Beach was fun and we saw some rocketsThe Croc was near the rode on our drive, my guess 12 ft long
Denny's was one of our best meals, kids love breakfast foods
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
more pic wdw
Kids loved the petting zooKids loved the lego store, tons of legos to play with and lots of large lego statue
Spencer liked the epcot ball
kids loved digging for dinosaur bones
more pics
Spencer DrivingMiranda with you know who
family at Disney boardwalk
Jim the new grandpa in the family
Magical Moments and Not-so-magical ones
After being gone from home for two weeks, we are finally back home. YAY!! It feels good to be back in our home again and have the kids back in school. Our trip to Disneyworld was fun, but exhausting, so I thought I'd share some of each person's highlights and pitfalls of the trip.
Let's start with Miranda. She slept during the entire plane ride there- a true Dickinson. I was surprised at her zeal on the rollercoasters. She just LOVED them. "Can I go on Tower of Terror again??". I took both her and Derek on Thunder Mountain Railroad. I looked to my left to see Miranda, mouth open with excitement and laughter. I looked right to see Derek crouched next to me with his eyes shut. Miranda loved the parades, and being the excellent and enthusiastic waver that she is, she got lots of attention from the characters. She also got to meet Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella. Belle told her that she looked like a teacup (with her two missing teeth). And Belle and Cinderella said she was pretty. She got picked to do Jedi training, which she also loved.
We went to the beach on Sunday, and Miranda just LOVED all the shells there. She quickly made a collection to bring to her class to pass out. She had Jim (the man who we were staying with) sort out all the shells from best to worst. He kindly took his responsibility seriously.
On the downside, Miranda did develop a major ear infection late in the trip- luckily, we had taken a short day at Disneyworld and had plenty of time for an ER trip and prescriptions. She also threw up twice- once after getting out of the van at Disneyworld, and as soon as our plane landed in Portland. She is so prone to motion sickness.
Derek was interesting as usual. He walked a lot- rarely, if ever, getting a ride in the stroller, even though his feet hurt. Derek's favorite park was MGM because it had Star Tours and Jedi Training. Larry suspects that he would have hated Star Tours, but because is was Star Wars themed, he loved it. Derek also got to go Jedi training, which I'm sure would not normally happen, but by chance it did. You see, as they were calling up kids to be Jedi's in training, Spencer walked up to the stage. We didn't notice until all the kids were called. The actor doing the training session quickly saw that Spencer didn't belong. I quickly picked up Derek and carried him to the stage, "Can we trade him for a brother?" I asked. And it was done. The actor asked him how old he was, and he was the shortest by far, so I think they don't normally pick 5 year olds. So, way to go Spencer! He made it all possible.
One of the highlights of the trip for me was the day that Derek and Miranda decided to hold hands over the course of a couple hours. They were actually enjoying each other, not fighting, and happy. It must have been the Disney Magic at work.
Probably the worst parts for Derek were walking when he was really tired, and riding the rollercoasters- "I liked SOME parts of it" was a common comment after a bigger ride.
Spencer just loved the Rockets and the Race Cars in Magic Kingdom. He actually wasn't a bad driver, really. He loved to manuver the Rockets and Dumbo's up and down. He also liked Peter Pan a lot. He was just barely tall enough for Goofy's Barnstormer (a small rollercoaster in Toontown). I was sitting next to him for his first ride. He was all smiles! Spencer also loved Jim- and started calling him Grandpa a few days after we arrived. Spencer loved to tell him about our day.
Another big highlight happened on our last day. As we were leaving the park, we waited a few minutes and were able to ride in the front of the monorail all the way to Epcot. Spencer just LOVED that! The kids all got a "co-pilot" license from the driver. It was a great way to end the trip.
Spencer bottomed-out a few times- he took a few naps in the stroller, and then had a major trantrum on the train around the park. It was our last day at Disneyworld, and Larry and Spencer and Lindsey were meeting us at Toontown station- we would then ride the rest of the way together to Main Steet to leave. The train was really crowded, so as Larry aproached, I told Spencer to sit with us. Larry left with Lindsey to find a seat in another car on the train. As soon as Spencer realized that Larry wasn't sitting with us he FREAKED out. He was crying and screaming at my feet. Then he took off his socks and shoes and tried crawling under the seats ahead of us. Luckily, the people around us had kids and understood. When we finally got off, he ran towards the front of the train, flapping his arms in trantrum mode. I herded him out the exit gate where he plopped on the ground and peed his pants. That finally broke the tantrum, and after he got dry clothes on, he was happy as a clam.
Lindsey was pretty content to sit in the stoller and be carried most of the time. She usually got 1-2 naps in a day. One day I was holding her and rocking her to sleep and realized that I hadn't done that in probably a year with her. (She usually CANNOT sleep unless laid down by herself in a dark room). I had just started putting her hair in pigtails- they look more like antennae really- so she got lots of comments on how cute she was. She developed two skills while we were there-- pointing to things and holding our hand while she walked. She loved to just walk around in circles when she had a chance. Her favorite rides were "It's a Small World" and the train rides. She loved to sit on the seat by herself with no one holding her.
On the down-side, she was tired a lot, and unfortunatly for Jim, loved to raid anything within reach at his house.
For Larry and I, the trip was exciting and exhausting. I'm so glad for the planning we did and that we could relax on the last half of the trip and still see everything. It was really great getting to know Jim. It was also nice to spend so much time together- when was the last time you've spent 2 straight weeks with your spouse? Larry wore his Blazer jersey and hat a few days while we were there- so we got to meet some fellow Oregonians.
Let's start with Miranda. She slept during the entire plane ride there- a true Dickinson. I was surprised at her zeal on the rollercoasters. She just LOVED them. "Can I go on Tower of Terror again??". I took both her and Derek on Thunder Mountain Railroad. I looked to my left to see Miranda, mouth open with excitement and laughter. I looked right to see Derek crouched next to me with his eyes shut. Miranda loved the parades, and being the excellent and enthusiastic waver that she is, she got lots of attention from the characters. She also got to meet Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella. Belle told her that she looked like a teacup (with her two missing teeth). And Belle and Cinderella said she was pretty. She got picked to do Jedi training, which she also loved.
We went to the beach on Sunday, and Miranda just LOVED all the shells there. She quickly made a collection to bring to her class to pass out. She had Jim (the man who we were staying with) sort out all the shells from best to worst. He kindly took his responsibility seriously.
On the downside, Miranda did develop a major ear infection late in the trip- luckily, we had taken a short day at Disneyworld and had plenty of time for an ER trip and prescriptions. She also threw up twice- once after getting out of the van at Disneyworld, and as soon as our plane landed in Portland. She is so prone to motion sickness.
Derek was interesting as usual. He walked a lot- rarely, if ever, getting a ride in the stroller, even though his feet hurt. Derek's favorite park was MGM because it had Star Tours and Jedi Training. Larry suspects that he would have hated Star Tours, but because is was Star Wars themed, he loved it. Derek also got to go Jedi training, which I'm sure would not normally happen, but by chance it did. You see, as they were calling up kids to be Jedi's in training, Spencer walked up to the stage. We didn't notice until all the kids were called. The actor doing the training session quickly saw that Spencer didn't belong. I quickly picked up Derek and carried him to the stage, "Can we trade him for a brother?" I asked. And it was done. The actor asked him how old he was, and he was the shortest by far, so I think they don't normally pick 5 year olds. So, way to go Spencer! He made it all possible.
One of the highlights of the trip for me was the day that Derek and Miranda decided to hold hands over the course of a couple hours. They were actually enjoying each other, not fighting, and happy. It must have been the Disney Magic at work.
Probably the worst parts for Derek were walking when he was really tired, and riding the rollercoasters- "I liked SOME parts of it" was a common comment after a bigger ride.
Spencer just loved the Rockets and the Race Cars in Magic Kingdom. He actually wasn't a bad driver, really. He loved to manuver the Rockets and Dumbo's up and down. He also liked Peter Pan a lot. He was just barely tall enough for Goofy's Barnstormer (a small rollercoaster in Toontown). I was sitting next to him for his first ride. He was all smiles! Spencer also loved Jim- and started calling him Grandpa a few days after we arrived. Spencer loved to tell him about our day.
Another big highlight happened on our last day. As we were leaving the park, we waited a few minutes and were able to ride in the front of the monorail all the way to Epcot. Spencer just LOVED that! The kids all got a "co-pilot" license from the driver. It was a great way to end the trip.
Spencer bottomed-out a few times- he took a few naps in the stroller, and then had a major trantrum on the train around the park. It was our last day at Disneyworld, and Larry and Spencer and Lindsey were meeting us at Toontown station- we would then ride the rest of the way together to Main Steet to leave. The train was really crowded, so as Larry aproached, I told Spencer to sit with us. Larry left with Lindsey to find a seat in another car on the train. As soon as Spencer realized that Larry wasn't sitting with us he FREAKED out. He was crying and screaming at my feet. Then he took off his socks and shoes and tried crawling under the seats ahead of us. Luckily, the people around us had kids and understood. When we finally got off, he ran towards the front of the train, flapping his arms in trantrum mode. I herded him out the exit gate where he plopped on the ground and peed his pants. That finally broke the tantrum, and after he got dry clothes on, he was happy as a clam.
Lindsey was pretty content to sit in the stoller and be carried most of the time. She usually got 1-2 naps in a day. One day I was holding her and rocking her to sleep and realized that I hadn't done that in probably a year with her. (She usually CANNOT sleep unless laid down by herself in a dark room). I had just started putting her hair in pigtails- they look more like antennae really- so she got lots of comments on how cute she was. She developed two skills while we were there-- pointing to things and holding our hand while she walked. She loved to just walk around in circles when she had a chance. Her favorite rides were "It's a Small World" and the train rides. She loved to sit on the seat by herself with no one holding her.
On the down-side, she was tired a lot, and unfortunatly for Jim, loved to raid anything within reach at his house.
For Larry and I, the trip was exciting and exhausting. I'm so glad for the planning we did and that we could relax on the last half of the trip and still see everything. It was really great getting to know Jim. It was also nice to spend so much time together- when was the last time you've spent 2 straight weeks with your spouse? Larry wore his Blazer jersey and hat a few days while we were there- so we got to meet some fellow Oregonians.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
I'm in Limbo
It is so weird to get ready for such a big trip. Larry and I have most of the nitty gritty stuff planned, but haven't started actually packing yet. Every night I ask myself what I need to do for the trip. There really isn't anything to do at this point- until the suitcases start filling up... I haven't wanted to start any other projects because I will have to put them on hold until after the trip.
We are all practically jumping out of our skin with excitement! Luckily, the kids will have school for the next few days to distract them a little. Larry and I are hoping that we can make Spencer a half inch taller with some new shoes and a hat, so that he will be 40" for the rides.
By the way, you guys should all try Sarah's Black Bean Enchilada Casserole from the cookbook- we had it with Larry and Lori tonight and it was to die for!
We are all practically jumping out of our skin with excitement! Luckily, the kids will have school for the next few days to distract them a little. Larry and I are hoping that we can make Spencer a half inch taller with some new shoes and a hat, so that he will be 40" for the rides.
By the way, you guys should all try Sarah's Black Bean Enchilada Casserole from the cookbook- we had it with Larry and Lori tonight and it was to die for!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Luke swim meet
Luke beat Tristen in 100 fly. Took 2nd in the 500 yd free and got 59 sec 100 yard free style! He may be the fast freestyler in the family right now. I think only Mark and I ever broke the minute barrier, GO LUKE!!!!
DisneyWorld Preparations
Since we got back to somewhat normal life after New Years, we have been spending all of our spare time getting ready for our Disneyworld trip! Larry has been combing through all of these websites for tips while we are there and what to bring. I've been ready this enormous book that details everything about Disneyworld. We'll be gone from Jan 17-29, so we got a 10 day pass to the parks. To get the kids ready, we've rented Disney movies, watched Disneyworld Vacation planning movies that show some of the attractions, and talked it up. We even had friends over last night for dinner, then home movies of Disneyworld. They even brought some of their souvenirs. I can tell that the kids aren't even comprehending the scale of Disneyworld yet. I think they'll just have to experience it for themselves. They are so excited to ride on an airplane, have warm weather, and visit the beach, too.
We are SO excited!
We are SO excited!
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