Walt Disney World Days 3-4

To be honest, I can't remember what days are what from vacation any more. So if it seems like I'm making stuff up....I probably am. But just the time line, I promise.

These boys were pretty sleepy one morning, so I decided to get them breakfast and bring it back to the room. When I got back, they were snuggling in bed.

These are some shots from the view I have walking from our hotel room to Old Porte Royale - which is the food court area. Pretty gorgeous, huh?

Magic Kingdom!! I love walking down Maintstreet in the Magic Kingdom. All the old fashioned buildings...it just has great energy. Even if the place was packed. And on top of it all, everything was decorated for Halloween/Autumn. LOVE IT.

Daddy and Luke waiting for the Pirates of the Carribean ride. Luke was a little bit scared and had to crawl into my lap during the ride. But he was totally amazed. When things were a little "spooky" for a 2 year old he would clap his hands over his mouth. And if it got loud, he would point and yell, Shu - up! Don't ask me where he learned that term, I don't like it, and I don't want to talk about it. But it did crack me up the tiniest bit.

Playing with Papa at the Columbia House Restaraunt in the Magic Kingdom. They had just what we needed that day - yummy food and air conditioning!!

After lunch we headed for some more rides. Luke didn't last long after filling his tummy up and he crashed in my arms while in line for "It's a Small World". But the good part is that he woke up in time to see everything. This was hands down his favorite ride. He kept pointing and talking about everything he saw.

That night we went to Polynesian Resort - it's connected to the Magic Kingdom by the Monorail. So we just jumped on and rode over to Ohana's for dinner. I think I could eat there every night of the week. So Delish!! But while waiting for our reservation we had some very, very antsy boys. So how do you entertain them? Suckers of course. Thanks Aunt Erin!

Dinner was fun, but Luke was tired (it was a late dinner) and half way through dinner the fireworks started. You can watch the show from the windows in the restaraunt (it has a perfect view), but the noise was scary for my little boy. This picture pretty much sums up how Luke and I felt after dinner.

Landon and Uncle Ricky have a special kind of love for each other. They just have the best time together. I loved watching these two cuties all week. So special. Glad I got a picture of the two of them.

These two have a special love for each other. Ricky and Landon just love spending time together. It is so cute. I'm glad I had a chance to see that, and take a picture!

The next day was our 'day off'... thank goodness. It's good to rest.

Walt Disney World Days 1-2

After all the packing, running errands, last minute distractions and plane rides we all arrived in WDW late Friday night. It was a relief! Flying across country with an almost 2 yr old is not something I would recommend. I'll leave it at that. Next time we'll plan a little better.

The whole family stayed at the Carribean Beach Resort. And the first morning we all met down at the Old Porte Royale (Food Court/Gift shop/Convienence store.) Ricky and Leslie had a big announcement for us. And as you'll see they had a super creative way of announcing the gender of their baby that is due in February.



It's a girl!! Finally....after 5 boys it's about time for some pink!



It was raining cats and dogs that first day. We all had to buy rain poncho's (super attractive....not) and head out in the rain to EPCOT for lunch. It was pretty miserable. We all were completely drenched by the time we to the restaraunt. Poor Luke had to be wrapped up in a poncho and buckled into his stroller so we could run around. He was a good sport, but by the end of the day he detested his poncho. Shannon had been checking the weather and it looked like it could be this rainy all week. Depressing. But we made it to Germany's Beirgarten. And it was a BLAST! The food was delicious. The entertainment was great. And best of all it was inside :)



My cute boys.



Our entertainment. Such a fun band.



Talking and dancing to the polka music.





Ziggy-Zoiggy! Ziggy-Zoiggy! Oy! Oy! Oy!



They had a traditional drinking song that everyone joined in singing. We raised our classes of soda pop and joined in the comraderie. It was great. We pretty much sang that song all week long.

Day 2 brought the sunshine back. We had all decided to say extra prayers the night before that the weather would clear up. And it worked! Sunshine the rest of the vacation. This day we headed down to Downtown Disney for lunch at the "Earl of Sandwich". Luke just wanted to go, go, go! And it was nice to have extra people around to play mother hen to our busy boy while we took turns eating.

Luke would not sit still for a picture.

You know, every time we get together with Ricky, I end up with a picture of him doing this cheesy face. I love it. Cracks me up.

Poor Carter had an interesting vacation. Most of his time was spent in various locations....doing this. Haha! But is a pretty funny picture.

The night of Day 2 we went back to EPCOT to have dinner at England's "Rose and Crown". It was so yummy! I got to try traditional pasties, which my British friend Julie raves about. They did not dissapoint.



Three generations of Jensen's.



The buildings at the England attraction.

A view across the water at EPCOT. You can see some of the other attractions.

While at dinner, Ricky decided to entertain us with the Fat Photo App for the Iphone. We laughed until we cried. Then Jake showed us the bro-stache App he had, and used in on our waitress. She nearly fell over! Good thing she didn't have a tray full of food. It was an awesome night!

Day 2 rounded out by the family stopping by the Patisserie in France for some exquisite desserts. Then we all slunk back to our rooms to pass out with full tummies.

Catch up.

So we're back! From Walt Disney World, that is. And we're sick - all of us. So today has been spent in our PJ's, watching TV, playing video games, laughing, snuggling, and making cinnamon rolls. Luke even helped me make the icing - and then we licked the paddles of the beater. Yum!

And while downloading the pictures from my camera I found some pictures I took right before we left. You can enjoy these while I have a cinnamon roll.

More pictures to come:

What Little Boys do Best.

Luke is in love with the deck. When he realized he could be outside and still be upstairs with mom, his life just became more wonderful. He'll squeal " Ow-sigh!!!" and boogy right over to the door....along with the doggies. Then he'll grab every car he owns and bring them out as well. It's pretty cute.

He could spend hours like this. And occasionally his cars take a fall and I find them later in the evening when I let the dogs out before bed. So far, they have all been rescued :)

He also loves to help folding clothes. And by help, I mean climbing on the bed, running around in circles, falling on top of the pile of clothes I'm sorting, grabbing them and covering himself up, pretend sleeping with snore included, and he likes to try our clothes on. He's all about feet and shoes. So trying on mommy's socks were and obvious choice. He just wanted to be just like us. Little cutie-patootie.

He is completely in love with his book "Little Blue Truck". And he will grab it and run to his chair and read to himself. He'll make the noise of Little Blue - Beep! Beep! And now  he's making the noise of the animals on the farm. I just love this. And it's a hard board book, so I don't worry about him beating it up too much.

He just melts my heart. And yes, I know he needs a hair cut. It's on the agenda. We're just waiting till the last minute before the trip since his hair grows like crazy.

Domestic Goddess in Training.

I made a goal recently to bake more this holiday season. Fall always brings back memories of all the baking my mom did. And every year I feel incomplete because I don't do near half as much. So this year I challenged myself to do better!

First up,

CINNAMON ROLLS.

Have I ever told you that I have an irrational fear of yeast? Well, I do. Terrifying. Whenever I read a recipe that involves dissolving yeast in a warm liquid, I start to twitch and have to turn the page. My brain would say.....No way Jen! You can't do that.

Guess what's in homemade cinnamon rolls....yeast. *Twitch* But gosh darnit...I'm almost 30, I've been married for 8 years, I've been through scarier things in my life than making homemade dough!!!

So today I took the plunge. And can I say....it wasn't so bad. I had to call my mom for moral support. I told her just to tell me everything was going to be okay. Then I asked her a few questions. I mixed the yeast. I made the dough. I let it rise. I rolled it out. I slathered it with butter and sprinkled it with yummy deliciousness. I let it rise again. Put them in the oven....and....and...THEY ARE DELICIOUS!!

I survived. It was a miracle. I was fully prepared for them to be terrible, for me to cry uncontrollably, and to make Matt swing by Cinnabon on his way home.

I feel like somehow I am a better mother to my child for having conquered the scary cinnamon roll. Who knows what will be next...

Oh and this cute guy was just TOO happy to be my guinea pig. He normally detests any bread product - I know, weird huh? But he took one look at those bad boys and could hardly keep himself from climbing on top of the counter to get one. And he ate the whole thing by himself.

The fine art of guilt.

I talked to my Mom today on the phone. She asked if I posted anything on the blog lately. I told her no, and all my very logical reasons for why it's been quiet. We had a nice chat and I hung up. And suddenly I felt like my mom was giving me a guilt trip over the telephone wires. I had this nagging feeling that I needed to post something. Now, logically, I know my mom wasn't trying to guilt me, but magically I just needed to respond to my mom's subliminal request. So I'm going overboard and posting a bunch of things today so I can feel like a good daughter again :)


Feels better to get that off my chest already. Love you Mommy. Hahahahaha!

Playing cars with Minnie



Trying to get me to play with him.





Singing songs in his rocking chair with his cars.



Laying Low

We've been pretty quiet over here for a while. It's been too stinking hot to do anything. And now Luke and I are dealing with a little touch of a cold - and really I don't think colds are allowed when it's sunny and 110 degrees out. It just feels wrong. But we had a storm come through and it's cooled things off to about 90 and I got so excited that I pull out all my sweaters and ran out an bought ingredients to make cinnamon rolls. Okay, maybe I'm not wearing sweaters yet. But it's nice to dream.

This morning I woke to it being 71 degrees out. HALLELUJAH! So little mister had been lounging out on the deck. And I opened the windows. It's been wonderful. Here's a few pictures. Maybe if I don't totally fail making cinnamon rolls, I'll post a picture of that. It'll be my first time making them and I'm a little scared. Yeast scares me. And the idea of me dealing with dough. I think I'll call my Mommy for moral support.

Other than that, we're just resting up and planning out what we're packing for our trip to DISNEY WORLD! Seriously, Matt is so excited he's regressed at least 15 years. It's kinda cute ;)