Happy Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with close friends here in Tampa. It was a great day, and both kids seemed to enjoy the day. The hostess loves Anna Christine. She made Anna Christine a very special place at the table with a special chair and plate, and she stocked up on gummi bears just for her. Anna Christine's chair was in between our pastor and his wife, two of her very special friends. Even after I reminded her that it was not her birthday but Thanksgiving, she still insisted that it was her birthday party. The weather was absolutely beautiful! So, we enjoyed most of the afternoon (and morning) outside! Take a look at this beautiful table!

So Fast!!!!

Who knew you could have so much fun with a leftover USPS box and daddy's belt?

Disney Videos

Dada's Birthday Party

Disney World was the best! All of us had a wonderful time. I really could go on and on about how much fun it is, particularly with a child that really thinks the characters are real. We arrived just as the park was opening, and we left twenty minutes before the park closed (11:00 pm). All of us rode all the rides that we could, our favorites twice, and we got front row spots to both parades! Anna Christine is in love with Minnie Mouse, and she also really loved Tigger and Pooh too! Forrest had a great time too. You know, when planning an activity like this with two young children, you would expect for it to be difficult at some points in the day or for there to be a complete meltdown to occur, but this was not the case for us. Anna Christine did have a hard time taking a break to go potty, and Forrest sometimes got tired of being held when we had to wait in line (which was not an issue except for a brief wait to meet Minnie and Mickey- completely worth it). The park really tries to make things as easy as possible for you. Everything is so organized from fastpasses to parking and so on. We even packed our lunch and dinner in a small cooler. Not only did we save money, but we saved time by not having to wait in lines and eat at a place there. We just took a short break and ate on a bench. We also got great advice from friends that helped tremendously. We wanted Anna Christine to pick out something for us to buy for her, but she never did. All she wanted was a big sucker. We would go into the shops, and she would pick things up and comment on them and then put them right back in their place. Here are some highlights. I feel like I missed so many priceless moments, but it's hard to hold a camera while helping your kids.
My pictures got out of order while downloading, but this is pretty much how our day went.
Anna Christine loved the carasouel so much. As we were leaving, she told her horse bye-bye, thanked him, and gave him a hug.


The castle is really beautiful. We were able to watch a performance after lunch in front of the castle with several of the characters, and Anna Christine did not blink! Also, as we were entering the park, it looked as though we had come on a busy day. There were people everywhere, but we never really had long lines to deal with. They also had their Christmas decorations up which we beautiful as well.

The Dumbo ride is the favorite at Magic Kingdom, so this is the first ride that we went to right after we entered the park. Both kids loved it, and it is a cute ride. Samuel, of course, rode with Anna Christine, and Forrest rode with me. This is the only ride that seemed to bother him just a little. He did not like when I would make Dumbo go up and down quickly.

Anna Christine and I spotted Goofy on our way to the restrooms. She loved him (after a brief moment of nervousness)! She told him that she loved puppies, and that she had her very own puppy at home. Unfortunately, once your child warms up to the character, it's time for the next person to go. She would continue to talk to all the characters as they were greeting other kids. It would make me kind of sad for Anna Christine, because she seemed to have so much to say to them.

Belle does a storytime for the kids. It was really sweet, but I had a hard time with Forrest during the storytime. He really wanted to walk around. AC seemed to enjoy it, but I think older little girls would really love it! She loved meeting Belle afterwards!

My all time favorite moment of the day! Unfortunately, I missed the best part of it, but Samuel got it on video. I had to go to the bathroom while Tigger took a short break (we were third in line). When I was walking back, I saw that she was having her turn, I sprinted across the park to catch it. We will post the video tonight or tomorrow, so you will see details of their meeting.
The Pooh ride was probably her favorite, along with Small World and Peter Pan. It was really cute. While we waiting in line for the Pooh ride, she spotted Tigger and called for him throughout our wait for the ride (he was about fifty yards away- everyone waiting with us enjoyed the entertainment of her yelling at Tigger). She was very anxious to meet him once the ride was over, we headed over there.
We got to ride all these rides twice (once in the morning and evening), except for Peter Pan, because he broke down that evening. AC told me that it was okay, because Peter Pan's mama was trying to fix him. While AC and I rode Small World, Samuel and FOrrest headed back over to Mickey's Philharmagic Theater to watch the 4D show again. AC did not like this show the first time. She was so afraid everything was going to hit her in the face. Samuel had to take her glasses off and get up with her. She was waving her hands in front of her face.

An attempt to get a picture with both kids in it . . .

And this is what makes the whole day worth it. . . Minnie and Mickey. She loved them. It was a great moment, and she smiled great for the camera! Again, she continued talking to them as we were leaving. So sweet.

Some rest time on the train. . .

Forrest feel asleep in the stroller after the wonderful evening light parade and fireworks. So, we took Anna Christine shopping. She loved looking at everything, but she would put it right back in it's place. All she wanted was that sucker. She also feel asleep in the stroller as we were walking back to Main Street. Samuel and I did a little shopping, and Samuel picked out the biggest sucker they had with Minnie Mouse on it!


We had to take both kids out of the stroller to get on the shuttle back to the parking lot. AC woke up, but I was able to get her jammies on. She then asked if we could ride some more rides. Samuel also showed her the sucker with Minnie Mouse, and you would not believed her excitement! What a day!