Orlando Vacation, Part II

Emma with her souvenir of choice.

The next day was our magical Magic Kingdom day. Thanks to smaller January crowds and fast passes we were able to do just about every attraction in the park. The weather was gorgeous. It couldn't have been a more perfect day.




Audrey was able to wow the crowd with her mad hula hooping skills.





Proof that I was actually there. This is the only picture I'm in
out of the few hundred we have of the trip.



The last thing we did was visit Mickey. With a stroke of luck, Minnie was there too.

Orlando Vacation, Part I

As a Christmas present to the girls, we took them on a trip to Orlando. They had two days off school in January and we thought that would be the perfect time to go. When we first started talking about going, we were planning on driving. But then Greg figured out that his frequesnt flier miles would cover five of the six of us (yes, he has been travelling that much lately) and it was a no-brainer.

It snowed the morning we left. It made going to Florida
in the middle of winter that much sweeter.

It was Emma's first time on a plane. She was so nervous but she ended up loving it. When we landed she was so mad and confused that the plane didn't take us to Disney World.

We had dinner at Steak 'n Shake

 then went to Downtown Disney, where the kids tried on just about every pair of ears,

got a sprinkling of pixie dust,

rocked out at a dance party,

and rode the carousel.

The next day we went to Clearwater, a beach on the Gulf coast. It was a little chilly to be swimming at the beach, but it was fun anyway.

We spent the rest of the day warming up at the heated pool and hot tub at the resort.

 

In Case You Missed It

Here is our appearance on The Nate Show.

 

Yes, that is a shot of just Nate and me. You're jealous, I know.

Sightseeing in D.C.

Ahhh... Do you hear that? The quiet, peaceful sound? That's the sound of my kids back in school. I really did enjoy having them home, but it's just so nice having my quiet daytimes back. Greg took off work for the whole break and it was awesome having him around.

On Friday the 23rd, we took a day trip to D.C. There are so many places there that I haven't been yet so our theme for the day was "Sights We've Never Seen." We started out at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It is closed on the weekends so we figured this was the perfect chance to go.



Probably the closest Greg will ever get to $1M.



After that, we ran (literally) back to our car then drove and parked near our next destination, Ford's Theater. We managed to get tickets for the last tour by just a few minutes. This was our favorite site of the day. We had an awesome guide who told so many details from the days leading up to Lincoln's assassination that you don't hear in history class. We even got to go right up to the booth where he was shot. Then we went to the Petersen house across the street and saw the room where he died.

Outside Ford's Theater



Next, we went to the Old Post Office Pavillion. I had never even heard of this place until a few days before. They have a food court where we had lunch and there is a bell tower that is the second highest point in D.C. (The Washington Monument is still closed because of earthquake damage.) We went to the top of the tower and had a very windy and cold 360 degree view of the city.

Then we went to the National Archives and saw the the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights. They also had an exhibit going on called "What's Cooking Uncle Sam?" It explored the government's effect on the American diet. It was interesting.



Next, (Are you tired yet? Our kids were.) we drove to the temple to see the lights.