Happy Halloween!

Day 4 - The Day In Which we Princessed Ourselves Silly

On Wednesday we were yet again at the park before it opened - this time at Epcot, specifically to attend the "Storybook Princess Breakfast" at the Akershus Castle in Norway. There wasn't a lot in which we though Caroline would be interested at Epcot and we had left William back at the hotel with Nana and Papa, so it was nice to have a relaxing morning just the three of us without much of an agenda.

All week at Disney we kept hearing about how empty the park was, and to be honest, I didn't think it felt empty at all - until we were at Epcot. It was practically a ghost town. We were up against the rope at opening, and Mickey & Friends came right up to greet us.

As soon as the park officially opened, Caroline and I headed off to ride Nemo and Friends and to check out The Seas (an aquarium-like exhibit featuring manatees, dolphins, and other tropical sea life) while Steve rode Soarin' (Caroline wasn't big enough). We were literally the first people on the ride! Next we were off to the Character Spot to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy. Characters were definitely a high point for Caroline - you can see how much more comfortable she is with them by this day. :)

And finally it was time for the main event: The Princess Breakfast. Caroline had been dreaming about this since we first started planning our Disney trip. We got to eat in a castle with Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Jasmine, and Mulan. It was a little girl's dream come true. As a mommy, it was pretty awesome to watch. :)

Here's some free Disney advice for you: if you are taking a little girl who is obsessed with dress-up/princesses/etc. to Disney, make sure you bring a princess dress with you. Practically every little girl is dressed up like her favorite Disney princess throughout the parks. We managed to convince Caroline to save her dress for our breakfast, but I'm pretty sure we would be paying for her therapy someday if we didn't have it with us. Of course, you can always buy the $65 costumes there, too. :)

Caroline found some time for dancing outside the castle:

We ended our morning with a boat ride across the World Showcase Lagoon.

After lunch and naps at the hotel, the four of us headed back to the Magic Kingdom to try out some of the other rides. We rode the railroad, took a raft to Tom Sawyer Island, explored the Swiss Family Treehouse, and rode the Jungle Cruise and The Magic Carpets of Aladdin twice. We ended our day with the magnificent Spectral Magic Parade.

Final Thoughts On Disney: This was an awesome, magical trip. Although we've travelled quite a lot with the children, this was our first technical "vacation." It was absolutely wonderful to be together and to just have time as a family. Caroline has led a relatively sheltered life, and to watch her having all of these incredible first-time experiences was so special. This may shock some of you, but I can actually be a tiny bit uptight about naps, schedules, bedtimes, etc., but I was able to let go of that (a little) and just have fun. The kiddos were amazing the entire time - I am so proud of them. Finally, I want to thank Steve's parents for making this trip happen. From the groceries to the babysitting to the William-toting, we couldn't have done it without you. We love you so much.

Animal Kingdom

The next stop of our "magical tour" was the Animal Kingdom. Once again, we arrived before the gates opened and were able to see the opening show featuring Mickey and friends performing at The Tree of Life. We headed straight for the Kilimanjaro Safaris, and enjoyed seeing all of the awesome African wildlife. At one point, our vehicle had to stop and wait for several minutes until a giraffe moved out of our path! After the ride, we checked out the Maharaja Jungle Trek (more African animals) and the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail (Asian animals). I usually find zoos a little depressing, but Disney has certainly done a gorgeous job creating Animal Kingdom - the exhibits are breathtakingly beautiful. The highlight of our visit was Festival of the Lion King, a stage show production featuring the songs and characters from the movie - Caroline absolutely loved it, even though she isn't familiar with the movie. After the show, Caroline wanted to "go see those squirrels" (Chip and Dale) so we visited with the characters.

After lunch and naps, the four of us headed for a swim at the hotel pool. Caroline is usually a little timid in the water, so it was great to see her really warm up to the gradual depth area. She also loved the splash park. William loved playing in the water, too.

Steve and I snuck off to Epcot to check out the World Showcase and to see the nighttime fireworks performance, IllumiNations after the kids went to sleep. My advice for going to Disney with young children: bring along the grandparents for free babysitting!

Days 1 and 2

Day 1: After arriving in Orlando, we took "The Magical Express" to Disney World and checked into our hotel, Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. The kids were thrilled to see Steve's parents, Nana and Papa, and we all spent a relaxing afternoon at the hotel.

Day 2: We were up early and waiting at the gate when the Magic Kingdom opened Monday morning. Disney puts on a cute little opening show featuring Mickey and some of the other characters arriving at Magic Kingdom on the railroad. I have to say the magic of Disney totally captured me as I watched my little girl taking it all in. Caroline's eyes were as big as saucers when Snow White was one of the passengers on the train! And then . . . walking into the park and seeing Cinderella's castle. There are no words to express her awe.

We spent the morning on the rides. October is one of the quietest times at Disney, so we were able to do lots of rides with virtually no waiting. Caroline loved Dumbo, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World, Cinderella's Carousel, and Peter Pan's Flight.

William was amazing the entire trip. He kept busy making friends with every person who smiled at him and charming his Nana and Papa. William thinks being carried around all day is just about the best thing ever, so he was one happy, content baby cuddling with all of the adults in the Bjorn all week.

Next we were off to, for Caroline, the main attraction of Disney World: the princesses. We visited Ariel in her grotto and then met Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle at the Hall of Fame. I spent a lot of time this week wondering what the "perfect" age is to visit Disney World. Even though Caroline was obviously too small to enjoy many of the larger rides and we had to limit our time in the parks to accommodate both kids' needs to rest, I think this was the ideal age to be totally caught up in the fantasy of Disney. Caroline is obsessed with the Disney princesses (which I find hilarious since she has seen about 1/2 of Cinderella and that is it for any of the movies - Disney marketing is certainly working!) and she totally believed what she was seeing was "real." To watch her hug and talk to the characters who dominate her imaginary play was awesome. :) I'm so happy she had this experience.

I'm a little disappointed with my princess pictures. First of all, you don't have much time in with them as other children are waiting, and it is hard to get a good shot because there are so many people around. But I should have turned on my flash. And after Erin and I just had a talk about that, too. :) On our way out of the park, we caught another show in front of the castle featuring the princesses. Princesses with their princes, curtsying and blowing kisses. Three-year-old bliss.

We left the park for lunch and naps back at the hotel, and then spent a fun afternoon swimming at the pool before heading over to the Old Key West Resort for dinner. And after putting the kids to bed, Steve and I took the boat across the lake to Downtown Disney and had a date! A perfectly magical first day at The World.

We're Home

We've been on vacation. We are home. We are tired. We are full of magical memories. Want to know where we've been?



And it really was the happiest place on Earth.

Spooky Walk

Disclaimer: If you read this blog regularly, be prepared to see my kids in their Halloween costumes a lot over the next few weeks. We have a bunch of activities scheduled requiring costumes, and I personally think there is nothing cuter than kids in their Halloween costumes. Particularly my kids. :)

Just a couple of days ago, Erin and I were talking about how much fun this time of the year is for families. It seems like the fall is jam-packed with farm visits, pumpkin patches, costume parties, and outings. This year is particularly fun because Caroline is so "into" all of the activities, and is loving spending time with all of her friends. It is also special because it is William's first Halloween season. Today, our parks-and-recs department hosted a "spooky walk" for younger kids to trick-or-treat through the shops in our town. You wouldn't have believed the cuteness as our town's 2 - 8 year-old crowd gathered on the Town Common fully decked out in Halloween regalia this morning. The kids had a ball running around the town gathering candy in the sunny, perfectly crisp autumn weather. It was an especially fun day because one of Caroline's new preschool buddies hosted a pre-party complete with a moon bounce, doughnuts, and coffee for the parents. Needless to say, she was one exhausted, sugared-up, cranky child by the time we made it home.

Caroline and Cate jumping at the pre-party:



Allison swinging away:



Getting ready for the Spooky Walk at the Town Common:




Caroline, Brianna, and Brianna's Dad, Jeff:



The girls getting candy:



Our little skunk, having a great time watching the kids and being toted around by Daddy. Have I mentioned how much I love this baby? I know I might be a little biased, but I really think he is the best baby alive.

More Pumpkin Cuteness

I just can't control myself.

Thanks for my cool new scooter, Aunt Melisa!

Caroline rode all the way to the park, where she met Cate and Jared, complete with their own scooters. And then about 10 other kids we know showed up, and they all ran around playing and eating pretzels in the beautiful autumn weather until it was getting cold and dark. When I imagined being a stay-at-home mom, these are exactly the days I was dreaming of. :) I wish winter would never come. . .

Pumpkin Patch

Our church is having an enormous pumpkin patch for a fundraiser - over 3,000 pumpkins were delivered yesterday, and that was the second shipment! Steve brought the kids by on Saturday to pick out their pumpkins while I was working.

Dinner In The City

Things have been pretty great around here lately. In addition to all the fun we've had with family visits and Caroline's birthday, Steve has been in-between projects at work, which means he's been home a lot. I've been able to take much needed time to myself after all of his travelling, indulging myself in sleeping late, meeting friends for lunch and shopping, and reading gossip magazines at Starbucks. Steve has been able to take Caroline to school and ballet, hit the golf course a couple of times, and do projects around the house. We've both decided we could get used to this lifestyle. :) Alas, his new project starts next week and we'll be back to the grind before we know it, so we decided to take the kids to the city for one last fun family outing. The weather here has been gorgeous and Steve needed to stop by his office anyway - two perfect excuses for a train ride to Boston!

Dinner at Quincy Market: Curry for Steve and me, mac and cheese for Caroline, butternut squash and oatmeal for William.


One of the (many) things I love about William is how content he is to go along on adventures. He was as happy as can be hanging out with me in the Ergo or cruising in his stroller.


Caroline thought the busy Boston sidewalks were the perfect place to practice ballet.

I love that we are a quick 25 minute ride into the city!