Many reasons to be THANKFUL! Oh, look the baby is crying Nov '12 (THROWBACK FRIDAY!)

[dmoore718]

OMG!! I feel your pain. I have 3 little girls, now ages 7,6, 3 but flying with them, when not feeling well.....UGH! I think you handled the airport issue great!!! Thank God she did not puke on the plane!! We are staying in a Nemo Suite in 30 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to read more about how you liked it!!!

 

[francis6306]

My goodness… I am sorry for falling behind this week! I have had to deal with quite a bit of family drama. Quick and dirty, I am the POA for my grandfather and we are dealing with how best to take care of him. Considering that I'm currently living 11 hours away from "home" it is VERY tough for me. Prayers, thoughts, good juju- whatever your flavor!- are appreciated!

I found you!!! Didn't realize you had started.

Anyway - I am SUPER impressed with the amount you packed. Brian and I packed more for our trip and it was just the two of us. Although, if we had flown, I'm sure it would have been much different. Good job regardless, though!

I don't think you told me about the milk revisited Ew. But I don't think the story made you sound like a bad mom at all. But the lazy employee would have made me furious. I'm not sure I could have held back a b--chy comment.

The room looks so cute! The afternoon we spent over there was great but we didn't get to see any of the rooms inside. I love how Corey is already in the lazy-husband stance for the evening. I'm sure it had been a long day though!

OMG! Did I not text you that night?!?!

Oh and Corey was DONE. He was just ready for the luggage to get there so we could go to SLEEP!

So glad I found this! We are staying in a Nemo suite in January ith a 3.5 yr old and an almost 2 year old. I am looking forward to reading more!

You will LOVE IT!!! The Nemo suites are in a great location and just so much fun!

OMG!! I feel your pain. I have 3 little girls, now ages 7,6, 3 but flying with them, when not feeling well.....UGH! I think you handled the airport issue great!!! Thank God she did not puke on the plane!! We are staying in a Nemo Suite in 30 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to read more about how you liked it!!!

Awe! 3 girls! Girls are just so sweet- but I'm not looking forward to the teenage years! You will LOVE the suite! It's really perfect for a family!

 

[Allieran3]

Following along


Glad you daughter had no other issues!!!

 

[francis6306]

I forgot to mention that it was nearly 11pm before our luggage made it's way up to our room. I knew it could take a while, but I felt like that took a little too long. I am glad we didn't have to deal with the luggage at the airport, but I kind of wish that I had packed Corey and I some jammies so we could have gone to bed when we got in there. Oh well… live and learn!

So, I had planned that we would get to the park SUPER early on our first day at the Magic Kingdom. I had Mickey/Minnie attire for us girls, so I thought we might have a chance to be the "family" that helps open the park. Well, of course, with the night we had… that didn't happen! With Catie being sick the night before, we kind of took it easy that morning.

Eating a quick breakfast in the room! We packed oatmeal and the girls ate that every morning before we left. (I spread it out on the plate to cool down quickly for Catie to eat it! The paper bowls were great for the oatmeal!)

Here was my "Morning Shot" of the girls. I got a picture of the girls in their stroller every morning- JUST in case there was an emergency and one of them got away from us. Never was a problem, but it made me feel better anyway!

We got in line for the MK bus. And I read right before I left that AoA was having issues with the MK buses, and I have to say they were all correct. I swear we would see 2 buses for other parks come and go while waiting for an MK bus.

When we got to the Park, we had to show Cortlyn how to use her KTTW card. She didn't have one last trip and she was so excited to be a "big kid" and have a card! It was about 9:30 and thanks to Morning EMH, we were enjoying a not-so-crowded park! We got some PhotoPass pictures (sorry! Haven't gotten the CD yet!!! I'll add them later!)

I ran over to see if the Harmony Barber shop was open and it was not. They do not open early with the park. We saw that Snow White was over beside guest relations, so we hopped in that line! She was so sweet! Cortlyn was just amazed! I was a BAD mom, because Catie has a Snow White dress and I had left it in the room. Oh well! It happens! Didn't make the moments any less special though!

After Snow White, we jumped in line because "Everybody!! Everybody!!! Everybody wants to be a CAT!" and met Marie! I just LOVE the Aristocats!

This was Catie's FIRST character that she wasn't so sure about! She seemed really excited in line, but then… we walked up… aaaand… Not so much!

After this, I saw there was a line starting at the Barber Shop. For background here… Cortlyn got her FIRST haircut ever at the HBS on our first trip. And for the last TWO years, Cortlyn has told me she can ONLY get her hair cut at Disney World! I convinced her to let my friend "trim" her hair a little bit about a year ago, but that was pushing it. Anyway, I got in line and there were a few people in front of me, but no big deal. I sent Corey to go get a Cinnamon Roll from the Bakery!!!!! He and Catie spent some time just wondering around waiting on us.

Waiting on her cut!

She had the same guy cut her hair on this trip as well!

While I LOVE the HBS and this is NO way their fault, Cortlyn would NOT keep her head still and they had plenty of people waiting. The man did the best he could, but now that we are home- her hair is NOT very even. It's not a huge deal, because she has a slight curl/wave to her hair, so *I* can tell. She's happy with it. We had about 4 inches cut off, and it is STILL so long! Oh and Corey also ran over and got us FP's for the Princesses and Mickey!

 

[francis6306]

On towards the park! Mandatory Castle shot!

We walked to the left- Counter Clockwise!! and saw that Tinkerbell and Periwinkle were set up waiting on us!

The "entry"… I think it's suppose to make you feel like you are being shrunk with pixie dust being sprinkled on you!

Up first, Tink!

Then Periwinkle! This gal was SOOO tiny!!! OMG… super petite and skinny!

I couldn't believe how many characters we were getting out the way so quickly!!! And honestly, the crowds didn't SEEM that bad! There was never a day the WHOLE week that we felt like we were in the middle of level 9 crowds, but that's what TP's was predicting for the week! Yes, lets be clear- there was a LOT of people there, but it never once felt like we were cattle shoved together in a crowd, you know?

After Tink and Periwinkle, Cortlyn said she wanted to ride It's a small world, so we made our way over to go ride our FIRST ride!! (I had a picture here… but it was actually the WRONG picture! I'm not sure why or how we missed our first ride picture!)

Now, my notes don't say (I know!! Bad me!) But at SOME point, we had gotten FP's for Dumbo. I know that because we didn't play in the queue the first MK day.

AUGH… My photobucket pictures are out of order… Have to deal with that and I'll be back!

 

[Sam33]

Your room is so neat! I want to stay there! Someday I'll have enough people going with me to get a suite! haha
And is it just me or does Marie have a bit of a lazy eye!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Great MK morning! Awesome that you were able to get several characters out of the way first thing

 

[francis6306]

Your room is so neat! I want to stay there! Someday I'll have enough people going with me to get a suite! haha
And is it just me or does Marie have a bit of a lazy eye!

HA! I just went back and checked and you are right! Great- now that will bug me!!!!

Great MK morning! Awesome that you were able to get several characters out of the way first thing

And you know, I'm not even a big "character" person. I know, I know… I love the pictures, but we don't do autograph books or anything.

Speaking of… I actually and bought some storybooks that I thought we could have the characters sign while we were there. I was excited about it. Well, of course, I give them to Cortlyn and share my idea and she looked at me like I had 3 eyeballs. "But Momma! We don't draw in books!!!" What can I say? She clearly knows the rules in this house! I tried everything to convince her that it would be okay for THIS trip and THESE books, but it was a no-go. Oh well. She still loves the books!

 

[TexasBelle]

Wow!!!!
The girls are so adorable....
Their shirts are fabulous!!!
Plus the pictures of them with Marie & the Fairies are priceless. I also love the family picture... Dad is one happy fellow with all of his girls!!!
The weather looks great and
So glad that Catie was feeling better, looks like she was ready to eat.
Can't wait to read more.
TexasBelle
Carolyn

 

[scottny]

Hi,
Followed you over form someones report. Great report so far. Sorry she got sick but thankfully seems better.

AofA is a nice resort.

Great pics.

 

[francis6306]

I don't know about you guys, but I certainly need some Disney distraction from yesterday's events in Connecticut! As a mother of an almost kindergartener, it hit a little close to home. I have squeezed my girls extra tight!

Wow!!!!
The girls are so adorable....
Their shirts are fabulous!!!
Plus the pictures of them with Marie & the Fairies are priceless. I also love the family picture... Dad is one happy fellow with all of his girls!!!
The weather looks great and
So glad that Catie was feeling better, looks like she was ready to eat.
Can't wait to read more.
TexasBelle
Carolyn

My husband LOVES his girls- he never did Disney or anything like this as a child, so this type of stuff is amazing to him.

Catie is always ready to eat! Eating and crying… Very common events on this trip for her!

Hi,
Followed you over form someones report. Great report so far. Sorry she got sick but thankfully seems better.

AofA is a nice resort.

Great pics.

It is a nice resort! I can't wait to get back there! Thanks for joining in! Love to have new readers! Hope I can keep you entertained.

 

[francis6306]

Okay, to take a moment to say my prayers, thoughts and love are with the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary Victims. I have squeezed my precious girls so many times- Cortlyn has said a few times "Mom, you need to let me go!" She has no idea- keeping her innocence in tact is my goal this weekend.

On to the rest of our trip…

It was time to use our fastpasses for Mickey!!! Catie was so excited when we walked in and she saw "Mee-ey!" She kept squealing and laughing… until we walked up TO Mickey. Then she was trying to climb up OVER my shoulder to get away!

We also had fastpasses for the Princesses, but I got NO pictures of that on my camera… Not sure how that happened. I have photopass pictures- but I haven't gotten the CD yet. Corey had skipped the Princesses and went to get Fastpasses… for something… we can't remember. WOW! I'm doing great with this report, huh?

Anyway, as we came out- Catie got so excited to see her daddy and so I let her run on towards him. I thought it would be a sweet picture, so I grabbed the camera (see I had it with me!) and got this shot… perfectly timed, don't you think??

We got her brushed off and she was fine. It was about lunchtime, and I knew what I wanted!! Peco Bill's! We headed over to get lunch and it was SOOO GOOD!!! This will be on my list for QS for future trips for sure!

I only took a picture of my burger. We all got burgers, but I got the most toppings!

Sadly, as we ate our meal, Catie was nearing the end of her rope. She was ready for a nap, and so I told Corey I would take her back to the resort and he could spend some time with Cortlyn in the park a little bit longer. Catie was asleep before I got to the bus and luckily for me actually stayed asleep the WHOLE bus ride back to AoA, woke up as I opened the room door, but easily went back down in the packnplay! That is REALLY unusual for Catie, so I know she was still really tired from the night before.

Corey decided to take Cortlyn to meet Tiana, and this is where I have to say, I LOVE THE PRINCESSES!! Cortlyn loved this meet and greet, because apparently, when Cortlyn walked up, Tiana clearly saw her name and referred to her as Cortlyn. Cortlyn's statement to me was "Momma! Tiana REMEMBERED MY NAME! She knew me when I walked up!" She didn't remember that she was wearing a shirt with her own name on it- she was just thrilled to meet a princess who knew HER!

They decided to hit Dumbo up for one more ride before coming back for naps

When they got back to the room, Cortlyn crawled up in her murphy bed and went fast asleep!

 

[jenseib]

What a special meet with Tiana. I do love how the princesses look for details like that and make the kids think they "know" them. One time at 1900 PF Cinderella asked Claire how her dinner was at the castle and we just loved it. Claire had her castle wand sitting on the table, it actually took me a while to realize thats how she knew we had been there.

Cute pictue of Catie ...falling.

 

[francis6306]

What a special meet with Tiana. I do love how the princesses look for details like that and make the kids think they "know" them. One time at 1900 PF Cinderella asked Claire how her dinner was at the castle and we just loved it. Claire had her castle wand sitting on the table, it actually took me a while to realize thats how she knew we had been there.

Cute pictue of Catie ...falling.

A good princess always notices the little things!!

I'm thinking I should frame that shot!

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Christen! What timing with the oops, I fell down photo! Glad to know Catie was ok.

I'm craving some fries with cheese goo now for some reason! Burgers with toppings - what a great lunch.

Tiana certainly made the experience magical for Cortlyn.

The photo of Cortlyn getting her hair cut is so pretty.

Wishing you and your beautiful family a Merry Christmas!

 

[francis6306]

Hi Christen! What timing with the oops, I fell down photo! Glad to know Catie was ok.

I'm craving some fries with cheese goo now for some reason! Burgers with toppings - what a great lunch.

Tiana certainly made the experience magical for Cortlyn.

The photo of Cortlyn getting her hair cut is so pretty.

Wishing you and your beautiful family a Merry Christmas!

Thank you!!

I am so sorry I have been flaking out on this TR!! Corey has been gone this week to Chicago- so I was a single mom for most of the week! I give MAJOR props to single parents. I'm so glad to have a husband and partner to do all this work!

 

[francis6306]

So, we're back!

Okay, so we headed back to MK and I tell you- maybe it was the crowds, but the MK buses were really slow at AoA!

Lets ride It's a Small World! I think this is the best ride for small kids!

We decided that we were hungry, but the crowds were pretty heavy- This was the worst night with the crowds the whole time we were there, shockingly enough! I decided to go with what was close! Pinocchio Haus it is! I don't ever remember having a meal here, and the girls were excited to watch people on IASW.

I went with the Caprese Flatbread:

It was AMAZING! I thought it tasted really good! I'm funny about the balsamic vinegar, but this had JUST the right amount. It wasn't over powering and really complimented

Cortlyn had a pepperoni pizza- a classic kid's favorite! Also

Also came with sides, Yogurt and apple slices (I think that is apple slices… Maybe grapes???):

Corey had the meatball sub! He said that it was really tasty and that the sauce really made the sandwich for him!

The great thing about Catie? She just mooches off the rest of us!

I decided that I was going to ride the Jungle Cruise if I had to wait all night!!!! Okay, well, not really- but I did get a fastpass! We had a little wait, so we decided to take the girls on the Magic Carpets while we waited. Good use of your time, right?

Catie LOVED this ride. She didn't want to get off. I think we're seeing a theme!

 

[francis6306]

Finally- it was time for nighttime Jungle Cruise! We still had a bit of a line in the FP queue, but it wasn't that bad. We had a good skipper- I forgot his name, but he REALLY reminded me of my nephew. Corey and I said several times that his jokes and the way he delivered his lines were JUST like our nephew!

Next, we zig zagged our way over to ride Winnie the Pooh!

Catie was FREAKING OUT! Winnie the Pooh is her FAVORITE! She sleeps with Winnie every night. I'm surprised she didn't try to jump out of the car!

We decided to head back to the resort. Corey and I were amazed at how much we got done! So, my advice to everyone… Don't go with friends or family to Disney!!!!! I think we got more done just the 4 of us than we did when we had another family that we were keeping up with. Of course, this advice does NOT apply to Shelley and her husband- because they are true Dis-er's and know how to get stuff done! No. We just went with first time Disney travelers on our first Disney family trip and it was hard. We don't really care about stopping to see shows at the castle or waiting around for a parade. I know, I know… that's probably blasphemy to some of you…

 

[heaven2dc]

Your little girls are so adorable! How cute that Princess Tiana called your daughter by name - and the perfect timing of your pic of the girls running to meet their Daddy I'm glad Catie wasn't hurt!

 

[luckylady]

Girls a cutie pies. Glad to hear, I hope. that YDD didn't get sick the rest of the trip. I do believe you have a future thrill rider in that girl.
"Cortlyn loved this meet and greet, because apparently, when Cortlyn walked up, Tiana clearly saw her name and referred to her as Cortlyn. Cortlyn's statement to me was "Momma! Tiana REMEMBERED MY NAME! She knew me when I walked up!" She didn't remember that she was wearing a shirt with her own name on it- she was just thrilled to meet a princess who knew HER! "
Just magical.