Spring Break- Disney Day 1

Ready to tackle Disney!

Day 2 with Charlie we decided to hit up Disney World.  He could not wait.  Since we had gone to Disney for a day in January, Charlie remembered what to expect and was really excited.  Riding the monorail was a highlight alone.  He also loved the idea of trying out some big kid rides since Anna was not with us.

On the monorail

Since we knew the line would be long, Zach took off when we got to the park to fast pass Splash Mountain.  I was not able to do the ride since I was pregnant, but we thought Charlie would love giving it a try.  While Zach was over getting the passes, Charlie and I headed towards the merry go round since there are lots of kid rides in that area.  

The three of us (finally a ride I could do too!) did the merry go round and a few other things then headed to Splash Mountain.  Thankfully Charlie made the height requirement by one inch.  Close call!  So off Zach and Charlie went to do the ride while I watched.  I'm so bummed that I couldn't go too.  Zach said it was just awesome.  Charlie LOVED Splash Mtn.  He had the best time!  As soon as they got off someone offered them fast pass tickets they weren't going to use, so Charlie got to go twice in a row.  I don't know if I've ever seen him so happy!

Getting ready for Splash Mountain.  He was a little concerned (but excited) the first time

Another thing we did that Charlie loved was PhilharMagic.  It's a 3D movie with scenes from tons of Disney movies.  It has is slightly interactive with them lightly spraying water or making wind go crazy in the theater to correspond to the scenes.  Charlie really had fun watching the movie, and it was nice to sit and be cool for a while.

The People Mover is always a favorite

We continued the day doing rides (including more Splash Mtn) like Winnie the Pooh, the People Mover, and more.  Since we knew we would be back the next day, we didn't push doing too much.  Then we headed back to the hotel to relax.  We capped the night off by heading to Downtown Disney to have dinner at T Rex.  Then Zach took Charlie swimming in the hotel pool for an hour.  Needless to say, we slept really well that night!

Spring Break- Medieval Times

After finishing up at LegoLand, we headed to Disney property to check in at the Polynesian resort.  Best hotel ever if you are traveling with kids by the way.  We quickly dropped our bags off and headed out to dinner.

For dinner I convinced Zach to give Medieval Times a chance.  I had been a few times when I was a kid, but he had never tried it.  I used to love watching the live jousting show and cheering on my team's knight.  Eating the food with your hands and making a mess was an added benefit!  

We took Charlie and got him a big flag to wave in honor of our knight, the red one.  We wandered around the property for a while checking things out and then sat down for our meal.  Charlie was not a big fan of the food, but Zach and I thought it was pretty darn good.

The show was even cheesier than I remembered, but it was really worth taking Charlie.  He had a great time cheering and waving his flag, even if he wasn't entirely sure what was going on.  Zach definitely thought the experience was hokey, but he was really glad to have given it a try once.  It really was a fun day all around!

Spring Break- LegoLand

Once again we spent Charlie's spring break down in Florida.  It was nice because this year it overlapped with my mom's break.  Usually he has to miss school for us to go down.  Most years Zach and I use this time to take a small vacation, just the two of us, and leave the kids with my parents.  This year, though, I was so pregnant and uncomfortable that we did not feel like going anywhere too far away.

Helping Mommy read the map

So we thought it might be nice to have a vacation with just Charlie for a couple days, and he could enjoy being like an only child before baby #3 arrives.  Our first stop on spring break was LegoLand.  It just opened recently in Florida, and we (Zach) had been wanting to check it out.  

Waiting in line at his first roller coaster

There they are!

Charlie's too small to see in this one, but you can see Zach waving

We flew down to Florida on Monday morning and headed to LegoLand the next day.  It was great!  It is obviously a LOT smaller than Disney, but there were tons of things for Charlie to do.  He could ride almost every ride there, and the wait times were just a few minutes.  Zach even got to take him on his first real roller coaster, which was so fun for both of them!

Getting sprayed on the Lego boat

Charlie won this unicorn all by himself at one of the games

LegoLand was the perfect way to start off our trip.  The crowds were really light, and it was so nice to just walk on the rides.  I couldn't do most of them being pregnant, but at least I didn't have to wait long while the guys were on rides.  The only bad part was the lack of shade while waiting.  All the rides had enclosed areas to wait in, but I was stuck in the sun a bit.  It was worth it, though, to see how much fun Charlie was having.    

Heading out

No bad time for sunglasses

Anna loves her "eyes."  The other morning she put them on while still in pjs, watching cartoons, and eating breakfast.  She makes me laugh.

March 2 - Snow??

We spent most of the day on March 1 outside playing like crazy.  We never expected to wake up the very next morning to snow.  This picture of Anna says it all...

March 1 - Perfect Weather

Snack getting ready to play

I'm a little behind on our activities lately.  I didn't want to miss out on putting up pictures of March 1, though.  It actually made it up to 74 degrees!  It was fantastic weather, so I made sure to get the kids outside for a few hours to play.

We have a fantastic backyard.  It is huge with a great play set, lots of trees, and plenty of room to run.  The kids spent over an hour back there playing with everything.  They had such a blast chasing each other around and exploring.  Hard to believe that they were able to spend time out there without coats on.

I love our backyard

Another angle

Look at Anna's joyful face!  She was bouncing on the rocks and loving it

After wearing them out in the backyard, we decided to hit up the front of the house for a while.  Our front yard is not that big and on kind of a hill, so we didn't really play there much.  Instead we walked down the street for a bit.  Then we got out the sidewalk chalk, played basketball, and rode scooters.  Basically we used every outdoor toy we could find.

It was amazing weather, and I am so glad we are having an easy winter this year.  The kids have too much energy to be cooped up, so it has been great getting them out to burn some of their craziness off!  

Check out Charlie peeking over the side of the slide

Kisses

We were out to dinner the other night, and Anna kept holding my face and giving me kisses.  She doesn't like to give kisses a lot, so this was really sweet.

 

Day with Daddy Again

Where's Charlie?

After the kids had spent the day with Daddy on Saturday, our plan was family time on Sunday.  We had some stuff to do, including a birthday party to go to.  What we did not anticipate were the completely horrible leg cramps I would suffer Sat night/Sun morning beginning around 2 am.  They shot up and down my legs and caused unbelievable pain.  It appeared I may have actually torn something in my left foot because I could not walk on it at all until about 3:00 in the afternoon.

Pure joy

Anna found Charlie.  (I realize now that Charlie appears to be holding a poop-like object!  Not so!!  Just a water toy)

This put Zach on Dad duty again.  He made the best of it and spent the morning keeping the kids occupied.  Anna and Charlie both took naps that afternoon and the naps even overlapped which was great!  

Then we had our friend Ryan's third birthday party to go to.  The party was at the Matt Ross Comm Center about 20 min from where we live.  Since I still could not really walk, I stayed home with the sleeping Anna.  Zach took Charlie over for the cake and presents and pool time.  Thankfully by the time Anna woke up from her nap I could hobble around somewhat.  I did not want her to miss out on the party, so we packed up and headed over.

Lazy river

Anna and Zach right behind Charlie

Matt Ross has a great pool area, so I am glad Anna and I made it.  Zach was a real trooper and had both kids in the pool by themselves.  They really had a blast.  When it was time to go Charlie was exhausted, however Anna was not pleased and tried to put her water arms back on.  We gave her another 5 min and then hauled her out of the pool and into the changing area.  Zach stood her on a bench and tried to change her.  Anna was not going to let her displeasure go unnoticed though.  She grabbed Zach's shirt, bent down to look in his eyes, and laid into him.  It was one of the funniest things we have ever seen.  She yelled and yelled at him.  Thankfully a pacifier quickly quieted her down so we could head out.

Anna loves to jump in the pool.  She felt like such a big kid

The kids had a wonderful weekend with Zach, and the birthday party was a blast.  All these indoor water areas are an awesome way in the winter to wear the kids out.

Day with Daddy

The other weekend Zach was on full Daddy duty.  Saturday I had some shopping and stuff that I had to get done during the day.  That evening we were going to head to the ballet, and being very pregnant I had nothing to wear.  So I spent the day looking for a dress to wear and had some other things I needed to get while I was out.  

The kids had such a blast with Zach.  He took them in the jogging stroller to the park where they played for a long time.  Then they stopped by the creek by our house on the way home to check things out.  When they got back they played in the backyard some more.  He did a great job in wearing them out.  They had the best time getting some alone time with Daddy without Mommy around.  Mommy enjoyed going shopping alone for once.  Here are some pictures Zach took of their day.  I think we need to do this more often...