We finally finished the Disney video, it is really long but the kids love to watch it over and over :)
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Florida Part 4
Thursday we had plans for a character breakfast at Tusker House restaurant in Animal Kingdom. When we woke up it was pouring rain, by the time we got to breakfast we looked like drowned rats and of course they take your picture before you go in for breakfast and try to sell it to you afterwards. Owen was excited about having breakfast with Mickey but we should have made it clear to him that Mickey was just stopping by our table not actually eating with us.
The first character to stop by our table was Donald Duck. Noah wasn't too sure about the characters coming to him, he wasn't really scared he just wasn't interested :)
Owen's favourite character was goofy. After breakfast Owen joined the other kids and Goofy in a parade around the restaurant. He enjoyed following goofy around with his shaker :) Gavin got it on video which I'll share soon.
It was still raining after breakfast so luckily we were able to watch the Lion King show and get out of the rain for a little while longer. The show was fantastic! we just loved the singing and costumes.
Kilimanjaro Safari
The rain stopped by noon and we were able to enjoy a full day at Animal Kingdom including having lunch at the Rainforest cafe and watching the Finding Nemo musical. Even Gavin was able to get on a few rides while the kids had their afternoon nap :)
Friday was our last day in Florida and we were all dreading leaving the warm temperatures and the long car ride home. We planned for half a day at Epcot and ended up staying until 2pm. The next time we go to Florida we'll have to try and spend more time there.
We were already planning our next trip to Florida before we even left! we are thinking of going again when the new baby will be closer to two. Owen hasn't stopped talking about his trip to Disney World since we got home so I'm sure he'll be after us to book another trip before too long!
The Drive home went better than we expected, we thought the kids would be grumpy about leaving and whiny on the way home but once again they were perfect! A little fussiness about wanting to get out of the car when we were in Buffalo but Owen fell back asleep and we were home at 2am Saturday. We decided to stop for a five hour sleep on friday night and that was enough to re-energize and feel well enough to keep driving. The trip took about 36 hours each way and while the kids were great in the car we will likely consider flying next time! By then Owen will have Canadian citizenship and a passport, we can't wait for that day!
The first character to stop by our table was Donald Duck. Noah wasn't too sure about the characters coming to him, he wasn't really scared he just wasn't interested :)
Owen's favourite character was goofy. After breakfast Owen joined the other kids and Goofy in a parade around the restaurant. He enjoyed following goofy around with his shaker :) Gavin got it on video which I'll share soon.
It was still raining after breakfast so luckily we were able to watch the Lion King show and get out of the rain for a little while longer. The show was fantastic! we just loved the singing and costumes.
Kilimanjaro Safari
The rain stopped by noon and we were able to enjoy a full day at Animal Kingdom including having lunch at the Rainforest cafe and watching the Finding Nemo musical. Even Gavin was able to get on a few rides while the kids had their afternoon nap :)
Friday was our last day in Florida and we were all dreading leaving the warm temperatures and the long car ride home. We planned for half a day at Epcot and ended up staying until 2pm. The next time we go to Florida we'll have to try and spend more time there.
We were already planning our next trip to Florida before we even left! we are thinking of going again when the new baby will be closer to two. Owen hasn't stopped talking about his trip to Disney World since we got home so I'm sure he'll be after us to book another trip before too long!
The Drive home went better than we expected, we thought the kids would be grumpy about leaving and whiny on the way home but once again they were perfect! A little fussiness about wanting to get out of the car when we were in Buffalo but Owen fell back asleep and we were home at 2am Saturday. We decided to stop for a five hour sleep on friday night and that was enough to re-energize and feel well enough to keep driving. The trip took about 36 hours each way and while the kids were great in the car we will likely consider flying next time! By then Owen will have Canadian citizenship and a passport, we can't wait for that day!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Florida Part 3
Tuesday we were all excited to spend the day at Magic Kingdom. We were there for the opening of the park and planned to stay until just after the fireworks, we were expecting a fun and busy day!
After learning how convenient the fast passes were the day before we knew the first thing we had to do was get a fast pass for the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin ride. We went on plenty of rides that day and were so surprised that the wait times weren't too bad! much shorter waits then Wonderland :)
We were able to get in the following rides/shows at Magic Kingdom:
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets of Aladdin,
Pirates of the Caribbean, Walt Disney World Railroad, Dumbo, The many adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan,
Mickey's PhilharMagic and there might have been a couple more rides that I can't remember. After you fit in meals, two parades and the fireworks show we were all ready for bed by the time we got back to the hotel! The boys missed the afternoon Disney Celebration parade because they were napping, we decided not to wake them because we knew we had a long day ahead of us!
Below are some pics from our day at Magic Kingdom
Wednesday was our day "off" so we spent the day playing at the hotel and in the kiddie pool. After we all had an afternoon nap we headed to Downtown Disney for Dinner at Planet Hollywood and to do some shopping. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Downtown disney because it started to pour rain after dinner and our time shopping was cut a little short.
The Toy Story section at our hotel
After learning how convenient the fast passes were the day before we knew the first thing we had to do was get a fast pass for the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin ride. We went on plenty of rides that day and were so surprised that the wait times weren't too bad! much shorter waits then Wonderland :)
We were able to get in the following rides/shows at Magic Kingdom:
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets of Aladdin,
Pirates of the Caribbean, Walt Disney World Railroad, Dumbo, The many adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan,
Mickey's PhilharMagic and there might have been a couple more rides that I can't remember. After you fit in meals, two parades and the fireworks show we were all ready for bed by the time we got back to the hotel! The boys missed the afternoon Disney Celebration parade because they were napping, we decided not to wake them because we knew we had a long day ahead of us!
Below are some pics from our day at Magic Kingdom
Wednesday was our day "off" so we spent the day playing at the hotel and in the kiddie pool. After we all had an afternoon nap we headed to Downtown Disney for Dinner at Planet Hollywood and to do some shopping. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Downtown disney because it started to pour rain after dinner and our time shopping was cut a little short.
The Toy Story section at our hotel
Monday, March 21, 2011
Florida Part 2
We were up early Monday morning to get to Hollywood Studios, we had big plans to meet Buzz Lightyear and Woody that day! The boys were excited and we had no trouble waking them up early to get to breakfast and on the road again.
When we first arrived we got a fast pass for the Toy Story Midway ride and obviously everyone else had the same idea as our return time was scheduled for 4:30 that afternoon. Next we were off to watch the Disney Playhouse Live show. We don't get the Disney channel at home so the boys were a little unfamiliar with some of the characters, but Grandma had purchased a Disney Playhouse video and they watched it in the car on the way to Florida so they at least recognized the main Disney characters and the theme song. They were most excited when bubbles started falling from the ceiling and they would dance and participate along with the other kids. It was a fun show to watch and since then the boys are in love with their Disney Playhouse movie so we may need to pay for more channels soon :)
After the show we decided to make our way to Pizza Planet for lunch. We expected the place to be busy so we thought it was a good idea to go early and miss most of the other toy story fans at lunch, it was a good idea because just as we finished lunch the place was packed. After lunch Gavin stated with the boys and played in the arcade while my mom and I went to hold a spot in line to meet Woody and Buzz. Unfortunately while we were half way through the line we learned that Buzz would be returning in an hour and it would just be Woody. I had the idea of having my mom go line up again so that after the boys met Woody they could "skip" some of the line and the wait wouldn't be so long for Buzz. The timing was perfect, we really didn't have that long of a wait and they were first to meet Buzz!
The boys were most happy to meet Buzz Lightyear. Noah showed Buzz his Toy Story crocs and the kids hugged him and held his hand. Then after the picture Noah tried pressing the buttons on Buzz's costume - he was so cute!
After meeting their favourite characters we watched the Lights, Motors Action Stunt show. Owen can be sensitive to noise so I was prepared to have to leave with him but he surprised me and really enjoyed the show. The stunt show must have been one of his favourite things we did because he tells everyone about it.
Noah finally fell asleep in the stroller so Owen enjoyed some time in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play structure.
The boys met one of the Toy Story Army Men - Noah was a bit weary of this guy but Owen was fine.
Beauty and the Beast Show
We also watched the Pixar Pals fun parade and I think that might have been my favourite parade of the week. I was excited to see the kids reaction to seeing all of the characters from the Disney movies they watch. I'll post a video of all of the parades and shows later in the week -once it's finished! We left Hollywood Studios around 5pm but wished we could have stayed longer there was so much more to see and do! we had dinner reservations for 5:30 that night so we weren't able to stay the evening. Oh well, we had to save some things to do next time!
When we first arrived we got a fast pass for the Toy Story Midway ride and obviously everyone else had the same idea as our return time was scheduled for 4:30 that afternoon. Next we were off to watch the Disney Playhouse Live show. We don't get the Disney channel at home so the boys were a little unfamiliar with some of the characters, but Grandma had purchased a Disney Playhouse video and they watched it in the car on the way to Florida so they at least recognized the main Disney characters and the theme song. They were most excited when bubbles started falling from the ceiling and they would dance and participate along with the other kids. It was a fun show to watch and since then the boys are in love with their Disney Playhouse movie so we may need to pay for more channels soon :)
After the show we decided to make our way to Pizza Planet for lunch. We expected the place to be busy so we thought it was a good idea to go early and miss most of the other toy story fans at lunch, it was a good idea because just as we finished lunch the place was packed. After lunch Gavin stated with the boys and played in the arcade while my mom and I went to hold a spot in line to meet Woody and Buzz. Unfortunately while we were half way through the line we learned that Buzz would be returning in an hour and it would just be Woody. I had the idea of having my mom go line up again so that after the boys met Woody they could "skip" some of the line and the wait wouldn't be so long for Buzz. The timing was perfect, we really didn't have that long of a wait and they were first to meet Buzz!
The boys were most happy to meet Buzz Lightyear. Noah showed Buzz his Toy Story crocs and the kids hugged him and held his hand. Then after the picture Noah tried pressing the buttons on Buzz's costume - he was so cute!
After meeting their favourite characters we watched the Lights, Motors Action Stunt show. Owen can be sensitive to noise so I was prepared to have to leave with him but he surprised me and really enjoyed the show. The stunt show must have been one of his favourite things we did because he tells everyone about it.
Noah finally fell asleep in the stroller so Owen enjoyed some time in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play structure.
The boys met one of the Toy Story Army Men - Noah was a bit weary of this guy but Owen was fine.
Beauty and the Beast Show
We also watched the Pixar Pals fun parade and I think that might have been my favourite parade of the week. I was excited to see the kids reaction to seeing all of the characters from the Disney movies they watch. I'll post a video of all of the parades and shows later in the week -once it's finished! We left Hollywood Studios around 5pm but wished we could have stayed longer there was so much more to see and do! we had dinner reservations for 5:30 that night so we weren't able to stay the evening. Oh well, we had to save some things to do next time!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Florida Part 1
We were on our way at 7am on Saturday March 5th for Florida! Owen was so excited it took him until midnight the night before to fall asleep. he kept asking if we were leaving for Disney in the morning and talking about how much fun we'd have there! We decided to leave as early as we could because we expected a wait at the border due to not having Owen's passport. I had spoken with the U.S Customs and Border patrol and was expecting a delay but we ended up being held at the border for two hours. We had our entire file folder of paperwork that proved Owen was ours including everything from our adoption dossier, photos, and a travel letter from Children's Birdge. They never checked our car they mostly just checked the process verbal paperwork. In fact they never even questioned us much, they just made us wait to speak with different people including immigration. Everyone was really friendly and kept telling us they'd get us on our way to Disney soon! such a relief to hear we didn't have to turn around and go home!
The rain really slowed down the drive and we ended up having to stop more often than we expected, we finally decided at 3am to stop at a rest stop and try to get a couple of hours sleep before starting again early in the morning. Owen was wide awake when we stopped and wouldn't stop talking, he kept us quite entertained but we would have preferred the sleep. I was feeling pretty sick because of lack of sleep so poor Gavin had most of the drive on the way down.
We tried to let the kids run around and burn off some energy whenever we stopped. I can't believe how well they did in the car, they never once whined or complained. We were all so proud of them!
The weather finally started to warm up in South Carolina and it was great to finally see some sun!
After a 36 hour car trip we finally arrived at our resort All Star Movies at 8:30 pm on Sunday! I think my mom and I could have kissed the ground when we finally got out of that car!
More to follow soon!
The rain really slowed down the drive and we ended up having to stop more often than we expected, we finally decided at 3am to stop at a rest stop and try to get a couple of hours sleep before starting again early in the morning. Owen was wide awake when we stopped and wouldn't stop talking, he kept us quite entertained but we would have preferred the sleep. I was feeling pretty sick because of lack of sleep so poor Gavin had most of the drive on the way down.
We tried to let the kids run around and burn off some energy whenever we stopped. I can't believe how well they did in the car, they never once whined or complained. We were all so proud of them!
The weather finally started to warm up in South Carolina and it was great to finally see some sun!
After a 36 hour car trip we finally arrived at our resort All Star Movies at 8:30 pm on Sunday! I think my mom and I could have kissed the ground when we finally got out of that car!
More to follow soon!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Camping Fun
We just returned yesterday from taking the kids camping for a couple of days. Packing up our stuff & getting everything in the van must have taken a few hours at least, what a lot of work! No surprise as we had to take the high chair, play pen, bassinet, & wagon. We had lots of fun though, & Owen was worn out by 8pm and asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. The rain held off for the most part despite a few short showers & we were able to enjoy most of our mini vacation.
I was impressed by how much confidence Owen has gained this year, it was a completely different camping trip than last year. He was eager to get in the water & swim, he tried blowing bubbles in the water & even dunked his head under water. Gavin & Owen took a paddle boat ride ( as suggested by owen), it was short to say the least. The boat cost about 5 dollars a minute, Owen wasn't scared he just got bored really easily & wanted to swim instead.
We ate lots of marshmallows. Owen had to practice patience while waiting to toast his marshmallow before eating it!
Noah and I lounged under the umbrella at the beach. I was very thankful we stopped to buy a big beach umbrella because it rained twice while we were at the beach.
Owen collected rocks when we went for walks.
Noah slept whenever he was in the carrier, so we tried to plan hikes around his nap time.
I was impressed by how much confidence Owen has gained this year, it was a completely different camping trip than last year. He was eager to get in the water & swim, he tried blowing bubbles in the water & even dunked his head under water. Gavin & Owen took a paddle boat ride ( as suggested by owen), it was short to say the least. The boat cost about 5 dollars a minute, Owen wasn't scared he just got bored really easily & wanted to swim instead.
We ate lots of marshmallows. Owen had to practice patience while waiting to toast his marshmallow before eating it!
Noah and I lounged under the umbrella at the beach. I was very thankful we stopped to buy a big beach umbrella because it rained twice while we were at the beach.
Owen collected rocks when we went for walks.
Noah slept whenever he was in the carrier, so we tried to plan hikes around his nap time.
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