Christmas 2009

If I haven't said so before, Christmas is my FAVORITE time of the year. We had a wonderful Christmas this year. The kids are at the perfect age (don't I say that every year), but they really got into Santa this year. I know our time with Santa and Alex is short, so it was nice to see his excitement! And to make it even better, we got our first white Christmas. I am reminded this time of year how blessed I am. I have a wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally and two healthy, beautiful children who are the light of my life! I try to take this time of year to truly show my family how much they mean to me. They grow up so fast!!!

L~O~V~E this picture....how cute are my babies?

Finishing up Christmas by playing in the snow

A little Disney creativity

I promise I will get Christmas pictures up in the next day or so, but I wanted to give credit to Daron for his very creative Christmas gift to the kids. While we were at Disney World last month, Daron had the idea to take pictures of different things around the park that looked like the letters in their names. He framed them, and this is the final result. I think they are very cute and the kids loved them. They both love to look at them and tell us where the picture came from. Awesome job Daron!!!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas....

And we finally got one! Can you believe it? I am pretty sure that Texas has never had a white Christmas in all the time I have lived here. I am positive there hasn't been one for as long as I can remember! The news is saying it is blizzard like conditions out there and I think it is perfect. We are snuggled inside the house, going to make some hot chocolate soon and snuggle up for a movie before Santa comes tonight. Earlier today, we took advantage of the snow and made a snowman, snow angels, and had an all out snowball fight.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Joy

Jingle Bells

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Visit to Santa

We made our second visit to Santa Claus today. This past weekend, we took the kids to see Santa at the Ridgmar Mall. They were so excited but it was a big letdown. Let's just say Santa was feeling less than his jolly ol' self! He didn't really interact with the kids and as a bonus....they wouldn't let us take any pictures unless we purchased their photo package at a whopping $10 per picture!!! Everyone knows I am W~A~Y too much of a bargain hunter to pay for that, so we passed on the minimum of $20 photo package and went about our merry way.

I guess Santa knows everything and knew we were a bit disappointed, so he made a surprise visit to Daron's work today. This Santa was totally in character and even had all the adults sitting on his lap! The kids were thrilled and got to give their Christmas lists to Santa finally. On the top of both of their lists: the new Buzz Lightyear talking toy. Next for Sydney, a princess baby doll, and for Alex, Lego Racers. Santa has it easy this year at the Aldridge household!

Disney World....Part 2

I am going to try to finish this before it slips my mind what we did each day! So, here we go for the rest of the trip.

Day 5
This was Monday of Thanksgiving week and the crowds really picked up drastically. We have always heard that the holidays were their busiest time, but have been fortunate so far that we could go during their non-peak times. However, with Alex in school now, we had to schedule it around his vacation time. I can totally see why people pull their kids out of school for these kinds of trips now! For the entire day, we were only able to squeeze in 6 rides because the wait on everything was so long. So, we decided to take a mid-afternoon break and went to visit another resort, Saratoga Springs. We had a great time walking around and seeing all the different activities the hotel does throughout the day. We treated the kids to some ice cream and then headed back to the parks. We rode a few more rides, and then finished the evening off with dinner at Tony’s restaurant (themed after Lady and the Tramp) and the SpectroMagic parade. The dessert at this restaurant was by far the best I had the whole trip and I am beginning to drool just thinking about it. We have seen the SpectroMagic Parade several times, but it is still amazing to see. We decided not to stake out a good viewing spot early like we normally do, but lucked into a break in the crowds right outside the restaurant. The people even offered to let the kids come sit in front of them, which I thought was extremely nice.


Day 6
Knowing the parks would be busy, we went in with the mentality that we were just going to enjoy as much as we could and not try to squeeze everything in. We had a slow start to that morning. I am not really sure why we couldn’t get out the hotel door because we were all up early, but for whatever reason it just wasn’t happening that morning. We rode a few of our favorite rides when we arrived at the park and then we took Sydney to see the princesses and the Disney fairies. It was the highlight of her trip and she still asks when she gets to go see the Princesses again. The line was fairly short for the characters, so Sydney waited 3 times that day just to get one more hug! This shouldn’t surprise any of you who really know Sydney, because she really believes that she is a princess. She tells me frequently that one day she is going to live in the castle with Cinderella! And as a bonus, Alex told the fairies that more boys didn’t come in there because they have cooties!

I am not even sure he knows what that means, but it was funny still the same!
That evening we met some great family friends in Downtown Disney for dinner. The Skippers have been friends of the family for several years now and Keith actually officiated at our wedding almost 11 years ago. We ate at the delicious Earl of Sandwich and then were going to ride the new hot air balloon ride, Characters of Flight. We thought it would be great to get a view of Disney World from 400 feet in the air. However, Mother Nature had a different plan when we received Round 2 of rain for our trip. Obviously, they are not going to take you that high in the middle of a thunderstorm, so we opted for Plan B. We checked out the new T-Rex restaurant, which looked really cool inside (although very similar to Rainforest Café), then we head over to the Lego store to let the kids have some fun. We started out building little Lego people and then moved onto race cars. The kids get to build their Lego race car and then take it up to the starting line to see whose is the fastest. We stayed there for about 45 minutes, and then went to explore some of the amazing sculptures built solely from Legos. After the Lego store, we went to the largest Disney store E~V~E~R (I don’t know if that is factual, but any of you who have been to the one in Downtown Disney, can attest that it is HUGE!) The kids were fascinated and a little overwhelmed, so we let them each pick out a gift for someone. Alex chose his teacher, and Sydney picked a friend from school that is going to Disney World in March. After our purchases were complete, we stopped by the pin trading store (the kid’s new Disney hobby) and then called it a night.



Day 7
We woke up this morning to some rain showers, which quickly progressed into a downpour for the majority of the day. And, yes, we still went to the parks in the pouring rain. Nothing, not even the rain, is going to keep us from some fun at Disney. The poor ponchos that we had brought with us had faithfully done their duties for 2 days now; however, they lost the good fight that day and we were all soaked from the bus stops to the front entrance of the park. Of course, Disney is selling ponchos at the front gate, so we drop $7.50 a piece for the Disney poncho and head into the parks. It should be noted that on this day we got a little lesson in supply and demand because the lady in front of me in line said the ponchos were only $4 the day before when there was no rain. Hey, even Disney wants to make a profit people! So, the rain brought some good news because the parks were empty and there was no wait at any of the rides. This was a nice break from the crowds we had experienced the last few days. So, we spent a full day there, rode as many rides as possible, saw the princesses another 4 times for Sydney, and ended the evening when we stumbled across a Dance Party in Tomorrowland. Everyone knows Sydney loves music and loves to dance, so this was a perfect end to our day. The characters came out in shifts and Sydney danced with each one. In fact, she wouldn’t let go of their hands so they lead her throughout the little dance area until their shift was up. After the Dance Party, we called it a night, and despite spending $30 on ponchos, we still left the parks cold and wet!


Day 8
Thanksgiving Day! With park attendance at an all time high, we decided to spend the morning going on a character hunt. I think we did pretty well – we managed to find Snow White, Daisy, Pluto, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Buzz, Woody, Jessie, Lilo, and Stitch! We had each sign the kid’s autograph books and grabbed some pictures and then we were off to our Thanksgiving brunch at Chef Mickey’s. We were in for quite a treat that morning because Alex and Sydney were chosen as Junior Chefs of the Day and got to make cupcakes with Mickey Mouse. It was a perfect thing for our Thanksgiving Meal. They looked so cute in their little chef jackets. So, instead of eating a good, healthy breakfast….they had cupcakes! I mean, who wants to eat fruit and such when Mickey Mouse is giving you cupcakes! Oh well, it’s Disney World, we can let it slide, right? After brunch, we took the monorail back to Magic Kingdom and took in a few more favorite rides and shows for our last day there. Sydney decided to end our trip with a bang….as we were exiting Buzz Lightyear, her pants got stuck in the walking sidewalk and fell to the ground. They had to stop the entire ride and she had to stand there in her underwear until maintenance could come remove her! It was hilarious and something we will never let her forget! The workers said they had never seen anything like that before and everyone got a good laugh out of it; and we got a $25 gift card for our “inconvenience”. I would say I made out good on that deal considering it was a $3 pair of Target pants that got ruined.


We left the next afternoon to head back home. Having only been back a week, I can speak for all of us by saying that we wish we were still there and can’t wait to go back!

Christmas traditions

We have made it one of our Christmas traditions to make gingerbread houses every year with the kids. Last year, I tried to make them from scratch, and well, they didn't turn out so well. I could not figure out how to get the pieces to stick together. So, this year, we decided to buy the premade ones and what a difference that made! We had such a fun evening last night decorating with the kids.

Disney World.....Part 1

To start with, let me just say that this may get long. I hope you will read it because we had such a fun time, but if not, I hope you at least enjoy the pictures.

Day 1

After a very long day of traveling on Wednesday, we were anxious to get some rest and start our day on Thursday. Well, some of us more than others. Alex woke up at 4 a.m. on our first day there and was ready to go! I can’t really blame him; I know we were all excited. I managed to keep him in bed until 6:00 a.m. then we got up and started getting ready. We finally dragged Daron and Sydney out of bed around 6:45 when we got dressed and scurried off to the parks. First stop…Magic Kingdom! We took advantage of being resort guests and went during their Extra Magic Hours. With early admission into the park and low attendance that day, we squeezed in a lot of rides! For today, we made it to Dumbo, teacups, carousel, Buzz Lightyear (multiple times), the race cars (also multiple times), Space Mountain (even Alex rode this), Peter Pan, Big Thunder Mountain (Alex’s favorite roller coaster), and Aladdin. The highlight of the day was when we stopped to hear Belle’s story time next to the castle. Alex was chosen out of the audience to play Gaston and was so cute saying his line “Marry Me Belle!” His voice was timid at first, but by the end, I think he finally got into character! So, lots was packed into the first day, but there is no rest for the weary…..We ended the day with dinner at Chef Mickey’s! This is one of our favorite character meals by far. The characters are wonderful and the whole family has a great time. Plus, the kids love to act silly and wave their napkins around during the restaurant parade. After dinner, we hopped back on the buses to the hotel, where we quickly fell fast asleep from exhaustion.

Having some fun on the rides

Alex as Gaston

Chef Mickey's


Alex showing off his money he received from the tooth fairy

The view outside our hotel room

Day 2

We got a little more sleep out of Alex this morning, although I never got to sleep in the entire trip. I am amazed at how Daron and Sydney can sleep through anything! I guess Daron is paying me back for all the times I was “asleep” when the kids were babies and would wake up in the middle of the night. Friday’s adventures started in Animal Kingdom. We were there at rope drop, so we headed back to do the safari first thing. Well, us and about 500 other people. Despite the popularity, the lines moved quickly, and both our little animal lovers had a great time. The animals were so close to the car this time. We even had to take a brief break and let a rhino slowly make its way off the road. The kids were fascinated, especially Sydney who is our little zoologist. Alex was the little teacher and kept telling Sydney the correct names for all the animals we saw. After the safari, we seemed to be caught in an eternal loop and couldn’t find our way back to the front of the park (despite visiting Disney quite frequently). But, thanks to an observant cast member, she noticed our confusion and put us back on track to the front of the park. We decided to watch the Finding Nemo show, which was enjoyed by all. After that, we saw Flights of Wonder. Once again, our little animal lover wanted to hold the birds and was quite disappointed that they wouldn’t land on her hand. She was comforted afterwards, we got to go up to the stage and take a closer look. After the shows, Alex (the little daredevil) rode Expedition Everest twice, then we tried the Primeval Whirl ride which everyone agreed was boring (or lame as Daron politely said). We had to head out quickly because we had tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. But, first we stopped at my dream resort, Wilderness Lodge, for some lunch. After lunch, we took a boat over to Magic Kingdom. I used this opportunity to try and embarrass Daron again. The boat driver looked just like my dad, so as we are exiting, I went and asked him if I could take his picture. He gave me a very strange look, but finally agreed, and even gave me a half-hearted smile for the picture! The Christmas party was amazing. I am fascinated with the amount of detail that Disney puts into their Christmas decorations. Everything was so thought out, and even the floats were scented! After the Christmas parade, complete with Santa and his reindeer, we stayed and watched the fireworks and then called it a night. Daron and I were especially exhausted tonight because each of us carried a sleeping kid back to the hotel room. No biggie we thought, we could sleep in the next day….oh wait, we already know how that turned out for us!

The Safari ride

Enjoying the Wilderness Lodge (and my dad look-a-like)


Christmas Parade

Day 3

Back to the Magic Kingdom for some more fun! By now, the kids have a fairly set routine of we first go to Dumbo, then the Tea Cups, and then either Buzz or the racecars. Since on this trip Daron and I decided to try to expand the kids’ Disney horizons a bit, we suggested more shows and a few rides they hadn’t been on. The two most noteworthy “new” rides we tried were the Pirates of the Caribbean and It’s a Small World. No one seemed overly blown away by Pirates, which was supported by the fact that neither of the kids even mentioned a passing interest in going back to it. Sadly, that wasn’t the case for Small World. A lady in front of us in line for Buzz told us that the ride had changed and was brighter and more modern. We decided “why not?” Well, yes it was brighter but still boring. It was possibly the longest nine-minutes of our lives and Sydney LOVED it. She immediately asked to ride the “baby dolls and boats” ride again. So, we began our trade off where one of us would go with Sydney to whatever ride or character she wanted and the other would go with Alex. Daron seemed to draw the short straw with Small World because I think he rode it at least three times that day. For dinner, we had reservations at the Crystal Palace for dinner with Winnie the Pooh and Friends at 6 p.m. The last time at the Crystal Palace was not a good experience but being on the dining plan was our justification. It was the wrong call to make. While the food was decent (a step up from last time), we had to wait nearly an hour AFTER our reservation time for a table. Regardless, the characters were well-received by the kids and that’s what this trip is all about, right? Three days in and we had figured out that we should just expect that at least one of the kids would crash in our arms on the bus ride back to the hotel.

Dinner at the Crystal Palace

Day 4

It’s day 4 and time for a new park – Hollywood Studios (which Daron and I still refer to as MGM studios occasionally out of habit). Surprisingly, we were able to get Sydney out of bed and ready early enough that we could be at the park before it opened. Our little Sleeping Beauty cooperated nicely this time. The game plan was set up – we would each take a kid and just meet at the Toy Story Mania ride for Fast Passes and to get in line. This ride is very similar to the Buzz Lightyear ride at Magic Kingdom and it is probably one of, if not, the best ride in all of Disney World. With some creative planning and patience, we were able to ride it four times through the day, which is more impressive because the standby wait times got as high as 75 minutes for it. Daron talked to one of the workers (a favorite pastime of his) and found out that there are about 13,000 riders for Toy Story each day. Both the kids wanted to see the Playhouse Disney Live show with puppets from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny and My Friends Tigger and Pooh. Sydney slept through the show last year, so we were happy that she got to see it. After the show, we took the suggestion from Carla to go to the Animation Studios to see Mickey and the characters from Up with both lines being surprisingly short. And both of them loved the computer activities. A nice sitdown character lunch was in store for us at Hollywood and Vine restaurant. Daron and I both like that this buffet had a more diverse menu than what we had seen so far elsewhere. While Alex and Sydney don’t watch Little Einsteins or JoJo’s Circus, they were still happy to see the characters come to table for a hug and a handshake or high five. After lunch, we took in a couple more shows Little Mermaid (my favorite Disney movie) and Beauty and the Beast (Daron’s favorite). The Little Mermaid was not well-received by the kids. It was too dark and loud. I believe Sydney said that she just wanted to watch Ariel on TV. The Beauty and the Beast show was performed in a very theatrical/Broadway fashion but the kids enjoyed it. Since Sydney really loves to dance we claimed a spot on the Block Party Bash parade route. This parade is full of dancing and stars Pixar characters. Sydney was very pleased that the Bug’s Life section stopped in front of us. Oh yeah, Daron got pointed out for clapping off beat by the toy soldier MC, who told him in front of the crowd, “It’s ok to be off beat as long as you keep smiling.” Alex was more willing to go up and dance than Sydney and he loved every minute. Finally, we had a quick bite to eat at Pizza Planet under the patio umbrella that nicely shielded us from the drizzle that started. The last big thing of the day was the Fantasmic show with fireworks. We were four of about a few thousand people in the amphitheater. They created this cool effect for the show of using sprayers to make a wall of water to use as a movie screen. Alex just sat mesmerized by all that was going on during the show. Another long day was behind us but Hollywood Studios was a big hit with the kids, so it may get more than one day on our next trip. Two tired kids plus two exhausted parents equals four people that will sleep soundly that night.

To be continued........

Snow Day!

What a beautiful morning to wake up to everything covered in snow! Love it!



Disney pictures to follow soon....I promise!

Family Pictures

We spent Saturday afternoon at the Botanical Gardens with my sister and her family and got some great pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

Halloween

I seem to be slacking in the blogging department since it is now the 5th and I still haven't uploaded Halloween pictures. Thanks for the gentle reminder Charlee :~) Love you bunches!

I can't believe I don't have that many pictures of the kids in their costumes. This is why I don't hand the camera off to others. Not sure it would have mattered because Sydney was in no mood to have her picture taken. She absolutely would not smile for the camera. She didn't even get excited that she won the Cake Walk at our church's Harvest Festival and won a huge plate of chocolate chip cookies. She wanted nothing to do with it, so I picked the one with a cute Halloween plate. What can I say? I am resourceful like that! Come to find out later, she had strep throat, so I guess she is allowed to be a little cranky.

You will also notice that Sydney has 2 different costumes throughout the night. She started as Tinkerbell, but about an hour into that costume she informed me it was "too itchy". Keep in mind, she wore the same type of costume last year with no problems, but this year, she wanted nothing to do with it. So, we broke into the dress up clothes and made a make shift princess costume for the remainder of the evening. Everything worked out well, the kids had a blast, and we now have W~A~Y too much candy. Don't tell the kids that each day I go through their baskets and weed out a few more pieces to send to Daron's work or to put in the treasure box at school. Shhhhhhh........

Pumpkin Patch

Can I just start by saying that I love fall! I love everything about it....the weather, the decorations, the beginning of the holidays. I love every minute of it!

And, what would Halloween be without a trip to the pumpkin patch? Thanks to the rain that we have had lately, it was a bit slushier than we would have liked. Unfortunately, that prevented Alex from getting to play in the hay maze. But, all was well once we started on the hunt for just the right pumpkins. The kids as usual ran around like crazy in rows and rows of pumpkins. Surprisingly, not too crowded when we got there but boy, did that change as it got closer to lunch time.

Five small pumpkins and one big pumpkin later we had wrapped up another successful year at the pumpkin patch. Because the rest of our Saturday was full, we had to wait until Sunday to get to carving. Alex helped draw on his pumpkin's face and cut a couple of holes before deciding he was done with it. Sydney didn't quite make it that long. So, Daron carved two and I carved three. The kids were still really happy with their jack-o-lanterns and Daron is super proud of his because he didn't use a stencil.