We Made It!!!

It doesn't matter how many times you've been to Disney World...when you drive through the front entrance, it is exciting every time! We only had about a 2 hr drive from St. Petersburg to Orlando, and after driving for 10-12 hours the two days before, that felt like nothing. The girls were very, very excited! We got to our resort, All Star Movies, around 2:30 and checked in. We picked this resort because of the fun theme...Toy Story, 101 Dalmations, Fantasia, etc...I was very happy that we were able to get a room in the 101 Dalmations section, on the ground floor!We arrived about an hour and a half before G-Ma got there. She flew in and took the Magical Express bus to the hotel. When we knew she was getting close, we watched for the bus to come & it was VERY exciting when she arrived. A few months ago when she decided to come with us, I thought how fun it would be to not tell the girls she was coming until we got there, and she just showed up! But, I can't keep secrets. =0) Nevertheless, when she came off of that bus, the girls flew at her, squealing "G-MA!!!"

We had a few hours of downtime to get settled into our hotel & relax before our dinner at the Grand Floridian. After a quick nap for Madison, we walked around the Resort & took lots of pictures. Mackenzie would say, "Mommy, take my picture with Bo Peep! Mommy, this would be a good place for a picture!" She's a girl after my own heart! All Star Movies is a Value Resort, but for us it was perfect...such a fun theme & affordable at the same time. I love staying on Disney property & now that I have experienced it, I'm not sure I could ever go to Disney and stay off property and be satisfied with it. Since Madison is still 2, we were able to have all 5 of us in one room. G-Ma and Mackenzie slept in one bed & Brian and I were in the other one. Madison was 100% happy with her cozy little pallet in between both of our beds. It was so cute & I can't believe it, but I don't think I took a picture of it. =0( We tucked her in with two blankets, a pillow, her pillow pet, pony, and by the end of the week, Lady, Tigger & Minnie Mouse!

We were ready for a wonderful week at Disney World! Oh, and if you're looking at this post & thinking, "Wow, I wonder how many pictures she took if she has this many from the first day?!" Well, the answer is...951! Yep, I came home with 951 pictures...and that was after deleting all of the not so good ones & duplicates. =0) What can I say? Pictures are my thing!

It is easy to see by the looks on their faces just how happy they were!

When we got to our room, we had a Minnie Mouse made out of towels laying on the bed.We were SO, SO happy that G-Ma was able to spend this week with us. The past few months without Pa have been very hard for us all, so this was something to look forward to & a nice time to get away and have fun. He would have loved it that she got to come with us.My three favorite girls!There was a lot of excitement over Bo Peep!I'm not sure I really know what to say about this...Madison looks tiny! Following in their father's footsteps...I wonder who put them up there! That's a cute little duck right there!Mackenzie loved Pongo & Perdita...every single day when we left our room, she would want to go see Perdita! I think the girls would have had a great time just staying at our resort the whole time.Both of the girls loved the little puppy...Mackenzie would go sit beside it and act like she was watching the tv, just like it was. Looks like Madison's getting a puppy kiss!

St. Petersburg, FL

We got to St. Petersburg on Friday afternoon around 5:30. By the time we found our Hotel, there wasn't much daylight left, but we were able to spend a few minutes walking on the beach. Mackenzie found a really big seashell & she was so excited about it! She kept saying, "I just looked down & there it was!" On our trip in 2009, we stopped in Panama City & that was the day Madison (8 mo's old) rolled off of the bed onto the concrete floor...panic! I was thankful that this year was much more uneventful. We had dinner at TGIFriday's (it was not very good) and then we made a quick trip to Wal-Mart.

Brian discovered that the #1 beach in the U.S. is located in St. Petersburg, so we went looking for it on Saturday morning...and we ended up on a "doggy beach." Literally, there were dogs everywhere. I'm not a dog person, so I was less than thrilled about this! We did eventually find the pretty beach, but by the time we found it, it was time for us to leave. It was very beautiful though, and someplace that we would love to go back to one day.

After our beach outing, we were able to stop by the Palms of Pasadena hospital to see our friends Dave & Cindy Bender, before heading to Orlando. Dave had a pretty major surgery there just the day before, so we were very glad it worked out that we could stop and visit them.

Sunglasses, Jean Jackets & Bare Feet...they were ready to hit the beach!The water was C-O-L-D!!!Madison didn't want to go anywhere near it!Mackenzie's big seashell! I love them!This was at the #1 ranked beach, on Saturday morning. It was really beautiful...the sand was white & the water was very clear. Mackenzie found the palm branch and didn't want to part with it. We finally convinced her that we couldn't take it with us to Disney World!Love the leg pose!What a strong Daddy...he carried them like this for a long way on the beach!Such special memories we made!

And We're Off!

After months & months of planning our 2011 trip to Disney, it was finally here! I don't know who was more excited...Brian & me, or the girls?! I had worked & worked to get everything planned, packed, and ready for our trip, so by the time I got in the car I was exhausted & ready to rest for a few days before hitting Disney World!
I loved watching the looks on people's faces when we told them we were driving to Orlando with a 5 & 2 year old! I guess for some people, that is unthinkable, but we actually loved it! Our girls are such good travelers. They have really never known anything but riding in the car. However, I will say that if it were not for portable DVD players, coloring books & crayons, Leapsters, and the iPad & iPhone, we would have been in big trouble! What did we ever do before these modern technologies?!

Before we left, we gave the girls their "traveling presents." I had a lot of fun buying them new coloring books & fun things they could do in the car. We left at 8:00 in the morning on Thursday & drove 12 hours to Montgomery, AL. I was so glad that we were able to stop at Burns Park, just outside of Little Rock, AR for a picnic lunch. We stopped there a few years ago on our way to Disney, so it was special to be able to do it again. HOWEVER, it was FREEZING cold & the wind was blowing so hard. We ate really fast & the girls went down the slide a few times, and that was about it. It was back in the car, with our warm blankets & comfy pillows. We were packed into the car like sardines...there was literally not an extra inch of space! We even had a Princess "sick bowl" just in case...which, I hate to say, Madison did need it once. The poor little thing gets car sick sometimes, but overall she did great.

I have to say, I was glad to have Driving Day #1 behind us!I'm pretty sure Mackenzie got into my lipstick before we left...Here is a picture of Mackenzie during our car trip 2 years ago...looking at this picture makes me realize how grown up she is becoming.Madison loved coloring with markers...and throwing the lids in the floorboard so I would have to find them. By the end of the day, she was banned from the markers!This was before she actually had to "use" the bowl...true princess fans even have "princess throw-up bowls!" =0) Obviously, that wasn't the original purpose of this bowl, but hey, if you have to throw up, at least you can look at Princess's while you're doing it!Here are some other pictures taken in the car...Really, what would we do without the iPad & iPhone?! This picture is absolutely hideous of me, but it's the only one of us all on this day, so here it is...ugh! I love my sweet family though!We were so happy to be able to take our little princesses to Disney World again! Mackenzie got very excited when she saw this slide & said that she remembered it from last time! As smart as she is, I don't doubt it!It's hard to believe that Madison is so big now...last time we were here, she was just 8 months old...I love watching her grow, but I miss those baby days!This is what she looked like 2 years ago, on our picnic at Burns Park. Obviously, the weather was much warmer then! Look at those chunky arms...precious!This was so funny...this skirt is too big on Mack, and I forgot to safety pin it...while we were at the park, it kept falling down. She thought it was very funny. It was so cold, that we were the only ones there, so it was no big deal!We made it to Montgomery around 8:30 or so. Everyone was happy to be out of the car! This was the next morning...we ate breakfast at our Hotel before heading out for St. Petersburg.

Disney World, Here We Come!

It is 11:39 the night before we leave for Disney & here I sit blogging...crazy, I know! Well, I know that I will have a ton to blog after our trip, so I am trying to catch up before we leave. We have planned & planned this trip for over a year know, and it's finally here! I am so excited, and extremely ready to be there. My facebook post tonight was: "Packing for vacation = exhausting, 20 hr car ride with a 5 & 2 year old = dreadful, 9 days at Disney World = all worth it!" I can't wait to spend this time with my family, and I am so glad my Mom is coming with us. Disney World really is the happiest place on earth & I can't wait to get there!