Mondays with Crosby and Jane Claire

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 3 years and 47 weeks old!!!  At 1:03 pm, Jane Claire turned 34 weeks old!!!  What a FABULOUS week it has been.  Well, minus the part when we had to get in the car and leave the most magical place on earth.  But we won't talk about that part yet.  We will just pretend that we are still there.  We will deny that we are experiencing Post Disney Depression...

We decided to schedule a "rest day" to break up our time at the parks.  That was one of the best moves ever for our group.  The babes would have been exhausted had we gone 4 straight days.  Who am I kidding?!?  The adults were pretty worn out after two full days 2!  I don't know that we would have made it 3 or 4 days in a row.  So, Tuesday morning, we got to sleep in as late as we wanted.  There was no schedule and no place to be at any specific time.  Jane Claire was thrilled to get a nice nap in her bed that day.  Blake and Crosby met some of the crew at the outlet mall while I stayed back with Little Bit.  Then we flip flopped and I got to run through the outlets before dinner.  We had an exciting dinner planned for that evening.  Dinner with Disney characters and the Sawn and Dolphin!  It was supposed to be Goofy and (maybe?) Pluto.  We were super excited to see the visitor line up changed a bit...

Minnie Mouse showed up and we were so very excited!!! Jane Claire was quite taken with Minnie...

So were Charlotte and Crosby!

The next few pictures are some of my favorite from the night.   Gotta love seeing Blake pose with Minnie..

Even better!  Blake was asked to kiss Minnie on the hand.  He had no other option but to comply!!  The kids were watching!! ;-)

The best picture of them all is the ones of Jason and Minnie...

Jason even got a kiss!!!  What is it about that beard and Minnie Mouse that cracks me up every time?!? ;-)

Sam even got in on the Minnie lovin...

He tried to act like he wasn't interested in meeting her.  You know, she is a girl.  And he is a BOY!!!  Deep down, he was thrilled she hugged his neck! ;-)

Then the gang got to meet Goofy!

Jane Claire liked him too!

Or maybe she was trying to push him away!

We actually had a great meal that night.  It was a Mediterranean buffet and it was delish!  Everyone was impressed.  After dinner, we headed to Downtown Disney.  It was a happening place.  Of course we had to stop by the Lego store.  Crosby got his picture with Lego Hulk...

Quite impressive, these Lego statues!!!

Then he sat down at a station and started building something of his own...

I think he actually took over someone else's project! He isn't that good at Legos...yet!

Then we ventured into one of the stores.  Crosby headed down one isle while Blake and I looked around.  We came back to find this...

He was in his own little world, making up some wild story with all the animals he pulled from the shelf!!!  People kept walking by, laughing and him and his setup!  Too funny, this boy in the Woody hat!!!

We headed back to the parks on Wednesday, Animal Kingdom day!!!  We were all feeling rested and ready to go at it again.  We started the morning with the Animal Safari ride.  I just love this picture of my boys...

There were so many beautiful animals along the ride.  We got to see several up close and personal!  Giraffes, hippos, zebras, crocodiles, and more...

I just had to share this picture.  How precious is it to see a giraffe drinking water?!?  It was about the cutest thing I have ever seen!!!

We had great seats to watch the parade...

I am thinking this is one of my most favorite pictures from the whole day.  Maybe even the whole trip! My sleepy boy with his new best friend, Woody, watching the parade.  Is he not precious...

Thursday was our last day at the parks and we spent it at Epcot!!  What a great place to be on THANKSGIVING!!!

Jane Claire loved looking at the fish in the aquarium while we waited for Turtle Talk with Crush...

Crosby did too!

He LOVE getting to play the drums while we walked around the World Showcase...

He says he wants drums for Christmas...

I don't know what Santa will have to say about that!!! ;-)

Our little family at Epcot...

When we got to Canada, there was a live band playing music on stage.  These boys LOVED it...

Too fun...

Dancing machines!!

And here we are. The whole crew.  Our last moment together at Disney World...

Oh how I could tear up thinking about it!!!!  We had such a great time.  And I mean GREAT.  Sigh...

But it wasn't over yet.  We headed back to our condos for a semi traditional Thanksgiving meal.  They prepared everything, we heated it up!  I must admit, it was nice to NOT spend the day in the kitchen.  Not that I normally spend the day in the kitchen, but Lulu surely does!  The meal may not have tasted as good as Lulu's but it didn't matter.  We were just happy to be together.

Our last day was spent packing and hanging around the condos.  Well, some of did that anyway.  Jason, Kerri, Sam and Gid headed toward Birmingham.  The tears started up once they drove away.  It was really coming to an end.  Sigh.  Buddy and Blake managed to squeeze in a round of golf.  Lucy and I made a quick trip to the outlets on Black Friday and it was a mad house.  Of course Jane Claire and Crosby were in tow and they loved it...  Once the boys got back, we all ate leftovers for dinner before strapping the kiddos in the car and making our way North to Macon for the night.    Charlotte and Crosby enjoyed one more viewing of Nemo before we left...

Our travels home went as smoothly as the trip down.  I was in complete shock at how easy a 12 hour trip went with 2 kiddos.  We were so very thankful for their sake and ours!  We pulled back in to our driveway Saturday afternoon.  It was good to be home and out of the car but I think my heart took a little longer to join us.  Anne Claire and I were both feeling the Post Disney Depression for SURE!!  Why do vacations pass by so quickly??  Sigh.

So here we are on Monday.  The bags are unpack and we are trying to resume normal life.  Something tells me it is going to take a while to get back into the swing of things.  Or maybe 2 kiddos will whip me into shape pretty quickly!  Like this little miss...

Jane Claire at 34 weeks!!!

What a great week.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend a whole week with family in the most magical place on earth!  I can't wait to do it again!!  Crosby keeps reassuring me, "Mommy, I know you want to go back to Disney World!  We will one day!!"  Shouldn't it be the other way around... ;-)

(There are a lot more pictures I have been waiting to add.  But I am thinking that won't happen until after Christmas.  So I will just post it as is. Pardon me, in advance, for updating the last two posts in the very near future with more pictures and facts I don't want to forget!!!)