day three: epcot

It is our first dreary day in Disney...the weather is bad and poor Elise woke up burning up with fever. David has been fighting sickness since Tuesday, and so after our breakfast this morning (luckily in our hotel) we headed back to our room for some down time. So far Lila, Bennett, and I are pretty much fine...although exhaustion is starting to set in as we have been going full speed ahead for 5 days. So, the rain is actually a must needed little break for all of us...

On Monday morning, the kids woke up to find that some more little surprises had magically appeared.....

{A few people had suggested bringing things with us on the trip, to help cut down on the begging for things at the millions of stores you pass while in the parks. In general our kids are really not bad about that, as they run errands with me all of the time and do not get things often. So, I don't know if it is just them, or the fact that they have gotten some surprises, but the begging has been very, very minimal, and thus far we haven't spent a dime in a souvenir shop. Most of their little treats I picked up at the Dollar Tree or purchased from the Disney store after Christmas sale. Has worked out great!}

Bennett was super excited about his Toy Story water canteen and washcloth....

And the girls loved their princess ones as well...

After David returned from his morning classes we headed to Epcot. The kids were thrilled to see the Toy Story topiary and garden that greeted us as we entered.

Although Bennett was not much in the mood for photos.

David took Lila and headed straight to Soarin' to get fast passes (the wait for that ride is insane!), and Elise, Bennett, and I waited in line to meet some friends...

Daisy....

and Stitch....(I don't even think the kids know who he is, but E and B love any character they can meet!)

It was a beautiful day, and we loved seeing all of the beautiful flower sculptures....from fairies, to Princesses, to the tower from Tangled, to the seven drawfs, to Mickey....everything you can imagine out of flowers...

Lila in Pixie Hollow (where Tinkerbell and the fairies live)...

A beautiful butterfly in the butterfly garden...


And then the best moment of the day....Lila had a breakthrough and wanted to meet Snow White....

So happy!!!

So the rule for Lila is, if they talk she isn't scared, don't talk and she stays away...

She ran right up to Aurora when we spotted her in France.

Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and Tic Toc Croc...

Then we stopped and listened to a Beatles band for a little while....Here is Bennett playing his air guitar....

The kids loved the Nemo Ride, Turtle Talk with Crush was PRECIOUS, and they really enjoyed Living with the Land....I remember that ride from when I was little and I loved it too!

By far the best ride of the day, and for me the best of the trip so far, was Soarin'. All of the kids LOVED it. You feel like you are flying over California in a hang glider. It is SOOO neat. Even when you fly over the orange groves you can smell the oranges! You truly feel like you are flying, but there is nothing scary about it and so I think that is why we all enjoyed it soooo much! All three of the kids are still talking about that one!

After a full day we headed to Norway to eat at Akerhaus Castle. This is Belle's castle at Disney, and after Lila's breakthrough earlier in the day she was soooo excited at the chance to meet more princesses!

Not to get ahead of myself, but I think this actually ended up being our favorite castle. The princesses were all sooo friendly and talkative, and they spent time with the kids. Plus, the food was really good! Cinderella kept winking and calling Bennett her Prince, and the girls were awed by Jasmine (she was very beautiful!)...

Even Bennett (who was in Princess-overload at this point) was willing to get up from his seat to take a picture with Jasmine...ha!

We planned on walking out of the restaurant to watching the Illuminations show over the water after dinner, but the weather had suddenly gotten pretty chilly, and the kids were exhausted.

So, we watched it as we walked back to the monorail....and before we got back to the Grand Floridian one stroller looked like this:

And our other little lady, who doesn't require much sleep, looked pretty tired herself....

Another long, full day came to a close.....