Disney World. Magic Kingdom. Day 2. Cliff's Birthday

On Friday we woke up early to catch a bus to Magic Kingdom for our breakfast reservation at Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and his friends.

Tip#1: There is no good way to get to Magic Kingdom. That day we decided to take a bus (the bus drops you off right at the entrance gate) and waited for it for a long time. Every other bus came but not to Magic Kingdom. We decided to drive, which is not the most convenient way either because you have to park your car in a huge parking lot, either walk a long way or take a tram to the transportation center where you take either monorail or a ferry to the park:)

Tip#2: If you want to take great pictures in Magic Kingdoms before the park gets flooded with people, make an 8:05 am breakfast reservation at a restraunt in the park.

So, here is the Birthday Boy and the kids waiting for the Magic bus which never came. That day we all dressed in Mickey outfits to celebrate Cliff's Birthday.

 Finally, got on monorail, on the way to the park.

This trip I have more pictures of myself than any other times because Cliff was behind the camera.

Hold on, the princess needs a moment (one of many:)).

 These pictures were taken before the park was open to the public.

At breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and the Gang. One of the best meals we had.

 Kira's kissing Tigger. We were the first table for the characters to visit.

And then Cliff had his Magical Birthday Celerbration. He got a Happy Birthday Pin, a signed card from Winnie the Pooh and the Gang, and a cupcake, and a Happy Birthday song from the staff. He was ecstatic!

And then we started the race:) On the flying carpets of Aladdin.

Then we watched a part of Pirate Show. The guy looked very much like Johnny Depp.

On the Pirates of Caribbean ride. Normally we wouldn't take a picture of this but we were stuck on this ride for about 1 hour before evacuated (Cliff ate too much breakfast the the boat wouldn't move:)) "Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho, the Pirate's Life for Me..." On the bright side as a compensation we got 4 special Fast Passes to use anywhere any time.

Good thing Kira fell asleep right when we got stuck otherwise I am not sure what I would do with a baby who is trying to climb out of the tiny boat for 1 hour.

 After lunch at Cosmic Rays Cafe where they also sang Happy Birthday to Cliff we drove around to get the kids fall asleep.
Tip#3. Not news flash but napping kids=happy afternoon, not napping kids is a recipe for a disaster afternoon.
Every day we would break for naps during the hottest time of the day.

While driving we spotted an airplane writing in the sky

Kids having a snack at the hotel after a nap.

 And the rest of the evening at Magic Kingdom. Riding the Mad Tea Party. Kira rode every ride she was tall enough for. A brave little monkey.

 It's been a long day at Magic Kingdom

 The Cinderella Castle lights up at night with different colors. The park is the best at night: the lines are shorter, the weather is cooler, and the park is more beautiful.

Disney World Day 1

It was a busy day. We woke up at 5:30 am. Kira woke up seconds later. We had to wake up Aaron at 5:50. The taxi was waiting outside to take us to Dulles Airport. We flew Jetblue Airlines to Orlando, FL. That's probably our new favorite airline: spacious seats, unlimited snacks and drinks, tv screens in front of each seat. The kids did great. By tradition we had breakfast at Potbelly's at the airport.
Upon arrival, we rented a car (Nissan Rogue) and drove to Coronado Springs, our Disney resort. It's a moderate category resort, and that's exactly what it was-I don't have anything bad to say and nothing particularly good. Just average. Kira took a nap while Aaron and Cliff checked out the hotel's pool. I never got to see the big pool because the hotel is so big that you'd have to drive from our section to the pool section.  And that day was the only day we used the pool. The rest of the vacation we were busy running the race to the rides:) As we look back we realize that the vacation could have been a bit more relaxing if we didn't make a goal of hitting every ride and beating the crowds, but just letting the kids loose and enjoy the surroundings. Magic Kingdom is a magical place.

Aaron taking a bath after the swimming pool

Kira just woke up from her nap.

Chugging her afternoon milk at the hotel

After brushing up we went to explore our hotel. In the main lobby of Coronado Springs.

Kira's pointing at the fountain. Aaron's looking at all the money on the bottom of it.

That  evening we decided to take it easy and went to Hollywood Studios. We watched the Jedi Training Academy show where they take kids from the crowd (you actually have to sign up the very first thing in the morning when the park opens if the child wants to participate) to train them to be Jedi (from Star Wars). Then suddenly Darth Vader and his Storm Troopers appear and the kids fight him with their light sabers. I thought it was one of the coolest shows. I thought Aaron would want to participate but he said he didn't like the lady (Jedi Master in the  background)because she talks too loud. It was probably the whole show that made him a little timid.

Then we watched Muppets 3-D movie/show, and had dinner at ABC Commissary which we didn't particularly like.

 Spotted the Green Army Man from Toy Story and took a picture with him.

 

Our little Jedi with light saber on the way to hotel

That's how the kids fell asleep that night. I put them to bed while Cliff had to go to Target (we can't travel anywhere unless there is Target nearby because we always forget something)

Disney World Family Vacation 2012

This is just a preview with a couple of pictures. I plan to document this trip and put it in a picture book. Hopefully some time this week. But I know some of you can't wait to see the pictures, so here are a few:

 Aaron with his favorite Buzz LIght Year and Woody from Toy Story

 Cinderella Castle. Cliff's Birthday morning. We're heading to the breakfast with Winnie the Pooh.

 Cliff got a Happy Birthday pin and a card signed by the Pooh and his friends. Cliff was ecstatic!

 Meeting the Thumper

 A picture with Minnie Mouse in Animal Kingdom

And Mickey Mouse

"When I grow up..."

After I refused Aaron another sweet today he told me: "You know, mama, I don't like your rules. I want to be the one who sets the rules in the house" To which I answered: "Some day you'll have kids of your own and you can make up any rules you want and raise them however you deem right but for now I am in charge of setting the rules to make sure you turn out right". Aaron seemed to really like the idea:) So he went on:"When I grow up and have kids, they will eat sweets for breakfast, lunch and dinner, limitless"
Later, when Cliff was giving Aaron a bath and I told Cliff about this conversation, Aaron told Cliff that he will have 4 children: 2 boys, and 2 girls. And that he will be a single dad and that his mother (that is me:)) will help him raise the kids. There was much more to the conversation about the kids (like the names, Ocho Cinco,Jayden, Ashley and Claire, three of which are the names from Aaron's preschool class) but I went on to put Kira down and didn't hear the rest.

Christ is Risen!

What a beautiful day and what a beautiful event happened years ago. This is what the Bible is all about: Christ died on the cross and rose 3 days later to save those who believe in Him from the upcoming wreath for the eternity with God.

The kids woke bright early today which was actually good because we got ready for the 8 o'clock church service without being rushed. Also this morning we discovered an empty tomb in our front yard (I'll post more pictures and comments on that later). When we were setting it up yesterday our non-believing neighbors came over to see what we were doing. Hopefully it served as a testimony of the true meaning of Easter.

March Pictures

March has been a busy month here. We all got sick with cold starting with Kira and ending with Aaron. And right when Aaron was on a mend, Kira got sick again. And after 4 days of being fever free she started running fever again (the 3rd time). The doctor prescribed her Amoxicillin for suspected sinus infection, and after taking it for 5 days Kira developed an allergic reaction. And though she's been off the antibiotic for over 36 hours she's still all covered in rash and hives. Poor girl.
This morning the kids and I started planting our garden in the backyard. So far we only planted 8 bushes of strawberry and 5 different types of herbs. And of course, of all the days, tonight they predict frost at night:( Aaron was such a great REAL help. The plan was to put Kira down for her morning nap and spend this time with just Aaron in the garden. Kira didn't take her nap so we had to take her along. Being tired and sleepy though she was clingy and all she wanted was to be held. So I was holding her with one arm and digging holes in the ground with the other:) Maybe tomorrow we'll be more successful with her nap and get to plant some flowers on the side of the house.
Aaron is on a spring break from preschool and we have some plans for this week to have fun.
New pictures are uploaded in the new album to the left.
(BTW the "L" key on the computer doesn't work well, so if you notice any misspellings, please bear with me:))