Dumbo!

For our first full day at the Magic Kingdom we were using a touring plan called Dumbo-or-die, that was supposed to make sure that the preschool bunch got to do everything they would enjoy. The plan wasn't totally needed since the crowds weren't bad, but it did offer a nice outline and we made adjustments as we saw fit.

The first thing on the list to do is to run to Dumbo and get in line, and then to have a second party get in line roughly 24 people behind the first because your little angel will go into complete meltdown when he or she has to get off of Dumbo (haha, right? not my kid). We did it, and sure enough Walker DID NOT want to get off of Dumbo. Since we had listened to the advice we handed him over to Grammy and a second ride satisfied him completely.

He loved it. He loved to talk about it and he can tell you that he rode on a green elephant with Grammy and a blue elephant with Daddy. I only have pictures of me and Eli that Jason took of us on the first ride, but I will get some of Walker from Jason's dad, so you can see the joy in his face as well.

Aloha

One of the best meals we had at Disney was at Ohana in the Polynesian resort. It is perfect for toddlers for a few reasons. First, it is family style dining, that means no ordering and waiting, rather food is brought to your table, pronto. Parents with small kiddos understand the wait time can make or break a meal. Second, the variety of food is quite incredible. Sure it is all island style, but there is a wide variety of meats, sides and even vegetables. Plenty enough to please everyone's palate at dinner. Third, there is entertainment for the kids. A ukulele player entertains the crowd, has the children participate in coconut races and gets brave souls to limbo. All this keeps the kids occupied and distracts from whatever noise my kids are making. :) It was fun and the food was good. We will definitely make reservations at Ohana again.

Another great thing...you can theme dress your family. All the guys had their Hawaiian shirts on for dinner. Jason made the observation that no one else in the restaurant dressed for dinner. I told him, they were no fun. :)

Kachow!

Walker and Eli were able to meet the stars of their favorite movie! They made noise, which I wasn't expecting, so the boys were a little unsure while we were getting our picture made (Walker's recently developed fear of running cars didn't help). Lightning revved his engine and Mater sounded like an old tow truck, just amplified. After the fact though, Walker is still talking about seeing Lightning and Mater, and I think it has made him like the movie even more (if that is possible).

Florida Ironman 70.3

To start our vacation Jason participated in the Florida Ironman 70.3 event. It is exactly half the distance he did in November, but a half is still quite the endurance event. He swam 1.2 miles in the Disney lake. Then he biked 56 miles on and off the Disney property. He finally finished with a 13.1 mile run that was 3 loops through the Disney campgrounds. There is this amazing feeling of pride that wells up inside anytime we are able to watch him do a race like this. All of the training coming together and him completing such an amazing distance, it shows how mentally and physically strong he is.

While we were blessed with nice weather for most of our time in Disney, race day really wasn't one of them. It was incredibly hot and muggy. I was exhausted and dripping in sweat just watching and we only watched the swim and half the run. He was just happy to finish and add that to his resume, but I don't know that he will do a race in central Florida in May again. :)

The swim start, Jason is a little to the right of the middle in a gray and black top.


The swim finish.


Heading out for the bike.


Headed out for the last loop on the run (serious internal motivational talk going on).


Mom and Dad support team, in the really cute shirts they had made for the event.


Waiting for the finish.




Heading toward the finish line.

First Things, First. Let's Meet Mickey!

We arrived on Friday and got settled. Saturday morning we scheduled a character breakfast. This is where you eat and are assured to see a set group of characters. We had been talking to Walker about going to see Mickey, but he couldn't really grasp how that was going to be different than the Mickey he slept with every night, until this very exciting, and kind of surprising experience.

Goofy was the first to come by.


Then Mickey. I was manning the camera and couldn't quite figure out how to get the boys to look at me and not the character. I also have a bad habit of focusing on the wrong thing (like a cup on the table), so the pictures aren't as great as they could have been.




Donald followed Mickey, and seemed a little frustrated by the fact that he couldn't get the boys to look at the camera.




Then Minnie...the perfect character. She was hands down everyone's favorite. She really spent time with the boys. She was hugging and kissing and got Eli to play with her nose, and then she made it happen. The only picture I have of a character and my child looking at me.










Pluto rounded out the crowd. He was all silly with the boys, so of course that went over well.




The breakfast went beautifully and both the boys loved the characters and did great interacting with them, and for those of you wondering, I did great to. Goofy is the only one who really sounded the alarm bells inside, but I managed to push through and enjoy being there with my boys.

To Disney World and Back...

We have just returned from the first Disney trip with the boys. Jason's parents treated us and the boys to a week and half of once in a lifetime memories. There are many stories to tell and pictures to share. Expect a lot of blogs in the next few days, and expect them to be completely out of order and for some of them just so I can remember. In a quick summary; we saw the mouse, rode the rides, ate the food, and had a blast!

Toddler Olympics

Last week a couple of moms from our Moms' Club planned some games and we all met at the park. The kids had a great time playing together and trying to figure out what the adults were trying to get them to do. I dressed the boys appropriately. Walker wore his "team captain" shirt and Eli wore his Team McCay shirt from Jason's race last year. This detail was largely overlooked and under appreciated. :)

Walker receiving some instruction from Ms. Karen.


Zack helping Eli (this was even more precious in person).


Long after the games were done.


Water Boys.




Tug-O-War, it was hilarious. They just kind of drug each other around the field. I guess we have trained them not to fight over toys pretty well.


Walker "borrowed" someone else's wagon (not in our group) and had a blast dragging it (and Eli) all over the park.


All the kids received medals. Neither of the boys appreciated this. :)


It was a great day of playing with friends. It wore the boys out. It was about all I could do to get some lunch in them before they crashed for some long naps.

I thought it was April showers?

We have had quite a bit of rain around here lately. Now, I am not complaining at all, the weather overall has been wonderful. We have enjoyed so many perfect play days of sun and a light breeze, but these boys do need their outside playtime, and they have come to expect it.

Last Thursday we were forecast for some pretty rough weather in the afternoon. So we spent about 3 hours playing outside in the morning. We even had some friends over to enjoy our outside time. When the boys woke up from their naps they expected to be able to continue there outside playtime, but had to settle for playing with the inside excavators and dump trucks. Don't they know who there momma is? I mean I am not exactly the outdoors type (sorry Dad), I have a feeling this is going to be a long (and hot) summer. :)

Play Area - Redesigned

Last week Jason took the time to reorganize the kids outside play area. They have acquired a few new items and Jason was able to put everything together and make it work. I got out the camera to take some pictures of the newly organized space, but in the process I got some great stories from the boys.

The New Layout: I think it looks kind of like a toddler cafe with all the umbrellas.


Me trying to get a shot that includes Eli, and noticing that he is eating the sand off the excavator.


And that he likes it.


Eli's reaction to being told that he may not eat sand.


And now back to happy play (but he still tries to eat the sand when I am not looking).


Back to the new outside arrangement...Even the dogs like the shade umbrellas on a hot day.