Last Day- Good Byes

We were so sad to see our vacation end, we definitely could have used a few more days there.  We did have another day to go to a park, but with having to pack and check out we didn’t have enough time to check out another park.  We headed out at 2 and we were off to the airport to say good bye to my family as we were on separate flights.  We were both flying to Chicago but on separate flights 40 min apart.  Once we checked in at the airport we checked to see if we could get on my families flight since we had found out that our flight was delayed.   They luckily had room for us on that flight which we were very grateful for since our flight kept being more and more delayed, we would have missed our connection and we would have been stuck, so I am really glad that we were able to get on that flight, plus it meant a little more time with my family.

 

Once we got to Chicago we had to go our separate ways and finally say good bye.  That is always the hardest thing, especially when we don’t know when we will see them again.  So our vacation finally came to an end, and the kids are already asking to go back.  We were thankful for the time we spent with my family and looking back it doesn’t seem like enough. 

***I’m sorry for the lengthy posts, I just didn’t want to forget anything about this trip.  This was our first family vacation and I really think we need to do it more often… someday.***

Disney Day 6- Animal Kingdom & Magic Kingdom

We were really excited to go to the animal kingdom and we wish that we would have had more time there.  There is so much to take in and to look at and to enjoy.  We were also excited to be able to see Josh’s oldest brother, Matt, and his family.  Who we hadn’t seen in over 2 years.  We were excited to find out that they were going to be at Disney World the same time and so we arranged to meet her.  We wish that we would have had more time to spend with them.     We started off the day by ourselves again since the rest of the crew was running a little behind.  We thought that they would catch up with us at the shuttle stop, but we lucked out and we didn’t have to wait for the shuttle.  Once we got to the park we headed over to get a fast pass for the Safari ride since it was so foggy that we wouldn’t have been able to see the animals at that time.  On the way over we were lucky enough to catch some characters to get some pictures.  We then went on an exploration trail to see some animals while we waited for my family to get to the park.  Once they were there we met them over at Expedition Everest.  That was a great ride, I think one of the favorites on the whole trip. 

We were also able to catch up with Matt & Stacie at that point, then we were playing follow the leader as we rode a ride and then they followed behind from Everest to the Safari (since the fog let up).  We caught back up with them at Finding Nemo- The musical, which was a great show.  After we ate lunch together we went on Dinosaur and then let the kids ride on Tricera Top spin which is pretty much like Dumbo.  We then rushed over to see the Lion King show.  When we got there a cast member asked if our kids would like to be in the show.  Megan got all excited and said she would.  So they told us where to sit so that they would pick them out of the crowd.  The show was great and very entertaining and it was fun at the end of the show that Megan and Bryson were able to go up and participate.  They had them walk around the stage shaking a maraca like instrument.  It was fun and the kids loved it. Before we headed off to our dinner we went to see a Bug’s Life.  That was the one show that I remember seeing when I went to Animal Kingdom before.  Unfortunately I don’t think my kids want to remember the show.  Neither of them wore their 3D glasses.  Luckily that was our last 3D show.

For dinner we were so excited to go to Chef Mickey’s to see all the classic characters; Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy & Pluto.  On the way over Bryson fell asleep and was out cold.  We kept trying to wake him up once we got there since he had been looking forward to seeing Mickey the whole time.  He woke up just in time for the characters to start coming around, but wasn’t the happiest kid. 

After dinner we headed back over to the Magic Kingdom just in time for their firework show.  We started heading over to Frontierland and ended up getting a VIP look at the fireworks, it was great!  Once we got to Frontierland we rode Splash Mountain which was great.  Megan was able to ride and was so excited to go, since we had pumped her up about going on it.  This was also Josh’s 1st time.  I wish we had a camera to take a picture of the picture they took of us going down the big drop, it was the best picture ever.  Megan and I ended up in the front of the boat wrapped up in my Dad’s jacket and we still ended up getting soaked.  Josh and BJ were behind us and only got wet from a boat ahead of us going down the hill, then Jess and Tosha were behind them and stayed pretty dry.  It was great.  We also hit Thunder mountain, the Tiki room, Pirates (again) & Josh, my Dad, BJ & I went to the Haunted mansion while everyone else went to the carrousel.  It was a very long day, that ended really late.

Disney Day 5 – Magic Kingdom & Hollywood

This was the day that we had scheduled to eat lunch at Cinderella’s Royal Table in the castle.  So we put curlers in Megan’s hair the night before and she got to wear her Snow White princess dress.  She was so excited to dress up.  So we headed to Magic Kingdom in the morning and went on a couple of rides before it was time to eat. 

Dinner was pretty cool.  The girls got Magic Wands and the boys got swords, and they all got wishing stars that they got to make a special wish on while they were there at dinner.  Then each of the Princesses came around to the table and Josh supplied Megan with a question to ask a couple of them.  She asked Arial if she liked being a mermaid or human better.  She answered by saying that she likes them both.  Then she asked Belle if she liked Gaston or the Beast better.  Belle was really cute and asked Megan who she liked better.  Megan said the Beast, and she said “Good answer, I like him too.”

After lunch we hung out for a bit and went on a couple more rides like driving the Race cars, (Bryson loved them, even though I don’t think he could see over the steering wheel) then headed back over to Hollywood Studios for the extra late hours.  We were bummed that they didn’t have any shows going on since we wanted to see the Indiana Jones show & Beauty & the Beast, but instead we waited in line for the Toy Story ride again.  It took about 40 minutes… I wish they would have had fast passes.  On our way out we stopped by a dance party with Handy Manny, Jo Jo & Little Einstein characters.  It was pretty fun.  They had 2 balloon guys making things for the kids.  Megan got a flower hat, Bryson got a snake & Connor got Mickey ears.  They got to dance with characters and right before we left Mickey and Minnie came in.  It was a lot of fun, but ended up being a very late night… again.

Disney Day 4- Hollywood Studios

We started our day early and right after we got in and got a family shot in front of the hat out walked Minnie Mouse.  Megan spotted her and went running over to her, luckily she was heading over to take pictures so Megan walked with her hand in hand then we got her signature and a picture.  Some of the highlights of our day.  Riding the Toy Story Mania ride, really a great, fun ride that always had a LONG wait. Tower of Terror which was great, Megan rode it twice and then later that night cried cause she was scared of the ghosts from that ride.  The Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster was fun and always a favorite.  Some of the shows that we watched were Voyage of The Little Mermaid, Muppet Vision 3D, Lights, Motors, Action!  Bryson’s favorite show.  Then another great show was Fantasmic, and the kids loved the Block Party Bash with Buzz Lightyear.

For dinner we went to eat at the Grand Floridian with Cinderella, her 2 step sisters, her step mother and Prince Charming.  The faces that the step family made were hilarious! 

Disney Day 3- Epcot

I do have to say that Epcot was the one park that I wasn’t exactly excited to go to.  When doing my research the things in the park seemed to cater to older kids, and now looking back on it I can’t seem to remember that much.  I remember waiting what was suppose to be 10 minutes for a little boat ride called Living with the Land and ended up waiting at least 30 minutes cause the ride kept breaking down.  We also took the kids to see Honey I shrunk the Audience and we had Connor in his car seat sitting on the floor and when the rats got loose in the show they blow air at your feet and Connor got a blast of air all in his face and he started screaming, luckily he calmed down since we were sitting in the middle of the row.   The other rides that we enjoyed were Test Track, Soarin (a favorite to all), Nemo ride, Turtle talk with Crush, where Bryson was chosen to ask a question, which came out as… I don’t know what he said and neither did anyone else.  He got a good laugh and Crush answered with “I think the answer would be Purple.”  I wish we got it on video.  We also went on Journey Into Imagination with Figment and Ellen’s Energy Adventure.  We didn’t get the chance to walk around The World Showcase, but you’ve gotta leave something to do for next time, right?  Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the day. (you can look at all the pictures on the sidebar)

For dinner we went to Norway and ate at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall with the storybook Princesses.  This was our favorite character meal that we did.  I was kind of nervous eating food from Norway since I have never tried it, but it was really good.  The waitresses and servers were from Norway which was really cool and the kids loved all the princesses.

We ended our day at the park around 11pm.  The kids were knocked out on the bus ride home and then bouncing off the walls in our hotel room when it was time for bed.  But we finally all fell asleep to get ready for our next day ahead of us.

Disney Day 2- Magic Kingdom

Our day started by ourselves since my family got delayed flying in and didn’t get in till late, so we started the day by ourselves.  Once we got in we went straight to the Dumbo ride & then continued on through Fantasyland, then headed up to Mickey’s Toontown.  We had decided to sit and let the kids play at a little playground so I could feed Connor and while we were sitting there it started to pour rain.  We had to go running for cover and we were stuck for at least 30 minutes.  We finally decided to brave it out and run to find somewhere to eat while we waited out the rain. 

Once we were fed the rain had stopped and we headed to tomorrowland where we met a talking garbage can and Megan and Josh were able to experience Space Mountain for the first time.  Since Bryson and Connor couldn’t ride the ride Megan and I went on the ride first.  After it was over I asked Megan how she liked it.  She started to cry and said that she didn’t like it.  So as Josh was leaving to go ride the ride by himself she decided that she wanted to go again.  Josh and I looked at eachother in shock, but let her do it.  She came off the second time saying that she loved it.  This ended up being one of her favorite rides that she wanted to keep riding.

As for Bryson’s first rollercoaster ride… the picture says it all.

We were able to catch up with my family after we watched “Dream along with Mickey” in front of the castle.  It was really nice to see my brother who we haven’t seen for a couple of years, and also the rest of my family.  We were sad that my sister’s husband had to work and wasn’t able to join us, he really was missed.  Hopefully next time we get together he’ll be able to come.    

Once we took pictures and said our hellos it was time to head to our first character meal.  This meal was with Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger & Eeyore.

Once we finished eating we went back to Tomorrowland then over to Adventureland and then back up to Fantasyland.  (Here are a few of my favorite pictures, you can view all of them off to the side on the slideshow)

We ended our day tired but ready to see more.  My favorite was the jungle cruise and Pirates.  Josh’s favorite was Splash mountain.  Megan loved Space & Splash mountain.  Bryson had a common saying after and during rides of “I don’t like it!”  (I wish I would have gotten it on camera, it’s a high pitched whiney voice kinda like Steve Urkel)  But the ride he didn’t say that on was Dumbo.  Connor was either sleeping or wide eyed on everything.

Disney Day 1 – Getting Settled

We were so excited to start our Disney World experience.  We left at 2pm and loved our direct flight to Florida.  Since we were staying at the All Star Movies resort in Disney World we were able to have Disney pick up our luggage from the airport and take it to our hotel for us so we didn’t have to worry about it.  SO NICE!  We boarded a bus and took a short 30 minute ride to our resort.  Once we got off the bus we were greeted with red carpets and a cast member giving the kids Mickey Mouse stickers.  After checking in and fixing a couple of room problems, (since we booked with my parents and sister we were all suppose to have rooms next to each other, but they had us in different buildings.  We were able to get 2 rooms next to each other and then our room was 7 doors down, but at least it was in the same building.) we went and checked out our room in the “Love Bug” building and set our extra traveling luggage down and then went to check out the hotel grounds and eat dinner.  After dinner we were off to bed so we could get up early to start our adventure! 

Christmas ‘09

We had a great Christmas again this year.  Our Christmas traditions always starts on Christmas eve when we decorate cookies! 

Now I have quickly found out that in the Kelly family you don’t just frost and sprinkle your cookies.  Decorating is more of an art and a lot of time is spent on 1 cookie.  Our kids have quickly caught on.  (notice Bryson using a toothpick to frost his cookie)

 

Here is our final ones.  We only got through half of the batch before we ran out of time.   We had to send the kids to bed so that Santa could come.  (Megan liked Josh’s little guy that he did and so she copied him.)

Christmas Morning

We were surprised that the kids didn’t wake us up this year.  Instead I woke up to the sound of Bryson’s new tool set.  We were able to hold them off till Connor woke up then our present opening began.

Megan and Bryson did very well opening gifts and even opening up gifts together that were for the both of them.   They loved their kitchen set that was left downstairs for them that I am sure took Santa almost 2 hours to put together.  I don't want to forget when Bryson was opening one of his gifts and as he opened it enough to realize that it was a plain box he stopped opening it and said "I don't like it." and then walked away.  We had to try and convince him to finish opening it to see what was inside the box.  It took a little while before he actually went back and finished unwrapping it.  It was hilarious!

I was excited to get my corner desk that I have been wanting to buy for months, and Josh got his Very Sexy cologne that I love him to wear.  

Connor had fun trying to open up gifts.  He would get a bit of it open and then would eat the paper.  Megan eventually sat down after all her presents were opened and helped him open them all.

 

We are very grateful for all of our gifts.  Here is the loot that everyone got.   

I love this gift that my brother gave me that I have to show it off.  He just returned from his LDS mission in Uruguay and while he was there he had these scripture cases made for those of us that wanted them.  So here is mine.  There is a picture on each side.  I think that it is beautiful!

We had a wonderful Christmas, and we ended with a delicious ham dinner that we shared with some friends. 

Santa Visit

We took our traditional trip to the Bass Pro Shop to see Santa Claus and to play some games.

Connor did great for his first time seeing Santa, no crying. The kids had fun coloring pictures, playing games, writing letters to Santa, making a cute ornament & having a snow ball fight.

This year Megan is asking for (at least THIS time): Leapster Games & a Barbie with wings (which she already has).

She has in the past asked for a computer (laptop), a camera, a kitchen set, wings (what she got last year), craft projects & anything else that she sees at the store.

Bryson this year has been easy he has asked for Tools and stuck to it. He does get excited about construction trucks too.

Connor is a little harder since he doesn't really need anything besides clothes and diapers. But I'm sure if he could ask for something maybe to have some peace and quiet from his older brother and sister. So we will have to see what Santa will bring this year.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas this year.

Picture Overload

I am on a picture over load from our trip to Disney World. I have so many pictures and I don't even have pictures from the rest of my family yet. I hope to get to writing down our memories before we forget all the details. Beware, a lot of pictures to come.