Disney Trip!

I cannot believe that it has taken me this long to write about our Disney trip. Cookie and Doc had been planning this trip for so long! When they "gave" it to the boys for Christmas I do not think they really understood. Whit did really get into our countdown calendar though and it was fun!! The original plan was to drive down leaving Tuesday afternoon, spend the night somewhere and get up and head straight to the park. I knew from the beginning that 10 hours on Sunday home was just going to be too much for my family so I went ahead and booked the 4 of us tickets home. I knew the boys would be super excited about flying too! Fast forward to 2 weeks before the trip and dad was just dreading the drive and SW had a good deal so we ended up booking flights down there too! Best thing ever. I am sure the drive would have been fine but this was so awesome. We picked up the boys Tuesday afternoon from school and headed straight to the airport. They loved getting to fly and did great.
My parents have some friends who own condos in Orlando so we stayed there. This is my opinion but it was fantastic. I cannot imagine staying in hotel rooms the whole time. We had a 3 bedroom condo with a kitchen and living room. We were able to get food to pack for the park and have our own space. I always assumed you would definitely want to stay on Disney property especially on the monorail but honestly we were only in the MK 2 days so you have to drive anyways. This condo was super convenient and we were glad to have our own car too! The whole Disney trip is extremely overwhelming. We didn't have a Disney planner but I had someone who is a Disney guru give me all the information I needed. The dining reservations and fast passes were really overwhelming to me but I did it! The whole waking up at 4 am to make reservations 6 months in advance is just NUTS! If you know my family then you know we are planners and early birds so the girl that made us a schedule helped so much. She literally told us what time to try to leave the condo, be in the parking lot, order of rides, etc. I LOVED it and I must say that it was extremely helpful bc i think we would have spent a lot of time just wandering around missing certain things!
So DAY 1: Magic Kingdom. We were in the parking lot about 8 am and had no trouble at all. One of my favorite things is the opening ceremony every morning about 8:45 and if you aren't there early enough you will totally miss it. All the characters ride in on the train and "open" the park for the day. Truly magical!! Our instructions told us to briskly walk to Peter Pan since it gets really crowded. The boys really enjoyed all the rides in MK. We rode all the typical MK rides and more! After lunch about 3 there is a really awesome parade called the Festival of Fantasy parade that goes down one of the streets. It was so great and had all the characters that you love! These are the type of thing that i realized we would have totally missed if we had not had someone tell me bc they aren't announced or anything. We continued to ride the rest of the afternoon. We had reservations for dinner at the Polynesian Resort at O'Hana at 5:30 so we caught the monorail and went to dinner there. The boys were just exhausted so mom and dad took them on to dinner bc Nate and I just had to ride space mountain :) So we all met at the Polynesian and enjoyed a wonderful dinner! The food was good and it was a fun way to start the week.

At the airport

Ready for Day 1

Waiting in our first line!!

Jungle Cruise

gotta have a Mickey ice cream

It was a beautiful day!!! HOT

I laughed the entire time whit drove me.... hilarious and he loved it

Day 2: Magic Kingdom- originally we were supposed to go to breakfast with the characters at the Crystal Palace but decided it really was not necessary bc they do not really care about the Winnie the Pooh characters. So, we got there early again so we could catch the opening parade again. We did not have fastpass for Mine Train which is supposedly everyone's favorite. So we headed straight for Mine Train. We were afraid charlie would not be able to get on but thankfully he was able to ride all the roller coasters except Splash Mountain. Charlie LOVED roller coasters so much. His favorite was Barnstormer. Whit did not like the roller coasters but he talked himself into trying again and then he enjoyed them! He had to talk himself into being big i think.  It was another great day in the Magic Kingdom. I think 2 days was a good amount bc we were able to re-ride their favorites and take it a little slower. We never had to wait in a line more than 20 minutes all week. Funny thing is that one of everyone's favorites was a show Mickey's PhilharMagic, so random but good! It was supposed to rain this day so we debated what to do in the evening. We finally decided pizza and beer at the condo sounded fantastic so we headed back there. We decided to go back to the park for the Electric Parade. It was raining but they finally went ahead with the parade. It was fun but honestly I think the day parade was the best! 

Mine Train- LOVED IT

Watching fireworks

Small World

Random show on Main Street

The only characters we waited in line for

Fun week with Cookie and Doc

Day 3: Animal Kingdom- the weather changed this day and we were all cold waiting to get into the park. We were there at a down time I guess bc there was not a big crowd. We definitely could have gotten to the park a little later. Expedition Everest was our first stop. This is the roller coaster at Animal Kingdom. Definitely an adult only ride but it was really fun! After that we headed to the lion king show which was fantastic. We had a brunch reservation at Tusker House at 10:45 which was perfect. Mickey and gang are there in their safari attire and the food is actually really good!! The safari was really fun and the boys enjoyed seeing all the animals! Lion Guard is a big hit now and they are getting more stuff related to that so the boys each picked out their one Disney treat in AK which were stuffed animals from Lion Guard. We wandered around the park and went to the Nemo show later in the afternoon. It was fantastic too. I loved it. Animal kingdom was a good change of pace from Magic Kingdom. It was not crowded, had good food and was totally different. We had made reservations for Hoop De Doo Review this night so we left the park and headed to Fort Wilderness. When you make these reservations you go ahead and pay... I would recommend paying for the 1st tier seats. We were on the floor by the stage. This was actually one of my favorite things the whole trip. The boys enjoyed the dinner show, Nate liked it, free beer and all you can eat plain food :) I would tell anyone to do this!

Tree of Life

Waiting for Hoop Dee Doo

Hoop Dee Doo

These parrots were amazing bc they fly in from a 1/2 mile away each morning

Charlie LOVED having his cast signed by everyone

Day 4: Hollywood Studios: For our last day we headed to Hollywood Studios. This is where all the Disney Jr stuff is so I knew the boys would enjoy it. We had breakfast with Disney Jr people at 8:00 at Hollywood and Vine. The boys enjoyed seeing Jake for sure! It was a little chaotic bc you are trying to see the characters, eat and get into the park before they open the gates but it was really fun! We headed to the Toy Story Ride first and just waiting in the line was fun bc it was such a cool set. The boys really enjoyed this ride bc it is a shooting game ;) The weather this day was not so great so we sorta just improvised our schedule. We got to enjoy all the shows and rides though so that is all that matters! Nate and I left the boys to go ride the rockin rollercoaster which was fun for us to go do together! This park was also a good change of pace. Even though it was raining we still did not miss anything. We left kinda early bc of the weather. We were hoping to go back to the park for the Fantasmic show bc it is supposed to be great BUT we decided we did not want to go sit in the rain which was a great decision bc they cancelled it. We headed to Disney Springs for dinner and it was yummy. Since it was raining we didnt get to walk around a ton but we did go to the Lego Store and that was a HUGE hit! 

Army guys from toy story

Toy Story Ride

Excited we got to see Buzz

Loved Legoland

We woke up Sunday morning and headed straight to the airport. We were all home by 10:30 am and it was fantastic. We had such a great trip and the boys really enjoyed it and that is all that mattered! 

Some thoughts I have on planning a trip (in case anyone cares): seriously look into a condo bc having space and a kitchen were so nice. We ate breakfast before heading to the park every day. We knew this was going to be our Disney trip and we probably will not be back for a while so we went from 8 am til 8pm. I know not everyone likes doing that but the boys did great without naps and I am glad we did it this way bc it is not a cheap trip and I feel like we got our moneys worth out of those expensive park tickets! I am happy to share the information that i got from my friend but I would highly recommend talking to someone and getting inside tips! We would have never known to see the afternoon3:00 parade, the opening ceremony each morning, the best order of rides based on popularity, that you need reservations to even go to dinner in Disney Springs, etc. Cookie was very prepared and had gotten a lot of stuff to bring. The necessary items I would say: ponchos (cheap and throw away kind from Walmart), water bottles and snacks, stroller. We took 2 umbrella strollers with us instead of the double BOB and this was very helpful. Even though Whit is big enough to walk he was tired and we were able to get places without worrying if we had lost the boys. We took a backpack in every day with water bottles, snacks and ponchos in. It was no big deal bc we just stuffed it in the basket of the stroller. I even left it in there while we were on rides and no one touched anything. I took Whit's raincoat but forgot Charlie's and I wished I had had it bc it was easy to have in the bag on the days it was supposed to rain and is better than a poncho. If you go another time besides summer be prepared for all weather. We were there in February and it was 80 the first 2 days and 40 the last two.  I went ahead and make 5 reservations for meals when it was time for dining reservations to open. A couple of days before we left I reevaluated and decided to cancel 1. We almost did not go to O'Hana either bc I just didn't feel it was necessary but it was good food and I am glad we went. The food is just not good at most places but Tusker House actually has good food and you can see Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Daisy so it is a good option out of Chef Mickey which does not have good food. Hoop Dee Doo Review was our family favorite. We had such a great trip and the boys loved every minute of it. Thank you Cookie and Doc for taking us to Disney!!

Charlie- brithday and his broken arm

We celebrated Charlie's 3rd birthday on his birthday the 19th. i decided at the last minute to have a party. the child has never had a birthday party so I figured he probably needed one! Quick and easy= pancakes and pajamas at home with friends. I just sent and evite and cooked some pancakes! Short and Sweet! Charlie was 3ft 1 in and 31 lbs at his check up. He is in 30th for height and 40th% for weight.... completely different from Whit who has been in 75% or more since he was born :) I love our little Charlie boy and his spunky personality. he is stubborn but will talk all day long. he constantly makes us laugh and shake our heads :)

On December 20th we were all just playing in the den together. Boys will be boys and there was wrestling and jumping of course right at bedtime. All of a sudden Charlie just jumped off the couch which is totally normal and landed on his elbow. Nate and I knew immediately it was broken. It was a totally different cry from his normal hurt and i grabbed him and barely touched his arm and it was super swollen. So i am holding him and frantically calling Debbie. I just said Charlie broke his arm and we need yall over here asap. I grabbed random items and threw them in a bag. When Deedee and Jimbo arrived Nate and I were in the car ready to go. My sweet Whit was so worried and I should have calmed down enough to talk to him and let him know what was going on.... you live and learn. We headed to the ER and thankfully Charlie fell asleep as soon as we got in the car. I think the pain and crying caught up with him. We were able to get to a room very quickly which was a miracle. I went with him for x-rays fairly quickly and they sent them to the orthopedic on call. We had to wait a while for an orthopedic to get to  to Children's. I held it together the whole time until they told me they were giving him morphine even though i knew he needed it. It was determined that this was a really bad break in his humerus and surgery was needed. It was right at the elbow and they wanted to place it exactly back in place so that growth would not be a problem. So Nate headed home to get all my stuff for an overnight stay. Thankfully once the orthopedic guy got there he was able to wrap his arm and stabilize it. Charlie and i got settled in a room around 10:30pm and tried to calm down. They had started an IV in the ER for pain med and then they started fluids once it was determined we would have surgery. Thankfully Charlie went to sleep about midnight. I slept in the bed with him on and off. I just had so much anxiety!! Unfortunately Monday was pretty booked with surgery so we had to take what we could get. By the grace of God Charlie never asked for food or anything to drink. It was a miracle for sure. Charlie is the worst patient ever and will not let anyone touch him or even look at him so all of this was quite disastrous for him. We spent Monday wandering the hospital and trying to calm down. Finally about 2 he was able to go back to surgery. They put 2 pins in his elbow and a really awesome camo cast :)
After surgery we had to stay for a while.... but bc Charlie is such a mess the nurses convinced the doctor that we would be fine at home :) So we finally made it home by about 8pm. After the first few nights (which were rough bc of pain) he has been totally back to our crazy Charlie!!! Hopefully we will be getting the pins out tomorrow! It has been 6 weeks so far. I just had to document this for memory sake!!!

Clearly this is after his pain medicine had kicked in

We rolled the soccer ball back and forth for a while to pass time

After surgery looking at the Christmas decorations

Our bathtub - so much easier this way

Xray showing the pins- taken 1/12/16 with cast still on

Christmas 2015

The month of December came and went very quickly. We celebrated the Christmas season throughout the month with different activities. The older the boys are getting the more fun it is. They think everything is so magical and it makes it such a fun celebration. Santa Sunday at CCB is a fun tradition. I like it bc it gets our Santa visit in before Christmas! This year Whit never changed or added to his list. All he wanted was a remote control helicopter. Charlie just repeated whatever Whit said. I guess it was an easy year for Santa! Whit had his Christmas program and was a wiseman. I was sooooo proud of him bc he had a speaking part and he did it so well! He walked to the mic with confidence and spoke clearly and loudly. My momma heart was so proud!! Another tradition the boys love is the North Pole Express. I am kinda over it at this point but I have learned to always book the first train of the night and you usually are ok. The boys love it so I guess we will keep doing it for a little while! Christmas was a little different this year. The Pardue family was supposed to spend Christmas in Bham but Hk pulled a stunt and wanted to be in the hospital up until Christmas. It was MM's year to be wit JD's family so it was just Katherine and I in Bham. We continued our tradition of spending Christmas Eve with the Clinton's. It was a little quieter this year but still fun! We were the only ones who spent the night with mom and dad.... honestly its just easier to stay since we are already there for dinner. Christmas morning the boys were ready to go about 6:45 which was late for us! Kat and Alex came over about 7:15 so they didn't miss too much!! We enjoyed our big Christmas breakfast as usual. Later in the day we headed home and then realized we had nothing to do the rest of the day and nothing to eat so our Christmas Day ended with tornadoes and frozen pizza. The next time it is just our family in Bham we will just hang at mom and dad's all day :) Thankfully on the 28th we all headed to the beach for a week to celebrate mom's 60th birthday. We had a great week and i didn't take barely any pictures bc we just had fun riding bikes, running, and hanging out! It was a great way to end the year!

Getting the tree

My little wiseman

Excited about the train

Cant resist Christmas pjs

Dear Santa

Christmas Eve

Clinton/Johnson tradition

helicopter on Christmas morning

Cookie and Doc gave them a Disney trip!!!!

Cheers to 2016!!

November

I love the beginning of the holiday season. November to me marks the beginning of a great 2 months. We enjoyed a fun weekend to the farm and the boys got to go with Nate to sit in the deer stand. They were in heaven. I cannot wait until they are old enough to enjoy this time with him. I know it will not be long and I will be left all alone on the weekends.

Whit turned 5 on November 22nd. He is so big and I cannot even stand it. This boy is kind and fun and sweet and silly. He celebrating with his friends at school the week before his birthday. Getting his birthday ribbon in chapel was a big deal!! Then Saturday we took the boys to Auburn to watch the football game. They loved seeing the band before the game during tiger walk! We were so fortunate to have club tickets given to us so this was a treat for them! Little do they know that you do not always just get any food you want whenever you want it :) We left at the end of the 3rd quarter which was perfect for them. It was a fun outing for our family!

 

 

Sunday we just celebrated Whit! He loved his birthday this year and I love that he felt special. At his check up he is in the 90th% for height and 75%for weight. Love my big boy!!!!

 

 

We had a birthday party at Let's play with our sweet friend Trevor

As usual Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! We are so fortunate to have gotten in a routine for our holidays and this is my favorite. We enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with my family on Wednesday night and then we head to the farm Thursday morning. It is so nice to be down there for 4 days just relaxing with family. This year my parents and MM and JD came down for Thursday and Friday! The boys loved having them there. Thanksgiving at the farm is an experience and we had about 55 people this year for lunch. It is so funny bc there are so many family members that are so far removed. I would not change it!