Family Trip to Florida, June 2010

I'm baaaaaaack!!! How I have missed my blog! I have so much catching up to do, it's not even funny. This summer has gone by way too fast and has been so much fun. Let's get started...Florida!!!! We left on June 29 and flew to Fort Myers. The kids were very good on the plane, though we had to work hard to keep Jack entertained. Claire had a great time playing with her little toys and watching tv. Jack liked playing peek-a-boo with the other passengers by standing on my legs, popping up, and laughing. He made lots of friends everywhere we went. We got into Florida late that night, then got up the next day and drove up to Orlando. We stayed at the Pop Century Resort, a Disney property, and spent Thursday at the Magic Kingdom.


All ready to go down to the pool!





Jack decided that Florida was the perfect place to start walking! (Finally...at 14 1/2 months old!)





The resort was so big that each building has a huge statue so that you can find your way "home". This was our building! Claire loved the "big dog" even though she has never seen Lady and the Tramp.




Kiddie Pool!





Hanging out with Daddy!




Dinner at The Rainforest Cafe, making Daddy sing Jack's favorite song, "I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee"!!




Claire got her first pack of "Silly Bandz" and proceeded to wear all 24 at one time!




Downtown Disney, doing some shopping. If there's one thing Disney knows how to do, it's guilt you into spending ALL of your money on your kids! Hey, you want them to have a magical vacation, right???




Claire was so excited when she saw the statue of Cinderella, I couldn't even begin to imagine how excited she would be when she saw the real thing the next day!





All ready to into the Magic Kingdom!






Ooooooh, I still get excited when I look at these pictures! It was so surreal, actually being there with our kids. I'm not ashamed to admit that I got teary eyed many times throughout the day.




Claire was in awe the whole time. There was so much to look at, I don't think she even knew where to begin!




Allison was awesome, pushing the stroller and giving me a break from that job!





In line for our first ride, It's a Small World. Yes, I cried. Yes, I'm getting a little sentimental right now remembering it.




Jack made a little friend while we waited for everyone to get on the Dumbo ride. He also practiced walking all over!




 Dumbo!





I got to ride, too...and nearly got sick. Claire and Emily loved making our Dumbo go up and down and up and down.......






Waiting to see Mickey's Philharmagic 3D movie, which was so fantastic (and air conditioned!!). And let's discuss for a moment that Claire was absolutely in her glory spending all of that time with her big cousins, who she adores.




Jack was such a trooper, hanging out in his stroller all day in the 100+ degree heat!






Speaking of the heat, thank goodness Aunt Sarah had the foresight to bring these water bottle/fans! Claire clearly loved hers.




Minnie's house!







Checking Mickey's Mailbox.  Claire was very disappointed that it did not open.





Mickey's living room





My pretty girl, hanging out in Mickey's Garden.





I love this picture! Visiting Mickey's workshop!





Despite Jeff's scowl, he really was excited to see the princesses with Claire! She had no idea what to expect, and boy, was she in for the shock of a lifetime...




Yup, I totally cried. It sounds hokey, but it was like a little dream come true, watching Claire interact with the princesses. She was so excited that she didn't know what to do with her hands and could not stand still! She told Cinderella as we were walking away, "Cinderella, I have something to tell you. I have a favorite princess. It's Cinderella. It's YOU!!!!" At that moment, my life was officially complete.



She was so happy after seeing the princesses, and she still talks about it. One of her favorite parts was when Belle bent down and was talking to Jack. Belle said, "Come over here, little beast!" Claire just thought that was too funny!






Sarah was such a good tour guide and made sure that we got to see everything we (um, I mean Claire) wanted to see!






We went back to the hotel for a nap and someone was very sleepy!






Awwww!






We went back to the park after dinner to watch the parade and fireworks...unfortunately, the weather had other plans and it started downpouring! We had our ponchos and did not let that rain stop us from having fun. We were soaked, but we got to see the parade and watched the fireworks from the bus window on the way back to the hotel. Only in Disney does the fireworks show go on even in the midst of a torrential downpour!








On our last day of our vacation, Sarah and Ron took us out on their boat to look for dolphins. We saw a bunch and had fun riding through the canals and the river.






Jack loved the boat, too!














On our way home. It was a great trip and we can't wait to go back. Thanks for having us, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Ron!