WDW 2012 {part 2}.

Our third day was spent at Epcot.  I love the nostalgia of Epcot, but that's because I love people watching and browsing the different countries shops and boutiques:)  

First stop was something Mr. D and myself were most looking forward to on this entire trip.  You see, Mr. D and I spent our honeymoon doing WDW followed by a Disney Cruise.  The day we arrived at Epcot on our Honeymoon, we decided to pay to do the "Leave a Legacy" photo opportunity.  We knew our photo we took would be etched and then added to one of the monoliths at the front of Epcot.  However, we never got to see the finished end product until this trip!  We found our "address" so to speak and found our photo from our honeymoon!!  Hands down, the coolest thing we saw on this trip!

My kids playing in front of our monolith:)

Here is our etching up close:)  My kids thought it was pretty cool to see us too:)

After our trip down memory lane, we made our next stop at the Finding Nemo ride.  Cute little ride in a clam shell, literally:)

After the ride, it shoots you out into the aquarium area where Little R was first to get gobbled up by "Bruce".

G was next, oh no!!!

And he saved Baby R for dessert!

I think there is something amazing about kids pushing up against the glass walls of huge aquariums.  It seems peaceful to me, is that weird?

Above Baby R is a manatee.  This guy was quite active while we were there which always makes for an awesome aquarium experience:).

So much to see:)

I love this photo, if you see in the background, a hidden Mickey is on the aquarium floor:) 

We had lunch that day in the United Kingdom at the Rose & Crown Pub.  Our table wasn't quite ready when we arrived so thankfully, the restaurant buzzers work all throughout the UK area so we did a little browsing.  I love all the hilarious hats!! 

Finally we were seated and G started noticing that all the kids menus were the same throughout Disney;)  He did do the activities on them, even though they were "girly" but it started to tick him off (I love boys!).

I know this photo is blurry but this shows why reserved meals aren't always the best:(  She was so bored out of her mind she joined the next family over!  I kept apologizing but the mother at the other table was so sweet and told me it didn't bother her.  I'm so glad because every time I tried to grab Baby R's arm and wrestle her back to our table a tantrum began to ensue. I finally allowed her to just use the long bench as her personal jungle gym cause the other woman did say she didn't mind after all:)

Little R showing us her light up Ariel that came on her drink straw:) 

G got Buzz Lightyear:) 

After lunch we went over to ride Figment.  The ride spits you out into this interactive, imagination zone.  Here are my kids playing with the music maker:)

Baby R having a great time getting her pent up energy out!

The kids would run and jump on these colored squares and you'd hear the instruments overhead that the color block corresponded with. 

G even got into it which was great!

Here is g'ma and g'pa playing in Epcot.  My kids had ZIP, ZERO, NADA interest in walking around to see all the countries so we split up so my parents could still go do that and not hear our kids whine:)

Thank goodness for Innovations!  It's a couple of buildings at Epcot that are nothing but hands on entertainment!  It was perfect timing as it started to downpour right when we walked in:)  

After the rain let up, we walked up to Chip 'n Dale just as they came out!  Perfect timing as the line got HUGE!

We then left Chip 'n Dale to walk around the corner to see the jackpot of all photo ops!

Surprising, all my kids ended up taking home a stuffed Donald Duck as their Disney character that g'ma and g'pa treated them to.  I thought Minnie or Mickey or even Goofy would have taken more points over Donald!  Oh well, Donald is still cool.  You can find a t-shirt in the parks that say, "The Original Angry Bird" with a crazy, mad looking Donald but G wasn't as amused as we all were:) 

I swear Minnie keeps getting shorter and shorter, don't you??  

Where is Baby R you ask?  I'll show you later:)

And the big guy himself!!

After the photo ops we went over to Norway to ride one of my favorites, Maelstrom.  I also LOVE all the jackets in their shop by Helly Hanson!!  Super expensive though:(

My little Viking!!

I think one of my most favorite photos of G!!  This makes me laugh every time I see it!  Seriously, I'm giggling now.  If you know G and his personality, this is just pure awesomeness!

Iconic right?  I took this as the sun was setting, it's always a gorgeous sight:)

Baby R LOVED Little R's glowing Minnie Ears and practically stole them from Little R.  So.... 

Mr. D finally bought her her own glowy.  Baby R picked this adorable spinning Minnie Mouse that she so eloquently named, "Spinnie Minnie".  Perfect right? 

Dinner that evening was at the La Hacienda inside the Mexico pavilion.  Thank goodness for that little boat ride of the 3 Caballeros.  I sat with Baby R (who was practically asleep in my arms) to wait for our food while everyone else went to seize boredom before it took over:)

We left Epcot as it began to rain and not let up and called it an early night (besides, the kids both had homework that needed to be done).

Stayed tune for even more....

WDW {2012}.

So here is how it all went down.... On Sunday 9/30/12, all our kids were blissfully sleeping.  We had to leave by 7am to make our 9am flight.  So, we packed them all a sack breakfast and then quietly woke them up by whispering to them to wake up, we have a surprise:)   We got them all into the family room where Mr. D was filming them as he broke the awesome news (so we thought).  Baby R wasn't in full understanding of what was happening, but G was happy and left to get dressed.  Little R on the other hand, she got super sad and started crying!!  After talking with her, she finally admitted she was scared to get on the airplane and she didn't want her teachers at school and church to miss her:(  We got her pumped up to go though:)

Here the 3 kiddos sit, dazed and confused of what's about to come at them:)

Flight was good, no problems at all.  They had changed how you board the Disney buses at the Orlando airport since I was last there 11 years ago.  I must say, MUCH more organized:) 

G, tired, but excited to be on the bus! 

Poor Baby R, she looks so tired!

Cute G stared out the window for the entire 30 minute drive:)  I loved seeing him take it all in:) 

And Baby R finally couldn't take it anymore and conked out on the bus:)

Finally at our resort, Saratoga Springs.  We let the kids chill for a bit after the long trip. And what were they watching on TV?  Mickey Mouse cartoons of course!

After a quick rest, we boarded the bus and hit none other than, the Magic Kingdom! 

First stop (do you really have to ask?), Dumbo!!  Baby R was waiting for this for MONTHS!!  She was very specific that she gets a "green" one as well.  Grandma and Grandpa met up with us for this trip, which was awesome! 

Me and my Baby R:)

G was SO BRAVE this trip!  He refused to go on all the "girl" rides so I took him to ride Splash Mountain with grandma:)  I have a photo of that trip down but I'll spare you my face on that pic;) 

The best was Big Thunder Mountain where G exclaimed half way through the ride, "YES!  Now this is what I'm talkin' about! Best ride EVER!".

During Halloween season, they host "Mickey's not so scary Halloween party" most nights.  We were fortunate to be there that first night as they light the castle up in a haunting purple color, it was gorgeous!  BUT, all the cranes were up (you can't see in this photo) as the guys were hanging all the Christmas lights on it:)   

After a night of rest, we went over to Animal Kingdom the next day.  Could my kids look anymore bored standing in front of the the iconic "Tree of Life"??  Spoiled kids and don't even know it;) 

We hightailed it to the Safari ride.  We wanted to go first thing in the morning so all the animals would be awake.  My girls loved it! 

Baby R was jumping for joy when she saw this giraffe walking across the savanna.

G was so anxious to get on another big ride.  Mr. D took G on the Mount Everest ride (the mountain in the background).

Here is G's and Mr. D's photo from the ride.  Apparently this roller coaster was a little too fast for G so they ended up going to Kali Rapids where G made them ride 3 times in a row which caused them both to be sopping wet!   

My girls opted for the slower kid rides:) 

At the Lion King production. 

Pumba became G's favorite part of the show:) 

Here is a tip:  The parade that goes on in the afternoon at AK, go park yourself in front of the first aid building.  NO ONE stands over there, plus it's at the end of the parade so the characters pay much more attention to your kids.  My kids were all in heaven! 

Little R waiting and starting to look hot.  Our trip was either bloody hot or raining:)  We made the best of it though and enjoyed ourselves anyway:) 

Ready to eat:)  We had lunch at Yak &Yeti.  My Asian salad was actually really yummy, Baby R ended up eating all my mandarin oranges out of it though:( 

Disney was wonderful enough to sell these personal water mister/fans.  A nice family on their way out gave us one and we bought one more.  SO glad we had these! 

Ending the day at Animal Kingdom.  Little R and G both liked the Lion King show so much that Mr. D treated them to a "soft friend".  G picked Pumba and Little R snagged Timon.

Animal Kingdom closed early at 5pm so after dinner at our resort the kids wanted to go back out and see the fireworks at Epcot (another reason to ALWAYS get a hopper pass).  I stayed behind as Baby R was wiped out and Mr. D went with G'pa & G'ma and the other two.  You can't see G's glowy mohawk very well, but his fiber optic mohawk would change colors, it's a pretty cool head piece:)

Stay Tuned for more from WDW.......

Things I {learned}.

We saw, we conquered and are finally back home from WDW.  Pics are coming but in the meantime, here is what I learned by traveling with 3 kids all under the age of 10 to a MASSIVE place full of laughs, tears, tantrums, boredom, aching feet, headaches and Mickey Mouse:)......

1: As much as I love and adore Epcot, young kids don't quite understand it so after 2 hours, my kids were ready to leave and the constant, "I want to go home" out of my 3yo was heard loud and clear.  So for this reason, ALWAYS purchase a park hopper pass, no questions.

2: Scheduled dining meals aren't exactly ideal.  They take way too long and you lose a large chunk of your day waiting on food and checks to come.  Also, if you get a late start to your morning and you have lunch at 12:30, you're not even hungry but have to eat anyway.  Then, because it takes so effing long, dinner is here before you know it and you aren't hungry for that meal either, but you have a reservation.  Next time, only key dining will be reserved, all else will be done at the quick service locations as several are able to accommodate food allergies.

3: Despite the time suck of reserved dining, I learned that it's best for one person to sit and wait on the meals to arrive while others take the kids on a quick ride if possible.  Keeps the boredom in check;)

4: Even if your 6yo is great at walking, get a double stroller, no questions!  Also, even though I brought my own double stroller against my hubby's wishes, Kingdom Strollers (.com) is a popular stroller rental option that I considered. If you rent a Disney stroller, you will realize real quick how much of a hindrance and expense they are.  I know my hubby won't admit it, but I know he's glad we did end up bringing our own.

5: After witnessing how long autographs from characters took, I will NEVER entertain the idea of allowing my kids to purchase autograph books.  They are a time suck for everyone else waiting to meet Mickey and friends.  Just get a photo and move along.

6: If you plan on using the Disney PhotoPass cards, take a picture of the number on back just in case you lose your pass somewhere along the way.

7: If you are traveling w/someone w/food allergies, pre-order meals as those always take the longest to prepare.

8: Before waiting in ANY line, ask every child if they need to go pee and if they say, "no", let them know they won't be able to go for a LONG time.  It's amazing how all the sudden they all have to go;)

9: If you are fortunate to have a washer/dryer in your room (we did), check ALL pockets before doing a load of wash.  More maps and Mickey stickers were shredded into soggy messes all over our clothes than I'd care to admit.

And finally....

10: Don't rush the day, everyone will enjoy it so much more!  Yes, you will miss a ton, but no one will ever see all of WDW in a few short days.  Just see what you can and plan a trip back to see other stuff you missed:)

As soon as I finish editing my photos on my camera I'll start posting all our fun!

Sums me {up}...

As each day passes till we finally leave on our first true family vaca in over 2 years, I'm finding myself feeling more and more like "Sue" in this clip.  We've decided to keep the news of our impending WDW trip an absolute secret till the day we leave and I'm ready to burst!

And....They're {off}.

Goodness, the last two and a half weeks have been SUPER crazy!!  I wasn't sure I'd ever get to posting pics  with my kids on the first day of school like every other blog I follow!  So, I'm sure the excitement has since died down but at least I'm getting these up:)

Here are my kiddos, both wearing outfits they picked out for the first day of school:)  It's funny, G used to NEVER care about new school clothes, in fact, in first grade he didn't want any but I bought him a couple new shirts anyway.  And last year, for second grade, he said again, he didn't want any.  So, I didn't buy him new clothes last year.  But this year, he all the sudden decided he had to have new clothes too, he's starting to catch on which makes me smile:)  Not because I'm spending money, but because he's behaving like a "normal" kid in wanting new school clothes:) 

After I walked them in I snapped a photo of Little R in front of her new classroom for the year, she was super happy to start school again:) 

And G, well, what can I say, this kid THRIVES on routine which is why very organized teachers and school are his BFF's:)  He sat down and was ready to go to work!  He's doing awesome these days:)

Happy New School Year Everyone!!!