for lunch with the princesses at Cinderella's castle.

 Posing with LaLa as we waited for our table.

 Christa's school mascot will be a knight next year, and LaLa works at the school she will go to.  Go Knights!

 We were very excited to meet Snow White...

 ... and Aurora.....

 ... and Ariel....

 .... really excited about Ariel....

 ..... and Jasmine!

 Later in the day, Cline and LaLa went to visit Ariel again in her new grotto while I scored some Fast Passes to the Jungle Cruise!

Abby Kate loves Tinkerbell and the Fairies so much, we had to stop to meet her on the way to the Jungle Cruise.

Disney with LaLa: Epcot

Hello again!!  We had the good fortune of spending our Spring Break at Disney World this year!!  We wanted to take one more really wonderful trip there before Christa begins "real school" (when it's harder to go at off-season times).  Our plan completely backfired on us, though, because what I thought was "off-season" turned out to be one of the busiest weeks of the year.  No kidding - the last 2 days we were there, it was so crowded, we could hardly walk in between all of the people.  Apparently, the week before and the week after Easter are two of the most popular weeks to do Disney.  I have made a mental note and think we will just endure the hassle of missing school in the future, "real school" or not!  The weather, on the other hand was... well, not perfect.  It was cold and rainy a decent amount of the time, which gave the girls and I a great excuse to buy souvenir sweatshirts.  I'd been assured by Cline that we were "going to Florida," and would, therefore, need to pack only Summer attire.  That cost him pretty big, as the Disney sweatshirts are not cheap in the parks, but we got our money's worth out of them before we left!
Despite the crowds and not-great weather, we had a wonderful trip.  It's hard not to be happy in the Happiest Place on Earth, which Disney is for our family!  We love the excitement of being at the cleanest, most kid-friendly theme parks on the planet!

 We tried out Coronado Springs this time, and loved it!  It was well decorated, and the rooms were perfect to fit our family.

 Elizabeth gets the best curls when we go to Florida.  They're cute up here, but they really tighten up whenever we head South!

 We had our first rain on the first day we were there.  Luckily, it didn't last too long, and the girls loved splashing around in some shallow puddles in this little tiled open space.

 In Morocco, I think??

 The topiaries were amazing!  They were having a plant and garden show, and I'm not sure if these were part of the show, or if they're normal for Epcot.  We never make it to Epcot to spend much time when we go to Disney, although it was a great park to spend the day at!

 We were very excited to catch a short line to meet Aurora.

 A fairy plant - Abby Kate's favorite fairy, Vidia.

 I thought she'd made up the name Vidia for the longest time.  She has a tiny fairy that came in a set, and "Vidia" is what she's always called it.  But here is proof, that Vidia is a real fairy name!

What a fun day!!

Kinderkid Easter Egg Hunt

Hello all!  Well, nearly everything I attempted to accomplish last week got completed.  Of course, I have a whole new list of projects and things I feel behind on this week!  But, I did not, as you can see, get much done on the blog.  Here is attempt #2 to at least move in that direction a little!
Christa's sweet class (the sweetest, most precious little Kindergarten class, ever by the way) had an Easter Egg Hunt at one of the mom's houses.  It fell on the same day that Abby Kate's class Easter Egg Hunt took place, so I just brought her along with us.  She's really good friends with the girls Christa hangs out with, and Abby Kate's best friend was at this one, as well, since her mommy was the host!

 It was a cold day... which is consistent with most days this Spring.  As I write this, it's nearing the middle of May, and there are still days I turn the heat on!

 Elizabeth was all about some Easter Egg hunting.  She got the hang of it and thought it was good stuff!

 Sweetest Kindergarten class ever!  (They all "graduate" next week and will be spread out all over town next year, so I'm extra mushy about them right now.  More on that, once I figure out how to cope with this reality.)

 They made their own bonnets to wear in class.

 Ready. Set. Go!

 Christa had a blast - what can be better than combining 3 of her favorite things: a game, candy, and friends??

 I just thought Elizabeth looked cute hauling her basket around!

 Abby Kate's best friend, Molly!  Thankfully, they will be in the same class again next year.

 Me and my sweet girls!

Some of Christa's best friends - August, Taylor, and Adeline!