Warning! The following post contains an excessive amount of pictures...view at your own discretion.
We just returned from our Disney World holiday vacation. Ahh, 80 degrees, the happiest place on earth, not much could compare. Well, except for Harry Potter world, that is! All aboard the Hogwarts Express!
We first visited Universal Studios so I could fulfill my dream in becoming a certified witch, some of you may argue, I accomplished that long ago. But, we are talking about Muggles and Witchcraft and Wizardy here, people. I'm not gonna lie, I got a little choked up. Hogwarts and the entire Hogsmeade village were magical.
We stayed at a fancy pants hotel and thanks to my smooth talking hubby, the kids had a child suite-their own room with murals fitting of our royal descendants! The rest of the week we explored as much of Mickey's home as we could. I had heard Disney World was huge, but I had no idea the magnitude! Each park required at least one day. I loved Magic Kingdom for the traditional Disney delights, Hollywood Studios was fabulous for the shows and rides like Tower of Terror (Tower of TEAR as my kids called it, and yes Katelee and Grant rode it). I was really suprised by how much I loved Epcot. Dave actually did like this place for the food from around the world ;).
Animal Kingdom had my favorite shows and a few other fun things. The older kids helped out with our navigating, and really they had the stroller more than the babykins. 
Dave not being a big amusement park, Disney dude, (believe me or not, this is not genuine enthusiasm being displayed below!)
had a great attitude and was along for the ride. He happily accepted Brenna duty when she needed a nap and sat out for a lot of rides she couldn't go on. When Katelee was the same age Brenna is now, we took her and Grant to Disneyland. It went smoothly and she was quite easy for a nearly two year old. When we scheduled this trip, we assumed Brenna would be as cooperative. As the trip grew closer we realized Brenna is not the same type of child as Katelee. Lets just say she staged protests against her stroller, or being confined in any way. 
She wanted to "walk" but that would either consist of her running away or grabbing your hand and dropping to her belly so she would be dragged across the ground. She frequently used the pleading phrase, "MOMMA, MOMMA," whenever she needed a change. LUCKILY, we weren't on our own this trip. We had fabulous travel companions who assisted in our Brenna containment. My lovely sisters
helped and one babysat while Dave and I went out to Cirque de Soliel...and what can I say about that?! Mind blowing, fascinating, fantastic, and yet somewhat disturbing at the same time! The kids really loved being with their cousins. 
These guys are awesome and entertained the little ones for hours. Love all the red heads! Grandma and Grandpa also helped a bunch too. We saw characters,
magical lights
and parades, animals wandering up to our tour vehicle
snowfall, shows worthy of broadway,
and princesses. Grant refused to be in pics of the feminine kind, 
until Ariel specifially requested one with him. Katelee, of course, ate it up. 
And Brenna, she was very taken with the princesses. She would wave, giggle as they walked by,
act bashful, snuggle up to them as they approached, and even went in for a few kisses. Snow White returned the sentiments
with a kiss on Brenna's forehead. Disney is so magical and I loved every minute, well nearly every minute. I could have done without the traveling (ie Brenna's flying experiences, the bus transportation...again, due to Brenna, and the night of 2 hour sleep before we came home. But, we can blame that on Delta for canceling our flight and then pushing back our flight to LA 5 1/2 hours.). We wanted to experience the holiday feeling and at first it was difficult for me. I'm not used to a shorts and sweat Christmas! But, I found the seasonal sights transporting. And, it's really the feeling of the spirit of Christmas that makes it special, not the snow, I suppose. I also believe it's taking a moment to pause and slow down and soak it in. I loved being able to do that with my family. Hopefully more Christmas posts to come. Someday I may be a blog rock star like some of you and post more often, print it into a book and call myself a blogger extraordinaire, for now, this will have to do!
We first visited Universal Studios so I could fulfill my dream in becoming a certified witch, some of you may argue, I accomplished that long ago. But, we are talking about Muggles and Witchcraft and Wizardy here, people. I'm not gonna lie, I got a little choked up. Hogwarts and the entire Hogsmeade village were magical.
We stayed at a fancy pants hotel and thanks to my smooth talking hubby, the kids had a child suite-their own room with murals fitting of our royal descendants! The rest of the week we explored as much of Mickey's home as we could. I had heard Disney World was huge, but I had no idea the magnitude! Each park required at least one day. I loved Magic Kingdom for the traditional Disney delights, Hollywood Studios was fabulous for the shows and rides like Tower of Terror (Tower of TEAR as my kids called it, and yes Katelee and Grant rode it). I was really suprised by how much I loved Epcot. Dave actually did like this place for the food from around the world ;).
Animal Kingdom had my favorite shows and a few other fun things. The older kids helped out with our navigating, and really they had the stroller more than the babykins. 
Dave not being a big amusement park, Disney dude, (believe me or not, this is not genuine enthusiasm being displayed below!)
had a great attitude and was along for the ride. He happily accepted Brenna duty when she needed a nap and sat out for a lot of rides she couldn't go on. When Katelee was the same age Brenna is now, we took her and Grant to Disneyland. It went smoothly and she was quite easy for a nearly two year old. When we scheduled this trip, we assumed Brenna would be as cooperative. As the trip grew closer we realized Brenna is not the same type of child as Katelee. Lets just say she staged protests against her stroller, or being confined in any way. 
She wanted to "walk" but that would either consist of her running away or grabbing your hand and dropping to her belly so she would be dragged across the ground. She frequently used the pleading phrase, "MOMMA, MOMMA," whenever she needed a change. LUCKILY, we weren't on our own this trip. We had fabulous travel companions who assisted in our Brenna containment. My lovely sisters
helped and one babysat while Dave and I went out to Cirque de Soliel...and what can I say about that?! Mind blowing, fascinating, fantastic, and yet somewhat disturbing at the same time! The kids really loved being with their cousins. 
These guys are awesome and entertained the little ones for hours. Love all the red heads! Grandma and Grandpa also helped a bunch too. We saw characters,
magical lights
and parades, animals wandering up to our tour vehicle
snowfall, shows worthy of broadway,
and princesses. Grant refused to be in pics of the feminine kind, 
until Ariel specifially requested one with him. Katelee, of course, ate it up. 
And Brenna, she was very taken with the princesses. She would wave, giggle as they walked by,
act bashful, snuggle up to them as they approached, and even went in for a few kisses. Snow White returned the sentiments
with a kiss on Brenna's forehead. Disney is so magical and I loved every minute, well nearly every minute. I could have done without the traveling (ie Brenna's flying experiences, the bus transportation...again, due to Brenna, and the night of 2 hour sleep before we came home. But, we can blame that on Delta for canceling our flight and then pushing back our flight to LA 5 1/2 hours.). We wanted to experience the holiday feeling and at first it was difficult for me. I'm not used to a shorts and sweat Christmas! But, I found the seasonal sights transporting. And, it's really the feeling of the spirit of Christmas that makes it special, not the snow, I suppose. I also believe it's taking a moment to pause and slow down and soak it in. I loved being able to do that with my family. Hopefully more Christmas posts to come. Someday I may be a blog rock star like some of you and post more often, print it into a book and call myself a blogger extraordinaire, for now, this will have to do!
