Christmas Day 2013

Al slept with Cole in one room and I slept with Alex in the other.  Cole was like a newborn again waking up every couple hours and that morning nothing could have woken him up.  If you don't laugh you'll cry.

 I didn't bring any presents for Alex and Cole so Al and I decided to go to Target on Christmas Eve and buy some little stuff so they would have something to open.

 Every time we saw Santa or asked Alex what he wanted for Christmas he said a cookie so we went to the grocery store and picked out a big cookie and wrapped it for him.  When he opened it he said yay a cookie.  So so sweet and that's how I want him to stay forever :)

We finally got the picture of the Al's but we are missing #4.

 Alex and Cole with Great Grandma and Grandpa.  Alex is probably wondering why so many people have that name.   Cole loved Lavon and always wanted her in the 24 hour period we spent with them.

 The cutest brothers in their matching Christmas outfits.

Alex wanted to hangout with his bampa (grandpa)

 We spent Christmas day at Lavon's daughters house in Vero Beach.  I almost felt like I was at a resort in her backyard because it felt so tropical.

Alex kept taking Lavon and Al 3 over to the chairs to lay in the sun.

 Christmas dinner was delicious and Cole took a 2 hour nap afterwards.  It was so much fun to meet more family members and get to know everyone.  We couldn't have asked for a better Christmas and for once we got to stay in one place the entire day.

 After dinner entertainment was presents, Alex putting stickers up Al's arm, and Tatiana

Before we left for Ft Lauderdale we all met at Vero Beach to watch the sunset.  It was such a perfect day and I hope we can all get together again someday.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we had breakfast at Cape May Cafe in our hotel with the characters.  We saw Minnie, Donald, and Goofy.

It was so much fun to see Alex and Cole light up when the characters came over to say hi.

A picture with Santa Claus before we left for our next adventure. 

We drove to Port Saint Lucie to have lunch with my Aunt Lara and her family.  I hadn't seen her since I was pregnant with Alex and I finally got to meet her kids as well.  Alex enjoying his time on the iPad.  Cole had a major melt down before we pulled up to Lara's.  He screamed for probably 30 minutes until we could calm him down.  I had to get out of the car and walk with him to Lara's to try and soothe him before we went in.

 We had a great time with her family and it was so much fun to get to know everyone a little bit better.  I wish we didn't live so far away.

 After Lara's we drove to West Melbourne to stay with Al's Grandpa for the night.  They hadn't seen each other for over 15 years so this was a long overdue trip.  Lavon and Al 3 gave Alex and Cole 2 stuffed dogs that look identical to their dog Angel so they would have something to remember them by, so thoughtful.  If you put the 2 stuffed animals and Angel on the floor you honestly couldn't tell them apart.  We had a yummy dinner that night at Cheddars and afterwards Alex and Cole got to open a few presents from Al and Lavon.

 I found one of my favorite pictures of the Cameron family and how funny is it that Chambray is back in style!!  I need to have a family picture of us taken in all Chambray.

Hollywood Studios

We spent our last day at Hollywood Studios.  We took the ferry over from our hotel and Alex thought that was pretty cool.

 We go to Hollywood Studios about 30 minutes after it opened and every big ride was already packed.  Toy Story Midway Mania which is one of our favorites at California Adventure had a 2 hour wait all day, crazy!!   We saw Mike Wazowski which was hilarious and let Alex play in the huge Honey I Shrunk The Kids playground.

The best ride of the day was Aerosmith Rockin Rollercoaster, so fun.  I felt like I was 15 again!!

 We took this picture after we got back from naps at the hotel and we all look worn out.  I guess that's what 3 days straight of Disneyworld does to you.

 We watched the Fantasmic show that everyone talks about and thought it was pretty cool.

 Right after Fantasmic it poured rain for about 10 minutes while everyone stood under whatever they could find.  I wanted us to see the Osborne Christmas lights so when the rain stopped we went and walked through them.  I'm so glad we waited for the rain to stop because they were amazing.

Every song has a different light show and I wish I could have seen them all. Such a fun day with crazy crowds and we ended it with dinner on the Boardwalk across from our hotel.

Animal Kingdom & Epcot

Sunday was a packed with plans to conquer Animal Kingdom and Epcot in one day.  We started out at Animal Kingdom right when it opened.  Al and I hit the big rides which were Dinosaur and Expedition Everest.  No waits and both awesome rides.

The Tree of Life behind us.

One of the many meltdowns we had that day.

The Kilimanjaro Safari which was a really cool ride.

Another meltdown and we weren't even half way done with all the stuff I wanted us to do, but nap time is more important so we had lunch and went back to the hotel.  Until next time Animal Kingdom!!

Late that afternoon we walked over to Epcot.  There was only a 5 minute way to see Minnie, Mickey and Goofy.

We walked around all the countries just to see them all and ended up eating sushi in Japan.  

The big Epcot ball I've been waiting 30 years to see.  It was everything I dreamed of and the ride Spaceship Earth that goes through it was pretty cool too.  I was trying to convince Alex to smile in this picture and the only way was to bribe him was with popcorn.

It worked and he ate the entire bag.

Al went on Test track and I went on Mission Space.  It would be fun to go back and spend an entire day there and try all the foods from the countries.

We watched the Illuminations firework show which was amazing and then went back to our hotel and had a late dinner at Beaches and Cream Soda.  It was a fun day we got to spend together as a family.

Christmas Vacation

We've been talking about taking a trip to Florida for a couple years to see Al #3, some of the Ranes family, and of course Disneyworld.  We decided to spend Christmas in Florida and enjoy the warm weather which was also going on in LA at the same time we were there.  We flew out the Friday before Christmas and got to enjoy Virgin Airlines which is one of Al's favorites.  Unfortunately we got the very last row which always grosses me out with the bathroom being right there and even worse having a 5 hour flight, yikes.  The kids did great and the iPads were a life saver.  I think Alex was glued to his the entire flight.

We stayed at the Disney Beach Club Resort for 4 night which is right next to Epcot.  The hotel was beautiful and even smelled like gingerbread every time you walked through the door.  I was bummed we never really got to use the pool, beach, and water slides while we were there.

When you check in to the hotel they hand you a box with these awesome wrist bands with your name.  It's your room key, ticket to the parks, and cc to pay for everything.  

I did a ton of research before we went on shows, rides, and character greetings.  I had a lot I wanted us to do and see (surprise) and only a short amount of time to do it in.  Our first morning we were at Magic Kingdom right when it opened which was 8am.  It was awesome and we were walking on rides until about noon.  We ate a quick lunch and then went back to the hotel for naps.

Al and I got fast passes to most of the big rides and then took turns riding them which worked out great.

 We went back later that afternoon and the lines were long.  We went on the Jingle Cruise but I didn't see one Christmas decoration.  

 We saw a bunch of characters we never see at Disneyland like Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and Donald.

It was fun to see all the differences and similarities of Disneyland.  This is one of our favorite rides at Disneyland and it was so different at Disneyworld.

 We made it until 10pm and watched the Christmas light show on the castle and then the fireworks, I've never seen the boys so tired.  It was a magical day and I hope these pictures will help Alex and Cole remember how much fun we had.