Universal Studios

 Remember those awesome neighbors I mentioned a few posts back? Well, Kim and Steve, gave our family Universal Studios tickets for Christmas. They are awesome! We cashed in on Friday and had a great time. It was hot, but not humid and there was a nice breeze. It was a little rough on my 8 month pregnant self, but I survived and we made some fun memories. It was all fun, but the highlights were Jurassic Park and the pteranodon fliers, Hogsmeade, and Seuss Landing!

Seuss Landing was a huge hit. We are big fans of Dr. Seuss and enjoyed every ride in this area. Miriam makes a cute Cat in the Hat and we all enjoyed the Caro-seussal!

Another huge draw was Hogsmeade! We met the Conductor of the Hogwarts Express, ate a delicious dinner at the Three Broomsticks, heard the Hogwarts choir sing, and saw the sights, including Hogwarts Castle!

Landon and Ethan were obsessed with the park map. Here's Landon navigating our way back to the parking lot. 

Without a nap all day, Miriam was a little delirious by the time we had dinner. We were all getting  a kick out of her shenanigans.

Sea World

My parents are super cool and purchased Sea World annual passes for all of us for Christmas. When I say all of us, I mean ALL of us. My family, Stacey's family, Mom, Dad, and Tony. We went for our very first visit last weekend. It was very cold, but the park wasn't very busy. We were able to see most of the things the children wanted to see. And, the things we didn't see, we'll see next time because we can go back whenever we want.
You know I have to admit that I watched the documentary "Blackfish" and almost called my mom to tell her not to get the passes. I just felt terrible after that film. In the end, I let my children's fascination and all the good Sea World does win out and I'm so glad we did. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to using those passes all year long.

 Orcas!

 By the end of the year, Miriam will be running around the park with her big brothers. For now, she stayed cozy in the stroller.

 And, those are all the photos I took. Just got busy with the parenting.

There's No Place like Disney for the Holidays

Our dear friends, Brad and Rachel, took us to Disney earlier this week.  We had so much fun.  We started at Hollywood Studios and rode Toy Story Mania.  Seriously, I think this is my all-time favorite ride at Disney World.  It was awesome!  We also met Mickey Mouse and saw lots of other characters including Mr. Incredible, FroZone, Wreck-It Ralph, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. 
The Cottles have become dear friends and they are soon to leave Orlando.  We are devastated.  All day long, Landon was checking in with them.  "Where's Brad?  Where's Rae Rae at? Hi Brad!  Hi Rae Rae!"  He is so cute.  I also love that when he wants to do something he emphatically says "Me Do!"  He is at such a fun age right now. 
One of the coolest things we did was explore a section of the new Fantasyland.  We rode the new Little Mermaid ride.  The boys had a great time.  I was pretty worn out by the end of the day and spent all of the next day recovering.  So worth it!

 Christmas Tree at Hollywood Studios!  Wish I could fit one this big at my house.

 Cinderella's castle all lit up.  So beautiful.

 Waiting to ride Toy Story Mania.  Mr. Potato Head provided the in-line entertainment.  We even got to see him pull out his ear a few times. 

 Here's Grayson meeting Mickey Mouse with Brad.  I am a little surprised he did this.  He usually cries and runs from these experiences.  He is especially scared of Santa Claus.  He let Brad take him up.  Brad did say that when they got close to Mickey, Grayson was clutching on to him with his whole body.  Afterwards, he excitedly ran up to me and said, "Mickey got me!  With his magic!"  Hahahahaha.

 Landon was super excited to ride Dumbo.  I think it was his favorite.

 

All of my sweet boys.  They were so great all day.  Thank you Brad and Rae Rae!

Summer Fun and Super Heroes

Summer is officially here. It is hot, it is almost muggy, and it is my favorite time of year for sure. Here are some recent photos to show you just how awesome summer is!

  Fun in the sprinkler and the pool. 

 Homemade donuts and donut holes.  Pretty delicious, but should have cooked them a bit longer.  Plan to try again for perfection this week on family night.

Ethan's super hero pose.

 Grayson's super hero pose.  He is potty training and be glad that he has underwear on in this shot.  He has a newfound love of nakedness.

Landon's super hero poses.  He wants so badly to keep up with the bigger boys.  He is still a little too slow, but it won't be too long before he is right in there with them.

We were invited to spend the day with Rae Rae at Animal Kingdom yesterday!  It was super fun.  We saw so many animals (Grayson loves the animals) and due to afternoon thunderstorms we also were drenched at one point.  This didn't put a damper on our fun, we just headed over to the Magic Kingdom and joined Brad after his shift for more adventures.  Thanks to the Cottles, we had an awesome day!

 Giraffes on the safari.  They were right off the road.  So cool.

 Gorilla!  They even had a baby gorilla, but I didn't get a photo of him.  I wish I could have recorded Grayson saying gorilla.  I'm pretty sure he hadn't said it before and it was cuteness overload.

ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Dumbo self-portrait!  Grayson loved this ride.  He would have done it again and again if we'd had the time. 

Ethan's very first roller coaster.  I think he's trying to do a thumbs up with Brad, but it looks more like he's trying to shake my hand.  He said it made him a little bit nervous, but he rode it twice and laughed the whole time.  Grayson rode also, he was just at the 35 inch requirement, but only rode once.  He didn't like it. 

Harry Potter! (It's okay, you can be jealous.)

Arriving in Hogsmeade.

Jared coordinated a little getaway for our 7th wedding anniversary last weekend.  On Friday, we sent the boys off to our parents homes and relaxed for two whole days!  We ate at Tuscano de Brasil and it was so delicious.  Saturday we spent our time at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure so we go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  It was awesome and we loved it.  Here are some photos.

Hogwarts!

The computer at Three Broomsticks had technical difficulties.  Jared thought it was so funny and I thought that was so funny.

Everything was so detailed.  I felt like one of those old movies, where the kid opens the book and steps into it and ends up in the place they're reading about. 

Butterbeer!

So delicious.  My fish and chips was also delicious.  Y'all need to go here. 

Magical

Entering the Magic Kingdom.  It is January and we look like we are there are on a hot summer day.  I love being a Floridian.

Saturday, Norb took us to the Magic Kingdom for the first time.  One of the many perks of retiring from Disney, includes getting your family in for free fun.  We had such a great time.  My mom and dad joined us for the day, which made it that much more enjoyable.  For once the boys were outnumbered and everyone was able to enjoy themselves.  We were exhausted that night and the next day, but during our visit we were all stress-free.  It was fabulous.  Mom and I kept reminiscing about our trips here when we were younger.  It was simply magical. Here are some photos.

We caught Donald Duck ready for some Frontier fun in "Frontierland"  Ethan was soooooooooo excited to meet him. 

Flying Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride.  This was his face most of the day.  During the parade, he leans over with this face and says, "Mom, I love you." 

Grayson stuck to his best friend, Papa, most of the day.  He was pretty overwhelmed with everything, but he didn't complain unless characters tried to get too close to him.  Landon had a blast.  He was smiling and clapping most of the day.  His favorite was It's a Small World.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos in there.

Enjoying the parade and showing off his tummy.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse.  They were the perfect host and hostess. 

Animal Kingdom

We took the family to experience the Animal Kingdom at Disney World last Saturday (March 19). This was our first huge outing as a family of five and our first outing to Disney World. All the boys were so well-behaved and they had a fabulous time. The animals were a big hit. Ethan's favorite thing were the hippos on the animal safari. We were so busy dealing with the boys that we failed to get any good pictures. I did get one of each of the boys, but honestly you can't tell that were are at Disney. The shots look like they could have been taken anywhere, but they do capture the joy the boys were feeling on our day out. Norb got us in on his retirement pass and accompanied us on the safari. Then were on our own. We saw the tigers, bats, ate some ice cream, watched Finding Nemo: The Musical, and It's Tough to be a Bug. Good times!