That Mickey sure is one smart cookie!! May 2011 CBR TR (update 08/13)

[PirateKate]

I'm glad James liked Winnie the Pooh. I think I may try to take Carter, but maybe not until it comes to the cheaper theater, just in case he gets bored and we have to leave.

The princess interaction at Akershus sounds like fun. I like the picture of the kids with Belle.

I saw that t-shirt online yesterday and I thought it was really funny, too.

 

[lbuzz52]

Yesterday James turned 2 1/2. We like to celebrate 1/2 birthdays in a small way. We go to the store and pick out a cupcake. We did that for James on Wednesday though.

Because yesterday was also Maya's full 6th birthday. So yesterday we went to the store again and picked out cupcakes again. She's having her party Sunday at the Little Gym. I really know nothing about it, but she's in a mode of when i grow up i want to be a cheerleader, so this ought to be fun for her.

I thought i'd use Leesa's mom's idea and share a few pictures from the past...
i'm just going to choose from the few i have on this computer though.

I love this one becuase if it wasn't for the bedding then I'm not sure i could tell which kid this was. James looked just like this.

9 mo

1 year

15 mo

15 mo

2nd birthday party

2 year pictures

3 years

3 years

3 years

3 1/2 years

almost 4 years

3 1/2 years

4 1/2 years

4 1/2 years

5 years

almost 5 years

5th birthday

5 1/4 years

and you know what she looks like now!

 

[lbuzz52]

I'm glad James liked Winnie the Pooh. I think I may try to take Carter, but maybe not until it comes to the cheaper theater, just in case he gets bored and we have to leave.

The princess interaction at Akershus sounds like fun. I like the picture of the kids with Belle.

I saw that t-shirt online yesterday and I thought it was really funny, too.

You should definitely take Carter. I'm sure he will LOVE the one on one time with you!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Happy Birthday to Maya!

 

[petals]

Happy Birthday to Princess Maya

 

[lovethattink]

Happy Birthday to Maya, and Happy Half Birthday to James!

 

[lbuzz52]

Happy Birthday to Princess Maya

Happy Birthday to Maya!

Thank you both!

 

[lbuzz52]

Happy Birthday to Maya, and Happy Half Birthday to James!

Whoops, missed this.

Both the kiddos say thank you!

 

[SimmerBaggins]

Aww, thanks for sharing those cute pics!!

Blessings to you and your little ones -- and many more happy birthdays of blessings to come!!

 

[mtgirl29]

Happy Birthday to Maya! the pics of her. She is such a doll. James is super adorable, too! I can really see the resemblance in their baby pics!

I really enjoyed your latest update on your TR, too!
Maya looked super excited to meet the princesses and I am glad to hear that James was also happy to see them. Perfect response from Ariel on saying she did recognize her because she had grown!
Sorry to hear that the dinner was a little bit disappointing, but glad you found something good at the cold bar.
Loved the Winnie and Tigger salt n' pepper shakers and too funny about the drink holder actually being a pen holder for your dad.
Really enjoyed reading and cannot wait for more!

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

Happy birthday to Maya & James (1/2) birthday..we do the same thing with the 1/2 birthday..although Leah seems to think everyday is her birthday.. They grow up so fast...too fast

 

[lbuzz52]

Happy birthday to Maya & James (1/2) birthday..we do the same thing with the 1/2 birthday..although Leah seems to think everyday is her birthday.. They grow up so fast...too fast

Leah is too funny! And yes, they grow up way too fast!!

Happy Birthday to Maya! the pics of her. She is such a doll. James is super adorable, too! I can really see the resemblance in their baby pics!

I really enjoyed your latest update on your TR, too!
Maya looked super excited to meet the princesses and I am glad to hear that James was also happy to see them. Perfect response from Ariel on saying she did recognize her because she had grown!
Sorry to hear that the dinner was a little bit disappointing, but glad you found something good at the cold bar.
Loved the Winnie and Tigger salt n' pepper shakers and too funny about the drink holder actually being a pen holder for your dad.
Really enjoyed reading and cannot wait for more!

Thanks for the kind words!

Ariel did have a perfect response! I'm glad that kids dont master facial recognition too early

I wouldn't really call the meal disappointing- i went in with the idea that it could be nasty. We are the type of people who will try new foods, but we generally stick to more americanized cusines. it was definitely better than i was expecting, just not one of my favorites for the food.

Luckily my dad has a desk

Aww, thanks for sharing those cute pics!!

Blessings to you and your little ones -- and many more happy birthdays of blessings to come!!

Thanks for the compliments and the blessings!

 

[lbuzz52]

Yesterday, we had Maya's Party at the Little Gym.

She wanted a Rapunzel theme. I came up with this for her hair, as it is obviously not 70 ft long.

Chris likes to make the cakes for the parties. He is not a dessert or pastry chef, but he likes to try new things and is always happy to do something for his kids.

We searched online and never came across anything we *loved*. So he just ran with it. He decided to make a tower out of rice krispie treats, and cover it in fondant. He's always been interested in trying out fondant. His original idea for the top didn't work, so he made what he called an ugly mushroom topper. The rice krispies under the fondant created texture on the base, and he used chocolate rocks and purple edible glitter for detailing. The base was just a regular cake frosted to look like grass. He did this the night before the party, after he got home from work at 1 am. poor thing! I thought it turned out nice, and Maya LOVED it, which is what matters the most. He, however, is his own worst critic, and was not at all happy with his result.

We knew we were going to have some issues with getting it there, so he didn't put it together until we arrived. we were not, however, expecting the fondant to melt on the way there. It was just that hot yesterday. Our heat index was still 101 at 1130pm.

we were able to mold it a bit to make the melting less obvious. but the structure was still not perfect... there are definitely things he would do differently next time he works with fondant. it was really disappointing to Chris, he wanted it to be perfect for her. But she's going to remember that her daddy did this for her and not anything else.

she had a great time and declared it "best day ever"!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I think he did a great job, much better than anything I could have come up with.

 

[lbuzz52]

Friday, May 13th

Today we woke up to a letter for James! It was an invite to Donald's Safari breakfast at Tusker House! This was to be a new meal for us and it was very exciting!

Once again we got up in time to make it close to park opening.

We left a note for mousekeeping on our way out. Each of the previous days, they had cleaned our room and them left the curtains wide open. Not only did this allow more sun to heat the room, but it showed everyone who walked by what we had in there and how messy we left it in the mornings! We asked that they close the curtains before leaving the room.

We were at the bus stop at 8:35 and had a bus by 8:40. My hair was amazingly frizzy so I covered it with a wide headband. I had not yet remembered that my naturally wavy hair looked better in Florida when I left out the product. James' shorter hair was really curling in the Florida climate. I'm not going to say the humidity was a factor for either of us, as we have very similar humidity at home. The water is quite different though, so maybe that played a part?

it's going to take a while for him to outgrow this hat ​

We made it through bag check by 9:15. Chris went for FP at Everest. We went straight to the Safari. We got there by 9:20, and the posted wait time was 5 minutes. It took about 5 more minutes for Chris to make it, and by that time the wait had increased to 20 minutes. We wouldn't have enough time to ride before our ADR, so we strolled through the Pangani trail.

An Okapi, i think.

you couldn't see inside this cone to see what animal was in there. i copied a person in front of me and used my flash to get a look

what's down there?

When we finished we were only minutes away from another fp so we waited and grabbed one for the Safari before heading to Tusker House.

We checked and were given a pager after being told it would be about 15 minutes. We literally took a step and then the pager went off. Works for me! We were ushered to the back for our picture.

The picture turned out really well, and I probably would have purchased it if I didn't take one on my camera too. It wasn't quite as good, but there wasn't $30 when I already bought the photopass cd difference

I jumped in as well- just because I'd only been in about 2 pictures at this point.

We got our juice that was is so heavily hyped. Chris, Maya, and I found it good but not cravable. James adored it and managed to have about 4 cups while we ate.

We headed to the breakfast bar. It was the typical breakfast fare- Mickey waffles, cinamin rolls, eggs, bacon, etc. There also were a few items that had a bit of African flavor. I really enjoyed the biscuits and gravy and the oh so crispy tator tots. I don’t know how they got these so crispy but they were great! Sorry, I thought about a picture after i'd mixed up the biscuits and gravy. but I thought i'd share it anyway to show that there is nothing to be intimidated by with this menu.

We soon had a few visitors to our table. James was all smiles for Mi-hee. At least until the camera came out.

Then came Goofy. I was surprised to hear James say his name!

Then finally it was our turn to see the one Maya had been waiting for all morning.

We used 3 dining credits, but the meal would have been around $80 otherwise with tax & tip. We made a quick potty break before leaving about 11am. We really enjoyed this breakfast. The food was tasty and the theming was spectacular! I know we want to go back, and i'm torn between what time is best. A pre park ADR would get me on one of the first safari tours. But the 10:00 am ADR was nice because it was so much easier to see the characters and get through the buffet lines with the smaller crowds.

Next up: a train ride

 

[lbuzz52]

I think he did a great job, much better than anything I could have come up with.

me too if i make a cake its straight in a mold. i can use one icing tip and that is it- the star. there is a reason that i take my kids for cupcakes rather than make them myself...

 

[basketkat]

That cake is adorable!!! How special that he makes them their cake every year!

Your Tusker House breakfast looks fun! We haven't done that one yet, but I have it on the "list"

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

He did an awesome job with the cake! I have too have learned fondant and heat do not mix well Love the pic of James with the hat...too cute. We are doing Tusker house in a few weeks too..so excited our first time too! Question for you..my camera just died so looking online at a few..what kind do you have..seems to take great pics too...I had a Nikon and liked it, but like to shop around and compare..

 

[lbuzz52]

That cake is adorable!!! How special that he makes them their cake every year!

Your Tusker House breakfast looks fun! We haven't done that one yet, but I have it on the "list"

Thanks! i thought it turned out well for a first attempt, but he's just hard on himself. He's so funny about it. Every year, he says he is not making another cake, but then every year he does it again it really is a special memory he is making for them!

We really enjoyed Tusker house. Definetely keep it on your list!

He did an awesome job with the cake! I have too have learned fondant and heat do not mix well Love the pic of James with the hat...too cute. We are doing Tusker house in a few weeks too..so excited our first time too! Question for you..my camera just died so looking online at a few..what kind do you have..seems to take great pics too...I had a Nikon and liked it, but like to shop around and compare..

Fondant and heat... add in a stubborn dh and its a recipe for a struggle. it would have been okay i think if we didn't have to transport it from our kitchen in the car and then in the party room.

tusker house was good. it seemed more laid back to me than most character meals.

i have a Nikon coolpix. before that i had an older canon. i"m torn on my nikon. in general, i'd say my nikon works better. however, it is touchy sometimes. sometimes it is wonderful, sometimes it takes big blurs. but i usually keep it on the auto setting. i also think that the shutter speed is slower than it states, especially when the batteries are dying. regualr batteries (rather than rechargable) seem to last a lot longer.

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

Yes that is what just died on me was my Nikon Coolpix one of the older ones..but I loved it. Time to spend some money. ugh..but I have to we leave in a few weeks to the most wonderful place on Earth. Either going to get another coolpix or a canon..whichever is the best deal.