For New Years we put the girls in the car and headed on a road trip to Florida. Ok, well it wasn't quite THAT spontaneous, but I can pretend. We had been planning for months for our Disney trip (because that's what you do with Disney. You don't go there without a plan). And the girls were quite excited when it was finally time. We struck a deal with Aby that we would go for her 6th birthday to celebrate. This meant that she wouldn't have a big party with all her friends, but she decided it was worth it. I for one am so glad she agreed. I must confess that I LOVE Disney. I could go there at least once a year, but I know Chris would die if we did that. =) So, I am kind to him and allow him to live. But I digress.
We left a few days before New Years Eve. This is the worst part for me. I loathe being in the car. But as usual Chris kept me quite entertained. The first night we stopped in Mobile, Alabama. That night was quite the adventure. We got all settled into our hotel room and had the girls ready for bed when all of a sudden Mac starts throwing up. LOVELY!!! So we called for housekeeping for fresh linens. Only to turn around and she do it again. That was a "fun" night. Every movement the kid made I leaped up for the trashcan. The next morning we found a walk in clinic to take her to. She ended up having an ear infection. And lucky for us that was our only run in with needing to sleep with a trashcan near by. We finally made it to Florida and got ready for our first theme park which was Universal Studios. U.S. has two theme parks. So we went to the older one the first day. It was wonderful. There was hardly anyone there and we walked up to most any ride that we wanted to do.
We spent quite a bit of time at a giant playground where the girls had a wonderful time going through tubes and climbing nets.
We got to meet Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat. This was Mac's first run in with a character. She wasn't too sure of George. 
Next we headed over to the Barney show. This was a round theater that had some really neat special effects. And of course lots and lots of singing and dancing. 
One thing that Chris and I adore are roller coasters. I love waiting in line with that nervousness in the pit of my stomach only to get off the coaster with a huge smile and lots of joy. We are determined for our kids to love them as much as we do. So, we pretty much made Aby ride all the coasters she was tall enough for. Here she is getting off her very first one.
She was not too pleased!! =) Here we are riding it. 
Here are a few photos from the playground. 
In the second theme park at U.S. is the Harry Potter World. Let me just say that I was so stoked about exploring Hogwarts. And apparently everyone else in Orlando was too. We got there when the park first opened and by the time we made it back to Hogwarts the main ride was already 90 min. long. There was no way that I could stand in line with two little munchkins for that long. Let me tell you that was the shortest amount of time all day!!!! I was highly disappointed. There were so many people in that part of the park they had to shut it down and have a wait line to get in the area. CRAZY!!! We didn't get many pictures because it was wall to wall people. You couldn't even turn around without bumping into someone. We did get a few pics of the castle from a different part of the park. 
At the end of the day there was a parade. One of the things I've always wanted to do is go to the Macy's Thanksgiving parade in NYC. This was the closest thing to that for us. It wasn't a long parade, but it had some giant balloons and lots of floats with characters on them. The girls had a great time watching it. 
It's hard to believe that my 30
Lisa setting up
Matt, Lee, and Lisa 
Greatest neighbors Ever! 
The 
Aby was a tad tentative to get in there and get it started so I helped her get a bit messy. But it didn't take her long to figure out to cover all the icing with whatever candy she could fit. Mrs. Hale just kept saying "More candy, More Candy". She ended up doing a great job, and it was lots of fun to watch all the kiddos. 
Here is her finished Gingerbread Casa. 
Once they were finished with their house they got to play BINGO while they waited for everyone to be done. Earlier in the week the class made a Frosty pinata. Then they each had a few turns to get him open. We luckily have a few baseball players in the classroom. They finally got it open. 
