Aruba...

We are back!

The past ten days, our little family of four was away on vacation and it was FABULOUS.

We had such a lovely time - and as quickly as it went, now it seems like a distant memory (and I'm already planning our next vacation -- hello Turks & Caicos!)

I wanted to give some details about our vacation as several people have asked questions and I'd love to share our experience!!!

SO...

Two Sundays ago, we flew to Ft Lauderdale. A side note -- I'm now realizing that flying with a 33 month old & a 14 month old is NOT fun. It used to be pretty easy to travel but these last 3 trips down South have been pretty rough. Layla gets antsy and bored quickly - Benny can't seem to get comfortable and never sleeps longer then 40 minutes (despite it being during his nap time) - it's never fun and I always feel like the people around us want to throw me out the plane. BUT.. alas,  I know this will pass and we'll be traveling easy again soon (ya know..until we add a 3rd baby one day and everything goes completely bananas, ha!)

Anywho...we had a great couple of days in Florida. I was able to have breakfast with my dear friends Amy & Stacey in Boca along with their babies (Kole, Connor & Colin). I took Layla along with me while Benny napped and we had a great time. After breakfast, Josh, Layla, Benny & I went to Laura & Clay's to have a playdate with Owen!! I love seeing our babies together. They were also babysitting their niece Kylie so it was truly babies galore!! We had a great time. Josh went to hang out with friends & I finished packing for Aruba.

Tuesday was spent with family -- that night -- Josh & I were Aruba bound!!

My first recommendation -- John's Car Service . Josh's family lives in Ft Lauderdale & our flights were from Miami Airport. This is about 40 minutes South of Ft Lauderdale and a tough place to drive. We contacted John's Car Service and it was excellent. He picked us up in a town car, it was easy - not too expensive and he was SO nice. We ended up using him for the ride home too. If you are in the Florida area and ever need a ride to one of the airports - I'd use him! (He also specializes in cruise transportation)

Anyway.. Josh & I left for Aruba. Can I just say... traveling without children feels like a JOKE - it is SO easy!! haha! We flew American Airlines. It was a great, easy flight and we made it to Aruba no problems. It was late at night so it was hard to see how gorgeous the country was (but we saw it the rest of the trip). Our main hotel was booked so we stayed at the Holiday Inn Resort Aruba. It was a gorgeous hotel and I was so pleasantly surprised. If we are lucky enough to head back to Aruba, I'd probably stay here. The rooms were gorgeous, the pool and beach was really beautiful and it wasn't very expensive.

As a side note -- Aruba is VERY expensive across the board. I'd compare it to Manhattan in that everything is just more money then in the states. It was a huge surprise to me -- if you decide to travel to Aruba, be aware nothing will come cheap (except for taxis -- they were much cheaper then expected). 

We woke up and realized how GORGEOUS Aruba truly is. The weather is better then anything I've ever experienced. Hot (average of 85 degrees everyday) with a bright, bright sun (the country is very close to the equator) -- but the crosswinds and intense. I couldn't believe how windy it got at times -- I LOVED it - I don't think I ever broke a sweat despite the hot temps!!! It makes it perfect for the beach or pool. So when we woke up -- we decided to start our day (after I slept until almost 9 AM - holy moly) -- we had a (not great) breakfast at the Holiday Inn buffet and quickly checked out before heading to our hotel. I figured we'd take a cab but found out we were only a few minute walk to our hotel -- the Hyatt. I need to explain Aruba -- it's unbelievably clean & you feel SO safe. Normally when I travel (Punta Cana, Jamaica, Bahamas) -- I stay in my hotel (never really walking the streets) - total opposite of Aruba. We walked everywhere -- it was SO amazing and the best feeling. I really loved exploring and wish we stayed longer so I could have seen more of the country (to be fair, Josh wanted to take a drive one day to explore and I convinced him it was a better idea to be lazy by the pool - ha!) -- so we made our way to the hotel and checked in. Our room was nice - nothing incredible (and the balcony was tiny which was annoying - i love reading outside and this wasn't an option) -- but it worked. We made our way to the pool. It was beautiful and extremely relaxing. I found it annoying that every single day, we had to quickly reserve seats at the pool or they were all taken. If you wanted seats at the beach, you had to go EXTREMELY early in the morning to reserve (or pay $35 for "better" seats") -- this was a pain. If I'm on vacation, I don't want to have to rush around to make sure I have seats. We had a great day at the pool - got ready for dinner - and went to one of the best dinners I've ever experienced. We ate at Passions on the Beach -- it was a few minute cab ride from our hotel - the driver pulled over and said we're here! I looked around a little concerned - I saw a small sign and a small hut but nothing more. Quickly I realized the entire restaurant was ON the beach - close to the water! We kicked off our shoes and walked to our table - feet from the water and enjoyed the sunset. It was incredibly beautiful and a wonderful experience. The food was very, very good too!!A great first night! I was exhausted so after playing a bit in the casino I went to bed and Josh met up with his work friends.

Thursday morning, we woke up to find out the water main broke in our hotel. UHHH - no water from 8 AM until 5 PM, quite literally. We made the best of it and spent the day at the pool reading. We also picked up our free gift from Josh's company - a pair of Ray Bans! We both love the pair we chose. We had breakfast at an AWESOME local place Dushi Bagels -- its was so yummy. We spent the rest of the day reading, eating (we had lunch every day at the hotel), riding the awesome water slide & of course playing Bingo every afternoon (we even won one day, two free smoothies!). The water was fixed but our shower barely let out a slow, cold trickle. We made it work and went to the welcome dinner thrown by Josh's company. It was on the beach at the hotel and really beautiful. That night, Josh & I went to the casino and had a blast. It was so nice!

Friday morning, we had breakfast at the buffet in our hotel - SO good. I really loved it. We decided to go to the beach that day and it was really nice - they said they'd find us a free set of chairs - it was nice they did that except our chairs were really far from the water so it was HOT -- we spent some time in the ocean before switching to the pool for the rest of the day. In the afternoon, we went back to our room to shower only to realize our shower still wasn't working. After a couple of hours of back & forth, it was (sorta) fixed. We missed our first dinner reservations at Gianni's and ended up eating at Amazonia  -- a really yummy Brazilian steakhouse. We loved it and it all worked out. That night, we went to the casino and did AMAZING!!! SO much fun playing poker!

Saturday morning, we ended up having breakfast from Dunkin Donuts (ha -- we are loyal) and spent our last day at the pool. I loved every second and really tried to just enjoy the quiet and music and sun and warm air. We missed our babies so much but it's so nice for the two of us to spend time together. I think every married couple needs & deserves time away to just enjoy marriage. (That's a post for another day). After explaining to the hotel that our shower still wasn't working, they fixed it again and took care of some charges on our room (as well as giving us $100 from the water main break) -- it was very nice of them. That night, we had our goodbye dinner again thrown by Josh's company on the beach - it was SO good. The food was amazing (I had lobster for the 2nd time in my life) -- loved it!! They even had entertainment - I felt like I was watching the Mummers! Great costumes and live music. We tried our luck one last time at the casino but lost it all - oops. Lots of fun anyway.

Sunday morning, we woke up and had breakfast at the buffet one last time. We packed, hung out and before we knew it - it was time for the airport. :( Another important part about Aruba -- you MUST allow 3 hours pre-flight. Customs for Aruba AND America is done in the Aruba airport. This means LOTS of lines and lots of security (you basically go  through customs and security once for Aruba and once for USA) -- it was crazy intense but i liked it - upon landing in Miami, we were able to just get off the plane and leave. Much easier.

So that's that -- I highly, highly, highly recommend visiting Aruba if given the chance.

Side note -- we left our very expensive good camera in the room and the hotel found it and saved it for us -- I'm extremely impressed as they could have told me it's gone. Good job Hyatt!!


Happy traveling, ya'll!

The night before our vacation, we had a wedding - the kiddies loved spending time with Miss Jenn!

On our way to the wedding - red-light selfie ;)

Playdate! Owen, Layla, Kylie & Benny

Kole & Layla!! (Can you melt???)

Family picture before Josh & I left them in the fabulous hands of Grandma & Grandpa!

Hellloooooo Aruba!

Smooches at the pool

Bingo obsessed. It's like I'm 30 going on 75.

Lovers.

Passions on the Beach

Dushi Bagels - YUM!

View from our balcony!

Sporting our new sunnies!

<3

haha

<3

Beautiful sunsets.

Crazy beautiful

Reunited with our babes. 

Benny Turns 14 months!!

Typical Benny....thumb in the mouth and Brian in the hand :)

I'm 14 months... weeeeeee!

hi there pretty lady ;)

LOVE THIS BOY!

Running away from me!

14 months old!

Cheese!

14 months and handsome...also not in the mood for pictures. 

14 month stats:

Weight: Roughly 28-29 pounds.

Height: Roughly 33 inches?

Eating: Everything & Anything... all the time :)   

Clothes: 18 month (getting small), 24 month, 2T

Diaper: Size 5

Shoe Size: BIG ;) haha...6.5 wide

Benjamin Sawyer -- 

What a month you're having!!! It's been full of changes -- you are 100% a toddler. A walking, running, jumping, singing, dancing, giggling, climbing, cuddling boy. You are unbelievably sweet and loving and a complete JOY to be around. You've all but given up crawling and you are full on walking - you fall (often) but rarely cry and keep on going. 

You are seriously thinning out. I watch you run and I swear the next day you're taller and thinner. It's so sweet and SO sad - luckily you are keeping your chubby cheeks. I love them so much and kiss you constantly. Your hair grows SO fast - I think you're ready for a haircut again and I swear we just went. It's blond and CURLY after a bath but because it's weight, it straightens really fast. 

You are SO smart - Mom-Mom told me I should get you tested for MENSA ;) Seriously, I'm in awe of all you understand and retain. In addition to the adorable things you do (dance, clap, wave, dance, say "no-no", jump and run), you can now follow almost all directions. If I ask you to get something (a ball, your cup, Brian your doll, etc), you immediately understand and get it. You know how to throw things in the trash, you know how to climb the steps, you know a few body parts (tongue, teeth, hair, nose), you know a few animal sounds (sheep, cat, dog) -- I'm blown away by how much you are soaking up and I LOVE watching you learn!!! You love to hold my hand when we walk and REALLY love to hold my hands when we dance. It's so sweet - you'll stand in front of me with your hand out -- basically saying GET UP MA! Your favorite toys are balls, bowls, blocks, musical toys (drums, bells), the piano and books. You have a hard time sitting and reading a whole book but I will continue to read and soon enough you'll be begging for books the way your sister does!

Your love of music continues and your lack of love for TV is the same - the only show you have any interest in is Jacks Big Music Show - we have the DVD for the car and you giggle so hard at the show. It's the sweetest. 

I think we are done with bottles. You have a hard time and are definitely drinking less milk then normal but we are on day 2 of NO bottles so I'm thinking it's time to pack them away. You drink almond milk because the whole milk hurt your belly a bit. You love it and it works! It's not as much fat as cow's milk but you LOVE to eat so it works. Total opposite of your sister!! You eat anything we are having for dinner. For breakfast, you'll usually have yogurt -- for lunch, whatever I'm eating! You don't love whole fruit (oranges, strawberries, blueberries) but you still love to eat the pouches of veggies & fruits so it works. You continue to be a great sleeper -- going to bed at 6:30 and sleeping until 6:30/7:00 AM. You nap twice a day - once in the morning (2-3 hours after you wake up) and again in the afternoon (2-3 hours after waking up from morning nap) - you'll sleep anywhere from 1-2 hours both times. You don't sleep well in the car or at Mom-Mom & Pop-Pop's house but that's okay - you sleep great at home which is all that matters!

You are certainly a talking machine - you repeat everything we say. Some of your favorite words are Mama, Dada, Layla, Cat, Ball, Banana, Grandma, Socks, Night Night, No-No, Bottle, Popcorn, Dog.. SO many more. It's so awesome and I love hearing you try to communicate. Sometimes you get frustrated and I know it's because you can't say what you are feeling - soon enough buddy!!

I can't believe in just a few short months, you'll be starting school. I love our time together the past 14 months - it's so fun to be with you every single day and I'll miss that. I will enjoy every second of the next 6 months before you start school with your sister!! You'll be going Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays -- it'll be great. We go to music class every Monday together and you love it so very much. You make friends easily and kiss anyone that will get near you :) We are going to start Romp & Roll next week so you can get to climbing and jumping! 

A big and exciting trip to Florida is coming up next week - you're a professional traveler now!! I think this is your 7th trip to Florida?? CRAZY!!! Mama & Dada will be leaving you with Grandma & Grandpa while we go to Aruba - I'll miss you so very much but you'll do great. You adapt well, your sweet, loving and so very fun. You are such a delight and I can't wait to watch you grow, learn and love. 

We adore you little man!!!!!!!

Mama

A smooch from your sister

Picnic -- pirate's booty on a blanket!

Your new trick. OY!

Taking a stroll outside :)

BFF

Layla (33 months) & Benny (14 months)

How Quickly Her Face Changes

I see something happening....

Every morning, I get Layla out of her crib.

For the past two weeks, she's woken up in the 5:00 AM hour for some unknown awful reason -- but that's a story for another day. 

I take her out and her first sentence is always "Where is Dada? Where is Benny? Are they awake?" - she's always smiling. Her hair, matted down with sweat, sticks to her face and I always gently move it away.

We come into my bedroom or downstairs, depending on the day, and I change her diaper while asking her "How was your rest, baby?"

She always giggles or says "GOOOOOOD" before demanding "milk in a pink cup."

But in this moment, I stare at her face. I study her and I realize something very real is happening.

Her face is changing.

It's slight. Most people that see her every day probably don't notice it. But I do.

I see it. I see her whole face changing and it's -- beautiful and tragic all at the same time.

Her once round face is losing it's baby fat and turning oval.

Her big blue eyes are brighter then ever sitting proud under bushy little girl eyebrows.

She's changing and growing and turning into this little girl.

Right before my eyes, she's changing and growing and it's so, so, so lovely.

She's SO beautiful. Sometimes I find myself staring and holding my breath because I can't believe that something so exquisite lives and breathes in my very house.

And I want to freeze time. I literally want to Zach Morris this very moment while she's cuddled up with her Dada watching a movie.

But I can't (and I hate it).

So I'll continue to study and stare and try to remember each day. The way her face lights up when she smiles and the way her brows furrow when she's concentrating. Each and every face I just want to bottle up and keep with me forever.

My favorite newborn picture. 

<3 (I think roughly 8 months?)

1 year!

Finding out we were having a BOY!

What a love.

Around 20 months old. 

Layla & Benny.

LOVE LOVE LOVE.

hahahhaha. Layla about 24 hours old.

Layla at 2 years old.

<3

<3

My girl

Benny turns 13 months!!!

13 months - handsome as ever!!

I literally bite your cheeks.

Why so serious?

Benny in a nutshell. That's Brian he's clutching :)

Sweet boy.

Benny has a Brian on his head.

Layla couldn't resist a smooch!

BFF

13 month stats:

Weight: Somewhere in the 28 pound range?

Height: He's so tall - I'd guess 32 inches? 

Eating: All day, everyday :)  

Clothes: 18-24 month and 2T :)

Diaper: Size 5  

Benny Boy,

13 months??? Didn't you just turn 12 months? 11 months? 10 months? I know, I know. I am like a broken record but it's just insane to me - time is flying by faster then ever and while I'm complaining about early wake-ups and frozen temperatures, I need to remind myself that this precious time will be my most favorite. 

You are so very handsome. There are times I study your sweet face and wonder how something could be so beautiful. Your big, brown eyes light up with wonder & joy at the sight of your sister, the cat, a ball. You are so big but with all of your walking around, you're really starting to lose your baby chub. This slays me as I LOVE baby rolls - but with a little boy constantly on the go, it's no wonder you're losing the baby fat! You just had your 2nd haircut and look handsome as ever. Your hair is a dirty blond - it's so cute I can't take it. 

You are VERY good at walking - I'd say you're 90% walking, 10% crawling at this point. You're fast! You're also very good at climbing - amazing on stairs - and incredible at DANCING!! If you hear music, you immediately start bobbing your head and shaking your whole body. You love to clap your hands and sing songs. You love to wave BYE-BYE and sings songs. You're favorite thing is to play with Layla - most of the time she wants to play too, but you are now "fighting" over toys. It's tough because Layla was so used to you letting her do whatever she wanted. Not anymore! Now you fight back - I'm proud of you buddy. I mostly let the two of you work out your problems and you do a great job. It's clear Layla is your best friend and favorite person (tied with Mama & Dada). 

You're not very interested in the TV except for Jacks Big Music Show. So opposite of Layla - she'd watch the iPad and TV all day if I let her - not you. You'd much rather listen to music and have a catch with a ball. Your favorite toy is a ball - you call it a "DA" and run to the ball any chance given!

You're an excellent sleeper - we went through a little rough patch with napping (I think due to teething or traveling or diaper rash or something else?!) but you're really amazing. You go to sleep 6:30-6:30 (a little earlier today - pass the coffee!) and nap twice a day. It used to be like clock work, every 2 hours you needed a nap. Now it's moving towards 3 hours. So today you woke up around 6 AM but I'll put you in around 9AM for a nap. You LOVE Brian, your stuffed animal and also like Teddy - your little bear. These past couple of months have been really busy traveling and you've adapted so beautifully. 

You're officially transitioned from breast milk to formula to organic whole milk but you're not quite ready to let go of the bottle. I'm not forcing it and I know you'll switch soon. Hopefully by your 14 month birthday! :)

You're an amazing talker and repeat everything I say. Your staple words are Mama, Dada, Cat (Dat), Layla, Ball (Da), Pop-Pop, Elmo, All Done, Hello, Bye-Bye, Pickles, Bagels, Pizza, No-No, Uh Oh, It's Good. Probably more!!! Just like Layla, you're a little chatter box and I love your high-pitched sweet voice so very much. 

You love love love FOOD - anything I'm eating, you want to try. The only food I've found that you DON'T like is strawberries!! Everything else, you'll eat (and a lot). You're a growing boy and I'm so proud of you for trying any and all foods. You love water too -- you drink a lot of it daily. I am trying so very hard to teach you & Layla how important it is to eat a good, balanced diet full of healthy foods. Of course you love dessert like your mama so you get special treats from time to time!!

This winter has been awful - tons of snow, ice and lots of indoor time - you've really loved it and I think your favorite place to be is with mama and your toys. On Mondays, we take Layla to school and then it's your morning!! We drive around while you nap in the car (haha) and then it's music class. You love it SO much - you sit right in front of Miss Sandy and sway to every song. You are always looking back to make sure I'm there but you've become very independent. After class, we have lunch with Pop-Pop. You love eating the pickles, matzah ball soup and assorted other goodies we order. On Wednesdays & Fridays, Layla's also at school and it's so lovely to spend time with my little man. We sure do miss our girly and love to pick her up from school!! You've had an amazing month going to Disney World for the first time. I can't wait to go back in December -- I think you'll love it even more!!!

A couple of quick, funny things I love that you do. First, you always find the shoes scattered around the house and EAT the bottoms. It's so gross and I hate it but you've made a game of it. If you see a shoe, you make your way over and stuff it in your mouth while I scream in horror. You giggle - so weird. Second, you love to SCREAM high pitched while I jump from being scared. It's another game we play and you laugh so hard scaring me! Third, you love to crawl over, put your head on my shoulder, suck your thumb and cuddle. It's the sweetest, most amazing feeling and I hope you do it forever!!!!

With time marching on, it's insane to think you're now officially signed up for school. You'll be starting in September (you'll be 20 months) and I'm so excited for you. I know you'll love it and will learn so much but I'm SO sad to think that I won't be with you everyday. I'm going to go back to work part-time so I can buy you anything you want ;) I love you buddy. You're the cutest, sweetest, most perfect little man and I can't wait to watch you grow into a running toddler!!

Lots of love,

Mama

Haircut & your first lollipop!

So handsome!

Literally seconds after waking up from a nap <3

Cool guy!

C'mon. THAT FACE. 

Your favorite place to be. 

Disney World!!!

For the past 6 months, Layla has asked me almost every single day - MAMA, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD?! And that would answer her own question with "FEBRUARY!"

And now.. we have gone. We have conquered. We had an amazing time and I can't wait to go again.

Our trip down there was... horrific. No other way to describe it. We left Wednesday and ran into an INTENSE amount of traffic, thus making us late for the airport. We went encountered the longest, slowest line to check into our flight. We then encountered the longest, slowly line at security. The result? RUNNING to our gate and making it by seconds. The nice employee actually said to me "Oh, you're The Englands? We almost deleted you from the flight!" Wow. SO..there we were, begging people to switch seats so the 4 of us could share a row. We managed and happily sat down but that was short lived. Within minutes, the turbulence started (my gorgeous husband is a HORRIBLE flyer) -- and soon after that, Benny began crying and Layla became antsy. It was, in essence, 2.5 hours of trying to tame two little kids. The last 20 minutes was spent forcing Layla back in her seat while she screamed bloody murder. OY. BUT... we made it. Safe and (somewhat) sound. We gathered our luggage, found Josh's parents (who rented a Suburban for trip - awesome GIANT car) and went to our hotel! We stayed at World Quest Orlando again - it's a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom condo with a full kitchen & full living room plus a screened in porch. It's perfect for families and highly recommended (plus it's insanely affordable, comes with breakfast and is basically 4 minutes from Disney World). After checking in, we let the kids explore - unpacked and went to Publix for subs (YUM) and food shopping. It makes it much easier to keep fruit/milk/yogurt/snacks in our kitchen then in a tiny hotel room!!! We ended up splitting up the rooms with Me, Josh & Layla in one room, Josh's parents in one room and Benny in one room. Josh's sister, Sydney, came for 1 night and crashed on the sofa. It worked out well.

The next morning, we woke up ready for DISNEY!!! Layla woke up at 3 AM and came in our bed -- she hasn't slept in our bed since she was 5 months old so I'll admit I loved it but it was tough getting her back to bed. She eventually fell asleep around 4 AM so that was good. Benny was a CHAMP - he slept great and napped even better. My big boy!!! Anyway.. we all woke up early (me at 5:30 AM so at least I was able to straighten my hair). We quick got ready and were en route to the Magic Kingdom!! The downside? It was FREEZING AND RAINY. Like..beyond cold. I don't ever remember it like this when I lived in Orlando for four years. But we put our ponchos on and marched on!! We were one of the first ones in the park and it was truly magical. I'll never forget Layla's face when she saw the Castle for the first time. Pure love and happiness. We decided to slowly make our way to breakfast rather then try to do a quick ride. We had 8:40 AM reservations for breakfast with the princesses in Cinderella's Castle. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS. Josh & I had dinner there for our 2nd anniversary but this was 60468 times better. You first get to meet Cinderella and take two professional pictures with her (included in the price of breakfast). We then go upstairs and sit at a beautiful table -- the food was delicious but no one really noticed because you are surrounded by PRINCESSES. We were able to meet Ariel, Jasmine, Aurora, Snow White. SO great. Unlimited coffee & juice. And wonderful service. It's expensive but a great experience. After breakfast, we were ready for rides!! Because the weather was so crummy, the park was fairly empty (plus it's apparently a really great time to do Disney - not very busy) - we packed in ride after ride and each one was less then a 15 minute wait!! Layla's favorite was the new Little Mermaid ride (we did it twice). We also like meeting the princesses (we saw Rapunzel and Snow White). I was hoping Benny napped right after breakfast but instead he stayed awake sucking his thumb and lounging in the stroller. While in line for the new Belle ride, I decided to change Benny's diaper and try to get him to nap. I realized he had peed through his clothes (so now he was freezing, wet and peed upon) - poor guy! I changed his diaper, bought him new thick Mickey sweat pants and put him back in the stroller. I walked around (while getting poured on) and he passed out - success!! I met up with everyone and decided we should do one "adult" ride - Josh & I went on Thunder Mountain (so fun). We found everyone and realized Benny woke up and everyone was hungry. A quick meal & back to the hotel for naps. After everyone woke up, Josh, Layla & I went BACK to the park for dinner and fun! Layla's bedtime is 6:30 and our dinner reservations were for 6:30 so I was VERY nervous she'd be too tired to be happy. But she did great!! I think adrenaline helped? We made our way to the Ariel ride again, did the Winnie the Pooh ride, then dinner at the new Be Our Guest restaurant. This was eh - I was a bit disappointed. Belle is NOT there (annoying) and instead it's just The Beast (cool). The room itself is beautiful but it's an expensive restaurant with decent food. Oh well - it was a cool experience. Mid-way through dinner, Layla's sleepy face showed up and I knew it was time to go. We made our way to the front of the park and were able to catch some of the night-time show. It was pretty amazing - they project movies & objects on to the castle while music plays - she was so cute. Pure. Amazed. Happy. I loved it. We were going to stay for fireworks but she wanted to leave so that was that! We rode the monorail back to our car and got a quick glance at the fireworks as we left. Very cool. A long, rainy, cold, amazing day filled with memories we will all never forget!!!

Friday, another rainy & chilly day. Our plans were switched so we grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel, had lunch in Animal Kingdom Lodge (a restaurant called Senna - very good but not very kid appropriate) - checked out all the animals we could see and went back to the hotel for naps. We ended up ordering dinner in (semi-decent pizza & pasta), baths for the kids and bed. Josh went out with all of our college friends in downtown Orlando that night while I stayed back. He made his way back to the hotel around 4 AM and nursed his hangover the whole next day ;)

Saturday, I let Josh sleep in and got everyone ready for a yummy breakfast at IHOP. It was nice and the coffee was yummy, haha!! After breakfast, I got my hair blown out at a salon in downtown Orlando called Mosaic - I really liked it! Went back to the hotel - picked everyone up and headed to downtown Disney for lunch & shopping. Layla picked out Ariel pajamas (huge relief because she has been begging to wear the same Ariel PJ's and socks every night to bed). It was a nice day. We all went back to the hotel for kiddie naps - Josh & I got ready and left for Drew & Jamie's wedding. It was at a gorgeous location in a part of Orlando I've never been. It looked NOTHING like Florida and could have easily passed for a random location in Europe (no joke). It was a small, intimate wedding of around 80 people and really lovely. It was so nice to spend time with our college friends and made me really nostalgic for UCF in general. I wish we could have gone to the college to walk around but time didn't allow it - maybe next time!!

Sunday consisted of packing, cleaning and going to the airport. This trip home was MUCH easier then going -- we had plenty of time and Layla even made a friend in the airport while we waited. She's so cute and literally makes friends everywhere we go. I love it - she's so full of life and happiness, it makes me smile.

AND now... we're back and in the thick of winter. We're getting hit day after day with snow/ice/rain so it's tough to not want to pack up and head straight back for Florida - but alas, for now we live in a cold tundra (ha!)

It was a great trip and I'm already looking forward to our next time down to Disney World - this time my parents are coming with us. I need them to see the faces of pure joy on my babies :)

xoxo

Benny, Ariel & I at the Princess Breakfast in the Castle - please ignore my rained upon hair ;)

Drew & Jamie's wedding

A picture from my real camera - I love this!! I need to upload those ASAP!

Benny & I at the castle - notice how empty it was!

My family <3