Disney's Animal Kingdom

I am so far behind on my blog it's not even a bit funny. I fell behind initially and then had so many photos on my camera (over 1000) to edit that I lagged even more. Sad day! Here are (lots) of photos from our trip to the Animal Kingdom. I look like such a mom in this photo with my dorky Ann Taylor shorts; it's sad.

See, Emma, I put up photos of you!

I got some really cute ones of Dora. We had a few miscalculations while we were there. Instead of going to see the characters first (what we should have done), we booked it to the same place as everyone else--the safari ride. We got a fast pass, but didn't realize that you can only get one at a time. So, we hiked all over creation to get another set of fast passes, only to discover we weren't eligible until we used our first one. *Sigh*

So then we took Eli (my mom stayed with Dora) to go on the Water Rapids ride (I forget the name) and when we got to the front he freaked out and wouldn't get on. Awesome. So, Whit nobly volunteered to let Emma and I ride and take Eli back. We got on and realized neither of us really even wanted to do the darn ride! So, we ended up DRENCHED all day from the get go. Great. If I look soggy in these shots, it's because I am. (Also that one up above of Dora and me--yeah I was already waterlogged.)

The animal safari was really neat, and we loved it. It really felt like we were on a safari (until we saw the fake baby elephant the "poachers" tried to steal.) But, we tried taking Eli to the bug show. MISTAKE! Don't take your kids if they are under 7! It was scary! This enormous grasshopper yells and threatens to eat the audience, and these bugs "Spit Acid" (while throwing water at you) and it's dark and scary. Eli is pretty tough but he mostly just cried... It might not have helped that we were on the front row.
No I did not tinker with her eyes at all. They really are that color.

We stopped to get lunch and Whit got a shredded pork sandwich and I got turkey. Big mistake. His was way better than mine; so good in fact that when he got up to go get some straws, a duck swooped down and ate the last half of it. I maintain that the reason the duck left mine alone was its aversion to cannibalism. Whit is still mourning its loss. I had lost my appetite though, so I generously gave him my whole sandwich.

Dora enjoyed the french fries, which we let her dip herself!

Eli enjoyed Emma and my mom's fruit plate...

Dad played with Dora...

Eli saw Mickey, far away...

And close by (on the bag).
All in all we had a good day.
And we got to see Mickey one more time on this trip. I was really sad I didn't have my camera ready, because Eli ran up with glee and gave Mickey a big hug when we first got there... I missed it!

Change in Plans...and New Stuff!

We changed our plans a bit a few weeks ago... we opted to get a similar sized house in the ward and neighborhood we liked, but save 1/3 of the price by not getting it on an acre. So, sadly, there is no pool, guest house, or tennis court, but it has 4 bedrooms, an office, and 3 living areas (kids' game room, family room and hobby room--yay!) and it's much cheaper! It's also a newer home so it has raised ceilings, etc. All in all, we feel like it was a smart move. We close June 7. I was waiting to take some good photos myself, but I decided to just post these that my realtor took with his phone to hold you good people over until I take some myself. (Because I know you are all just *dying* to know what my new house will look like! Hah! It's on Jennifer Way, which I think is a cute address.

Here's the exterior. You can see that we need to put a fence around it, but the yard's not TOO too small...

The kitchen is small, but nice. The builder is famous for his custom cabinetry (he started as a cabinet-maker) and the granite has fancy edges... Also, I am excited for the Thermador appliances, and a PANTRY, finally!!

This is a shot of the family room--fireplace, yay! Also, I am really excited to have a mantle to hang stockings on. Is it sad that summer just started and I am already counting the days (over 100 still!) until Fall comes with Halloween, and leaves, and long brisk walks... Thanksgiving and CHRISTMAS!? I know, it's kind of sad... I hate summer. I love fall, and winter. OOOH, toasted marshmellows. Also, one of my fondest memories of Jesse is from when Whit and I first started dating and went out to visit Jesse in Dallas--he got a fire all toasty and nice and said, "Wow, I am tired. I guess you two can just sit out here in the family room and enjoy it." Wink. Hahah. He loved loved loved fires in fireplaces. I miss him!

Here's a shot of the kitchen, which overlooks the breakfast room and the kids' playroom. Yes, there is also a formal dining room. I think these are falling out of favor in the world at large because I had a hard time finding houses that had both. I know you almost never use the formal dining, but I wanted one anyway!

On a side note, we also bought a new car yesterday. We left to look at Explorers, Lexus GX 470s and Toyota Sequoias and came home with a Tahoe!! Weird, but we love it! Photos of that to come. Also, I need to blog Typhoon Lagoon and Disney's Animal Kingdom still... I keep falling behind!

First Ever Trip to DisneyWorld

Last time we came to Orlando, we hit Sea World and drove out to Busch Gardens but we didn't go to Disneyworld, since the kids were deemed too young to appreciate it. This time we decided to go... It takes forever to get into the park-and we had to take the slow slow ferry.

Here we are, ready to go.

Here we are in front of the castle at the park entrance.

We ate lunch at the Liberty Tree restaurant and it was delicious... Crab dip, fancy drinks and barley soup. Yum! The rolls even had honey butter. All in all, the kids did great. Dora was happy the whole time, and Eli loved loved loved the Barnstormer. He went twice in a row and listed it as his favorite part at the day's end. It's a roller coaster where you sit in a plane.

There was a lot of sharing at lunch...

Dora shared a lemon with her dad. The kids are so happy to have their daddy. It's nice for me because Eli insists on daddy doing everything for him so I get a lot of time off.

You can tell how much these two love each other in these...

Only Nana can compare with the celebrity status Dad currently enjoys.

Eli was SO excited to meet Mickey. The line has lots of Mickey things.

Yay Mickey pumpkins!

Nana kept Eli happy in line. OOOOH he loves his Nana.

His only disappointment is that Mickey didn't talk--but Eli did share his toy. The kids LOVED these little sucker/fans and Eli was willing to share only with one person--MICKEY. Cute!!

He was so shy about meeting Mickey in person, but when we left, he was SO SAD! He couldn't stop crying.

Nana was there, too...

Dora played in a toddler playground while she waited. She was so happy to see me when we got out and over to where she was.

Here we are before Peter Pan's flight and the kids loved it--our last ride!

Today we went to Typhoon Lagoon--but those photos are on my mom's camera. We go to the Animal Kingdom tomorrow. Hooray! That's the one I was the most excited about.

Orlando Resort

We have been having a big time here at our resort in Orlando. Sadly, Clint and Linsey couldn't come because Linsey hurt her knee... but it left us with an ENORMOUS 3 bedroom 3 bath place with two living areas, two kitchens and two of everything else... It's been GREAT. :-) Dora has really warmed up to the water now, but this first day she was more interested in laying on mom and playing in the sand.

Here she is playing with Dad...
And blowing her nose...she loves to do this lately since mom's been blowing her nose so much. I have had a cold.) I think it's pretty cute!

We have been eating in the room a lot--saving money, plus it's just EASIER with kids.

A few more shots of Dora out by the pool...

Did I mention my kids love ice cream sandwiches?
Next time, wanna come with us?

Around the House

We have been playing a lot around our house. Dora loves toast with jam, only really she loves the jam. She tries to eat just the jam off of the toast. It gets all over her face!

My mom was moving the trash cans from the street to the side of the house and Eli decided to help her! Cute! He actually could pull it on his own--pretty impressive.

Here's Dora doing what she does all the time lately--walk around with her arms behind her back. it's cute, right?

Last photo--SO FUNNY! Dora pulled the baby and all her blankets and entourage out of this little rocking cradle thing and then got in herself, proud as can be to rock back and forth in it! She was so happy--but of course by the time I got the camera she was chewing on something. She does have 3 molars (of 4) in by now.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I just wanted to say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my mom. She is the best mom anyone has ever had. I don't think I realized what a great mom I had until I became one myself. Sure, she has lost her temper in the past, but not nearly as often as I do!

She is also the best grandma ever. She is so great about disciplining them, and playing with them, and loving them. It's hard to do all three. Really hard! Mom, thanks for helping me so much, and for setting me such a wonderful example. Thanks for all that you always do and the person you are.

We love you. I love you.

-Your daughter, Bridget