On this trip, we ate at the hotel more than we thought we would. Some of our favorite restaurants in Magic Kingdom weren't even open because of the concerts, and others were just booked solid for the weekend. That's what you get when you plan a trip with just two weeks notice! But our meals turned out to be a great surprise. Honestly, African food wouldn't have been first on my list, but I was really glad we ended up where we did.

 

The first place we ate was Boma: Flavors of Africa. It was a crazy huge buffet and almost all of it was things we had never tried before. There were lots of good surprises, especially the soups. Yum! I didn't take any pictures there except for one of Nathan paying the bill. I'll let you just imagine his scowling face.  ;)

 

The next morning we had a lunch reservation at Sanaa, the restaurant on the other side of our hotel, which was also an African restaurant but with Indian flavors. It was a nice 5 minute walk and the tables were all near the windows so you could watch the animals. We started with this Indian Bread Sevice. Mango chutney, red pepper hummus and a coriander raita, and the breads were naan, roti and paratha. Super tasty. I almost ate it all while Nathan was talking to someone at the desk.

 

 

But this was Disney after all, so we had our fair share of treats. We had to have Mickey ice cream bars, but when we tried to take a photo we just looked really scary. Maybe it was the red lights overhead, maybe it was because it was after midnight when we attempted this and we were already a bit loopy.

 

On our final day in Epcot we had pizza in Italy (where we had the cutest little Italian waitress who told us the American Disney employees ignored her and the other Italians, boo) and dinner in France. It was so crazy good. I had beef and Nathan had duck. They were both good, but we both liked mine the best. Their desserts were tempting, but we were stuffed, so we waited a few hours and got a treat at the Werther's store in Germany. If you're bored, this link has a 46 second video tour of the shop. As you can see, it was hard to choose just one thing.

 

In addition to visiting family, we came to Florida to go to Magic Kingdom and the Night of Joy Christian music festival. We had been many years ago, and every few months Disney sends us emails about what is going on in the parks. Nathan forwarded me the email about Night of Joy with a joke about how we should go, ha ha, yeah right. After talking to his FL relatives joking turned to booking flights and we were on our way. Many, many times that weekend we looked at each other and said, "Are we really here?!".

 

I just might have let out a squeal of delight when I saw that the Magic Kingdom was already decked out for Fall.

 

 

Yes, I know it's hilarious to picture me and Nathan down in that crowd but it was so so fun! We may or may not have bought his cds, and I may or may not have video of the kids dancing to them once we got home.  ;)

 

 

 

One of the two reasons we came to Orlando was to visit family. Nathan's Aunt Ida, Uncle Steve, and cousin Michelle met up with us in the Magic Kingdom on our first night. It was so fun to see them again! The last time we saw them was this trip, and as you can see by the size of the kids then, it had been a few years. We were also there to see some concerts and they really helped us figure out what to do when and who to see where. Love those lists, Ida!  ;)

 

 

The next day we met up with them to visit Nathan's grandma. We took several pictures of her, but when she raised her eyebrows in this one it reminded me so much of Nathan's dad! :)

 

Last weekend Nathan and I did something a little crazy. We left the kids with grandparents, hopped on a plane, and flew to Florida. Orlando to be exact.

 

 

I really don't love to fly. The actual in the air part doesn't bother me at all (turbulence excluded) but I just don't enjoy take off and landing. Nathan flies sometimes for work, but I hadn't flown since our trip to Hawaii in 2009. So as we took off everything in my brain was screaming, "YOU ARE ON A ROCKET!!!", but on the outside I remained calm. Luckily, it was a smooth flight and I had The Odyssey to keep me busy. I read more in those 2 hours than I have in weeks at home. And flying without kids is pretty darn relaxing.

 

 

Nathan spent the whole flight working. Luckily he finished up shortly after we arrived so we could spend the rest of the weekend just having fun.

 

 

Once there we checked out the hotel a little bit. We stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, which neither of us had been to before, and it was a really fun place. I loved all the seating areas with fire pits. They even have fire pits inside. It was in the high 80s when we were there, but we're looking forward to taking the kids back in early March for spring break.

A picture for Noah.  :)

 

 

 

 We didn't even take our big camera, just our phones. But this gives you an idea of how neat the lobby was. On the other side of that big window is a big rock platform you can walk out on to see the animals, and there were lots of little artifacts and exhibits set up inside.

 

 

After all of the public schools were back in session, we headed to the zoo for a day without crowds. It was so nice! The weather was perfect. That morning I took the advice of a friend and decided not to call anyone else to go with us. We always go with friends, and the kids play while the moms talk. But sometimes it's nice to just go alone and spend all of that time focusing on each other. We take our time and do whatever, when ever.

 

First up, pose on top of animal sculptures.

 

 

 

I found this little sheriff shirt of Noah's in the winter clothes bin. Luckily we're getting a few weeks of wear out of it.

 

Ben loved the pygmy hippo area. I had to drag him away from this little waterfall overlook.

 

 

 

Sweet little Ben just loved watching the seals swim. I think he would have stayed here all day!

 

 

We had lots of fun, and it was a good reminder to me to just go without "plans" sometimes.

 

 

 

 

 

I just love these kids. Two years apart, but only 1.5 inches apart in height.

 

All morning we were telling him how handsome he looked. Look at him rockin' that uniform!

 

Once we got to school we took them each to stand with their teachers and went to find seats with the rest of the parents. It was kind of tough to get pictures (like every year), but here's Anna walking in with her class. That's her buddy Jeb in front of her. I just love his hair! Anna was cool as a cucumber. This is her third opening ceremony for school, so she's an old pro now. Cool as she is, I still thought she looked precious in her little puff sleeves.  :)

And this little sweetie...sigh. I don't know why I'm so much more emotional this year than I was when Anna started. Of course I was sad that she wasn't at home with me all day every day anymore, but she's always been so independent and such a little leader, that I never worried about her feeling homesick or scared. And honestly I wasn't worried about those things for Noah either. I was totally fine all morning, but when I heard those bagpipes, and saw my sweet boy walk past with his little bouquet of Kindergarten flowers, I just about went into the ugly cry. But I pulled it together and was fine from then on. Luckily we had a super busy day and I literally had only 10 free minutes before it was time to go pick them up again.