Birthdays!

HAPPY 3rd Birthday Gavin!!

Our nephew Gavin turned 3 this month, and brilliantly, I forgot my camera:( So you'll have to take my word for it that it was a great party - a Thomas the Tank Engine Cake and fun new toys for Gavin to unwrap.
I'll maybe see if I can scam some photos from Sheri or Gramma to add here. Sorry in the meantime.....

HAPPY 7th Birthday Emma!

I did better this time, I remembered my camera!
Emma, our niece, also celebrates a birthday in January, and had a Magician come as entertainment for her party - as hokey as his magic tricks were, he was a GREAT children's entertainer. The 'magic' wasn't even the focal point really, although when Simon the rabbit appeared instead of a cake in a pan for the imaginary cake the kids all helped the magician make, it was pretty priceless!

Add some presents, balloon animals, cupcakes LOADED with icing ... oh, and LOTS of SCREAMING from all the little girls and it was a l-o-u-d-l-y good time!
(On the drive home,Brad asked why girls scream so much ... Dustin told him girls overreact to things all the time and to get used to it - huh.)

Uncle Dustin loved the noise!;)

Emma, with Magician Ryan, and Simon the rabbit.

Brad asked for a frog made out of balloon (we think it looks more like Yoshi) and Zach asked for a grey tiger (?) on a tree. Cool!

Disney World!

Yay! We're home! We had a great week away enjoying the parks in Disney World FL, but we all agreed that the best part of going away, is coming home again. We love where we live - yes, even with all the snow and cold- and we were all very happy to sleep in our own beds.

Tuesday, Jan. 5th was just a day of travel. We took a direct afternoon flight from Winnipeg on Westjet. Check-in was fine, although thorough. I was even interviewed by Global News about the new security that may be coming at the airports. I hadn't heard of the 'body-scan' they were talking about, so after hearing a quick run-down of what it was, I did my best to give an honest opinion without sounding too stupid. A friend recorded it (I texted our moms and a few friends after to watch it for us) so I'll get to see my 5 seconds of fame yet. Apparently there was a shot of the whole family on tv too. Dustin did his best to look very busy with the Custom's card he was filling out. He's a little camera shy I guess;)


We arrived at the Pop Century Resort in Disney World at about 11 pm our time (10 pm their time) and unpacked and went to bed. We were already getting the idea of how cool the weather was just from that little walk from the main building to our room. Brrr!

Wednesday we were off to Magic Kingdom. We all had our butts in gear and were at the park a few minutes before it opened! We'd never seen the performance done just to open the park and thought it was kinda fun.
It was a COLD day, with a sharp wind - not at all what we'd expected. We were all in jeans and sweatshirts, but it wasn't keeping us warm enough, so we did a lot of indoor things.
We met characters, took in just about every show, and rode pretty well every ride. Seriously a great day!

(running into the park - one of the first ones in that day!)

(we met Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella. Here we all are with Cinderella)

Thursday was Animal Kingdom, and we dressed warmer for it. We layered multiple sweatshirts, over long-sleeved tees, over regular tees. We had a much better day dressed this way. Again, we met characters, saw shows, and enjoyed looking around shops. Dustin even convinced Brad to ride Mount Everest with him! Brad did NOT enjoy it and didn't want to do it again, but he earned the toy Yeti Dustin promised him just for going on it once.

(Zach and his FAVOURITE character! He was SO happy to meet Pluto!)

Friday we went to Epcot. It was a cloudy, misty day, but we were able to do everything we wanted to do anyway. We all road Test Track, did Mission to Mars and all the other rides there. We walked all around the pavilions as well - although no characters were out with the wet weather. Later in the day, the mist stopped and we were able to meet a few before we left for the day.

(in Viking hats at the Norwegian pavilion)

Saturday was probably the coldest day there, plus it rained it the morning. We got smart and used our pj pants as long-johns under our jeans and wore as many layers as possible for tops.
We decided to go back to Magic Kingdom and save Hollywood Studios for the nicer weather in the forecast.
This was the day I got to meet TINKERBELL! She's my favourite character and I was thrilled that all my men didn't make too much fuss over the wait to meet her in 'Pixie Hollow'. Especially since they'd already waited to meet Princesses with me on Wednesday when we'd been at Magic Kingdom.

(Jelly Belly beans! We always hit this candy store in Magic Kingdom and the boys pick out their favourite flavours. Root Beer, Lemon Lime, and Bubble Gum.)

Sunday we went to Hollywood Studios. The sun was out, and it warmed up enough that we were able to peel off some of the layers. It was still way below the normal temps for Florida, but it was nice to have the sun feel warm on our faces.
The boys were super brave and rode Rockin' Roller Coaster with us. We had to shove napkins into Zach's shoes to gain the 1/2" in height he lacked. I carried him piggy-back to the ride thinking that walking on a wad of napkins couldn't be all that comfortable.
The verdict on the ride -Dustin and I LOVED it; my eyes were tearing from the speed! The boys -hated it! It actually became a threat when they bickered non stop later that day - we would make them do it again if they didn't stop. It worked like a charm, instantly quiet kids!;)

(stopping to pad Zach's shoes with folded napkins!)

(in a Rockin' wig in the gift shop!)

Monday we went back to Epcot and enjoyed everything again, this time without the mist.
We were able to ride Soarin' this time, a big attraction we'd run out of time for the last day we were there. We also spent some time in the Innovations buildings ... it was something we'd always run past without looking much at, but there's some pretty cool stuff in there! Brad and Dustin designed their own virtual roller-coaster and then went into a simulator and rode it!

(a test car outside the Test Track ride)

(Finding Nemo - literally)

(in the Innovations Building)

Tuesday we checked out of the hotel in the morning and went back to Hollywood Studios until we had to catch the bus to the airport in the late afternoon. Dustin rode Rockin' Roller Coaster, but we couldn't convince the boys to do it again. I told them they didn't have to if they would let me take a picture of them in the "rocker hair" wigs in the gift shop. Obviously they had no problem with that, so I sat out from the ride with them.
We took in a drawing class at the Animation Studio. It was a 20 minute 'how-to' type class with an animation artist. We all had paper and pencils and a lighted table and went step-by-step through the creation of Mickey's head. Brad was all over this since he loves (and is quite gifted at) drawing!
We met Russel, Doug, and Mr. Fredrickson from the new movie Up... and Frozone and Mr. Incredible too.
After lunch, we all agreed that the drawing class was the best thing we'd done there that we all liked, so we went and did it again. This time we learnt to draw 'angry' Donald. Very fun!







After looking around the shops some more, finding birthday presents for my niece and nephew, and some trinkets for home, we headed back to the hotel to grab our bags from their storage area, and then we were off to Orlando International Airport to come home.
It was another good flight, coming in around 11:30 pm. My inlaws came and picked us up (so nice to get into a warm vehicle!!) and we were home around 1am.

The boys were off to school this morning (at first recess, we let them sleep in!) and Dustin and I unpacked and went grocery shopping. Once the laundry is done, it'll all be back to normal ...
soon I can start scrapbooking my pictures!!

Anyway, that was our week - we figured we walked a good 30kms over the week, so even though we were eating fried foods and sweets the whole time, I didn't gain an ounce. Now I just need to keep up the walking with eating healthier foods and it'll be really good! lol!

I hope to post more pics on Facebook yet ... just don't have time today. Hope you enjoyed a rehashing of our trip:)

Suitcases

Today is the hardest part of going on vacation. Well, the second hardest for sure. It's the day where I have to pack up, fit it all into suitcases, and hope I remembered everything. The actual hardest day is the first day home when we're out of groceries and clean clothes!

I'm not complaining though, not by any means!! A full week of not cooking, cleaning or doing laundry?! I'll pack enough for months if it means I can get out of that!

The boys are beyond excited - bringing me every Disney related trinket they own and asking if they can bring it with. I think they understand that we can't bring everything we own, but the Disney stuff is an exception. So I've got all their pins, hats, and badges in the suitcase. Their stuffed Mickeys, Plutos and Donalds wedged between pjs and socks.
Normally I'd have some of their stuff in a carry on, but with the security as strict as it is now, and the zero carry-on rule, we're settling for video games and the tvs on the plane to entertain them.

Dustin has faithfully been checking the FL forecast all week, so we've got an idea of what the season has been doing lately... he wakes me every morning with a beaming smile that it's 15 degrees in Florida today - while it's -35 here! Wow, can't wait to get out of the cold!

Anyway, I'm killing time writing this - procrastination is not normally a gift of mine, but I'm dragging my heels today with everything... guess I need to get a move on.

Hope you all have a wonderful week, whatever it brings. I'll be posting pics and more in a week or so!