Our trip to Florida

Well...we just got back Florida. Oh man - did we have a blast. We went down to visit Joe's dad and stepmother (Deb) over Thanksgiving. They have a huge celebration for Thanksgiving every year and we met tons of their close friends which was great...and we got to do so in 80 degree weather which was pretty great too. It was next to impossible to decide what pictures to put in this post. (Please know that for each picture you see, there were about 10 more to pick from.) So here they are - a small sampling of our Florida pictures in somewhat consecutive order.
Here we are getting ready for our flight. Despite him meeting the size requirements - we were disappointed to learn that Holden did not fit in the overhead compartment.

Scarlett loved the airplane. This was her first flight. I don't know how we hadn't brought her on an airplane before, but we hadn't. Guess we need to take more vacations.The kids were awesome on the flights, but with portable DVD players, there really was no reason for them not to be. We wasted no time getting in the pool. Scarlett put on a life jacket and swam by herself.Holden scared the crap out of me because he had no fear whatsoever. NONEWHATSOEVER!Scarlett quite often suckered someone into playing mermaids or lizards with her. Like Grandpa...or Kierra.Holden was quite often found cuddling with Devan. Then there was a delicious Thanksgiving dinner where even Scarlett made a speech. There were car toys to play with...And princess toys to play with...And ice cream. (Oh ice cream.) And Scarlett learned to play Texas Hold 'Em. (She was so proud to be playing with the adults and was actually yelling at me to leave her alone when I was taking this picture...if you couldn't tell....which you probably could.)We went to Downtown Disney and got to see princesses...and Potato Heads...Pooh Bear...And Mickey.Then we went to lunch at T-Rex Restaurant which is a Rainforest Cafe meets Jurassic Park the movie kinda restaurant. Initially, Scarlett was not impressed...in fact, she was rather horrified. Once I convinced her that no one in their right mind would eat at a restaurant that had real people-eating dinosaurs in it and yet, here we are at a restaurant full of people, she chilled out a little bit. Till we sat down next to these guys. Genius that I am, I told her these were girl dinosaurs and in the history of the world no girl dinosaur has ever eaten a person. Ever. Cause that's not what girls do. Then we were all good...till the every-20-minute meteor shower. And...in case you were wondering what happens to two kids who really should be napping...here you go.

Then (drum roll please) WAAALLTTT DISSSSSNEEEEY WWOOOOORRLD!!! Within seconds of us walking in and finding the castle, a show started.

We saw the classic crew...And princesses. but every princess has her wicked witch and Scarlett was horrified to see Maleficent. Scarlett actually asked me before we went on the trip if we were going to see Maleficent and I said no. I lied...unintentionally, of course, but I still lied. As requested by Mickey Mouse, Scarlett said "dreams come true" until Maleficent disappeared. (And we'd later catch her at home whispering "dreams come true" as she's playing with her toys.) Our beefcake pulling the sword out of the stone. Here's Scarlett meeting Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters. She asked the stepsisters why they ripped Cinderella's dress, a question that she came up with all by herself because she's been ready to ask them since she first saw Cinderella about a year and a half ago. (To see the moment that started it all, click here.)Holden loved every ride we went on. Scarlett's favorite ride was the teacups. She LOVED the teacups. She also seems to have confused the word "dizzy" with "busy." (If I want to remember her first trip to Disney, I will always watch this video. When she's looking around she has such a magical look on her face that it makes me all warm inside.)
Then we took a train across the park which was great for a quick cuddle.

After the train we saw Minnie's House.And played at the play land.Then we saw a parade that had almost every princess in it. Scarlett promptly pointed out that Jasmine and Sleeping Beauty were not there. And Tiana is currently on Scarlett's s*#t list because Tiana didn't wave to Scarlett (it's on Tiana. On like Donkey Kong.) But every other princess made eye contact, AND waved AND blew a kiss. Scarlett was in absolute heaven.Speaking about absolute heaven, Scarlett's nana and grandpa had a HUGE surprise for her. They had booked her the royal treatment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.Scarlett picked out what princess she wanted to be.Jasmine! (Which was a very practical decision because I think it's the only princess costume Scarlett did not already own. And Jasmine had the coolest shoes.) Then, the "fairy godmothers in training" got to work. They did hair...Make-up and nails. And after a sprinkling of **pixie dust**...the look was complete.This is one happy little girl!Then a very proud of herself Scarlett got to walk around the park as a princess and a very proud nana and mama ate up every "oohhhh" and "aahhh" that Scarlett got while walking around as a princess. It was about as adorable as adorable gets people. To wrap things up, grandpa knew of a secret magic spot where both Cinderella...And Belle were hanging out. "Princess Jasmine" hugged them both and talked to them, you know, about standard princess stuff. Then, sob, it was time to go home. but not before we take some adorable pictures!Aww... Yay Florida! We had an amazing time with some amazing people! (And we already really, really miss them.)