Spring Break Take 3!

 Our Third day of Spring break we took a small break from Mickey and all things Disney and headed over to Universal Studios and Harry Potter's world.

My boys have been watching Woody Woodpecker cartoons on Netflix...they new exactly who he was when we saw him, and they were sooo excited to see him!

 All aboard, the Hogwarts Express as we enter Hogsmeade.

We made it!

 Hogsmeade, 

It takes a lot to impress me.  I think Disney goes above and beyond to not only give you fun family rides, but to also create an experience of ambience that transports you into that world.  For me that is the magic of disney...al the imagination that goes into it!  I have never come across any other park that even comes close to Disney...until now.  Universal Studios Orlando hit the mark when they created Islands of Adventure.  Harry Potter's world was beyond compare...you just wanted to walk up and down the streets and alleys, poke your head in each building and look in every window.  It was all so fascinating and you didn't want to miss one second or detail of it!

It was amazing, and if ask Hannah...it was her favorite day!

 Honeydukes! 

We bought way too much candy from here, including Bertie bott's of course.

 Hogwarts school of Witch craft and Wizardry.

This ride was phenomenal.  A must for any who go...even if the line is long, it is worth it.

Just like Disney, they made waiting in the line just as much fun as riding the ride.  You almost don't want the wait to end, because you are having so much fun waiting!

 We took the boys on flight of the Hippogriff...probably a little to intense for them.  But they did it, and with no tears!  We got to see Hagrid's hut while in line.

 Two pretty cute girls!

 I love Hogwarts.

They did a pretty good job.

Butter Beer and Pumpkin Juice.

Holy amazing!

The Butter Beer was fantastic, we couldn't get enough.

Hannah wanted to buy a wand from Olivander's

 Looking at all the choices...

 Finally one picked her!

 Taking a break.

 We took a break from Harry, as much as it pained us too, and headed over to Jurassic Park.

Cora even went on the ride, and we got soaked!

 After Jurassic we went to Seuss land

this was pretty impressive as well!  We had so much fun in this area!

 You must know how much I loved all the Thing 1 and Thing 2 stuff.  It was everywhere, I couldn't get enough of it!  I think I spent way too much money in this park...but how could you resist!

 I love my Thing's!

That evening we headed back to our favorite place....

Hogsmeade!

 Even the Bathrooms were awesome!

Moaning Myrtle is there waiting for you as well.

 It was even more fabulous at night.

All the windows were lit up and easier to see into...pure magic.

 The Honeydukes window mesmerized us for awhile.

The butter beer cart...time for one last taste.

Farewell Hogwarts and Hogsmeade,

Until next time!

Next time Kings cross Station and Diagon Alley will be open!

Hopefully we will make it back sooner then later, but it was a great day anyway you look at it!

Spring Break: Take 2!

Our second day of spring break we spent at Disney's Hollywood Studios (formerly known as Disney's MGM Studios).

We love this park, I think it is often times over looked or skipped...but there are some great shows here!  Some of our favorites are the Great Movie ride, Indiana Jones stunt show, Lights Camera Action car stunt show (which we saw in Paris last year...and didn't see in Disney world due to conflicting times with another show we hadn't seen yet), Beauty and the beast stage show, and the Little Mermaid stage show.  Last but not least....Fantasmic! The best!

Entering the park, gotta love Mickey's sorcerer hat!

Star Tours is here!

I think this is one of the few rides that Hannah loves at Disney.  

We went on it a few times, and it changes story lines...I don't think we have ever had the same story line more then twice.

The boys saw Mcqueen! 

Which worked out perfectly because they had just picked out Mcqueen hats that morning!

This was a rare find.

We got to have our picture taken with Sorcerer Mickey...

We weren't even going to go into the animation studio...but Anya was really interested and we had some free time...so we did.

Boy am I glad we did!  This is my favorite Mickey!

Gotta love that back drop!

 I love the back lot tour ride.  It has a great special effects demo like Universal.  The boys thought it was pretty cool.

 Anya and dad conquered the Tower of Terror again.

They said this was different then Paris...I love how Disney has a lot of the same rides in all their parks...but with a slight difference or twist!

 After Fantasmic we stayed in the park for Disney magic hours.  It was practically empty!

Ever been on the streets of New York or San Francisco without another soul around...it's pretty cool!

We ended the night with a fun ride the boys love...Toy story Mania.

The line was a little slow...must have had a ride malfunction or something, but there are a lot of things in the wait queue to keep you interested.  Like etch a sketch making funny drawings, and Mr. Potato Head making snide remarks.  No body does line waiting like Disney...pure magic when you can make waiting in line fun!

Disney Magic!

Spring Break in Florida part 1!

This year for spring break we decided to be cliche and go to Florida!  Doesn't everyone go to Florida for spring break at least once in their lives?  Although, our trip wasn't the typical spring break Florida trip...we were with 5 kids in tow and Disney World bound!

Our first day was in Magic Kingdom!

The best of course!

We loved every minute of it!!

 group selfie with the castle of course.

 Another castle shot, as we first come into the park.

So exciting!

 Tea cups of course.

The girls like to spin fast...so they get their own.

 Dad and his boys.

 The magic of being in Disney World must have overtaken me.  Dad and the boys even got me on the tea cup ride...a ride I usually avoid like the plague because I get extremely motion sick...too much spinning!  It wasn't so bad, and really set the magical mood for the day!

 It's been about 7 years since we last went to Disney World.  They have made a lot of changes, mostly to the Magic Kingdom.  They redid Fantasy Land, taking out Toon Town and adding the enchanted forest, Rapunzel's tower, Beast's castle and Belle's village.  They are also building a new Snow white ride...a 7 dwarves mining coaster, that was under construction while we were there.  But it sure looks fun!  So it was neat to see and explore all the new stuff that wasn't there last time we were here.

 I hope Jack isn't taking too many lessons from Gaston....
The Plaque at the base of the fountain reads:
"Tribute to Gaston
an Extravagantly generous gift
to the humble people of my village.
From Me, Gaston"

 Waiting in line for their first Roller coaster...Goofy's Barnstormer.  It was pretty much our longest line of the day (Thank you magic hours and Fast Pass for short lines!!!) but we enjoyed a cold treat while we waited and it wasn't so bad.

 Conquered!

We even got Hannah on it...even though she wasn't too happy about it in the end.

our deal was at least 1 roller coaster, and she did it!  Proud of her!

 I can't get enough of the Disney Castle.

It just floods me with nostalgia, memories and warmth when ever I see it.

It always reminds me of Sunday night Disney specials as I was growing up...at 6pm mst.

So far, our favorite castle has been Disney Paris' castle.

There is a network of caves under the castle...and a Dragon's lair with a huge sleeping, steam breathing dragon.  My girls love dragons...so naturally that would be their favorite Disney castle!

Each castle is different....this one in Disney world is actually a restaurant, with a special suite of guest rooms at the top.  Probably costs a gazillion to stay there!

 The cars!

 The boys waited all day until our fast pass time for this ride.

They were so excitied!

 Disney at night is my absolute favorite.  No one has mastered the art of ambiance like Disney has at night.  Each park with it's own style of lighting and theme music...it is just spectacular.  We always stay as late as we can, just because we love Disney at night.  Magic hours let us stay until almost 1am this day...with no lines.  It is so fun to just walk onto rides that you know had 2 hour+ wait times earlier in the day!

Yes, Disney at night is one of my most favorite places to be.

 The boys almost made it.

I love how they fell asleep both clutching their prized bounty from the day.

It was a good day!

I can't wait until we get to go back again someday...our trend has been every 6 or 7 years....

Maybe we will have to make a special trek before Anya graduates High school...our last big family vacation before adulthood descends...sigh.

Anya turned 14!!!!!!

My Anya. I can't believe she is already 14!  I remember being so excited to have her join our family, it seems like just yesterday she was arriving and making me a mother.  Where does the time go?  Now she is the wonderful, overachieving, amazing young lady....but she still loves a good hug from her mom.  I am grateful for that, and hope that she will always need a good hug from her mom forever and ever!

Happy birthday oldest daughter...I hope it was a GREAT day!!

You deserve it!

President's Day Weekend

Generally Matt and the kids get a 4 day weekend for President's day.  We usually like to go on a short trip, or do something fun.  This year we decided to discover our own "backyard" so to speak.  We went and toured Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.  It is only about a 15 minute drive from our house.

The kids loved this, mainly because this is the building that is on the Nickel.  It's a great house, we have been a couple of times, but the kids were so young, it was worth doing again.

 Here is the famous view!

 There is a fish pond on the property, that back in Jefferson's day they would keep stocked with fish.  That way they always had fresh fish when they needed it for a meal.  It was frozen solid the day we went.  The Olympics had also been going on, so the boys took the opportunity to play some ice hockey...just like they had been seeing on TV.

Mr. Jefferson

After spending some time at Monticello, we stopped up the road for a traditional colonial meal at Michie's Tavern.  This was a roadside Tavern and inn that was in the area during the time that Jefferson lived in the area.  It was delicious...first time I have ever had stewed tomatoes...not from a can!

Amazing Anya

In February, Anya was selected as on of 25 middle school girls in the region to be recognized by Rising Stars.  A recognition program set up by AAUW chapter of Charlottesville.  It is designed to promote STEM fields for women and singles out students who excel in the Math and Science areas.

 Anya with the Key note speaker, and Environmental Engineer.

 The Girls who were recognized

 After the speaker and award ceremony, we were able to tour the University of Virginia Engineer department and Mechatronics lab.

 We also got to see the 3D printers at work, it was pretty cool.

This was a mustache printed using a 3D printer.

 Anya was 1 of two students selected to be interviewed for the News that night!  Here she is being interviewed!

If it works, here is the news clip with Anya's interview.

It was pretty cool, and I think she did a great job!