The tornados at rest

We used to call Allison our 'little tornado'. She no longer destroys everything within her path, but she still definitely has a lot of spunk. Harley definitely has his known tornado tendencies too. It's always nice document the moments of peace and quiet for those of you who are unbelievers. :)

These two pictures are pretty much the same, but I had to play with different focus points. Can't decide which one I like better, so I'm posting both.

Allie's 2!

Allison turned TWO a week ago. We took her to Build A Bear and she got a bunny and Matthew got a dog. Allison was mostly excited about all the clothes in the store (not a very good sign for the future since Mommy doesn't like to shop...with the exception of craft stores or Costco). Matthew helped her open her presents. He said, 'That looks like a big job for Allison. I think she needs my help."

Allison putting the heart in her bunny.



I know this looks completely posed, but they did it all on their own.

Disney Cruise

Our Disney cruise was so fun!

We loved the shows at night. All of them were great and had things to entertain us and the kids. Allison sat through all of the shows and that is saying something because she rarely sits still for anything.
The characters. We saw a lot of characters just like Disney World. They loved it. I have a lot of pictures and will spare from posting a ton of them, but here are a couple of my favorite. I love this one with Allison & my Mom. Allison had no idea Chip was behind her. She was VERY excited when she turned around to see him.


The deck parties were fun. We went to the Sail Away party, a Pirates night party where they lit off fireworks & also a pool party.

Sail Away party.
Matthew playing with his cousins.


My niece & brother.
Mickey stopped during a march at the pool party & waved at Allison.Matthew & Allison with Pirate Mickey on Pirate night.Allison with Pirate Minnie.
Matthew & Allison LOVED the pool & water toys.
Matthew even went down the big slide. That is something I was very surprised that he did, but I think he did because he saw his cousins do it.

The dinners were really nice. It was a chance for the whole group to be together. Our waiters were awesome. The grandkids sat at their own table (except Allie), which was nice because we adults could visit.

Our assistant waiter did a trick for Allison each night that she thought was amazing. He would draw a circle on the tablecloth, grab a crayon, tap the crayon three times and then hide it behind his ear. Allison thought that the crayon disappeared. Then he'd do it again & bring the crayon back. She was amazed. She would then try tapping, but didn't understand why it wouldn't disappear.

Matthew thought the towel animals that our stewart made every night were pretty cool.
It was a great chance for the kids to see and get to know their cousins better (just wish Greg & Em & their kids could have been there too!).
Our ports of call were Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, & Castaway Cay.

Key West we walked around the town & explored & found the yummy Key Lime candy store that Dave's brother had told us about.
In Grand Cayman, we took a tour that took us to the turtle farm (we also saw the dolphin encounter next door), Hell, & the Rum Cake factory. Our tour guide was very good & it was fun for my Mom to come along with us. Every one else went and played with the stingrays & the beach that day.
In Cozumel, we took a drive along the coastline & saw A LOT of this. Very pretty, but not 2 1/2 hours worth, with kids.

Our favorite stop was Castway Cay. It was the perfect beach ever. We played on the beach, went snorkeling & went for a bike ride.


A couple of pics from snorkeling:

It amazes me where kids can sleep...Matthew made the full bike ride around the trail. We weren't sure if he'd make it the whole way, but he was a trooper and had fun.

Walt Disney World Trip Part 1

So, I'm finally am going to post about our trip. We had a great time. This may take a few posts, we'll see how much I can get to tonight.

Day 1: We went to the Magic Kingdom in the morning & then Epcot in the afternoon. We saw a lot of characters and went on some rides.


Matthew was so excited to see the characters he was jumping up and down with a huge grin on his face.


Us at Epcot:


We ate an early dinner with Chip, Dale, Mickey & Pluto at Epcot. The food was awesome, the only problem was that the kids were too excited to eat! Here's a picture of Matthew looking around the booth to see who was coming next.



By the end of the day Allison gave up & finally fell asleep. We were able to take turns going on Fast Track. A VERY fun ride!

Day 2:
It was pouring for the most of the day, but it kept the crowds down so there weren't many people out & we were able to walk right onto stuff. Luckily, the kids handled the rain just fine and we had fun.
That morning we ate breakfast at Donald's Safari at the Animal Kingdom.

Allison at breakfast. No, Daisy isn't trying to eat her... I think. It was supposed to be a kiss.


After breakfast, we walked right onto their safari ride. I took lots of pics, but will spare you and only share one.

We dried off in their conservation building. Yup, Dave is drenched. I know that this picture may seem odd. Yup, that's them with a garbage can. But notice Allison reaction is not a normal reaction to a garbage can. It was a moving & talking garbage can. It talked to Matthew for awhile and asked him questions. Matthew thought it was really cool. Allison wasn't sure what to think about it.

Because it was raining, we were able to walk right up to the characters and spend quite a bit of time with them. The cutest part was when Allison left Pluto and Goofy. She kept turning around and saying Bye Bye Pluto, Bye Bye Goofy and waving to them. Then they'd wave back at her since there wasn't any one else in line for them to meet. They did it all the way down the walk way until we were out of sight.
The weather started to clear up by late afternoon & we headed over to Hollywood Studios. Matthew got to meet Mater & Lighting, which he of course LOVED.

We watched their stunt show. Allison now says 'Cars go Boom' whenever she sees a car.

It was fun to be there before Christmas (and the Christmas crowds). The Osmond light show there was amazing.
If you've made it this far, I'm impressed. Here's the last day of WWD. We spent the whole day at the Magic Kingdom. We were able to get into the park about an hour early due to our breakfast time. It was fun to actually take some pictures without a million other people by you.
We had breakfast with Pooh Bear, Tigger, Piglet & Eeyore.

Matthew & Allison thought Tigger was hilarious. He took Matthew's fork & flipped it with his hand. And then he tried again with his nose and it hit Tigger in the face. Matthew was laughing SO hard...
We went on a lot of kid's rides. Allison was scared by some, but complete enthralled at the same time. This picture of her on the Pooh Bear ride captures it all.
So, sorry for all the food pictures, but the kids really did have fun seeing & eating with the characters. Here's a few from our dinner with Chip, Dale, Minnie, Mickey & Pluto.


And at last, the castle light up with Christmas lights that night. It was amazing.


Well, there it is. All you wanted to know (& didn't care to know) & much much more. We loved it there & had just as much fun on our Disney cruise afterwards. That post will be next, but NOT tonight!