During Adam's glorious five weeks of paid unemployment, we decided to take a little family vacation to the happiest place on earth. We packed up the new minivan and drove 14 hours to Orlando where my parents and brother Dallin met up with us for a few days of fun at Disney. The weather was beautiful, the park was uncrowded, and a great time was had by all ... but especially by this little princess! Here comes a huge amount of photos from our trip. (When I asked Charlotte why she was twirling her hair in this picture, she told me she was trying to make it curly like a princess's. Of course, all she managed to do was make a huge tangle.)
Mission #1 on Charlotte's Disney agenda: Meet as many other princesses as possible.
First stop: Cinderella.
Belle
(A minute later, Grey yanked on the skirt of the small table behind him and everything on it went crashing down. A classic Grey move!)
Rapunzel
Merida
Ariel. Whew, mission accomplished!
Uncle Dallin got in on the princess action too and got his picture taken with all of the ladies. (Something to hold onto during those two long, cold, loveless years that are coming, Dal.)
Is this not the cutest little Mouseketeer you have ever seen in your life? (It was a battle to keep the hat on him, but Mommy won most of the time we were at the park.)
Hitching a ride
Meeting Mickey and Minnie
Charlotte was thrilled to meet Mickey and Minnie. Grey wouldn't go anywhere near them but couldn't stop staring at them.
We interrupt this slideshow for Fred and Myrtle's "How Old People Can Get Around the Park" Lesson #1: When your teenager poops out and refuses to push, grab hold on the back of someone else's Rascal. (My mom just had back surgery and my dad has a bum knee.) Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Charlotte tries out a little archery while we wait to see Princess Merida.
Meanwhile, Grey finds a dangerous ledge to climb up on. Somehow, I still manage to take this beautiful shot of my very handsome little man.
The kids' favorite ride hands-down: It's a Small World. We rode it multiple times. They still sing the song over and over, every day, all day. (My least favorite song now: It's a Small World.)
The kids' second-favorite ride (that we also rode multiple times): Pirates of the Caribbean. Grey tries to figure out how to use his new pirate telescope that we bought him in the gift shop.
The kids and Grammy break for frozen lemonades while Adam and I go off to the Haunted Mansion.
Best picture of us from the park. Trust me when I say that it was very hot and the shadows were doing us a favor here.
Grey conked out for a while in his stroller while Charlotte and Daddy went to ride the race cars.
(You can gauge the level of humidity that day in Florida by the serious frizz in my hair.)
Fred and Myrtle's "How Old People Can Get Around the Park" Lesson #2: Employ child labor. Kids will do anything for candy.
Enjoying the Lion King show.
One sweet, sweaty little boy.
The whole crew enjoying lunch in a retro diner at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The food was delicious, the waitress was obnoxious, but the most memorable part was ...
... that Grey blew out of the second of the two outfits Ariel had packed for him that day and was then forced to wear Charlotte's extra shirt that had "Princess" in big, pink sparkles across the front. Grey freaked out as soon as we put it on him and wouldn't calm down until he got it off. So Grey spent the next half hour sans clothing in his stroller until we bought him a new pair of pajamas with cars on them.
This picture pretty much sums up how Grey reacted to every single character he met at Disney World.
.
The single exception was Cowboy Woody. Grey gave him a big hug, even though he wouldn't let Buzz Lightyear go anywhere near him.
Charlotte, of course, was thrilled to meet two of her favorite guys.
Thanks for the great memories, Disney! See you again in a few years.
