Downtown Disney Continued!

Next time, (yes there will be a next time), we will eat here....it was so awesome we just walked around!

It was kind of themed after the ice age...very neat!

How cool is that!?

We explored the Lego store! All this stuff was made of legos.

The wall behind them is full of little men to purchase!

All colors, shapes, sizes, etc.!

Once upon a toy....also very cool! It had "timeless" toys....Rainforest cafe, also a neat place to eat.

A Downtown Disney recap....

What a neat place to explore! I wish we could have went back the last day to purchase our souvenirs. The first night, it was all a little overwhelming, but it had much more of a selection. It also had the castle Emma fell in love with and ended up buying with "grandma and papa's money." We also enjoyed riding the water taxi from one end to the other!

Next day...the Magic Kingdom!

Walt Disney World!!! (Traveling and Downtown Disney)

All packed up and ready to go! We basically decided to leave as soon as Emma got home from dance on Monday night. Our plane departure got moved up til 7 and I'm a big believer in getting to the airport early, to have plenty of time....so we left that night instead of at the crack of the middle of the night. If you know Vance and I, neither one of us likes to get out of bed, but we can stay up all night long!
So we are all packed and ready to go....my mom and dad and jenn stop by to tell us good-bye. We took a few pictures....Natalee wants to come too! Poor baby, they wouldn't let me bring her!

One last picture, before we left.

Needless to say, the night in our van was a long one, but totally worth it!

Finally on the shuttle bus at the airport!

In the air, Colby turned to me and grinned....Thanks mom for letting us fly in an airplane! Welcome, buddy!

Our flight to Atlanta was pretty snazzy, we had little t.v. screens in front of each of us and we could plug in our ear phones and watch t.v. Emma watched Diego and Vance listened to music. Colby kept his eyes glued out the window. Our layover was uneventful and pretty soon we were bound for Orlando! When we got there it was off to find the Disney Magical Express! That was pretty awesome, we felt like celebrities!

All aboard!

When we arrived at our hotel, we were given our 1st Visit! buttons and our hotel keys. These keys were like the magic card to anywhere. We soon found out we needed to have these with us at ALL times...they held power to get us into any park, transportation, and use our dining plan. We soon checked into our room and explored the resort.

Pretty snazzy! The kids and Vance swam for a bit and I just hung out and took pictures.
The kids were obsessed with the ducks at our resort!
After exploring, we changed and took off for Downtown Disney. That place was pretty awesome, and I wish we could have spent more time there. We had supper at Planet Hollywood, but if I could do it again I would have ate at T-Rex.
We did get to see the orginal hammer from Home Improvement though!

Then it was off to expore. Downtown Disney is made up of three parts and all the parts had shops. We went to the Wicked Witch's Cauldron and saw all her poisonous candy.....
and watched lots of performers and even got involved in a few performances!
More pictures to come.....

We're off!

Suitcases are packed....and weighed!

Carry ons are full of fun stuff!

Flip flops are ready for the airport!

Maps, boarding passes, all the info I've accumulated in 6 months!

If we're not ready, let the good Lord help us!

Cya in a week!

What a dreary, yucky day!

Yuck!
Rain
Fog
Clouds
Cool Weather
Indoor Recess
Wish I was headed somewhere warm.
Like a beach.
Sunny weather.
Oh wait!
I am!
Happy Monday!

It's finally time!

Metamorphosis

HA! This post really is about metamorphosis! Emma's bf Sylvia brought her a caterpillar after much searching on our own. I think we started looking to late. Anyway, we put it in a container and she changed his milkweed leaves everyday. He truly was the very hungry caterpillar b/c he doubled in size! Then one day when we got up he was hanging upside down from the top of his cage. That afternoon there was a chrysalis. How exciting! Everyday, she would run to check and see if he'd "hatched." Low and behold, today was the day! A new butterfly!

So excited!

How cool is it to hold it?

Colby got in on it too.

Then Emma took him out to the porch and let him go.

We then went to MFA where there was a Monarch butterfly and she was pretty sure he was following us!

Grandparent's Day with a Bonus

My children are so lucky!

Not only do they have biological grandparents that HAVE to love them.

They also have people in the community just dying to give their love out...and choose my children.

Grandparent's Day '09 was a huge success. Papa Curtis came for lunch, b/c he had therapy at the "dubbed" time. He turned down the school lunch though! I can't imagine why....

At the appointed time, Papa Larry, Grandma Cindy, and Bonus Grandma Penny (Grandma Joyce was in Memphis for their grandparent's day) all came to run up and down the hallways and sit with my kids. They did activities in their room, had cookies in the lunchroom, and watched them play outside. Colby and Papa Larry snuck out a little early and went fishing....Larry had to twist Colby's arm! Emma got to leave with Grandma Cindy and Bonus Grandma Penny. She went back to work with them and then went shopping with Grandma. Of course, she came a way with a few treats AND a happy meal. A good day was had by all!

Thank you Grandparents and Surrogate Grandparents!

We couldn't raise our children without you!

p.s. Don't ya just love colby's faces?