Family Vacation 2014, part 2

TIP: Buy or make matching shirts so you can spot each other easier in a crowd. Plus it was just fun to match! Now they have new PJ shirts to wear to always remember this trip. 

Day 3: Walt Disney World

After getting to bed at 1 am the night previous the children were not too keen on waking at 8am-ish the next morning. But....we wanted to fit in the most play time the 2nd day at WDW because we weren't going to stay until park close that night.

We woke them up, quickly packed our stuff, said goodbye to Cassie and hurried off. This day we followed their "insider tip" and parked at the Polynesian Hotel and took the tram. We were allowed to park their because we told them we were checking it out. And we did....actually, I would really like to stay on Disney property next time we go because it is much more convenient and you get more perks. Anywho, we parked, got on the tram and were there, with minimal walking, in 15 minutes.

Our first fast pass was for Ariel's ride, which I think we missed because we didn't get there at opening. We were too tired. So we headed to some smaller rides in Tomorrowland until our 2nd fast pass ride, Space Mountain. As you can tell by their faces the kids did NOT like this ride. I had forgotten how dark and "scary" it was and I see why they didn't like it. Tyler enjoyed it though.

Colin was a super-trooper the entire trip. Only on the last two nights did he wake up out of the ordinary. He was incredibly overtired by that point. When he slept in his crib I put the blanket up to shield him from the sun. I am so glad I bought these metal clothespins from the $1 store. They came in handy several times.

We stayed until about 8pm. We got a little rained out for about 30 minutes. But after the heavy rainfall we were able to hit some of the bigger rides one last time. Splash & Thunder Mountain until we got rained out again. Luckily, I found another TIP. Buy $1 ponchos and bring them with you to avoid paying $5+ inside the park. We got soaked. From our head to our toes. We walked to the car with drenched and cold feet. Again, the kids were tired but we wanted to squeeze the most fun out of the time we had.

 

Then we had a miscomunication, Tyler and I. He was walking faster to get Colin out of the rain but then it stopped so he stopped to take some night shots. I kept walking with the girls and didn't see him. I figured he, Colin and Samuel would be waiting on the monorail platform for us but they weren't there. Of course, by this point, my old cell phone was dead so I couldn't call him. So we got on the train hoping to see him at the hotel. He was not around. So then we walked to the car, still no sign of them. So....we waited and waited. Finally, I asked a stranger if I could use their cell phone and called Tyler. He was ticked off but I quickly hung up after telling him to meet us at the car. He had been waiting for us on the platform and finally just got on the train after he figured we had left. So...that wasted another 20 minutes. Oh, well. It could have been much worse! 

A highlight of this day was being able to see an old college friend of mine. Becky, a fellow actor, is a hilarious performer. She does voice over work, to character shows, to all kinds of acting activity in the park. She got us "special" seats so that we could be on camera for the laugh show with Monsters Inc characters. It was really fun and kind of her to showcase our family for 5 minutes.  

We got to go to the major attractions but missed a couple things. Like Pirates of the Caribbean was temporarily closed for some reason. Also in Adventureland we didn't get to go through the Swiss Family Robinson house. And we didn't do the cliche dumbo ride in Fantasyland. But, those are all pretty minor. And we still had a great time! I think Tyler liked going better with kids than when he was a kid or as newlyweds. We went for our 1st year anniversary over 11 years ago! Not only had the price gone way up but we went in October instead of August so the temperatures were much more mild, plus there were several new rides to try out. And this time we brought in our own bottled water and flavoring so we didn't have to drink the nasty stuff from the fountains. 

 Will we go again? I hope so. It is certainly expensive but really fun. So...we'll see.

From WDW we drove to Tampa, had to make a pit-stop in the Tampa airport to sign some new papers for the car rental (long story...did it to save money by using vouchers) and then headed another 20 minutes to Clearwater. We used our Hyatt room upgrade vouchers for a 1 bedroom but luckily they had space, and with our diamond status, they gave us a 2 bedroom. It....was...awesome. The kids were in one bedroom. Colin in one of the 3 bathrooms and we had a full kitchen and living/dining room with two balconies to boot. With a great morning view of the ocean. Tyler did a good job in booking this room. Totally worth it. The kids, of course, fell asleep on the way to the hotel. We got in about 10pm. We had to wake them up, kicking and screaming, and drag them to the room. They never went to bed so easily, this whole trip! It was great!

Day 4....Clearwater.

Family Vacation 2014

We went on our first family vacation that did not involve extended family members this fall. It was an awesome and memorable trip. I look forward to doing a trip like this again. Hopefully, every year or every other year we'll be able to do this. Disclaimer: if you don't care about park tips and details...just look at the pics and watch the video in a few days when I finish it up :)

The digested version:
October 12-18, 2014
Day 1-5: Visited Walt Disney World for 2 days. Stayed with my cousin Cassie and her family. Drove to Clearwater Beach. Stayed for 1.5 days in a Hyatt Hotel.
Day 6-7: Flew to Atlanta, Georgia. Visited the Georgia Aquarium. Stayed in a Hyatt Hotel. Flew home.

Earlier this Spring, before SWA (Southwest Airlines) points values increased we reserved our plane tickets for this trip. We used our two companion passes and Colin was free. Then we used points for Jocelyn so we paid about $60 for all of us to fly there. We had a layover in Denver and then the 3 hour flight to Orlando. The kids did really well. Security wasn't bad. They had to check every baby bottle and baby food which took a bit longer but the kids were really patient waiting. Luckily, Tyler and I were doing this together. I don't imagine flying solo with 4 kids. That would be tricky. We had tons of snacks and lunchables for dinner to avoid paying for airport food. The 3 older kids sat on a row together and after drinks/snacks they watched  a movie on the ipad, each with their own earphones. Tyler and I sat behind them with Colin on my lap. He was a great traveler. Didn't cry at all.

Day 1: Not thinking clearly we booked our tickets for a Sunday arriving at 11pm at night. After renting the car and driving to Cassie's we didn't get in until about 12:30 am Monday morning. Cassie and Jacob were greats hosts. They tried to stay up late to greet us upon arrival by watching a movie but couldn't make it that late which was totally fine (they have a new baby!).  Knowing we'd get in very late, they left the lights on for us to direct us to our rooms. Gave us the door code so we didn't have to disturb them, their girls.

Day 2: The next morning the kids actually got to "sleep in" until 9am. We woke up, met Cassie's girls (our kids hadn't really met before) and ate breakfast. The kids saw her pool and immediately wanted to go swimming. Because it's sooo humid and still warm, somewhere between 70-80 degrees it was a great temperature. The kids swam while Cassie and I chatted. Then Tyler wanted to mow their lawn. Their grass is soooo different there. It's very course and weedy. It's not like the plush blue grass that we see everywhere else. He enjoys mowing and it was an extra way of saying thanks for the accommodations. After getting a briefing on where to park, tips and such from Cassie and Jacob (he used to work there and they could go all the time....so they're pretty experienced) for WDW (walt disney world) we quickly got ready to go. The time was already escaping us. I wanted to stay and visit with Cassie longer!! We got the kids in costume, packed our stuff for the evening and drove off. We had to stop at Walmart first to get our food for the next few days. We ended up packing a whole suitcase of Costco/Sam's Club goodies for the week which saved us a lot of money and was very convenient. Plus, because we opted not to pay extra for the magic bands (free if you stay on Disney property) we used "cards" for fast pass lanes and I didn't want to keep them in my pocket or have the kids lose them. When I was leaving Walmart I saw they had a whole separate Disney store. I bought lanyards for $5 each. I am so glad I did. It kept our cards nice and safe and it was another "gift" for the kids to get them excited. On Disney property they cost $15!!! So we saved money there. Paying $20 for convenience was totally worth it.

See how flushed I am from walking briskly in the warm Florida weather? yikes. It was too hot for Colin to wear his pumpkin costume. 

We were able to be admitted to the park at 4pm. We decided to get a Halloween ticket (Not So Scary Halloween event) for the first day. And a full day the 2nd day. We only went to Magic Kingdom (not Epcot, Animal Kingdom, etc. We'll save that for another trip....or maybe Harry Potter land...a. completely different park). We parked and walked (because it's easier with a stroller than taking the tram) and then the ferry. The kids were already complaining about how tired they were and we hadn't even got into the park yet. There was no line to get in but the cast member had a hard time finding our passes (because we switched them a few days earlier) and it took foreeeeeever to get our tickets (next time...buy in advance enough to have them mailed to me). As a result, we missed our first fast pass so she gave us a free voucher to use on another ride to make up for it. yay! Great service.

We decided to get a Halloween party ticket because they were $65 per ticket instead of the $95 for a full day. If we would have got a one day pass it would have cost $95 and we would have gone from 9am (and had to wake up the kids super early) until 7pm when they would kick us out for not paying for the Halloween party. So....10 hours for $95 or.....pay $30 less and go for 8 hours! We made the right decision in saving money and having a great time at the special Halloween party. We got to go on the major rides until 7pm, using fast passes and the trick-or-treating started at 7 and more rides. It was less empty than during normal hours but still a bit crowded. We had to stay close to each other. Luckily, Cecily our wanderer, never got lost!!

DON'T read this part if you don't care about WDW tips. We definitely saved time by using the fast passes and child swap. Because of Colin we were able to take advantage of the child swap plus the fast pass that you can sign up for in advance online (on your phone, computer, kiosks in the park etc....you sign up for 3 rides, then once those were redeemed we could sign up for 1 ride at a time after that). So the kids could ride the ride back to back, twice in a row. So, for example, Tyler would go through the fast pass line (MUCH shorter) and I would show them Colin (in my arms or asleep in the stroller...this only works on the non-baby rides like splash mountain,etc. The child swap doesn't apply to haunted mansion, small world, etc) and they would give Tyler the child swap pass. When he was done with the ride he would give me the pass and I could go on the ride, after going through fast pass lane, with two other children. So typically, one of the kids didn't want to go again so it wasn't a problem. Sometimes, however, the cast member would let all 3 kids go again. The kids favorite was Thunder Mountain. It's old and rickety but it was the least scary of the "scary" rides. Between the two days they went on it about 7 times! Jocelyn and Cecily liked Splash Mountain. Samuel only wanted to go on it once. To be honest, the drop at the end scares me enough that I only needed to go once too. Jocelyn was scared and went twice. Cecily went three times.

Back to the Halloween party. Everyone was dressed up (kids anyway and some of the adults). I read online (yay Pinterest) to buy our kids glow sticks and glow toys in advance (from Dollar Tree, Michaels) and bring them with us because once it got dark there were cast members pushing carts around selling these toys for waaaay more than typical retail value. So I whipped out the glow sticks and spinny glow toys that they could carry around. Once it was dark you could see a lot of people walking around with all type of glow toys/hats/sticks, etc so I am glad I bought them for the kids so they never had to ask for one. I accidentally lost one of our pumpkin lights right away though. We were in the haunted mansion and I put one in my lap (turned off) and when I got off the ride it fell off (I forgot it was there) and it fell underneath the track. Darn it. oh, well...it was only $1 and we still had Colin's that Cecily could use. Luckily, that was only one of two casualties the whole trip (the other was Samuel leaving his stuffed angry bird somewhere between Florida and Georgia).

We ate sub sandwiches (pre-made from Walmart), chips and salad for dinner. We brought water bottles and I bought a $2 insulated bag and a bag of ice. It was perfect for keeping our water cool and food "refrigerated" even though there was a puddle of cold water left at the bottom. I am glad we brought our big stroller because it hauled all our stuff.

Trick or treating was fun. They had 13 stations and gave us each a bag upon entering the park. We didn't make it to all 13 stations though. But we each got (including Tyler, me and Colin) about 2-3 lbs each of candy. They would give us a handful at each station. 2/3 of it was chocolate candy! My favorite. We got to see the special Halloween parade and the special fireworks show. I haven't been to a fireworks show in years so I was really glad we got to see it (since we didn't the 2nd night). I love being right underneath, to hear the crackling and feel the boom in your chest. It's so magical. And the kids weren't even scared! yay! The Halloween one is even cooler than the normal nightly one because the finale includes 360 degree fireworks. It lit up the sky so brightly it felt like it was daytime. It was sooo awesome. That was Tyler's favorite part of the Halloween party. It was unforgettable, for sure.

That is Belle's (or the Beasts)  castle below.

I like parades and they did not disappoint. The choreography was spot on and they make it so fun to watch. The kids, who normally don't like parades, enjoyed it too. By then, however, it was nearly 11pm. We got kicked out at midnight. We thought after the parade we'd leave, like most people do. But we wanted to fit in as many rides as possible while it was less crowded. The kids were soooooo tired and begging to go home. But we wanted our money's worth. So we convinced them to stay a bit longer. We rode the teacups like 3 times in a row because there was no line while Tyler went on the new Snow White and 7 dwarf mine ride. The line is usually over an hour so it was shorter at 11pm. (no fast passes during Halloween party). Tyler and Cecily went on first while I stayed with Samuel, Colin and Jocelyn (who were too afraid and tired to go). Tyler liked it so much (I think we may have had a child swap for this ride) that he convinced Samuel to go with me. Jocelyn regretted not going because we couldn't get a fast pass for it the next day and she never got to ride it. It's about as "scary" as thunder mountain but not as rickety. It was fun! Then as we were leaving at midnight we saw the princess line thing. They let us go in (the girls and I) even though they were closing. Once we got inside we saw the line for the Frozen girls! It was at least 30 minutes (at midnight) so we saw Rapunzel and Cinderella. The girls were thrilled, even Jocelyn. Cecily was so excited/shy she wouldn't stand next to them. Super fun to see the "magic" at work. I think her age is the perfect age for Disney stuff. She was still wide awake then (however....she's naturally a late owl). Another regret....not waiting earlier that day to meet the Frozen girls (which the girls didn't think they'd like at all). Then we had to walk all way back to the car (the kids were dying by this point) and drove 20 minutes back to Cassie's. They were out like a light, 1 am.

So...this is taking waaaay longer than I thought. I will write about Day 3 in another post!

Halloween 2011

Halloween has come and gone already! Halloween!?! Wow, the time is flying....eek!

Honestly, I've been thinking about costumes since....January or February? I had decided we were doing a theme (which we've never really done before, last year it was a loosely Asian theme). The theme was to be Wizard of Oz. Why? Because a) Cecily had to be the lion because that was her size costume and the other two already wore it. Tradition.  And b) because what little girl doesn't want to be Dorothy? Well, apparently more than I thought, including my own. Jocelyn didn't think Dorothy was pretty enough, even with the ruby slippers. What? Samuel was billed to play the tin man, me the wicked witch and Tyler, the scarecrow.

Well, after Jocelyn announced she didn't want to be Dorothy, Samuel realized he didn't really want to be the tin man. It wasn't cool enough. So, after we told him he couldn't go trick-or-treating if he didn't dress up, I decided to revise my vision a bit to a modern Wizard of Oz. Dorothy with a tutu and apron and Samuel could be a bit more like a robot. And I would be the sassy witch without the green face. So, we were happy with that until my Aunt Mary offered to let Samuel wear my cousin's costume from last year, a clone star wars dude (Captain Fordo, to be more specific). So I weighed my options.....borrow a hand-me-down costume or make a costume from scratch and have a son be sort of happy wearing it. I chose the easy route. So that's what it was, for a day. The theme changed to movie-theme characters. We borrowed the costume the day of two parties...and though he looked really cool and my aunt rocked at coming up with this handmade costume, it didn't fit Samuel well enough and I was worried he would break it during his class party. So he wore it for one day.

On Sunday night, the night before Halloween, I decided to change his costume, once again, and made him a mummy costume (which we had discussed as an aption days before as well). It was super easy to make just took a couple of hours. Now, are you ready for the costume changes for Joc? I know, right? I'm so crazy!! It's only Halloween already!?! But costumes...are costumes. You get to pretend you are someone else. It's like being on the stage or in front of a camera. It's so fun!!

So for Joc.....I borrowed my cousin Micaela's Dorothy costume that her daughter wore last year. But after browsing Pinterest a bit, I saw this cute tutu/apron rendition and thought that might be a nice twist. But first it started with the ruby slippers. I followed a tutorial I found (again on Pinterest) for repurposign shoes. I mod podged red glitter onto some old/ratty shoes Jocelyn wasn't wearing anymore. It only took me about an hour but....that's about as long as the glitter lasted before it all peeled off. Dang. So much for trying to save money (luckily, I already had the materials on hand and it didn't' cost me anything but time) and paid $12 for the Target version. I made the tutu the night before the parade and when Jocelyn woke up at about midnight for her usual nightly waking (she just wanders out of  bed, half asleep, and announces she has to pee or something of that nature) I tried on this borrowed dress with the tutu and it looked...dumb. So the next morning, I quickly made up an apron out of this ugly calico skirt that was the main inspiration in the first place, right before the Law school parade. Then on Saturday, for the other 2 parties, she wore the borrowed gown, and on Halloween day she wore the handmade one again.

Musical costumes!!!Oh, the drama behind the scenes!

 

Law School Parade and trick-or-treating in the carrels. 

Jocleyn is standing behind me, behind Cecily. Joc wasn't brave enough to walk in front :(

This is from a little party we hosted.

 

 

 

For the party my Aunt Allie and Uncle Roger host each year we brought this puking pumpkin. Again, I got the idea from Pinterest. 

 

 Pancake cat breakfast and for dinner we had mummy dogs.

This first group is from the annual Law School parade/and trick-of-treating.

Samuel's school parade:

Trick-or-Treating

Cecily is not pictured because...she didn't go. Call me cruel but she woke up grumpy and refused to eat her dinner and I knew if she went trick-or-treating she'd eat candy the whole way through. I know, but it's Halloween! Well, if she hadn't already gathered candy at the law party, I would have let her go...maybe.
We went out for 1 1/2 hours! We went around our ward boundaries. Our neighbors had a little haunted house in their carport....which freaked my kids out. They didn't admit that until the end of the night. At first, Jocelyn wanted to go through again but by the time we passed it to go home, she insisted she was done and they both confessed they were too scared. It was a bit scarey...luckily they didn't wake up with nightmares. And there was one suspicious neighbor who was waring an ugly mask....who gave out unwrapped candy and had a camera and video-camera. Creepy. No wonder Jocelyn didn't want to take candy from him. But I made her just to be polite. I should have listened to her. Otherwise, they had a great time and between the two trick-or-treating events they gathered 5 lbs of candy! I gave them the choice.....sell their candy to a local dentist office or keep it. If they sold it we'd keep a bowl full for treats and then they'd get to use their money to buy a toy. Luckily, they chose the toy! We took it to the dentist and it was 5 lbs. So $5 later they each had a toy and their candy is going off to soldiers overseas! And I hope that made them feel good. And now we don't have to have sugar wars until Easter....because we won't have as much around.

Happy Halloween, the finale!

Are you glad I'm finally done with these posts? I am glad to be done! Though it's been a FUN two weeks.


The costumes:
We went with an Asian theme. I don't do themes every year but I like to if I can.

Samuel: Homemade ninja. Favorite part: the fact that I decided to use some old church pants that had a hold in the knee. I didn't have time to sew pants and or mend the old ones! Fabric was from my collection. All I had to pay for was the shirt.

Jocelyn: My FAVORITE this year. An Indian princess. I asked my sister Jennie to bring me a sari from India 6 months ago. Yes, I think that far ahead. Call me crazy but I already have an idea for next year's Halloween costumes! If our bunny is still alive :) Anyway, I love that hers is authentic and that I didn't have to sew it! Plus Jennie brought back those little dots (not sure of the name).

Cecily: Little Chinese boy, I mean child. This outfit is technically a boys but who cares! Again, my world traveler sister, bought this in San Francisco's China Town.

I wanted to have a little photo shoot for the kids but ended up only having it with Jocelyn. She loved doing this in our little forest. I couldn't decide which ones I liked the best so please excuse the amount.









The Food: My favorite part. Especially that nice little one in the middle. I love you Reese's peanut butter cups!!!

I offered $5 to purchase a toy for either one who wanted to sell me their candy. Not for me to eat (well, except for the chocolate ones for me and Swedish fish, sour patch kids and other favorites for Tyler). I am just sick of all the candy they beg, sneak or steal from now through Easter. I'd rather it just be gone. Not sure where I will donate it yet.

I started a tradition in 2005 of making doughnuts every Halloween season. I still have not found the best doughnut recipe, either cake or yeast. So this year I tried another new one this year. Apple fritters from Pioneer Woman. I liked them because I had the ingredients, they were easy AND the kids didn't notice the hidden apple chunks! Plus, of course, they were delicious!

Me enjoying them in my domestic apron. Doesn't it look like I'm pregnant?

Here they are, but not nearly as good as PW's photos.

And then I wanted to make gourmet caramel apples. If you look closely they look like the kids dribbled chocolate on them. I'll have to practice that. Fun gifts for friends!

And this is end of October!!!

Halloween part deux

Party #4
Law School annual Parade and trick-or-treating

Every Halloween the Law School hosts a pizza party and costume parade. Then afterward the kids go trick-or-treating in the little carrels, or cubicle/booth/desk thingys. The students provide the candy and/or decorate them and the little kids go around and "cash in".

Jocelyn was too shy to stand up and show everyone her beautiful costume.

I made their trick-or-treat bags this year. I was sick of looking at the cheap ones sold at the stores so I made some sturdy canvas bags that will last for years and are not too big. Actually, it's a good time to stop trick-or-treating too, when they're bags are full, so small the better. Actually, when I was a kid, and I got older though, I used a pillowcase. And I had that thing filled easily. Nowadays, is that possible? Do that many people actually hand out candy? or can you trust too many people anymore to get that much?? Some of the students wouldn't give the kids candy unless they said "trick-or-treat". Sheesh, guess I am a bad mom for not teaching them the proper ways.



Party #5 Halloween night (ie, Saturday night because we live in Utah. Fine with me!)

First, I was mean and made the kids clean up all their toys and settle their hyper rear ends down. Then while Tyler cut some wood for an exciting project that I have embarked on, the kids watched a short Halloween cartoon which scared Jocelyn. Then we carved pumpkins.

Uh, this is the only action shot I got.

Here they are. In the rain.
Tyler does the fancy carving. I used a drill for mine. Wanted something pretty.

Yes, It was a beautiful day until late afternoon. No signs of the the threatening storm. Then, around 5pm, it rained and poured. So I decided to take the kids trick-or-treating at the Mall. Wow. That was interesting. First, seeing all the weirdos in their costumes. Then we ended up parading through the mall for about 30 minutes resulting in about 5 pieces of candy. I think the rain brought more people in than normal and all the stores ran out. Plus they gave away lame candy like one single tootsie roll. Lame.

Afterward we went to Dairy Queen which worked out nicely because it was empty and quiet. Cecily had her first ice cream and went a little crazy about it. Call me a bad mother for allowing her to have a milk based food too early. Plus they gave us vouchers for a free ice cream. I like trick-or-treating there!

And then the kids crashed for the night and Tyler and I watched another law movie. Got to learn me some law lingo. Nice.