Walt Disney World 2014

We did it! 

Jeremy and I took the kiddies to Walt Disney World back in May, and this is me rested, recovered, and living to tell about it.  Let's face it - I had my doubts. 

 

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Brace yourselves for an onslaught of photos.

 

This trip was akin to having a baby.  You want to do it so badly, but thinking about what you're really in for brings about pangs of dread.  Once it's booked, there is no turning back.  While you are there, there are real painful moments (i.e. line management with a 2, 4 and 5 year old) that are quickly eclipsed by the overwhelming thrill of it all.  You come home exhausted, but after enough time passes, you forget and find yourself wanting to do it all over again. 

 

I might have predicted that Miles' favorite park would be Animal Kingdom.  I've heard some people ho-hum this park as being just another zoo.  But a zoo is never. EVER. just a zoo to Miles.  And AK has roller coasters too.  So this was pretty much heaven on earth for Miles.

 

 

Lakey's first encounter with a Disney character.  She was unimpressed and absolutely NOT taking her eye off Minnie for one second.

 

Animal Kingdom has a super awesome roller coaster called Expedition Everest that the boys talked about for days.

 

 

We spent two days at the Magic Kingdom, and this is by far the most remarkable, magical place on the planet.  In an engineered sort of way.  I'm sorry to be so dramatic about it, but there is no other way.  MK is so amazing, and every memory I have as a kid going to WDW comes from this park.  I beefed up our Disney DVD collection a couple of months before the trip and then forced the kids to watch a different one every weekend so that they could appreciate all the goodness they would behold at the Magic Kingdom.  I think it was a good move on my part.  Fist bump to myself.  Blow it up.

 

Side note: I wonder why The Sword in the Stone doesn't get any street cred at WDW?  It's one of my very faves.  Anyone with me?

 

 

We started everyone off slow with rides like Dumbo, Little Mermaid, and Peter Pan. 

 

 

 Then we high tailed it over to Tomorrowland and put the boys on Space Mountain.  Suckas! 

 

 

Who doesn't love Space Mountain?  Well apparently Knox, as evident from the tear stained cheeks and eyes as he exited the ride.  He was not happy.  And with that, I vowed to nominate myself for Mother of the Year another day.  Luckily, Miles loved it and was up for an encore round which meant I was able to ride it too.

 

 

The kids got their faces painted. 

 

I love how Miles carefully selected a superhero design that left plenty of room for his glasses. 

 

 

True to form, Knox went with something a little more dramatic.  Galactic Tiger I think this was called.

 

 

Of all the glittery fairy and princess options, Lakey was dead set on getting fixed up like her worst enemy - a dog.  A superhero dog.  Just whatever.  I had them sprinkle on some glitter anyway for good measure.

 

Character dining is probably the best way to experience and interact with all the different characters without forging the long lines elsewhere in the parks.  Here were some of our favorite friends.

Please note the absence of Miles with Sophia the 1st.  He was not into the princesses AT ALL.  Here is additional evidence.

See?  Wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole.

Knox was more than happy to represent with the ladies, however.

What can I say?  I drink the Mouse punch too.

Belle is my favorite because she reminds me of me.  Just kidding about that last part.  We actually had to coerce Miles into this photo, but I think his face reveals the truth.

Next up was Epcot.  Jeremy and I really liked this park but there weren't as many rides for younger kiddos.  We managed to make a full day of it though.

We saw some great flowers and sculptures.

 

And guess who we found?  That would be the Figment of your Imagination.  I have no idea why, but I had a stuffed Figment as a kid and I think he's still loveable.  Knox did too and tried to snatch up all these wares from the gift shop after the ride.

 

The last park we went to was Hollywood Studios.  I would definitely say that this park is geared for adults and kids older than ours.  But it does boast one ride that was the entire reason we were there - Toy Story Mania.  Jeremy said this was his favorite ride of all the parks, and if we go back he just wants to ride it over and over and over again.

This is also the place to be if you're a Star Wars fan, which I am thanks to growing up with a sci-fi loving older brother and two equally enthusiastic parents.  Sadly enough, the rest of my crew doesn't have the same respect for the glory of the Jedi, but there was this glimmer of hope.

Lakey was totally digging all things galactic.  Such a good young Padawan.

Nonetheless, we only spent a half day at Hollywood and then hopped back over to the Magic Kingdom to finish up our Disney experience. 



See ya real soon Disney!

Hawaii, Part II: The Bestie Gets Maui'd!

Back to finish our trip to Hawaii.

Since Miles broke his leg on our first day in Maui - well, it didn't really change anything other than having to carry around 38 extra pounds.  Everywhere we went.  Thankfully, the condo where we stayed was totally kid friendly and had a stroller tucked away in a closet.  We rarely travel with a stroller, so this was a huge relief given the circumstance.

The reason we booked this trip to Hawaii in the first place was to attend the wedding of one of my closest friends.  Tiffaney has been a bestie of mine for 10 years and I am thrilled that she and Chase are finally married (it was a 6-7 year process to get to this day).  The wedding was at the Olawalu Plantation House and it was absolutely gorgeous!  Check out a few pics from the day from the Northcutt vantage point.

The wind was nuts during the ceremony and through cocktail hour - check out Knox's hair taking flight!

Since Miles had to be perched on this rock while we waited for the reception to begin, he got to drink from a "fancy" cup.

Knox enjoyed two working legs and climbed atop every boulder he could get to.

Cocktail hour was evidently lasting a little too long for my crew.  And I wonder why I ended up with no pics of me with the bride?  Damage control.

At last we sit down and hope to preoccupy Miles and Knox with thoughts of yummy chicken fingers and mac & cheese headed their way.

Please note the floating chandeliers - there were two or three above each long table.  Simply stunning!

In an effort to keep the boys busy, calm, and attention-free I told them they could have their knives during dinner to butter their bread and what not (we always promptly remove knives from their place setting anytime we go out).  No sooner had this privilege been uttered from my mouth that Miles snatched up his knife and started stabbing the wooden table.  Alright, so the knives weren't a good idea.

Fire dancers to the rescue!  This was seriously so awesome!  The boys were enamored with the dancers - especially Miles.  He watched just like this with a big smile on his face for probably 30 minutes.  Pretty sure he had the best seat in the house!

Meanwhile, Knox had a hard time letting go of the fact that he wasn't allowed to use the flatware to carve up the table.  This is how many pieces I had to confiscate from him.  

Finally, he let go of the utensils and moved on to the dancers.  He was so funny throughout this whole thing.  He would get out of his chair, shake his booty and go crazy, then he meandered over to the guy drumming and start beating the bongos right along side him.  He was totally entertaining!  It was no surprise when Knox was the first volunteer the hula girl asked to join her for a hula demonstration.  And Knox had no reservations.  He just got right out there and swirled his hips around with the rest of them.

My only regret is that I don't have more pictures of the bride.  She looked beautiful and it was the wedding of her dreams.  So happy for her and Chase!

The rest of the trip was unplanned and perfect for our little family.  We spent lots and lots of time at the pool, at the beach, seeing the sights of Lahaina, and grubbing on the local fare.  One treat I absolutely must mention is the best snow cone I've ever had (ahem, excuse me - I mean shaved ice.  I was thus corrected by the garçon at shaved ice stand.).  It's a place called Ululani's, and it was so ridiculous that I still think about it all the time.

You can ask for ice cream underneath your flavor of choice.  Behold a scoop of macadamia nut ice cream under coconut, pineapple, and raspberry shaved ice.  Oh. My. Word.  

Yes, I just designated seven pictures to this very important part of our trip.  It's that good people.

It was such an awesome trip, and while Jeremy and I were hesitant at first to spend the money for all four of us to go, we are glad we did.  Miles and Knox impressed us so much by being such good little travelers!  They were such a joy to be with in Maui - snafus and all.

I leave with pictures from our last day at the beach.  When our boys play like this together, for Jeremy and me, all seems right in the world.