we began the month at reunion resort with the west coast gilbos and grammy who were in town for drew’s lacrosse tournament.
we loved watching drew on the lacrosse field and hanging with our family all weekend.
twins.
summer camp began!
she loves ucf soccer camp!
the kids had such a fun time with their cousins.
a family photo in front of the castle. magical!
summer is for swimming on a weeknight.
first swim meet of the season.
star wars fun at hollywood studios.
art of animation to celebrate sam’s birthday.
birthday twins!
june supper club.
we celebrated one incredible dad on father’s day!
another wednesday night swim meet.
kenley’s third week of camp was golf camp! i was most worried about this camp, but she did so well and loved it!
movie night!
meemaw came to stay for a whole week! we loved having her here.
the girls.
saturday morning runs.
the first pool party of the summer!
little besties.
week four was ugames camp at discovery church! she did karate!
***
summer was in full swing and kenley got to do a different summer camp all month. we had so much fun seeing our family and friends all month! i ended the month with a weekend trip to nashville which i will share more about soon.
kenley’s new glasses arrived and friday was her first day wearing them!
she’s not the only one getting new glasses. i got my warby parker box on friday and chose a cute pair to order.
we stayed at the reunion resort this weekend which put us very close to disney for a couple trips to the parks.
saturday afternoon we were at animal kingdom.
we weren’t entirely prepared for how cold it was.
cheese!
everest!
kenley rode everest for the first time then went right back for more and rode it again with me.
on sunday, we went to epcot before heading home and met some friends!
after a lot of together time this weekend, kenley and i headed to magic kingdom while crosby and daddy played together at home. the kids definitely enjoyed some one-on-one time with each of us.
we met up with more friends!
castle selfie!
she also rode space mountain for the first time this weekend. she’s quite the thrill seeker!
minnie ears for the girls. we had such a fun day together.
***
we had a great long weekend packed full of disney fun. how as your weekend?
we started the weekend celebrating crosby’s 4th birthday on friday!
early morning miles with the girls on saturday, followed by boot camp.
we had so much fun celebrating this sweet boy on saturday.
hanging with the birthday boy!
friends.
matching monster cookie for the cookie monster.
date night on saturday at epcot for the food & wine festival.
sporting our finisher shirts!
we found more friends.
giant pretzel in germany!
we were the very last people on spaceship earth for the night.
despite the rain, we had so much fun.
after epcot closed, we jumped on the monorail to head to magic kingdom.
so magical!
we finally got onto the seven dwarfs mine train and it was so great! apparently 11:30pm is the time to go to beat the crowds.
he stayed in his pajamas until about 3pm today, playing with legos.
we celebrated the kids’ birthdays with some special friends tonight.
***
we had a busy weekend.greg and i stayed out way too late on saturday night, but it was a great last weekend of october. we actually had fall weather too!
We had our first official Disney World experience at the Magic Kingdom on Friday.
My goal for the day was to be go-with-the-flow and not get stressed out.
I think I did a great job of that, however, Greg may have other opinions.
We rode a few rides that were great for Kenley and she was wonderful waiting in line.
The longest line posted was 30 minutes, but we never waited more than 10-15 on anything,
without fast passes, which was so nice.
By the time we were done with our first ride, it was lunch and nap time.
Surprise, surprise, we didn’t get to the park as early as we would have liked.
Kenley went right to sleep and Crosby slept most of the time we were there.
While they were napping, Greg and I walked through the Swiss Robinson Family tree house,
one of Greg’s favorites, then it was right back to ride rides!
We also rode Aladdin’s Carpet, Dumbo (or ephelants, as Kenley would say), and Under the Sea!
Much to our surprise, we found out that they were taping the Christmas Day special and parade that day.
This meant there would be only one parade at 5pm and apparently some other fun activities throughout the day.
As soon as we were in the park we saw Lara Spencer from Flea Market Flip!
We also got to see the taping of the Ne-Yo concert, complete with fireworks.
As it was nearing parade time (our one chance to see Mickey), we wanted to make sure we got a good spot on Main Street,
also a spot that was semi-close to the exit. We got to our spot around 4:45pm,
but since the parade began at Splash Mountain, it didn’t get to us until around 5:15pm.
Kenley had no idea what we were waiting for, so she was a little restless, but as soon as it started, she was hooked.
Mickey & Minnie were on the lead float, so we didn’t have to wait until the end to see them.
Spoiler alert, here is the Christmas Day parade.
Here are a few pointers and how we survived our day.
Purchase tickets in advance or account for time standing in the ticket line.
We brought in a small cooler full of snacks, but I wish I would have brought some waters.
We took full advantage of the Baby Center. We changed diapers, I fed Crosby,
and we even bought some children’s Advil for Kenley who wasn’t feeling well.
It is very convenient!
It worked well for (both of) us to switch Crosby from the stroller to the wrap throughout the day.
Download the Disney app, so helpful! It has a map, wait times, etc.
We had every intention of heading back to the hotel room to nap,
but having a stroller that reclined was great!
It was great having Meemaw with us for our first time so the ratio of adults to children was 3:2;
and now we know we can survive the next time we venture to Walt Disney World!
Overall, our first trip to Magic Kingdom was magical!
The Gilbertson Family 