Disney World Part 1!

Greetings from sunny Florida! It is beautiful down here! We are half way through our week long vacation and here are some of the hightlights. Our first day in the park was on Sunday and we went to Magic Kingdom. And we weren't in the park for 5 mins before we had our first meltdown. It was Lila but in her defense, it takes quite a bit to even get into the park and it was a little harrowing to figure it all out. first you park the car, then walk or take the tram to the transportation center, then take a monorail to the park, then go thru security, then go thru the ticket gates. And we are doing all this with two strollers and three kids and two sets of grandparents. So once we got all settled from that and everyone was happy again, we headed right over to the Buzz lightyear ride in Tomorrow land. It was pretty cool and Ava was so excited! And when we came off the ride, Buzz was out signing autographs so the girls got to meet him and take a pic! Then we set off to find Lila's requested ride which was the Magic Carpets. She loved that and guess what - Jasmine and Alladin were right there signing autographs and taking pics! (Amazing that the characters are so conveniently located isn't it!) Lila was so excited and she told Jasmine "you are my favorite princess"! Conveniently located next to the Jasmine picture spot is the Jasmine souvenirs! Lila picked out a doll and a jewelry set. The jungle cruise was all we could muster up the strength to do before the girls were just way too hot and tired and cranky. We made the executive decision to head back to the house and hit the pool. So we headed back, took a swim, ate an early dinner and then went back to MK. It was one of the best decisions we had made so far. That little break, in the hottest part of the day, made a big difference. We got back to the park around 5 pm and went on the train, haunted mansion, small world, bought Olivia a tinkerbell and even made it to the Electric Parade at 9 pm! Ava actually fell asleep in the stroller while we were waiting but she woke right up when it started. It was pretty cool and it was awesome to watch the girls reactions to it! On our way out we stopped to get Ava a light up Buzz toy so everyone ended up with a souvenir from Day 1.
Day 2 started with a lazy morning. We decided that instead of going full steam ahead early in the day again and having to take a break, we would hang home and swim, eat an early lunch and then head over to the park in the hopes of making it until night time again. So at about 12 noon we went back to MK to hit what we missed the first day. This time we started at the theatre right on Main St. They have it set up as a permanent autograph and picture spot. Bell, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella were there. After a short wait, we went in to see them and as we turned the corner and the girls could see the princesses, they got these huge smiles across thier faces! Ava said "I'm so excited!" They were staring in awe at them! It was so cool to see the girls! Olivia was less outwardly excited but I told her she didn't have to talk to them and that seemed to ease her anxiety about it. We got some great pics! Then we went over to do Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, Pirates of the Caribbean (I love me some Jack Sparrow), ate some sandwiches, haunted mansion again, small world again, Snow white's scary adventure and I took Lila on the runaway train since she is the only one who will go on a roller coaster! After an ice cream break, we made the decision to head out for the night and get out before the parade crowd.
Day 3 started with torrential rains and wind! And it happened to be our Lunch with the Princesses day! So we packed the girls party dresses in a bag and headed over to Epcot. Umbrellas in hand we sloshed around Epcot for an hour or so before heading over to Norway for our lunch. Changed the girls in the bathroom there (a proper princess needs the proper attire for a lunch party!!) and met with Belle for a professional picture this time! Then we were sat at our table and a few minutes later there was an announcement that the princess procession would start! The princesses all walked around the dining room and picked up the little girls for a parade! It was so cute! But of course, guess who had to walk with my girls? Yes, I was in the princess parade! Lila and Cinderella led the parade! Followed by me, Ava and Olivia. About 10 mins later, it was time for another procession and this time the girls got up and followed Ariel with out me! Of course, they held hands the whole time but at least they went by themselves! During the course of our lunch the princesses came over and talked to the girls, signed their books and took pictures. It was really priceless to see them! The whole thing was just awesome! It makes me want to cry just thinking about it! I loved seeing the girls be so enthralled by the princesses. And the food was pretty good too! Never had Norwegian food before. By the time we came out of lunch, the rain had stopped so we spent the afternoon exploring the countries, went to Turtle Talk with Crush and went on the Nemo ride. We called it an early night at 8 and headed back to the house! Today was a down day, just swimming and resting up for the rest of the week! Still have to do Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom!

Disney will never be the same!

It may be a cold and rainy morning here but I have lots of sunshine on the brain! In two weeks we are heading to Orlando for the girls' first trip to Disney World! I don't know who is more excited - me or them! Over the weekend they went shopping and picked out some very pretty dresses and little purses for our lunch with the princesses. Lila can't wait to meet Jasmine, please let her be at this lunch or this poor girl will have a heartattack! I have the dining room table full of clothes, shoes, toiletries, and general supplies for the trip. At least the flight is only 2 hours so I'm not too concerned about keeping them happy on the plane. Not like last time we flew with them - 3 two year olds all the way to CA! Although I have to say that flight went really well even then so I am optimistic that this will go well also. Movie, coloring book and snacks should do well. Of course we are taking extra troops too! My parents and Mike's parents are going with us. Should be a really great trip! Stay tuned for pics from sunny Florida!

Quotable Quotes

Lila to me "Mommy I want you to have another baby" Clearly she has suffered some traumatic brain injury!

Ava "the yogurt container is plasic"
Me - "Plas-TIC"
Ava - "whatever" Pretty much her attitude towards all things!

Olivia - "when I grow up I want to be a teacher and teach painting" Gotta love a kid who knows what she wants out of life!

Lila - "when I grow up I am going to do the laundry. Because I think you will be sick of laundry by then" Nailed that one on the head!

Snow Bunnies

We took the girls up to Blue Mt. to go snow tubing for the first time last weekend. They loved it! Even though our day got off to a rocky start. By the time we packed up and got out of the house and drove the 2 hours, we got to the lodge a little before noon. When we opened the back of the van to get our lunch out, we realized that the girls winter coats were still here in Marlton! Without pointing fingers, Mike decided he would go to the ski shop and see if they rented jackets. They did but didn't have 3 in the size we needed. So after buying 3 sweatshirts, we were able to get out on the mountain! Mike calls it his "$84 mistake"! We got out on the mountain just after 1pm and stayed until after 4pm! We did mostly the family tubes and tried the single tubes once but it was pretty hairy getting up the mountain with 3 kids and 5 tubes. The girls had a blast even just playing in the snow while Mike waited in line for our tube. And this morning the news had a live shot of Blue Mt. and the girls were like "hey that's our mountain"! Maybe next year we can try ski lessons for them. Mike can take them skiing while I hang in the lodge! I tube but I don't ski!

I'm Baaaaack!

I know it has been a while but i hope you can forgive me for abandoning you! I had (ok am still having) an affair with facebook but I am back to blogging to keep you up to speed in our crazy world! If you are new to us, feel free to look around. The archives go all the way back to when the girls were born. If you are a seasoned reader, welcome back! A quick update, everyone is doing great. The girls go to school two mornings a week and are doing great. It was a little bit of an adjustment in the beginning of the year but we all did well. In a few weeks, we will be looking into kindergarten registration! I know it is crazy! We had a great holiday, we all stayed healthy and did lots of fun stuff!
Ok, so now the stuff you really come here for - some crazy story that makes you say "oh those zink girls". Friday night we put the girls to bed regular time. Ava wakes up 20 mins later and continues to cry for the next 40 mins. Finally Mike carries her out of the bedroom and says "her ear hurts". Give her tylenol, put her back to bed, and mentally prepare to be up half the night with a sick kid and make a pediatrician run in the am. saturday morning, up comes the sun and so does Ava, bounding down the hallway with a "good morning!" I say to her "doesn't your ear hurt?" She says "no" I say "it did last night. what happened" She says "oh, it only hurted because I stuck my finger in it". And there you have it!

More Memorial Day

Memorial Day Weekend

March of Dimes weekend

Thank you to everyone who supported our March for Babies! The weather did hold out for us, it didn't rain on us until we were heading back to the car! Being in OC this year was great, we got pizza, went on the rides and finished with ice cream. All while raising money and awareness for a great cause! We spent the weekend at the beach house with two other families and the girls bestest friends! All 8 kids did great! Here are some highlights!