Disney day 3

Moving on to the next part of our trip.

Day three - we went to Hollywood Studios on this day.  My parents and brother's family were still in town, so we all went there together.

For Finley and I, our day started out at Bippity Boppity Boutique.  If you haven't ever taken your little girl to this place, you have to go.  I took Arlington and Finley in the past, but now Arlington is too old (sob!) and this is Finley's last trip (sob!).

Mat and the kids went off to the park to join the others and my dad and I took Finley to her appointment.  They have a large room that is full of chairs and all the little girls sit and get their hair and nails done by "fairy godmothers in training".  They have choices of three different hair styles they can pick, and they are all very different.

Finley chose to be a pop princess.  You have to see it to believe it.

Anyway - Finley's fair godmother called her and pulled us into a back room.  It was weird at first, and I thought we were going somewhere to wait.  She asked if I thought Finley would like to be in a special chair in the front of the store.  She said people from Downtown Disney could look in and watch her.  Finley isn't a very brave kid, but she agreed to do it.

The little area was really cool.  We had a photographer all to ourselves, and it was peaceful.  (the salon is always crowded with family and girls, and very noisy).  The fairy godmother talked and talked to Finley the whole time.  We were up on a little stage in a little room where we had plenty of room to spread out.  Having done this experience several times in the past with the girls, this was wonderful.

Finley didn't say much while we were up there.  She did talk every once in awhile, but for the most part she was quiet and just taking it all in.

When she was finished, the fairy godmother walked her back to the store to say goodbye, so she got paraded through the store.  It was pretty cute.

Once we got to the park, we had a great time.  I really like Hollywood studios.  They have a lot of great shows and some really good rides for the kids.  And at Christmas, they have the most spectacular light show you will ever see.  The Osbourne family donated all the lights that you see, and Disney has set them all to music.  The show is amazing - it is not to be missed.

We had a great time and it was sad to say goodbye to our family at the end of the night.  I am so glad we had a chance to vacation with them for a few days!

Enjoy the pictures!

Day three's outfits!

 Finley at the Bippity Boppity Boutique:

 getting her nails painted:

 She was taking getting her makeup done very seriously:

 Let the hair crazy begin:

 I tried to take her picture from outside, but it didn't work very well:

 Time for the hair.  She had a choice of purple, pink, or rainbow:

 She chose rainbow:

 She looks like something out of the 80's here:

 Making her wish and getting her sparkles:

 Final touch up:

 She wore her Belle's Christmas dress for the event:

 Her fairy godmother was very sweet:

 I love this picture.  So sweet:

 Finley looks so tall here.  Poor fairy godmother was a petite little thing:

 Our pop princess:

 Getting ready for the Beauty and the Beast show:

 Time for some amazing lights:

 Arlington with her pins:

 Cainan watching the lights:

 Little miss prissy takes a break in baby J's stroller:

 Daddy and his princess:

 This is what all princesses look like when they take their hair down.  It isn't pretty:

 It took me about 1/2 hour to get all the stuff out of her hair:

We have returned!

We are back from vacation!  We had a really great time, and the week went by quickly.  I was sad to get on that plane yesterday leaving 80 degree weather and coming back to 29 degrees and snow on the ground.

I will start with some pictures.  I tried not to go crazy, but in the end, I ended up taking about 200.  I promise not to share them all.

This is our favorite time to spend in Disney.  When we lived in Florida, each year we would go during the month of December to enjoy the parks decorated for Christmas.  There really is nothing like it.  Everywhere you turn there are decorations, and music, and just signs of the season.  It is not to be missed.

Today I will share pictures from our first two days in Disney - the day we arrived and the first day in the parks.  I will spread out the madness so you don't get sick of the pictures.  This blog is mostly a journal for our family and a scrapbook for the grandparents, so I apologize for picture overload for the next few days.

Enjoy!

Disney Day 1 - We arrived in Disneyworld at 12pm.  It was a beautiful day right from the start.  We got on the bus to our hotel, and unpacked.  We stayed at Port New Orleans Riverside - it was a beautiful hotel.

Then we decided to go to Downtown Disney to look around and get something to eat.  The kids had a great time running from store to store.  We ate in a restaurant called T-Rex, which reminded me a lot of The Rainforest Cafe.  We stayed until around 6pm, and then it started to get chilly, so we came back to the hotel.

 They were toasting marshmallows around a fire there, so the kids did that and played at the nearby playground until it was time for bed.  A good way to start our vacation!

Here are some pictures:  Oh, and a few disclaimers. I didn't take our good camera - it is too heavy.  So the pictures are subpar.  And Finley didn't wear her regular glasses much - it was a lot of hassle for the little bit we spent indoors.  They don't correct her vision - just help block some light, so we didn't bother all the time.


Here is Finley on the bus to the hotel:

 Finley and Arlington on the boat to Downtown Disney:

 Cainan on the boat:

 Eating at the T-Rex restaurant.

 Cainan in the lego store with lego Woody and Buzz.  He was in heaven in this store:

 Arlington and a lego girl:

 Finley and a Lego girl.  She loved touching all the legos:

Day Two - First day in the Magic Kingdom.

We were up bright and early and ready to start our week in the parks!  We met my parents and my brother AJ, my sister in law Tricia, and their two boys E and J for the day.  They had been in Disney since Friday, and we were glad we were overlapping some days so we could be together.  Cainan was very excited to see his cousin "E".  He doesn't get much boy time at our house, so it was nice to have a pal.

The kids had a great time.  It wasn't very crowded (we have seen it worse) and the park was open until 11pm for people staying on Disney property, so it was a nice long day in the park.  Only Mat and Arlington made it until 11pm, but the littles made it until 9:30, which wasn't bad for them.  We rode every ride!

Enjoy the pictures!

Cainan and "E":

 Finley and her Papa:

 Finley on "It's a Small World" ride:

 Where these two boys belong:

 Finley and Cainan on The Flying Carpet Ride:

 Cainan on the Carousel:

Finley and Cainan tried to pull the sword out:

 Finley really wanted that sword:

 The grandparents with their grandchildren:

 Finley riding the People Mover:

 The whole park was decorated and the castle looked amazing.  It was draped with lights that made it look like ice: