Thursday, April 20, 2017

we went to florida: tampa & clearwater beach edition

Midway through our Florida trip, we drove out to Tampa and Clearwater Beach, because what Florida trip would be complete without a day at the beach?

We drove through the area north of Tampa where we used to live.  I made the twins pose for a picture in front of their old bedroom window.  It was so surreal being there at our old apartment complex, and so many memories came flooding back.  I can't believe that it's been almost 9 years since we left Tampa!  

We drove though downtown Tampa, again for a little bit of nostalgia.  So many times I thought, "I can't believe we used to live here!  Why did we ever leave?!"





Same spot, 9 1/2 years later


Grouper sandwiches at Frenchy's was a must!
And now, be prepared for a thousand pictures at the beach!  It was so beautiful, peaceful, fun, and perfect.  I didn't grow up near a beach, but there is something about it that speaks to my soul.




Plus, it's safe to say that all of my kids LOVED the beach.  They could have stayed there all day!  Someday we are going to have to take a vacation where the only thing on the itinerary is playing at the beach all day every day!
















My parents played at the beach with us, and a lot of these awesome photos were taken by my dad.  It was so fun having them there with us.














Saturday, April 8, 2017

we went to florida: epcot and hollywood studios edition



We started our Disney World fun at EPCOT, in hopes of getting on the Frozen ride before the line got horribly long.  Of course, it was closed most of the day we were there, so we didn't get to ride it at all.

Luckily, the only one who would have really enjoyed the ride, didn't really know what she was missing, and was completely happy twirling and dancing in her Disney dress while waiting for everyone else to go on rides that she couldn't.

Plus, when she peered through the slats in this wall and saw who was on the other side, she was completely in heaven!

She, like most little girls, loves Anna and Elsa, and was so happy to meet them!  It was so adorable watching her eyes light up seeing them, and then get just a little bit shy while talking to them.



The smile on her face says it all!





Bart and I said that this may have been our favorite moment of the whole trip.  Maybe.  And it definitely was Everly's.  Whenever we talk about the trip, and all the fun rides we went on, and all the other fun stuff we did, she immediately starts listing all the characters she got to meet.  It's pretty sweet!





EPCOT has such a different feel than the other parks, and it was fun to just walk around the World Showcase and see some of what is there.  We didn't spend much time in any one area, because we've tried that with little kids, and know it can only hold there attention for so long.  It was neat while we were there though. 



Next we headed to Hollywood Studios where we enjoyed some Mickey ice cream while watching the stunt show.  Everything tastes better when it's shaped like Mickey Mouse, right?


I love, love, love the Rockin' Rollercoaster!  I loved going on it with my mom and Ky and Kade.  It's just so good!
When we came out of the Rockin' Rollercoaster, we saw that it was raining, which meant that we had left my dad, Bart and the two little ones to entertain themselves and try to stay dry.  It didn't rain for very long, but it did leave this awesome rainbow!
Next, Everly got to meet Sofia!  She of course loved that, but was frustrated that she wouldn't talk to her.



The Star Wars things they have added right now are pretty cool.  I can't wait to someday go back when Star Wars Land is open.  It's going to be awesome!


I was worried that Everly would be scared of Chewbacca (or Kylo Ren-who we also met) but she thought they were pretty awesome!

My favorite thing about this picture is not Chewbacca in the middle.  It's that all of, including my parents are in it.  Meeting the characters was never a priority for our family when I was a little girl at Disneyland.  In fact, we never waited in any line to meet anyone.  So I love that my parents would wait in line with their grandkids and even get in the picture, because they would do anything for my kids!









I think the longest line we waited for the whole trip was the line to meet Buzz and Woody.  We were pretty much done with our day, and we knew there wasn't really time to go get in line for any more rides, so we were happy to wait in line.  Especially because Krew was finally excited about something we were in line for, and not scared.

Buzz and Woody were so much fun!  We didn't just stand next to them for a picture, we had fun with them!
Buzz put Bart in timeout for saying something about the Super Bowl that was a few days earlier.  This was the first of two timeouts that Buzz put Bart in, actually!
Ky and Kade hadn't been waiting in line with us, but they were watching through the big windows.  When Buzz realized they were part of our family, he opened the side door and let them in so we could have a dance party!  Seriously, we Whipped and Nae Naed with Buzz and Woody.  It was so much fun!





It was such a fun and amazing day, and one that I'm sure we'll remember for a long time!