The Happiest Place on Earth!

I loove DISNEYWORLD, and we couldn't wait to take Hazel!  Most people think it's probably not worth it to take your kids there until they can remember it, but I'm all for enjoyment in the moment.  Plus, kids under 3 get in free!  We figured October would be the perfect time since it's Hazel's birthday, our anniversary, and it's not a very busy time at the park.  We invited our families if they wanted, and my mom gladly took us up on that!  No surprise, since it's her favorite place on earth.  Dad didn't come with her because he felt he should stay and take care of his mom, so he'll have to join us next time.
We didn't stay on the resort, but James hooked us up with a pretty nice hotel nearby and we just rented a minivan for the week to get us around.  We brought snacks and lunch almost everyday and had just a few fun meals planned at the park.  The first day we headed to EPCOT, which is kind of the sciency park along with the countries around the world.  

She loved the musical squares after the Figment ride.

 

We loved the Nemo ride and loved watching the dolphins afterward.  They're so smart!  The trainers were showing us some research they've been doing with them -- a matching game of sorts -- and the dolphins were right on.  It was amazing.  And then they "smiled" for a picture!

I don't have a picture of us talking with Crush (from Finding Nemo), but that was fun for Hazel, too.

  

Grayson had to sleep like this a lot, and he did pretty well!

 Hazel wanted nothing to do any of the other characters, but she was great with Minnie!

 James sampled cokes from around the world.

Mom was so nice to watch the kids so James and I could go on the Soarin' ride together.  It's one of our favorites, and we almost snuck Hazel on it.  If only we had put her in her higher shoes...

The World Showcase is at Epcot as well, so we walked around to all of the different countries, went on a boat ride in Mexico, and had some delicious gyros in Greece.  

And the highlight of the day (and trip, really) was dinner with the princesses!  Hazel was in HEAVEN.  They each came to our table to talk to her and to take pictures, and then they did a little procession at the end.  Hazel walked right along with all the other girls and loved every minute.  So worth it.

On Sunday, we took it easy in the morning, listened to a little General Conference, and headed to DOWNTOWN DISNEY for the afternoon.  We looked and played in the toy store, rode the carousel, played with the legos in the huge Lego Store, ate dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, and had some amazing chocolate desserts at Ghiradelli.  Did I mention how hot it was while we were there?  That's why Hazel looks so rosy.  We spent quite a bit of time in the Lego store since it had AC.

Monday was supposed to be a rainy day, but we didn't let that stop us from going to the ANIMAL KINGDOM!  As it turns out, that was the best day to be there.  The animals didn't shy away at all with the weather.  It even seemed as if they felt more comfortable coming out because it was raining.

Crazy Bats (perfect because it was almost Halloween!).  We were fascinated!

 Nemo Live - amazing talent in these shows

 Parade

 Safari Ride - this was amazing.  Animals were out everywhere!  Hazel LOVED it, so we went twice.