the happiest place on earth

By 10am this morning, we were on a bus from our resort to the Magic Kingdom! ...ready for a fun day. The boys had no idea the magnitude of what they were about to experience.

a quick stop so mommy can take a picture and we were off!

Excalibur wouldn't budge...

...not even if you make this face.

We rode ride after ride. Favorites included...

Dumbo

Tomorrowland's Raceway

E drove too!

Even standing in line, the boys were wide eyed.

We stood in line twice to ride Buzz Lightyear. Our mission was to capture the evil Emperor Zurg by shooting lasers at targets. Needless to say, this was fun.

captured...Emperor Zurg...and a couple of hooligans

Then we met Buzz Lightyear, himself. E was excited right up until it was our turn. Then he preferred to stand back with daddy.

knuckles with Buzz.

We also visited Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor and submitted our own joke for consideration. This show was hilarious and we were happy to hear M's joke during the show.

M rode Splash Mountain with me. They put us right up in the front seat, & M loved it!

Note from M: Splash Mountain = fun! Space Mountain = crazy scary. He rode that one with Andrew. Again, they put him right up in the front...and he cried through the entire thing. I'm pretty sure he didn't think he was going to make it. He recovered quickly though, when this was mentioned.

ahhh yes...a Mickey ice cream sandwich will fix almost anything.

12 hours later, we watched some magical fireworks and we were on our way to Sarasota. E fell asleep on the bus back to our resort and didn't wake until the next morning. It was a great day.

here's to being flexible!

On our first day in Disney we were "scheduled" to go to the Magic Kingdom, but the tornado warnings and bouts of torrential rain (thanks to Isaac) changed our plans. We opted for Downtown Disney today...Magic Kingdom tomorrow. 

Even with the schedule change, we had a lot of fun visiting shops, eating and going to the movies.

Where have we been?

Everywhere to be exact...and it has been fun! We started our tour at the beginning of the month with a surprise party for my dear brother. The weather didn't cooperate exactly as we would have hoped, but it was a great time nonetheless. I think he was really surprised.

The birthday boy and his wonderful wife, Kerry - great food, great party!

Happy Birthday big brother!

We spent a short time in Anderson doing the things you do there. We have to make some time for Pizza King pizza, you know...

Your newest member of the Anderson Fire Department!

- Then -

Andrew went to Washington DC on business while Morgan and I were off to Florida! No pictures of DC, but we're covered for Florida...so here we go.

We went and stayed with the Jungst family in Osprey. We (I) just decided I was T-I-R-E-D of the crap weather in Chicago to stay for one more minute. Luckily, we were welcomed with open arms. Morgan and I tagged along with all the daily goings on there and we added in a few special moments as well.

First we had story time at the Sarasota library and met up with Grandma "B" there! We were able to spend the rest of the day with her. We enjoyed being able to coordinate our schedules enough to meet up and just be together! Thanks Beth...it really means a lot.

Still a big fan of the swings!

- Disney World -

We went with seasoned veterans, Dana, Danielle, Hadley and Imogen, but it was the first time for both of us to visit the Magic Kingdom. I can't think of adequate words to describe how fun it was. As soon as I walked in and saw the huge castle, I couldn't wait to come back with Andrew. It just felt so special. Morgan loved everything...and so did I. He went nap free that day and it didn't seem to phase him at all. What a champ!

Minnie Mouse's House. Pretty cool couch there...

Riding the teacups! Still too rough for the little man, but the girls love that ride.

Hadley says, "Take a picture of me dancing!"

Imogen playing in Toon Town.

In line for the Small World ride. One time through and the song is forever etched in my brain..."It's a world of laughter, a world of tears..."

We did manage to get the last reservation that day for a character dinner. We met Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip & Dale. The food was delicious and Morgan really took to the characters.

Minnie passing out kisses.

Yes...he honked Dale's nose.

After dinner and a couple more rides, we were on our way home. I did learn a couple of things that day. 1 - Always take 1 adult per child to Disney World. 2 - Morgan WILL eat a piece of popcorn off the ground if he sees it before you do...oops.

The rest of our days there consisted of flying by the seats of our pants. No real plans, and that's the way we wanted it.

Look at this stud by the pool.

Playing piano with Tatumn. It was quite entertaining. Thank goodness I had the Advil.

Ahhhh...the beach.

The water was too cold, so we just played in the sand.

It took him a while to actually walk on the sand. It must have felt really weird on his feet.

Eventually, he covered himself with sand up to his knees. At least he wasn't eating it!

Pinecones?

Just playing at the house...waiting on Aunt Jane's famous spaghetti.

The cutest thing was watching the bond between Morgan and Hadley grow. It is so important to us that Morgan have a strong relationship with his cousins. I know Andrew wouldn't change his for the world.

Cute as can be...

So after that, we came home...to SNOW! Yuck! Morgan and I got home Thursday and by Saturday the whole family was on the road again to Lafayette for the Purdue game. Andrew helped Brian move some things on Sunday and we spent Easter dinner with Kristen (Brian's girlfriend) and her family in Beverly Shores. By Monday, we were back to our routine in Evanston. Whew!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
- Extras -

So the temperature hit 50 the other day and I couldn't believe I thought that was gorgeous weather. No matter...we went to the playground and enjoyed every minute of it.

A stick for Mommy...

A favorite dinner...spaghetti with meat sauce. Getting pretty good with that fork!