Magic Kingdom at Night

We had been wanting to go to the Fireworks at Magic Kingdom since we had got there but everyday as the evening rolled around we were too exhausted to go. Since it was one of our last chances and we had ducked out of the park early due to rain we decided to make the trek back and see if all the hype was true. Turns out it was true. This was so cool to see! As an adult I was awed and amazed so I can only imagine how cool it was for the kids. 

The kids waiting for the fireworks to start.

The girls were so excited!

The crazy boys

This was Emerson's face as she watched the fireworks and light show on the castle. Seeing her face light up was so fun!

The fireworks were so neat and as they did the fireworks they showed different movie clips on the castle and played the music.

After the fireworks were over you have to manage to get out of a HUGE mass of people and try to keep all your kids with you. This is when it was super helpful to have so many adults with us!

We decided that since we were there we may as well go on a couple more rides. They boys were dying to go on Space Mountain again and the lines for some of the rides weren't as long at night. We ran into a dance party on the way. Why not bust some moves!

Walking back to the car that night we took Emmy up close to the Castle. As Bob puts it "if you are going to Disney you must take a 3 year old!" Seeing how in awe she was of where the princesses lived was so cool.

Animal Kingdom

We all had a safari booked for right away in the morning so we had to get up and out of the house on time today.

We are ready for the safari and Grandpa has purchased his park appropriate hat for the day. I have to say it makes him easier to spot in a crowd.

The safari was neat. They took you through all these muddy, backwoods tracks in a huge military type jeep. We all had fun seeing the animals.

Abby and Emmy happen to run into Donald Duck.

Today we split up a little different because the boys wanted me to go on a scary ride with them. I think they wanted to see if I was really brave enough. It was fun to hang out with the boys for a while. We went on Expedition Everest. It was quite the ride. Fast, hairpin turns and it took you backwards. Fun though! Robb and Abby stuck to a few milder things like the dinosaur ride.

Animal Kingdom had just opened their new attraction the weekend we were there. The land of Pandora and Avatar opened so we decided that we couldn't be here on opening weekend and not go, but the crowds of people were crazy. Since it was a new ride we weren't able to get Fast Passes which meant waiting in line. Luckily, by this time the kids had grown accustom to lines and wait times and anything under 75 min didn't seem that bad. Well we waited in line for the Pandora ride for 2.5 hours. Sheer craziness but again you can't go opening weekend and not see it. Bob, Susie, Emmy and I got in line for the one without a height requirement. It was pretty cool but not 2.5 hours cool. Emmy even handled the line pretty well with 3 adults to entertain her and lots of snacks. Andy, Robb, Abby and the boys headed to the other Pandora ride which was riding a banshee (aka dragon). We cheated the system slightly and used a child switch pass so that Bob, Susie and I got to Fast Pass the Banshee ride once the other had went through. The boys thought this was the coolest ride ever and I would agree that it was very well done! Disney doesn't disappoint!

The entire Pandora land was really cool!

As we were leaving Animal Kingdom it started to sprinkle and then it started to pour! Robb's towel hat worked for when it was sprinkling but we were all drenched by the time we made it to the gate. The rain was coming down so hard and fast that it was hard to see where you were going. I put Emmy in the toddler carrier and put the hood on her as we ran for the car. At one point she looked at me and asked "Is this a ride? Is this suppose to be fun?. Poor girl! We were all completely drenched when we made it to the car.

Epcot

Day 2 at Disney. We got out of the house a little late today. Everyone was a little wore down from all of our fun the day before. Epcot was cool to walk through. Lots to see! As Robb put it I think Epcot would be a fun date night place. I would have been fun to spend more time walking through all the countries and trying more of the foods. The kids however moved a bit faster pace than us adults.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the best vacation every!

Susie, Abby, Emmy and I waited in line the 60 minutes to ride the Frozen ride. This was one that I couldn't get a Fast Pass for so we had to wait. That's okay. I was a great ride and I wish we could have just rode it over and over again. Plus it was nice and cool in there since you were suppose to be in a Frozen land. I also wasn't able to get Fast Passes to meet Anna and Elsa but the girls and I happen to be walking by right as a huge group left and the wait time went from 60min to 10. Poor Emmy had just fallen asleep in the carrier but I woke her up. After all its not everyday that you get to see Anna and Elsa.

Emmy was a super fun age to take because she thought everything was real but Abby was also at a perfect age! She enjoyed meeting the princesses just as much as she enjoyed the thrilling rides. She was just excited to be there.

Grandma and Grandpa let the kid get their face painted.

And Grandpa bought AJ a sword. Why not! What could possibly go wrong there. Do you like Bob's hat? He had a new hat for about every park we went to.

Although Epcot had a lot to see it was lacking in rides. The boys all did this Test Track ride which they thought was pretty fun. We did the Nemo interactive show which was cute and Susie, Ginger, Brook, Abby and I took turns going on the Soarin ride. This was probably one of Abby and my favorites! It felt like you were hand gliding over different places and the smells would change with it and you would dip and swoop to avoid things. Emmy wasn't big enough for that one so she went on the Nemo ride with Grandma.

We Had a Magical Day

We got into Orlando late Sunday night and had a little trouble finding the place where we were staying but finally got there and it was super cool. It had themed bedrooms for the kids, a theatre room, pool and plenty of space. We all headed to bed because the plan was to leave by 8am for the park.

Wow! Getting into the park was a process! You park and then you take a shuttle and then a tram and then you go through park security, needless to say we arrived a bit later than we thought but we were all still in time for our Fast Pass Rides. We took a quick group photo and everyone headed in different directions. Robb and the boys went to the Pirates of the Caribbean (I guess they weren't super impressed. Turns out the boys love scary rides which I didn't know when I was booking stuff). Bob, Andy and the Beckman crew headed to the Mine Train Ride and Susie and I and the girls headed off to find some princesses.

We are ready to have some fun!

We found a princess right away! Merida was just coming out to greet people and we were 3rd in line.The girls had their autograph books ready for her to sign. Emmy was in heaven. As Bob would say "Whether you have to beg, borrow or steal a 3 year old, you have to take one to Disney!) It was so fun to see her meet all the "real" princesses!

Next up was the Ariels Grauta ride and meeting Ariel. By this time we had been walking around for a while and we were hot sweaty disasters! You can tell how red Emmy is. It didn't stop her from changing into her mermaid dress before meeting Ariel though.

We met up with the boys group and had some lunch and then they headed off to find scary rides and Abby, Emmy and I went to Belle's Castle. Belle is Emmy's all time favorite princess and she could not contain her excitement! This was an interactive show which was cute. They all got to play a part and they put on a parade for Belle and then they got to meet her. Emmy couldn't stop staring up at her.

Robb thought I was crazy when I requested to buy a toddler carrier but that and my garage sale stroller were saving graces for us! Emmy likes to be held a lot and it is so hard on my back but with the carrier she was really easy to carry around it just made us both sweaty messes.

We all met up after we had met princesses and they had went to the Haunted Mansion and they found one of their favorite rides, Space Mountain. It was scary and dark and all things that I didn't think they would like. We went on Splash Mountain which by this time felt amazing! We got to see a character parade and so so so many other great things. We had thought that we would stay for the fireworks this night but by 6 everyone was beat! The 100 temps just zapped all your energy. We headed back to the house for an evening of sitting by the pool and swimming.

Disney Day 1 done. Now we kinda know what to expect anyway.

First Plane Ride

The day that we have all been waiting for since December... Disney Here We Come!

The kids, especially Emmy have been so anxious to go on this vacation! Me too! I won't lie I totally over packed but we had everything we needed. We arrived at the airport and Robb had to park the car so Andy got the joy of helping me drag in our 10 bags to check. Nightmare! Pretty sure traveling with our family is good birth control for him.

Once we got all the bags checked it was time to go through security. Caleb has been worried about this part from the beginning. I'm not sure what he thought he was going to get flagged for?? Turns out Andy and I did because we can't follow directions on what has to go into its own bin. I had to wait forever to get my sandals back.

We are ready!

I was worried how Emmy was going to handle the plane but she did awesome! We chewed on gummy worms to pop our ears and she looked out the window trying to see the land of princesses the whole time.

Caleb sat by Grandma and looked nervous during take off and it bothered his ears but he liked it.

Bryce is smiling here but he first plane ride was not very fun for him. He felt pretty sick during take off and landing but never did throw up.

Abby sat with Brook and Ginger and they were ahead of us so I didn't get a picture but she did alright. It bothered her ears a little.

Florida here we come!

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary

Grandma and Grandpa celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. 50 years is such a neat milestone to meet. Mom, Linda and Doug put together a really nice party in Norfolk for them. Glad we could be there to help them celebrate!

Last Day of School

We have successfully completed our first year at Norris! It wasn't always a super smooth transition but I think everyone is finding their way. They look much more relaxed on the last day as opposed to the first day! Let summer begin! The last couple summers have been crazy with moving and me working a new job so we are looking forward to having a blast this summer.

 

Caleb 10 and done with 4th grade

Abby 8 and done with 2nd grade

Bryce 10 and done with 4th grade

First Day and the Last Day

Flag Football

Bryce and Caleb played flag football through the YMCA again this year. They played with the same kids as last year for the most part. Robb coached and they had a great season! It was a fun group of kids and parents which always makes things go smoother. Bryce had a great year as one of the quarterbacks and had a lot of touchdowns.

Caleb has really filled out this year and with that he has become good line man material. Although with flag football there is no tackling, so he has been blocking and pulling flags like crazy this year. Caleb is really into football and since he would really like to tackle/ he plays flag football like he should be wearing a helmet, we have decided to make the move to tackle football next year. This is all uncharted territory for us as far a breaking into the world of playing sports for Norris and doing the competitive club team sports.

I didn't really play sports so maybe my memory of sports isn't accurate but it seems like youth sports are such a big deal now. You almost have to decide in early elementary what sport you are going to have your kid focus on so that you can find the right teams and camps. I guess this last year of YMCA has made me appreciate them playing sports as little kids because I have a feeling it is going to be a whole different ballgame next year.

Knights 2017

3rd place overall

I'm going to miss seeing Robb coach! I think he is going to miss having the control of coaching also. Lots of first next year. I will always appreciate his style of coaching. He expects every kid to try their hardest, he expects them to listen, work as a team, respect the coaches, refs and other team and most of all have fun.

One of the parents went out and bought a football and all the boys signed it for the last year as The Knights. It was pretty neat to see the kids all tell Robb goodbye as a coach before most of them move on to tackle next year.