Disney: Day One

We just got back from a fabulous Disney adventure-- we went to Disney World one day and then got on a Disney Cruise ship for a 4 day cruise.  I took a million and ten pictures, which I feel may shut down blogger all together if I were to upload them all to one post, so I have decided to break the trip down into days.   Hopefully it will be easier to post it all! I am eager to get these posts out while everything is so fresh in my mind!

We left on Friday, March 28th.  The boys stayed home from school for some last minute prep and we headed to the airport around 12:30.  To say they were excited is putting it mildly...

At the airport, as I was taking this picture, Eddie was checking us in...for whatever reason (we chose not to question it), we were bumped up to first class.  And it was awesome.

We boarded the plane and ordered drinks immediately. 

In fact, I had three drinks.  Wait.  The flight is less than 90 minutes.  Yes.  That is correct. Three bloody marys in less than an hour and a half.  Judge away.

This one was happy...and so was his momma. 

He reached over and held my hand for the last part of the flight.  Sweet thing. 

We landed in Orlando and the boys spotted Goofy- seeing their reaction to this statue got me so excited for them to see actual characters in Disney World and on the boat.  They were in awe of a statue.  

We walked right out of the airport and hopped on the bus.  God bless the person who came up with the Disney express system-- they claimed our bags at baggage claim and delivered them to our rooms!

Andy thought the system was great too...

We debated where to stay for a while.  Should we stay close to the park on the monorail? We knew we weren't going to be spending much time at all at the hotel, since the plan was to go to the park first thing Saturday morning and stay there as long as we could, and then get on the boat Sunday morning-- there wouldn't be much hotel time.

A friend of mine stayed at the Art of Animation hotel and after seeing her pictures, I knew we needed to stay there.  Plus, we could stay in a suite there for less than the cost of staying at the Grand Floridian or Contemporary.

This hotel has three main themes: Finding Nemo, Cars, and Lion King.  My boys favorite movies!

The lobby was filled with drawings of the characters...

And it was completely funky.... not sure I could handle working in this lobby, but kids love it!

The first pool you pass when you walk outside is a Finding Nemo pool- the bar is called The Drop Off-- isn't that clever? Guess you have to be familiar with the movie to find that cute.  

After passing Nemo, we headed into Ornament Valley and Radiator Springs. And it actually looked just like Radiator Springs in the movie. 

As you walk closer, you can see all of the Cars characters lining the paths of Radiator Springs-- this literally blew the boys' minds.  Cal had his hands on his head and his mouth wide open--he could NOT believe all of them were there!

He asked me if Flo would talk to him....

 They raced from one car to the next; in awe each and every time they saw a new car--

 Andy cracked me up with his pose here-- honestly, this kid and his little personality!

The hotel wasn't the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in, but it was the absolute perfect place for us! The boys loved it and we loved seeing them love it! I can't recommend this hotel enough if your kids love Cars! This was our room....

This was the table in the suite-- the Mater bed pulled out of the wall! 

And, one of the two bathrooms.... gotta love it! hahaha

After checking out our room we headed to downtown Disney to grab some dinner...along with about 50 million other people.  Every restaurant there had a 2 hour wait at least! It was crowded and beyond crazy.  It was past 7 by this point so we decided to head back to the hotel and eat at the restaurant there-- we should have just done that to begin with... oh well!

The boys at downtown Disney...

We ate and then headed back to the room- it was close to 9 and we knew we were going to be up early.  On the walk back to the room, Cal started saying "night night!" to all of the cars.  Eddie and I were watching him when we heard another family laughing.  We turned to see what they were laughing at and we saw this:

Andy was hugging/kissing each and every car. Bless his heart. It was like he couldn't even handle his excitement and love for this place.  He had to hug them all!

After our love fest, we headed home to get on jammies and crash.  The boys didn't sleep great that night (like they ever do), but we were up and at 'um Saturday morning, ready to hit the park and GO!


 

#carriedaway: week 9

Week 9:

Day 78: typical dinner time muscle competition

 Day 79: "look, momma! I can hold nugget!"

 Day 80: is there a filter to make you look less tired/flustered/crazy/insane? Because I need it.

 Day 81: He is growing up way too fast. I swear he looks older today then he did yesterday.

 Day 82: Frozen freezes children.

 Day 83: they found a set of clean sheets and entertained themselves for a while. Whatever it takes.

 Day 84: because when heading to Disney, you gotta have new shades.


 

#carriedaway: week 8

Week 8:

 Day 71: the Williamson boys ready to go to school.  Poor Hank hates school days...

 Day 72: Mohawks

 Day 73: it's FRIDAY!!!

 Day 74: soccer game fun

 Day 75: a double date to the movies with Sally and Brad

 Day 76: we told the boys the news tonight.  Let the countdown begin!

 Day 77: swim lessons.  About 4 minutes before the biggest Clorox moment of my life.


 

A few of my favorite things...

I did one of these posts a while ago and figured it was time to share a few of my latest favorite things...in case you were in a rut and needed new things.

The first thing on my latest obsession list is this mop:

The Shark Professional Steam Mop

I had a friend have this and talk about how great it was.  So I asked for one for Christmas and I.LOVE.it.  I do not like mopping.  I really hate getting a bucket of water and sloshing it through the house and then moving all the furniture while I mop and then keeping the kids off while the floors dry.  I was using swiffer sweeper mops, but then I read an article about how if you have pets and they walk on a freshly mopped floor and then lick their feet--- or if they eat off of the floor-- it can be harmful to their health.  That was all it took for me to get rid of those.

The Shark has no chemicals-- it's all water.  The floors clean fast and look awesome when done.  It  makes mopping SO much easier.  You just pour a little water in the back and press a button and the steam starts pumping.  I can mop my entire downstairs in under 5 minutes.  It's awesome.  I was going on and on about this to my mom who was skeptical-- I am sure she thought I lost my mind getting this excited over a mop-- but then she bought one for the beach house.  And she loved it.  She and dad had a bunch of friends down there and they were talking about it to them and they all ended up wanting one too.

Trust me-- this mop is awesome.  Use your Bed Bath and Beyond coupon and get it for 20% off! It's worth it!

Okay, enough with the mop....

My other recent love is this shampoo.

 Organix Thick &Full Biotin Collagen Shampoo and conditioner

I was in a shampoo/conditioner rut.  I wasn't loving anything I tried and I wasn't quite willing to "test" out all the expensive ones trying to find one I liked.  I had a friend tell me about this brand so I tried it and LOVED it.  I have tried other kinds from this brand and don't like them as much.  This makes my hair less frizzy, but adds volume.  I use the shampoo and conditioner and love them both!

Staying on the beauty front, every spring I start using

 Jergens Natural Glow lotion.

I used it when I was pregnant with Andy and when I delivered him in May, all the nurses asked me how I was so tan...one even asked if I had been in the tanning bed.  This year I have only used it 4-5 times and had 3 people ask me how I am already tan.  The stuff works! It smells kinda strong so I sometimes mix it with smell good lotion to ease the stench.  It also stains hands so make sure to wash afterwards!

And, the last of my favorite things...

Iron Knee Jeans from Lands End

We struggled with jeans for the boys.  I have tried Gap, Old Navy, OshGosh, etc.  The holes in the knees were happening ALL the time.  Cal got all new jeans this year since none of his last year fit.  Every single pair of jeans got huge holes in the knees.  HUGE.  Andy got all of Cal's jeans from last year-- that weren't already torn-- and they all were finished off pretty quickly.  

I love the way the Gap jeans fit-- and I felt like they were holding up pretty well, but after two months, the holes started showing.  And they are just way too pricey to pay that to have them not hold up.  

Maybe my boys are extra hard on pants.  Although, another mom of boys gave me the suggestion to try these pants.  Her son is 6 today (happy birthday, bo!) and is super active too.  The jeans go on sale all the time.  When I bought them, they were under $20.  I figured I couldn't go wrong with trying.  

They are actually pretty awesome.  The knees are reinforced with an added layer.  We have had them over a month and there are zero traces of wear and tear.  I only ordered some for Cal, but I will definitely order some for Andy next year too.  

I lied...one more thing... speaking of Lands End....

The have a "uniform" collection of clothes appropriate for schools that require uniforms (plain polo shirts with no logos, etc).  They have a bunch of colors and you can add a monogram on them for $6, which is cheaper than most places.  Just a hint if you are looking for a polo without a logo....


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This post was so random.  I love reading things that other people are into so if you blog-- share your favorite things too!!!    



 



 

#carriedaway: week 10

Week 10:

 Day 64: Lord, thank you for blessing me with the two loving, energetic, sweet, CRAZY, fun boys. I adore them.

 Day 65: momma's boys

 Day 66: thrilled to celebrate with dear friends! Happy Birthday, Dustin!

 Day 67: a morning at the spa while the guys golfed+lunch outside+great friends+sunshine=a very happy me!

 Day 68: this incredible person...she kept the kids so we could have a weekend away. She is truly the most selfless, generous and caring person I know. I am so thankful for my sister in law and her love of my boys!

 Day 69: puppy dog turned 9 on Saturday...Today he celebrated with a bone and some sunshine.

 Day 70: the first soccer practice

 

Spring time calendars

After a little lull in activities, spring time is here and we are cranking things back up!

I like having activities for the boys-- especially sporting activities that will help burn some energy.  My friend Rachel (hi, Rachel!) wrote in her blog about exposing her son to a variety of different sports to let him decide which he likes best, instead of just pushing him in one direction or another-- plus, as she put it, it helps them become a more well-rounded athlete! Well said, Rachel!

So, this spring, Cal started taking tennis lessons! My mom was SO excited about this! She was waiting for him to be old enough to start and he is this spring! We are taking lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:15-4:00.

We have also started soccer again for another season-- this time, Andy is joining in on the fun too! Soccer practices are from 5-6 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

So, our Tuesdays and Thursdays are busy-- and there isn't much time for a nap in there...I am hoping all of this activity will create some good sleepers....???!?! (please? PLEASE?!?!)


 Cal's first lesson:

The first soccer practice... the weather here has been so weird.  One day is it freezing cold (above picture) and then it is nice and warm and sunny (below picture)...

All of the ducks getting ready to play!

After practice... trying hard to get a picture into the sun...

Another tennis lesson... he really is loving it! Asks all the time when he gets to play again!

And, I guess it was time for another run in with the pavement for Nug.  He took a spill at Cal's school this week-- straight into the ground.  Poor kid.  Doesn't faze him much and it sure isn't slowing him down!

The Ducks had their first game this morning.  Andy started off SUPER excited...

There were some jersey issues... but they should be figured out soon....maybe?

Cal loved it and was right back where he left off-- getting dirty and running like crazy.  He loves playing soccer! He scored a goal, but of course I didn't get it on video.  

Andy went in and played great-- he ran towards the ball (as opposed to away from it) and was running around like crazy.  Then he came out for a water break and said he was ready for his snack.  I guess he remembers last year when Cal played, at the end of the game, the team all got snacks... I explained that snacks happen AFTER the game.  He did not appreciate that answer and burst into tears.  Screaming, hysterical tears. 

When he went back into the game, he pushed a kid and then stood in the middle of the field with his arms crossed crying.  Screaming, actually.  Eddie ran out to get him, which really just pissed him off further.  He stood on the sidelines for the rest of the game crying asking me to hold him-- which I wouldn't do because I was trying to video Cal.  Such a mean mom.  Then Andy heard someone mention Chick-fil-a and he perked right up asking if we could get some... I think the poor kid was hungry.  Note to self-- give him a snack BEFORE heading to the games...

We picked up CFA on the way home and had another little tailgate party.  They LOVE eating in the back of my car- weirdos!

I love having a busy schedule and keeping lots of activities... seems to keep everyone happy to be busy!