Although it isn't evident from my blog activity for the last several months, we are alive and well. We have been busy. There is too much to catch up on in one post. I'll start with our family vacation 3 weeks ago. We went to DISNEY WORLD! Since Disney World is near and dear to my heart it seems appropriate to begin there.
We had a magical 7 days in Orlando with some of my family. We had 5 adults and 8 kids. Six of the kids were 5 years old or younger (including a 3 month old). We managed remarkably well for having such a young group, although there were stressful times.
One particular bus ride resulted in the 3 month old, the 2 year old, both 3 year olds, and the 5 year old all falling asleep. Getting the 5 sleeping kids plus 2 strollers off the bus and back to our hotel rooms was quite a feat!
What small girl doesn't dream of seeing (and being) a princess? In our travel group we had four little girls ranging from 2 to 5. We got to meet a plethora of princess, and it was ideal for this little group. Here are photos from meeting Rapunzel, Mulan, and Belle. We also met Cinderella, Snow White, and Belle again (the second time dressed in her golden gown). Note: Katelyn was wearing a Tangled shirt when she met Rapunzel. Very magical for her 3 year old self!
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| Happily approaching Rapunzel. |
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| With Rapunzel |
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| With Mulan |
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| With Belle |
I think my favorite part of the princess pictures is Andrew. He followed his sister and cousins around, but he was wary of those princesses every time.
We met loads of other characters as well. From Chip & Dale to Stitch. From Rafaiki to Daisy Duck. Katelyn tends to be on the reserved side of the spectrum, so she would wait for one of her cousins to approach every character first. There was only one time she forget her hesitations and ran excitedly without waiting. That was meeting Jessie and Woody.
Another favorite part of the trip was the new splash pad in the Magic Kingdom. I think we could have happily spent an entire day just in that small area. Andrew in particular! We also spent time nearly every day in the swimming pool at our hotel. The kids never tired of that.
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| Happy at the splash pad |
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| Waiting for the water to hit his back. |
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| Fun for our 3 year old girls. |
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| Happy Kids |
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| Kate |
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| Lilly |
I wish I had taken pictures of Andrew at the pool. He proved to be quite an adept 13 month old swimmer in Disney World. We just put water wings on, and then he just jumps in and swims around on his own.
Here are a few more photos to round out the trip...
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| "Rapunzel" a.k.a. Katelyn rides the Carousel. |
We rode this 4 times. It was very popular.
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| Andrew in "Morocco" with an aunt and uncle. |
This next photo you can see Andrew next to his cousin Ella. I wish she was standing on the same level as him. She's 13 months older, but they could totally pass for twins based on their sizes. Andrew is a bit shorter, but definitely weighs more. :)
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| Kate, Andrew, Ella overlooking Main Street U.S.A. |
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| Our Family |
September was a good time to visit. Smaller crowds (by Disney standards...still tons of people), perfect weather (not too hot, but warm enough to enjoy the pool each day), and Halloween decorations. :)
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| My s |
It was a fun, but exhausting trip. This is a picture of Andrew as soon as we got in the car to begin the 20+ hour drive home.
