Relaxing and BBQ!

Today, we took some time for rest and relaxation. Well, I say that, but I woke up at 5:22 to a little boy tapping on my arm saying "mommy get up, I want to go home and have chicken pie!" Poor little thing woke up hungry because he was too tired from all the fun yesterday to sit down and actually eat his dinner. So he got some pop tarts and then watched some quality Disney cartoons for a couple hours before we started our official day!

This morning we hung around the hotel. Isaac explored Goofy's splash grounds, the pool, and enjoyed some of the characters scattered around the hotel grounds.

He even got to play some games in the arcade.

After lunch, we headed to the room for naps. Then it was up and off on our afternoon/evening adventures. We took a ride around the monorail loop before heading by boat over to Fort Wilderness for Mickey's Backyard BBQ. It was an all you can eat buffet so we had plenty to eat before the show began. The show itself was a country show that included Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip & Dale, and a good band playing country music. (They also had a guy that did rope tricks but as soon as he did his whip cracking trick Isaac was done with that part of the show! He's not a fan of loud noises and that scared him.) He did have quite a bit of fun dancing with the characters and seeing Chip & Dale.

(For those of you wondering...NO...I did not steal a whole watermelon from the buffet. I'm just that big!)

After the show, we went back to the boat dock and watched the fireworks across the lake at the Magic Kingdom. The electric water show followed soon after...and though it was not as cool as I remembered it as a kid (I told Brian it was impressive for the days back when all we had was cassette players and walkmans)...Isaac seemed to think it was pretty cool, and that's all that matters to me.

Brian "drawing" Isaac in the sand while we waited for the show to start.

Isaac fell asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel and he's out for the night. Our one mission for the last 2 days of our trip is going to be to find Donald Duck. He seems to be the one character on Isaac's list right now!

Magic Kingdom

We checked into the Pop Century Resort at Disney World late on Thursday afternoon once Brian got done with work. So Friday morning when Isaac woke up, we took him on his first big Disney adventure...the Magic Kingdom.

The first thing he saw once we walked through the gate was Pluto! I've never seen my child's face light up so quickly. He finally understood that we were actually going to SEE his character friends today. He stood in line patiently...yelling and waving at Pluto the whole time...and ran right up and gave him a big hug when it was his turn.

Next stop was Mickey's House...where he got to meet both Mickey and Minnie.

Then he decided it was time for some adrenaline...he rode his first roller coaster. He just barely reached the height requirement for the Barnstormer, so Daddy took him and they rode in the front seat. Daddy managed to get the ride on video fairly well. Isaac didn't seem too impressed. When I asked him about it later, he said it was "too roughy". He's a nut! After the roller coaster though it was off to his favorite ride...the Mickey Speedway.

Can you tell that he's very proud of his Mickey Speedway Driver's License?

After a quick bite to eat (for those of you visiting Disney in the future...the dining plan rocks), we headed over to meet Buzz Lightyear. Some of you know that Isaac begs for regular trips to Target to play with the Buzz in the display case, so he was REALLY excited to see the real Buzz today!

After that, we all took a break on the boring old "peoplemover". It was a nice break seeing as Isaac was too excited to sit in the adventure cart and was making Brian carry him everywhere while I lugged that crazy empty stroller around. (One of the cast members said the stroller was just in case I had baby #2 at the park yesterday.) Doesn't Isaac look thrilled to be on the old people ride?

Perhaps the best part of the day though was actually the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade in the afternoon. We got a seat in the shade early. Isaac got a sticker that he promptly pasted on his forehead and said "look at me, I'm Mickey!"

Isaac LOVED the parade. If I could find him an all day parade for our second day at the park pass, I'd definitely spend it there. His face said it all, but then the pictures don't even capture the half of it. It's what being a kid is all about. The excitement in his eyes is something I'll remember forever!

After the parade, the little man was getting tired (it's the third day in a row without a nap)...but he pushed through and kept right on going. We reloaded with a fabulous meal at the Liberty Tavern (I was ready to sleep after all that food...dining plan...rocks!)

We stopped by the Country Bear Jamboree. Isaac loved it but Daddy and I were surprised that the bears pretty much sang about drinking and women. Too funny!! It was a little dated, but Isaac was happy!! We hit a couple more rides and then made our way back down Main Street.

It was a VERY full day, and Isaac had a great time! He sang songs to us on the bus on the way back to the hotel just struggling to stay awake. He'll need his rest...tomorrow is going to be another day of fun!

How Many Licks...

does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?

For Isaac...exactly the length of the flight from Raleigh to Orlando!

Here's a picture of my little boy happy as a lark on the flight from Raleigh to Orlando on Wednesday. The two of us flew down together to meet Brian (who was at a work conference) and go to Disney World for our latest adventure. A special thanks goes out to my friends for convincing old hard headed me that portable DVD players are not the devil and would help me on the flight. After an hour long delay waiting for our flight at RDU, I'm absolutely positive you all are angels sent from God!

Isaac and I had a great time on our transportation adventures (today we rode a plane, a monorail, and a shuttle). In his eyes, we're at Disney already...just wait until he see what's in store for him over the next few days!

Ride 'em Cowboy!

Mommy's little cowboy...

Sunday Cruisin'

On Sunday, Papa loaded up the boat and took us all down to the waterway for Isaac's first boat adventure. Isaac was SO excited to go on the boat...he just couldn't wait to drive. And Papa didn't disappoint! He let Isaac swerve back and forth down the waterway driving on his very own at times. Isaac thought he was something else.

Do they get any happier than this?

We stopped at the yellow banks for Isaac to have a snack and play in the sand on the shore.

Nana and Isaac

We had one worn out boy when we got back to the beach house...but he'll never slow down!

That is until we strapped him in his car seat for the ride home. He slept from 5:45 when we left the beach until pretty much the next morning!! One tired little man!

We had a wonderful weekend at the beach. Thanks Nana and Papa!!

Saturday at the Beach

We spent the past weekend with Nana and Papa at the beach. Saturday was a little chilly to start the day, but we still had to literally drag him away from playing in the sand to take a nap!

My little man reading me a book. I think Mommy's nap started before Isaac's!

After nap, we took the relatively short ride down to Myrtle Beach to check out the Ripley's Aquarium. Isaac loved looking at all the fish.

He really enjoyed walking through the discovery tunnel where the fish were all around him. He thought he could pet them through the glass.

Daddy and Isaac completely oblivious to the fish over their heads!

Checking out the horseshoe crabs.

Trying to get the sting rays to come close enough to pet. Unfortunately for Isaac, he needed longer arms!

With Nana and Papa at the aquarium.

We all had a great day playing on the beach and exploring the aquarium. It was another fun filled day of adventure for our little boy!

Doughnut Man

Isaac LOVES doughnuts! On Sunday we got a couple boxes from the local Krispy Kreme. One box, surprisingly enough, has lasted us all week. This is despite the fact that Brian and I have caught a little mouse in the box on numerous occasions. He's sneaky about it too!! He waits until daddy is in the shower, or mommy goes to the other room...that's when you hear a kitchen chair sliding across the floor. When you ask "what are you doing"...he'll proudly answer "getting a doughnut"!

On this particular occasion, I told him that he didn't need a doughnut before bed. He responded with "okay, I'll just sniff them"!

He's one crazy little boy!!

Last But Not Least

Today was the final day of our New England vacation, but we managed to squeeze in a few more things before heading to the airport. We visited two lighthouses this morning. The first was a drive by sighting, and it was actually pretty much paved into the road. Pretty crazy! The second was a lighthouse that Brian and I had visited the first time we were in Maine. The Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine. This lighthouse is on its own little island, so you can't actually walk right up to it, but you can view it from the rocks across the small waterway. It's really a beautiful sight, but I'll let you judge for yourself.

Isaac and Madeline (and Brian and Mark) enjoyed climbing all over the rocks on the edge of the water. Oma, Opa, Aunta and I sat the climbing out seeing as Audrey was strapped to Aunta's baby bjorn and baby #2 is making me a little front heavy these days! But it was fun to watch the others have fun!

When Brian and I visited the Nubble Lighthouse in November 2007, I was just barely pregnant with Isaac. We decided to try to get a similar picture with Isaac and me. All Isaac wanted to do though was climb rocks, but we did manage to snap a few quick shots.

A picture of the kids with Oma and Opa

After the lighthouses, we bid a farewell to Maine and headed back to New Hampshire to fly home. After Aunta got the full body search in security (I don't know why I didn't take a picture of this!), we headed down to our gate to wait for the plane. It was an interesting feat trying to keep the children occupied while waiting in the terminal, but I have to hand it to Brian and Uncle Mark they did a great job!! Thanks guys!

My little man on the second leg of our flight home.

We arrived back in Raleigh around 9 o'clock. It was another fun filled and full day. Thanks to Aunta for planning such a wonderful vacation! We had a blast and can't wait until our next adventure.