Disneyworld and Other Fun Events

At the end of January, we packed clothes for warm weather and for cold weather, from swimsuits and sandals to winter boots and snow pants. We flew to Orlando, and in addition to our plan to see Nana, our sole surviving grandparent, we decided to just have fun. We spent two days at Disneyworld and one day at Epcot Center. The kids had a blast at Magic Kingdom, where all the greatest rides are, and the kids could go on so many of them! Mason loved to drive the little drag racing cars. The girls enjoyed riding through Tomorrowland on the train, and way up in the air on rocket ships that we could control. Dumbo was a hit, as was the Toy Story ride where we're moving around shooting at targets like a video game. We saw a show with Mike Wazowski (I can never get his name right) from Monsters, Inc, where he interacted with the audience. Very cool. We saw a 3-D movie where Donald Duck flew over our heads and got stuck with his butt and legs hanging out the back of the theater. Mason thought that was hysterical. We saw an interactive show with Crush, the sea turtle from Finding Nemo. That was definitely cool. We went on a jungle safari ride, climbed a tree house, and so, so much! We also met some great characters including Ariel the Mermaid, Minnie and Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio, and Jiminy (sp?) Cricket. We all had a great, but exhausting time. Here are some pictures showcasing our time.

From Florida, we flew through Chicago, to Minnesota. We left 80 degrees in Orlando, arrived late in Chicago, after departing late due to a snowstorm in Chicago, being diverted to Indianapolis, because we were low on fuel, and finally getting into Chicago and trying desperately to fly our family of five standby on the last flight to Minneapolis that night. We made it, but there was a lot of headache and chaos involved. Once in Minnesota, we happily crashed at Deb's parents, and let them and Aunt Tammi (pic on left) deal with the kids, who woke earlier than we were ready to wake. We visited with some of our good friends this time. We played at Edinborough Park, a huge indoor play area for kids. We played at the amusement park in the Mall of America. Mason was too small for many of the rides, but could go with a chaperone, which was good. We had an abundance of chaperones! She's about 40 inches tall. She needed to be 42 inches for the "big" rides. Just as well.

Although we had great fun on both legs of this vacation, we do not have any future plans to fly with three kids, their baggage (car seats, strollers, toys, clothes, etc.), and our own baggage, for that matter. It's TOO much work! Not to mention expensive. So, we will happily take driving trips for now. :-)