Spring Break- Dinner with Pooh

Charlie racing to meet Tigger.  He threw himself out of the booth!

 We really wanted to take the kids to eat with the princesses while we were at Disney.  Unfortunately eating at Cinderella's Castle fills up 6 months in advance.  We tried calling for the two months leading up to our visit, and there were no cancellations for any time during the three days we would be around.  Finally we realized it was a lost cause and moved on to a new plan.

Pure joy at meeting Pooh

Enter The Crystal Palace.  It is a buffet restaurant just off Main St in Disney World.  While you are eating the buffet, you can eat with the characters from Winnie the Pooh.  Both kids were really excited about the idea, and we were luckily able to make reservations for that night.  We decided this would be our dinner for our last night at Disney with my parents.

Charlie and Grandpa with Tigger

My parents trying to get a nice picture.  The kids making faces that sum them up!

When we got there Charlie was even more excited than we would have guessed for meeting Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet.  Charlie was just bouncing in his seat and thrilled when the characters came by.  Anna was not as happy.  She liked seeing them from far away, but did not enjoy the up close visits at all.  

Yay for Piglet!

We were glad that we could find a character dinner last minute to do with the kids.  Overall it was worth it for them to see the Pooh actors.  Plus you can't go wrong with an all you can eat buffet!

So happy at our dinner!!

Spring Break- Anna kisses

As I have said before, Anna is not a big kisser.  She was so happy to be with everyone at Disney, though, that she shared some love.

Spring Break- Disney Day 2

The whole gang!

For our third and last day with Charlie we headed back to Disney World.  He had been asking for the past two days when Anna would join us because he missed her so much.  Luckily we planned on my parents bringing her up for the day to join us.  

Anna joining us

Charlie picked out matching hats for him and Anna since he missed her.  He's so sweet!

I missed my girl!

Zach, Charlie, and I took the monorail over to Disney first thing in the morning to get Fast Passes for Splash Mountain so Charlie could take Grandpa on it.  After getting the passes, we headed back to the Polynesian to get my parents and Anna.  

Ice cream was perfect on such a hot day

Anna thought she was such a big girl

With Grandma on the merry go round

Charlie was so happy to have Anna join us!  We turned right back around and went to Disney where the guys did Splash Mtn.  Charlie had the best time taking Grandpa on it.  Meanwhile my mom, Anna, and I partook in some ice cream, which made Anna one happy (but messy!) girl.  Then we rode the merry go round.  Anna loved doing that.  Charlie actually finished up his ride and raced back to us just as we were getting on.  

Checking out the rides with Grandpa

Pooh with Grandma

Buzz Lightyear with Grandpa

After that we did lunch, Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, the People Mover, and more.  Anna started to really wear out at this time, so my mom headed back to the hotel with her for a bath while the rest of us did a few more rides.  It was a lot of fun to have a day where Grandma, Grandpa, and Anna could join us.  

Quick nap on the way back to the hotel

Grandma gave her a bath, and she was so happy

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.