Breakfast with Ava's Pals

We had thought about doing the Christmas party, a day at the Animal Kingdom, and a day at the Magic Kingdom, but then we decided against it worried Ava would be too worn out (more likely that Ava's mommy and daddy were going to be too worn out) so decided we would opt for a character breakfast. We are so glad we did. We were able have a relaxed time and the characters came around to spend time with Ava. She absolutely LOVED it! She didn't hardly eat anything- it was much too exciting being able to see all of the characters walking around. While Mickey and Minnie are her favorite on the screen- I think its safe to say that Pluto in person has a special place in her heart!

Disney Day 2

Day 2 of our Disney excursion....

We decided to take Ava to the Animal Kingdom 1) because Adam nor I had ever been and really wanted to go, 2) Ava LOVES animals, and 3) We figured it would be less crowded than a Saturday at the Magic Kingdom. We had a great time! The first stop we made was Dinoland where Ava rode a ride that she wasn't too sure about.....

Our next stop was to see Goofy and Pluto....
The Animal Kingdom, if you couldn't tell from its name, is a theme park that features animals, much like the zoo, but on a much grander scale. There was a ride that visitors would go on a 2 week trip through the safari to see all the animals and it was really like riding through the safari. Disney does such a good job with all of the little details to make it so real. We even had to stop and let animals cross the road in front of us at one point. Ava really enjoyed seeing the animals as we rode through the safari- however, towards the end, she just couldn't quite keep her eyes open and ended up falling asleep for the last 2 or 3 minutes of the ride. (this ride lasted for around 20 minutes- definitely a must do if you are at the animal kingdom)

Since Ava was asleep and it was lunch time, we decided to stop and eat lunch while she slept. The weather was beautiful and since the AK is very shaded we never got hot while we were at the park. Once Ava woke up we saw than Minnie was close by, so we decided to hop in line for another picture.

They also had a petting zoo with different types of animal that we could go in and pet or brush.
Adam's favorite picture of the weekend.......

We also bumped into Jiminey Cricket while we were there.
We then decided to have a caricature done of Ava marking her first trip to Disney- it turned out sooooo cute.

At the AK they have a parade that takes place in the afternoon and we had great seats for it and apparently Ava caught the eye of every character in the parade because EVERY SINGLE ONE came over to *talk* to her. Notice it said *talk* because they didn't actually talk, I guess the more precise word would be gestured to her. Pluto stayed the longest and acutally let her pet him :)

At the advice of a friend we went to see the last showing of the Lion King and we are so glad we did. Ava would clap along with the songs and just had a great time watching the show. She was so pleasant all weekend long and I couldn't believe that she hardly napped the entire weekend and was still just as happy as could be.
On a side note: We had 3 photopass cards that we all (meaning myself, mom, and Adam) lost over the course of the weekend, but thanks to the great service of the Disney employees, we were able to pinpoint a few locations and time frames and find all 3 numbers so I was able to retrieve all of my pictures! Thank goodness! For anyone who is planning on visiting Disney and planning on using a photopass- do not put them in your back pocket- apparently they like to jump out when you unaware.

More to come....

Priceless....

Disney....

Those 6 letters contain so much! Excitement, magic, awe, you name it- Disney makes it happen! We were able to take Ava down to experience her first taste of Disney and she had the absolute best time. We started by going to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party. Adam and I had been a few years back and really enjoyed it, so we thought we would go again and bring Ava. I wanted to make sure she was able to meet Mickey and Minnie- so we went to their houses first.

I was a little concerned at how Ava would react to the characters. Seeing and loving them on the tv screen is a little bit different than seeing them life size! She did great! She wouldn't let them hold her- but she would touch them and wave to them and even blow them a kiss....priceless!

After meeting Minnie and Mickey we rode the tea cup ride. I remember riding this as a child with my dad and having so much fun. Adam, Ava, my dad and I all boarded 1 cup...let me just say- 2 grown men each 6'4" have no business fitting into 1 cup, let alone adding another woman and a toddler! We were tight- not so much on the seating- but our legs couldn' t move a millimeter! Ava didn't know what to think watching everything going around and around. After the teacup experience we headed toward It's a Small World. The nice thing about the Christmas party is that there are only a certain number of tickets they sell each night so the park isn't nearly as crowded as it would be during the day- which means wait times are minimal- thank goodness! Ava loved its a small world- I think we could have stayed on that ride the entire night and she would have had the time of her life! Ava would like to pass along to a note to Belle- "You must ride this ride!" Priceless.....During the Christmas party it "snows" on Main Street. The "Snow" is actually soap suds, but it really does look like snow falling. Ava tried to catch the snow. If you look closely in the picture above you can see little white specs - that's the snow! There are 2 parades that march down through Main St. at the party and the last one started at 11:30. I just knew Ava would have fallen asleep by this point and we would either choose to wake her up or let her sleep through it- but she wanted to see it all and take it all in. She would wave and point to all of the characters and sometimes would even clap. Priceless.....

Being able to spend the weekend as a family watching Ava enjoy Disney's magic and thinking how blessed we are to be able to do this....Priceless!

All Things Disney!

We took Ava to Disney this weekend and boy did we have a great time! Ava did great and I am worn out! I don't have time to do a post- but I wanted to leave a little teaser of our weekend! Be back soon with a more detailed* post!

* By detailed I mean lots of pictures :)

Happy Veterans Day

Thank you to all the men and women who risk their lives to protect our country and our freedom. You all sacrifice more than I can imagine and words cannot describe how grateful I am to be apart of this country. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Jags Game Honoring America

First of all, Happy Veterans Day! I am forever indebted to the men and women who risk and lose their lives protecting my freedom. I don't take lightly the burden they place upon themselves to serve my country and at this past Jaguars game we were reminded of the price they pay.

At the games there is always a flyover (or flyby in military terms) and this game was no exception, and we had a B-2 Bomber performing the flyover. If you haven't ever seen one of these things in person- you need too- they are very freaky looking....

Evil might be a better way to describe it....

Look at how thin it is, I tried to take this picture so you could compare it to the lights on the stadium.

The Jaguars always do a great job of honoring the men and women of the militar and went above and beyond at this game. Adam and I agreed that you couldn't leave that game and not be proud to be an American!

Ava of course did great (as always) and really enjoys the games- and as always, everyone around us always comments on how well behaved she is- it helps that her grandparents sit right next to us and spoil her with whatever she wants :)