Florida 2016!

We just had the best week ever!  We went to Florida for a week with my parents, and it was so amazing to get away for a while!  This might be my longest blog post ever, but I really want to remember everything about the trip... so you may want to scroll quickly!

The happiest place on earth!

Thursday we flew with the two girls to Orlando.  It was stressful getting everything to the airport, but it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  The flight was not very fun, as Evie screamed half the time.  Luckily we were surrounded by families, so I didn't feel as judged as usual.  Maggie was not at all interested in the plane, but was a very good girl the whole flight.

Pilot Maggie!

Getting ready to board the plane!

Daddy, is this safe?

The house we stayed at was awesome!  We each had our own bedroom and bathroom, and there was a pool and hot tub out back!  We loved it!

The next day we hung out at the pool and playground, and just enjoyed some family time with Grammer and Pops.  Jamie and I went to Disney Springs during naptime, and had fun walking around and dodging rain drops (a common theme this trip).  Later we all went out for drinks and dinner!

Enough pictures, let's play!

Fun in the sun

Can I see your I.D.?

Dinner selfie!

Can we get more bread please?

Saturday was Maggie's first Disney experience, and we were all so excited!  Grammer and Pops watched Evie all day, which was a HUGE help!  The three of us spent the morning at Hollywood Studios so that Maggie could meet her favorite Disney Junior characters.  I would say it was my least favorite of the Disney parks, but we still had a great time.  We saw a show with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters, Doc McStuffins, Jake and Neverland Pirates, and Sophia the First.  If you don't have young kids, you might not grasp the awesomeness of having all these guys together in one room.  You also probably do way more entertaining things on your Saturday mornings.

On our way!

Disney Junior - Where the magic begins!

Doc McStuffins!

Hanging out in Doc's clinic

Meeting Princess Sophia after the show

Honey I Shrunk the Kids playscape

We also an Ariel show while Jamie nerded out over Star Wars.  We had lunch at Hollywood and Vine where Maggie got to see a bunch of characters again, and then ended the morning at the Frozen Sing-a-Long show.  It was a really nice morning because we were inside during the rain showers, and got to escape the mugginess for a while!  

Lunch with Doc McStuffins!

We were hoping Maggie could make it through the days at Disney without a nap, but after the morning, it was clear that naptime was essential!  It was actually nice to relax for a few hours before heading out for the evening!

Saturday evening we went to the Magic Kingdom, and Maggie was in awe (so was I)!  I haven't been there in 13 years, and I totally forgot what an amazing place it is!  We started the evening at Beast's Castle for dinner - it was sooo delicious (who knew you could get rack of lamb at a theme park?)!  Maggie enjoyed her Mickey meatloaf, and I can't remember what Jamie had because my memory blocked out almost everything except the taste of my delicious food.  I want to go back now!  

Maggie was so excited by the flowers at
the front of the park... 

Tram ride!

Avoiding rain before dinner

Waiting for dinner

We got to meet Beast after dinner, and Maggie was really anxious about it.  We reminded her that he is a good guy, and in the end she was pretty happy to meet him.

After dinner we went to Belle's Storytime.  This was one of my favorite memories from the vacation.  It was a very interactive event, with probably only 20 people or so at a time.  All the kids got to play a character, and Maggie got to be Chip the teacup.  We put on a show as a surprise for Belle, and Maggie was in awe of her the whole time.  Afterward, everyone got to take individual pictures with Belle, and I think Maggie got a little extra attention because she was one of the youngest, and had on her "first time to Disney" button.

Getting some tea for Belle

So precious

Daddy was a brave knight

We wandered around the park and did a few other things before heading to the castle for the fireworks.  I didn't think Maggie would be very interested in the fireworks, but I was wrong.  They were really special with music and narration, and Maggie's face was priceless!  

Wonder and awe

Cinderella's castle

Sunday was Easter!  We went to the shrine for mass... it was insanely busy!  It took forever to get there and park, and we ended up at the outdoor mass.  It was hot and the girls were cranky and sweaty, so it wasn't the most peaceful experience, but it doesn't compare to the cross!

Going for a stroll with Grammer

Easter with Grammer and Pops

Half-way decent family photo!

Florida humidity gives this girl curls!

Because my parents will be in Florida throughout April, we celebrated Evie's first birthday and Jamie's 32nd birthday at the house.  Evie definitely did not need a practice run for cake consumption - she owned it!  I have no doubt that she will dominate her cake again on her actual birthday.  It was a fun and relaxing Easter!

It's my party!

Pre-cake Evie

She started eating before we finished singing

Post-cake Evie

Ninja turtle cake!

We decided Daddy could be 23 this birthday

Birthday presents!

Monday was the other day we chose to do the Disney Parks.  After trying for days, we were finally able to get a reservation for Cinderella's Table at the last minute...  at 7:15... in the morning.  You may think we are crazy for getting up at 5:30 to go have breakfast with some princesses, but it was totally worth it, and definitely the best part of our trip.  We got to get into the park before anyone else, get all the classic pictures in front of the castle, try to pull the sword from the stone, and of course, enter Cinderella's castle!

Ready to go, bright and early!

Magic Kingdom in the morning

Maybe a little too early in the morning

On Main Street USA

Having a chat with Roy Disney

Good morning, Disney!

Not the chosen one...

The breakfast was delicious, but the best part was watching Maggie with the princesses.  She got to meet Cinderella in the beginning, and then Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Ariel during breakfast.  Maggie was very shy, and could hardly say more than her name.  It was a really lovely way to start the day, and if we do Disney again while the girls are young, I would definitely do it again.  Because we were still so early, we were able to meet Princess Anna and Elsa after only a few minutes (it's usually at least an hour wait - not something we wanted to do!).

Meeting Cinderella

Magical

This is what happy looks like

Snow White's voice was perfect

Princess Ariel!

Giving her most charming smile to Aurora?

Maggie was very shy with Princess Elsa

Twins!

Talking about chocolate

We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride, Peter Pan's ride, Alladin's Carpet Ride and Dumbo.  Maggie didn't really care about the rides, she just kept saying, "can we meet more princesses now?"  So we spent the majority of our time seeking out princesses, which was still fun because there is so much to look at along the way.  We met with Merida, Goofie, Donald, Minnie, Jasmine, Alladin and Tinkerbelle by the end of the morning.  Every princess had sweet or funny things to say to Maggie, and were completely in character.  I really like Merida and Anna because they joked around with Maggie for a couple minutes before taking pictures.  I was impressed that we never felt hurried despite the people waiting - each character really took the time to interact with Maggie and I think that's what she loved most.

Checking out Pooh's house

Princess Merida!

Tickles!

Playing hand slaps

Hanging with Goofy

Daisy was extra kind to Maggie

Maggie loves Minnie!

Having a laugh with Tink

Family shot

Discussing the merits of pixie dust versus aviation

Asking Maggie about her first visit

Jamie wanted a photo with Jasmine... eye roll

We left the Magic Kingdom for another naptime (and swimming for Mom and Dad), and then headed out to Epcot around dinnertime.  We got to meet Mulan in "China," and she taught Maggie some warrior moves.  We had a fun dinner in "Norway" and got to see Ariel, Belle, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella throughout dinner.  Maggie was part of Ariel's "parade" through the restaurant, and was just delighted.  

Warrior pose for strength

Mulan!

Belle again

Ugh, be cuter! 

Princess Aurora woke up for dinner!

Maggie telling Cinderella all about seeing her
ugly step sisters and how silly they were

Such royalty

Had to get a pic with my
fave childhood princess

Princess parade

Chocolate mousse enthusiast

After dinner we walked around the different "countries" and played on the playground.  We walked through the butterfly house and went on the Finding Nemo ride.  We ended the night waiting to meet Mickey Mouse.  It was a half hour wait, but we figured it might be a while before we're back, and you gotta meet Mickey!

Epcot playground

Super cool xylophone

Epcot gardens are amazing!

Bamax - best hugger ever!

The perfect health care companion

Nemo's shark buddy

Garsh, so nice to meet you

Smile!

A little shy at first

Giggling with Minnie

Hanging with the big guy

All in all, I am completely impressed with Disney.  It was so easy to park and shuttle into the parks (which I usually find really annoying), every staff member was overly helpful and courteous, the parks were up-to-date and spotless, and Maggie really had a magical time.  It wasn't cheap, but it was worth every penny! Time to start saving for Evie's first trip!

Tuesday was the day Jamie looked forward to most - Tigers Spring Training in Lakeland!  We got there early to watch a little batting practice (I pretty much just drooled over Brad Ausmus the whole time), and Maggie enjoyed running up and down the big hill with Mrs. Sandoval.  Sadly we only got see 2 innings before the game was called due to a crazy bad storm.  Jamie is sad since there was no other chance to see the Tigers before leaving.  On the bright side, our tickets were refunded!

Ready for some baseball!

Still hopeful for a full game

A girl and her daddy

Another girl and her daddy

Maggie's best selfie

Pre-game cuddles

Maggie drank an entire orange gatorade!

Wednesday was our last day of fun in Florida.  We spent the morning swimming with the girls and hanging out at the park.  During naptime we rushed down to Tampa to check out Cigar City Brewery and the brew pub.  Delicious food and drinks, wish we had their beers in Michigan!

This is the life

Winning the race!

Thursday was travel day, and it was hellish.  On the way to the airport, Maggie threw up in her car seat.  A lot.  I felt so bad for her, but we did a pretty good job cleaning her up.  Our flight was scheduled for 11am, so we got the airport at about 9am... only to find out that our flight was delayed two hours (after we dropped our car off).  Spirit had texted me about 10 minutes before we got there that my flight was on time - thanks, Spirit.  Security took about an hour, and was really congested and stressful with the two little ones.  Then our flight was delayed until 2pm.  Then 3pm.  But since it was over four hours, Spirit was kind enough to give us food vouchers... for $7 per person.  So we were able to get half a sandwich each.  Thanks, Spirit.  Keeping a preschooler and a baby entertained for five hours in an airport is no easy task!

We finally boarded at about 3:30pm, and the flight was relatively uneventful.  Evie has a little cold, so she was difficult in the beginning, but she slept about half the time.  We landed at 6pm and were back home by 7:30pm - never been so happy to be in my house after such a grueling day!

Here's my advice - never fly Spirit.  I had to pay an additional $250 to check our bags for the trip, they wanted to charge me $10 if I didn't check-in online, and on top of it, they asked me to donate money to make their company more "green!"  Ugh, their website looks like a high schooler designed it, and they couldn't even text or email me flight status updates (but they sent a slew of promo emails)!  Rant over, I'm just really disappointed in this company.

Evie's reaction to Spirit

On that happy note - we're home, we're safe and we're beyond grateful to my parents for hosting us for the week!  Evie got to spend a lot more time with her grandparents, and they definitely bonded (though she was a little wary in the beginning).  They taught her to start saying "uh oh," which is super adorable.  It was a wonderful escape from our everyday life, and just the recharge that we needed!

Hot tubbin' with the grandparents