Disney Day 1 ~ Arrival day & Disney Springs

We left EARLY Wednesday morning and headed for Manchester Airport.

First plane ride was very exciting and they did great!

Take off!

At the airport

 At our hotel, Pop Century

 Headed to Disney Springs.  Waking up at 3:30am has this effect!

 Lunch at Earl of Sandwich was so yummy!

At the Lego store building a race car with Grammy

Back at the hotel ready for a swim

 These two were in the pool every day

Disney World April 13-22, 2016

We started planning our trip to Disney over a year ago and gained a lot of valuable information during that time to help us have the trip of a lifetime!  We booked two rooms (one for us, one for the Grammies) at Pop Century a year in advance, booked dining reservations 6 months in advance, and reserved ride fastpasses 60 days in advance (I even stayed up until midnight to get the popular Anna & Elsa fastpass!)  Each guest is allowed 3 fastpasses per park so it wasn't exactly easy choosing which rides to choose.  Fortunately for us, it pays to complain!  A few weeks before our trip, I had emailed Disney guest services politely explaining how some last minute events/changes affected our schedule.  A few days later, I received a call from someone at Disney telling us that they understood and they were giving us 3 extra fastpasses per person per day for any ride at any time.  Talk about awesome customer service!  It felt like I had won the lottery!!  If you know Disney, you know that most rides have long waits so the fastpass basically gets you to the front of the line during a certain time frame.  What a difference it made touring the parks!  Disney is truly an amazing place and experience and we all had an AWESOME time!  Pictures coming soon...

Disney World Party!

 Celebrating 7 with all things Disney!

 Hidden Mickeys

 Shopkins

 I didn't even realize Logan was doing this when I snapped a picture.  How appropriate!!

Mickey Ice Cream Bar Cake (not my best looking cake because the ganache didn't spread like I wanted it to, but it was so yummy!)

Pizza & Pajama Party

Charlotte had a fun time celebrating her birthday with a few school friends!

 Relaxing...but not for long! Ha!  Charlotte is sticking her tongue out because she said no picture!

 Playing cards...pretty much making up rules as they play!!

 Always a fun time on the trampoline

Good friends, good times!!

Celebrating!

 Waiting in the rain for the birthday girl

 Daddy came home early with flowers

 And she received a bouquet of flowers at school from her Auntie, Uncle, Blake & Ryan.  What a nice surprise!  So sweet and thoughtful! 

Mommy's gift idea...clothes and shoes

Daddy's idea...zipline!

Out to dinner of her choice...Applebees.  Somebody had a pretty good day!

Charlotte is SEVEN!!

Charlotte is growing into a beautiful little lady!  She loves shopkins, princesses, rainbows, school, friends, reading, drawing, "special" rocks, and playing outside.  She is quiet, kind, and always wants to please others.  She tests my patience everyday, but we LOVE her so much!!  Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Easter Weekend

 Egg dyeing Saturday morning 

 Easter baskets...love that practical Easter bunny!

Disney shirts!

 Helping me make maple blondies

 Egg hunt

 Conferring..."how many do you have?"

 Always trying to pet the chicken

Shopkins, nail polish, money, and a little bit of chocolate 

Happy Easter!

Cookie Booth & Auntie's

 Bundled up and ready to sell some cookies!

 Helping

 Lots of fun on the trampoline at Auntie's

 Happy belated birthday, Auntie!

Life Lately

Bubble blowing is serious business!

Charlotte loves to read with her flashlight after I've said goodnight.

 The girls have been soaking up all the sunshine and warm weather.

 75 degrees in March...woohoo!

Charlotte asked if she could do the dishes.  Sure!!
After a few minutes, Pat says "I'm going to go check the well and see how much water is left.  Charlotte replies, "ooh, can I go with you to check."  haha

And these arrived in the mail!  25 days to go!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 

Checking her leprechaun trap at school.  No leprechaun, just candy!