Thursday, October 30thWell, the time had come. It was time for the Mommy & me trip to Disney World. Bailey and I were going to meet up with Khrissy and Hunter for a 4 night trip to the most magical place on earth. Khrissy had to attend a conference in the morning so we decided to take two different flights. Daddy brought us to the airport. Bailey and I left Houston at 10:30 am and got to Orlando at 1 pm (gaining an hour on the way). We caught the Magical Express and headed to Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, our home away from home. Once we had settled in, we
decided to go to Epcot so Bailey could ride Nemo and Friends. We spent about 4 hours there and then decided to go back to the hotel and see if our luggage had been delivered. It had and Bailey got a quick bath. We also had a nice Halloween special delivery from Daddy waiting in our room. It was a nice surprise with goodies for all. After our bath, we anxiously awaited for Khrissy and Hunter to get to the hotel - which they finally did about 9 pm. We visited for a while and then we all decided it was time to go to sleep since we had a breakfast reservation in the morning.
Friday, October 31st
Happy Halloween!!! Bailey had decided that she would be Minnie Mouse for Halloween daytime and Belle for the party this evening. She was so cute.
This morning we had to get up bright and early so that we could
have breakfast with Mary Poppins and Alice (from Alice in Wonderland) at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. That required multiple modes of transportation. Of course, we were about 20 minutes late. Luckily, they took us anyway and we had a great breakfast. Bailey did fairly well with the characters as most of them were "real". She was fine taking a picture with Pooh but declined Tigger's request. After breakfast, we headed to the Magic Kingdom until about 2 pm.
When we got back to the hotel, we thought it would be a good idea to take a break and swim. The pool was soooo cold! None of us lasted very long.
We all went back to the room to get ready for the Halloween party. Bailey was Belle, Hunter was Superman, and Khrissy and I were matching clowns. (Our original intent was to be Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum but we couldn't make it as perfect as I wanted so we modified it. However, some people actually did think we were Tweedle Dee and Dum so it was actually kind of funny.) Once we were all ready, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Bailey was pooped and had fallen asleep on the bus before the party ever started. However, she quickly woke up and we had a great time at the party. The kids got lots of candy and we rode all the great rides. The parade was wonderful! Both kids stayed awake for that but quickly fell asleep after. They were both asleep before we hit the exit. It was a great way to spend Halloween!
Saturday, November 1stToday we decided to sleep in a bit and then head to the Animal Kingdom. The highlight of the day was Bailey had officially decided she was no longer scared of the "good" characters. She took pictures with everyone. I don't know if it just took 6 more months or if seeing Hunter do it made her want to be "brave". She made us stop for almost everyone she saw. It was so much fun. I
really regretted Jason did not get to see that.
We left Animal Kingdom when it closed at 5 pm and headed to Downtown Disney to do some shopping. Khrissy was left in charge of the kids first while I went shopping. We thought we'd let them play in the fountains. Needless to say, they got soaked and needed new clothes and shoes. Thank goodness Disney sells stuff like that! With all honesty, that probably was their most favorite part of the day. They had so much fun.
After shopping, we headed to Planet Hollywood for dinner. We were quickly seated. However, I was the party pooper and made us leave. It was so very loud in there we could barely talk. I felt like I was in a night club. I was getting very nervous and uncomfortable. Luckily, Khrissy is so understanding and we decided pizza delivered to the room would be the best bet. We caught the bus and headed back for the most perfect dinner yet - all of us watching Tinker Bell in our PJs on the pull out couch. It doesn't get better than that.
Sunday, November 2ndWe once again decided to sleep in. We woke up and went to Disney's Hollywood Studios for our 11:30 am lunch reservation at the 50s Prime Time Diner - one of my favorites. Right when we walked in, the High School Musical 3 pep rally was starting so we watched that for a minute and browsed in some of the shops. It was then time for lunch - which was yummy.
After lunch, we decided to go to the new ride, Toy Story Mania. Unfortunately, the fast passes were sold out and the wait was 90 minutes. Needless to say, we didn't get to see that one this trip. We moved on to the Ariel show - where Bailey and I had a "I have to go potty right now" incident like 10 minutes before show time. You've never seen a pregnant woman run so fast or a bathroom seem so far away. Luckily, we made it back right as they were letting folks into the theater. That was our one and only adventure in Disney's Hollywood Studios as we decided the kids would have more fun on their last evening at Magic Kingdom taking advantage of the Extra Magic Hours (meaning the park being open until 11 pm).
Once again, we arrived at Magic Kingdom. Bailey was all brave again and rode the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 times. The last time she even held her arms up on the drop like the other big kids. After doing most of the rides in Adventureland, we went to have dinner at The Pinocchio Village Haus. It serves pizza and it's pretty good pizza in my opinion - hence, why we ate there twice this weekend. After our dinner, the kids wanted to do different things on their last night so we
decided to split up. Bailey wanted to meet Ariel and ride Dumbo - which was quickly spoiled by the fireworks going off as we rode. After Dumbo, I wanted to ride The Haunted Mansion but was worried how Bailey would do. She was determined to be brave and said she wanted to go. She did not once cry or bury her head in my shoulder. She did hold tightly to her lap bar. After the ride, she said she liked it. I'm not so sure but she was a trooper. I told her we could ride three more rides. She picked Snow White's Scary Adventure, Peter Pan's Flight, and the Carousel (in that order). It was time to call it a night. Bailey was asleep before we hit Main Street so I took the opportunity to do a little shopping in the Emporium.
When we finally got back to the hotel, Bailey was still asleep so she missed her balloons and signed pictured delivered to the room by Ariel. Since Khrissy and Hunter were still not back, I changed her and began packing. I suddenly realized I had bought too much stuff - as always - and began to plot how I was going to get it back to Houston especially since I still had two bags of stuff to pick up Monday morning at the store. Oh, well. I would ponder that tomorrow morning.
Monday, November 3rdToday I got up and went to get my two bags at the store and rushed back to finish packing. Luckily, I only had one large Disney bag to carry on. I have no idea how it all fit but it did.
We caught the Magical Express at 9:30 am and headed back to the airport. We checked in for our flight and stopped for brunch at Chick-Fil-A. It was then time to head to the airplane - which had just started boarding when we got there. We left Orlando at 12 pm and got to Houston about 1:30 pm (getting our hour back of course). Bailey was great on both plane rides and I was fortunate to be in a row with friendly people.
Khrissy was nice enough to give us a ride home. Bailey and Hunter were both asleep when we got here and I was able to get her in without waking her. She took a NAP! Poor thing was so tired - the sign of a great trip. We had such a good time and I'm so glad we went. As always, back to the real world.......
be over to celebrate with Jason, Bailey, and I later this afternoon. As I sit here watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, I can't help but be reminded of all I have to be thankful for. I have a wonderful husband, family, friends, and two (almost) beautiful daughters. As I think of all I am thankful for, I hope that you do the same. Then I hope that you, like me, will eat two pieces of pie (pecan and pumpkin) with lots of Cool Whip!!!
decided to go to Epcot so Bailey could ride Nemo and Friends. We spent about 4 hours there and then decided to go back to the hotel and see if our luggage had been delivered. It had and Bailey got a quick bath. We also had a nice Halloween special delivery from Daddy waiting in our room. It was a nice surprise with goodies for all. After our bath, we anxiously awaited for Khrissy and Hunter to get to the hotel - which they finally did about 9 pm. We visited for a while and then we all decided it was time to go to sleep since we had a breakfast reservation in the morning.
Happy Halloween!!! Bailey had decided that she would be Minnie Mouse for Halloween daytime and Belle for the party this evening. She was so cute.
have breakfast with Mary Poppins and Alice (from Alice in Wonderland) at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. That required multiple modes of transportation. Of course, we were about 20 minutes late. Luckily, they took us anyway and we had a great breakfast. Bailey did fairly well with the characters as most of them were "real". She was fine taking a picture with Pooh but declined Tigger's request. After breakfast, we headed to the Magic Kingdom until about 2 pm.
really regretted Jason did not get to see that.
We left Animal Kingdom when it closed at 5 pm and headed to Downtown Disney to do some shopping. Khrissy was left in charge of the kids first while I went shopping. We thought we'd let them play in the fountains. Needless to say, they got soaked and needed new clothes and shoes. Thank goodness Disney sells stuff like that! With all honesty, that probably was their most favorite part of the day. They had so much fun.
decided to split up. Bailey wanted to meet Ariel and ride Dumbo - which was quickly spoiled by the fireworks going off as we rode. After Dumbo, I wanted to ride The Haunted Mansion but was worried how Bailey would do. She was determined to be brave and said she wanted to go. She did not once cry or bury her head in my shoulder. She did hold tightly to her lap bar. After the ride, she said she liked it. I'm not so sure but she was a trooper. I told her we could ride three more rides. She picked Snow White's Scary Adventure, Peter Pan's Flight, and the Carousel (in that order). It was time to call it a night. Bailey was asleep before we hit Main Street so I took the opportunity to do a little shopping in the Emporium.
On her actual birthday, we went to have pizza at EJ's and ice cream at Baskin-Robbins as we do every year. Uncle Christian, KG (Khrissy), and Hunter were able to join us this year. 
Later Bailey and I went to church and McDonald's with Mrs. Mary (Fischer). Once again, Bailey was spoiled with cupcakes from Mrs. Mary and the most precious butterfly Rain Coat and Umbrella. I can honestly say it is one of my favorite gifts she's ever gotten - and she would agree. She had to put it on and she asked if it would rain tomorrow. So she is anxiously awaiting the next storm.
However, we are lucky ones. Hurricane Ike reaped havoc on our trees in the backyard - one uprooted, one bent, and a large limb was taken off another one. We also found one shingle in our yard and a bent rose bush. Other than that, nothing of significance. We did have water come through our chimney but only a little bit and only briefly so we think it just had to do with the amount of water blowing into the chimney. We will definitely keep an eye on it and have it checked out before winter just to be sure but we think it's nothing. 
The reception was held at one of the bridesmaid's homes. It was a really fun event. The couple seemed so happy and everyone was in great spirits. The weather was beautiful and the rain held off. We could not have asked for a more perfect setting. Although I loved celebrating the joy of the newly married couple, my favorite part of the evening was the dancing part. Bailey found her groove on and danced for about 90 minutes. At one point, she even found a young (and I mean very young) man to be her dance partner. It was a moment I will never forget. 
After the reception, Matthew & Serene were off for a mini-honeymoon while we had a little R&R at Grandma's. Saturday evening we also had an early birthday celebration for Grandma & Uncle Jack. Sunday evening they joined us at Mom and Mark's for a steak dinner. Baby Sharp was not cooperating very well so I was a little under the weather. It was nice visiting with them once again before we left. 
