First Trip to Disney World...Part 2 "Dowtown Disney and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party"

We had requested an early check-in at the hotel, but our room was not available so they stored our luggage and we went off to get the bus to Downtown Disney.  I believe that this was the first time you ladies were on a bus.  It was not a bad ride over and you ladies could barely contain your excitement. You kept asking when we were going to meet everyone and go on the rides and we kept saying to have a little patience, that you would get to see anyone you wanted and ride almost everything, but that we had a schedule and certain things had to happen first...like getting you your first pair of mickey ears!  We went in the store and you both picked out the pink princess ones with the tiara and veil.  So while they put your name on them we explored a little.

There was a small carousel in the middle of the area so you ladies went on that while daddy watched.

We saw some "characters."

And then it was time to get your hats.  They turned out so cute!  But more importantly, it was time for LUNCH!!!!!

We had reservations at Ragland Road for lunch.  This was the first of our Disney Meals and it did not disappoint.  Emma had some amazing mac and cheese with Irish Cheese; Lily you had a Cheeseburger with, you guessed it, Irish Cheese, Daddy had a salmon salad and I had the children's risotto.

For dessert we had the bread pudding and they put two candles in for your birthday.  After we were done with lunch we needed to go back to the buses and the hotel.  We were hoping that our room was ready, we had some very important plans for tonight. 

More "characters" on our way back.

the photobomber

mommy and "minnie" emma

So we got back to the hotel and our room was ready, but our luggage had not been delivered :( While we waited for our luggage, I noticed that we had a message on the phone.  I first played it and then re-played it so you ladies could hear.  Mickey and Minnie had called to wish you ladies a very happy birthday.

What you ladies did not know was that we were going to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party tonight.  You also did not know that we bought you Anna and Elsa dresses and mommy and daddy were also dressing up as the King and Olaf, so the suitcases were of big importance since we needed to try the dresses on and then pack them in our backpacks to bring with us. Finally, they delivered our luggage so while I unpacked the surprises, Daddy kept you ladies in the bathroom and gave you a lesson on "pooping".  That is all I going to say about that here :)

With everything packed up, we made our way to the buses to go to Magic Kingdom.  Now practically everything at Disney is on a "reservation" basis, shows, rides, meals and we had several items lined up, but the bus moved a little slower than we had hoped and we missed the first ride, but hopefully we can make that up later in the day.

Here is your first look at everything once we made it into the Magic Kingdom.  You were both memorized and I loved watching your faces with everything new that you encountered.  It was like Daddy and I were going to Disney for the first time as well.  We purchased the memory maker package so that allowed us to get a lot of family pictures and ones with those "characters" that you could not wait to meet.

First family pictures in front of the castle :)

I love that tinkerbelle jumped into your picture :)

Daddy was the map man and navigated us through the park.  Our first stop was to meet Ariel :)

You ladies were so excited while we were waiting and could hardly contain yourselves.

Next stop was to meet Cinderella and Rapunzel, but first we stopped to get a picture in front of Beast's castle.

Daddy and I had not been to Magic Kingdom in a long time so a lot of the stuff was new to us.  I really liked the Fairytale Princess Hall and how it was set up. We tried to stay away from the Anna and Elsa side, since we had not been able to get a reservation to see them.  First up, you ladies met Rapunzel and man is her hair long!

Rapunzel was so excited that it was your birthday that she walked you over to Cinderella to tell her all about it.

Cinderella did a special birthday wish with you ladies.

After meeting several princesses, it was time to take things up a notch and go on your first roller coaster.  We went on Goofy's Barnstormer and it was so much fun!   We had a little time before our next ride window opened so we ventured over to see if we could meet Merida.  After a short wait it was your turn to see her.

After we were done meeting Merida, a cast member asked if you ladies have made your happy birthday wish with pixie dust and she did it for you.

It was now time to go on another roller coaster before the party started so we headed over to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.  This one was so much fun!

We even got a video of the ride.

After the Mine Train, you stopped to see if you could pull the sword out of the stone.

no go, we will have to try again next time.

It was now time to grab some dinner and get ready for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Before we left the hotel we let you see the the costumes we had for the Halloween party, we were going as a Frozen family.  Before getting our costumes on, we decided to grab a bite to eat and we had dinner at Pinocchio Village Haus.  While we were waiting in line a very nice cast member was talking to you ladies about your birthday and then disappeared, when she came back she had two little chocolate cakes with stickers on them for your birthday.  Little did we know this was just the start of all the "pixie dust" we would get over the next several days.  With our costumes on, we were ready to explore more of the park and find a seat for the Boo to You Parade.

Princess Anna and Queen Elsa

the Seven Dwarfs were meeting people, but the line was very long.

We found a place to watch the parade over by Sleepy Hollow. So we settled in and got ready for the parade.

There was a small dance party with Phineaus and Ferb that you ladies did.

Then the lights started to flash and the music got a little spooky, and the headless horseman began the parade.

My camera was close to dying so I didn't get many pictures from the parade, but the when I looked on our Memory Maker there were some pictures on there :)

After the parade, we made our way over to the castle to get a spot for the castle show and the Halloween fireworks.  We were there a few minutes and that snail in Lily's nose bit her finger and started bleeding :)  We tried for about 20 minutes to get it to stop and weren't having very much luck, so we made our way to the first aid building to see if they could help.  We were given ice and I had to apply pressure for 10 minutes.  The castle show was about to start so Daddy and Emma went outside to watch it.  When it was over they came in to check on us and it had stopped, but started up again. At this time the Halloween Fireworks were starting, so Daddy and Emma went outside to watch them. We were finally able to get it to stop and made it out to see the last two seconds of the finale.  There was a great picture on our memory maker so it's like we got to see them.

We were headed out of the park at this time, Lily your nose was still doing good, but we realized that we didn't have any family pictures of our costumes, so we stopped at a few of the photographer stands on the way out.

the "frozen" family

While we were in line I saw that the times to meet Tinkerbelle and Mickey Mouse were very short, so in an attempt to salvage the night we went over to see them.  I AM SO GLAD we did this.  The meet and interaction with Tinkerbelle was one of my favorite things this trip.  It was awesome.

tink was asking about cinderella

Next we went to see Town Square Mickey.  I was hoping that he was still in his Halloween costume, and he was.  What is really awesome about Town Square Mickey is that he talks to you :)

mickey was singing happy birthday to you!

After we met Mickey, we were all pretty tired, it had been a super busy day after all.  So we headed to get the bus back to the hotel.  We had an early morning waiting for us as we went to Animal Kingdom.  We told you were were "going to the zoo."

First Trip to Disney World...Part 1 "We're not going to the Zoo"

We have been keeping this a secret since July 21, 2014.  Well let me back up a little bit.  We started talking (well mommy was talking and daddy was listening) about what we should do for your 5th birthday and it was a too soon after our Washington DC walking debacle to fully embrace taking you ladies to Disney World, so we looked into a Disney Cruise.  You get the "Disney" without the walking and so after much thought and consideration we booked a Disney cruise on May 2, 2014. We would leave out of Port Canaveral on October 9 for three days and go to the Bahamas and the private island.

In the meantime I still had Disney World on the mind for a future trip, so we set off on the "summer of training your legs" bootcamp.  We had a masterplan for putting you ladies in swim lessons, track and soccer over the summer.  We were trying to build stamina in your legs and body for the eventual trip.  Fast forward to July and I started to have some reservations about the Cruise.  I wasn't finding something fun to do while we were in Nassau and I was afraid we would be spending a lot of money for three days on a boat.  So on a whim, I looked at Disney World for the same time period (on-site hotel, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, two day park tickets and food) and well the price was a whole lot better, so on July 21, 2014 we switched the trip over to Disney World.

Up until this point, when you ladies would ask about your birthday we came up with the idea of saying that we were going to Nana and Papa's house.  Because of the proximity of the port (and then Orlando) to their house, it just made sense. So we said that we were going to Nana and Papa's for your birthday and they were going to give you a party.  So since July, we have been planning and scheming and reserving to try to make this the most amazing surprise birthday trip for you ladies.

You ladies had not really asked any questions about the trip to Nana and Papa's.  You have made plans with Nana that you wanted a Frozen (emma) and Rainbow Pony (lily) party.  About two weeks before the trip, on the way to school you asked me what were were going to do at Nana and Papa's house and how long we were going to stay.  I was initially caught off guard, but then quickly recovered by asking you ladies if you wanted to go to the Zoo on the Thursday after your birthday and you both said YES.  So the plan was now in motion, you ladies thought we were going to go to the Zoo, while everyone else (including your teachers) knew what you were really doing.

So on Tuesday I went to school for a small class party and told you that if you took a good nap, that maybe I can pick you up early.  What you didn't know was that once I left your school I went home and finished packing and daddy and I loaded up the car and waited for your naptime to be over so we could pick you up and drive to Nana and Papa's a day early :)  The drive was not bad and then next day, your 5th Birthday was spent on the beach with family and with a fun party and was capped off with a cousin sleepover.

So I wake up on Thursday and I am jumping out of my skin with excitement, today is the day that you ladies are going to DISNEY WORLD, but you think that you are going to the Zoo.  

The secret is still in tack, no one has slipped (I have no idea how that happened).  So we get the car loaded up and you are both a little confused about why the suitcases are still in the car.  You are asking all kinds of questions and we simply answer with "we are going to the zoo.  we may stay there, we may come back, we may go back home.  We are going to see what happens".  That seemed to pacify you for the time being.  We had a 1 hour and 30 minute drive ahead of us.  It all went really smoothly, we took the back roads and although there there were "indications" of Disney World around us via signs, you ladies did not notice anything.  

About 10 minutes before we were to go under the "Walt Disney World" arches you both start to ask us questions about when we went to Disney, how old we were.  How old you will be when you go, one of you said 6 and the other said 9.  You asked us how many times we have gone.  I honestly thought I was going to loose it, where was this coming from, did you ladies secretly know what was going on???  A few minutes later we were coming up to the sign 

and I turned on the video camera to record your reaction.

I won't lie, I had tears in my eyes.  You ladies were so funny.  Although, in my mind I pictured more screaming, but it looked like you ladies were truly shocked.  So I let it sink it for a few seconds and took another video.

We were staying at Pop Century

I think that this is when it really started to sink in that you ladies WERE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!!!

So we went to check in and looked around for a few minutes.  We had so many surprises in store for you ladies that we decided to dole them out one at a time.

we took your picture here because it is mommy and daddy's birth year.  we had no idea that was the section we were staying in.

with your birthday and 1st visit buttons :)

waiting while we unloaded our luggage.

So our plans for this afternoon were lunch at Downtown Disney and the first of many surprises you were going to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!!!!!

VPK...WOW

It is official...you are now in big girl school.  Although you are still at Growing Room, you are in VPK. It is basically boot camp for Kindergarten.  We picked out your outfits last week, not only for today , but I think for the whole week :)  You were so excited when you went to bed last night and even more so this morning when I woke you up.  Well Emma you were up and Lily was still a little sleepy.  Last week I asked you ladies a few questions so I could make your first day of VPK signs for pictures this morning.  Everything moved quite smoothly this morning, no real issues (I think you were both too excited to go into the BIG class that you were extra cooperative).

what a difference between this year and last!

Here are the signs that you were holding in the pictures.  When I asked you both last week what you wanted to be when you grew up you both said a cheerleader and then a few minutes later said Nurse and Pediatrician.  I hope you both will always love to learn!

There was a small detour on the way to school, as a tree had fallen on the road that we usually go so it took a little longer to get there today.  I wanted to get your picture in front of the school for a little project that I am working on.

We had to make a stop before going to your class.  Yesterday you both said that you wanted to make cards for Ms. Virginia and Ms. Christi, your teachers last year.  So we stopped by your old class.  Ms. Virginia was there and she was so happy to see you both and get cards.  Lily you even started to go put your back pack on your old spot...silly girl.  

We then walked down the hall to your new BIG classroom.  I remember when Daddy and I toured your school before you started and we saw that room and I remember thinking...wow that is a really cool room. It is about the size of a kindergarten class with lots of room.  There are separate bathrooms for boys and girls as well as lots of different areas for learning.  You were excited to see some of your old friends and to see Ms. LuAnn, who is your new teacher.  Her para-pro is Mr. Erin and then Ms. Rebecca will be there in the afternoons.  You went in, found your cubby, and back pack place, washed your hands and went straight to the books like you had done this a million times.  

I love watching your ladies grow and gain more and more independence every day.  You did oblige me with one last picture as I was leaving.

what big girls!

I was excited to pick you ladies up today and to hear all about your day.  I ran into Ms. LuAnn who said that everyone had a great day and that you ladies were such big helpers today.  When I got into the class Ms. Rebecca was there and you were both so excited to tell me about your day.  We called Nana and Papa and told them all about your day.

After dinner Daddy and I surprised with you a special treat...we went to the "ice cream house" to start the tradition of back to school ice cream.

Here's to a great VPK year!

Oh Blueberry Picking We Will Go...

Last year we tried our hand at Blueberry picking and had a great time.  So when the emails from the blueberry farm started to arrive about the current crop and opening day we got excited.  We weren't able to make it to opening weekend with Gymnastics and Soccer, so we tried for the following weekend.  Daddy is not a big blueberry picker...eater of blueberries, yes.  So I asked Peggy if she wanted to join us.  We first tried to go on Friday evening, and we were all set and then the email came that it was storming in Monticello so no picking.  We made plans to try again on Saturday.  To be honest, I was not very hopeful.  It was storming here, but we gave it a shot.  We picked Peggy up and took the short drive to Monticello.  While we were driving, the sky started to clear and the blue skies appeared.  It was perfect there.  We were only a handful of pickers so it was like we had the place to ourselves.  I love the fact that it is a certified organic farm, so I don't have to worry if the girls snuck a berry or two :)

I love this picture.  We have one from last year as well

the serious picker

busy pickers

action shot

blueberry picking is very serious business

we came...we picked...we conquered!  Close to 10 pounds of blueberries

you tend to look silly when saying "blueberries"

We a fun time and great company.  I wonder how long our 5lbs of blueberries will last.