Hey! Let's take a picture in front of the castle...all 28 of us!! UPDATES 10/26

[*dreamit*doit*]

Hey guys! Thanks for sticking with me! I'm going to really try to do another update later tonight...but...I wanted to just do a quick post to say:

TODAY IS ONE WEEK UNTIL OUR WEEKEND TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!


that's all for now - be back later!

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

Well, I did make it back here last night but it was late and my mind couldn't really put an update together - we took the girls to a rooftop observatory at the science musuem and saw Saturn. Then we went to an open-air mall to walk around and ended up where? Disney Store! I wasn't sure it would be open but it closed at 11pm. Miren got a Princess and the Frog book and Nerea got a Minnie Mouse phone.

As I posted last night.....next weekend we will be at WDW!!!! Quick story behind this trip: with the exception of his parents and brothers, the rest of Ramon's family all lives in Spain. Whenever someone comes to visit where do we take them? WDW!!! So, four of his aunts (DMIL's four sisters) are coming on Monday. There will be 12 of us going (I know small group compared to this one! ) and we will be staying in a 3bdr condo off-property, as my DMIL always likes to stay all together. I'll add the pictures and such to this TR but I won't make a whole TR out of it - as it is, this one is crawling along slower than I would like it to...sorry guys!

Having said that, we are off to a bday party now. But I will leave you with the first picture of Miren's birthday

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Understandable. We'll be here... waiting patiently for the next update.

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

Understandable. We'll be here... waiting patiently for the next update.

Thanks! It's coming up next!

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

Thursday, December 17th - Miren's 6th Birthday!!

So, after the girls went to sleep the night before I decorated the room with the balloon and birthday banner (see previous picture) - we had actually used those at home for Nerea's 2nd birthday five days earlier.

Then I got out the birthday gifts.

And finally I arranged for Miren to get a birthday call from Goofy in the morning. I made it for 1/2 and hour later than I was planning on getting up so I'd make sure to be ready with the cameras and all that. Oh, excuse me, did I say cameras? No, no...that would just be camera - no s. I was so excited and videotaping the phone call that we didn't get a picture of her on the phone - let me just say her expression was priceless!! First she didn't know what to make of it as she was just opening her eyes and there was this person on the phone wishing her a happy birthday and telling her to stay on the line that she had a friend who wanted to talk to her, then Goofy sings happy birthday and she's just grinning from ear to ear, eyes wide open yet totally sleepy. It was awesome! Then she hangs up and says "can I call Mickey now?"

Then it was time to open the gifts!

Man, she really wanted that Snuggie! Ramon, being the good daddy that he is, got it for her!

Then there was one more gift she really wanted and had been asking for on our previous couple of trips - we would be getting that later on that day.

So, it was 8am and we had to get ready to go to DHS - Miren's choice of the day! My cousin and I texted each other to agree on a meeting time but in the end they decided to drive to the park and Miren really wanted to take the bus, so we did. On our walk to the bus, here is the only other picture that I took of POR.

I think we just missed the bus to DHS as we were walking up to the bus stop so we had to wait quite a bit and there was a longggg line. We finally got on the bus: Ramon with the girls and I with the double stroller, diaper bag, my bag, bag of raincoats - I didn't make it far into the bus as it was already full and I stood at the line behind the driver. The whole ride there I was just trying to keep my balance and trying to not destroy the legs of the poor man who was sitting in the first seat. I kept apologizing and he kept saying it was ok; I'm pretty sure it wasn't ok. We got to the park a little after 9am, the first thing we did was decide that we wouldn't be taking the busses but instead driving for the rest of the trip, then we had to go get Miren's bday giftcard (in place of free admission since we have APs). Well, there was another longggg line there and by the time we got into the park it was past 9:30,

We hadn't had any breakfast yet and my cousin, who was already in the park, texted me to meet them at Starring Rolls. Ramon went to get us FPs for TSM and I went with the girls to SR. We got a couple of bagels and danishes and a chocolate croissant, some coffee and juices and water for later in the day. While we were eating, Nerea and her cousin were playing with some spoons and sharing strep throat (as we would learn the following week).

We finished up and the High School Musical show was on so we went and watched it.

After the show we took a bathroom break and did some shopping. Here is when we used Miren's birthday giftcard and got her other present, the one she had been asking for.

That picture is from the Disney Store website. This castle is sooo cute! You can't see all the figures in that picture but it also brings figures from Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. We had it delivered to our resort - it's a big box!

We had a slow start but it was okay. Also, the sky looked like it was just going to drop buckets of rain at any moment...and eventually...it did.

We had a 1:05 ADR at Sci-Fi but because of the weather we thought we should go earlier but we had time for the Great Movie Ride first. This is one of Miren's favorite rides, it's a must do everytime. She loves movies and anything about them!

*Continued on next post*

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

So after our journey into the movies we went and checked-in at Sci-Fi. We parked and covered up the strollers with extra raincoats and were seated within a few minutes. This was Miren's pick for her birthday lunch!

The birthday girl and her cousin took the front seat!

High chairs for the babies!

Miren is showing us how old she is!

This was the back of my cousin's DH's jacket - we were sitting behind them and I just kept looking at it - I thought it was neat.

I don't remember what we ate but I know it was good and satisfying. I do know we had onion rings and they were very good! Ramon, I think, had the ribs and possibly a beer and I probably had a burger and cherry coke. Miren I know had a milkshake (she always does here) and probably a burger, as well.

After lunch, we put on our raincoats and went over to the Jedi Training Academy. Miren has discovered Star Wars and is ALL about it now and so is my cousin's DS3. (As I'm writing this she and Ramon are watching Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones...sorry, it's just not my thing )

We wanted to go early to see if they would get picked - it started raining...would they even have the training?? Nerea was napping in the stroller and I think my cousin's DD1 was also, so we sat at some tables with umbrellas and waited and waited, there was a small crowd forming but everyone was just kind of waiting to see what would happen. Well, in the end the rain just wouldn't let up so it was cancelled.

This is from last summer

We discussed going on Star Tours but Miren didn't want to go. She's been on it before but she still gets a little apprehensive at times with some of the rides. I think my cousin's DH and DS3 may have gone on it but I'm not sure. We were taking it easy today, the rain was on and off and we were perfectly content just hanging out, walking around, and just taking it all in.

The babies woke up and we went to see MuppetVision 3D. Another family favorite. Then it was time...fastpass time! TSM! My cousin and her family had not been on it and her DS3 was really looking forward to it!

Here is the 6 year-old lining up in row 6.

Well, everybody loved it and since my cousin had done a baby swap, she took her son on it again. While we waited we did some shopping and took some phone calls from Ramon's family in Spain for Miren's birthday and I was getting updates from the rest of the group that was on their way up.

We get a picture of the girls like this on every trip - usually it's on the last day when they don't want to go home...this day they were just being silly!

I love this jacket my cousin's daughter was wearing!

After TSM it was time for the Osborne lights to be turned on so we headed that way but on the way there we spotted this:

*continued on next post*

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

*Oh man, these pictures are rather big - I just don't know how to resize them......sorry guys - I hope it's not obnoxious.

So off we went to the Streets of America for some Osborne lights! I LOVE THEM! It's so beautiful; you want to just stand there in awe and take it all in - um, not possible, there was barely room to breathe! We walked in and somehow were immediately separated from my cousin's family...we just kept walking with the flow, it was shoulder to shoulder...but oh, so beautiful!

When we made it to the other end we somehow just merged with my cousin's family again. Since it was raining there was an announcement playing that said the forecast had called for snow but instead we got rain so the lights would not be able to dance, as it could damage the equipment. Well, that was disappointing. That was our only day at DHS and I had really wanted to get the full effect with the snow and dancing lights with the music. Oh, well! It was now 6:30 and time to head back to POR. Our ADR at 'Ohana was for 8:20. We had originally thought we would maybe just go straight to the Poly, but no way...our clothes were wet and it was getting cold! We needed some drier, warmer clothes. I had been in contact with my cousins and they had all arrived at this point and were at the resort settling in and getting ready for dinner, but my aunts and uncles, who were driving up together, were still about two hours away. Would they make it in time for dinner??

On the way to POR I spoke to my cousins to get their room numbers and found out we were in fact all together: 8215-8220. I felt bad for my one cousin out in 8262 - that's okay though, I'm sure it was quieter down there than at our end! As I walked down the hall to our room, I knocked on all my family's doors and as they were all opening one by one, I felt so blessed to have the family that we have, not just our immediate family but our extended family, that we truly love and enjoy each other's company, that our kids are all crazy about each other and genuinely enjoy being together, and that it was my daughter's birthday and we would all be celebrating it together in the most magical of places.

 

[mom2mek]

Oh how fun! I can just imagine you guys going down the hallway and knocking on the doors to see all of your family members room by room! what a fun time that must have been!

Very cute update! We love Sci-Fi too - it's just so Disney to me!

It sounds like such an awesome birthday for little Miren! Can't wait to read more!

Sara

 

[DisFanAmI]

Jumping in...
Enjoying your TR. Keep it coming?

 

[MHTeacher]

Sci-Fi looks fun---We're going to try it for the first time during our trip in 11 days!

Love the Osborne Lights! Don't worry about the picture size---I always leave mine large, too. I like seeing them that way!

 

[DisneyMom14]

I'm really enjoying your tr! I loved the pics of your kids at Chef Mickey's. They are so affectionate and comfortable with the characters. It looks like you had great interaction. Sorry you guys got rained out during Osbourne lights. They were beautiful even just on though! Just another excuse to go back next Christmas - to see them dance! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Señor DonDuck]

Gotta love Sci-Fi. Glad to see that the weather did not stop you from having fun.

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

Oh how fun! I can just imagine you guys going down the hallway and knocking on the doors to see all of your family members room by room! what a fun time that must have been!

Very cute update! We love Sci-Fi too - it's just so Disney to me!

It sounds like such an awesome birthday for little Miren! Can't wait to read more!

Sara

It really was sooo fun! Miren was a VERY happy little birthday girl - she kept telling everyone: Goofy called me!!

Jumping in...
Enjoying your TR. Keep it coming?

Glad you're enjoying it. More coming soon!

Sci-Fi looks fun---We're going to try it for the first time during our trip in 11 days!

Love the Osborne Lights! Don't worry about the picture size---I always leave mine large, too. I like seeing them that way!

Ok, I'll stop obsessing over the picture size.

Can't wait to hear how you like Sci-Fi! I'm still getting caught up on your PTR.

I'm really enjoying your tr! I loved the pics of your kids at Chef Mickey's. They are so affectionate and comfortable with the characters. It looks like you had great interaction. Sorry you guys got rained out during Osbourne lights. They were beautiful even just on though! Just another excuse to go back next Christmas - to see them dance! Can't wait to read more!

The characters were being really great! I think it's because it was later; there weren't many other people there by the time we left - it was a great way to start the trip!

I was thinking the same thing I may just use that excuse.

Gotta love Sci-Fi. Glad to see that the weather did not stop you from having fun.

I'm with you about Sci-Fi.

No, it did not - luckily it wasn't summer thunderstorm-like where you need to get out of it for safety reasons, just on-and-off stuff, a little cool but not bad at all.

 

[shelbys mommy]

Joining in! Can't wait to read more!

 

[TinyDancer]

Loving your TR!

Your family is beautiful & I really appreciate those car seat pics! Looks great!!

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

Joining in! Can't wait to read more!

Loving your TR!

Your family is beautiful & I really appreciate those car seat pics! Looks great!!

Thanks!


More coming up, but it will be next week, because.....tomorrow we go to Disney World!!!

Have a great weekend everybody!

 

[MEK]

Nice update. The kids look like they had a lot of fun at Sci Fi. Sorry you had such a wet day and couldn't see the lights dance. Your daughters are so cute with their big brown eyes. How great to find all your family's rooms so close. Looking forward to dinner!

 

[MeMom]

As I walked down the hall to our room, I knocked on all my family's doors and as they were all opening one by one, I felt so blessed to have the family that we have, not just our immediate family but our extended family, that we truly love and enjoy each other's company, that our kids are all crazy about each other and genuinely enjoy being together, and that it was my daughter's birthday and we would all be celebrating it together in the most magical of places.

That's what it is all about.

Your pictures are wonderful.
Little does the birthday girl know, but the cousin is eyeing her food!

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

Hey all! We're back! We had a great time and the weather was perfect: dry, sunny and cool! We are still recovering from the exhaustion, though. Since it was a short trip we tried to take advantage of every second. Plus, we lost an hour with the time change. And, we didn't leave Orlando until midnight on Sunday, getting home at 4am after making great time but several stops - Miren came down with a stomach bug at dinner on Sunday and we had to wait for her to feel a little better before we could get on the road. My DMIL rode in our van with us to help take care of her. She is better now but still not 100%....now Nerea has come down with it.

I'll post some pictures once I download them off the camera and I hope to get another update in here soon. Thanks for sticking with me!

Hope everyone had a nice weekend and a good start to another week!

Nice update. The kids look like they had a lot of fun at Sci Fi. Sorry you had such a wet day and couldn't see the lights dance. Your daughters are so cute with their big brown eyes. How great to find all your family's rooms so close. Looking forward to dinner!

Thanks! We love Sci-Fi; I like how it's dark, cool, and quiet...so relaxing....and the food's alright too.

That's what it is all about.

Your pictures are wonderful.
Little does the birthday girl know, but the cousin is eyeing her food!

MeMom!!

I hadn't noticed that!

 

[MEK]

Welcome back from your weekend trip. Sorry Miren caught a stomach bug. That stinks. I bet you are exhausted. I just went back and looked at some of your earlier pictures I missed. You girls are so adorable!