BACK TO CT!!!

Hey everyone! I came up with the kids for two weeks in June to visit our old stomping grounds in CT. Thank you Laine and Pop for giving the kids an amazing two weeks! Also, thanks for taking some amazing pics that you'll see here on the blog! Let's get into it shall we?

Any trip to Laine and Pop's means lots and lots of swimming in the lake! Here are some great shots! Here is Elijah loving the lake!

Laine watching the activities...

And of course, snacks!

My kids love playing with each other.

Look at this smile!

I know I am biased when it comes to my own kids, but my little girl is growing up to be amazingly beautiful! Thanks Pop for some of the most beautiful shots of here so far!

Time to boogie board!

Saying hello to Aunt Carrie's new little man!

Enjoying a snuggle with Laine!

Caeley and Allie

Bath Time

In the midst of this trip, Christie flew in for her cousin Dana's wedding. It was a built in date night in the midst of a very busy trip!

When the kids returned to CT after being in Boston with our friends Mike and Davina (see the next blog coming up!) it was time for strawberry picking!

Thanks again for an amazing two weeks Lane and Pop!

Disney Trip Part 2!! Animal Kingdom!

On day 2 at the park we decided to go to Animal Kingdom. This park is awesome! There was a lot to do and it seemed like it was much more our speed.

Here we are in front of the Tree Of Life. If you can look closely, there are beautiful sketches of animals in this huge tree which is the center of the park.

Another big draw for us was a part of the park called "Dino Land USA".

Caeley and I riding the Triceratops ride ( Dumbo ride, but with Triceratops!)

My beautiful fam!

A little closer pic of the Tree Of Life

Now this is crazy! You see that rollercoaster behind us? Caeley went on that rollercoaster! She met the height requirement and she made it through the whole thing. I had gone on it before and warned her that it was going to be a little crazy (it really wasn't that too bad, for ADULTS!) As we pulled into the station, I put my hand on her and I could feel her heart pounding out of her chest. She said " I don't think I want to go on that till I'm older" haha! It was a special bonding moment with her rollercoaster obsessed dad ( I tried talking her out of it! Just for the record!)

Though it wasn't as hot as the day before, it still was hot! What a better way to cool off then some Mickey Ice Cream!

Another way to cool off and another reason why this park was just our speed was because they had amazing shows!! The "Finding Nemo The Musical" show was seriously as good as any Broadway show you could see. You would pay 50 bucks to see a show like this! We went to see this twice during the week. One of the major highlights of our trip

Another great show was the "Lion King" show. It was no "Nemo" but we liked it a lot!

We then went on a little safari. I felt like the kids have been so spoiled with their memberships to the Boston and Nashville zoos that it really wasn't much to write home about. But there were some animals that we didn't get to see at our zoos. Here was a cool sighting of a rhino!

Someone is getting tired...

Ok! Ready to go!

The funny thing is that we met most of the main Disney characters not at the Magic Kingdom but at Animal Kingdom!

This beat any show, any ride, anything! Note to parents: find ANY Disney character to meet!

On the way back to the car on the tram, there was a case of silly face that broke out. First with Elijah, then it started to spread!

THIS is what this trip has been all about. Most of you have seen a lot of pics of our kids, so you know the real deal when you see it! More to come soon....

Disney Trip Part 1!

So the day finally came! After winning the Southwest contest around Thanksgiving time, this trip was always in the background, something we looked forward to, something we talked about. But how would it REALLY be?

We landed in Orlando mid day. We decided the first day would be just swimming at the pool and then hit the ground running the next morning. And what a pool we had!

Here's Caeley showing no fear flying down the water slide! She loved this thing, actually everyone did!

"SUPERMAN!!!!"

The plan worked like a charm. The kids were tuckered out quite early. We had a wonderful suite with a bedroom in the back and a living room area in the front. This worked out very nicely for us to watch the series finale of "Lost" that night.

The first day we went to Magic Kingdom. We got there early and the magic was already starting....

Our first ride was the Dumbo ride. It was a little overwhelming for all of us at first. But after we learned the power of the Fast Pass (free service that tells you when to come back so you don't have to wait in obscene lines) we started getting the hang of it.

a little girl in search of princesses!

Mid day there was a great performance right in front of the castle with all the favorites, especially PRINCESSES!

And of course our first real sighting of Minnie and Mickey!

For those of you who don't know, Elijah LOVES Buzz Lightyear. One of his favorite things to say before he jumps off anything is "to infinity...and beyond!" He was so so excited to meet him! Here he does a pose down with Buzz (Uncle Robbie would be so proud!)

Nope not having fun at all, nope....

After a very long and HOT day, we cooled off on the way back to the hotel with a nice cold fruit smoothie. It was a great beginning to a great trip!!

(to be continued.....)