Going to Disney World!!!

** WARNING: The next few blog posts will be all about our trip to Disney World and FULL of pictures!!!! :) I hope you're ready!!***

For Christmas, we told the kids that we were going to take them to Disney World! Lucy has been asking to go to Disney World for as long as I can remember. She loves her princesses! And Alex and Charlie love Mickey Mouse and friends and after spending time at Broadway at the Beach last summer, they LOVE rides!! We decided to go over my spring break and even though Lucy would have to miss a week of school, it seemed like the ideal time. Since the boys are still under three, they are free, so this was the cheapest trip to Disney we will ever get to have. ;)

In the weeks leading up to our trip, we pulled up videos of the different rides on YouTube as well as pictures of places in the Magic Kingdom and talked about everything we were going to do. Lucy made her list of rides that she wanted to ride and then helped pick out all the Fast Passes. She also requested that she be able to eat at Belle's "Be Our Guest" restaurant. 

The week before we left, we went to Target, the Dollar Store, and Five Below. We bought snacks and sunscreen, some things to do while we were waiting in line, as well as some sunglasses. . . 

These kids thought the sunglasses were the greatest things in the world!! By the time we left, everyone was so pumped up and ready to go!!! We loaded up the van, picked Lucy up early from school, and hit the road! We checked out several movies from the library as well as brought a few favorites, so we were ready to ride!

After 4 1/2 hours of driving and watching Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Sister Act, and Mary Poppins, it was time to call it an evening. We stopped in Savannah to have dinner and spend the night before driving the rest of the way to Orlando. On the exit for our hotel, there was also a Steak and Shake. Everyone was ready to get out of the car and have a little dinner.

 We got to our hotel and checked in, ready to call it an evening. We stayed at a Wingate, which is perfectly nice, but it's just a regular hotel. It was so precious watching these kids take everything in - they acted like we were staying in a 5 star resort!! They were amazed by everything and just kept walking around saying, "Wow!"  We explored for just a bit and then got everyone ready for bed. Even though we had just been riding in the car, everyone was still ready to call it a day. Of course, we had to have a little bedtime silliness before settling down. :) (I just love this picture!!!)

The next morning, we got up and showered and got ready to go again. The kids were so impressed with the continental breakfast - who knew that being able to pick out your own box of cereal could be so exciting?? We hit the road again, this time watching Sister Act 2 and Toy Story. This was our first experience with Toy Story and has started a new love affair for the boys. If it's possible, I think they now love Buzz Lightyear as much as they love Minions!!

Charlie and his "bedhead!" - being silly in the car on the way to Orlando

We got to our resort about 2 PM. We chose to stay off the Disney property and rent a house which ended up being a much better deal than even the cheapest (and smallest!) Disney rooms would be. Grammy and Poppa met us there and we explored and played in the game room until we were finally allowed to check in and go to our "hotel house." The kids were even more thrilled with the "hotel house" then our hotel the night before and we spent the rest of our day, learning every nook and cranny of the house, getting something for dinner, and settling in for the evening. 

Next up: A Lazy Sunday and Magic Kingdom Monday!

Life for the past few months . . .

So, I haven't been very good about the whole blog thing in 2015. Between school, work, and just life with a five year old and two 2 year olds, the blog has been sadly neglected. Sure, I have thought about all kinds of things to include, like a list of all the cute things Charlie and Alex say these days, but none of those blogs have happened. So here's a quick recap of what we've been up to since January!

Bathtime fun!

The boys with their new towels. . . they love these!

The little eyes on top just crack me up as they run down the hall!

Alex likes to take toys to bed with him. This particular evening he grabbed his phone and the grandma and grandpa from the Little People dollhouse. He would say, "Call Gri Gri!" and then talk on the phone.

And then he said "Here's Poppa! Here's Gri Gri!" and held up both the people. :)

The boys love to play in Lucy's room. One night, we had a frozen themed playtime! And yes, Alex was the one who wanted to wear the Anna dress. ;)

Lucy was ready for Valentine's Day at School!

Charlie, playing with his Valentine's gift from Gri Gri and Poppa.

These boys love their trains! 

Charlie was done with picture taking by this point . . . 

We also had a decent snow in February (At least, a decent snow for NC), so of course, we had to get out and play a little!

Alex was a fan of being pulled around in the sled. He wasn't a big fan of actually having to be in the snow.

Charlie going sledding

Lucy going sledding - she had the best time!

Again, Alex wasn't thrilled with the snow. ;)

Throwing snowballs

Sledding some more

Lucy made snow angels

Charlie wanted to make snow angels too, but his looked more like a dog digging in the snow looking for a bone! 

We took the kids for a little ride on the sled down the street. . . Charlie wasn't interested in riding.

 

He did, however, want to help pull the sled!

Charlie liked throwing snowballs too!

What is it about little boys and big sticks??

Uncle Day Day came up from Myrtle Beach for a quick visit and Lucy took advantage of that time with him. I think in the afternoon he spent with us, Lucy had him play every single game she owns! :) Everyone's favorite game was the Disney Headbandz. Everyone would put their card up on their head and then Charlie and Alex would announce what everyone's character was before anyone had time to guess! 

The boys, playing castles and wearing Daddy's hats

I love these moments when they all sit together and play nicely. It's so sweet!!

On Mondays, Lucy has dance class. Michael will take her and so after dinner, Alex, Charlie and I will go for a walk. Our neighborhood loop is about a mile and a half and these boys will walk the entire thing!!

Of course, it can take quite a while to walk when you are distracted by rocks and pine cones? (Or as Alex calls them, "pie coes".

I know there are tons of stories of things that happened during the first part of this year, and I hate that I can't remember many of them! We had several colds run through the kids as well as Charlie and I getting a stomach bug. Back in January, the boys were retested for their milk allergy - still allergic to milk, so we will have to continue to avoid it. I could talk for a whole entry about how frustrated I am with their allergist, but I will just say that we will be finding a new specialist for them . . .one that will actually listen to my concerns and one that knows how to work with children.

Michael and I also had a weekend to ourselves back in February. It was great to be able to get out of town and spend some time doing things that we wanted to do! (Like sleep!!) The kids got to play at Grammy and Poppa's house, so I don't think they missed us too much. Michael also celebrated his 34th birthday back in February.

We have started introducing the boys to using the potty. For about two weeks, they were really interested in trying to use the bathroom and did pretty well. But then, it was like a switch turned and they decided it was no longer fun and they weren't interested. The moment it became a challenge to try and get them to go to the bathroom, we quit trying and just went back to our diapers. Of course, if they ask, we always let them try, but we'll make a more concentrated effort once we get to the summer and I am at home on a regular basis.

I'm sure there is so much more I am forgetting, but this will have to do! At Christmas, we told the kids that their gift from us was a trip to Disney World. We just got back last week and so I have TONS of pictures to share. Hopefully it won't be June before I can get the next post written!!!