Illinois Trip! (Thursday,Part 1)

Mom, Thomas and I went up to see Elizabeth and Brian this past week. It was so much fun and we couldn't have asked for better weather. I have to say that I took nearly 400 pictures so I'm only going to post some of the highlights.
We arrived at the airport Thursday ready for our adventure. Thomas was a little nervous but very excited for his first plane ride. We rode the monorail to where we got on our plane. Thomas was loved watching the plane get ready.

When we boarded he got to meet the pilot, Captain Ken, and even got to see the cockpit. The pilot gave Thomas his first set of wings. He thought it was so cool. I was nervous that Thomas would be "sick" during the ride but instead he stared out the window and whispered, "awwwesommme" as we took off. His ears started bothering his during the decent, but that was the only thing that bothered him.

Elizabeth and Brian picked us up from the airport. It was very cool and a little rainy. We got some lunch and then headed back to their house in the most lovely neighborhood. All the homes are from the 1920's so they have so much character! We got to rest a little and enjoy a yummy pot roast meal that Elizabeth had made.

Thomas on the other hand did no resting. He was too busy checking out their basement, also known as "the man cave" and he was playing Super Mario. We took Brian to class late in the afternoon and got to see all the pretty homes and parts of campus where they go to school. Along the way we saw a McCullough St. I told Thomas that Papa did something very famous on that street and that's why it was named after him. Ha! Day one proved to be an exhausting day, but so much fun!

Mommy's Magical Birthday

All I wanted for my birthday this year was to give the kids something extra fun to do! We surprised the kids with a trip to Disney. They opened up new Mickey shirts Saturday morning. Thomas turned to us and asked, "Are we going to Disney????" They were so excited to go and I have never seen them get ready to leave the house so fast!



We first went to Animal Kingdom. We were amazed by the Tree of Life at the center of the park. It was so huge and full of amazing detail. A worker said that there are 325 animals carved on the tree. We rode the safari ride first. We couldn't believe that there wasn't a barrier between the animals and the safari jeep. We saw so many animals grazing and enjoying the sunshine. After the safari ride we went to the Finding Nemo Musical show. It ended up being Thomas' favorite part of the day. It was so neat and the puppets were just like the animals in the movie. We walked around the park and ate lunch there. Then we headed over to The Magic Kingdom.

Thomas thought it was so funny that the duck wanted his cookie. I love this picture!

Nathan spied another duck in the bushes.

Family photo while we waited for the Nemo show to start.

Birthday Ears.

The Magic Kingdom was celebrating it's 40th birthday. We got there just in time for the special birthday parade. I felt bad that Nathan was napping during the parade and missed seeing some of his favorite Disney characters. We then went on the Buzz Lightyear ride and then got a snack. We went on some more rides before it was time to grab some dinner and get a spot for the electrical parade. Oh, and of course visit the souvenior shop.

Having Mickey lollipops on the Ferry over to The Magic Kingdom.

Another of my favorite pictures!

Nathan napping during the parade.

Splashing a little while we waited for our Fast Pass to be ready to use.





The park was decorate so pretty for Fall.

Woody Ears.

We also conquered potty training while visiting a theme park. Nathan did super! He was dry all day with his big boy underpants and even went #2 in the potty! So...it was a magical day indeed, since that was the first time that ever happened. I have to say that seeing the excitement in the boys' eyes was the greatest gift of all. They had a blast and it was lots of fun being a kid with them.  

At 3am Thomas woke me up and whispered, "Did we really go to Disney?". I smiled and said, "Yes, it wasn't a dream." It melted my heart knowing that his day was so wonderful it could have been a dream!

The Animals of Animal Kingdom

We couldn't get over the anount of animals at Animal Kingdom. I know that sounds weird. I guess I was expecting a better version of a zoo. Boy, was I wrong! We loved the theme park and know we'll go back especially to go on the rides that we didn't get to! We loved the safari ride even though it was super bumpy. Here are some pictures of the animals we saw.

Hippo