Tips for a Successful Trip to Disney World

• Take Craig to keep you on track and on schedule. He does wake up calls at 6:30 so you can be at the gates before they open.

• Take Craig to run back and forth across the park acquiring 'fastpasses' and timing them just right so you are taking full advantage of every fastpass and not missing a ride. (Craig made sure every person got to ride every ride!)

• Go with Uncle Brad if you consider sleeping in and getting massages a vacation.

• Don't let the 2 year old play with the I-phone. He will set some self-destruction code and most of your pictures will be lost
  
• If the dinner menu has 2 $$ next to it indicating the price range - know that you will have to make a trip to a bookie to get more cash to pay for the dinner. (I can't imagine the price of a 3 $$$ restaurant) and they still charge you for the kids who fell asleep on their plate waiting for dinner!



• It does get cold in Florida - Hence the color coded outfitted to easily track the crew were useless. I needed colored coded down parka's!

• Taking a capable, good-natured Aunt Stacy along is a must!

Make sure that the 'ink thing' they put on clothes before you buy them is removed before you take them on vacation, or else you have to wear a plastic ink tag or inked up clothing for the entire trip

• Taking the 6 am flight home after a crazy week will torture all those on the flight with you.


• People look at you annoyed (because you have the most kids) when the people in front of you get their car seat stuck in the security x-ray machine at the airport and it backs up the line an extra 20 minutes(and then they go off and leave it behind anyway)


• NOt waking Anna up for Breakfast is big a mistake.




• Belle is really picky about her hair - we had to wait about 10 minutes when the previous visitors touched her hair - she had to make sure she was still 'picture perfect' (she was down right panicked! It was very interesting)

  
• 'Where are all the princes anyway?' Kaid wanted to know.


• Really the Little Einsteins and Jojo's Circus were a bigger hit than any old princess anyway


• Bekah will blush when getting Peter Pan's autograph.



Anna will make herself sick with worry and start shaking everytime she gets in line for a roller coaster - then will beg to go again!



When in line for a roller coast make sure you know how many times you will be going upside down 'just so Anna can prepare herself'.'


• Remember where you parked your car because it will be raining on the day you can't find it. And your husband will not be happy with you (Funny we were parked in parking lot Happy 31)


• The Bugs Life 3-D movie was really cool
When the kids say there are barf bags on a ride - believe them it is for a reason.


• If there is an open stroller - Anna will occupy it!

  

Of course I could give helpful hints in regard to obese adults waiting in line for the ride geared to the 2-5 year old, or the married couples walking around with their mickey ear veil and top hat and holes in the rear end of their pants or trips to crispy cream (in an effort to save time) and getting to watch very loud, verbal, and physical break ups - but, you'll have to just go yourselves and come up with your own list of tips! I know that the pictures don't match the info - but hey you get what you get. And these are the pictures we ended up not losing.

History in the Making!

If you know Anna you know she is not a sleeper. She is not a morning person. She is a night owl through and through and seems to need an annoyingly little amount of sleep. She when I went in to check on the kids and found this - you can only imagine my astonishment! It is only 7:00 pm. AND the boys are still awake. Of course it took getting up at 2:30 in the morning and traveling half way around the country to make this happen -but hey history is history!

Top 5

For Bekah's birthday she was given the chance to swim with the dolphins at discovery cove. Today she fulfilled her dream! Her list of the top 5 (or 6)

1. swimming with the dolphins

2. the bird aviary (eeeewwww! this is why I opted out!!)

3. lunch (a free cafeteria style?)

4. the stingrays

5. the lazy river

6. the fish

It was really cold the entire time we were in florida, this was the warmest day we were there. You can see how cold Bekah was, but she still had a great time. I personally find it fascinating that lunch was in the top 3 on her list. Craig found it fascinating that Bekah was actually scared of the fish. Hmmm - interesting...

Likey vs. Lovey

Well, after a successful trip to Colorado and back, the lovey was lost at Disney world. Sniff sniff. We made 4 different trips to the lost and found (at the big kids suggestion) and the nice lady checked four different times for purple/gray really dirty lovey. It was not found so we made a trip to the wal mart and let lexsie pick out a new one - which the big kids renamed a 'likey' because she really doesn't love it like the old one. Then, we spent the 2 days before flying home trying to convince lex that she could love the new 'likey.' In the mean time Lexsie decided she like Quinn's blankie the next best and so for the remainder of the trip Lexsie squealed at Quinn to give it to her which of course he was not about to do... Of course we checked lost and found one last time - no lovie. But we are slowing growing fond of a brand new - green - and clean 'likey!'

OK - How long since Halloween? Does anyone else have this much candy still sitting around? And what on earth do you do with it? I really just want to throw it all away, but that seems so wasteful!

I hope this isn't a new christmas tradition

We made our annual trip to let the kids pick out their christmas ornament for the year, we even planned it around when Craig would be home for the evening so he could go with us. Of course I could have gone by myself and I would have done a great job getting everyone a 'just right' ornament, but that would be no fun! As we are leaving I am standing talking to the kids and getting them situated when I look back to Craig (and how I wish I had a camera!) He was sound asleep! Standing there leaning on a cart in Target, he was out! This just had to be documented for history sake! Needless to say - I drove home.