All aboard the Disney Express

Can you believe it?  I still don't and I was on this vacation!  We took the much anticipated trip to Disney World at the end of August/beginning of September, just before Maren turned two (she could still fly for free!).  It was a long week, but we had more fun than I could have imagined.  I was worried about Maren since she is still so young, and desperately needs her afternoon naps, but she was amazing.  And Kayla was so mature about things in so many instances that I couldn't have been more impressed with both of them, and the whole experience in general.

The above picture was from our first day at the parks (second day overall), which was at Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM).  We walked in, and while disappointed because the new Toy Story ride was closed, we were thrilled to see Minnie Mouse right away.  Kayla was in desperate need of a character fix after being disappointed that she didn't see any the first day we got there.  I guess I wasn't very clear that our hotel, while on Disney property, was not really the character filled, ride extravaganza she was imagining.  So, Minnie was a welcome surprise.

These shots, while later in the week, were also at Hollywood Studios.  We found out that the Toy Story ride was opened again, and so we had to go back to check it out.  It had been so hyped by one of my co-workers, that we just couldn't resist going back to see what the excitement was all about.  Then we (well, Aaron mostly) loved it so much we went back a third morning.  This park was extremely close to our hotel, so it wasn't to hard to "swing by" on our way to the next destination.

One of the Disney parks' greatest inventions...the switch pass!  The girls and I were milling around the park while Aaron was riding the Rock 'N' Roller Coaster.  The girls were too little, but as soon as Aaron stepped off, I could race on with my pass and just wait in the fast pass line.  It was amazingly efficient, and allowed Aaron and I to have some fun too.  And if it was a ride that Kayla was big enough for, she could ride it with both of us.

That was what we were able to do on Tower of Terror, which you can see in the background below.  Kayla went with Aaron first, and I just knew we were running the risk of her backing out when she came down to meet me.  Let's face it, I was pretty sure this thing was going to scare her!  She was definitely hesitant, but agreed to join me for her round #2.  She held my hand the whole way, but I was quite impressed that she did it again.

I went into the trip fully expecting Magic Kingdom to be our favorite park, and while I do believe it was, Hollywood Studios was a close second.  The girls had so many things they enjoyed, and Aaron and I had a blast too.  You always hear that the rides at Magic Kingdom are geared towards even the smallest of children, but there are so many shows at Hollywood Studios that it made it easy to find things that we could all 4 enjoy together (which often included air conditioning - and added plus).  And, I think we were just darn lucky that the crowds were low, and our plans just came together.

We were sitting at an outdoor eating area for lunch, and noticed that Beauty and the Beast was having a live show that started soon.  So we just walked over and sat down to enjoy the show after lunch.  It was a great break to let us digest our food and relax a little.  I was really amazed by the show itself as well.  I think Belle is one of my favorite princesses, and I know "Jingle Belle" (as Kayla always used to call her) is a favorite of the girls' as well.

Kayla loves the movie "Cars" so we had to make a stop for this character photo.  Not quite as fun as an interactive Minnie, but she still enjoyed it none the less.

This is the signature photo spot at the park, and I love how Aaron made it look like the hat is almost on their heads.  I had to include several pics from this particular photo shoot, because it really shows Maren's personality (OK, Kayla's too).  I honestly don't know how we ever get a decent photo of these two together.

These are a couple pictures that Aaron took while I was on the Rock 'N' Roller Coaster (definitely one of the best rides of the trip).  The ride itself was awesome (though too short) and the music was just icing on the cake (it's Aerosmith, for those of you who've not been there -- defnitely one of my favorites).  Anyway, Aaron captured some great shots, especially the second one.  It looks like the girls are hosting their own little rock concert.

This is a picture before the start of the Fantasmic night show with fireworks, and all kinds of theatrics.  It was really amazing, but really late.  We were all pretty tired and dirty by that time.  It was our first test to see if we could skip nap time, and the girls did extremely well.  Maren fell asleep in the stroller in this afternoon, which gave her some much needed rest, and got her ready to face the rest of the day.

These are all pictures from our resort, Caribean Beach - Martinique.  I have to put an honest disclaimer, these pictures were all taken as we were packing to rush off and catch our plane at the end of the week, but at least we documented where we stayed.  Here's the food court (pretty boring, so we had to add Kayla to the picture).

Here are a couple photos of the awesome pool area at our resort.  There were 4 different water slides (you could have made a vacation just out of staying here!).  This pirate ship looking thing was the kids play area, with a hug bucket on top that would dump out tons of water every so often.

You can just see the tip of the slide in the center of this picture.  This was the biggest one.  The first day we arrived at the resort, Kayla and I went over to the pool while Aaron and Maren stayed in the room for a nap.  I'd walked Kayla to the top of the slide, instructed her of what to do, and I went back down to be able to make sure she could swim over to the side of the pool.  So there I stood and waited, and waited, and waited, but there was no one coming down the slide.  Of course Kayla was holding up the process -- she'd bailed on me!  Later in the week she went back with Aaron, and then you could hardly get her off of the slide.

There was a lake in the center of the resort, with a trail that wrapped around it.  There were little beach areas in various spots, as well as some playground equipment.  And, each section of rooms had its own pool.  It was great.  We could take a quick dip outside our room, or take a short walk down to the main pool area, which was also next to the food court.

The room, while nothing special, was perfect for what we needed.  Kayla and I shared a bed (strategically closest to the bathroom) and Maren's pack and play fit between the wall and Aaron's bed.  We had a nice area for the sinks and hanging clothes, and then the shower and toilet were behind a separate door.

Hard to believe this is all just a couple days out of the whole week we were there.  You'll have to read more entries to get some info on the other days we were there.  So much fun, and we feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to enjoy this with the girls.  We never have this much one-on-one time with them, and it was just so neat to see how much they've grown up.

Fall soccer in the straw

This fall season of soccer offered Kayla's second opportunity to play in the local co-ed league near our home.  Unfortunately, with Aaron gone for training most of the season, he wasn't able to coach this time, but this way Kayla is getting a chance to see other coaching styles.  She's also one of the older ones in the league, so I think she's having some fun running the show!

I gently make occasional suggestions for her to share the ball with her teammates, but that is just not too appealing to her, "but I want to score a lot of goals, Mom!"  Hard to argue with the good feeling of kicking one in!

This past weekend she had games on Saturday and Sunday, and since my mom came in to help with the girls, I was able to get some video footage while I didn't have to chase after Maren.  Side note on the curly kid, in a couple years, the soccer blog will be about her antics.  She's already kicking it all over the open fields during Kayla's games.  Some of the advantages Maren has by being the younger sibling include getting exposure to things at a much earlier age.  Kayla didn't even have a soccer ball until she turned 4!

Here are several videos of Kayla in action.  It was so much fun watching her this day because she was really going after the ball.  And, don't mind the extremely dead grass...I promise there are lines on the field!  We had such a dry summer that there was no hope for the grass.  Check back next spring when the fields will most definitely be lush again.

Here's one of many, many goals Kayla scored that day.



And another one.



So, the videos won't always end in a goal (but you can hear Maren cheering on her big sis)!



Now the coach is holding her back.



Just some fun soccer action!



I hope you enjoyed!  I'm sure there will be more bragging to come.  Go Tigers (a.k.a., team #7)!

Maren's turning 2!

After our fabulous trip to Walt Disney World (see our previous blog posts), it was time for more celebrating!  Aaron's mom was gracious enough to host and cater Maren's 2nd birthday party, since we just flew back into town the day before.  It was a relief to not have to frantically clean the house and prepare food.  So thank you again to Mamaw and Papaw!

Both girls were in good form, having lots of stories to share from their travels.  We were blessed to have all of the aunts, uncles (Josh included), and cousins (Layla included) to celebrate the day.  The weather was gorgeous, very mild and sunny, so we were so thankful for that as well.

As you may have read/seen in the previous posts, Maren went crazy for Winnie the Pooh and all of his friends at one of the character dinners we had last week.  So I'd originally planned for Minnie Mouse to be the theme, but shifted gears slightly after seeing her reactions.  She was still a HUGE fan of Mickey and Minnie, so they were part of the party too!

You can see her excitement below when we walked in with the cupcakes!

Sporting her adorable Minnie ears...

...and preparing to blow out her candle.

With just a few licks of icing, Maren was ready to move on.  After receiving a cupcake per meal last week at each Disney dining celebration, we found that she was not a "big fan" of cupcakes.  So, we weren't too shocked when she was ready to break loose from her high chair.  On to the presents!

Tigger looks on as Maren opens her first gift.

Unfortunately the camera focused in on the table decorations rather than Maren, but in the background, you can see that she got a baby doll from Aunt Wendy and crew.   I think Mari had fun showing Maren all of the cool things the baby could do.

And, of course, always a Maren favorite...hummus! 

The child is fanatical about hummus. I'm not sure how many 2-year-olds there are in the world that would choose hummus over...well, almost any food - but Maren is definitely one of them. We found this out over the summer when we had to hide the hummus in the fridge so Maren wouldn't catch sight of it. We also had to tell Kayla not to even say the word (more on that below).

Yes, I understand that hummus is good for you, but everything in moderation, right? I mean, seriously. I'm pretty sure Maren would down a whole tub of it in one sitting if you'd let her. And if you're thinking that it's probably just because she likes whatever she's dipping in it, oh no, no, no. She just spoons the stuff and gobbles it down. And she's never too proud to just dig her fingers in it too.

So we have specifically told Kayla on various occasions that she is not to mention the word "hummus" in Maren's presence. One day the girls were sitting in the kitchen eating lunch when I hear Kayla say, "hey Maren, 'Thomas'" to which Maren immediately shouted, "hummus!" I shot Kayla the "you are in deep trouble" glare, to which she replied, "what, I was just saying Thomas the Train!" We are in so much trouble if at 4 and a half Kayla is coming up with this kind of stuff!

OK, back to the party!  Maren got an adorable Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal and several other Disney goodies from Aunt Kelly and crew.

I love this one, because Aaron caught both their reactions in the picture to new clothes and Minnie Mouse books (thanks Mamaw and Papaw Parris!).

Here you can see the cute shoes from Aunt Derika and Uncle Isaac (wide enough for Maren's chubby, stubby feet).  You can also see Maren laying across the present from Mamaws and Papaws Walter and Parris (more on that one at the end of the blog).

After the fun of opening presents, we went back outside to run off a little more energy.  Here is Kayla chasing Layla!

Here are all of the Walter girls.

We are so thankful for you Maren, and feel blessed that you've been with our family for two years now.  We can't wait to see what the future years will bring.  Thank you again to all of our family for making the time to come and celebrate with us, and honor Maren with your presence and wonderful gifts.

---------------------------------------------

As promised, here is the present from the grandparents...a kiddie trampoline!  Thanks, Katie, for the awesome idea (when she told me she got one for her two-year-old son, I knew that Maren and Kayla both would have hours of fun on something like this).

Aaron worked into the wee hours of the morning after we got home from the party, to make sure this was ready to go when the girls got up the next day. You can see that Maren is still sporting some serious bed-head!  Those curls are crazy!

And, since pictures just couldn't do this thing justice, I have finally posted video to our blog!  Enjoy!

Stay tuned...it will be worth it!

We had an awesome week at Walt Disney World.  Stay tuned for more pictures and stories to come soon...