Florida Trip- Legoland

Our inital plan was to go to Legoland for 1 day and Universal Studios for 2 days, but after 6 fun filled exhausting days at Disney parks, we decided to forgo Universal for this trip and extend our fun at Legoland.  It was perfect. 

We loved Legoland and over 2 days, we were able to experience everything we wanted at a slower pace.  Our first day at Legoland, there were very few people there.  We never waited in lines.  The 2nd day was a bit busier, but the longest wait was 5 minutes.  Definitely a contrast to our Magic Kingdom craziness the week before, where there was a 2+ hour wait for most of the attractions. 

After 6 days of a demure Jackson, it was a surprise to see him giddy.  My favorite quote was him doing a little hop/dance saying "Legos, Legos, Legos everywhere!"  And Alyssa was excited because she got to ride roller coaster after roller coaster.  It was great!

The kids trapped in the Duplo Tiger cage.

Alyssa and Matthew with 'Olivia' from the Friend's Legos.

Meeting characters, no wait!

Jackson pushing the button to activate the volcano at the Lego Mirage on the Vegas strip.

Alyssa in Lego Times Square with the 2013 ball.
The Lego scenes were amazing!

Alyssa laughs the entire time she is on the roller coaster.

Lego cars!

All 3 kids liked pushing the buttons which activated something in the Lego scene.

The carousel was Matthew's favorite at Legoland too.

Matthew loved this tractor and was quite put out that there wasn't room for him to ride too.

Jackson and Alyssa driving the Lego cars at the Ford driving school.

More characters to meet!

Matthew rode the carousel half a dozen times, it wasn't enough for him.

Florida Trip- Disney World

After spending a few nights with Aunt Jeannie and then a few nights with our friends near West Palm Beach, we went up to Disney on New Year's Eve to begin our celebration.  Our 6 days at the Disney parks were fun-filled and exhausting.  We started with Hollywood Studios on New Years Eve, Animal Kingdom on New Years Day, and then Magic Kingdom on the 2nd of January.  The only day/park that was crazy busy was Magic Kingdom, so much so that after lunch we called it a day and went back to the resort to swim.  After that, the crowds began to die down, our friends had joined us, and we had a delightful time at Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Magic Kingdom together. 

Before we had left for this trip, Alyssa had whispered in my ear that she knew that the characters weren't real.  So, I figured that she would be a bit more jaded than her last visit to WDW (when she was 3.5 years old).  But Alyssa was still giddy with excitement to see the characters.  She enjoyed the parades as much this trip as last trip.  And with age, additionally she got to enjoy the rides, and the roller coasters this time! 

Alyssa waving to the characters in the parade.

Jackson was demure for most of the visit to Disney. His giddiness came through at Legoland (more in a future post).  At Disney, he was most excited to be able to go swimming in the Finding Nemo pool. 

This is one of my favorite pictures.
We often call Jackson 'Eyore'. 

A few weeks before the trip, I began to question my wisdom in planning this trip for a very mobile, very active Matthew.  I stressed on how to contain him.  We took the sit and stand stroller, and the majority of the time, he wanted to push it (and Jackson always wanted to ride).  Matthew would throw a fit when he had to stop pushing so that we could go into a show or a ride.  He didn't realize that we were going to go do something fun.  He did enjoy the show or the ride, but was always ready to go back to the stroller and push.  Besides pushing the stroller, he LOVED the characters.  Upon meeting one, he would give them a hug, turn for his photo, and then go back to give another hug until we pulled him off so that the character could move on.   

A hug from Pooh.

Matthew on Its a Small World ride.

A few more of my favorite Disney images--

Our first entry to the resort. 

Our first time meeting Mickey!

Lightening was right outside of our building.
We loved staying in Radiator Springs!

Alyssa and Jackson's first roller coaster, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. 
Alyssa said it was "awesome". Jackson said it was "a little scawy".



Matthew meeting Chef Mickey.
They could give each other a true high 4!

Matthew has to get a hug.

The kids with Minnie.

A few days we went back to the room so Matt could nap,
but a few others we pushed him to the brink. 

Listening for our Agent P clues at Epcot.
Good concept that didn't work out that well for us.

The girls met almost all the princesses.
Alyssa was most excited to meet Ariel this trip.

Alyssa was also really giddy when she saw Princess Tiana from Princess and the Frog.

Matthew and Jackson got the quintessential Mickey balloons.
Alyssa chose popcorn instead. 
The balloons were still inflated 9 days later!

A rare instance when Matthew was actually sitting in the stroller.

Alyssa waving to Lotso at the parade at Hollywood Studios.

Alyssa and Jackson enjoying the afternoon snack of ice cream.

The carousel was Matthew's favorite ride.

Florida Trip- The Beach

One of the greatest things about our trip to Florida is that we spent time with dear friends, who had moved from Houston to Florida this past summer.  It was like no time had passed and we had a fantastic time catching up and just having fun, first at the beach, the park, the sea turtle sanctuary, and at their house and later at Disney World.  These are a few of my favorite images from the beach days. 

The older boys working together. 

The girls spent a great deal of time running from the waves.

Jackson sand surfing.

The younger boys playing in the sand.

We wised up and put them in swimsuits the 2nd trip to the beach.

It was cooler that day, but it didn't seem to phase them until they got out of the water.

Darren and Matthew walking in the water.

Florida Trip- Alyssa's Bday Experience

When we first talked about Alyssa's birthday experience for her 7th birthday, she said she wanted to go to a ceramics place to paint.  Though I thought that would be lots of fun with Alyssa, it sounded like a very bad idea for the whole family (Matthew + room full of breakables = bad idea).  Thankfully she changed her mind before her birthday.  Instead, she wanted to go build a bear which is something we could all do as a family.

 

We had planned on doing Alyssa's birthday experience on her birthday, but Jackson had the flu that day, so we postponed it until our trip to Florida.  It was our first time to Build-A-Bear, and Alyssa (and Jackson) loved it.  

 

Alyssa and Jackson picked their bears and stuffed them.

They do a cute ceremony with the heart that they sew into the bear.
This was Alyssa and Jackson making a wish with their hearts.

The finished product.

Aunt Jeannie and Alyssa with her bear in the box.

 

This was Matthew's favorite part of the event--running through the mall.

 

Extra! Extra!

The Hoy House is on the move! 

We are moving to Austin!  Darren has accepted a new job, and will start the beginning of February.  The kids and I will join him after the school year concludes. 

This is our first big life event, post Matthew, and one that wasn't on our long term plan.  But it is funny how life goes, as God kept tapping us on the shoulder, and after a while, it seemed extremely prudent to listen.  And we are very much looking forward to this next chapter.

There are many things we will miss about Houston-- our family close by, our Houston friends, our kids' school friends, my job, Darren's current co-workers, our comfy house, and even our local grocery store, but new joys and challenges await us in Austin!

This upcoming semester will be a busy one, getting the house ready to put on the market as well as the care and feeding of our family in 2 different locations (especially with 4 of us going to 5 different schools), but we are hopeful we are up for the task. 2013 is shaping up to be a very eventful year already! 

1st Day of Preschool

Today was the first day of preschool for Matthew, and as expected, he LOVED it. 

This morning, he ran into the school and was very excited, until I walked out the door.   He cried for a moment or two, but was off having a great time when I stopped back in to check 5 minutes later. 

Picking him up this afternoon, I asked how his day went, and the teacher replied "I can't imagine Matthew ever has a bad day."  We echo that sentiment many times a week-- every day is a good day for Matthew. 

Matthew's first day at preschool!

Backpack on and ready to go!

It was so much fun!
He was asleep within 5 mins of leaving the parking lot.

Happy 2013!

Happy New Year-- belated!  I think this is the longest time I have gone without blogging since Matthew's birth, but I had good reason for the technology hiatus-- we were celebrating!  in Florida!

We had a lot to celebrate--
-the end of 2012, which was a very good year for our family
-the beginning of 2013, which is shaping up to be very eventful and joyous too
-Alyssa's belated birthday experience
-Our family's 8th birthday (aka our anniversary)
and the reason we originally booked the trip
-Matthew's walking (and running, and jumping)!

We left the day after Christmas, and first visited with Darren's Aunt Jeannie and our dear friends, the Randolphs, and then we visited with Mickey Mouse, Lightening McQueen and all of their friends at Disney World for a week, followed by a few days celebrating all things Lego at Legoland. It was a fantastic 16 days! 

I look forward to sharing the details after a much anticipated good night's rest in my own bed!