Disney World: Day 1

For months we've been planning a visit to Walt Disney World in Florida, and at the end of September it finally happened. This was the fourth trip for Dave and I since we've been married (yes, we are fans), and Emma's second trip, though she was only 1 the last time we went. We were so excited to show her all that we loved about it, and we were excited that this time she would *remember* it.

We woke up *very* early on Monday morning and drove to the airport to catch a 7 am flight. Did the girls sleep on the airplane? Of course not. But, we did watch "Beauty and the Beast" and got excited about everything we were going to see.

We made it to the resort around noon, quickly checked in, used the bathroom, and slathered everyone in sunscreen, and then we were on our way. We began our visit at Epcot, mostly because that's where we had dinner reservations that evening. After a quick lunch, we went to Soarin', where we were thrilled to discover that Emma (just BARELY) cleared the 40 inch height requirement! Suddenly a whole new world of fun rides was open to us. As the Soarin' line was currently crazy busy, we grabbed fast passes and headed over the The Land. Yes, by virture of the 2 rides being in the same building, the tame, somewhat lame Land was our first ride. But the girls didn't care at all--they thought the boat was way fun! It served as a good test to see if our girls freaked out on a ride, in the dark, with sound effects, etc.: they didn't.

Never fear the initial lame ride, though, our next stop was here:

Emma loves "Finding Nemo," and both girls loved The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Emma even learned a new phrase from Crush: "You totally rock, duuuuuuuuude!" Say the first part and she will respond with a hearty DUDE!

Next we made a pit stop at Mickey's Club House (or so we told Emma--she's a huge fan of the cartoon) to visit these guys:

Ignore the dazed looks, they were really tired at this point. They really did love Mickey.

After paying homage to the Mouse, we took a spin on Spaceship Earth, where Madeline took a much-needed, if very short, nap. Then we headed back to Soarin' when our fastpasses came due. None of us had ridden it before, and it didn't disappoint. Emma was thrilled to do it twice. Dave took her first and talked her through the ride. When it was my turn to go with her, she basically told me everything he told her: "it's not scary, Mom!" Her favorite part was the end, when they showed fireworks over Disneyland.

Even with fastpasses and rider switch, Soarin' still took an hour so we were a little late for our dinner in France. It was not quite as good as I remembered it (perhaps because this time I had TWO children, both of whom had had it?), but still a yummy end to the day. Though the night was still young, the early hour and lack of naps had gotten the better of us and we trekked back to the hotel to rest up for day 2.

Summer Fun Flashback: Dallas Arboretum

With Dave off of work for the 5th of July, we went to the Dallas Arboretum, another place on our Summer Fun list. It is one of my favorite places in Dallas, and they were having a special event where they had constructed flower houses to go along with the Tales of Peter Rabbit. As a bonus, I had just received a new DSLR camera for my birthday, so I took it along for some practice.
The flower houses:




They also had a petting zoo:

With Peter himself:

Strolling in the garden:

We had a runaway:

It was a fun day, but it was HOT. Here is Emma taking a break in the Texas Village. I think she is vowing not to come back until the weather is cooler:

Emma Starts Preschool

Three weeks ago, on a rainy Tuesday after Labor Day, Emma started preschool. There were some mixed feelings about this. Dave bemoaned the fact that she was getting older. I was excited, because she needed a break from me, and I could use some one-on-one time with Madeline. Emma was thrilled that she was going to go to school.


She hung her backpack up and didn't look back.


Later, as I was running errands with just Madeline in tow (something I had been looking forward to for months), I was struck by the quiet. No little voice singing along with me to the radio, or asking me a million questions as I wandered Target. I got a little teary myself. But when I picked her up, she was full of stories. She comes home singing new songs and reciting poems.

She absolutely loves it. How do I know? Because on Wednesday, when I told her she wasn't going to school (she's on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule), she cried. But don't worry--she perked right up when I told her we had gymnastics instead.

PS. I put her in a dress on the first day, mostly because I was worried about her being able to go to the bathroom without having to worry about buttons and zippers, and now she thinks she has to wear a dress or a skirt every time. Or perhaps she loves it so much she wants to dress up for the occasion??

Labor Day 2010

I have many more summer posts coming up (we really were busy between the 4th and Labor Day...too busy to blog I guess??), but I wanted to get back to posting things as they happen. Dave's busy work schedule slowed down (hooray for Dallas clients that actually take holidays!) and we took advantage of temperatures below 100* to go to the Dallas Zoo. They recently opened a new Giants of the Savanna exhibit that we though was really cool.



You could also pay a very marked up price for lettuce feed the giraffes:

Emma loved allof the statues:



We are excited to get back to the Zoo and use our membership again!

4th of July

We celebrated the 4th of July on the 3rd by going to the Rockwall Parade. Of course we had to get donuts before:



Emma loved waving her flag:

Later that afternoon we went to a barbecue. Our friends live in a neighborhood that is technically on "unincorporated" county land, so there is no one to tell them they can't shoot off some fireworks! Despite the wet afternoon, we were undeterred:

Summer Fun: Northeast Texas Children's Museum

Some friends introduced us to the Northeast Texas Children's Museum in Commerce. It is good, cheap fun. It is one big room full of great stuff to play with, from a "hospital" with a real gurney, to a courtroom, to a jungle, to a space shuttle. Emma spent the majority of her time playing with the grocery store. I spent my time following Madeline around. She loved this airplane:

Summer Fun: Dallas World Aquarium

Way back in June, Dave's brother, Matt, visited us, and we decided to cross off another activity on our Summer Fun List and head to the Dallas World Aquarium. It is one of my favorite activities in Dallas. It's not like a traditional aquarium--it is set up like a rain forest. You start on the top canopy level:

Then you go around and down, looking at animals on all of the different levels, until you get to the underwater tanks.

Checking out the turles.

Emma, Matt, and a jaguar.

Madeline and the flamingos. For the first time, I freed Madeline from the stroller and let her walk by herself in a public place. She loved it!