Epcot

Back to the land of Disney.

We headed to Epcot on Friday morning, which was a very nice and welcome change from the pace of the Magic Kingdom.  When we first got there, we headed to Nemo ride which the kids loved and then we went to talk to Crush.  For those of you who don't know, Crush is a sea turtle in Nemo.  He is hysterical and in this exhibit, Crush talks to the kids and really responds to their questions, etc.  It is set-up like he is in a fish tank and can see the kids.  They loved it.

After Nemo, we went over to "the Land" and saw a Lion King-inspired movie that I thought was really cool, but the kids were a little bored and they were hungry for a morning snack.  So we decided to start the trek through all the countries.  I was a little worried that they wouldn't like it, but I was so wrong - they LOVED it.  In each country they had an activity called "Kidcot."  We started in Mexico (after riding the boat ride inside the Incan ruins) and they each got a mask that they could color.  In each country another little tag representing that country was added.  And in China, Japan and Morrocco, they got their names written in Chinese, Japanese and Arabic on the back.  They loved them.  

After Mexico we headed to Norway.  Ward loved the boat ride in Norway - he rode it twice in a row!  It was a viking ship that gets caught in a storm and has a fun drop-off in the end.  Ann Park and I were supposed to go to a Princess lunch in Norway, but she decided against it, which was fine with me as I was not looking forward to the food!  And we got to see plenty of princesses in Epcot!  

After Norway, was China.  Ann Park was in a picture-taking mood and posed for me all around China!

Next, we stopped at the Outpost and the kids played drums and then they got their faces painted!!!  Ann Park got cherry blossoms on her face and Ward transformed into an Asian tiger.  As you can see from some of the pictures later in the day, he really got into the role!

Ann Park loved seeing the princesses.  In Epcot, we saw Snow White, Aladdin and Jasmine, Mary Poppins, Alice, and others.  We got picture with some but didn't have the patience for all the lines.  Here are a few shots.

On the way out, we hit England, France and Canada and decided to go back to the hotel and go swimming at around 4.  It was by far our prettiest day, and the weather got not so pretty for the next day when we met the Holmes twins and hit Animal Kingdom!!!

being silly in Morocco

Baby books

This morning Ted got out Ward's baby book to show Ward how much Sam looked like he did when he was a little boy.  And then Ann Park wanted to see her book so Ted got it out as well.  And then the guilt really started to hit me.  To be sure, I went WAY overboard on the baby books.  They are Creative Memories masterpieces - no I am not too humble about them.  I spent well over 100 hours on each of them and they cover the first year of each child's life.  But I have barely started on Sam's book.  I don't think that I am even to month 2.  Pathetic.  I will not be the mom who doesn't give her youngest a baby book because I don't have time. We don't even have a picture of Ted until his 4th birthday.  Of course I don't blame Jean - he is the youngest of 7.  But I do have time.  It just need to make it a priority.  And I will.  He deserves at least that!  I mean, he is my best baby!

And those of you who don't blog haven't seen these ads but blogger just got really smart.  You can now get your blog turned into a book.  Great idea for those of us who put baby milestones and other funny tidbits about the kids on our blogs.  Can't believe they haven't done this sooner.  They will make a fortune!

Tooth #2

Tooth #2 popped today (bottom right) and you think that it would have given him relief, but still refused to sleep more than 45 minutes this afternoon.  I am sure that he will crash and burn tonight, but he is happily jumping in the johnny jump-up right now so I am not complaining.  Of course, I didn't get my afternoon nap as I had planned, but I will live.  More on Disney tomorrow, maybe.

Disney II

Okay, so here is some of "the more" as promised . . .

After Chef Mickey breakfast, we packed our bags for a day at Magic Kingdom.  When we entered the park, we decided to go clockwise around the place and that meant we started at Adventureland, which turned out to be Ward's favorite place.  It started with an amazing Swiss Family Robinson tree house.  Ward led the way through the tree and we had a hard time keeping up!

Also in Adventureland there is a safari boat ride that I took the kids on while Ted had to take a call for work.  It was a nice break and it was pretty silly.  We met up with Ted and went on another ride in a boat, but this one was a little scary (esp. for Ann Park) - Pirates of the Caribbean.  There is a little fast part at the end and there are times in the dark that she didn't like.  Ward loved it, of course.

After Adventureland, Ann Park and I skipped Frontierland (that is where Splash Mountain is loacted, but it was closed for repair and WAY too cold to think about getting wet) and headed back to Fantasyland for Peter Pan (her favorite ride).  Ward and Ted stayed in Frontierland for a little while without us girls and took Tom Sawyer's riverboat ride.  (As an aside, any ride that had a boat, Ward wanted in - funny how boring something could seem to us and he just loved it - more on that in Epcot.)  They stopped in a cool frontier town where Ward found a shooting house and guns.  He was in heaven.

Ward and Ann Park met us in Fantasyland for lunch and more rides - Peter Pan (we did this twice thanks to the FastPass - the line was 55 minutes!), It's a Small World, Dumbo, the carousel, and Mickey's Philharmonic.  Then it was off to Toon Town, where Mickey and Minnie live and where there is a baby rollercoaster, Goofy's Barnyard Adventure.  Ann Park was too scared to ride, but Ward braved it, even if he was a little scared at some points.  The picture of a fast part didn't really turn out but it still shows how serious he got!

 (this was going up the rollercoaster)

 (and this was going down!)

Finally, we headed to the last part of the Magic Kingdom, Futureland.  Ward's favorite ride was here - Buzz Lightyear.  They also both got to drive cars on a race track which they both really liked.  

By this point in the afternoon, it was pretty warm and they were pretty tired.  It was about 4 and we decided to head back to the hotel for a swim in the pool and a little rest before dinner.  But on the way out, we had to go back and get their prizes for the day.  We headed back to Adventureland for Ward to get a pirate's gun from Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and we splurged on Main Street for Ann Park and got her a princess dress.  I just could not resist - Ariel!

Friday we headed to Epcot.  But that is for another post . . . I am tired, aren't you?

Disney!

I have finally found some time to sit down, away from the kids (well, not really away - they are painting about 7 feet from me) and tell everyone about Disney.  To say that we had an amazing trip would be an understatement.  Although Ted and I probably walked about 10 miles, alternating pushing a double stroller and/or holding at least one of them, we loved every minute of it.  Well, not every minute as there was the usual whining and some fighting, but you get the picture.  The kids were great and I loved seeing the "magic" in their eyes.  It was the perfect time for their first trip - no need to go back to the room for naps, but they were in bed by 8 at the latest so Ted and I did have some time to ourselves.

I will probably have to break up all the pictures as I don't want this post to be too long.  Here are some shots from our first day.  We left Bham at 7:30 in the morning, which was exhausting, but gave us a full half day in the Magic Kingdom which was nice.  We were checked in, unpacked and on the monorail by 12:30 Eastern time.  When we first got into the Magic Kingdom, the show that plays on and off all day in front of Cinderella's castle was playing - a great way to start!

The kids watched from our shoulders and really got into the spirit!  Next, we headed straight to "It's A Small World" which was one of our favorites.  On the way, they stopped to pull the sword from the stone - just like the movie, as Ward repeatedly told me!

After riding "It's A Small World" we got a FastPass (best invention at Disney) for Pooh's Ride and played in Pooh's playground while we waited.  The kids loved this area as well and Ted got some really cute pictures.

As I am sure all of you are aware, Disney is a marketing genius.  There are toys everywhere and at the end of each ride, you have to walk through a store to get back into the mix of things.  We knew we were in for 4 full days of "I want this" and "I want that" so Ted came up with a rule that they could get one thing a day (and we had veto power if it was too expensive).  This worked well and we didn't end up spending a fortune (except for Ann Park's Ariel dress, but it was just too good to pass up).  Here is the loot from the first day:

(I know, I know, Ted is such a great actor!)

Thursday morning we had our one and only character meal.  (As an aside, we stayed in a villa at Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary and it was GREAT.  You don't go to Disney to eat - the food is awful - so it was so nice to have a place to eat our own food.  We had a driver from the airport to Disney and he took us to Publix on our way in.)  On the recommendation of my friend from college, Erin, we went to breakfast at Chef Mickey.  The food was pretty good (you can't really screw up breakfast food) and all the classic characters come to your table.  Ann Park was scared and wouldn't get near them, but she warmed up by the end of our time there.  Ward was in hog heaven!

After breakfast we headed to a full day of fun at the Magic Kindgom.  I will have to do that in another post.  Lots of pictures and my time is up with the kids!  More to come, I promise!

4th Child

No,  I am not pregnant.  But Ted' first cousin, Martin Holt, and his beautiful wife, Alison, just had their 4th child this afternoon . . . Louis Martin Holt.  He is a strong 7 pounds 12 ounces and a whopping 20 3/4 inches!  She grows 'em good.  But I wanted to give them a big congratulations on the blog.  We are thinking about taking their other three children (youngest of which is Ward's age) to the Beaker Bash and then to spend the night with us.  Should be interesting.  I will feel like Jean Holt for one night!

Pants on the Ground

Okay, so I did a little post on the Pants on the Ground song that has me cracking up. Well, obviously I did not do my research. If you are interested in pop culture, read my sweet cousin Louisa's post on the now famous "General" Larry Platt. Very interesting!!

Semper Gumby Adventures: Pants on the Ground

Grey Rocks over New Years

We had a great time at Grey Rocks over New Years.  Ward was a prize outdoorsman, fishing and hunting with Ted most of the long weekend.  Although he didn't catch a fish or shoot a deer (neither did daddy) he had a great time, as always.  Here are a few hunting and fishing shots.  Ann Park even joined in on the fun a couple of times/

Here are a few from the deer stand.  I love how serious Ward is in the pictures, looking out for deer, and how Ann Park is posing for pictures and making silly faces.  Fits their personalities exactly!

Ted also got some shots of Sam in the bath that are really cute. I wish that I had known that he was going to take them so I could have helped and not had to get some of the weird angles.  He has gotten so big!  I had to take him to the doctor a couple of days before these pictures were taken and he weighed 18 pounds, 13 ounces.  Hard to believe that Ward was only 19 pounds, 1 ounce at a year! 

And finally, here is a picture of Ward and Tripp watching the Letter Factory . . . our favorite tool for learning letters!  Although smarty-pants Tripp can run circles around my kids when it comes to letters, he became obsessed with it as well!

More to come

I promise that I am going to do a post on Disney as well as some other posts, but I had to announce that Sam broke his first tooth yesterday!  Better late than never.  He is a much worse teether than my other two - I remember that Ann Park would literally wake up with a new tooth, including molars.  Sam struggled and was definitely in some pain, but he is still the best baby ever!