Animal Kingdom

Today was our day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Our first snack was early due to a very limited breakfast. Taylor and I rode this flying dinosaur while Daddy and Peyton rode "Dinosaur". . .
Peyton's newest hobby is hugging Taylor:

Taylor continues to thrive with drums:

Here is Peyton holding her baby sister. She exclaimed "Wow, Taylor is a heavy baby!"Here is a family pic from Rafiki's train ride:
Peyton & Mommy scuba diving. . .

During the Jammin' Jungle Parade Peyton got a hug from Chip (or was it Dale???). . .

This Kilimanjaro Safari ride will forever remind me of Turtle's engagement!
Peyton managed to find her way to center stage where she assisted in the "Festival of the Lion King" 3 o'clock show. . .

The girls happily sat upon Mickey Mouse for this picture . . .
By the way, A.C. I have found "Mickey's Fitness" Club on the 3rd floor of our hotel. It is very well equipped with plenty of Cybex equipment, free weights, treadmills, bikes, etc. I did an arm workout tonight. Perhaps I will bring a camera tomorrow just for you so you can see what you missed!

Cinderella's Royal Table & Epcot

We slept in and went to the Magic Kingdom around 10a.m. Daddy and Peyton spun their teacup very fast while Taylor was in charge of spinning our teacup. On our way over to Cinderella's luncheon we came across her step mother and wicked step sisters so it was a perfect pose for little Miss Peyton (a.k.a. Cinderella Peyton). . .

. . .if you think the picture is funny, you ought to hear the video we took of this encounter. These Disney characters truly are whatever their costume conveys. They played their roles perfectly and treated Peyton just like she was the real Cinderella!

Upon entering Cinderella's castle for our luncheon at Cinderella's Royal Table, look who greeted us:
While enjoying our royal luncheon, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Jasmine and Belle stopped by our table to visit and pose. Look at the size of a bottled water at the Royal Table!!!!


Taylor is not very into posing with the Princesses but she sure enjoys watching them from afar!
Due to the heat and humidity, we let the girls change out of their gowns and into shorts for our visit to Epcot. We rode Spaceship Earth, the Nemo ride, Figment, Soarin', and Living With the Land. Here are three silly people being eating by Bruce (the shark from Finding Nemo):Daddy educated his girls about marine life:
Peyton rode with Daddy in the Nemo ride:

Mommy rode with Taylor on the Figment ride while Peyton and Daddy rode Soarin'. . .

This is the PICTURE OF THE TRIP so far. Taylor saw other kids playing with the "bouncing water fountain" and asked Daddy to help her get wet. Daddy hoisted her up and BULLS EYE, she got what she requested. . . she did not ever cry, simply rubbed the water off her face and laughed with us!

I TRIED to capture some of the nightly fireworks from our balcony but this was the best our camera could offer tonight:

Walt Disney World

Thanks to Papa's kind gesture of driving us to the airport we each got 20 extra minutes of sleep last night. The girls were wide awake and ready to go at 6:27a.m. which is when we left home for our 8a.m. flight.

We arrived safely in Orlando at 11:08 a.m. local time. Mommy's DREAM came true as we checked in to the Contemporary Hotel.

Ever since I used to watch the 1977 movie "Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World" I have had a need to experience the Contemporary! We are not in room 408 but our room faces Cinderella's Castle which provides for an excellent vantage point of the nightly fireworks. After checking in, we rode the infamous monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

It was hot and humid but the good news is the sun was not shining and there were no lines for rides. We had a wonderful time which began with lunch at Winnie the Pooh's Crystal Palace. Taylor ate among her "friends" as if she had never seen food before. She ate an entire dinner plate of mac and cheese, green beans, chicken nuggets, and a roll while being mezmerized by our visitors. Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Coomare (I mean Eeyore).

After lunch, we rode Aladdin's magic carpet ride (twice), the Jungle Cruise, watched the Enchanted Tiki Room show, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's A Small World, Snow White's ride, ad the Haunted Mansion. While Taylor and I shopped in air conditioned areas Daddy and Peyton rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain.

We returned to the Contemporary and put on our swim attire, ate dinner poolside, and swam until 8p.m. We then lounged on pool chairs along the beachfront and watched Lilo & Stitch on a big screen.

The girls were captivated but we surrendered a little before 9 p.m. for bath time. Just as we were about to say prayers, the fireworks began. We viewed them from our balcony and it was worth every penny. . .the fact that 20 seconds after the finale, Taylor could be sound asleep in her crib with bunnies in hand is PRICELESS.

Tomorrow is a big day. . .we are expected at Cinderella's Castle for a special luncheon.

Bubble Picnic

Since tomorrow's forecast is 100% rain, we enjoyed some quality time outdoors today. . .

Daddy demonstrated how to make bubbles at the "Bubble Picnic" while Peyton spun in circles:

In honor of Aunt Marcella, the girls did some "Bingo dabber" artwork. . .

Here are our THRILLSEEKERS:

Taylor rocked in an airplane:

Here is a slip of artists-at-work:

The mini trampoline was a favorite. . .

All basketball stars start out slowly:

ballet tap & tearoom

We are approaching the end of a very busy week, hence the shortage of Blog entries. My apologies go out to all the avid readers :-) Peyton enjoyed her second dance lesson Wednesday morning and I captured part of the ballet session:

Today Peyton and I celebrated Miss Louise's birthday with Gung Gung at Gung's favorite Tea Room. It was a BIG EVENT for "first-time tea roomer" Peyton. . .





Tonight I took the girls to the Mall and for some reason anytime we pass by a certain clothing store Peyton always asks if she can dance. The entrance looks like a STAGE to her so tonight I caught evidence for the Blog:

Fun Folks & Food

Today we took the girls to Manchester Homecoming. First stop was the Discovery Toys tent for some quality play time. . .

Daddy helped Peyton win her very own inflatable hammer:

Mommy rode with Peyton on the carnivals fastest ride:

Taylor was Peyton's pilot on this helicopter ride:

After Mass, we were treated to delicious chicken, care of Mr. GERMANator's grilling efforts. After the meal Peyton played with "the kids". . .

Look what Nancy Anne baked. . .

Next spinning class is Monday at 6:45. Let's go!

Disney On Ice

Little T (or shall I say Little Snow White) was the talk of the Family Arena. Just about everyone that saw her in her costume commented on how cute she looked. There is something to be said about a Snow White costume in size 2/3. . .the cuteness factor would not be quite the same in a bigger size!

Family photo:

As usual, this Disney production was fantastic.

Cinderella kept Snow White laughing the entire drive home. . .