February 13

This morning on our bus on the way to the airport (on Friday the 13th, no less) we heard on the radio about a plane crash. Then when we got on the airplane, we were assigned to row 13. I thought it had to be a very bad sign. Thankfully we made it home safely. I did have morning sickness on the 1st plane (lovely, I know). As were getting off the plane, Julia announced to the pilot and flight attendants that "My Mommy threw up" as I pass them carrying my barf bag. After that, the rest of the day went as expected. Kat was exhausted. She slept through lunch (very unlike her) and then slept for another hour or so on a bench in the terminal while we waited for our plane. We had a 3 hour layover in Chicago, and she slept almost the whole time.
The girls (and I) were in bed at 7:30pm last night.

Tired of having her picture taken

Here are some things we learned this week:

• Walt Disney World is a magical place - especially when you experience it through the eyes of your children!
• It is a great vacation, but you are exhausted when it's over. It's definitely not a relaxing trip.
  
• To avoid waiting in long lines for characters, make reservations to have Character Dining (for the popular ones like the Princesses you need to make them 180 days in advance). It is pricey, but the experience is fun.
  
• Avoid the Magic Kingdom on Saturdays... too crowded.
• We have been in October and February. It's warm and the crowds aren't as bad as in the summer. In fact, we have decided you couldn't pay us to go in the summer. I can't imagine the crowds and the heat making for a fun visit.
  
• Get to the parks about 30 minutes before they open... you can ride about anything you want without waiting in line for the first hour or two.
• Take your own stroller. We thought it would be a hassle to have to get it on and off the buses, etc., but there's alot of walking to get from hotel rooms to the buses, and from the buses to the stroller rentals. We carried the kids alot - our arms are sore!
• Julia makes friends everywhere she goes.
  
• Everyone that worked on property greeted the girls as "Princesses"... tell me that didn't go to their head! Ha!
  
• When Kat tells you she has to go potty, find one fast! We had an accident of both types within the first couple of days.
• We have decided that we'll return when our baby is 4 years old and at least 40 inches tall. This way we won't have to worry about naps and 40 inches allows them to ride alot of the bigger rides. Julia is about about a millimeter under 40 inches tall, but they wouldn't let her on the big rides yet.
  
• The girls really enjoyed watching the old Disney cartoons on TV.
  
• We recommend the meal plan. We brought breakfast foods and snacks foods, but we used the meal plan for 1 snack per day, 1 quick service meal, and 1 table service meal. We got our money's worth (and then some) out of the plan. PS - the food at Disney World is expensive (no surprise there).
  
• Make reservations for the table service meals as soon as you arrive at Disney World. You don't want to be walking around the parks looking for a nice meal and have the restaurants be booked up.
• Staying on property was nice because we got to take advantage of the extra park hours that only people on property get. Crowds are manageable.