The Princesses

Once the girls figured out that they might be able to get up close and personal with REAL Disney princesses, they (and we) were constantly on the look out for them, in every park.  We found plenty of them in the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but actually had to send emails and ask several cast members in order to find the only princess in Animal Kingdom (but we did!).

Meeting Aurora...

and Belle...

and Cinderella, all together in the Magic Kingdom. 

(so happy!)

Father of the Year waited in line for over an hour so that his girls could meet Rapunzel (alas, no Flynn Ryder). 

She was very nice and very chatty. 

We stumbled upon these two when I asked a cast member if she knew where we could find Jasmine and she said "right here, in about 20 minutes."

Jasmine and Aladdin

While we were meeting Jasmine and Aladdin, Lee again waited in line, this time so that the girls could meet Ariel and Prince Eric. 

In Epcot, we found Belle (again) in France (she was my favorite of all of the princesses). 

Later, we went back to meet the Beast and Belle together. 

We found Mulan in China.

The girls really loved her.

We met Snow White in Germany.

In Animal Kingdom, we met Pocahontas and Meeko, thanks to some email intel from Emily's mom. 

We met her again on the exact opposite side of the park.  Other than commenting that she was wearing a different outfit (because she was inside, and it was rather cold outside), the girls didn't seem to notice that she was a completely different person.

On our last day in the Magic Kingdom, we finally found Tiana - we had looked and looked for her during our prior visit and could not locate her but Lee finally tracked her down for the girls.  I'm telling you, Father of the Year. 

1900 Park Fare

Our first day and night at Disney, we stuck pretty close to the hotel, swimming and hanging out.  That night, we went to dinner at 1900 Park Fare, a restaurant inside the Grand Floridian.  We mentioned to the girls that they should bring their autograph books with them to dinner, because you never know when you might run into someone at dinner.  They agreed, but they had absolutely no idea that there were going to be characters at the dinner itself.  The looks on their faces when Cinderella and Prince Charming were announced to the dinners - well that alone made the trip worthwhile for Lee and I.

Sure, I'll bring my autograph book...not sure why though. 

When the royal trumpets sounded, Elizabeth knew that something was up.

Cinderella and Prince Charming!! 

Lady Tremaine, Cinderella's step-mother.

Meeting Prince Charming. 

You'll never guess who is next to visit our table..... 

Cinderella!!!

Posing for a picture with Cinderella. 

Meeting Lady Tremaine. 

Notice the pose - the Tremaine family was absolutely hysterical - more about them in a later post. 

Anastasia

Drizella 

Notice Drizella's facial expression...

Dinner would not have been complete without a dance from Cinderella and Prince Charming.

Grand Floridian

The last time I stayed at Walt Disney World, the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa was being built and every time we passed by it on the monorail, I fell more and more in love with it - the beauty, the splendor, the grandeur of it.  When Lee and I started planning this trip, we knew that we wanted to be on the monorail line and I desperately wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian, so we did.  It was everything that I expected it to be - the service was outstanding, although I am sure that the service is great in all of the Disney resorts; the ground and the rooms are beautiful; no detail is missed.  It was simply spectacular.

It is a Victorian-style resort and all of the cast members are dressed in Victorian-era uniforms.

The view of the GF from the path to the Polynesian.

One of the two pools. 

Our balcony looked out over the lagoon, but off to the right was a view of the second pool.

The girls loved the old fashioned cars, likely used during the many weddings held at the GF.  During one afternoon by the pool, we saw a bride traveling in a coach (a replica of Cinderella's), drawn by horses. 

The giant bird cage in the lobby.

Part of our room. 

Much to the delight of the girls, he housekeepers arranged the girls' stuffed animals every day and every night.  Elizabeth and Emily would stop our housekeeper each morning to tell her how much they loved it!

Some Secrets...

...are definitely worth keeping.

After five years of saving and 14 months of planning, we surprised the girls with the trip of a lifetime to Walt Disney World last week.  Be prepared - for the next several days (maybe weeks), this blog will be all Disney!!

Philadelphia Marathon

Last post about Philadelphia, I promise.  Here are some of the shots that the pros took during the race.

The start - in front of the famous "Rocky Steps" 

Right around 13.1 - the 2 hour, 4 minute mark for me. 

Mile 22

Crossing the finish line.  I actually crossed the start line 18 minutes after the first runners, which is why the clock reads 4:38, rather than 4:20.

Elizabeth's Photos

Just recently, Elizabeth had me empty the memory card for her camera.  Although many of the images are painfully blurry, she had some little gems, as well as some photos that really show insight into what Elizabeth and Emily do when they play together (pay no attention to the time and date stamps).

Lee, wearing the rainbow mohawk wig - he really is such a great dad! 

Emily reading to baby and EC. 

Stuffed animal fashion show. 

A shot of the Portsmouth Naval Prison, from our summer vacation. 

Smuttynose Island 

Napper 

Not sure whether to laugh or cry at this pose. 

Absolutely love this. 

EC catching a ride from Clarice. 

She loves the hallway of umbrellas at my office.

Girl Speak

- "We finished our paradise testing today."  That's standardized testing, but Elizabeth obviously had a good attitude about it because she thought that it was paradise.
- "There are just so many things that I want to be when I grow up, it's hard to decide."  The world is your oyster, little Emily.
- "We said that Mr. Nick could come for dinner.  We didn't say that you could stay up chit chatting all night."  All night - well, until 9:30 p.m. at least.
- "Why did people think that the world was flat before Christopher Robin came along?"  Mixing famous historical characters and famous literary characters makes for good dinner conversation.
- "Who is going to make our computers now?"  Elizabeth's reaction to the passing of Steve Jobs.
- "Here you go, Mommy. You can use this towards my Christmas present."  Elizabeth received an American Girl gift card as a present and promptly handed it to me, to offset the cost of the AGD stuff that she wants for Christmas.  Sometimes, I wonder where she came from.
- "Are we poor?"  Elizabeth is currently obsessed with AGD Kit, who grew up during the Great Depression.  She wanted to know if we were poor like Kit or doing okay.
- "Mummy, can I please, please go on the field trip?"  The fact that Emily thought that we might not let her go on a school field trip makes me think that we might be a wee bit too strict.
- "I feel like an American Girl Doll."  This from Elizabeth after a particularly brutal morning of me combing her hair.  Apparently, she hacks at Elizabeth Cole's hair like I hack at hers.
- "You go to work and Daddy goes to the grocery store."  During the drive home from dance class one week, we started talking about how people are different and I asked them to name all of the ways that Lee and I are different.  This one, along with "You eat healthy food and Daddy eats candy - I hear his hands tinkling in the M&M dish all the time!" are among my favorites.
- "You are the best mom when there is no power!"  Lee and I took them to Dunkin' Donuts a few mornings for breakfast to warm them up, but all they knew was that they were having donuts.
- "I feel bad for all those kids [in towns that are still without power, 12 days after the storm].  I bet that they really, really want to go to school."  Elizabeth loves school so much, she just assumes that everyone else does too.
- "Does a cigarette have some sort of interesting taste that makes people want to smoke?" asked Elizabeth, upon discovering one of our friends smoking (he's done a good job of hiding it for the last 18 months, but he was bound to get discovered).  The facial expression and hand gestures made this question priceless.
- "I think that you should take a day off.  You deserve it," said Elizabeth, as I was discussing the fact that I would make them a big breakfast on Thanksgiving, after I got home from my run with my friend Sarah. Not sure if she thinks that I deserve it, or if she just doesn't want to wait around to eat.
- "But I'm in KINDERGARTEN!!" Emily was furious with me one Sunday when I told her that she needed to take a nap.  She was battling a vicious cold and Lee and I both thought that a nap would make her feel a lot better, especially because she had fallen asleep on the couch the night before.
- "I think that I'm going to start doing the laundry.  Daddy is going to have to bring the basket up and down the stairs for me though."  I'm sure that if Lee doesn't have to do the laundry anymore, he will gladly carry the basket for Emily.
- "I wish that books never ended and just went on and on forever."  Elizabeth is in the middle of a series of books that she is really enjoying.
- "I hope we find a wishbone in our turkey because I really want to be a fairy."  I'm kind of hoping that we don't find a wishbone because I don't really want Emily to turn into a fairy!