Spring Fever

Spring. We gotta thiiing... goin' on!

How can I explain it?...

You know the type of person at a party when you look their way for a split second too long and because of your "lingering gaze" they're encouraged to walk on over and strike up a conversation with you... for better or worse?

That's me... and Spring.

Once the sun makes long enough contact with my skin on the day it's close enough to the earth that it feels... warm, nourishing, and glorious!... that's the day I go to Green Acres and buy flowers. Spring Flowers. 

I had Spring Fever!

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of winter... I'm a fan of white Christmases! But once we ring in the New Year, I'm ready for the sun again. If it were up to me, the weather would start to get slightly chilly in October (no more 90-100 degree days!) and progressively get colder until New Years.

But like I said, once I kiss my Hubs at midnight... I'm ready for a 70 degree day on January 1st.

Dare to dream.

Dare to dream in color and... sunshine ;)

******

Sooo I just spent the last half hour writing cute and clever stories and captions to the following photos.

But, since blogger deleted them all, you have been spared my rambling.

I'll make it quick and painless:

Easter.

This year, Ethan got it! He understands that Jesus died on the cross, rose again, and is alive.

 It's so fun and rewarding to watch him grow and learn! What a blessing it is to be his Mommy :)

When E found an egg he shouted "A-Shaw!"

Why? The world may never know...

Family Picture

Bum in a bucket!

Ethan's Easter Basket had the Full Armor of God in it this year.

My soon to be sister in law, Jennifer, asked Mark's Mom and me to join her in dreaming up wedding flowers at the SF Flower Market/District.

I was super stoked to join since I'd never been!

Check out the succulent with jewel-like water drops.

Bride to be with a potential centerpiece.

Spoiler alert: She didn't pick this one for her big day!

Spring = Park Days!

Here are some pics of Ethan with one of his favorite friends, Nevaeh.

Random Spring Fun:

Daddy's Helper

Spa Time

Family Favorite...

We visited the California State Railroad Museum with Ethan for the first time.

Thanks to Auntie Lori, we used our Entertainment Book coupons for BOGO admission. Ethan was free because he's under 5... so we had some cheap family fun!

Ethan hiding under his hat from the parking lot to the shops...

Out from hiding...

Playing with "twains"

Happy Spring everyone!!

We {heart} Walt Disney World

For Ethan's 3rd Birthday, we surprised him with a trip to Disney World.

We all couldn't wait :)

On his birthday, February 8th, he got this WDW Countdown Calendar:

Everyday he got to take off a pair of Mickey ears as we neared D Day!

{Also helped with learning numbers, counting, days of the week... and of course... learning to anticipate and wait}

Ethan had his Bouncetown Birthday Party then the very next day we left for the airport!

This was the first time the 3 of us rode on an airplane alone... without any other family members.

We stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

We chose this hotel because every morning we could look outside and see wild animals in the backyard savanna. It's like being in the heart of Africa!

When we arrived, however, the sun had gone down. If we wanted, we could have used the night vision binoculars to see the zebras and warthogs...

Instead, we opted for dinner!

We got a rose upon arrival...

We ended up eating dinner at Jambo House...

Jambo!

This silly goose delighted in taking his shirt off in public... at the restaurant.

The more Mark said "No" the more encouraged Ethan was... like a game.

Mark did all the parenting on this one... I couldn't help but snap away at the cuteness.

Yes... sometimes his cuteness trumps his defiance.

This would be - as I like to call - a parenting fail on my part.

But like I said... it was Mark's turn ;)

He really does crack himself up!

Good morning zebra, giraffe, yak...  savanna animals!

First Park: Disney Hollywood Studio

First Party Foul: Skinned Knee {while running towards the gates of glory!}

(1) Special Powdered Donut Breakfast (2) Bus Ride to the Parks (3) Ouch! (4) Buying our Passes

DISNEY HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

It rain stormed that day... but we made up for it with popsicles :)
This was our wettest and hottest day.

That night we dined at T-REX in Downtown Disney.

It was the best restaurant for our 3-year-old boy!

They had an area where the kids could dig up dinosaur bones...

Here's Dr. Ethan, Paleontologist, uncovering prehistoric jewels!

The rest of the restaurant is like the Rainforest Cafe but with Dinosaurs instead of Rainforest Animals.

I ordered a cotton candy margarita... it was delish :)

We had annual passes to Disneyland in California, and we found it cheaper to upgrade our passes to the "Premier Passport Pass"

How appropriate to have a Passport Pass in Epcot where you can see the world in a day ;)

China with his 1/4th Chinese boy

Now this was funny...
Ethan begged to see Chip and Dale! This meant that we had to wait in line to meet them.
By the time it was our turn, Ethan became unusually shy.
Unusual if you know our Ethan.

It was so odd.

In one snapshot it looks like he's praying with them.
You can see C & D making an effort to warm up to him
I tried helping but he was already over it.

So different from Ethan 5 months ago in Hawaii with these same characters

More shy boy pictures

Italy

Shaaaaarks!!!

Mark and I have been to WDW together 3 times before.

Each time we've tried to get into Le Cellier Steakhouse in Epcot's Canada.

It's close to impossible to get a reservation...

Fourth time's a charm, apparently.

And this time, we got to bring our little mini me who loooves steak!

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Safari Ride

Dancing in the streets...

Ethan wasn't diggin' it. 

Back to Epcot for more food and fun...

Dinner at Chefs de France... one of our favs :)

Ethan having fun playing footsie with Mama

Fireworks!

MAGIC KINGDOM

Dole Whips all around!

Magic Carpet Ride

Pirates of the Caribbean Gift Shop Fun!

So many weapons... 

Beauty and the Beast Town and Castle

Last dinner

Cheers to a San Francisco Treat... and no, not Rice-a-roni.

Ghirardelli Sundaes!!

Several nights we came back to the hotel and watched a show in bed, popped popcorn, and snuggled. 

It took a while to adjust to Florida time but we were always up for the fireworks!

A collection of videos from my iPhone 

We look forward to our next Disney trips when Ethan is tall enough to ride Star Tours and other fun rides. We have 1-2 more inches to go, but until then... we'll enjoy every last minute of the stage Ethan is in now: sweet, cuddly, fun, excited, full of life, thrill seeking, Mommy and Daddy loving, goofy, precious, and all (little) boy.