Two twinkies go to Disney, again!

Last weekend Brian and I took Brett and Emma on their second trip to Disney World! I love Disney so much and we try to go whenever we can. Brian has a lot more 2-day weekends during the summer so we try and take advantage whenever possible.

When we went to Disney this time we decided to stay at a new hotel that I was so excited about! It is the Art of Animation Resort. It just opened May 31 and is based on 4 Disney/Pixar movies; Finding Nemo, Cars, Lion King, and The Little Mermaid. As of our visit, only the Nemo phase was ready for visitors. The hotel is being completed in phases and will be completely finished in September! I think we will have to go back a few times to check the rest of it out :)

The sign says "Welcome back to Disney, Boksen family." If you look really close. OK, not really.

Art of Animation Resort!

The Cars phase being worked on, opening June 18.

Welcome to Motor Springs!

After we checked into the room we went down to the pool. WOW! The pool is huge and so beautiful. And there is a huge water playground for kids. It is decorated with Nemo characters and is really cool! Brett and Emma loved it!

After all the swimming and splashing, we ordered food from the pool bar. Emma decided to do a dance, apparently she loves PB&J! 

We finished up our food and drinks and then did a little shopping inside the hotel. I got a new pair of sunglasses and Brian got a coffee cup. Brett and Emma got new toothbrushes, a new book, and some toys. They are shopaholics. Not sure where they get that from :)

Shopping wore us out so we went back to our room to enjoy life under the sea! And Brett took Emma for a spin in a big comfy chair! (Big shocker here...Brett immediately found the remote control and wouldn't put it down. Typical Boksen boys!)

Emma going for a spin!

We found FISH!

View of the spray park.

Brett climbing in furniture, knowing how cute he is!

Sunday we contemplated sticking around the hotel because of the weather, but luckily we stuck it out and went to Magic Kingdom. It didn't even rain a drop! The lines were pretty long and we only made it on a few rides. But we did stop for lunch which always leads to entertaining pictures. 

I gave Brett the bun from my chicken lunch and he shoved the entire thing into his mouth!

And little Miss Emma, eating french fries so delicately with a fork!

The trip was really fantastic! It was nice to get away for a couple days and spend some time together. We get so busy sometimes that the only way for a break is to actually leave town. It was really nice!

Disney Trip - Day 3!

OK....I am finally wrapping up our very first family vacation to Disney World!! (One of many, BTW!)

Our final day started out with a Brett and Daddy photo shoot!

And then we headed off to the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot!

Family photo in Mexico...yo quiero margaritas!

Brett and Emma had a pretty good time but they did take a couple of pretty adorable naps!

Aren't they just as cute as can be???

We toured the world and had our fair share of calories! But Brett and Emma were sure to eat plenty of yummy foods as well. Look at them pigging out in Italy...

mmmmm spaghetti...my favorite!

delicioso! 

Before we made the drive home we stopped by the Boardwalk Resort where our good friends Tyler and Lauren were staying. They were incredibly hospitable and let us feed and change B&E before we got on the road. THANKS, GUYS!!! We also let them crawl around for a while since they were strapped in the stroller all day. They made a new best friend...mirrors!

Well, that sums up our first family vacation to Disney World. It was an amazing time. The best part was having a few days away from our usual weekend errands. Sometimes I feel like Brian and I are just taking turns babysitting because our weekends are so hectic! But this was a really great vacation and I cannot wait until our next one.

Disney Trip - Day 2!

     Last weekend's Disney trip was so fun. In case you missed it, we went to Mickey's Halloween Party on Friday night, which was a total blast!

     After a late night at Magic Kingdom, we expected Brett and Emma to be ready for bed as soon as we got to the hotel. Well, we were wrong on that one! Apparently after sleeping through Disney, they were ready to play around 2AM. Not too much fun for us since we were going to breakfast early the next morning. 

     After struggling for some time, we all fell asleep in the hotel bed. Mainly because the hotel cribs were like little baby jail cells and neither Brett or Emma had any interest in sleeping in them. 

                                     This is what I woke up to Saturday morning.

     After admiring my beautiful family I started getting everyone ready for breakfast at Chef Mickey's. 

We were ready for Brett and Emma to meet their first celebrities!

Emma and Mickey!

Emma and Minnie

Emma and Doanld

Emma and Goofy

Brett and Mickey

Brett and Minnie

Brett and Donald

Brett and Pluto

And a family photo!!!

We had such a great time and got a lot of great pictures. Brett and Emma started getting a little cranky and we needed to get them back to the hotel to nap. They took a nice long nap, and then we headed to Downtown Disney for dinner and shopping!

            Our hotel was pretty close to Downtown Disney so we were able to walk over. 

Brett and Emma ready for some shopping!

   

  We shopped for a little while and then decided to get dinner at the T-Rex Cafe. Since Brett loves making pterodactyl noises, he fit right in!

T-Rex greeting us at the entrance.

Really cool bar area.

Brett trying to escape his high chair and squawking like a wild animal!

Emma sitting pretty, waiting for dinner.

Although we were loving the T-Rex Cafe, Brett and Emma were getting so cranky! They were screaming, crying, and ready to leave. So we got some to-go boxes and headed back to the hotel. 

     It turns out B&E were just tired of being cooped up in strollers and high-chairs all day and just wanted to crawl around. So I laid down some sheets and let them crawl around...not like they stayed on the sheets or anything, though!

  

Trying to block them from crawling into the bathroom

A suitcase is no match for Brett!

     Finally it was time for bed and we began our attempt at getting Brett and Emma to sleep. Oh boy...this took a LONG time. Now that they are sitting up so nicely, they love to talk and laugh at each other, even when they should be going to sleep!

But it is a good thing I had my camera handy because look what Mr. Brett did...

Look, Mom...I might stand up!

YAY I did it! Hey, Emma! Look at me!!!

After we FINALLY got them to fall asleep, Brian went down to the hotel bar and got us each a drink. But we both passed out without taking a sip!! It was so sweet of him, though! Maybe the hotel maid enjoyed them??

Disney trip - Day 1!

This weekend we took Brett and Emma to Disney World, the happiest place on Earth! We had so much fun and did lots of cool things...making way for plenty of upcoming posts. 


     Friday night we kicked off our trip with Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. By the time we got to Orlando, checked into our hotel, and got into our costumes, it was after 8:00PM. Which is past Brett and Emma's bedtime. They spent most of the night sleeping, but we managed to get them onto a couple of rides towards the end of the night when they started stirring around in the stroller. 


                Luckily, I was able to get a couple of cute pictures before we left the hotel. 

Thing 1 - Brett

Thing 2 - Emma

The Cat in the Hat with his things.

     Once we got to the park, Brett and Emma were literally passed out and spent the night sleeping adorably on their tummies in their stroller.

Family photo! This is how B&E spent most of the night...

     The halloween party was a lot of fun. We got some candy and walked around a lot. We also got to go on two rides, It's a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean. Brett and Emma were awake for these and had a lot of fun looking around at all the lights and props on the rides. 

     Right before we left the park Brett and Emma were wide awake and I was able to get one more picture of them before they fell asleep again (and flipped over!)

                   I know they had a good time and I cannot wait to take them again next year!!

FALL starts this week!

Is anyone else excited?? 

The BEST part is...

Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

I have actually only had one pumpkin spice latte since they made their debut a few weeks ago! My co-workers and I just started the South Beach Diet so I have to nix the sugary drinks...but this is only temporary, rest assured :)

There is so much to do during the Fall. Brian and I love to go to different events. (OK - sometimes I have to convince Brian to humor me and join in on the fun, but he always ends up having a great time!)

One of our favorite halloween events is Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! 

I am so excited to take Brett and Emma this year, I think they are going to love it!! We are spending a weekend in Disney in two weeks and this is definitely on the to-do list. 

And we are dressing them up as Thing 1 and Thing 2. Brian is going to be Cat in the Hat and I am still undecided on my costume. We are carrying this theme out through their first birthday party - which matches up to their nursery! So we are getting the most out of the ADORABLE outfits I am putting together for them :) 

All the fun things we do in the Fall are pretty cool...but starting new traditions with Brett and Emma is going to be the most fun of all! I am really looking forward to sharing our favorite things with them. I hope they enjoy them as much as we do!

Happy FALL!!!