Disney Trip, Part 1

Disney...it was so much fun. It was overwhelming and exhausting, but fun.
The girls loved it, of course. We loved watching them love it.
I really think at least half of the fun of going of going to Disney is the anticipation of it.
Can't you see it in Lucy's face at the airport?
In fact, this may be my favorite picture of the whole trip, and we hadn't even left yet.
It's hard to believe that very same day, we were standing in plain sight of that very famous castle.
I think they were still taking it all in in this picture.
Can you believe we are HERE?
The first of many sugary Disney treats as we watched the first of many parades.
For the first time ever, they were both asleep within seconds of hitting the pillow.
The next day...Bella saw several kids posing for a picture on the big ant, so she had to have a turn.
They were getting ready to be sprayed by water. They loved these type of things just as much as the rides!
Ice cream and a parade, of course!
Let's see, I think Lucy liked that ice cream.
Yep, I'm sure of it.
We might as well pretend this picture was at the Kentucky Derby.
No, it's Disney for sure...where else could you dance with the Monster's Inc monsters?
Getting sprayed again!
Tinkerbell, the girls both agreed you were worth the hour we waited to see you.
Another favorite at the parks: the playgrounds. It got to where if Brian and I saw a playground, but had plans to go to a certain ride or show, we would speed the stroller past and do our best to distract them from it. Was that mean?
Again with the water; if they could get wet, they DID get wet.
The girls were watching "Storytime with Belle"...
Little did they know that Brian had been tapped from the audience to play the role of the Beast.

That evening, we went to dinner at Cinderella's castle. Lucy wore Bella's Snow White costume from Halloween a couple of years ago and Bella wore her cousin Bailey's Cinderella costume from several years ago. The girls got all kinds of compliments on their handmade costumes (so much better than the store bought kind)!

One of the few free things at Disney: pixie dust! So of course we made a stop for some on the way to the castle.
Pictures like these make me want them to stay these ages forever...they really thought they were about to meet the REAL Cinderella in her REAL castle.

to be continued...

Work Out

There is so much for me to blog about: my BABY turning 3 tomorrow (today, actually!), the fact that Bella is officially done with preschool (next stop, Kindergarten...tears!), and I still need to post our Disney pictures...but here's something kind of funny...
I came home from running tonight to find both girls huffing and puffing...why?
Because they were doing Daddy's P90X ab workout with him, of course.
P90X is a workout program Brian is doing which basically means that he works out all of the time and refuses to eat any of the carbs that I so love.
And speaking of that, it's back to marathon baking night (for all of Lucy's birthday festivities) for me! Brian, you are going to eat some of this birthday cake!

Clean and Happy

Last night the girls played so well together in the bath (thank you Happy Meal swimming barbies). They made up all kinds of stories about those barbies.
So here they are, clean and happy...I love that combination!

Easter

Easter Sunday was a busy day for us, but completely worth it. The girls got to see both sets of grandparents, one great-grandparent, all of their aunts and uncles and all of their (first) cousins. I'll post those pictures in the next post.

This hardly ever happens, but we were ready for church early enough for me to get pictures BEFORE we left. There may or may not have been some Easter candy bribes going on to get them to smile though. A couple of these are from after lunch too...we were looking for a good spot for pictures. I loved the black door (above)...the girls thought the big blown up (and blown over by the wind) Easter bunny was a better idea, but it didn't make the cut!


Daddy must have been doing something really funny during this one!
I think it's so sweet that Lucy is looking to see how Bella is posing so she can do the same...I catch her doing that quite a bit!
When I ask them to put their arms around each other, they really take it seriously! It's more of a tight squeeze!

Seasons Change

On Friday, we pretended it was spring one day early. That was easy, because it was such a beautiful day!
Then, on Saturday, the true first day of spring, it was snowing and freezing cold outside. So, we decided to ignore that, and the girls wore their swimsuits around (inside only, of course) all day. They even had a picnic lunch under the shield of an umbrella. Why not?

Silly girl!

This is what happened last weekend when I told Bella to smile for me. She was cracking herself up...and me too!

Disney!

The girls got what will likely be their biggest ever Valentine's Day gift...a trip to Disney (coming in April)!
Here are their questions about the trip:
1) Can Tinkerbell really fly? (Ummm, I don't know, we'll have to see?)
2) Are they going to meet the REAL princesses? (Yes! I guess they are about as real as they get, right?)
3) And this was more of a statement from Lucy rather than a question...
"I don't want Mickey Mouse to talk!" (Apparently, that spooks her out. So if Mickey does talk, we'll just have to ask him not too; but would he kindly stand by for a (silent) picture?)
In fact, they did a little Disney victory dance once it sunk in! Really though, I don't think they have any idea what it will be like. And actually, neither do we. I haven't been in over 20 years, and Brian has never been (we'll take all of the tips anyone would like to send our way!).
Now the challenge is waiting until April. When we got to church the day we told them, we got ready to get out of the car and she asked "Are THIS Disney World?"
That's another Lucyism...she starts every question with "ARE" whether it applies or not.
Both girls are asking WHEN daily (if not hourly). I can't wait to see their face once we get there!