Thanksgiving at the Beach!

After Disney we drove back to Fort Lauderdale. My parents took the kids and Daniel and I used some of his traveling rewards to stay at the W for a night. A great Disney Detox!!! It's definitely difficult at times having a husband who travels so much but I'm so proud of how hard he works for his family, and the perks are NIIICE! Our hotel room was bigger than my first apartment.



The next day we met up with my parents (and my brother Jason who had flown in) at a beach house they'd rented. It was just a few yards from the beach!


My mom made a traditional (and delicious) meal...we planned to have a picnic on the beach but it was too windy so we ate on the sunporch and watched the waves!

We did go to the beach for a bit...it was a tad cold and windy, but the kids loved it!


Happy Thanksgiving from the Lewis/Steward clan!

Disney Part 4: Hollywood Studios

Our last day at Hollywood Studios was fun, but boy was it crazy! Nothing like relaxing spread-out Epcot the day before :)

There was a Toy Story Mania ride (hence the "Toy Story" shirt theme for that day) which I knew was insanely popular so we got to the park before it opened and made a beeline for this ride...and there was already an hour wait! The line to get a Fastpass was even longer. So we toughed it out in line and the ride was cute, but I definitely wouldn't wait an hour again!

Next we split up and the girls saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and the boys went on Star Tours. These were two of the kids' favorite attractions!


We saw a Muppets 3D show and then met Lightning McQueen and Mater!

This was an Indiana Jones stunt show that was so cool. Avery got upset by the loud explosions so Daniel took her out for some ice cream...but Aidan was on the edge of his seat!

I saw that they were doing these Jedi Training Academy shows where the kids could go on stage and fight with Darth Vader (how cool is that?). We showed up early for one, but then I found out you had to have a ticket to go on stage, and by that point they were all gone. So Aidan didn't get to go on stage and I was so bummed :(

Aidan was disappointed, but got over it. Seriously, he and Avery were SO GOOD on this trip. They hardly whined, and their attitudes were so great even when the days were getting long and tiring. Everything we did was so worth it because they enjoyed every minute! Here they are with all their goodies (Grammy bought some of it, thanks Grammy!):

Thank you for a wonderful trip, Mr. Disney! We made tons of memories and will never forget it!!!

Disney Part 3: Epcot

The kids' shirt "theme" for Day 3 at Epcot was International...Avery wore a Paris t-shirt which was a gift from my friend Tracey, and Aidan wore a Mexico t-shirt I got for cheap on Ebay. This day was so relaxing because the park is so spread out and there aren't as many rides, just lots to walk around and see.

The first ride we did was Spaceship Earth:

Then we visited the countries, which I LOVED! Here are Aidan and Grammy in Mexico:

Norway:

China:

Banging drums with Papi at the Outpost:

A miniature town in Germany:

Avery dancing with some ladies in Italy:

Watching some drummers in Japan:

Morocco:

France:

France is also where Avery also got to see Sleeping Beauty again!

United Kingdom:

Canada:

After the countries we rode The Seas with Nemo and Friends...it was cute and a great way for us to stay out of the brief rain we had!

Then we had our character dinner at 4 (early I know, but even though I booked it 3 months in advance the available times were slim):



Daniel with The Bill, which Papi generously split with us. Yowza!

I had grabbed a Fastpass for Soarin' which is a really popular ride but our time wasn't until 6, so in the meantime the kids had fun watching a really cool water fountain:

Epcot at night!

Wiped out from a long (but fun!) day:

Disney Part 2: Magic Kingdom continued!!!

On Day 2, we headed back to Magic Kingdom and started off with some meet-and-greets. Avery got to meet Belle, Jasmine, and Sleeping Beauty. This was probably my favorite moment because she was SO mesmerized by them! She had the sweetest smile when she met them, especially Belle!




Next we got to all meet Mickey and Minnie!


Then it was off to Adventureland, starting with the Magic Carpets of Aladdin:

Jungle Cruise:


While Aidan, Papi, and Daniel watched a pirate show, Grammy and I took Avery over to meet Ariel and Prince Eric. This was our "Pirates & Princesses" Day so she had her princess shirt on, but it was long-sleeved (and it was HOT!) so she had to get a wardrobe change after the morning meet-and-greets. I really wish I had thought to bring her Sleeping Beauty costume, so many girls had princess dresses on! :

Woody and Jessie!!

Swiss Family Treehouse:

Another afternoon parade:

Love this shot of Aidan watching the parade:

Pirates of the Caribbean! This was one of Aidan's favorite parts of the trip:

Souveniers:


Tired Daddy, Happy Kids!