Late is better than NEVER!

No, this is not our tree at home...this is one of the spectacular trees we saw on our visit to Disney World over Christmas! For those of you who don't know, we totally surprised the kiddos with the trip. They were shocked by the news on the way to the airport...we were there for one week, arriving back home the day after Christmas! IT WAS SO FUN (not to mention sunny and warm the whole time!)

Getting back to the real world was NOT easy, so that is my excuse for being a month behind in my blogging. sorry:)

Jason and the kids ventured to Epcot on the day we arrived. I had a fever and felt terrible...just my body's way of handling stress I am sure:) Planning a secret trip, getting ready for Christmas and working kind of pushed me over the edge!

After lots of sleep, I was in tip top shape the following day. The kids enjoyed cinnamon rolls that were the size of their faces! No exaggeration.I am dead serious. The sweets were ginormous!
Please try to envision a moment prior to this snapshot...Claire was crawling onto Ayden's lap while water bounded toward the vehicle and gave them a splash. It was pretty funny!

We all enjoyed the sunny weather. It was so fun to be WARM in December!
The lights were amazing in every park, but Hollywood Studios took the cake. All the lights were synchronized to endless music. We also had the pleasure of walking through "snow flurries" that evening. It was honestly magical!
Our favorite "friend" was a 10 month old gorilla in Animal Kingdom. We spent lots of time observing the baby with her mom and dad. The kids and I were in awe of how alike human babies and this baby really seem to be. We also took about 100 more pictures of her...but I will spare you from our obsession!
Above, Claire and Ayden are being serenaded by Guitar Dan. He talked to them about where they are from, their favorite things to do, their pets, etc. THEN, he took that info and turned it into an impromptu song! It was great!

Below you will see Claire participating in some Moroccan belly dancing at Epcot. I think she would have volunteered to do everything and anything given the chance!

My two little fish enjoyed a dip in the pool one night. Keep in mind the sun was not shining anymore and the air was quite chilly! The pool was 84 degrees though, and that's what really matters!
Christmas Day was so fun...and the kids were as goofy as ever!
It's not every Christmas you can build sand castles and go to a Luau for dinner:)
While on vacation we went to the Hoop dee doo Revue and a Luau as our "special" dinners. They were definitely special...the kids no aspire to become actors, dancers, and characters that work at WDW.

Everyplace we went we loved and we all stuffed ourselves with lots of yummy food. It was so hard to come home to reality!

This is the morning after we came home. We didn't get back until after midnight due to airport delays and weather:( When the kids woke up in the morning we took the infamous Christmas-on-the-steps picture! They might not look like it here, but they were pretty happy to be home:) Santa left a few gifts under the tree waiting for our return...it was a few days late but the traditions of Christmas were the perfect way to welcome ourselves home!