Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year!

I don't think I have ever rang in a New Year quite like 2011! Our flight back to New York was supposed to be on the ground by 11:30pm, but that isn't how it happened. The Captain came on the speaker saying it was just a few seconds after midnight by his watch and if we looked out our windows we might be able to see the fireworks over NYC, well I didn't see any fireworks just Donnie looking back at me from his seat in front of mine to say Happy New Year & blow me a kiss!

By the time we made it home it was 2 am, and all we wanted to do was crawl into our own beds. But that didn't happen either, because Santa had come to our house while we were on vacation! There was no waiting until the morning to see what Santa had left for the kids. So they tore into their stockings and opened their presents with just as much excitement as if it was Christmas morning! And we finally did crawl into bed about 2:30am ending The Best Christmas Vacation Ever! I am looking forward to a new year that will hopefully be filled with more joy & happiness than sickness and sorrow...We are truly blessed!





Thursday, December 30, 2010

Go Army!

As luck would have it, Army was playing SMU in the Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas, while we were there on our bonus vacation! Brandon scored some great tickets to the game for he and Donnie. 30 yard line, 1st row!!! Army Won (16-14) and Donnie got to meet Eric Dickerson & Craig James at the game!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Christmas Vacation Part 2...

We all LOVED getting to spend some extra time with family in Texas! So much better than being stuck at an airport or back at West Point, NY where they were all snowed in and without power for a day!

The kids LOVE playing with their cousins! They jumped, did crafts, watched movies, played Wii, goofed around and just enjoyed being together on our bonus vacation!!!

It was one big slumber party!!!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Disney Baby, Day 7...

On our last day at Disney the weather turned cold & windy, and the sun was hidden by the grey skies. We said our goodbyes to half of our family that morning as Uncle Dan has to catch an early flight, and Grandpa & Grandma were eager to get on the rode with winter storm they would be facing on the drive back to Iowa. There was also a blizzard headed right for NY, so our flight home later that evening had already been canceled. Lucky for us we were able to re-book for the next day and stay an extra night at the hotel (for a pretty penny) or at least that was the plan when we left for the park that day.

Our last family picture at Disney! The kids were not at all interested in taking another picture...they just wanted to eat their popcorn and go back to the hotel to warm-up and play with all the stuff they got at Disney!

We said our goodbyes to Mimi & Poppy, Uncle B, Aunt M, Carter, Parker, and Ryder and then headed back to the room to relax and play. Katie and Iwent back to the park that evening for one last ride on Space Mountain and it was on our way back to the hotel that our travel plans really started to unravel...our flight for the next day had been canceled! The next 24 hours was very interesting to say the least...nerve racking and frustrating is what comes to mind when I think back. We were Disney'd out and staying at our hotel any longer was not an option! We could get re-booked on a flight until Thursday (it was Sunday), we were going to have to rent 2 cars because there were no minivans available (you can't fit 5 people plus their luggage into just any vehicle), we couldn't find a hotel, the list goes on, and on of the problems we were encountering, and check-out was at 11am the next morning! Lucky for us, after looking into an idea my sister put into my head, we began Christmas Vacation Part 2, Texas!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Disney Christmas, Day 6...

Merry Christmas!!! We were so blessed to be with family and to be able to celebrate Christmas together!!! Santa left a few surprises for everyone on Christmas morning!

Christmas breakfast with Donald Duck & friends was delicious!!! It was the perfect way to start off our day at Animal Kingdom!



All of characters came around to say hello, sign autographs, and take pictures...
Daisy really LOVED this "Donald"!!!

After breakfast it was time to hit the rides...
Luke & Ryder were too little to go on the Dinosaur ride, so we played in the Dino-Park!
The Kilimanjaro Safari was really neat! We got to see lots of animals and even a few rhinos very close-up!



Then it was off to the petting zoo..

All of the excitement wore Luke out! You can only go so many days without a nap. I love this picture! Asleep with this hand in the popcorn! I am pretty sure that Luke ate a whole container of popcorn everyday at Disney!
We couldn't leave Animal Kingdom without a few family pictures. Luke was still half asleep for the pictures...


Christmas dinner at Chef Mickey's...






And what better way to finish off a wonderful Christmas at Disney than with fireworks...


This was a magical vacation for our family with memories that we will have for a lifetime! "If you can dream it, you can do it."~Walt Disney

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve, Disney Day 5...

We arrived in time to see the park open! It is so much fun to be there when the train arrives with Mickey and all of his friends!! We spent the morning riding all the rides we could get before it got too crowded! We even had a chance to ride some of our favorites more than once!

Dad, Melissa, & Ryder...
Grandma & Katie...
Mimi with the Jokers...

It's a small world...

Luke & I got the chance to meet Buzz Lightyear and get his autograph while Katie & John were riding a big kid ride...
After lunch it was time for Katie to go to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and spend the afternoon being transformed into a princess.
Princess Kate before her princess makeover!
They used a ton of magic glue on her hair. I had no idea her hair would do this...
Luke wasn't old enough to go with the other boys to the Pirate's League, so he had to hang with Katie at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. At first he was a little sad, but they gave him some special treatment as well. His own comb, which he used to style my hair...

And one on the photographers put on a magic show for him which he LOVED!
Time for some special wishes and a little magic fairy dust...
She wished that I could have a little magic fairy dust too! So sweet!
Princess Katie...
John spent his afternoon at the Pirates League being transformed into a real Pirate, ARRR!They even have a special way to determine your official pirate name...John was Pirate James Edgebellows...
John, Carter, & Parker as Pirates...
Pirate John!

We had another magical day at the Magic Kingdom! We had a special Christmas Eve dinner at the Polynesian Resort. Spirit of Aloha Dinner and Luau Show...


Donnie got to do a little dancing on stage to celebrate his December birthday!
And they had all the kids come up to dance on stage!!! Luke was so funny dancing!


Everyone loved watching the fire-knife performer!
The kids were surprised to see Santa Clause after our dinner show since it was getting late on Christmas Eve, but Santa assured them the he didn't have head out with the reindeer until 9:00pm sharp. Aunt M read Twas the night before Christmas to get everyone ready for bed...