let's go to the movies

Guess where we went tonight? This picture might give it away. :)

When the first commercial came out advertising Toy Story 3, I knew I wanted to take Chica. For her first "official" trip to the movies, what could be better to see than that? When I found the shirt, I brought it home and explained what it was for. She talked about her "Movie Shirt" for the next week.

The icing on the cake was when Sarah P. gave her a Jessie doll. She couldn't get over how her cowgirl matched the one on her shirt.
She loves this doll and uses her braid to swing Jesse around.

My face would look like this too if I was carried around by my hair.

We loaded up my purse with snacks and stuffed some dinner in there too. A family passed us in the parking lot and commented on our hidden food. I asked them not to snitch and they said they just stowed McDonalds in their diaper bag. Movie or no movie, it was dinner time!

Big Girl was nervous to enter the theater. The previews had begun and they were loud and intense. At the end of every one she announced (very loudly) that she was ready to see the movie on her shirt. Once it began, I wasn't sure we were going to make it. She was doing play by play commentary for the whole theater to hear.

"LOOK! IT'S THE HORSE ON MY SHIRT!"

"WHAT ARE THEY DOING UP THERE MOMMY??"

"I WANT SOME SNACKS, MOMMY!"

But about 20 minutes into it, the newness wore off and she settled into the storyline. And what a cute plot it was! She told me twice she needed to go to the bathroom and each time we exited the theater she said, "I like this movie Mommy!" She repeated it about 16 times throughout the rest of the movie too.

I will warn you, if you go see this, take your tissues. I was boo-hooing at the end and Dan said he couldn't believe a movie about toys made him so sad. As the credits rolled, I wiped off my face and we loaded up our family's buffet. As we headed for the parking lot Chica declared, "I want to see that movie again!"

If she mentions it enough, her Daddy might give in and take her for an encore performance because it was so good.

As long as there are plenty of snacks.

my jumping banshee

On our recent trip to the homeland, Reesie had a fabulous time jumping on a mini-trampoline in my mom's basement. Throughout our stay, she'd ask to go "upstairs" to jump. (She's a little directionally challenged like her mother.) We took many trips "upstairs" to the basement.

She jumped.

And jumped.

Ricocheted off the sides.

Smashed her face up against the net.

She took a little break to interact with fans.

They were a captive audience.

And then she jumped some more.

I think she liked it.

The End.

while we were away

On my first day as a stay-at-home mom, I packed up our car and drove Chica to Missouri to visit our family. We stayed for ten days, the longest I've been back since I got married nearly four years ago. We had a great time and went on all kinds of adventures.

We jumped in the lake...(and by we I mean she.)

She drove a boat.

We went to a fun restaurant...

Where a train delivers your food to your table. It's quite exciting.

We ate homemade ice cream.

And licked the bowl clean.

The bowl ended up cleaner than her face.

We played with vintage toys that were there when I was her age.And then there was this. If this doesn't land us in therapy I don't know what will.
It's an exhibit with life-size robotic dinosaurs.
They move and growl.I don't know how I'm going to explain the counseling bill to Daniel.
I do not recommend this for children under the age of 35. But we made it out with zero tears! (I think she's saving them for the shrink's couch!)

We posed for a million pictures. (Can you tell she loves her aunties a little bit?)

And we saw lots...and lots...

and lots

of family.
It was a great trip.

Adventures in Disney (Animal Kingdom)

Our hotel shuttle was scheduled to leave for Animal Kingdom an hour later than the rest of the parks. I was bummed we weren't going to be there when the park opened, but was grateful for the extra hour of sleep. I got Big Girl ready while Dan packed our bag. We met the rest of the crew at the bus stop and headed off to see some animals.
When we walked into the park I was taken aback by how beautiful it was. I couldn't tell where the real landscape started and the fabricated began, but it really seemed like we were walking through the jungle. We went to get in line for the Finding Nemo show while the boys ran across the park to get fast passes to the Safari. The Nemo show was incredible. Actors sing and dance the entire show all while controlling puppets they carry around. It was one of my favorite things from the whole trip. After Nemo, we headed across the park towards the Safaris.
There was still time before our fast passes expired so we did bathroom break and lunch. Here the daddies are on duty. This picture also shows all our strollers.

We brought our own stroller, but the other two families rented theirs.

This is the double stroller you can rent from the park. I'll have to ask Kristine, but I think this was a good size for bigger kids.

My sister rented their double stroller from a company in Orlando that delivered it to our hotel and picked it up at the end of the week.

I think the Safaris are one of the main attractions of the park, and I can understand why. We rode on a truck that looked like an extended Jeep. You can see one of them in this picture. We sat in the front and had a great view.
Our driver had to stop our truck for about ten minutes because one of these was in the middle of the road. Up close, those long pointy things don't look any less sinister. It was a relief when the standoff was over and we went on our way.
Chica loved the giraffes. Just about every animal was close enough for her to see
After the safari, I took our group's tickets and walked across the park to get fast passes to Expedition Everest, a roller coaster in this mountain. While I was gone, the rest of the crew went on a nature trail. It had drizzled off and on throughout the morning. By this point it was noticeably wet. I met the family at a train (I can't remember what it's called) and we rode it to the wildlife reserve and back. When we returned, the sky opened up and let loose on us. One thing that makes Animal Kingdom different from the rest of the parks is that there's very little indoor space. When it's pouring rain, there aren't many places to go. Luckily a bird show was just beginning. We slipped inside the covered amphitheater and prayed for clear skies. The host said the show would be modified due to weather conditions. About ten minutes in, they called it off all together. The rain was relentless and there were so many puddles, we were soaked from head to toe. Waves of people filed out of the park. We decided to follow. Everest was on the way out and I totally would have ridden it regardless of the torrential downpour, but alas, it was closed. No Everest for us.

We waited at the for the shuttle so long, Chica ate about eight cookies and I had no guilt. Tired, soaking wet toddlers can eat whatever they want.

Despite the inclement weather, Animal Kingdom was great. What we did get to see of it, we loved and I hope to go back someday.

Coming up next, our second day of Magic Kingdom and something so exclusive it wasn't even mentioned in our tour guide book!