Zoo-licious

Lions, and tigers, and bears.  Oh MY!

Okay, maybe not so much of lions.  Or tigers.  Or bears.  But, definitely elephants, and wart hogs, and zebras.  Our trip to Zoo Atlanta with Mimi was planned with leisure in mind.  And then summer temperatures and southern humidity collided.  So it was more like take in as much as we could handle before melting.  We did manage to scope out some pretty cool animals and a couple of fun rides before the heat got the better of us and at least one of us threw a temper tantrum.

Here's a picture walk through our zoo-rific day.

You know the pink animals were loved by a certain sassy princess.

Hakuna Matata!

The 3 year old knows more about meerkats than necessary thanks to The Animal Planet.

Lunch time!

Watching the giraffes was one of the dozen or so times we had to reassure Emma Kate, the scaredy cat, that the animals would not hurt her.

Not the zebra's best side, but he was not up for my posing suggestions.

Posing with Willie B.  Who remembers the REAL Willie B?  Please ignore the sign behind us that says to stay off the statue...

Tired Mama who had recently given birth, nurturing her newborn.  

Hammin' it up

The pandas looked so snuggly!

In the petting zoo.  This was as close as Emma Kate would get to any of the animals for fear of them hurting her.  *Sigh*

"This one kinda stinks!"

Ready for the train ride!  And, also right before the little boy in front of us chunked his empty slushy cup out of the train.  Before I even realized it, I had given him my "Mama Eye" and he and his friend didn't move the entire train ride.

Waiting patiently... But, don't let it fool you.  This was mere minutes before the tantrum inside was unleashed.  She may look passive, but the girl is packing some serious attitude!

Thank you, Mimi for such wonderful summer memories!

Magical Moments

It doesn't matter how old I am.  It doesn't matter how many times I've been.  Seeing Cinderella's castle from the ferry gives me goose bumps.  Each walk down Main Street, USA causes a giggle to threaten to erupt from my belly.  That's right.  I'm talking about Magic Kingdom, Disney World.

The. Most. Magical. Place. On. Earth.

This trip was a bit different though.  This time, I got to see it through the eyes of my children.  This time, a certain element of magic was added as I heard their squeals, saw their smiles, and felt the tightening of their hands as we went through Snow White's Scary Adventures.

Okay, so they don't look too thrilled here, but I promise it gets better. :)

We went to Magic Kingdom with one mission - meet the Princesses who have ruled our world for the last year.

Our first stop once we got past the castle was meeting Mary Poppins who, from the look on Grace's face, was just alright.

Next stop - carousel, which was pretty great.  What kid doesn't love the carousel?

The Fairy Godmother with her Fairy Godmother pose was just a warm up for the enchantment that was anticipated.

That Walt Disney is a genius for incorporating air conditioned attractions.  Minnie's house was as cute as a button, as was the little girl who skipped through it.

Giddy is the word I would use to describe Grace as she checked out Minnie's crib.

Clearly Emma Kate was not quite as electrified by Toon Town as her older sister.

We felt bad about Emma Kate not having pictures in Minnie or Mickey's house, so like the good parents we are, we forced her out of the stroller and into a pose.

Like I said, air conditioning in a southern summer is as magical to parents as the Disney characters are to the kids, so the hour long wait we endured for our photo op with the ambassadors of Disney World was welcomed.

The play area was great for kids and pretty nice for parents too... if you were one of the first 5 to snag the benches.  And, if you weren't afraid of your kid making a break for it and escaping the play area.  Oh wait, that last part may just be me and my kids.

So, all that was pretty cool, but remember, the Bramlett girls went to Magic Kingdom with 1 goal - to meet the princesses.  Let me assure you that the 90 minute wait in the princess line, the sweat running down my back, and the sore arms from holding a restless Emma Kate were all worth hearing the gasp that Grace let out and seeing her jaw drop and her eyes bulge when we entered the room with Cinderella, Belle, and Aurora.

Cinderella asked us if we had any pets and informed us that she had a dog named Bruno.  

Saint must be synonymous with princess because these ladies have patience that would make Mother Teresa  envious.  After talking to people all day, each princess still took the time to talk to each visitor in their sweet princess voice and act genuinely interested.

Aurora is Grace's favorite princess because she ... wait for it... wears pink.  Emma Kate finally got in on the conversation as we talked to her.

Snow White was the last princess to complete our tour.  Not 5 minutes after this picture was taken, both girls were asleep in the stroller.

After our trip, Justin asked Grace who the prettiest princess was at Disney World.  Her reply: "Me."  Half right you are, Princess Grace.  Even Walt Disney, in his wildest dreams,  couldn't create the 2 princess package like the one I've got.

Our Bags are Packed, We're Ready To Go

Ahhh, vacation.  Such a fun word.  Our vacation this past June to Orlando was super fun!  Justin had a conference, so the girls and I tagged along for a little R and R.  Who am I kidding?  With 2 sassy little girls, there was no room for rest or relaxation!  But fun there was!  We stayed in Celebration, Florida which is minutes away from Disney World.  Developed by The Walt Disney Company, Celebration was census designed and it is perhaps the cutest town I've ever seen.  It's lakes, shops, trails, homes, and parks make you think you're straight out of Pleasantville.

Our hotel, The Bohemian

Celebration, Florida

Each morning Justin was in the conference Grace, Emma Kate, and I took a walk around the lake.  Grace wanted to have an animal search so we were excited to see an alligator, several birds, squirrels, and turtles.  We were a bit disappointed we didn't get to see the zebra that Grace looked so hard for, but she decided it was just shy and hiding in the woods. :)

Sitting by the lake

This child makes my heart melt with every "cheeeeeeese!"

One of the "exotic" animals on our safari

We also had a blast at this splash pad.  The squeals coming from Grace and Emma Kate were hilarious as was the look on Emma Kate's face when the fountain she had chased into the ground came right back up in her face!

Carefree girls!

Pure joy.  I can hear her belly laughs now.

Checking to make sure Mama is still there... or maybe checking to see if I'm watching too carefully for her to get away with something sly...

Where did the water go?

Let's see if we can stop the water from coming up!

2 Words.  Beach. Babe.

1 Word. DIVA.

Grace is one fun little lady!  

Emma Kate's solemn side.

One of the true signs of summer - ICE CREAM!  We sat outside an ice cream parlour and enjoyed strawberry frozen yumminess until we had ice cream running between our toes.  Literally.  Have you ever eaten ice cream with 2 small people in 100 degree heat?

This was our first vacation as a family of 4.  I hope the girls remember it because I know I definitely will!