Hale Family Tales

Ellie will be 4 soon and we thought maybe she was old enough to experience Disney World – especially before Treasure comes home and we are back into the baby stage.  Gr’ma and Gr’pa only live 2 hours away, so we said good-bye to them on Wednesday and headed over toward Mickey’s house.  We really enjoyed the day – the crowds were not too bad, just as the day really heated up there was a huge cloud cover to keep the hot sun at bay and the girls were the perfect age to enjoy all the rides.

We got up very early and had breakfast with Pooh and Friends at the Crystal Palace.  Ellie wondered why Tigger didn’t bounce around the restaurant, but he let us know that he would bump his head on the ceiling if he tried it.

Ellie: “Hmmm…We need to take the purple road…”

Classic shot – Ellie wasn’t quite sure why Ryan was sitting on the ground to take our picture!

One of my favorite stops is “Mickey’s Philhar-magic!”  Love the glasses. 

Tea Cups –

Gotta cool off however you can!

Fairy Godmother spent so much time talking to us.  Ellie wasn’t so sure at first but sort of warmed up.

Jungle Cruise – I have this exact same shot of Ryan and Hannah on her first trip when she was 4.

Ellie was quite taken by the castle.

We love goofy!  Ellie was much more comfortable with a statue than a person in costume.  I took several “goofy” shots of my crew with Goofy.

Hannah declared Mom a princess as well.  Actually, the only reason I was wearing it was because Ellie was tired of it and I didn’t want it to get squished in the stroller.  When in Rome, I guess….

Yes, Hannah is standing on the fence to see the parade.  Don’t tell Mickey!

Ellie managed to stay awake through the fireworks with her cheek pressed against mine – It was magical!  She was asleep 10 seconds after the last cannon.  Ryan and Hannah had been wanting ice cream all day, so we stopped for a bite while trying to wait out the crowd at the Monorail.  Ellie slept through dessert and the whole trip back to the hotel.

Ellie: “Here Mom, you take some pixie dust too and you won’t ever have to grow up!”

Hannah thought that was hilarious!

Here are a few photos from the rest of our visit with Gr’ma and Gr’pa in Florida.  All that bright sunshine and blue sky makes for great lighting.  We had a great visit.  Hannah was especially a Grandpa’s girl this time.  They even snuck away and went out for lunch at Mug’s, the local hotdog stand.  Both girls loved to jump into the pool and by the end of the week, Ellie was jumping in and swimming underwater at the pool at Disney World. 

 
Gr’ma calls Hannah “First Mate”.  She likes to get on Grandpa’s lap and steer the boat.

I love candid shots.  Ryan, Hannah, and Ellie (you just can’t see her on Dad’s lap) were looking down into the water to see fish.  Gr’pa was driving very slowly.

My Beach Baby – She was born in Beihai on the Gulf of Tonkin.

Cute family and great scenery!

Ellie was alseep about 1 minute after she got in her carseat!  Fun, sun, and sea air can sure wear out a girl – actually I think there was a little naptime for each of us later in the day. 

Right in the middle of lunch – during a break from swimming – Grandma gave Ellie the spoon from mixing up a batch of brownies.  Notice the apple slice forgotten in the opposite hand.  There are so many key words here:  Grandma’s house, swimming, brownies.  It’s a kid’s life, huh?!?

Of course, there is the lap time with books.

We visited the MOSI Science and Technology Museum in Tampa yesterday.  Here Capt. Hale and Capt. Hale are getting a briefing on the 747 simulator from Grandpa and are ready to file their flight plan.  Hannah kept saying, “How do you put the wheels down?”  It was a pretty bumpy landing, I will say.

Notice how well accessorized Ellie was for our dinner out.  Sparkly shoes….purse in hand…She loved this fountain outside the restaurant and didn’t want to leave.