Back To Reality.......

 Well, we just arrived back from our much anticipated Disney Vacation.  We had an absolute blast every single day as a family of 4, and really enjoyed each other.  There was truly a little of something for everyone....for Claire, all the princesses.  For Jesse, Lego stuff and Harry Potter! For Lance & I, tons of delicious food......and lots of great rides! Enjoy all the pics and just know we were slammed back to reality after driving home from the Huntsville Airport to find the Tigers losing the first round of the NCAA Tourney.  Come on Tigers....really??????

Anyway, kinda glad to be back home.......I will miss having someone cook and clean for me though!!!

 Claire entering the Akershus Dining Hall to eat with the princesses! She ran into Belle first......

 Then Cinderella....

 you get the picture.

 She really enjoyed Ariel the most because Ariel kept talking to her and Jesse and joking around.

 The food at every restaurant was very good!  Claire the mouse loved the Mickey ravioli!

 This is what deserts actually looked like every evening......such attention to detail...this was Lance's cheesecake with chocolate drizzle as Lady and Tramp.

 In the middle of the week, Lance & Jesse ventured out to Universal to do the Harry Potter thing while the girls had a pool and shopping day.  They were super impressed by every thing.....except the massive crowds in that part of the park.  Lance said it was every bit as crowded as Times Square....that didn't keep Jesse from having a blast, buying butterbeer, and his very own Harry Potter wand! Thanks to Grandma and Nana for the spending money....it came in handy!

 Another one of our wonderful dinners..

 Inside of the Team Mickey Store, Jesse got the opportunity to build his own remote controlled race car from scratch, with the guidance of a worker and some very cool tools.  Jesse told him how he puts things together all the time at home, so the guy put him on the timer to see how many seconds to attach the wheels and body....1 minute was his time,  and everyone cheered. Of course he was thrilled with all the attention!

 Oh, and by the way, thanks to lots of friends' advice, and a touring plan, we were the first at the turnstiles at Epcot and Hollywood Studios!  That was to our advantage because upon opening,  Lance would sprint across the park for Fastpasses, and the kids and I would haul to the first ride we wanted to ride.  It worked like a charm!  It was totally worth getting up so early every morning!!!

 The kids at Hollywood Studios

 Of course Jesse loved the Star Wars ride, and had to pose on this thing....no I do not know what it's called!

 To finish out our trip, we ate at The Sci Fi Drive-In Theater. Not only was the food great, but the kids loved eating in a car up in the front together, and watching old and cheesy sci fi.  

 The last character to see was Mickey, and the kids loved it!  I think we all realized how blessed we are in general after we met the lady and her little girl in front of us in line to see Mickey.  They drove 2 days from Texas to see Disney,  and the little girl was born with Cerebral Palsy. All she wanted was to meet Mickey.  When they finally reached the front of the line, her mom lowered her gently to the ground next to Mickey. Mickey plopped down and gave the girl lots of hugs and kisses and the little girl just beamed.  That was worth the whole vacation right there.  

 Anyway, on the last day of the vacation, we took lots of photos from the Resort where we stayed.....it was very big, and overboard Disney to say the least! Hey, I can tolerate anything for 5 days!

 Claire got a kick out of the giant ballerina girl....kinda creeped the rest of us out I think.

 We stayed in the Herbie section.....

Yes, even the waffles are shaped like Mickey......


Hope you enjoyed all the pictures.  We certainly enjoyed ourselves, but are glad to be back in warm Memphis!  Promises to post again soon.

Love, Gretchen