March 30 - Family Time

Now that school and activities are cancelled, we are spending a lot (all of our) time at home. 

Daily Baking

Sprinkler Fun

Family Walks after dinner

Mom & Luke - week 3 of C25k!

March 24 - Coronavirus

Paper towels

We came back from vacation with COVID-19 in 'full bloom.' The last week has been incredibly stressful:

School: school is currently closed through April 10th with a reassessment taking place on April 6th. Julia started online school last week and Luke started this week. They are both taking online typing classes, walking the dogs and doing chores around the house.

Preschool: Today is Jillian's last day of preschool. Houston is operating under a mandatory lock down effective tonight. While JD is classified as an essential employee due to his government work, I am not. 

flour

Sports: The kids have not been participating in sports since we got back from vacation. Julia is running approx. 9 miles a week, while Luke and I are doing a 'couch to 5k' running app 3 times per week. Jillian's dance teacher is supposed to be sending out a YouTube video of her recital routine soon so she can practice.

JD: JD's company was in the middle of securing series C financing and that is on hold. In order to keep layoffs at bay, C suite employees are not drawing a salary and everyone else is taking a 20% pay cut. 

pasta

Christine: My company is in the business of joint replacements which are classified as elective procedures. CMS has recommended that all hospitals in the US delay elective procedures until further notice. Several states have mandated delays/cancellations. This has been devastating to our business. Yesterday, we laid off 60+ employees (first layoffs ever in the history of the company) and the rest are taking pay cuts ranging from 10% to 25% depending on the position. One of my team members was laid off, a single mom with a 4-year old. I feel absolutely terrible for her. 

coffee

Food: I am sure everyone reading this blog is experiencing some sort of food and/or paper item shortage. I've never seen anything like this, not even after Harvey. I had to wait in line to enter the grocery store on Sunday. There were no (or barely any):
*paper products of any kind (paper towels, toilet paper, tissues, napkins)
*cleaning supplies (nothing! not even dish soap or dishwasher detergent)
*coffee

peanut butter

*peanut butter
*bagels (very weird)
*frozen veggies
*ice cream
*flour
*pasta

Ice Cream

Frozen Veggies

March 23 - Pensacola Beach

Last stop on our spring break..Pensacola Beach! Luke and JD checked into the room while the girls and I ran out to the beach to catch the sunset. The best part? Jillian stripped down naked, did a yoga pose (totally unprompted) and then played in the surf and sand. So adorable! The next morning, we spent a few hours at the beach. We even saw dolphins playing in the water, so beautiful!!

Sunset

Sunrise

Playtime

March 21 - Animal Kingdom

Last Disney morning! We were checking out of the hotel on Friday so we packed up as quick as possible and then headed to the bus. We realized that Jillian's Magic Band was missing and then the bus was running late. Oh no...we were close to missing our first fast pass window for the big coaster there. No worries! JD and the big kids skipped the bag check line and high tailed it to Expedition Everest (with 5min to spare) while Jillian and I went to Guest Services to get her straightened out. We met up with JD, Julia and Luke and headed over to Pandora. They did an amazing job in this area of the park, it was beautiful! JD and the kids went on the new Pandora ride and then I got to ride it with the immediately afterwards (the Disney fast-pass system). We headed over to the dinosaur area where the kids and I rode a dinosaur ride, and then Julia and Jillian had fun in the huge play around. Last but not least, we went on the safari ride and saw lots of fun animals!

Girls (11) & Boys (9)

Alas, our Disney trip was officially over. We checked into a condo for the night-2 bedroom condo 10min from the park that was a third of the cost of the Disney hotel and had a relaxing night in. The next morning, we headed to Publix on the way out as my Texas friends made me aware of the dire food situation at home. We stocked up on dry goods and headed north. Our drive was going smoothly until we were notified of a big delay on the turnpike. I'm talking an hour plus delay. Google had us exit and we took back roads for quite awhile. I don't think it saved much time but we were moving. It turns out there was a multi vehicle accident completely blocking the road and there was 20 miles of stand still traffic. I texted Jill on the way and we were able to stop in Gainesville for lunch and meet up with her and the kids. So fun!!

March 20 - Chef Mickey & Disney Springs

One of JD's biggest pet peeves with amusement park vacations (besides all the crowds and lines haha) is that we are always in a 'go go go' mindset and never take a day off to relax. So this trip, we designated Thursday as our relaxation day. I had brunch scheduled at Chef Mickey's for Thursday and cancelled when Jillian was sick. I wasn't sure she would be better in time and if you don't cancel with a minimum 24h notice, you are still charged. At 4am, I woke up to find Jillian in the fridge drinking a bottle of water. She was up at 6am..and drank 3 boxes of chocolate milk out of the fridge. Needless to say, she was A-okay.

Around 8.15am I checked openings..and there was one at 8.45am! Could we make it? Doubtful, but we were willing to try. We headed down to the docks as fast as possible..and then waited for what felt like forever for the boat. We finally made it (Chef Mickey is in the hotel next ours) and it was fantastic. The kids met Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Pluto. The food was also delicious. 

Next up-we headed to Disney Springs for a few hours to window shop. The kids loved the Lego Store, the huge Disney store as well as the chocolate shop. We also went to the Coca Cola store and sampled coke's from around the world. Most of them were really disgusting and we got some good laughs! We finally headed back and hit up the pool for several hours. The kids did not want to get out. Another great day!

A few more Chef Mickey pics

March 19 - Epcot

Day 3! JD, Julia and Luke had breakfast in the room and headed to Epcot. They took the boat to the Contemporary Hotel (next to our hotel) and intended to jump on the monorail, but the monorail was not working. They hopped a bus and made it over just in time for their first fast pass. They rode Test Track, Soarin' and a few others before heading back to the hotel. Jillian and I spent the day in bed while she slept most of the day. We ventured out late afternoon to get some fresh air but otherwise, it was a chill day. JD and the big kids eventually headed back to Epcot for dinner at the German restaurant before calling it a night. 

Epcot is under a lot of construction right now.  The kids enjoyed Test Track and Soarin' but were underwhelmed by everything else in the park. JD loves the food there (I always think of Epcot as a beautiful food court) and the flowers were gorgeous. Disney has totally transformed Hollywood Studios in recent years and hopefully they will do the same with Epcot. 

Beautiful Epcot

Jillian and Mommy's day of rest

March 18 - Hollywood Studios..and the Bug

We spent day 2 at the new and improved Hollywood Studios. We contemplated getting to the park early to try and score a boarding pass to 'Rise of the Resistance' but that would require everyone in our family inside the park before 8am. We would need to be there by 7am to ensure we could get through bag check in time and then log into the Disney app and constantly refresh over a 30sec period hoping to get a pass. I am not exaggerating-that is the process, it is completely random. We figured it wasn't worth the effort and I'm glad we didn't rush. I spoke to several people that day that got there as early at 6am and didn't get a pass. So, after a quick breakfast in the room, we hopped on the bus and headed over to Hollywood Studios. One weird thing to note: Disney has a new 'skyliner' they are promoting which is a ski gondola that runs from a few hotels to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. It was extremely odd to see these over parking lots but people seem to love them. 

We arrived at the park at 8.20am, pretty impressive for our family! JD and the big kids wanted to get in line for the Rock and Roll Roll Coaster so I took all the bags and Jillian so they could enter a faster line. There was a problem with her magic band, so I'm glad they went ahead of us, otherwise they would have been delayed. No worries though. Customer Service fixed the issue right away! Jillian and I walked past the craziest Starbucks line I've ever seen and headed to West Hollywood section of the park to check on JD and the big kids. Amazingly, the park opened at 8am, they got in line around 8.25am and the wait was already 90min! No worries. Jillian and I headed to the Disney Junior area and had a blast. She had unicorn face painting done and met Doc McStuffins and Vamparina! Next up we headed to the new Star Wars area that was extremely impressive. Once JD and the big kids were off the coaster (they loved it), we all went on Buzz Lightyear together. It's a shooting ride and I thought I did pretty awesome..but everyone's scores were 3x higher than mine.

Love Luke's face during Rock & Roll Coaster LOL

I had the best accuracy at 69% while there were at 30% LOL! Super fun. There was a fun 'Slinky Dog Dash' coaster but I was unable to get a fast pass for it and the lines for 2.5h long, so we skipped it. After Buzz, JD and the big kids headed to Star Wars to build droids. So fun! After that they did a Star Tours ride which they enjoyed. While they did all things Star Wars, Jillian and I watched a live performance of 'Frozen Ever After' and it was adorable. We sang to all the songs from the first movie and the auditorium "snowed" at the end. She loved it!

We met up with JD, Julia and Luke and had lunch (we packed pb&j sandwiches as well as chips). After that, I went with Julia and Luke and we rode the Tower of Terror which we all LOVED. JD took Jillian to meet Mickey and Minnie and she was in heaven. Jillian LOVES Minnie Mouse!

We all came together and went to a Disney Junior Dance Party that was super energetic and fun. There was singing, dancing and lots of happy children. Next up, we met Darth Vader and BB8. The big kids and I went back to the Tower of Terror for one more ride, and then we headed back to the hotel for more swimming.

droid fun

Our day was not over! Disney has character meals at various hotels and parks. We did the Princess Castle lunch last time we went (I thought it was a giant waste of money, JD loved it) and the Mickey breakfast at a hotel which we all loved. There is a new character meal at our hotel called Artist Point but I was unable to get a reservation. Several of my work friends who go to Disney all the time told me it's their favorite character meal. When our bellhop was delivering our luggage the day we checked in, he suggested we go to the desk everyday around 7.30pm and see if they have an opening.

droid fun

Well, I tried on Monday and no luck. I tried on Tuesday and they had an opening. Amazing! We were seated in about 15min and let me tell you readers....we loved every minute of it. Without a doubt, the best character meal and in fact, best tasting food at all of Disney. The kids met Snow White, the evil Queen, Dopey,  Happy and Grumpy. The food was incredible-they had a sampling of appetizers and desserts for everyone. Yum!! 5 stars all around!

After this amazing day, I got out of the shower to some shouting.

Well, our little blonde wonder had just puked all over JD and our bed. ALL OVER. I quickly got her to bathroom, we stripped the bed and called housekeeping for all new bedding (they came quickly). I discovered our hotel had free laundry (winning). I was up until 1am doing laundry and our little blonde was puking on and off from 9pm-5am. It was a long night for me and her. 

Darth Vader

BB8

Pool Fun

Goofy

Artist Point

March 17 - Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom

After a quick breakfast in the room (we stopped at the grocery store on the drive in), it was time for our first full day. Our destination? Magic Kingdom. Our hotel has boat access to MK so we walked over to the dock, waited a few minutes and hopped on. We made it to MK in about 5min and best of all, had our own bag check line that was very short. We actually arrived a few minutes before park opening. They allow guests to go as far as the castle and then Mickey and Minnie come out an announce it's time for the park to open. We headed to Dumbo first and jumped on with no line.

the girls on Dumbo

After Dumbo, we split up (wait a second Christine, didn't you plan this vacation so you could do it together? Yes..however Jillian is too short for a few rides so JD did those separately with Julia and Luke).

Jillian and I did the Ariel ride and no surprise, she LOVED it! We did it multiple times. She also got to meet Ariel in her grotto. Jillian was very apprehensive about Ariel (she refused to smile) but did hug her. We randomly saw Pluto the dog walking around and Jillian was able to hug him too. We squeezed in a carousal ride as well as Mickey's Philharmonic before lunch. While we were having fun, JD and the big kids rode Space Mountain.

It was Luke's first ever 'big kid' coaster and he loved it! Next up, they decided to do the Jungle Cruise. Unfortunately, the ride was delayed and they waited in line for well over an hour before it was time to meet us for lunch.

Lunchtime! We all met up at Belle's Castle for lunch. I pre-ordered the food before we left so we just had to pick a seat. I initially chose a spot in the Beast's room. It was dark and sounded like it was storming, the rose was suspended in a glass. I thought it was pretty neat but Jillian was scared so we moved to the main eating area. The food was surprisingly good. 

Next up...Thunder Mountain! I did this one with Julia and Luke and we all enjoyed it. Our next stop was the Haunted Mansion but the ride shut down. We did Pirates of the Caribbean, Winnie the Poo and the Seven Dwarfs Train to wrap up the afternoon. We attempted to see Cinderella but the 40min wait was closer to 2+ hours.

After Jillian fell asleep in line we decided to call it a day. We took the boat back to the hotel and of course, headed back to the pool. The kids also made s'mores. Fun day!

In case you are wondering about corona virus..the parks had hand sanitizer stations around. The workers did not physically check any safety restraints the entire day (they would walk by and say 'push up on the bar') so I think (hope) that was a precaution.

JD bought her Princess Minnie..she loves Princess Minnie

It was very crowded

S'Mores