beachy keen, jelly bean...

aww...we have a family picture!!!  love it!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

the miller clan...

 

downtown disney...

mommy did not get enough of disney, so daddy was a good sport and we went back to a part of disney world that's FREE...downtown disney...

 

since we didn't get pictures with any of the characters at the park...

here's zoey with cinderella...

 

 

with a lego buzz lightyear...

 

and woody...

 

and random lego people and dogs...

 

ANOTHER buzzz lightyear...the face says it all...you were stoked...

 

aunt kiki met us there to hang out for a while...

 

and the real reason mommy wanted to go to downtown disney was to get silhouette portraits of the pair of you...

jackson, you sat so still...

 

zoey, you did not...

 

 

with donald and daisy...

 

 

with mickey and minnie...

 

 

and the treasure you took home...mickey and minnie...all for your very own. 



a day at the beach...

we had our photographer friend, ms. joanna, meet us at the beach to take some family pictures while we were all together in FL.  jackson, you did your cheesiest of smiles...zoey, you refused to look at the camera and ms. joanna was just lucky enough to catch you looking a few times.

 

these are pictures we took after the official pictures were finished...

 

it was cold.  it was windy.  you kids had no business being in the ocean.  but, in you went and had the best time.

 

 

playing with your cousins...

 

these pictures are so PRECIOUS!!!  will have to post the family pictures in another post...

christmas day 2012...

low-key day...we all had disney hang-overs, so we took it easy at grandma and grandpa's...

 

a few presents...clothes, books, slinkies, a pretend vacuum cleaner, bath tub instruments, legos, cars...

 

happy birthday, Jesus!!!

 

DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!

these pictures loaded all out of order...oh well.

 

we had the BEST DAY EVER at disney world!!!!!!  i didn't take too many pictures because 1) you two were never still for long enough...too much to do, too much to see and 2) i was too busy watching your sweet faces having the BEST DAY EVER at disney world!!!!!!!  (we went with grandma and grandpa miller, uncle jason, aunt cindy, jacob, andrew, and joseph...SO FUN!!!)

 

we got there when the gates opened and after a confusing and crowded ride from the parking lot to the park...we got right to it.  we rode: the little mermaid...just mommy, zoey, and aunt kiki...zoey, you freaked out because there were black lights in the ride that made your white shirt glow and you wanted it OFF.  goofy's barnstormer...everybody got to ride this short roller coaster...even zoey who giggled the entire time...if you scroll down through the pictures, you'll actually see a shot mommy got of jackson and daddy and everyone else on the ride.  dumbo...several times.  peter pan...which surprisingly was not a hit...it was too dark.  it's a small world...lots to see on that one.  winnie the pooh...which surprisingly was not a hit...the rain storm scared you both.  buzz lightyear...jackson, you were amazed that buzz lightyear was talking to YOU...zoey, you rode with uncle jason and the two of you shot your lasers at mommy and jackson instead of the aliens.  the laugh factory...not a ride...and a bit over your heads with the jokes.  mommy and daddy and andrew rode space mountain...without you...sorry...too little this time.  the teacups...daddy made the cup go so fast.  the carousel.  pirates of the carribean...the ride got stuck and we got wet from the cannon ball splashes...zoey, you hid your face in mommy's arm...not a fan of the pirates.  then, you two took a break and let us big kids ride a few...big thunder mountain and splash mountain...jackson, you and mommy watched everybody come down the big mountain and SPLASH at the bottom.  THEN, we took a train ride around the park.  when we got off the train, we happened to catch the end of a parade coming down main street...and FINALLY saw mickey and minnie.  while we were on main street, mommy and aunt kiki went and had mouse ears made for you...cutest EVER!!!  at this point, it was time to get a place staked out for the parade...which turned out to be the super lame parade from 1973...bummer...but you two were still entertained by it.  and last...FIREWORKS!!!!  they were awesome!!!  and then, the ridiculous, irritating, SUPER CROWDED walk out of the park...you two slept through the whole thing...lucky you.  aunt kiki found us a secret way to get back to the parking lot faster by taking a shuttle back to the hotels that also went to the parking lot...probably saved us two hours of utter frustration.  then back to grandma and grandpa's house...

 

two things to note:  1) we went on christmas eve...what were we thinking?!!?!!?!!?!??!?  BUT the fact that we were there right when the gates opened saved the day.  by lunch time, we had gone on over half of the rides listed above.  most of the rides, we were able to just walk on...some we used fast passes.  we spent the afternoon and evening fighting crowds, but we got to do everything i wanted to do with you at the park.  YAY!!!  2) you two were AWESOME ALL DAY LONG...not one disney meltdown...not one.  no naps and overstimulation...i was sure you were going to have a few moments, but no...not one.  you even waited patiently with aunt kiki while everyone rode a ride...it helped that she was stuffing suckers in your mouth as fast you were able to finish them.  :0)  zoey, you did conk out for about 25-30 minutes with aunt kiki. 

 

so, here are what pictures i did take...not many...

 

waiting for dumbo...

 

 

zoey after going on her first roller coaster...

 

daddy and jackson on the roller coaster...first car...aunt cindy with her arms up...

 

waiting for dumbo...

 

kiki and jackson on dumbo...

 

waiting for winnie the pooh...there were little distractions throughout the line...smart, disney, really smart...there should be more of these...

 

the group...mommy made you kids disney t-shirts and made all the adults wear mickey mouse t-shirts, too...daddy and uncle jason were THRILLED...

 

back at winnie the pooh...

 

after the train ride...

 

watching the parade...

 

aww...the family at disney...jackson , look at the puss on your face...i think you were just sad that mickey and minnie went away...

 

watching the parade...

 

mommy bought umbrella strollers...they were perfect...small enough to navigate the crowds...awesome.

 

no pictures, please...

 

the castle...we walked through it first thing...couldn't even get close to it once the crowds started building...

 

aww...the family...

 

tea cups...daddy made the cup go so fast he made HIMSELF sick...

 

waiting for the teacups...

 

waiting for the parade...aunt kiki and mommy got ice cream for everyone to pass the time...i won't mention that kiki dropped half of them on the ground...no worries, the man gave us some more for free...yay, disney, you're so awesome!!!

 

snuggling close cause it was getting cold...

 

passing the time...

 

it was a MAGICAL day!!!  cannot wait to take you back when you're both tall enough for all of the rides...but i'll tell you one thing...we're NOT EVER GOING BACK ON CHRISTMAS EVE EVER AGAIN UNLESS THEY CLOSE THE PARK DOWN JUST FOR US!!!!!