Overdue Vacation Pics - Part One

A few weeks ago (although it seems like a lifetime ago now!) our family, my sister's family, and our parents took a week long trip to Orlando, Florida, for a mini family vacation. We rented a beautiful house with a pool that more than accommodated all 14 of us (that would be six adults and eight kids!) and ventured out and about each day to various area attractions. The first night we were there we went over to one of my favorite places in Orlando, Downtown Disney. The following pictures are from the Lego Imagination Center there...more pics will follow from other things we did that night and later that week, but I have so many pics, I need to chunk them into groups to keep the posts semi-manageable! Enjoy!

the wall of single Lego bricks you can buy by the pound

I love the sky behind these two pics of the boys!

my happy two year old!

attempting to climb a mini climbing wall

cousins working together on a Lego creation

one of the few decent pics my teen allowed...and he's actually helping his brother!

Benjamin's finished product...he wanted a picture to remember!

Dave and the younger boys enjoying the beautiful scenery and weather!

What I am Thankful for...

This photo was taken in Florida a couple of weeks ago. When I have a spare moment (ha!) I will post about the trip, but I didn't want to let November come to an end without posting what I was thankful for...God, my family, and having all the necessities (and little extras!) that we need. Life is good!

Pooh's Thoughtful Spot

I love Winnie the Pooh...always have and always will. Fortunately, I now have a son who loves him as well...and all the other characters, of course! When we are home in the mornings, part of our routine is watching "My Friends Tigger and Pooh" on The Disney Channel. Benjamin laughs out loud at Tigger's antics and voices his concern when Piglet feels left out or Pooh is unnecessarily concerned about something. So when we were at Disney and found a little slice of the 100 Acre Woods, of course we had to take a break there! Here are some really cool photos of Benjamin in Pooh's house. Enjoy!

St. "iPodtrick's" Day Giveaway!

Over at iMommies, another one of my favorite sites, they are hosting a St. Patrick's Day giveaway...two green iPod shuffles! Click here to see how to enter this entertaining--and educational--giveaway.

When we were in Florida in January, we visited a very unique eatery on Paradise Island in Downtown Disney called Raglan Road. It is a totally Irish pub and restaurant specializing in such Irish cuisine as (real!) shepherd's pie (they call it "Keen Eye for the Shepherds Pie") and "Traditional Guinness and Onion Banger". There is a great kid's menu, too, and nightly entertainment for the young and old alike. The building was actually built in Ireland, disassembled, shipped to the U.S., and reassembled where it now stands. You can read more about this unique restaurant and peruse its menu here and its interactive website.

Now why do I mention this? Well, according to www.St-Patricks-Day.com, "without any doubt pubs are the main places for socializing in Ireland especially in the small towns (which are numerous in Ireland). You can drink there (a few pints...), eat there, dance there, join in a sing-song or listen to a group of musicians. Food in pubs, known as "pub grub" is generally good and the prices are reasonable. The young and not so young enjoy themselves in a relaxed atmosphere. They are generally comfortable and cordial places. The official closing time for the pubs is midnight!" So the next time you want a taste, very literally, of Ireland, and you are in the greater Orlando area, check out Raglan Road, Irish Pub and Restaurant, in Downtown Disney!

Benjamin's Birthday Blues

One of my favorite Benjamin pix from Florida

This evening we ventured out to Toys 'R Us with the entire family to look at what Benjamin said he wanted for his upcoming third birthday...a play kitchen. We found the aisle easily enough and took a look at what was available. He was very excited and pointed out what he wanted and I thought we were set to go. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be. For you see, down the next aisle were the automated ride-on vehicles. You know...the ones they put beneath the bike racks with the signage saying to stay off of them (yeah, right!). Well, once he saw those, and much to his Daddy's secret delight, I'm sure, the kitchen was history. So, instead of coming home with a kitchen tonight, we came home with a jeep. I'm bummed. I really wanted the kitchen.

Vacation Photos...Green Meadows Petting Farm

One of our new adventures this time around in Florida was a visit to the Green Meadows Petting Farm in Kissimmee. When we first arrived, I was surprised at the entrance cost (we had failed to find that out ahead of time...how much could a petting farm cost anyway?) but once we finished the 2+ hour tour and spent time playing on the farm equipment and playground, it was worth the money. All of the boys enjoyed themselves immensely and got to see and pet all kinds of farm animals, both domestic and exotic. There was even a hayride! A highlight for Benjamin was getting to ride a pony for the first time, after some initial hesitation on his part, of course! All in all we had a wonderful morning making family memories and enjoying God's creative hand in nature!

Vacation Photos...Swimming in January!

My older boys LOVE to swim, so they were ecstatic to hear that our resort had no less than SEVEN different swimming pools! We only made it to two of them, but the boys had a blast swimming and horsing around. Benjamin went in a pool for the first time that he could remember (he went once as an infant) and decided to be like Daddy and leave his shirt on. This particular pool had the sloping entry that allowed you to walk right in like a beach, which was perfect for Benjamin. I even donned my swimsuit and went for a swim one day, believe it or not. There's nothing like swimming in the warm sun when you know your friends are freezing a half a dozen states away!

Vacation Photos...Sheraton Vistana Resort

Our trip to Florida was a gift from Mom and Dad Fisher in celebration of Nathaniel's birth in October. They own timeshares and have graciously invited us to vacation with them on many occasions, although we can't always take them up on the offers. We LOVE Florida in January, though, and are so grateful that God worked it out that we could find units together in January this year, as we thought at one point that it wouldn't be possible. This was our first stay at this resort, but we enjoyed it thoroughly. Here are some photos...enjoy!

P.S. There were ducks all over the property and they were obviously used to people! Benjamin fed them some of his goldfish crackers (under our supervision) and thought that was the coolest thing! I was afraid he would try to do it on his own, though, and lose a fingertip!

Vacation Photos...Disney Character Breakfast

After a long day at Disney on Monday of our vacation, we got up and went to the Disney Polynesian Resort to eat breakfast with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto. I had never been to one of the Disney resorts before, and now my appetite is really whet for staying at one! We were greeted at the restaurant with flower leis and a photographer who took a family photo. Then we were escorted to our table where it was "all you care to eat" served on a big platter in the middle of the table. It was very yummy food with eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, and Mickey shaped waffles. The characters made the rounds of the restaurant and stopped by a couple of times during our time there. Here are some of my favorite photos!

Vacation Photos...The Magic Kingdom

As promised, I'm posting vacation photos from our recent trip to Florida. I will divide them by category since we have so many. Here are some of my favorite photos from our one day excursion to The Magic Kingdom at Disney World. We arrived when they opened in the morning and stayed until the last firework lit up the sky. It was a fabulous day...not too hot and not too cold. Jonathan and Sabastian had visited before, but this was Benjamin's first trip. He loved it! His favorite part was seeing "Big Mickey"--I'll post about that later. By the end of the day you almost believed that wishes really do come true!

Almost There?

We just returned on Sunday from a wonderful trip to sunny Florida where we stayed in a beautiful time share resort with Grandma and Grandpa Fisher (Dave's parents) and Great Grandma Fisher. Jonathan (13) and Sabastian (10) had been to Florida once before and knew what to expect, but Benjamin (almost 3) was going for the first time. I had bought him a little calendar for Christmas so that we could cross off the days until the trip--you have to make things concrete for toddlers! This sort of helped him understand when we were leaving, but he still thought we were going to see "Big Mickey" and "Mommom and Poppop Fisher" every time we got in the van! Needless to say, when we finally did leave for Florida, we heard "almost there?" too many times to count! All of our boys, including Nathaniel (4 months) were troopers, for which we were very grateful. We arrived without incident and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I'll post more stories and photos from the trip soon!