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: