Disney World!

last week, Greta and Cece went to Disney World for the first time with Nick's mom and sister! I have never been to any of the Disney locations (except for a Disney cruise as an adult, which was actually really fun!). Nick had been to Disney with his family as a kid but not since. after hearing about school friends' trips, our girls periodically have lamented the fact that they've Never! Been! To! Florida! to which we turn unsympathetic ears, considering that they've traveled to several European countries when we were living in Rome. so we knew they'd be super excited to go to Disney and knock both Disney World and Florida off of their bucket lists in one go!

just before Valentine's Day, Sabrina came out to visit and brought the girls their Valentine's gifts. Greta and Cece both got Disney themed t-shirts and balloons. you could tell they were a bit underwhelmed, but they politely said thank you. then Sabrina asked if they could think of why they might need a Disney-themed shirt. as you can imagine, much shrieking and dancing ensued! 

I'm not sure who's more excited, Nana or the girls!

leading up to the trip, I spent some time perusing various Disney blogs and Facebook group posts to plan the girls' packing lists. overall I think they had everything they needed, and some things they didn't need but definitely better safe than sorry (such as the blister bandaids). I had goggles on the list and I swear I packed them, but somehow they ended up out of the suitcase and I discovered them a few days later. they didn't spend too much time at the pool so it ended up being all right. I was able to order an Instacart food delivery for them that was delivered to the hotel on the day they arrived, and kept refrigerated until they picked it up later that evening -- a very nice perk!

super cute! Sabrina found these on Etsy

a week before departure -- getting in the spirit

the most important part of packing for any trip: plenty of books

two days before they were supposed to leave, Greta came down with a fever of 102 and said her stomach was bothering her. she didn't have a sore throat but lymph nodes were a bit swollen. I knew that this horrid mutant strep strain has been going around school, so took her into the pediatric urgent care where, sure enough, rapid strep was positive. she got started on cephalexin (treatment of choice due to her penicillin allergy), and was fever-free and feeling much better the next day. she stayed home from school for the requisite 24 hours after starting antibiotics, and spent most of the day playing happily in her room. we have tons of samples of antibiotics at work and I grabbed an extra bottle of amoxicillin and cephalexin to send with the rest of the group, just in case, and got new toothbrushes for the girls. while I'm super laidback about the run-of-the-mill daycare/school viruses, I don't mess around with strep! she was so afraid that she wouldn't be able to go to Disney, but thank goodness she was feeling completely back to normal and the trip was on! since it ended up working out okay, I'm actually grateful for the timing, because the upcoming trip was the only reason I took her in right away. otherwise I tend to just watch and wait and let things run their course as long as the kid is "not sick" sick, and since she was feeling better even before starting antibiotics, I may not have even taken her in at all -- but untreated strep can lead to heart and kidney complications among other things, so I'm super glad we didn't miss it!

Sabrina arrived at our house early Friday afternoon, and Rebecca and Josh drove in just after dinner time. we got the last bit of packing taken care of and headed to bed before the early morning wake-up. with a 6:30 AM flight, the plan was for them to leave the house by 4:15 (Josh gallantly volunteered to drive them to the airport). I had the girls change into fresh outfits, including clean undies, to wear to bed so they could just roll out of bed, brush their teeth and head to the car. 

4:11 AM, right on schedule

Orlando bound

after they left for the airport, I stayed up for a bit reading my book in bed, and then drifted off back to sleep until the babies woke up -- bliss! 

Sabrina texted around 8:30 AM to say they had landed, and after a delay in getting Rebecca's checked bag (which was stuck on a broken down carousel), they were off to drop their bags at the hotel and go explore Epcot. that Saturday was the hottest of their trip, with temperatures in the upper 80s. 

love Greta's hair on this photo from Guardians of the Galaxy!

Cece loved the aquarium

Sunday they spent the day at Hollywood Studios. 

at the Sci Fi drive-in theater. they thought this was so cool!

On Monday, they went to Animal Kingdom first thing. Cece loved the safari. Greta and Rebecca rode the Expedition Everest ride four times! 

sadly, that afternoon Cece started to wilt and had a low grade temperature. Sabrina stayed in with her at the hotel so she could nap, and started her on empiric antibiotics to cover for strep (per my request). we FaceTimed and she did perk up a bit talking to Elizabeth. 

that night, they had tickets for Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom. unfortunately Sabrina and Cece couldn't go, but Greta and Rebecca made the most of it. the event ran until 1 AM and they got back to the hotel at 2 AM! my night owl, coaster-loving child was living her best life. 

Greta closest to us, a stranger next to her, and Aunt Becca behind her in the chute. this was another one of Greta's favourite rides (Tron)

Tuesday morning, they slept in. thankfully, Cece was feeling much better, so they all rounded out the trip with a day at Magic Kingdom. 

Cece was quite impressed by this fire-breathing dragon and told me later, "Don't worry, we had to stand behind a rope so we didn't get charred."

during one of my phone calls with the girls that week, I asked Cece what the funniest part of the trip had been so far and she said, "Nana's screams on Slinky Dog Dash" :D

on Wednesday, their flight left Orlando around 4:30 PM and arrived early, at 6:30 PM. they had gotten to the airport early to allow plenty of time for security and ended up having almost two hours at the gate! actually, I think that was good -- the girls had some down time and spent most of their time drawing pictures of various Disney characters for Aunt Rebecca. 

the babies and I went to pick them up at the airport and Elizabeth was so excited! all week she kept asking for Greta and Cece and when I told her that they were at Disney, she said, "I want go to Disney!" even though she has no idea what that means. hopefully sometime in the future! for now, Greta and Cece will treasure their memories. I'm so glad they had this time with their beloved Nana and Aunt Becca! 

Cece put her Mickey ears on Victoria on the ride back from the airport!