Special Nana/Papa Time

While Greg and I are up in North Carolina, celebrating our 10th anniversary at the Biltmore Estate, Nana and Papa are home with the boys. They were kind enough to coordinate their drive back from Florida to Ohio with this mini-getaway. I have to admit, I was nervous leaving home, but before we were too far out of Atlanta, I was greeted by this good-morning smile:

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Nana and Papa took Noah to school and then followed by taking Garrett to Kindermusik class. Garrett and Ms. Dana were happy to see each other:

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Noah had his 100th day of school:

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He also got a music lesson from Papa:

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Garrett spent some quality time with Papa, reading the Vitamix manual:

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So, while they’re having a good time on the home front, Greg and I are having a great time in Asheville. The weather is a little crisper than we had anticipated, but it is so beautiful up here in the Blue Ridge Mountains: 20130327-182743.jpg I can’t wait to see what they have in store for tomorrow! (Hopefully Nana will share some pictures that she’s in, too!)

Noah, the T-Rex

Noah is fascinated by dinosaurs lately.  His favorite show to watch is Dino Dan. It is about a 10 year old boy who sees dinosaurs in his daily life and learns about their behaviors and characteristics (sadly, no one else sees them!).  Noah has been working on perfecting his Tyrannosaurus Rex impression. Beware – it’s scary!

School Birthday Party!

When we got back from Disney, I brought cupcakes into Noah’s school, and we celebrated his birthday with his school friends. 

IMG_8338Noah was excited to show Garrett around his classroom

IMG_8339The birthday boy with his crown

IMG_8340Happy Birthday to you…

IMG_8341Make a wish!

IMG_8342Noah’s class

IMG_8343Noah brought his Disney autograph book and a picture of the BIG Mickey Mouse phone to show his friends

Just look at this next sequence of pictures, and you’ll see one of the secrets behind why Garrett loves Noah so much (hint: it involves a chocolate cupcake) Winking smile

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IMG_8348Sharing your cupcake? Now that’s brotherly love!

A Disney Birthday–Part 5

On Friday, our last day at Disney, we went to Hollywood Studios.

IMG_1021The temperature had dropped into the 40s, so we bundled up!

IMG_1023Garrett was so worn out by Friday! He took a 2 hour nap in the stroller when we first got to the park!

IMG_8240Again, we got the park before opening, so Noah was able to say a quick hello to Daisy (first time) and Donald Duck.

IMG_8257…and Minnie Mouse

The first ride we rode was Toy Story Midway Mania. This ride zips you around to different shooting galleries and carnival games.  You wear 3D glasses, and it is so much fun!  Noah got to ride it 5 times!! We used fast passes (which were gone for the entire day by 11:00 AM – that’s just how popular this ride is!) and rider switch-off while Garrett slept.

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IMG_8314Ready to play!

The next thing we rode was a really fun Star Wars flight simulator called Star Tours.

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IMG_1026Noah and I rode this together.  He was very brave – it was loud and “fast” (you don’t really go anywhere).  Daddy rode it alone later –  he thought it was interesting but felt a little motion sick Sad smile

We went to lunch at Hollywood and Vine for a very fun time with some of Noah and Garrett’s favorite Disney Junior characters.

IMG_8260Noah’s chomping at the bit to see what characters are here

IMG_8262Noah learning some dance moves from Handy Manny

IMG_8275Noah, Garrett and Handy Manny

IMG_8291Noah and Special Agent Oso

IMG_8311I think the boys had a little crush on June from Little Einsteins

IMG_8304Noah is a big fan of Jake and the Neverland Pirates, so he was super excited to meet Jake!

After lunch we saw the Beauty and the Beast show, which was really well done.

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IMG_1045Noah is cute – he doesn’t like when the Beast turns back into a prince – he wants to see him as the Beast…not “a guy with long hair”!

After the show, Mommy rode two scary-fun rides (alone) – Rock-N-Rollercoaster has a super fast take off (0-60 mph in 2.7 seconds!!), and Twilight Zone’s Tower of Terror drops you thirteen stories!  That was sure an adrenaline rush!

IMG_1049Proof!

The afternoon parade, Disney Pixar’s Countdown to Fun, was a lot of fun with a lot of familiar friends!IMG_8329

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We left the park late afternoon and went back to Pop Century, by Noah’s request, so the boys could play on the playground. (All this $ on Disney parks, and they want a playground Winking smile).

We went to Downtown Disney for dinner and then back to Nana and Papa’s house. We were so sad to leave Disney, but what an amazing time we had! Thanks for coming along with us!