First pool trip

After we checked in the kids were eager to go to the water.  It wasn't too warm, but the air was warm! One of the only times Henry went slightly in the water.  Still hates pools and swimming.  Hot tubs are ok.  

Getting to Orlando!

Off we went to Orlando on January 31! Another bright and early travel day, just the way we like it.  The girls love the 5:00 am wake up, since it increases the excitement factor, and both jumped out of bed right away. Rose was probably the most excited person in the family, and woke up non-stop all night long.  Henry wasn't happy to wake up but was ok when he was in the car snuggled in with his blanket.  Oddly enough the morning was really warm, so we could wear our light Florida jackets easily.  

This is the part that always makes it feel real--standing inside the monorail station while Daddy parks the car! Everyone is always super pumped to get going!

Henry had fun with his own suitcase this time.

We can't wait until we're done with car seats and the stroller.  They ass so much more hassle to our day.  We have nexus passes but can't use the faster security line because of the damn stroller.
And the car seats take an extra 20 minutes to check when we fly to the US. (I realized we won't need anything of those things when we go on the cruise!)

After a super brief breakfast in the lounge (which Rose had been looking forward to for days), we hopped on board the plane.  No delays on either end as it was so warm outside, not even a de-icing.

I took charge of Rose and Henry on the way there.  Rose and Paige played video games 95% of the time, and Henry needed a bit more help, but it wasn't too bad.  He cried a bit about his ears again, but not nearly as bad as in the past.

Another issue with the 5:00 am wake up and non stop night time wake ups is my lovely ultra tired airplane look:

Arrival was super exciting and everyone remembered where to go to catch the monorail. These kids will be really great travellers when they're older.  

Luggage took only a minute and then we were off to the rental car.  Of course i caught sight of the Disney cruise buses and pointed them out--mike thinks i'm getting way too worked up about this. 

No visit to Orlando is complete without driving to McDonalds for our yearly binge fest.  No wonder we always arrive at the hotel with heartburn or nausea.   

We checked into our hotel and luckily got to try a building in a different part of the resort that we were hoping to stay in.

Kids walking up to our building with their luggage.  I feel so excited when I see this.  It meant 13 days ahead of us.  Sigh.

Grandma Val had a great travel day as well and was only delayed by 20 minutes or so and got to the hotel in time for dinner! So exciting to see her for our yearly trip!!

Skating

Mike took the girls skating and they loved it! So much that they asked to go back the next day.  There is a great free rink overlooking the lake in downtown burlington, with a park, hot chocolate, washrooms....really convenient.  Apparently they did great.  Starting them later probably helped with balance.  

Post Christmas tons of fun

Paige playing a coding game from uncle Greg. 

New Roots onesie.

Enjoying some board game time.

I really miss the girls.  I am bummed out that they went back to school.  Our days over christmas break were always full of fun and quality time.  The first day they went back was so cold that henry and i came straight home and just played inside.  It felt really quiet!!!

Christmas Afternoon/Evening

Oh germs.  The girls had to be careful not to get too close to anyone as they were sick.  They were certainly happy to get the Shopkins black box that they had asked for.  

Once again we forgot to take a family christmas photo!! Paige started to melt down after dinner.  I think she woke up around 4 something.  She was walking around after dinner in a daze and was saying "my head feels fuzzy".  I think she had never felt so tired in her life.  (Part of me felt like it was payback for when she was a baby and i felt like that constantly.)

Always sad for Christmas to come to an end--but going to bed on Christmas night is exciting knowing that the day will be easy with all of the new toys, leftovers, and no pressure to do anything!

Christmas Morning!

We had a super fun Christmas morning (despite the fact that people kept waking up all night long and we barely slept).  We managed to hold off going downstairs until just before 7 I think.  The girls woke up and we made them lie in our bed for a bit until we felt awake enough to face the day.  

Santa had great stockings for the kids this year which included Beanie Boos for the girls and a huge dump truck for henry.  

After we had our usual french toast breakfast we opened the rest of our gifts.  The girls got shopkins and skates as their main presents and Henry got a paw patroller and a few cars and pups to go with it. I enjoyed using my new running shoes to go for a run with Scout in the great weather.  Everyone loved playing with their toys all day until it was time to go to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner.  

Christmas Eve

 With both girls sick we had to cancel our usual Christmas Eve plans of doing a family activity and lunch at a pub.  Rose had a fever and cough and Paige had a cold.  Instead we took advantage of the super warm weather (i think 15 degrees), and took Scout to the dog park.  Although people were sick, fresh air was bound to help. The kids weren't too happy at the dog park as it ended up being very windy, but at least we got out of the house.  In the afternoon we rested up, did some reading, checked out the Santa Tracker, tried to get Rose to nap, and eventually watched "Polar Express" before dinner.  We had our usual perogies with bacon, which we eat once a year.

After dinner the kids went outside to scatter the reindeer food from school and preschool.  

 I had a hard time getting great Christmas photos as the girls were tired from their illnesses.
People did well though and despite the fact that they were obscenely excited they were able to fall asleep quickly.