finally some sunshine....the wirtz's take on florida

I had been counting down the days, the bags were packed and I was so excited for our adventures to Florida.

Our morning did not start out well. We ran into rush hour traffic, I wasn't feeling well, we were running late and Marlee got sick all over herself and the car seat we were supposed to be taking with us.  With a quick stop at the curbside check-in, a spare set of clothes and a nice Delta employee we finally made it to our gate with no more incident and we were off to the happiest place on earth.

We made it to our hotel via the Magical Express and settled in.  That night they were playing Tangled poolside. So we scarfed down some food and settled into some beach chairs to watch Rapunzel and Flynn under the stars.

The next morning we got up bright and early and headed for Magic Kingdom.

Obligatory Cinderella Castle shots

The first characters we ran into were Cinderella's Evil Step Mother and Step Sisters. These ladies were hilarious. They never broke character and were simply fabulous.  There was a little girl in front of us and she hid behind her Mom and wouldn't talk to the Step Mother and Step Sisters. The ESM calmly told the father "My daughters would never act like that in public. They are always on their best behavior".  It wasn't rude it was just funny and completely in character.  The step sister in the blue and green dress commented on the bows on Victoria's shoes and then threw a "spoiled girl" tantrum that she didn't have bows on her shoes.  They were probably the most entertaining characters I met :)

We rode Prince Charmings Regal Carrousel.

We watched the Dreams Come True Show in front of Magic Kingdom.  Victoria and Marlee were in awe of all the characters that appeared on stage and Victoria loved dancing to the music.



We rode lots of rides and stood in line for as many characters as we had time for.  The princesses and of course Mickey and Minnie were their favorites :)  Victoria and Marlee made sure to hug each one and offer them a sweet kiss on the cheek.  All of the characters were so great with the girls.

I think Victoria hugged Mickey for 3 long minutes. We couldn't tear her away.  She had a waited a long time to see her Mickey Mouse friend :)

We had a wonderful time at Magic Kingdom and can't wait to go back again some day.  I would like to wait till they are older and don't need Mom to carry them around the part the entire time.  I got my arm workout that day!

The next day we rented a car and drove to Sarasota.  Ted's father and his wife Mary live there and we were so anxious to spend some R&R time with them.

The girls had a blast in the pool and swimming with Grandpa. Victoria even learned how to swim with just her arm floaties.  This is BIG for her :)

The girls got to play dress up with all of the fun things that Aunt Shelly and Ama Mary spoiled them with.

Seeing Uncle Peter and Aunt Shelly was a great bonus for our trip.  Peter is Ted's Godfather and they are both such a treat to be with :)

One of the things I was most excited for on this trip was having the girls see the ocean. I couldn't WAIT to see their little piggies in the sand :)

They LOVED the soft soft white sand to build sandcastles with.

They had no fear when it came to the ocean and marched right in. Here they are playing on a boogie board with Grandpa and Daddy.  Marlee was squeeling with delight and it was impossible not to giggle along side her!

Of course we made a stop at their neighborhood park. Mary is so great with the girls and we couldn't have chose a better person to be a Grandmother to our children.

Another trip to the pool and the awesome princess towell that Aunt Shelly found for Victoria

Of course there was music every night.  The girls loved singing along with their Daddy and Grandpa. We even convinced them to sing a few Children's Favorites.

After our wonderful trip it was sadly time to leave.  But not before one last adventure.  The pilots on our flight invited Victoria and Marlee into the cockpit to fly the plane. It was so cute and the pilot and flight attendants were so great with the girls.  Our girls have flown at least 3 times each and this is the first time they have been invited to see the cockpit.  They just LOVED it.