A Dream Come True...and a Little Pixie Dust

Because of Disney's sheer size it doesn't matter where you stay...no matter what, buses and monorails are going to be a part of the experience.  Thankfully, Disney has it down to a science and makes it as easy as possible.  Each hotel has a shuttle to whatever Disney location you want to visit...and with our park hopper tickets you could visit them all everyday if you wanted!  This time we had only one goal: "Magic Kingdom or Bust"!

Waiting for the bus!  Can you feel their excitement...they had NO idea what they were really in for!!

 Just a short bus ride stands between us and the 'real' castle.

Walking up to the gates Hannah was talking up a storm about the castle and the Princesses...I don't really know what she was talking about at this particular moment, but she looks so stinkin' cute!

We walked in the gates at probably the worst possible time. Planning fail #1. It was right at the tail end their "Celebrate a Dream Come True" parade and it was complete chaos.  Despite the excessive noise, immovable crowds of people and lovable Disney characters dancing in the streets, I managed to push our way to the center of town square so the girls could have this view:

 And their reactions to seeing it for the first time...

 

I wish I could have bottled it. Pure wonder and joy. Truly magical.

Once the parade ended, we took a stroll down Main street...with about 10,000 of our closest friends ;) The girls were so overwhelmed by everything that they didn't know what to think!  A photo opp was not at the top of their list, but I forced the issue anyway.  How can you go to Disney and not get a family shot in front of the castle??  Maybe next time we go Hannah can look like she is enjoying herself ;)

Daddy and Alyssa in front of the iconic Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse Statue...that sky doesn't even look real, does it?!?!?!

 Grandpa and Hannah taking in the sights.  What should we do first...

 Meet a princess, of course!! Waiting in line to meet Merida!!  

Our very first princess meet and greet!

Merida was really nice and she had a cool accent ;)  The girls really liked her, but they were really shy.  I think they were still just in awe that we were finally here!

 She is a real princess...

 Look what Merida gave me!!

 

 Trying to get a PhotoPass picture with the castle behind us...

Mission Accomplished:

I wish I knew what Alyssa was looking at in this picture!

After taking a look at the castle and meeting Merida it was time for dinner.  I had made reservations at Crystal Palace so we could be right in the Magic Kingdom for the first night...and, as luck would have it, we had a stunning view of the Castle from our table.  Crystal Palace is a buffet and character dining experience with Winnie the Pooh and Friends. The food was pretty good and, even though the girls don't really like Pooh, Alyssa had fun with the characters.  Hannah was pretty nervous (and tired since they had already been up for 13 hours by this point...with NO nap), but warmed up to them as the night went on.  Each one visited our table during our meal.  They signed our autograph books and posed for pictures.   

 Alyssa was right behind Eeyore for the 'parade' around the restaurant...Hannah refused to participate :)

After dinner we were all getting really tired...it had been a loooooooong day.  We decided it would be better to not any rides, or even show them Fantasy Land, until we could back more rested. Instead, we made a quick trip to Pixie Hollow, which Hannah had seen right before dinner, so the girls could meet Tinkerbell.  We also got to meet Rosetta.  It was so sweet...it is definitely in the top 10 memories of the whole trip.

Rosetta asked them if she could name some flowers in her garden after them ;)  She cute how they stay in character no matter what.

Tinkerbell was awesome. She really took her time signing the girls books and talking with them.  Dan was even captivated.  When we first saw her he said, "I can't believe how much she looks like her!"  Ummm...that is because it is her ;)

Tinkerbell was Hannah's first 'favorite' Disney character. This is what it looks like when you meet someone for the first time that you have only seen in movies and read about in books.  Melts my heart!

After meet the fairies we called it a night.  Sweaty and tired we caught the shuttle to Pop Century.  Back at the hotel, it took no time at all to get them to fall asleep.  Good thing, because we had to be up early for extra magic hours at Animal Kingdom...  

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

After a year of waiting and planning (well, really a little over 6 years, since I have planning this in my head since Alyssa was born), it finally came...time to leave for Disney World!!

Our flight was at 8:30am so we had to be up pretty early to finish packing the last minute necessities, eat a quick breakfast and get to the airport in enough time to wait through the security check point.  It wasn't hard to wake them up at all.  They were so excited...and so were we!!  Not only were we going to Disney World, it was also the first time they have ever flown.  Kevin dropped us off at the airport where we met up with Grandma and Grandpa!

I bought these Princess Mickey ears online and had their names embroidered on the back.  My plan was for them to wear the in the airport and at the parks since Mickey ears are an iconic souvenir and they were a fraction of the park cost at home.  However, they wore them for about 3 minutes while we were loading up the car and then never put them on again.  Glad I didn't pay full price! But, the are still cute and maybe they will wear them on on next visit...

 Grandma and Grandpa Miller bought the girls Princess suitcases for the trip!

 At the airport, waiting for our plane at the gate!  A friend of mine made the girls the Minnie headbands they are wearing...they wore those a lot!!

 Alyssa and grandpa waiting to board.

 Daddy and Hannah...they look so much alike!

Passing time with mommy and daddy's iPhones.  I don't know how parents traveled before the digital age, but I am thankful I don't have too :)

We flew from here to Atlanta and then connected to Orlando from there.  The layover was a little frustrating trying to find gf food for Alyssa in the airport, but both flights went smoothly.  I wasn't really too worried, but I was little surprised at how much the girls loved flying!  Way more than Dan and I do ;) 

Once we landed in Orlando, we hopped on the Magical Express and before we knew it we were pulling up at the hotel.  We stayed at the Pop Century resort, one of Disney's 'value accommodations'.  Besides the price, there wasn't much that would make you think it was 'value' priced.  It was really nice and the service was excellent (more on that later).  Our travel agent had told her hotel that it was the girls first visit, so they had a red carpet and lots of bubbles there to greet them when we got off the bus.  Very nice touch!

The hotel was based on a celebration of Pop Culture so they had a time line of past decades that ran the entire wall in the lobby displaying popular items from each year.  This is from the year Dan and I were born...any guess which year it was by the stuff displayed??

 Apparently there were curlers in 80's called 'Benders'.  Who knew ;)

 Giant Mickey right in front of our building!  You took the elevator to Mickey's butt and our room was on the left ;)

Facing Mickey was a larger-than-life Foosball court and a giant Big Wheel that stood 4 stories high!  To give you an idea of size, if I were standing next to the 'players' my head would be just under the bottom of their shorts... 

After we checked in and got our 'keys to the world', we took our stuff to the room, grabbed some essentials and headed to the shuttle for the Magic Kingdom.  It had been a long day of travel, but the girls couldn't wait any longer.  Let me memories begin...

We Color Ran

Emily and Brittney somehow talked Dan and I into running the Color Run 5k with them.  I don't like running - obviously since I bailed on the half Marathon last Fall, but this one sounded fun.  While you run the throw different colored powder at you so you are a rainbow of colors by the end.  It is called the 'happiest 5k on the planet'...and who couldn't use more happy?

The race itself wasn't much of a 'race'.  There were so many people that the color stations got backed up so it was virtually impossible to run.  Not only that, my hip started to really hurt about a mile in so we ran/walked most of the course.  It was still fun.  Next year if we do it again, we will bring the girls and give them white shirts and tutus.

Here we are before the race: Me, Brittney, Emily, Kaylee and Jessica. Dan is in the background...

 Dan and Kevin...it was Kevin's birthday!

 Awe, we matched :)

After

VBS

My new favorite summer activity is Vacation Bible School.  Our church doesn’t host one so I have never actually enrolled them in one before this year. Not sure why…just never thought about it, I guess.  But this year I signed them up for three different programs around Gahanna. 

It. Was. AWESOME. 

The girls absolutely LOVED every minute of it and couldn’t wait for each one to start.  It warms my heart to know that they are excited and enjoying hearing the Word of God. There is such innocence and holiness about the way the approach the truth of the Gospel. It is just simple, uncomplicated good news about how much we are loved. It is no wonder why Jesus tells us receive the kingdom of God like a child...  

Dan thought I might be pushing it signing them up for three.  I think it was a blessing.  They were free. We get a few hours of time to ourselves.  The girls get to have a blast and learn about Jesus. Everybody wins!

No BOYS allowed!

This sign has been on the girls playroom since we moved here almost 3 years ago (Can you believe it has been 3 years already?!?!?!):

While I was getting the girls dressed tonight after showers this is the conversation we had about the above referenced sign.

Alyssa: I really wish that sign was on my bedroom door.

Me: Why, babe?

Alyssa: Just to remind myself when I get older that I don't want to have boys in my room. I don't want to forget that.

Me: Don't worry, sweet pea, WE won't let you forget!!

Hannah: Yeah, me too!  And, I decided that I am not going to like JD (her preschool crush) anymore.  I just don't want to play with boys.

You just can't make this stuff up.  I will be bringing them back to this conversation it about 10 years...

Holy Hot-ness!!

I don't know what happened to Spring this year, but we skipped straight to summer.  And not just any summer...one with record breaking temperatures.  It has been a scorcher, with temperatures up to 105*+ with humidity.  Air conditioners can hardly keep up and it is certainly waaaaaay too hot to go anywhere or do anything unless you are at the pool.  Just so happens we have one near by ;)
 

Until now, swimming hasn’t been that fun for us because both the girls were so scared of the water.  But it is becoming one of our favorite past times.

In the last two weeks we have watched Alyssa go from being deathly afraid of having water in her face and clinging to a floaty, to swimming around like a fish mermaid.  It started because a friend put on a pair of goggles and put her face in the water…that must have really gotten to her because within an hour she was a full-fledged ‘big girl’ swimmer. Isn’t it is amazing what peer pressure can do?!?!?! ;) She goes underwater, jumps off the side, rides the side, and does flips.  It is a complete 180* change.  Now it is nearly impossible to get this little fish out of the water.  And, to be honest, she is actually a natural. Every time she is in the pool, she teachers herself something new.  Her ability and form amaze me since she has yet to take a formal lesson.

Hannah, on the other hand, is where Alyssa was last year.  She likes the water…for a little while, but only from the steps or safely inside a floaty.  She still refuses to get her head wet or go under water, but I know it is coming soon. In fact, tonight she let Dan show her she can touch the bottom of the pool when she is standing up….just barely, but enough to give her some confidence.  Since she is so limited on what you can do from the steps, she get bored quickly and her pool time is short lived.  By next summer they will be swimming laps around us in the pool!