Disney's Magic Kingdom 2010

We weren't planning on going to Disney this year but then we got 2 free tickets from a friend and we decided it would be crazy to let them go to waste.

So after lots of pondering about which park to go to, we ended up deciding the day before that we would go back to Magic Kingdom. It was actually on the bottom of my list of which park to visit. It felt like we had been there so many times already and I even thought that the kids might have outgrown some of their attractions. who was i kidding?! i realized we HAD to go to magic kingdom because every time i asked the kids which rides they were looking forward to going on, they kept talking about the ones at MK.

i love everything about disney (except for their prices) but i was really worried that we were going to have a nightmare of a day because of: 1) the summer crowds; and 2) the summer heat. this was our first year vacationing in orlando during the middle of the summer because every year prior we didn't have to worry about going back to school. now that natalie is starting kindergarten, we are officially a "summer family." also, we forgot to bring our water fan to help keep us cool. (note to self: next time visiting disney in the middle of the summer, bring an umbrella, regardless of how silly you might look, and don't forget water fan AND autograph book!)

i couldn't have been more wrong about having a difficult day.

YES, the weather was hot -- the second we stepped out of the car into the parking lot, i felt like the sun was literally burning my skin and i thought, man, this is going to be a long day -- but it wasn't nearly as bad as i expected.

YES, the park was crowded -- places to watch the 9:00 electrical parade were all taken before 7:30 -- but some how we managed to get through every line quickly and easily and even got to see everything on my check list! (god, i love "fast pass"!!!)

the only bad part of the day was when we were leaving the park, after staying for the 11:00 electrical parade. it was close to midnight and we were in a crowd of at least 2 million people all fighting their way to the monorail and then to the tram, the humidity was close to 150% and both natalie and russell were done for the day. they were begging us to carry them and we did the best we could, regardless of the sweat literally pouring off of our bodies. then, driving home we somehow went in the wrong direction and didn't realize this after we had been travelling for about ten minutes, so we had to back track all of that way to get back to the resort.

if our day hadn't been so incredibly awesome at disney, that ending just might have ruined it for me. but we had so much fun that day and the kids were so happy and very well-behaved, i couldn't have asked for more.

you can expect nothing less than the best from disney. how can you NOT love that place!?

(waiting in THIS line for over an hour was when we really could have used an umbrella!)

the one ride she wanted to ride the most, Snow White's Scary Adventures" always scares her!

russell's fav. ride: buzz lightyear

his second fav. ride: the race cars

natalie had to shrink in order to meet the fairies:

this was her first time meeting them

tinkerbell was really sweet:

we waited for an hour an a half to meet the fairies and to natalie, it was worth every single second! this was her favorite part of the day

*where's natalie*

waiting to see Mickey's Philhar Magic, one of our favorite shows, second to Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor

waiting for the electrical parade to begin:

on the tram back to our car:

i think we got our money's worth!

Orlando!

another year, another trip to our spot in orlando!

russ couldn't stay the whole week because he had to get back to work (which we are so grateful for!) so i decided to come back early with him. this ended up cutting our trip about 2 days short, but we were still able to cram a lot of fun in with the family during our time there!

here are a few pics from our vacation during the week of july 24.

attending mass at our favorite shrine.

the choir was from disney and they were AMAZING! they sang in 4 different languages

dinner at japanese habachi restaurant--YUM! meeting up with an old neighborhood friend from charlotte.

we hadn't seen morgan in over ten years!

waiting for dinner

feeding the fish watching the chef perform:

miss priss, all dressed up, grandma-style:

hanging out at the pool:

playing putt-putt (on a VERY hot day):

family visiting for pool/dinner/game night:

me, celena, mom and natalie with my aunt mildred and cousin molly:

playing apples to apples!

my aunt with her grandson, my second cousin, stephan:

these two are inseparable: our last day:

our first trip to:

LOVED it!

the clan:

minus dad, who was obviously taking the picture :)

to infinity...AND BEYOND!

this is something like what the kids' room looks like every day in our house. same toys, different set-up. the kids call it a "toy story party." they use the free trading cards we got at the disney store a while back and match them up with the actual toy. if they don't have a particular toy, they look for one "like" it. for example, the new "buttercup" character is a stuffed animal unicorn that natalie had.

this picture just shows a portion of the toys that they bring out. sometimes it gets so bad that it's hard to even walk in their room.

although natalie enjoys setting this up and playing with these toys, it's mostly russell who gets them out and really gets into it. he really loves Toy Story-anything and even believes he is Buzz Lightyear sometimes. He jumps up on/off of literally anything all the while shouting "To Infinity...AND BEYOND!" it's really cute and funny at the same time.

i really don't mind his obsession because honestly, i'm quite fond of Toy Story myself.

***

we're off to orlando tomorrow afternoon. russ can only spend a a few days down there with us because of work, but i plan on staying with my parents and sister until friday. hopefully the weather won't be affected by the tropical depression out there right now... but we will certainly make the best of our trip regardless.

tootles!

time to get away

YIPPEE!
we are taking a little vacation down to orlando this weekend -- our annual trip with my family to our good ol' timeshare :)

we are hoping to make it to the parks one day, but i am mostly looking forward to lots of much-needed R&R!


as for the NOW...

today was [hopefully] the last softball game of the season for russ. i took the kids out to watch him play tonight. they always act like they are excited to see him play "baseball" but then when we get there, they are so distracted by everything else (smh)... i love watching russ play (he was also on a league when we were dating) no matter how bad his team is (LOL) because he truly does have talent-- even at his age!-- but in the end, it is his age that worries me. for some reason, he thinks he needs to slide to every base, and then comes home with scraped up legs and knees, or limping, or tired and sore from running around in the outfield. the whole season, i kept waiting to hear him say that he was seriously injured, and for MANY reasons that would have been a travesty! so thank goodness we made it to the end unharmed! so, he *might* play one last game on thursday night but since we have other plans that day, i doubt (and hope) it doesn't work out ;)

tomorrow, i plan to take the kids to see one of the free movies they have going on this summer, but we would have to be there by 9:30 and being that it's 12:48 am right now, that is going to be a challenge...

and lastly, i'm saddened to say that on thursday we will be attending a funeral for one of russell's high school best friend's dad. it was a complete shock to hear the news and we are just devestated for their family. these things just hit way too close to home...


on another note, i will try to make some more updates tomorrow. i have so many pictures and stories to share from the past couple of weeks!