Disney World- Finally!

I finally found time to get around to posting about our trip. Last week was very busy trying to get caught up at work and home. Our trip was just wonderful! I honestly can't say enough great things about it. We just had an amazing time!!!! Ashlyn just loved everything and it was so neat to see Disney through the eyes of a child. There is just something so magical and wonderful about Disney World. The weather was very, very hot when we were there. We were planning on high 70's/low 80's. Well, with the heat index, it was more like high 90's. The heat was the only negative thing about the trip. It just meant that we would go to the parks in the morning and then take a swim/rest break in the afternoons.

We did so much while we were there. I don't think we left a stone unturned in Disney. Some of our favorite rides we were able to ride 8-10 times! We thought it was pretty crowded, but what we were told was that it was a slow time. We can't imagine what June or July looks like!

I could write pages and pages on our trip, but I think I will just post tons and tons of pictures and let them tell our story. I did manage to put the pictures in chronological order. We can't wait to go again and I am ready to start planning again!

On our way to the airport. Even though it was 4 am, Ashlyn was still happy.

Ashlyn walking with Daddy and Auntie in the aiport in Dallas.

On the Magical Express, which is the bus that takes you from the airport to your hotel.

At Downtown Disney, the first night we were there.

Riding on Daddy's shoulders

Waiting at the bus stop

Our first day at Epcot. We LOVED Epcot.

Ashlyn in a shark's mouth!

Disney wears you out!

They had a little splash park at Epcot. I had an extra set of clothes, so Ashlyn was able to play in it.

The water felt great on a hot day

She had a blast playing in the water

She got very wet!

Trying on some Mickey ears

Our first day in Magic Kingdom. I loved the way they had it decorated for the fall. I bet it beautiful at Christmas.

On Main Street, I love that you can see the castle in the background.

Ashlyn's first meeting with a character. She was not liking Tigger much at all.

Pooh was pretty scary too!

The highlight of Ashlyn's whole trip was meeting Ariel. She was literally starstruck by Ariel. She froze up and was so shy. It was pretty cute.

Ariel was so sweet and interacted really well with Ashlyn.

Of course, Ashlyn's Ariel had to be in the photo as well.

Ariel even gave her a hug.

Riding It's a Small World. It was one of my favorites as a child, and Ashlyn really liked it as well.

The hotel we stayed at had an awesome swim area for young children. I thought that the waterslide might be too scary for Ashlyn, but she got right on them. She would have spent an entire day on those slides if we would have let her.

What fun!

She's like a fish!

Riding Buzz Lightyear

When we first got to Animal Kingdom, she loved riding on her Dad's shoulders.

Pretending she was a monkey on Auntie's back

At Animal Kingdom

Had to get a picture with Jiminy Cricket

This guy didn't scare her as much as Tigger

Waiting in the line at the safari ride. This picture is too cute

Katy and I on one of our favorite rides, Expedition Everest.

We got lucky and it hardly rained at all. It rained for a couple minutes one afternoon. Ashlyn wanted to wear a poncho

Ashlyn was excited that she got to use her Ariel umbrella.

Both Ashlyn and Auntie enjoyed meeting Marie.

When we were in Hollywood Studions, we decided to get Ashlyn an Ariel "tatoo". She LOVED that thing. She was showing it off all day.

In Hollywood Studios

Meeting Minnie Mouse. By this point, she was really warming up to the characters.

One thing that I really remember loving when I went to Disney World as a kid, was the Honey I Shrunk the Kids movie playset. Everything looks really big and it is just like the movie. Ashlyn enjoyed it as much as I did as a kid. It was great place for her to get to run and play.

That is a big dog's nose!!!!

Riding an ant.

Wearing 3d glasses in line for Toy Story. It is the most popular ride in all of Disney World. It is a really, really fun ride. We were lucky and got to ride in 3 times. I wish we could have ridden it more!

On the Toy Story ride. I don't know why this one was so fuzzy. Ashlyn ordered off of the kids menu. She got to have her first sundae. She loved it of course!

This is one of our favorite restaurants in all of Disney World. It's called 50's Primetime Cafe. It is decorated to look just like kitchens in the 50's . The waitresses are in character and act like "Mom". They tell you to eat your vegetables, elbows off the table, etc. It's a lot of fun and the food is wonderful!

Enjoying the German band at the German restaurant we ate at.

Dressed up ready to eat at Cinderella's Castle

The adorable princess shoes that I bought her to wear. She got many compliments on them from the princessess.

Meeting Cinderella. She was admiring her dress.

Meeting Snow White for the 2nd time. Snow White is very nice!

Making a wish with her wishing wand

This was on of the best moments of the trip for me. I will never forget how cute Ashlyn was with Ariel. We were told by our waiter, that Ariel is usually not at Cinderella's Castle. He said we got lucky. The princessess stop at each table. Ashlyn was getting so excited waiting for Ariel that she was literally jumping up and down.

Ariel was great and really interacted with Ashlyn.

Posing for a picture. Isn't the inside of the castle beautiful?

So this was the best moment. Ashlyn had practiced telling Ariel that she loved her. I told her it was time to say goodbye to Ariel. She looked at her and said "I love you Ariel" in a whisper. Luckily, Ariel heard her and said "I love you too princess". She then gave her a big hug. It was the cutest thing in the world!

Riding the Teacups. Ashlyn doesn't get dizzy and really had a blast on this one!

Sitting down for tea in Minnie's house.

Wearing the special hat that Papa bought for Ashlyn.

Coming Soon

I will be posting about Disney World some time this weekend. It is just an overwhelming task! I took over 600 pictures, so it is quite the undertaking to pick which ones to post. My goal is to get it done this weekend.

Almost Time!!!

I really didn't realize that it has been so long since I blogged! I also didn't realize that I haven't taken any pictures the last few weeks, until I went to put some new ones on here. My new job is just taking over my life. I am putting in about 60 hours a week. To say my job is very stressful is an understatement. I just can't find the time to do much of anything anymore.

There is a lot of excitement around our house as we get ready for our BIG Disney World trip! Exactly one week from now we will be there! My entire family is beyond excited. We have been talking to Ashlyn a lot about the trip. I think that she has some kind of idea. We have also been doing a countdown and she gets a huge smile when I tell her we are counting down to see Mickey and Ariel. This week will fly by with trip preparations and work. (I don't even want to go into what it entails for me to be gone for 5 days from my job!)

I know Ashlyn will have the time of her life! She gets excited when airplanes fly over our house. She always says "hairpane". She said she is excited to fly on one. She has flown before, but she doesn't remember. This time she will have her own seat. She will ride in her car seat. I hope that this reminds her of being in the car and that she sits still. We are also bringing the portable DVD player and "The Little Mermaid", so that will keep her occupied for sure!

Ashlyn continues to talk up a storm. When I picked her up the other day from daycare, her teacher also mentioned how much she is talking. She amazes me everyday with the new stuff she says. Last night, Alli was trying to get comfortable on the couch. Ashlyn said "Alli lay down." (Alli did) "Good girl Alli". It was too cute! She now will say "what?" when you call her name. It is a little thing but it is just another way she is growing up!

I can't believe she will be two in a little over a month. I am already planning her birthday party. She is going to have a family party this year and then a party with friends. I bet you can't guess what the theme of her party will be?

I better make this a short post. I am trying to take advantage of every second of this weekend and get down a thousand things I have to do before we leave next Saturday. I plan on taking at least 1,000 pictures while we are there. I also am going to take down trip notes. I want to make some good blog posts and I also want to make a short book about our Disney trip. So, be prepared for the next post to be FULL of pictures. I hope it doesn't take me too long to get them up!

Below, are the very few pictures I have taken over the last few weeks. I need to get better!

Here is the countdown calendar that Ashlyn and I made together. I was marking off the days at first, but then I realized that Ahslyn loves doing it. She did sneak in a couple of extra days here and there, so it is hard to see that we have 7 days left.

Here is our little Broncos fan. She is carrying Alli's favorite ball.

Alli and Ashlyn playing at the huge park behind Ashlyn's Uncle's house.

This is my new favorite picture of Ashlyn. She just looks too precious!!!

This was Ashlyn after she ate something really, really messy. I honestly can't even remember what it was. I just love that mischievous grin she has.

Our Little Mermaid

Ashlyn continues to do very well after her hospital visit. She was bouncing around the house very quickly! That girl is just so wild! She can't be held back! We are getting very excited for our BIG trip to Disney World. We leave on October 3rd! Joey is finally able to go on a big vacation with us. It will be both Joey and Ashlyn's first trips to Disney World. Ashlyn and I created a countdown calendar the other day. We cross of another day each night. She doesn't understand the concept, but it is something for us to do! I am really looking forward to an entire week off of work!

Work continues to be very hectic. This job is quickly becoming very overwhelming. My old class was very difficult, but my school was great. We had one staff meeting a month that I would have to stay late for. With this new job, I am literally staying late every single day. Yesterday, I left for school at 6:30 am and didn't return home until 5:30 pm. What a day! I am just sad that I am missing precious time with my ever growing girl! I try to pack in as much quality time as possible. After dinner, we have been playing ever night. Her favorite thing to play is "ponies" with her My Little Ponies. Some of them are actually mine from when I was young. It's kind of fun because I get to relive my childhood.

Ashlyn continues to be OBSESSED with Little Mermaid. We finally let her watch the movie, and she would watch that thing on repeat all day if we let her. (It did SAVE us in the hospital!) She just loves anything Little Mermaid. If we are shopping and she sees something Little Mermaid, she gets so excited and screams "Ariel!" We are all taking bets on what she will do when she finally sees "Ariel" in Disney World. My mom finally found Ashlyn an Ariel costume. She loves it! It is more of a ballerina costume. She is in-between sizes and is too small for the really cool Ariel costumes yet. We are already planning a Little Mermaid 2nd birthday party.

We have been keeping very busy on the weekends. It seems that September is already filling up fast as well. Our trip will be here before we know it! I have included some various pictures from the last few weeks. I know in the past I tried to blog once a week, that is still my goal, but realistically, it may be 2 weeks from now on. I am praying this job gets better and less time consuming!

Here is Ashlyn as "Ariel". Please excuse her wild hair. She is just like her mom was at that age, and HATES having her hair combed!

She decided she needed the wand to complete the look.

A princess can ride a horse too.

She loves that horse.

I finally got her to sit still. For some reason, she did not want me to take her picture.

This one is funny. I was trying to get her to take a picture of the two of us. She was not happy. This is the face she made. It is priceless!

Again, she didn't want me taking her picture. She was covering her face with an Elmo book.

A friend won a box seat at a Sky Sox game. Ashlyn enjoyed it. She was having a great time!

Daddy, Ashlyn, and her corndog at the game.

Another game pic

A family picture

On Monday, we headed to the State Fair. I went growing up and I love going every year. It is neat to see Ashlyn enjoy the stuff I use to enjoy. They had a petting zoo area. They had a cool sandbox filled with dried beans instead of sand. Ashlyn really seemed to enjoy it.

Looking at the kittens.

Petting some sheep

Standing in front of a fountain. She loves water! It was cute, I told her to stand in front so I could take a picture and she did!

Eating a funnel cake as fast as she could.

Our attempt at a family picture. Really wish Ashlyn was looking at the camera.