Where Dreams Come True

I have been looking forward to our trip to Disney for what seems like forever!  I am like a child when I get to Disneyworld.  I love everything about it.  Thankfully, Callie loves it as much as I do.

We made the trip a whole family affair.  Big Daddy, GiGi, PawPaw, Mama D, Aunt LaLa, Justin, Auntie Em, and Devin all were able to come (at least for a few days).  

Day 1: Magic Kingdom

Dad stayed at the condo with Cade and the two of them had a big day at home…

 while the rest of us headed out in the heat to enjoy the day.

The tram (re-named trolley because it did not sound like a nice word when Callie said it), was as exciting as any other ride for CG.  Of course, she pronounces trolley like troll-i, which always makes us smile and reminds us of Charl-i.

And the fun begins!  Our first ride was Aladdin's magic carpet and Callie was so excited.  Before it was even over, she asked, "Mo ride?"

We rode the carousel...

…a few times.

The teacups were a favorite and had to be ridden twice also.  Auntie Em and Devin had to take over after LaLa and I got dizzy.

Big Daddy and GiGi took Callie on the train ride around the park while the big kids rode Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain.

Callie was just barely tall enough to drive the cars around the racetrack.  When she sat down on the seat, you couldn't even see her head.  But she drove us all the way around!

After riding every ride in the park, we went to ride Space Mountain...

…while Big Daddy took Callie to nap on the people mover.  It started raining and there was no one else riding, so they let Callie stay on the ride several times around to get in a good nap!

Day 2: MGM

Cade made the trip with us to MGM and was a trooper.  We started the day with Beauty and the Beast. Callie loved the opening song and dance, but was not a fan of the beast.

We saw Ariel, the Mickey Mouse Club, and the Muppet show (with a nap during each), and had lunch at the 50's prime time cafe.  

GiGi and Big Daddy took the kiddos home to nap, while the big kids stayed to have fun.  I will never get tired of roller coasters!  I think we rode the Rockin' Roller Coaster at least five times, and made it though Tower of Terror several times also.  The second week in September is a great time to go - no crowds and still warm weather!

Day 3: Hang at the pool

We decided not to go crazy every day, and took a day to hang at the pool and relax at the condo.  Cade loves to chill outside…

and Callie already likes to lay out, with a snack.

We had an intense game of pool volleyball, and everyone was amazed at my talent. ;)  We played ping pong, grilled out, and enjoyed the day at the condo.

Day 4: Blizzard Beach

This was Bryan's favorite day!  He isn't a huge fan of roller coasters, but water slides are much better!  I was very impressed with how brave Callie was to go down water slides by herself!

She was happy to go as long as she knew Daddy would be at the bottom to catch her!

Aunt LaLa and Callie rode one of the slides together, holding hands of course.

Callie even rode the large river raft ride with all of us and loved it!

Day 5: More Relaxing at the Pool

Callie and Daddy perfected their pool acrobatics.  Look, no hands!

Day 6: Epcot

PawPaw finally made it to a park!  The World Showcase at Epcot is about the only thing in Orlando that he likes to see, and there are pictures to prove that he enjoyed his afternoon.  We spent the morning seeing Figment, Nemo, and Crush.  Callie and Cade were a little tired by this point in the trip, so we went for a quick ride in Norway and Mexico, before going back to the condo for naps. 

After a good dinner at the condo, we took Callie back to Epcot to see the fireworks.  Bryan and I got to ride the TestTrack race car, while Aunt LaLa and Callie shopped.

Our little girl was sleepy, but she made it for the fireworks show!

We had a great week and I can't wait to go back!

Thanks to Mommom and Poppop and all of the grandparents for making the trip possible!

Summer Bucket List Complete!

Well, we didn't accomplish everything on our Summer Bucket List, but we did have a lot of fun with the ones that we did get to do.  (I know I have probably shared some of this already, but I wanted to have it all in one blog.)

Callie and I made it to the Farmer's Market one Thursday afternoon.  I decided that we could share a fresh squeezed lemonade, but after she had one sip, there was no sharing!

CG loves to read, so I took her to the library one morning to pick out a few books.  She was so excited to have her own library card and a huge selection of books to read.

We did not make it to the fireworks at Shelter Cove, but we did get to see fireworks at Epcot.  Callie was very tired after a long day, but she was a trooper!  I was worried she would be scared of the fireworks, but she did great.  She hugged Daddy's neck and peeked out at the fireworks every now and then.  Once they were over, she talked about them like she loved them!

We visited the petting zoo in Sea Pines, and Callie had a pony ride!  

One cloudy morning, Bryan and I took Callie to the children's museum on the south end, The Sandbox.    She was very busy grocery shopping (and of course she found a baby doll to carry with her)…

working at the cash register…

piloting the airplane…

and watching the trains.

We had no trouble visiting the pool and the beach…. a lot!

By the end of the summer, Callie had no fear of the ocean, which is a little terrifying of me!

And Cade learned to love sleeping outside.

I think that every time Auntie Em and Aunt LaLa came home, we made a trip to the pool.  Callie has become a great swimmer!

I gave Callie her first pedicure, and it has become one of her favorite things to do.  We started with pink, but she has had orange and purple toenails since football season has started.

I decided to take advantage of having a girl who loves to help mom in the kitchen, and we have done a lot of baking.  I think eating the dough is her favorite part…and mine too!

We are about halfway through The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.  I am always amazed at how long she will sit and let me read to her!

On her second birthday, we took Callie to play putt putt.  She must get her excellent golfing skills from her mom!

While enjoying our staycation in Sea Pines, we took a big family trip to Harbour Town to see Greg Russell.  It brought back a lot of memories from when I was a kid, and it was so fun to see Callie enjoy it as much as I did!

I took Callie on a breakfast date to the Harbour Town Bakery and we shared a chocolate chip muffin.  Again, the sharing did not work out so well for me!

We made our best efforts to visit several parks around Bluffton and Hilton Head.  We went to the very small park at Daddy's work and went down the slide.  She was very disappointed there were no swings.

We went to Hampton Lake, Baynard Park, and Parkside parks multiple times.  We visited DuBois Park with the new shrimp boat.  And we went to the Harbour Town Playground.

Cade has followed in her sister's footsteps and also loves to swing!  

On our family trip to Atlanta, we took Callie and Cade to the aquarium.  Callie absolutely loved the dolphin show.

And last not but not least, we made the drive to Savannah to go to the carousel and ride on the train. 

Can't wait for next summer!