Disney Day 2-Hollywood Studios

We were up and at it again bright and early the second day.  We packed up our things and headed for Hollywood Studios.  Selfishly, I was looking forward to this day because this is where the best rides are!  We got to the park good and early and waited for the rope to drop.  To our pleasant surprise, they opened the gates at 8:30 instead of 9.  I think we were all in a state of confusion because it wasn't the normal rush back to Toy Story because none of us really knew what was going on!  It was nice for one day to not have to deftly maneuver through the crowd to get a good place in line. :)  Anyways!  We got right on the Toy Story ride, and everyone had a blast! 

After that, we split up into riders and non-riders (basically Jovan and the girls/me and my parents) and continued our mornings.  Jovan and crew went off to meet characters, and my parents and I went off to ride the Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster. 

 

 

Thank God for this stroller!!!

 

Waiting to ride Star Tours

 

Playing at the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground

After a fun-filled and exhausting day, we headed back to the condo for some dinner and pool time.  A perfect ending to a perfect day!

 

 

Lainey's Favorites: Star Tours

Lilly's Favorites: Toy Story

Jovan's Favorites: Star Tours

Jenn's Favorites: Tower of Terror

Disney Date Night!

So we learned on our first trip to Disney with a kid that we needed to bring a grandparent along!  That being said, we brought two grandparents along this time...one for each child! :)  Since we brought the grandparents with us, we got a date night!  We got to go on several dates the first time we went, but we knew with two kids we couldn't be greedy this time.  We decided for our date night we would go to our fave place without kiddos...Epcot!  

 

Getting ready to go!

We got to Epcot about an hour before they closed.  We headed straight to Mexico for some yummy margaritas!  We then decided to do what most normal adults would do on a date night in Disney--visit the Character Spot! ;)  The best part about this was there was no waiting in line because everyone was too busy staking out their spots for the nightly fireworks show.

I believe we were talking about my new Mickey Mouse earrings and how much he loved them. :)

 

 

We decided we didn't want to fight the crowd after Illuminations, so we ducked out of Epcot early and headed to the Magic Kingdom.  We got there about 30 minutes before their nightly fireworks show, so you can only imagine how crazy crowded it was!  We decided to skip the fireworks show since we would inevitably be watching the show later in the week with the girls.  Instead, we found this great little "club" they had set up in Tommorowland.  There was a DJ, bright lights, and loud music...my idea of a fantastic time!  The best part was there were even characters on the stage and in the crowd dancing the night away.  I even managed to get my non-dancing husband out there with me for a little bit.  SO fun!

 

Doing whatever the DJ told us to!

 

After the club, we headed over to Ariel's Grotto where we only had to wait a minimal amount of time to meet this princess in her new home.  Ariel and I had a good talk, and I promised her I would bring my two girls back to see her the next day. :)

 

 

We then decided to go check out Belle's new area of the park.  We got talked into going to Enchanted Tales with Belle.  This is a new attraction to Fantasyland in which participants are chosen to reinact the night that Belle and the Beast fell in love.  Jovan was chosen to be in the play as a knight.

 



After most of the parts were chosen, they asked for volunteers...obviously, I waived my hand!  I was chosen to play the part of the duster.  I had to swish around the room and say "Oh La La!".  Keep in mind it was about 11 p.m. when we were doing this.  I won't spoil the attraction, but we did get to have some time with Belle in the end.  Such a fun time!

After this, we headed back home to get a precious few hours of sleep before getting up and doing it all again!  So grateful for date nights...especially ones in my most favorite place on Earth! :)

Disney Day 1-Epcot



Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora came to visit our condo while we were sleeping.  They left the girls lots of fun Princess-y things.  Lainey was SO excited to see they had come to visit again, this time while she was sleeping!

This is my seventh trip to my most favorite place on Earth.  As a kid, going to Epcot was a day I dreaded.  As a teenager, I started to warm up to it a little bit.  As an adult, I have absolutely fallen in love with the place.

Ready to go on Day 1!  The best part about this picture is what you cannot see...we were the very first car in the parking lot that morning :)

We started our first day out bright and early with breakfast at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Norway.  When we took Lainey three years ago, we had dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table in the castle.  This was an absolutely amazing experience, but we wanted to try something different this time.  We had heard great things about the Akershus breakfast, so we decided to give it a try.  It was incredible!  The food was delicious, the restaurant was beautiful, and the princess interaction was perfect!  Lainey was able to meet all of her favorite princesses (and mine too!), and she even participated in a Princess Procession around the restaurant.  I am the nerd who teared up during all of this because of the absolute look of pure joy on her face!  We loved every minute!

 

Mommy's favorite princess

 

Lainey's favorite princess

After breakfast, we headed to ride some rides.  I have learned that the best time to make your dining reservations is for first thing in the morning.  You get into the park an hour before everyone else, therefore allowing you first access to rides when the park opens to the public.  We headed straight towards Soarin' and were able to basically walk right on.  We utilized one of Disney's best kept secrets, the Rider Swap, so Lainey got to ride the ride twice in a row.  After that, we spent the rest of the morning riding rides and taking it all in.  After lunch, we took a stroll "around the world".  This is one of my favorite things!  I just sit and marvel at how Disney has captured such detail and intrigue in each of the countries represented.  It is just so freaking cool!  At this point, we split up and Jovan and "Agent L" went to complete a mission for the Agent P World Showcase Adventure.  Basically, kids are given a phone with clues and a mission to complete in each country.  Lainey LOVED it!  While Jovan and Agent L were trying to defeat Dr. Doofenshmirtz, mom, dad, Lilly, and myself headed to France for my traditional chocolate eclair.  I can't leave the park without getting one--delicious!!  After a packed morning and afternoon, we called it a night around dinnertime and headed back to the condo.  Such a fun day!!!

Solving missions for Agent P

Lainey's Favorites: meeting the Princesses, riding Test Track

Lilly's Favorites: The Seas with Nemo and Friends

Jovan's Favorites: solving Agent P missions with Lainey

Jenn's Favorites: meeting the Princesses, my chocolate eclair

My Favorite Week of the Year!

Anyone who knows me knows that the week of the 4th is my favorite time of year!  I love this holiday for several reasons, and I always look forward to all the fun and festivities that go on during this time!  This is a little bit about our festive week this year:

Sunday, June 30th

My favorite :)

 

 

Our church does a HUGE community fireworks event every year.  There are bounce houses, food vendors, a live band, and a pretty amazing fireworks show at the end of the evening.  We went with some friends from our small group and had a great time.  We're overloaded with girls in our small group, and it's hilarious to watch them all get together and dance and laugh.

 



Monday, July 1st

 

 

Tuesday, July 2nd

 

Apparently I only got a picture of Lilly on this day.  Lilly went to school that day, and Lainey and I had a Girls Day bowling and shopping and what not, so I guess pictures weren't really on my mind!  Lainey did, of course, have on a patriotic outfit as well. :)

 



 

Wednesday, July 3rd

I didn't get a picture of the girls this day because both of them went to school and I was the lazy mom who slept in. :)  





Thursday, July 4th

 

 

I started out the 4th like most days...at the gym!  You know you're in need of a Zumba intervention when you spend major holidays at the gym ;)  Got my tail kicked in the morning so I could eat some good food that evening!

 



 

 

After Zumba we headed to our annual July 4th tradition, the Ralston Independence Day Parade.  Out of my 30 years on earth, I have been to this parade about 24 out of 30 of those years.  Love it! 

 

Lilly and Nana

Lainey's friends, Aidan and Alexa.  You can tell who was thrilled to be taking pictures!

 After the parade we went over to my dad's friend's house for a little pool time.  Once we had our fill of that we headed back home to grill with my parents and Jake and Megan.  We ate a ton, had a wardrobe change, and headed to our annual block party. 

The Girls

Ready to party!



Lilly and our little neighbor, Maddox

After our block party we headed back to Ralston to watch fireworks.  The thing I love most about watching fireworks is the fact that you get a show before and after the show.  People here are OBSESSED with this holiday, and fireworks are going off constantly from a week before through a week after the holiday.  They are still going off as I type!  

Sisters

 

 

You would think we 

would have been exhausted after our packed day, but when we got home from the fireworks there was still a little more partying to do.  Lainey threw on some glow sticks and joined the rest of the kids from our circle for some last sparklers and fireworks for the evening. 

 







 

 

Another successful 4th of July celebration!  Can't wait until next year!