Bloggy Meet-up at Daytona Beach

On Friday, November 12th our family was excited to jump into the van and head to Daytona Beach.  The reason for our trip was to meet with two special bloggy families.  I had met Don and JMei on a few different occasions but I hadn’t seen Alyson and Ford since the day they received their wonderful daughter Alyzabeth’s referral in the summer of 2008.  What a treat it was to see all of them again and to introduce my family to them too.  What a huge treat it was to meet the sweet Alyzabeth An!

We had a wonderful visit together and the time passed all too quickly. We’re heading back to The Villages next November and a Daytona Beach reunion visit is on our wish list for sure!  Here are some pics of the fun we shared together.

The girls getting to know one another.  L to R, JMei, Alyzabeth and Hannah

My parents with Sharon and Larry

The big kids colouring while we waited for our lunch to arrive.

Hannah sharing something with her new friends

Talking purses and jewellery.  

After lunch we headed out to the beach and as much as the adults enjoyed it it was nothing compared to the girls!  They were in their glory!!  As Nana said, ‘It was better than Disney for Hannah!’ and she was so right!  Hannah had so much fun with the big girls and it was fun watching her do her best to keep up with them.

Hannah had fun walking to the water’s edge with whomever caught up with her.  :o)

The area we were playing in was wet and the waves were staying out further but Mama wasn’t taking any chances and I’m sure glad that was the case.  We were surprised by a wave that suddenly came in much further than the others and soaked a number of us an oh how we laughed!!

Dad had the camera running at just the right time and captured the whole thing.  This is a great video!!

Alyson and Alyzabeth

JMei flying in the wind

Follow the leader

A wonderful time was had by all!  I am so thankful for the friendship we share and that has now been extended to more of my family too.  We are blessed to have such special friends and look forward to the next time that we are together!

I Can Fly!!

I’m still working on a couple of Florida posts but thought I’d share this pic for now.  My dad captured it the day we visited friends at Daytona Beach.  Check out her air!

Is there any question why we’re beginning parent and tot gymnastics in the new year?

Hallelujah Chorus ~ Flash Mob

This is absolutely amazing!!!!  I came across it last night and found myself covered in goose bumps and with tears in my eyes as I watched it but it wasn’t until tonight when another friend sent it to me that I realized it was done last week, only about an hour and a half from my home.  So cool!!  I can only imagine what a treat it would be to be caught up in a Flash Mob ~ especially one as amazing as this!!  Enjoy.

Meeting Mickey and His Friends!

Hands down, Hannah’s favourite TV show is, ‘Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!’  She absolutely adores it and a huge smile crosses her face every single time it starts. When we were at Disney Hannah had an opportunity to meet the real Mickey Mouse as well as his clubhouse friends. 

As we waited in line to meet the characters Hannah could see Mickey.  As soon as we were at the front of the line she wiggled and wiggled and said, ‘wal’ (walk) until I put her down.  She walked up to Mickey by herself and stood looking up at him with a look that appeared to say, ‘Wow!  It’s really him!’

I love how she has her little hands crossed casually in front of her.  Ah yes, she was standing with her friend.

After meeting Mickey on her own she asked to be picked up and was happiest meeting the rest of the gang with Mama.  Posing with Pluto

Checking Minnie out over her shoulder

and saying good-bye with a ‘high 5.’  She gave most of the characters ‘high 5’s’ as we left them.

Watching Donald sign her autograph album

Hanging with Goofy

Goofy is one of Hannah’s favourite characters on MMCH and she smiles when she see’s him.  A couple of month’s back she began to giggle while watching the show and when I looked up I noticed that it was Goofy she was giggling at.  I was able to capture some of these giggles last week.  Is there anything sweeter than a baby’s laugh?

I’m so thankful that there is such a great show for Hannah to watch that she enjoys and where she learns so much too.  Tonight she was singing along with a song she’s heard on her DVD in the car.  I’ll work on capturing it to post another time.  How fun it is to hear Hannah begin to sing.  Another fun, huge accomplishment that my ‘baby’ girl is making.

A Day at Epcot

Hannah decided to try Grandpa’s hat to see if she preferred it to her own.  Pretty cute!

We needed to stop just inside the park to take the traditional pics in front of Spaceship Earth.  Hannah chillaxin in her stroller.

Still excited that we’re here with Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Papa!!

Hitching a ride with Nana early in the day.

Before breakfast with the princesses the 4 grandparents enjoyed ‘Soarin’ while Mama and Hannah took a leisurely boat ride through Living with the Land.

After breakfast Hannah hung out with Grandma and Minnie while Mama and the others rode Test Track.  Hannah was happy and I enjoyed being able to ride one of the adult rides.  Not often possible as most of my trips have been with my wonderful niece who is timid when it comes to rides.

In her glory with the grandparents.

Later in the afternoon Nana wanted to stretch her legs so Papa took the wheels for a spin.  By this point Hannah knew where the horn, speed and on/off key were so she decided to share her skills with Papa. 

Later in the afternoon we toured around the countries.  We went into the American pavilion but didn’t last long so Hannah and I hung out while she coloured a ‘Duffy the Bear’ while the others enjoyed the show.

Look how cute she looks!

Showing off the finished product.

A great day was had by all!

Wonder what parks we’ll go to next November when we return together?

Dining with Royalty

Back to the fun FL posts….

Wednesday morning (Nov 10) dawned warm and sunny once again and we were off to a very important breakfast.  Princess Hannah and her Royal Subjects had been invited to dine with the other Princesses in Norway! 

When Princess Hannah was called to enter the dining hall she was met by the beautiful Belle wearing her formal golden gown.  Mommy was excited but Princess Hannah wasn’t too sure what to make of all that was happening.  She preferred to peek at the princess over her shoulder while grabbing hold of a fist of mommy’s t-shirt just to ensure that she wasn’t going anywhere! Heh...I think she may even be giving Belle the stink eye!

Upon being guided to our table and filling our plates with yummy, delicious fruit, pastries and breakfast food fit for a….princess, it was time to pose with the other Princesses who came to see us.

Princess Aurora smiled while Hannah pretended she wasn’t there.

Cinderella was even there which was a wonderful surprise as she normally is busy elsewhere.  I think Hannah might have been warming up slightly to all that was going on as in this pic I’m pretty sure she was sharing her half eaten cheese with Cinderella.  Nothing says friendship more than sharing partially eaten food!

LOL!  Check out all the flashes from the Grandpas-ratzi!  :o)

We had met Snow White the day before in the Magic Kingdom so this time Hannah was a little more accepting of her.  Snow White on the other hand was thrilled to see Hannah again and commented on her beautiful bows!

The final princess to grace our table was Aerial.  Still no smiles from Hannah but once all the princesses had moved on to visit with other Royal Subjects, she was happy to look at them and appreciate them from afar.

The food was delicious and it was fun to meet so many princesses so we will go back and enjoy this breakfast again in the future. For now, Princess Hannah was just happy to enjoy her brekkie without having to pose for any more pics.  :o)  Having a mama and 4 grandparents all wielding cameras can be a little much for any Princess!  

I think Hannah’s favourite part of the morning was dancing in her high chair as the Princesses paraded through the restaurant with the children behind them.  Oh how cute it will be someday when she chooses to join in the parade!   For now, it was dancing at our table for all of us to enjoy and we loved it!

Breakfast with the Princesses.  A perfect way to start the day at Epcot!