Cousin Time!

One of the very best parts of our WDW trip

was that my sister and her daughter

were able to join us for a few days!
Grace is 2-1/2 years older than Maddy and very, very cool!
She recently turned 16 - old enough to drive!

1st Disney trip together (Maddy was 5 and Grace was 7)

Cousins are the best!

Even though these two don't get to see each other often,

they love getting together - especially on vacation!

Grace 16 and Maddy 13

It  might be true that they got a teensy bit tired

of our many attempts to get their photos!

But, seriously,
isn't Disney all about the photos???

Magic Kingdom!

Next time, we're hoping to get to a character breakfast

with Grace and Amy.

I can see Grace rolling her eyes already!

Thanks for meeting us Amy and Grace!
Let's start planning another adventure soon!

Cool Pool Time at WDW

Who doesn't love some relaxing time at the pool??

While we thoroughly enjoyed the rides and 

the parks and the characters, the temps were

rather toasty warm in Orlando!

So, we also enjoyed 

some pool time!

Miss M loved the lazy river pool!

She talked me into getting in too - which was loads

of fun . . . 

until I tried to get out!

Holy cow, it was a little tricky to get myself 

out of that tube!  

I had to maneuver myself through the 

inner tubes full of laughing kids, 

over to the stairs and catch a railing to pull myself out!

Guess my flexibility and strength training both need to be ramped up a bit!

Hiding my hair under a hat -- an everyday occurrence at WDW!

Our schedule most days was to head to the parks early

and then back for some cooling off and rest time

before evening activities started!

It was perfect!

We miss Disney World already!

The view from our balcony!

Such Characters -- WDW Part 2

One of the things we love to do 

at Disney World is to

see the characters!

When we first visited when Maddy was little, it was 

all about the princesses -- we still like them, of course,

but really enjoy some of the other characters too!

We arranged for a breakfast at the Crystal Palace - 

located just across from the castle!

Love that place and if you make your reservation early enough,

you get in to the park before it actually opens!

Our absolutely favorite characters make

appearances at the breakfast and stop at each table.

One of the other reasons I love this place is that you are not rushed in and out -

you can take your sweet time and enjoy that breakfast buffet

over and over . . . 

 not saying we did that though --

 oh yes, we did!  ;)

Connor was able to join us for a couple days --he loves the characters too! :)

Character meet and greets are here and there 

throughout the park and we kept our eyes

and iPhones busy checking on 

when and where to find a character or two!

Yes, we did go on a few rides here and there too!

Old favorites like Dumbo and It's a  Small World and  

a  new favorite - the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!

What a fun and fast roller-coaster!!

Hold-on tight!  :)

A Magical Trip!

Hello Friends!

When I last posted, Maddy had just

finished 7th grade! Yay!

After celebrating another rainy weekend in Nebraska, 

we made a mad rush after Memorial Day to

pack and head out to the most magical and

happiest place on earth!

Yes, we visited Walt Disney World!

When we've gone before,

it's been over Easter break, so we went a bit later this year.

Visiting at a non-holiday was a little different.

It was hotter during this time period,
 but less crowded than at Easter.

Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella

We had so much fun!

Since this is basically our family scrapbook, I'll be

posting all about our trip, so hope I don't bore you all.

I'm a lucky Mom-- even though she's a teenager,

Maddy loves the magic of Disney, 

the characters, the rides, the shopping!

It was a magical trip!

Stay tuned!