Disney Days 1 & 2

On Monday morning (4/21), we headed to Orlando. The drive was about another 8 hours, but it didn’t seem too bad because we were all excited. We got to the condo we were staying at around dinner time. We were all pretty exhausted, so we unpacked and went to bed. The next day was DISNEY Day #1! We went to Magic Kingdom the first day. It was my very first time at Disney, and it was a little overwhelming. It took me at least the first day to get my bearings, and get used to the crowd. The girls got to ride on a boat for the first time because we took the ferry from the parking lot to the front of Magic Kingdom. It all looks pretty beautiful as you pull up. 

The first day we visited Ariel, rode in her undersea grotto, saw Cinderella, saw Rapunzel, and explored Magic Kingdom. We were able to see all the princesses and Maleficent in front of Cinderella’s castle as we were leaving, which the girls loved. We ended the first day a little early, but couldn’t pass up a chance to take a picture near a Maleficent movie poster!

 

So tired after day 1!

Day 2 began at Animal Kingdom. We took a safari ride, which was really cool. It seemed like we were right next to the animals. Of course, I don’t think the girls could really tell the difference between real animals and fake ones ;-) After the safari, we saw a live performance of Finding Nemo. The girls liked it, and I liked the a/c. We walked around Animal Kingdom until it was time for lunch.

After lunch, we went to Epcot. It was really beautiful! They were having a flower show, so the entire place had flowers everywhere! The first thing we did there was ride inside the Epcot ball. It was pretty cool (minus the ride getting stuck for 15 minutes), especially since I didn’t even realize there was a ride in there! We walked around Epcot and ate dinner in “Mexico” while we watched the sun set. We walked through the rest of the countries, and caught a glimpse of the fireworks show before we headed to bed.  I was so glad we bought a hopper pass, so we could hit two parks in one day!

Sunset at Disney

Family pic in "Germany"!

"Snow White"

Vacation 2014 (Pensacola)

We went on our first family vacation this year, and it was quite the vacation. We were gone for 12 days, so I'm going to recap our trip over sever blog posts (too overwhelming to do it in one post!).

Our first destination was Pensacola, FL, where we spent Easter weekend. We actually stayed in Perdido Key, FL which is very close to the Pensacola, where my brother-in-law and his family lives. It was the girls' (and my) first time seeing the beach/ocean, and it was AMAZING. The weather on Saturday (April 4/19) was perfect, lots of sun and a good temp.

We all stopped by the beach on our way to lunch, for a quick first visit. It was obvious that the girls would love it, they started collecting shells right away!

FAMILY!

 

I got a shell!

Building a castle with Aunt Tara

Hubby and I

After that, we went to lunch at a great Mexican place...with awesome margaritas!

All four kiddos!

Then, it was back to the beach. We spent the rest of the afternoon there, and it was lovely. The water was a little cold, but the girls splashed in it a little, looked for shells, and played in the sand. I can't wait to go back to the beach next summer (already planning!)!

On our way to the beach. Nate with Oasis, Madi, and Lily

The next day was Easter. The weather was much cooler and cloudy, which was a bummer. We went to church, and after naptime we had an Easter egg hunt.

Easter presents first thing (with crazy hair)

A walk around the condo

Love this picture!

The condo we stayed at

Egg hunting

Easter :-)

Easter dinner at a local joint

FAMILY at the beach (love)

Sunset is so pretty there

Gorgeous...

 

Overall, Perdido Key, FL was great!

Just Mommy and the Ladies

Nate had to attend a training session this week, which meant he had to leave super early in the morning on Tuesday and Wednesday, so it was just me and the ladies. We had to go to the dentist, which had me a little nervous. When the girls were little, I would have NEVER taken them to the doctor/dentist alone. Fortunately, they are little easier to deal with now!

Practicing on the dinosaurs

 The girls kept brushing the dinosaurs' teeth, and taking "x-rays." It was pretty adorable. I think we may have dentists or hygienists on our hands!

Decided they are going to be dentists (I could go for that!)

They got ICE CREAM afterwards!

YUMMY!

 

Daddy wrote notes for the girls, so they wouldn't be upset when he wasn't there in the morning. He's a pretty great dad!