Disney!!

Alright, here we go. I actually didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. I was usually juggling too much with the three kids and all our stuff to haul out the camera and snap away. I did manage to get a good many though (as you will see =). The trip went pretty well. Better than expected with the twins and worse than expected with Caroline. She used to be such a "go with the flow" type kid but has turned into a squirming fussing crazy girl ... and get her a little too tired and overstimulated and the you-know-what can hit the fan before you can remember your name. She can throw a hissy fit like nobody's business ... and coming from the mother of Meredith and Hannah ... that is saying A. LOT. Just before you want to hand her to Mickey Mouse and run, she can flip that switch and be so charming to you and everyone around you that NO ONE would believe you when you said just 5 minutes ago she was throwing a fit ... Alan said he doesn't know ANYONE else like that ... hmmmm ... She is a little flirt though and it is so cute to see her interact with strangers because the twins were not like that at all. She loves the attention ... Anyway, back to Disney ... The first day we went to Magic Kingdom and everyone was really fussy and we wondered if we were going to really regret going on this trip ... but for the rest of the week Alan kept Caroline in the hotel most of the time (he would meet us here and there) and the twins and I ventured out. Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios were MUCH more their speed. They are such timid kids and I think the general craziness and loudness of Magic Kingdom was a bit of a turn-off for them. They had their moments and it was a bit of a struggle to get them out of the hotel most days but once we got out and about they did well. They were angels on every bus/train/ferry boat we went on and behaved really well at all the restaurants ... I was very proud of them. Their favorite things were the shows ... their (and my) all-time favorite was the Festival of the Lion King ... it was AMAZING and they had gymnasts and dancers and I think it was really cool for them to see some of the things they do (like the uneven bars) used in that advanced way. We also saw Beauty and The Beast Live, The Little Mermaid and Nemo. It was nice to have some one-on-two time as opposed to being with all 3. I think it was good for Caroline to have some Daddy time, too. I just hated that Alan did not get to have much fun and that we didn't get to see each other much. He was sweet, though, and said that I "deserved" it (to go and have fun) and I was grateful for that. Well, on with the pics ... I will try to keep the chat to a minimum as there are TONS of pics (I guess it is a little late for that ...)

For the twins, seeing the Little Einsteins was like meeting celebrities! They love their TV shows ... this is June and Quincy ...

and Annie and Leo ... these were the only characters that the twins wanted to have anything to do with ... they LIKE the other characters when they are on TV but they were a little freaked out with the costumes (think: reaction to Santa) and all but I guess they were too excited to be afraid of the Little Einsteins!

well, Hannah took a little coaxing ...

Unlike the twins, Caroline thought the characters were hysterical ... as you will see throughout ... we had dinner at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and Friends ...

A purple Cinderella's Castle ... if you have never seen the firework show (which is also a really amazing light show that uses the castle as a canvas) it is really crazy how they light up this castle into different scenes ... crazy.

OK, on to the Animal Kingdom ... we spent two days here as the twins LOVED it ... this is the Kilimanjaro Safari which is like going to the zoo only someone rides you through it in a Jeep and tells a story about poachers ... we got to "save" a baby elephant by scaring away some poachers and MAN did those 3 year olds take that seriously! Even the second time through (they loved it so much we went twice) they did not find it coincidental at all that the SAME thing happened ... they STILL go on and on about the poachers. Meredith told me last night that she dreamed about the poachers ... Anyway, this is a super cool tree ... they called it the "upside down" tree in addition to the real name which I forgot ...

There was a fake baby elephant in the back of a canvas Jeep for the purpose of the story but this one is real ... so cute! So cute, too, how it just stood and snuggled with it's Mommy ... he said elephants stay with their Mommies for 13 years ... pretty cool.

just a bunch of cool animals ... I have forgotten what many of them are called ...

well, this is the Nile Crocodile

Hippo!

Screaming Cheetah ... no, wait, that is Caroline ... see, hard to believe that she is ever naughty, eh? This day, they all fell asleep in the strollers ... too bad that did not happen more often!

The girls were never really interested in the parades. I think all the crowds and noise turned them off from them ... we got stuck in them a lot, however. A lot of times we couldn't get to where we needed to be so we would have to wait them out. I always thought they were fun =) This is the jammin' jungle parade in Animal Kingdom ... Pluto ...

Mickey ...

Minnie ...The Tree of Life ... which I think is really awesome! The artwork which made up the trunk was amazing.

Tigger!

Mommy ... what in the h*** is that?

I love you so much that I will bite your nose ... yes ... she bit his nose ... got drool all in his little breathing mesh grill thing on his nose ... oops =)

I think it is really funny to bite Pooh ...

If I have to sit through this show about birds then you better give me some ice cream! Sara, sorry about Kate's shirt but I promise it came out in the wash =)

One of (the many) restaurants where we ate ... it was a really neat one though ... I wish I would have gotten more pics of the inside ... it is The Rainforst Cafe ... and it is like you are sitting in the middle of the rainforest eating! This was right outside the exit ...

and here was the entrance ... my pics of the inside did not come out all that well ... sort-of dark in there

the twins and Goofy ... they were not so thrilled ...

Ahhhh ... here we go ... dinner with the Princesses ... I think the twins thought they died and went to heaven ... they were so excited to see the princesses (I guess they aren't scary since they are just like us only with (what Alan calls) a carcenogenic amount of make-up on ... here was Caroline having desert ... kid is not happy unless she is getting to be a big girl (in this case using a spoon) and getting to make a mess!

Cinderella ...

despite the face she was really not grumpy here ... I wanted to get a good picture of her "kiss" =)

Ariel ...Snow White (the giver of the kiss) ... we met Snow White earlier in the day and the girls did not want to talk to her once it was our turn ... I rode them up there in the stroller anyway and they did not want to get out and M was OK but H was a grumpy pants ... well, she remembered that ... I was so surprised since it had been at least 5 or so hours since then and they were even in different clothes ... she was like (in her princessy voice) "have I met you girls before? Out by the wishing well? You are much happier now!"

Sleeping Beauty ... Hannah was so funny ... after every time we took a picture she wanted to show the princess what the picture looked like on the camera screen ... and tell her all kinds of random facts ... it was really cute to see her so excited and social! Meredith was happy but a little timid.

Epcot ...

Caroline was particularly difficult any time we had to be still ... like on a mode of transportation, a show, dinner or waiting for dinner ... sometimes I had to resort to bribery to get from point A to point B ... she was so sticky ... then, of course, wiped her face on me ... good thing for the washer and dryer in our villa!

Forgot what this little show was called but it was a cute one with the Mickey Mouse and crew and princesses all in one little story about believing in your dreams ...

Cinderella's Castle again ... and Alan with his three little princesses (awwwwww ;) We were able to get in a few things before the fussing hit in Magic Kingdom ... they loved the Small World ride and the Carousel ...

This was one of the things the girls enjoyed in Magic Kingdom ... Minnie's country house, Mickey's country house and a little playground across the "street" ... behind Mickey's house we were able to meet Minnie and Mickey ...

They were a little afraid but not too bad ... I think they still thought it was pretty neat ...

Caroline's birthday!!! and other things ...

Here I am again ... trying to play catch-up. We have had a busy year and it is hard to believe it is already mid-February. These are just a few photos of Caroline's birthday and this and that from the weeks around her birthday. I plan to have our pictures from Disney posted soon, as well.

Meredith and Hannah made these Groundhog Day Hats at school ... they were sure to tell me that if I saw a groundhog that I could look at it but not pick it up because it might scratch me ... I assured them I would not be picking up any groundhogs ;)

me likely the raisins ...

getting a little help from her sisters ... the little kitchen by her window was her present from us ... the real gift was Mommy putting it together ... after 20 pages of instructions, countless little pieces, 6 lollipops and 7 wow, wow, wubzys (because two certain little distractions are no longer napping) ... it was finally done ... and even though the twins thought it would be great to take all the little identification numbers off all the little packs of screws and bolts (there were at least 7 or 8 different kinds, shapes, and sizes) and put them all on one little piece of paper ... it hasn't fallen apart ... yet ...

wasn't digging the cake ...

Alan made Caroline a delicious red (well, pink because we did not have enough red food coloring ...) velvet cake for her birthday and cooked a yummy birthday dinner. My parents were here for the birthday and the recital for the twins ... it was a nice, low-key celebration.

Ta-da! I can NOT believe my baby is one! I will save the sappy mush but will say what we all know ... it is all too precious and goes by tragically fast.

On Caroline's birthday, the twins had a little skills showcase at The Little Gym. They did a tap number, a ballet number, balance beam, and uneven bars. Then they each got a little ribbon. These are the cuties that are in their class. I put several videos on Facebook but have a hard time putting videos on here for some reason.

YAY Meredith (this is in reverse order ... you know me ...)

They did a little routine where they started on the low bar, then up to the high, then did a little turn, then a basket hang, then a jump landing ... all assisted, of course ... here is M on the high bar ...

YAY Hannah! You can see how happy she was ... so cute ... they are such timid girls that it is fun to see them beaming with pride.

Hannah on the high bar about to do the basket hang ...

waiting for their turn on the balance beam ... I love pictures like this ... reminds me of my dance days ...

huddling for courage ... they were a bit shy with the crowd of an audience but they got up there and I was proud of them for that ...

what a group of cuties ...

loving being able to be in the gymnastics room with her sisters instead of having to look through the glass with envy ...