Bear Hugs & Piggy Kisses - Baby's 1st Trip ~ Updated 12/6: Aulani TR Started!!!

[Dugette]

We decided to let Izzy walk on the beach and try out the shovel and bucket we brought along:







After wandering the beach for a short while and using the restrooms, we got back in the car. I was just about ready to back out of our parking spot when Izzy suddenly starts yelling, “Doggy! Doggy!” I looked around and, sure enough, a pickup truck had just parked next to us with two dogs in the back and she had a perfect view of them. Cute.

Our next stop was this great pull-off:



Cool bridge, great view, and few people around. Rather than get back on the main road here, we decided to continue on the smaller scenic road we’d turned off on. It was a nice drive. Soon, we were enjoying another scenic view:



Our next stop after that was Devil’s Punchbowl:





There was also a little winery giving out free samples, so we stopped in there. Dug got a bottle to take with, thinking we’d invite my dad and step-mom to our room some night to share it, since they were staying down the hall from us (Spoiler alert – never happened, with us being out too late and them going to bed early).

Our next stop was Mo’s, famous for their clam chowder. Not only is it great, but it is nostalgic for both of us. Both Dug and I, as kids, made family road trips out west to visit relatives. One day, I was looking through Dug’s mom’s scrapbook/journal from one of their trips and saw they went to Mo’s. Well, my brother and I had kept journals on our trips (“Pound Puppy Trip Journals”, where our stuffed animals wrote, actually) and I remembered that we’d gone to Mo’s. So, I found it in the journal and, coincidentally, we ate there about two weeks apart in the early ‘90’s, long before we ever knew each other!

At any rate, it was late afternoon and not very busy at all. We got a table by the window, looking out at the water. Super friendly waitress. I got a tuna melt and a cup of clam chowder. Dug got the seafood sauté and a cup of clam chowder. We ordered Izzy the kids’ grilled cheese. Everything was great. Izzy actually ended up eating a lot of our clam chowder too – soup is a hit with her. Our waitress also brought out a few little cups of applesauce for Izzy, which was really nice. Izzy LOVED that! Here she is with a cup of applesauce:



You can also see the dish that held our amazing berry cobbler with ice cream dessert that we all shared. So good!

Behind Izzy’s cup in that picture is the shark toy our waitress gave her. Izzy loved that too. On the way out, she saw another one of those sharks attached to their vacuum. She got really upset, pulling at it, because she thought it was hers. I went to get hers out, but our waitress was faster and got her a second one (one blue, one black), so Izzy was a very happy camper.

Overall, great meal and great experience.

We popped out to enjoy the view before heading back to the car (you can see Izzy is holding her new shark):



Our next stop was the Oregon Coast Aquarium:



We arrived about an hour and a half before closing, but were told that it was about the right amount of time to see everything. It wasn’t busy, either, so that helped. Izzy enjoyed wandering around and checking things out:



She ran through these tunnels a few times, not really even noticing the fish surrounding her:



Hey, it’s almost like we’re in Epcot:



The aquarium was really neat. We both thought a highlight was watching the octopus climb around and show off.

After seeing the whole place, we were kind-of personally escorted out – pretty sure we were the last guests. They were nice and all, though.

Our next stop was not far away:



I love that they call it an “outstanding natural area”. We were laughing about that until we got there and decided that was indeed an appropriate way to describe it:









Our goal was to get all the way down those stairs and check out the tide pools. Dug had fond memories of doing that as a kid and it was a good time of day to see things. So, down we went. Izzy actually walked down ALL of the stairs on her own (holding my hands, though). It was like 170 stairs or something (can’t remember now). Kid loves stairs!

That was actually the easy part, though. The hard part was getting down to the tide pools. You basically had to slide downhill on rocks. It was hard enough for Dug to do it on his own, but I was stressed doing it while carrying Izzy:



We made it down safely, though. Whew!

By the way, the park workers you see in the back of the picture – the guy had greeted us at the bottom of the stairs and was going to tell us about the place when someone yelled to him that there was someone up the stairs calling for help. He went to deal with that. When he came back, he was telling the woman that, no, there was someone calling hi to their relative. Ooops.

Dug saw some coral and I spotted a giant starfish:



Hard to get the scope of it from the picture, but it was about as big as my head. Really cool.

However, that was about all I saw. Because I was managing Izzy while Dug was wandering around and taking pictures. And Izzy wanted to run around freely, but it was really not safe at all for her to do so. The ground was all rocky and uneven and it would have been so easy to fall in the water, etc. So, I was “mean mommy” and held onto her. She was basically screaming and throwing a tantrum and I was stuck holding her with no place to escape to. It was not fun and I was regretting coming down there. Because I couldn’t really even stop to look for sea creatures, I started heading back up with Izzy. Partway, we found an area that was actually safe to set her down on and she enjoyed that:



When we made it back to the stairs, Izzy walked all the way up on her own, again with me holding her hands. Girl’s got stamina! I was happy to get back in the car after that. I had been pretty stressed out trying to manage her in a dangerous area.

It was getting late and high time that we headed back to Portland. Turns out that my dad, stepmom, uncle, and cousins decided to have a backyard BBQ, but there was no way we could make it back to join them. Oh, well.

We drove to Corvallis and I think Izzy slept. We stopped there to visit someone that Dug knows – it was a dad with three little girls. Izzy had such fun playing with them while we visited. They had balloons, which she loved. They also had a doggy, which she loved. Here, you can see her with both:



She played with some balls they had and generally enjoyed watching the 7-year-old do all kinds of things (Izzy seems to be obsessed with 7-year-old girls). However, Izzy got super jealous of the 7-year-old when she went outside to jump on the trampoline. Izzy clearly wanted to, but I didn’t feel okay with just putting her on someone’s backyard trampoline that I didn’t really know. She got over it, though.

Once we finished visiting, we headed out and decided to grab some dinner while Izzy was still awake. And, when in Oregon, Burgerville! It was getting close to closing time when we arrived, so it was just us and the employees. They were very nice and the food was good. We each had a Tillamook Cheddar burger, I think, and we shared rosemary fries, fried asparagus, and each got a shake, I think:



We shared with Izzy and she ate a pouch and had milk and whatever else we had with for her. She loved those rosemary fries, though!

After dinner, we got back in the car and drove back to Portland. I think Izzy probably slept. Uneventful. It was late and we were tired by the time we arrived. We learned from this trip that Izzy is very adaptable with her napping and bedtime while traveling. We really, really messed with her sleep schedule and she handled it quite well. Late nights, early mornings, missed naps, 30 minute car naps – she did well with it. But was SUPER tired for several days, once we got home. She’s a trooper.

Up next: The zoo and much more!

 

[amazingact21]

That CM should have explained himself better. I get that they probably get that request all the time and they might have been on a 6 day workweek and that they were hot, etc etc, but c'mon, a little courtesy. Sounds like all the crowds from the previous week made for all the CMs you encountered grumpy.
Glad you were able to get the pictures on the Magic Carpets, though! Izzy looks like she was having fun on the ride!


Whew, that does not sound like a great flight experience.

Oregon looks beautiful! The beaches are so different from what I'm used to, that had to be nice to see and experience. Plus, kids and sand...normally a great combo.

 

[Imagineer5]

First of all wanted to comment on the rude guy at Aladdin's Carpets! Wow, I would have been so angry at how he was just not communicating - then the same thing with the flight attendant at the airport regarding the car seat - esp if he DID give you guys a whole row and didn't communicate it. Sounds like you got over it though and that is wonderful Izzy is so adaptable with her schedule! Aria is too, but I am trying to negate the post-trip tiredness for our Disney trip since it's father's day and I don't want her crabby and overtired all weekend.

Your first day in Oregon looks gorgeous - the donuts look great, and the scenic drive and aquarium well worth it! so fuN!

Can't wait to hear more about it. I love the west coast!

 

[Alysa]

Love the smiles on the carpet ride! And those are some insane looking doughnuts!

 

[Dugette]

That CM should have explained himself better. I get that they probably get that request all the time and they might have been on a 6 day workweek and that they were hot, etc etc, but c'mon, a little courtesy. Sounds like all the crowds from the previous week made for all the CMs you encountered grumpy.

Yeah, we definitely had a few not-so-magical CM encounters this trip. Luckily, we still had plenty of good ones too. At least I don't think this guy was TRYING to be rude - I think he just truly didn't realize how badly he was communicating. Answering a question with the same words repeatedly really doesn't help someone understand any better. And how was I to know "row" didn't really mean "row"?

Glad you were able to get the pictures on the Magic Carpets, though! Izzy looks like she was having fun on the ride!

She did have a good time. Probably better than we did, since we were fresh off of the "row" misunderstanding and all.

Whew, that does not sound like a great flight experience.

No, it was really rough. However, the flight back was pretty much the ultimate dream flight w/a toddler, so that was awesome.

Oregon looks beautiful! The beaches are so different from what I'm used to, that had to be nice to see and experience. Plus, kids and sand...normally a great combo.

Yeah, I suppose they are very different than the beaches you're used to seeing! I love that whole area...one of my favorite things in the world is driving the northern CA and OR coastline. Pretty much the whole thing is just breathtaking. I've done that a couple times myself, but Dug and Izzy have not, so someday we will have a family trip of driving Highway 1, Disneyland, visiting relatives in OR & WA, and much more! Probably when Izzy is not a toddler, though.

First of all wanted to comment on the rude guy at Aladdin's Carpets! Wow, I would have been so angry at how he was just not communicating - then the same thing with the flight attendant at the airport regarding the car seat - esp if he DID give you guys a whole row and didn't communicate it.

Yes, both things were so frustrating and both could have been avoided with better communication. The carpets thing I ended up feeling more silly than anything...feeling like we made a scene and maybe we should have understood. The airline thing really upset me, though. Due to the poor communication (most likely), we all had to suffer through a flight that could have been very pleasant. I made sure to say things like that loud enough that the nearby passengers would know that it was Delta's fault that Izzy was a noisy monster.

Sounds like you got over it though and that is wonderful Izzy is so adaptable with her schedule! Aria is too, but I am trying to negate the post-trip tiredness for our Disney trip since it's father's day and I don't want her crabby and overtired all weekend.

I was really amazed at how well Izzy did with the schedule being so far off. We try to keep her fairly close to a "normal" schedule when possible, but it really all went out the window this trip. The 2 hour time difference added to it, but we were also just keeping some odd hours and running around too much for hotel naps (except the last day). Good point about Father's Day weekend right after, though! Hoping she can sleep in on Saturday (okay, and that I can too).

Your first day in Oregon looks gorgeous - the donuts look great, and the scenic drive and aquarium well worth it! so fuN!

Can't wait to hear more about it. I love the west coast!

It was a really nice day! We both were glad that we were able to do some sightseeing while there and feel like we were on a "vacation" vs. just attending a funeral. Obviously, time with my family was important, but this time with just the three of us was good for our mental state, I think.

Love the smiles on the carpet ride! And those are some insane looking doughnuts!

Thanks - gotta love baby smiles! They are completely insane doughnuts. And, don't worry, you'll be seeing more of them in coming updates!

 

[dtr_angel]

I seriously love all the Crystal Palace pictures and videos, too cute!
Wow that CM could have told you that you were getting a whole carpet, yeesh.

We have that same travel high chair...actually we have 2. We always seemed to forget to bring it to my parents house so we bought a 2nd one thanks to a good Amazon deal and left it at my parents house. The other one we actually leave in the back of my Jeep. You never know when you need it. It has came in handy so many times. That's great you were able to fit it in your stroller bag. You are seriously an expert toddler traveling mom!
That is a serious bummer that you didn't know you had a seat for Izzy.
Oh my goodness those donuts! They look amazing!!!! We don't eat donuts in real life and your post reminded me that I forgot to get some while we are on vacation. Now I really want a donut. I guess the one with fruit loops on it means it's a breakfast food? lol.

Great pictures. Sounds like Izzy did very well. That Burgerville food looks super yummy. I'm glad it's almost lunch time. And that there are no donuts in the house. They would not be safe right now, lol.

 

[Dugette]

I seriously love all the Crystal Palace pictures and videos, too cute!
Wow that CM could have told you that you were getting a whole carpet, yeesh.

Thanks on the CP stuff. And, yeah, it would have avoided a lot of frustration if the CM could have said "carpet" instead of "row" at least once.

We have that same travel high chair...actually we have 2. We always seemed to forget to bring it to my parents house so we bought a 2nd one thanks to a good Amazon deal and left it at my parents house. The other one we actually leave in the back of my Jeep. You never know when you need it. It has came in handy so many times. That's great you were able to fit it in your stroller bag.

We actually leave ours in the trunk of my car. It definitely comes in handy! (in fact, later in this trip it does, at the airport!)

You are seriously an expert toddler traveling mom!

Eh, I'm just learning as I go here. But, yeah, lots of opportunities for practice!

That is a serious bummer that you didn't know you had a seat for Izzy.

It really, really was!

Oh my goodness those donuts! They look amazing!!!! We don't eat donuts in real life and your post reminded me that I forgot to get some while we are on vacation. Now I really want a donut. I guess the one with fruit loops on it means it's a breakfast food? lol.

Totally a breakfast with cereal on it! They were all very good (spoiler alert: we have more!)

Great pictures. Sounds like Izzy did very well. That Burgerville food looks super yummy. I'm glad it's almost lunch time. And that there are no donuts in the house. They would not be safe right now, lol.

Izzy did really well this trip. And Burgerville = delicious. Although, it's probably one of those things like Sonic (used to be for us) where it's great because there aren't any here and if we had one it wouldn't be so exciting.

 

[Dugette]

At risk of writing up a really “Debbie Downer” type post intro, I thought I’d mention how nice it is to have next week’s little WDW trip to look forward to. There are way too many sad things occupying my mind right now and I need something happier to focus on. (If you don’t want to be bummed out, skip the next paragraph).

As you know, I’ve had two uncles pass away unexpectedly and relatively young. The first was last year, at 56 years old. The second was this year and he had just turned 64. Since then, a friend of mine just lost his 60 year old mother (this is the friend I met up with on our Dec. 2010 trip, by the way). He already lost his father several years ago. Then, this past weekend, the pastor at Dug’s parents’ church lost his battle with brain & lung cancer at 63 (he helped marry us back in 2005). And now, an acquaintance of Dug’s shared that his 5-year-old daughter only has a few weeks left (at best), due to her brain cancer. So, so sad. I just can’t even imagine facing that situation. This family did go on a Make-a-Wish trip to Disney World a couple months ago, though. He put up a blog post that compares facing the drop on Splash Mountain to facing death (http://meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/2014/04/08/all-the-way-together/ - if you read this, prepare to ). I feel so bad for all of these families and the things they are facing.

But, I also feel very lucky. My own (more immediate) family is doing well and life is generally good. So, I try not to focus on the bad and unfair things going on around me. But that’s hard, especially with how much has happened in such a short time. Plus, I tend to be an extremely empathetic person. So, there’s some background on why it’s really nice to be planning a Disney trip right now. Of course, I also feel a bit guilty about it, given what others are going through. But I remind myself that I’ll be spending time with Izzy and making lifelong memories.

So, with that recap of my mental/emotional state right now, let’s go through the latest and greatest version of the itinerary. (Lauren, feel free to correct me if I forget/mix up anything, since I probably will ). *I've added a few things on 6/8 that I either forgot or have changed, just so I have all of this in one post!*

Tuesday, June 10th:

Dug drops me and Izzy off at the airport, probably around 7am or so. I will check one bag (for free) at the curbside check-in (it better be open!). I’ll have to manage everything myself through the airport and security. I am thinking of wearing Izzy in the Ergo and putting her carseat in the stroller, along with a small carry-on bag of food/toys/necessities and her thermos of milk. Anyone know if I can wear her through security? It would be much easier to have my hands free and her contained, if possible.

Assuming we get through with time to spare, I’d like to go back to French Meadow again for breakfast (like on our Dec. trip). Of course, I’ll have to actually figure out where things are now, without Dug (he is usually my navigator). So, we’ll eat there, if I can find it and it’s not too far from our gate.

Our flight is at 9am. I have one seat, since Izzy still flies free. However, I’m going to try my best to get a second open seat next to me and bring her carseat on. Really, really hoping I can, but the flight is quite full, so I’m trying not to get my hopes up. If she gets a seat, I think she may nap for part of the flight, due to the earlier than normal wake-up call. I hope, at least. If not, I’ll have a bag of toys and snacks and possibly the iPad/headphones (so far, she is refusing to wear the headphones, even if she can hear “Let it Go” coming from them…we’ll keep working on that). With any luck, the flight will go well. I will pack a lunchables for a small lunch/snack for us to share (and a pouch for Izzy), since we fly through lunchtime.

We land at 1:10pm (12:10pm MN time, so just over a 3 hour flight). I’ll probably pop Izzy back in the Ergo, gather our gate-checked stroller (not looking forward to carrying that stroller bag up and down the jetway!), and head down to baggage claim. I should be a sight to see, wearing Izzy, pushing a stroller with a carseat and a bag in it, and rolling a checked bag. Do-able, though. If Izzy would rather ride in the stroller, I can attach the carseat to the back, as I did with Oregon. But, if I know Izzy, she’ll want to walk and I can’t deal with that on my own in an airport with all our stuff (since she likes to run off at times).

While I’m doing all of the above, Lauren and Aria will probably be enjoying some pool time at the resort. Their flight gets in at 9-something in the morning, so they will try to get some good swim time in. After a while, they’ll head out to pick us up from our flight. Hopefully Aria will get her nap during the drive and maybe Izzy will join in. We’ll stop off at the store for some groceries/supplies on our way back to the resort.

If we haven’t already gotten into the room, we hopefully can at this point. Maybe unpack, change, etc. And then we’ll head out for our 4:45pm dinner ADR at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. This is a new one for me and I’ve always heard good things about the Cinderella character interaction here. We just watched Cinderella the other day to “prepare” Izzy, but she didn’t pay much attention. If Olaf’s not in it, she doesn’t care as much. She will have an appropriate shirt, though, as I found a “Bippity Boppity Boo” Fairy Godmother/Cinderella shirt on clearance at Old Navy the other day.

After dinner, we have Fast Pass+ reservations in the Magic Kingdom. First one? I bet you can guess…why are we taking this trip again? Of course, it’s the Mine Train! We will get a Rider Swap so that we both can ride. Our window is 6:20-7:20pm. Really looking forward to experiencing the new ride myself!

So, we changed around our next Fast Pass selection since I last updated our schedule here. Lauren was able to snag Anna & Elsa Fast Pass+ reservations for this night (in addition to our ones a couple days later). The windows are different, so we will have to go in during the 7:25-7:35pm window where we overlap. I found myself an Olaf shirt at Target the other day, so I’ll have to wear that. Aria will have a Frozen Anna/Elsa dress and hopefully Izzy will fit Aria’s other Anna/Elsa dress. It will be interesting to see how this goes. Izzy is obsessed with Frozen and “Let it Go”, but is a bit confused and always yells, “Anna!” when she sees Olaf. Hope she likes the real Anna (and Elsa). Too bad there’s not an Olaf & Sven meet-and-greet too. Lauren just told me that Aurora will be available for us to meet also.

Our original plan during this time was for Lauren and Aria to ride the Barnstormer with FP+ (Aria’s first roller coaster!) and for me and Izzy to get a Rider Swap in case Aria wanted to ride again, then Izzy and I would head to Buzz Lightyear with our FP+ while they ride. We are hoping we can do these walk-on without much for lines. Especially the Barnstormer. Buzz isn’t a must-do. *We also will try to stop by the Tomorrowland Speedway to see if Izzy measures up to the 32 inch height requirement (riding another day).*

Next up is our Space Mountain FP+ from 7:40-8:40pm. Again, we’ll Rider Swap this. Unfortunately, the Peoplemover just went down for refurbishment, so the non-rider won’t be able to take a spin on that while waiting. We’ll have to find some other way to amuse ourselves, I guess. *A friend of Lauren's will also be in the MK this night, so we may meet up with her at some point.*

If we can squeeze in any other attractions, we will. At some point in the trip, I will need to use the Tangled bathrooms, since I forgot about them last time. I’m just thinking this may be a night to put the kiddos in pajamas, since we’ll be out late. At any rate, our next FP+ is for the Main Street Electrical Parade and the window is 8:40-9pm, when the parade begins. I will bring some glow sticks and wands for the girls and/or the strollers. Hoping they enjoy the parade.

We will probably stay in or near the same spot for the Celebrate the Magic castle show and for Wishes at 10pm. Between the parade and those things, though, we could potentially schedule more FP+ if we find something good to do right after Wishes while waiting for park exit madness to die down a bit (park is open until 1am). The parade is our last FP+, so that allows us to pick another at a kiosk, if one of us runs over to one.

After Wishes, we’ll use any remaining FP+ and Rider Swaps we have, possibly jump on something in FL with no line, then head out. Back to the resort for a good night’s sleep before returning to the Magic Kingdom bright and early the next morning.

Wednesday, June 11th:

We start this morning off with a pre-park-opening 8:40am ADR at Crystal Palace. We’ve been trying to get a bit earlier ADR, but if not, we may just show up a bit early, hoping not to miss too much prime touring time after the park opens at 9am. Our first order of business will be to take a ton of pictures and Photopass pictures along nearly-empty Main Street (we’ll try to get in by 8am). We also need to take the walking-up-to-the-castle pictures we both do (the idea I stole from her). I’m excited for Izzy to see the castle. She really didn’t care last time, but now she ooohs and aaaahs every time she sees the castle at the beginning of a Disney movie, so I’m hoping she’ll be impressed.

Once we’ve finished our photo session, we’ll check in at Crystal Palace. I really hope this goes as well as last time for Izzy, but that’s a pretty high bar. Who knows if Piglet is still kissable? 6 months have gone by and I know that can make for big changes in character interactions. Hope she still loves them. *The other night, as I was getting Izzy ready for bed, she started pointing out all the Pooh decals on her wall. I asked her if Piglet would get piggy kisses at WDW and she made me pick her up so she could kiss the Piglet wall decal! **Got 8:20am ADR now!!*

After breakfast, we’ll make a beeline for Fantasyland to try to hop on things before the lines are too long. Hoping to maybe do Pooh, Dumbo, and Small World, but we’ll stay flexible. Our first FP+ is for Peter Pan from 10-11am. After that, we can maybe take a spin on the carousel before heading over to our next FP+ at the Speedway from 11am-Noon. Hoping Izzy will measure up. She appears to be hovering right around the 32” height requirement when I measure her at home. We’ll try to check her the night before and, if she’s not tall enough, schedule a different FP+ for me and Izzy.

Maybe we can squeeze in a ride on Pirates before heading towards the Town Square area. We have a FP+ to meet with Tinker Bell from Noon-1pm. Hoping to do this early in the window so we can head out and hop over to Epcot before naptime for the girls. I think Izzy will enjoy this meet. She knows Tinker Bell and loves to point her out and say goodnight to the prints of her on her curtains. Also, Dug knows all the fairies now (better than I do), as he’s been enjoying watching all the Tinker Bell movies with Izzy. Cute!

Our first stop in Epcot will be Spaceship Earth. We plan to get a ride in, then get the girls napping in their strollers, with any luck. Aria normally naps at 1pm and Izzy normally naps at Noon Central time, which is 1pm at WDW, so hoping things work out well. After they go down, we hope to switch off Riding Single Rider on Test Track. Not sure if it’s better to Rider Swap for the second person or just both do Single Rider? I guess we can check the posted SR wait time. Also hoping it’s not raining/storming during this time or else it may not even be up and running.

After we both ride, we’ll head into World Showcase for some downtime. We don’t have a planned lunch, so we’ll be improvising this day. I will probably give Izzy a pouch and some munchies before her nap. I’m tempted to grab a Croissant Doughnut (“Cronut”) at the Refreshment Port, after seeing it in another TR. I may have to snag a treat from Karamell Kuche later too, if I have a chance. Our main goal, however, is to enjoy some margaritas in Mexico during naptime. I know, from our last trip, that there is seating inside the La Hacienda restaurant, so I thought that might be good to bring in the strollers to keep them cool while we enjoy some margaritas that one of us can go get from La Cava, I think. We could maybe get something to munch on from the quick service too, if needed.

Once the kiddos are up again, probably around 3pm, we’ll try to squeeze in both boat rides – Gran Fiesta and Maelstrom. Forgot to mention that we hope to stop at a kiosk and obtain Maelstrom FP+ for this window, once we arrive at Epcot. We’ll also take some pictures of the girls around World Showcase before heading back to Future World for our dinner.

We have a 4pm ADR at the Garden Grill. We both are stalking MDE, trying to get this closer to 5pm, but we can make do with what we have, if needed. It just would be nice to have a bigger window for World Showcase. We’ll see. We may well be able to change it that day, since my understanding is that Garden Grill is not currently rotating and they are allowing people to cancel without fees. I hope they can get it rotating again, but if not, we’ll just try to get a booth with a good view into Living with the Land. I ate here back in 2010 and it was really fantastic character interaction with Chip & Dale, Mickey, and Pluto, so I’m hoping we have a great time (and good food!) *Update: we were able to change to a 5:40pm ADR - much better!!*

After dinner, since we’re right there, we’ll hop on Living with the Land, hopefully with a FP+ obtained before dinner (if there’s a line). We missed this last time and I think Izzy would enjoy it. And I like it. As do Aria and Lauren.

Our last stop is the Seas pavilion to ride Nemo, check out the aquariums, and see Turtle Talk. We missed Turtle Talk last time, so I hope Izzy will like that. We watched Finding Nemo with her the other day and she was mildly interested, so we’ll see. I know that Aria really likes the aquariums and I hope the girls will enjoying exploring them together.

*I forgot that we want to do the Disney Visa photo at this point, as long as the line isn't long.*

We’ll try to head out after that, in order to squeeze in some pool time before the girls go to bed. Izzy will enjoy getting back into a pool again, I bet. We did swim lessons with her, but have taken a bit of a hiatus (plan to start up again in late June). She really seemed to like the water, though. And I know Aria does!

After swimming, we’ll get the girls to bed and maybe have a bit of free time. But, we do have to rest up for another early morning, this time at Animal Kingdom!

Thursday, June 12th:

We’ll be at Rope Drop at 9am this morning for Animal Kingdom (after maybe a small snack/breakfast in the condo). Our first destination is the Safari, hoping to get in early, avoiding lines and seeing lots of animals before it gets to be too hot for them. I think we’ll all enjoy this. Izzy loves animals. She will probably want to hug them all.

After this, we’ll switch off riding Dinosaur (Rider Swap). Note that we can’t use FP+ here, as we have ours scheduled in MK that afternoon. Hoping the line won’t be long just yet. While one of us is riding, the other will take the girls on Triceratops Spin and/or to play in the Boneyard (once it opens at 10am). Izzy is a huge fan of playgrounds now, especially slides (first one she went down was last time at WDW). She will enjoy this immensely and probably not want to leave.

If there is any time, I may try to squeeze in a Single Rider turn on Expedition Everest. If not, though, it’ll be okay.

We’ve got brunch at Tusker House at 10:45am. Looking forward to this meal! Good characters, good food, and I think we’ll be able to get both breakfast and lunch offerings at this time!

After eating, we’ll take the train over to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Again, missed this last time and I think Izzy will really enjoy petting (or hugging) the goats. We’ll spend a bit of time there, then take the train back and head out of the park. *Stopping to grab Dole Whips with rum before leaving.* We’re hopping back to the Magic Kingdom.

Once we arrive at MK we have some FP+ reservations to use. And, again, hopefully the girls will go down for stroller naps around the time we get down Main Street. Our first FP+ is the Mine Train again, from 1:15-2:15pm. We’ll get a Rider Swap again also. We’re hoping, between the first night and this day, that we’ll each get in one daytime ride and one nighttime ride on it.

We’ll likely have a bit of time to burn before our next FP+ window is closing, so may switch off riding Haunted Mansion or something else without much of a wait. Our Big Thunder FP+ is 1:25-2:25pm, again planning to Rider Swap.

*At some point during this afternoon, we will try to meet up with a local DIS-er (Katgarcia) and her daughter Lily, who is about Aria's age. Toddler DIS-meet! *

Next, we have our original 2:50-3:50pm FP+ to meet Anna & Elsa. Not sure if we’ll keep this – depends how the first meet with them goes. If we keep it, we’ll probably try to jump on a short-line ride first, after the girls wake up, so they won’t be too sleepy. If we don’t do this meet, we’ll try to reschedule the FP+ to something we still want to do (or do again).

Our last FP+ is for Under the Sea from 3:55-4:50pm (overlap of varying windows). I look forward to riding this again, as I’ve only ridden it once.

After riding, we’ll try to squeeze in something with a short wait. Or get an immediate FP+ from the kiosk. If we can’t get something right away, we’ll try for something for after dinner.

We’ll take the monorail over to the Polynesian for dinner at ‘Ohana at 5pm. I’m a little scared to visit the Poly now. It was still in pretty good shape when we stayed there in December, but what I’m seeing posted about it now seems very construction-heavy. Might be a bit sad, but hoping it turns out great. We’ll take a look around and check out the under-construction DVC bungalows while there.

Looking forward to a good dinner. It’s our only non-character meal of the trip! I’m thinking that Izzy may be old enough to have fun with the entertainment now, though.

After dinner, we’ll head back to the MK for a bit longer. Get in any other must-rides. Hoping we’ll have been able to obtain a Splash FP+ earlier and use that and Rider Swap to both get a ride.

We’ll try to get back to the condo at a reasonable time and maybe even get in some more pool time, depending on how long we stay at MK. Then, bedtime for the girls! We’ve got another early morning ahead!

Friday, June 13th:

We start out with a breakfast ADR over at the Beach Club. We’re going to Cape May at 7:35am. Another new-to-me restaurant and I hope Izzy has a good time with the characters! *Changed to 7:40am to get us all on the same ADR.*

After that, we will head back to the resort, maybe squeeze in a swim, and get packed up. I’ll leave my stuff with bell services and we’ll get Lauren and Aria’s stuff loaded into the car. Their flight is around noon and we’ll all go to the airport. However, Izzy and I don’t fly out until after 6pm, so we’ll pick up a rental car for the day and find something to do. We’ll have to pick up our luggage also.

What we do with that time is up in the air. If I decide to upgrade to an Annual Pass (less than the cost of another 3-day park-hopper), then we’ll go back to a park. If not, we’ll maybe go to Downtown Disney or even maybe venture off property. I think the AP is most likely, though, as Dug and I are talking about doing a Land/Sea in May next year (during Star Wars Weekends). We’ll see.

We’ll probably have dinner at the airport and I’m hoping that we can bring the carseat on and Izzy will sleep on the way home, as it will soon be bedtime and she’ll probably be wiped out from the trip. Dug will pick us up at 9-something-pm at the airport.

So, that’s the plan! Less than a week to go! Yay for happy things to think about!

 

[Imagineer5]

Looks perfect to me!! And busy lol! We sure fit a lot in!!

I don't have many comments ( as we've been chatting via Pms constantly!) but as for the carrier through security almost certain you'll have to take it off :-/ boo!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

No worries about being a Debbie Downer! Life just sucks sometimes, and it absorbs our life. I'm sorry for everything that you've been going through.

Yay for the Mine Train being your first FP+! You're going to love it.

I totally have the Olaf shirt from Target too. Great minds, right?

Oh, absolutely get a cronut. It's a must do!

Plans sound great! You guys are going to have an awesome time.

 

[Dugette]

Looks perfect to me!! And busy lol! We sure fit a lot in!!

Yes, nobody will accuse us of planning a relaxing trip! I actually feel better having gone through it in this extended form vs. the shorter list. It seems more do-able now. Let's hope so!

I don't have many comments ( as we've been chatting via Pms constantly!) but as for the carrier through security almost certain you'll have to take it off :-/ boo!!

That's a bummer on the carrier. I think I'll leave her in it while getting things on the belt, then take her out (unless they don't make me), then put her right back in or in the stroller (if she doesn't wage another epic airport stroller battle).

And, of course, we discovered that I left the Dole Whips with Rum off of the AK agenda - so add that in there!

No worries about being a Debbie Downer! Life just sucks sometimes, and it absorbs our life. I'm sorry for everything that you've been going through.

Aw, thanks! It's weird because I don't feel like I'm going through a lot first-hand, but just that I empathize so much with those who are. Like with my uncles. The first one was single and no kids, but his mom (my grandma on that side) is still alive and well, so I feel her pain at losing her son. And my other uncle had three kids and they all have young kids and I feel so bad for all of them, especially the little ones losing their grandpa so young. I know I've been lucky - I had all of my grandparents until I was 28 and still have my 86 year old grandma at 37 years old. Part of why I feel terrible for my friend's family...he has three young boys who have already lost both grandparents on his side. Ah, I need to stop thinking about this...

Yay for the Mine Train being your first FP+! You're going to love it.

I'm so excited! And glad we have it right away!

I totally have the Olaf shirt from Target too. Great minds, right?

Absolutely! I actually thought of you in Target - wondering if I should try to track down some Little Mermaid leggings. Then I remembered how hot it will be and let that one go.

Oh, absolutely get a cronut. It's a must do!

Well, if you say so. Yours was the TR that sold me on them. And they totally count as lunch, right? At least if they are accompanied by a margarita?

Plans sound great! You guys are going to have an awesome time.

Thanks, I think we'll have a blast!

 

[Dopey4Life]

Your trip sounds great! We will be there June 6th through 17th and even staying at the Beach Club the 12th through 17th. Maybe we will see you!

 

[Dugette]

Your trip sounds great! We will be there June 6th through 17th and even staying at the Beach Club the 12th through 17th. Maybe we will see you!

Sweet! If you are around on our Cape May morning (6/13, 7:35am), feel free to track us down! Look for the two adorable toddlers. (or, if you see us anywhere else, of course). You've got such a nice, long trip planned...I'm a bit jealous!

 

[Dugette]

The next day, we started off by heading over to my oldest cousin’s house. He is married with three kids: a 15-year-old girl, a 7-year-old girl, and a 5-year-old boy (the 15-year-old was at school that day, though). They were kind enough to invite us over for a home-cooked breakfast. Luckily, we had Izzy’s high chair and were able to get her set up with the big kids. We all enjoyed the breakfast and the company.

Our plans that day were to all head to the zoo (us, my cousin and his family, my uncle, my dad and my step-mom). Izzy wanted to drive us there:



I’m pretty sure she’s telling me to shut the door and get in the back.

Don’t worry, she did end up buckled securely in her carseat and I drove. My cousin and his two younger kids rode in the back of the minivan with her, so she loved that (as did they). I’m pretty sure that they were showing her some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Doc McStuffins and they were all having a good time. We also stopped to get Dug a coffee at the Dutch Brothers drive-through that were good and all over the place in Portland. I got a smoothie and it was great.

We got to the zoo and the second cousins all walked in hand-in-hand:



Way too cute! Izzy LOVED being like the big kids. She had such a great time with them the whole trip.

We had a nice time at the zoo. We saw some animals:



Note Izzy peeking at the goat in the picture above.





My cousin is holding her here:



The hardest thing about the zoo visit was the stroller. Izzy wanted nothing to do with it for most of the visit. She wanted to run around. Which was fine, but exhausting for me (and the others who occasionally ran after her). Then, towards the end, she was tired and probably would have gone in her stroller, but Dug had somehow gotten ahead of us (he’s usually behind us) and he was pushing the empty stroller. Since he doesn’t move too fast, we figured we’d catch up, but never did. Guess we were moving really slow with Izzy’s pace. It was a nice zoo, though, and everyone had a good time. Oh, and Izzy also got to share an “elephant ear” with her cousins (which she loved) and we shared some corn dog nuggets for a snack. Yum.

After the zoo, we had a bit of time to kill before going to the 7-year-old’s soccer tryouts. Izzy hadn’t had a nap yet (no stroller to nap in!), so we did our best to get her a car nap. My dad, stepmom, and uncle were going to go have a drink at a nearby mall, so we headed over there, thinking we may join them, depending on how Izzy’s doing. We parked in the ramp and just sat there. She was still sleeping and we didn’t want to wake her up just to go in for a short time. So, we spent naptime (shortened naptime) in the car in a parking ramp. Glamorous life!

After a bit, we navigated over to the soccer fields and parked. Got Izzy into her stroller (awake) and found the rest of the family. It was really important that we all attended the soccer tryouts because it was the first one without her Grandpa there – he came to ALL of the soccer games. They were really missing his presence, but it helped a ton to have extended family there. Oh, and the 15-year-old was there too (she's a soccer player also).

Izzy got restless after a bit, but I couldn’t really let her run around (I tried that and she just made a beeline for the in-use fields). So, I took a lap on the track around the fields with her in the stroller and the 5-year-old boy riding his bike along with us. He and I chatted as we went, which was sweet.

I noticed a small playground on the other side of the fields, so kept that in mind for later. And we did end up back there later – me, Izzy, and the 5-year-old. He made a couple friends on the playground and Izzy had a great time being a “big kid” and going down the slide over and over (I had to help her climb up – it wasn’t built for toddlers). Also, we saw this:



Yes, that is a dog being pushed in a baby swing. Wow. And the kids’ mom was right there and didn’t care. Poor doggy.

After the tryouts wrapped up, we all headed over to the VooDoo Doughnuts (basically next door). My cousins love this place and wanted us all to visit together. So, we made some new doughnut selections and enjoyed them out on the picnic tables with everyone.

This time, I got a different peanut butter one that had a chocolate donut and coconut, Dug got another Bacon Maple Bar (to save for the morning), and he also had to try the actual “VooDoo” donut (cream filled):



Izzy had a cinnamon sugar donut and was looking a bit donut-drunk by the time I took this picture:



I just noticed the bag in that picture. My stepmom had given Izzy an empty bag from her purse to play with and Izzy and I discovered that her buckle toy fit in it perfectly. So, that is her fitted buckle toy bag, I guess.

After our snack, the little cousins had fun playing together. They would all sit on the curb by the building, then Izzy would jump up and try to run away and they’d catch her. Over and over. It was cute. It was like she was saying, “I’ve got you both sitting down, so I can get a head start!”

It was getting late and we hadn’t had dinner yet, but also wanted to get Izzy to bed fairly soon. Rather than join my cousins for dinner back at their place, my cousin’s wife was sweet enough to pack up a bunch of containers of leftovers to-go that we could bring back to the hotel for dinner (eat after Izzy goes to bed). It was nice having the kitchen in our suite, since we could easily prep and serve the food.

We had hoped to get back to the hotel before my dad and stepmom went to bed, so we could hang out with them over wine, but we were too late. Oh, well. We did steal their plans for the next morning of going to Mt. Hood. They were going to hike, but we thought a nice drive and a visit to the Timberline Lodge (featured in "The Shining") would be fun for us (and our cousins and uncle were busy that day - going to my late uncle's work and home to gather things and such).

We started the day with our leftover donuts – Bacon Maple for Dug and Oreo Peanut Butter for me. Nutritious! I’m sure we set Izzy up in her high chair and fed her something more wholesome. Probably some applesauce and a nutrigrain bar that my cousin’s wife had given us. And some things we brought with. And milk (cousin’s wife gave us a whole gallon of milk for Izzy!)

We hit the road towards Mt. Hood (after a stop at Dutch Brothers for Dug's coffee) and found it to be a fantastic day to do this:



It was clear and sunny and just gorgeous.

When we arrived at the Timberline Lodge, we parked by the ski chalet and headed inside:



We were able to cut through that building and make it up to the Lodge:



Really cool building and it reminded us of the Wilderness Lodge, actually.

It was lunchtime by then and we managed to make it in to the buffet a bit before it closed. It was awesome. And quiet, except for a nice couple next to us that sold us on getting hot chocolates. And this was the view from our table:



And here’s the view of our table:



And the amazing hot chocolate:



The buffet was fantastic and we all really enjoyed the selections. Izzy kept stealing things off of my dessert plate…smart girl!

After lunch, we wandered around and explored the place. Lobby area:



Izzy found a staircase and it had to be climbed, of course, so up we went. It led to an empty dining room with amazing views:





My dad and step-mom had been in touch and they had finished their hike and were stopping by the lodge as well. We had them meet us up in that dining room and hung out for a while, enjoying the views and chatting and playing with Izzy.

We also explored outside:





Izzy loved that!

We explored some more back inside:



Izzy-sized window:



We checked out the gift shop (Izzy liked the stuffed doggies…that looked just like a real doggie we had seen from the window). After our final explorations, we headed out to get back to Portland for dinner with my cousins.

Up next: the last installment – family time and heading home (and more donuts!)

 

[Denovagirl]

What fun! Love seeing Izzy hanging with all her family at the zoo!! Looks like so much fun!

 

[Imagineer5]

I'm sorry - I forgot to comment on all the heartache you've experienced recently. It is so tough to have that happen back to back and then be surrounded by bad news from friends and family as well. The 5-year old? I can't even imagine. I'm glad you're able to take that as a reason to be appreciative for the great life you do have with Dug and Izzy!

Back to Oregon - sounds like a wonderful couple of days! I grew up in Seattle so it's neat to see your time in Oregon (same scenery, different state lol). Such a nice time with the cousins, donuts look amazing, and the zoo & Mt. Hood look like fun. Nice you could be there for the soccer thing.

 

[AprilRenee]

Sounds like you guys had a good time in Oregon overall. You did a lot!

Can't wait to hear how your disney trip goes! I'm interested in all the toddler related things...so take good notes! Specifically how the late nights, early mornings, and stroller naps go!

 

[Dugette]

What fun! Love seeing Izzy hanging with all her family at the zoo!! Looks like so much fun!

It was really fun seeing her and her cousins interact. I wish we lived closer, since they all had such a good time together. All of their first-cousins are much older, so they really enjoyed having Izzy around, since she was a bit closer to their ages.

I'm sorry - I forgot to comment on all the heartache you've experienced recently. It is so tough to have that happen back to back and then be surrounded by bad news from friends and family as well. The 5-year old? I can't even imagine. I'm glad you're able to take that as a reason to be appreciative for the great life you do have with Dug and Izzy!

Thanks. I do feel very lucky, but all of these things happening makes the world seem like a very scary, awful, unfair place at times. And, yeah, the 5-year-old - Dug tells me some of the things the dad puts on Twitter and they are just heartbreaking - he posted something like, "I thought it was stressful going from 2 to 3 kids, but that's nothing compared to going from 3 to 2." Thank goodness I have this trip to occupy my mind when it gets too absorbed in thinking about these things. I'm super excited to go to WDW, meet up with you guys, and have a few days of fun. I got a bunch more packed and will do some more before bed.

Back to Oregon - sounds like a wonderful couple of days! I grew up in Seattle so it's neat to see your time in Oregon (same scenery, different state lol). Such a nice time with the cousins, donuts look amazing, and the zoo & Mt. Hood look like fun. Nice you could be there for the soccer thing.

Seattle is such a cool place too. We were there briefly when I was pregnant (flew in and out of there to visit relatives in Vancouver, Canada). We really liked it there.

Sounds like you guys had a good time in Oregon overall. You did a lot!

Yeah, we did a lot more than I thought we would. I was trying to keep the schedule pretty open for family things, but we were able to do a lot anyway. Mt. Hood was completely unplanned, but worked out great since family was not available and my dad and stepmom were able to meet up with us. We actually really enjoyed that day and are so glad we did that.

Can't wait to hear how your disney trip goes! I'm interested in all the toddler related things...so take good notes! Specifically how the late nights, early mornings, and stroller naps go!

I'll try! Between the two of us being used to trip reporting, hopefully we'll do a halfway decent job of capturing the details. I can say that I think Izzy will do well with the early mornings and late night, just based on how she did in Oregon. And the mornings aren't much earlier than her norm (just the time zone change makes it earlier, really). But I'm hoping the naps go well - it sounds like Aria is the dream napper and I'm hoping Izzy doesn't fight naps or something. We'll see, I guess. Thinking about trying to go somewhere like the zoo or Mall of America's aquarium this weekend, just to practice napping in her stroller.

 

[Dugette]

We drove from Mt. Hood back to Portland and I think Izzy probably slept in the car. We went right to my oldest cousin’s house for dinner. I didn’t realize that my other two cousins (his younger siblings) would also be there with their families. What a treat!

So, we had those cousins, their spouses (one of which we had not yet met), the 5-year-old (I think) son of that new spouse, and each family had a new baby boy born in January. What a great group! So nice to see everybody – it had been too long (since 2010!). And so nice to meet the newcomers!

We all had some dinner (ribs! and more). It was great and Izzy’s travel high chair got another use. Also, our Thermos straw cup got a ton of use on this trip! (I actually just bought a second one for WDW – it’s the same, but has Minnie Mouse on it!)

After dinner, I actually was able to get in some time visiting with relatives without managing a toddler – because Izzy went out to play with her cousins. It was so weird to me to be letting a 7 and 5-year-old take care of her, but they did great (and we were all peeking out from time to time to make sure they were okay).

Izzy’s highlight of the evening was that her cousins’ mom told them to let her join them on their backyard trampoline (side note – does everyone in Oregon have one of there? ) She LOVED running around in there with them:



She couldn’t really jump yet at that time, but tried to bounce and stuff. Now, however, she has figured out how to jump and is doing it all the time. She actually has been jumping, then tossing her legs forward and landing on her bottom. Which would work great on a trampoline, but not so much on the hard ground. She’s let out a few “ouch”s on those.

At any rate, after a nice evening with family, we headed to the Target by our hotel. We’d been meaning to stop by for snacks and pop and breakfast items. Izzy was half-asleep in the car, so Dug stayed in there with her and I went in to grab our goods.

Then, we headed back to the hotel. I think we stayed up for a while, using our laptops in the living room, while Izzy slept in her Peapod in the bedroom. By the way, we had no nighttime sleep issues. Izzy didn’t necessarily want to get into the Peapod, but once she was, she settled in pretty quickly and slept all night.

The next morning, we slept in a bit, then had breakfast in our hotel room. We made eggs and bacon. Used the travel high chair once again.

Today was the funeral for my uncle. Not a fun day, but we did end up seeing relatives we hadn’t seen in years. His ex-wife (mom of younger cousins) was there and I hadn’t seen her in many years. My grandpa’s sister (and her daughter) came and we loved chatting with them. Dug commented that she looked just like my grandpa, which was neat. Good people.

The funeral went well. Two of my cousins spoke and did a nice job. A long-time friend of my uncle’s led the service and she did an outstanding job. There was a great slideshow running with pictures of him and family through the years.

Izzy did well also. I was hoping she’d behave and she did. We sat in the second row, but she wanted to be up in the first row, next to her cousin. So, I let her and she stayed and sat nicely (I was worried that she’d run away during the service). When she did start getting antsy towards the end, I got her playing with her buckle toy and she was fine.

Feel free to skip this, if you’d like, but I thought I’d include my uncle’s obituary here, as I think my cousins did a great job of writing up his story in a unique way and really capturing who he was (I’ll just abbreviate names for privacy):

Grandpa K!
Raised in small town Kansas with rock 'n roll records hidden under his bed, K joined the hippie movement as a young adult and traveled cross country, in the requisite school bus of course. His older son J was born in 1973 and remembers driving Dad's old, green truck in high school. It had a stylish hole in the floor for watching the road go by and thoroughly cramped his style.

Falling in love with Oregon, he found community working for the Springfield Creamery and his older kids remember taking naps under tie dyed parachutes at the Oregon Country Fair and Grateful Dead concerts. His daughter C was born in 1982 and remembers Dad biking her to every playground they could find, always excited when they found a new one. His younger son P was born in 1988 and remembers working together to build a pinewood derby car. P remembers Dad's excitement in teaching him a bit of woodworking and laughingly remembers losing every race.

He moved on from the Creamery to work at home in graphic design and later web design. His first grandchild T was born in 1998 and he delighted in having a new kid to show the world to. Always eager to learn and teach he returned to school as an "old man" and completed both an Associate's and Bachelor's degree while laughing at himself for being in classes with 18yr olds. Drawn to a career in programming he landed at [his company] and loved It. Many awards for his work came his way and again he found community among his Fantastic coworkers. His 2nd and 3rd grandchildren, M and C were born in 2006 and 2009 and he kept busy always taking them to the park, watching soccer games and teaching them to tend his garden. Appropriately so, his grandkids are worried about who's going to water his plants. Dad was beyond patient, loved to teach and was always excited about something. He was passionate about music, remarking "Music is the most purely abstract form of art we have". He enjoyed playing many instruments and was always listening to jazz. His woodworking ranged from solid, functional craftsmanship to abstract art and his shop was one of his favorite places. In the last 6 months he doubled his clan of grandkids, adding A, W and S. The family joked that he would have to buy new tires for his car to visit everyone each weekend. He will be remembered for his endless enthusiasm, whether it be about his finds at the farmers market, a new project at work or a new art gallery at the coast, there was always something new to explore. He enjoyed his kids and grandkids above all else and will always be "Grandpa K".

We had lunch at the funeral home, chatted with relatives, and enjoyed the company. Afterwards, we decided to head back to our hotel for Izzy’s naptime. This was the only day we did, but we knew she had to be running on empty by now and needing a good, solid nap. So, we did that and it was a nice break. We had a chance to relax and Izzy took a good nap.

After Izzy woke up, we headed back to my cousin’s place for dinner. After dinner, Izzy got another chance on the trampoline:



We had a nice time, once again. My cousin’s kids decided they wanted late-night waffles and we let Izzy get in on that too:



She loved being a big kid and munching on her waffle (and sitting on a real chair).

We made plans to meet up one more time the next day before we flew out (after a morning of packing up and more eggs and bacon in the hotel room). We would be meeting at, where else, Voodoo Doughnuts. We got there first and, unfortunately, my family ended up getting stuck in traffic due to a race going on that morning. We ate our donuts while we waited:



I got yet another peanut butter option that I shared a bit with Dug and Izzy. It was highly recommended by my cousin’s wife the previous visit. Super good. It had baked in banana chunks and was covered in peanut butter and chocolate chips. So good! We got Izzy another cinnamon sugar donut, which she enjoyed briefly before accidentally dropping the majority of it on the ground (note to self – break donuts into multiple pieces for Izzy). She was so mad that we wouldn’t give her the donut back. Dug shared some of his Mexican Hot Chocolate donut with her after that.

We were cutting it close to when we needed to get to the airport and had to head out. We ended up meeting up with everyone in the parking lot to say some goodbyes. Izzy and her cousin were sad to part ways:



We got to the airport and dropped off our rental van (farewell, minivan!) and got all checked in. We made it to our gate and there were no agents there yet. We decided to line up to be first in order to try to get a seat for Izzy. Eventually, someone showed up and she quickly shifted us to a 3-person empty row in the back of the plane. Woo hoo – carseat could come on!

We didn’t have much time, but we were hungry and Burgerville was across from our gate. So, Dug ran over to grab some food and I got Izzy set up. They didn’t have any high chairs, but luckily, we had our travel one (since we were going to put it in the stroller check bag). We ate very, very quickly. Dug ran off to change Izzy while I cleaned up and bagged the stroller. We actually had to carry the rest of our shakes and our fries onto the plane, since we didn’t have time to finish them. The flight attendants were extremely helpful in getting us situated. Insisting on carrying all of my stuff and holding Izzy while I installed her carseat (tip – get a seatbelt extender if the buckle ends up in a hard-to-unbuckle location in back of the seat). I think they may have thought I was a solo parent, since Dug was lagging behind me on the way through the plane (we were in the very last row). If this is the help you get when travelling solo, this next flight will be great!

Once we got settled in, we noticed that the 2-seat row across from us was empty also. The flight attendant noticed at the same time and suggested that Dug could sit over there so that we could all spread out a bit more. So, he moved over. We all had so much elbow room – it was great! Izzy was a bit disappointed, though, as she had no window to open and close. Poor baby.

I gave Izzy fries to munch on while we waited to take off. When those ran out, I gave her the remnants of Dug’s shake, which she LOVED:



We took off and Izzy played with her buckle toy for a while, doing all the buckles, then having me undo them, then doing them all again, etc.:



She was very mellow. Soon enough, her tiredness caught up with her and this is what I got to ride next to:



She stayed asleep for most of the flight. When she did wake up, towards the end, she was super mellow and didn’t even want to play with any toys. She was content to just look around.

She was so great on this flight that I was thinking I’d fly every day with her if only it was always like that. I was actually bored! It was awesome.

Not so awesome was the woman who got airsick and ran to the bathrooms (behind us), but didn’t quite make it in time. I gave her Izzy’s air sickness bag. Poor flight attendants, cleaning everything up. And poor sick lady.

Other than that, the flight was good. I was glad that Izzy was able to be in her carseat, as there was a fair amount of turbulence. Nothing horrible, but more than normal.

The flight attendants were equally as helpful on the way out. Great flight experience and I wish it could always be like that!

After we made our way through the airport and picked up our luggage, we had to wait for Dug’s sister to come pick us up (she’d gotten back into town). She drove their SUV out, which was nice, since she could pick up all of us and fit the luggage (and we had Izzy’s carseat for her to ride in).

While we waited for her to arrive, Izzy played in the kiddie area by the door:











I was just letting her play in these things – not inserting money for them to move. However, some kids came by and got their dad to start the plane. They rode briefly, then got bored and left. So, I let Izzy enjoy their ride:



She had fun. We got picked up, taken back to my car (so nice to drive my own car again!), and headed home and to bed. Great trip! Now, I'm off to do some more packing for a Disney trip before I head to bed.

 

[AprilRenee]

Your uncle sounds like he was a really cool guy! I liked reading about his life.

Ok I think I might need to bite the bullet and buy Caden a buckle toy. I keep thinking about it but then think "what if he doesn't like it? That's a lot of wasted money" but he LOVES buckles...I should get him one!

Our airport is getting or just got a cool kids area like that. I guess we'll need to stop in and check it out in jan!