Monday, January 9, 2012

Disney World, Day 1, January 2nd

We couldn't sleep. We were too excited, and there was so much to do. New Year's Day was spent mostly in preparation for our big surprise, a trip to Walt Disney World. We'd stayed up until 2 packing, once the luggage was in the car, we still couldn't sleep. The boys were up at 7. I can't imagine how early they'd have gotten up if they knew what we were up to.

Eric's parents met us at our house at 8:30. We told them we were going to take Grandma to the airport, and maybe have brunch there. Then Grandpa dropped us off.
;)
We only waited a moment when our friends arrived!



Christopher was absolutely enchanting with his Dance of Joy.



Christopher and Emily understood completely what our surprise meant. But the little ones had yet to discover. They were simply happy with their sweatshirts! Speaking of which, I had made matching sweatshirts for all of us.




We're a hard group to miss! Thanks to Auntie Bohl for her photodocumenting and transportations services of the Juli'i. Even from the back, we're pretty Festive. Can you see Sam peeking through?



The kids were thrilled to get on the plane. Sam, Grandma, and I took up one row.



Sam was not initially content to settle down. He wanted to be up and around peeking at friends, snuggling with family, and looking out the window.



Luckily (?) the weather provided the opportunity. It was 20 degrees in Indy, slushing, so the planes needed to be deiced. Sam and the other kids thought watching the truck spray its 'special sauce' was quite cool!




Chris and Emily sat with Eric, being sweet, and watching movies.



We thought the twins might have a bumpy ride, but we plied everyone with treats and movies, and they did wonderfully.



Kristin and Mike were snuggled up together, playing sweetly, while Sarah sat with Kathleen. God Bless Direct Flights!



I thought this photo was extremely cool, as we flew in if you look closely, you can see the Epcot ball, Spaceship Earth, in the center. This is especially cool, I learned, since 9/11, planes aren't allowed to fly directly over WDW, so we can't get much closer. Still very cool.



Once we arrived at our resort, Old Key West, we needed snacks, and to run off some of the kids' pent up energy. My boys wanted to look at the water, almost a marina, little ferryboats could tootle up and down river to Downtown Disney. We never opted to take one, as that evening a chill set in, that didn't leave until our last days.



Chris and Emily were running races to Eric up and down the boardwalk.



Eric was the source of much fun for boys and girls to climb and cuddle. It's the most relaxing he's done in months.




Once we were in our room, the kids continued their runaround.



Sam and Sarah literally ran circles around the villa, through our room, out to the patio, through the kitchen and back around.



After we settled in somewhat, we decided to take the bus to Downtown Disney for dinner and some shopping. We picked up much needed Autograph books for the boys and had dinner at Wolfgang Puck's. Their pizzas were So Good! Eric got a little silly in his sweatshirt, not sure if he's being a monk or a jawa, but he was funny.



After supper, we took the boys to the Lego Store. It was hugely crowded, but so nifty, they had a table with Duplos for the Little ones to play on. They had a table where you could make a little car and race it, Sam wanted to do that one very badly, but it was for the bigger kids.



They had some amazing lego sculptures. This one of Maleficent the dragon fighting Prince Philip was so cool. Even in the dark.



Sam spotted this dragon in the lagoon. I'm not sure if he was Pete's Dragon or not, but he showed up again later in a water parade we saw later in the week.



Chris and Daddy found some Lego Batman goodies, which Chris just HAD to have. Lego Batman hasn't made it to Indy yet. And both boys took a moment to pose with Lego Buzz Lightyear.



After the lego store, we had some hot cocoas from the Ghiradelli cafe. So Good! Especially since the weather was getting chilly. In addition I couldn't resist these little light up ears I saw at a stand for the mommies. "If you've got Ears, Say Cheers!"



Getting the kids to do much together was like herding cats. But they were thrilled to ride the bus.



They were so happy, and they weren't even entirely aware of all the fun that was to come. This was only day 1!

2 comments:

Yasher said...

What a wonderful surprise trip! Glad you all had such a wonderful time - sure looks like you had fun - and only day 1, so far! :)

amypfan said...

SO JEALOUS!!!