Happy Hanukkah!

Hannah and I were blessed to be invited to our first Hanukkah party last week and we had a great time!  We shared it with many friends and it was neat to learn how others celebrate the holidays!  Thank you friends!!

Listening(?) to the Hanukkah story

Mmmmenorah cookies

Oh how I love this picture of Hannah’s friend Ben!

Lighting a candle of the menorah (wearing her kippah! ) 

As I awaited Hannah’s birth there were a number of families whom I got to know well.  I am so thankful for each of them and the way God has woven our families together!  We are so blessed!

Epcot with the Grandparents

Thursday, November 14th

The weather our 2nd day at Disney was SO much better!  The temps were in the low 70’s (as opposed to the low 50’s the day before) and the sun was brightly shining!  We packed the car since we’d be heading home at the end of the day and after eating at our resort we boarded the bus for Epcot.

Epcot is a much different park from the Magic Kingdom yet we enjoy it for so many reasons!  Hannah’s choice for our first ride was Figment which is a cute, light-hearted ride.  Once we rode that our FP+ reservations meant we could ride Soarin’ which is one of our all-time favourite rides!  I love to watch and listen to Hannah as she giggles, talks and squeals with glee during this ride!  As it ends the riders applaud every-single-time!  Love that!!

We took some time to ride The Nemo Ride

then headed over to another favourite:  Test Track!  Love Hannah’s face in this pic!  Yes, she’s my adventurous little sweetie!!

We enjoyed a lunch of fish and chips at the UK pavilion then wandered around the world enjoying the sites of the beautiful pavilions.  After lunch we wandered to the next pavilion and enjoyed ice cream in France.

Hannah enjoyed teasing Mommy and wearing my jacket.

After stopping to do our final souvenir shopping we grabbed some popcorn for ‘supper.’  These pictures have a funny story behind them.  Here Hannah and Papa share some popcorn. 

If you look closely in the background you’ll see that they rounded up the troops to clean up us after we left.

Another successful Disney trip was behind us and we enjoyed it as much as we always do.  I cannot express how precious these memories are that we are creating.  Hannah may not remember the details someday other than through pictures but the blessing is that we have those memories that we were blessed to create together!

Thanks for another wonderful Florida trip together Grandma, Grandpa, Nana and Papa!  We love sharing this week with all of you!   WE LOVE YOU!!!

Meeting a New Bloggy Buddy

When Hannah and I were at Disney one of the gals who visits here and comments often realized we were both there together.  Cool!!  She dropped me a note asking if we’d be interested in getting together if it worked out.  As it was everything lined up perfectly so we arranged to meet an hour later!

In the meantime Hannah and I headed to Fairytale Hall to visit with Rapunzel and Snow White since we’d run out of time to do this earlier in the week.

Originally we had planned to meet up at ‘it’s a small world’ but due to the strong winds the ride was closing early so that they could close the area for safety reasons before the fireworks started.  Hannah and I hopped on the very last ‘cruise’ of the evening and enjoyed a wonderful ride for 2!  We sang, chatted and danced our way through this sweet little ride.

(This next picture was taken about 30 mins after the fireworks.  Guess they knew what they were talking about when they were concerned about small fires being started.  Cast Members said it’s not unheard of on windy nights but thankfully this smoke and the smell left as quickly as it arrived so they must have gotten the small fire under control quickly.)

When we exited ‘it’s a small world’ we walked to the carousel and met up with MaLeah, her husband and son Marin.  What fun!  It quickly felt like we were old friends and we chatted for a while and the kids ran around and got to know one another!  The instant friendship kids can strike up is so refreshing!

We quickly realized that the kids enjoyed similar rides so we rode Goofy’s Roller Coaster a few times followed by Dumbo around, and around and…around! 

We stayed until park closing and used the final bit of time to visit the characters since there were no lines.  What a treat to walk up to all of our favourites without having to wait!

After too brief a visit it was time to go our separate ways as MaLeah and her family were driving home the following day.  It was great to meet you!  Who knows – maybe we’ll end up at Disney again some day MaLeah!

Both kids woke up the next morning disappointed that they weren’t going to see one another.  Sweet!  Hopefully another time!

A Day at the Magic Kingdom

(Wed, Nov 13, 2013)

Wednesday was a cool, windy day but that didn’t deter us.  We layered up and set out for a day of Magic Kingdom fun!  Dad made sure all the important gear was loaded into the van.  I love the look on Hannah’s face as she looks up at her silly Grandpa!

We arrived at Pop Century and were excited to pick up our MagicBands (MBs) set out for the park!  (Disney is not yet shipping MBs internationally so Canadians and other international visitors pick up their bands at their resort.)

Hannah is an old pro at using MBs and helped to teach Grandma, Grandpa and Papa the new routine.

LOL!  Can you tell Hannah was excited to be back?  This girl loves Disney as much as her Mommy does!

Official family shot in front of the castle.

Hannah and Nana going for a spin…before we were told this isn’t allowed.  Oops!

Flashback 2010

So many Christmas decorations for our tree!  Mommy, can we take them all home?  (Umm…no. )We had fun sharing the day together at the Magic Kingdom and then headed over to the Polynesian Resort to enjoy supper at the Kona Cafe.

Mmmm…dessert!  So many delicious ones to choose from.

After supper Hannah and Mommy went back to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with a bloggy friend and her family while the older crowd headed back to our rooms and rested up for the following day’s fun at Epcot.

Up next ~ meeting a new bloggy friend!

A Week of Florida Fun with the Grandparents!

Hannah and I have travelled to The Villages for our annual visit with the grandparents for 4 years now and each year it’s a wonderful vacation!  The 6 of us spend quality time together visiting local sites, scooting around in the golf cart, visiting Disney and shopping ‘til we drop! 

I am thankful that not only does Hannah enjoy shopping, she enjoys window shopping.  We can easily spend hours in stores and she doesn’t ask for anything most times although there are exceptions to that for sure!  Early on Nana taught her the skill of ‘holding something and then putting it back’ and it’s still something we do.  I learned this from her years ago and use the time walking around the store to decide if I really want to buy something.   Hannah gets lost in books that she carefully reads as we make our way through the store and then we put them back on the shelf.  It’s a great skill to have and so helpful when I’m not always having to say ‘no’ to her.

These were pretty common sight last week.   

As Canadians we cannot beat the deals we get on purchases made shopping in the US and both Sharon and I made dents in our Christmas shopping lists. 

The week that we visit we rent a second golf cart so the 6 of us hop on the carts and off we go!  This is such fun especially since we leave cool fall temps at home.

This video gives you a glimpse into how we make our way around the villages – and why we don’t want to go home at the end!  You’ll notice we’re one of the many golf cart paths that run beside major roads, the main road to our left and a golf course to my right.  And, if you look carefully at the spot where I show the mirror you’ll see that a regular part of Hannah’s golf cart riding is that it puts her to sleep!  I have lost track of the number of times she’s napped in the cart!

A break from shopping at one of our favourite restaurants.  Mmmm!  Still miss Olive Garden now that they are no longer in Canada. 

The result of all this shopping?  THIS!!  Thanks for your help Hannah!

Hannah is wearing an adorable little outfit that our friends Lisa and Briana just shared with her.  So cute!  Thanks Lisa!!

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!

Hannah and I had a ton of fun attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!  I wasn’t sure how different it would be from visiting the parks during normal hours or if it would be worth the cost of the hard ticket event but for us it sure was! 

Even though the party didn’t officially begin until 7pm our ticket allowed us to enter the park at 4pm.  We visited Mickey first and then set out from there.  We knew we were going back to the Magic Kingdom later in the week with the grandparents (more on that to come) so when I was looking at what to do rides were not number 1 for this visit although we did some of our favourites for sure!

Hannah’s first request was the Buzz Lightyear Spaceranger Spin ride so we made our way there for some lazer shootin’ fun!  From there we took to the sky and checked out the park at night from above.  It was really neat to be on the ride as the castle was transformed from one of beautiful lights to the amazing sight it is when the crystal lights burst forth!

We enjoyed a ride on the carousel. (LOL!  really we did!  She was in the midst of trying out as many faces as she could while waiting for her steed to begin his romp around and around.)

When we exited the carousel it was time to get in line for one of the special character meet ‘n greets that is only available during hard ticketed events such as the Christmas or Halloween party….Meeting the 7 Dwarfs!!

Now that the party had officially started we took in some of the neat things that are only available during the party.  There was a fun stage show in front of the castle

which we enjoyed while munching on one of our favourite special treats, a funnel cake with strawberries and whipped cream!

I decided we’d skip the crowds of the early parade and aim to attend the 2nd one later.  We wandered around and Hannah was thrilled to find it snowing on Main Street!  She played here for a long time until the parade was over and the streets became too crowded.

After trying on some Christmas ears just for fun (read: Mommy wasn’t in the mood to pay $21.95 for something she was just ho-hum about!)

we made our way back up Main Street and staked out a great spot for the Celebrate the Magic castle show and Holiday Wishes fireworks.  I decided to enjoy the moment with Hannah rather than watch the show through the lens of my camera (thanks for that Daniel!) and it was wonderful!  She stood in her stroller with her arms wrapped around my neck and cheek pressed against mine as we ooooed and ahhhhhed together!

Yes, it truly was the very best way to take in these shows!  And, in true Hannah fashion, when she was tired, she was done thank-you-very-much.  During the fireworks she laid down in her stroller and promptly fell asleep!  Heh…so cute!  Reminds me of this past August when she did the same at Epcot.

There were still a couple of hours left of the party so I decided to take in some of the events that I could while Hannah was out for the count.  I was sure she was gone for the night which is normal Hannah style.  I went to another stage show in Tomorrowland and then visited something I had really hoped to do with Hannah – a Disney Dance Party!  (We had tried to go to one earlier in the evening but it was during the parade so the lack of characters meant it wasn’t really happening at the moment.)  This time when we arrived the party was in full swing even though my sweetie wasn’t.  

It was fun to watch the kids dance with their parents and all the fun they were having. 

I’m pretty sure this is something they do on Disney cruises so my ittle Miss and I will wait and take one in then….not that she knows that yet! 

By this point it was a little after 11pm so I decided to take my sleeping beauty home.  We left the dance party and started towards the front of the park.  About 3 mins into the walk she sat up and asked, ‘Mommy, what are we doing next?’  LOL!!

So…we turned around and rode Winnie the Pooh and then closed down the party with a visit with Cinderella and Princess Aurora, both whom were joined by their princes for the party!

What a great time Hannah and I shared together that evening!  We had fun from start to finish and I’m so glad we were able to go!  More memories created and Disney moments lived with my amazing daughter!

We’re excited for this upcoming Christmas season and hope that you are too!  May we be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas as we prepare the celebrate the Birth of our King!