On Friday, March 5, we drove up to Disney for the Royal Family 5K run which is part of the Princess Marathon weekend. Dan, Dave, Paul and I woke up early Saturday morning for the jog/run. It was a beautiful day for a run through EPCOT. On Sunday, morning Cristy ran the Princess half marathon. The whole family came over to cheer us on: Yoyi, Arturo, Gene, Tina, Lori and the kids.

The weekend wasn't all about the races we also visited 3 parks and stayed at the Treehouse Villas which are part of Saratoga Springs. Friday, we went to Animal Kingdom where we took Pictures with the characters at Camp Minnie Mickey, rode the flying dinosaurs, watched the parade and The Finding Nemo Musical.

Saturday, after the race we visited the Magic Kingdom. We did the usual, rode the carousel, Its a Small World, the teacups, the kiddie roller coaster,visited Minnie and Mickeys house and took pictures with the characters. We also had a wonderful lunch with the princesses in Cinderella's Castle.

Sunday, after Christina's race we went to EPCOT. Alexa, of course had to visit the Character Spot for her pictures. We also rode on Nemo, Imagination, Mexico and Norway. Alexa also had her first ride on Soarin. She was a bit nervous at times holding on to mine and Arturo's hand but she also screamed out WOW and loved flying over Disneyland. We had a quiet ride home with Alexa fast asleep in the back and Paul Andrew watching movies.

Paul Andrew turned 2 years old on February 11. We celebrated his birthday on Saturday, February 6 at Gymboree. He had a great time climbing up the ramps, sliding down the slides, popping bubbles, jumping on the air log and playing under the parachute. He ate plenty of popcorn chicken, pizza, and some of his Paul Frank monkey cake. We all had a blast!

We once again visited Disney in January. This time it was for my birthday, Paul's last class in Orlando and Cristy was running a half marathon. We celebrated my birthday on Friday with dinner at the Italian pavillion in Epcot. The food was delicious. Despite the rain and freezing temperatures, Alexa insisted we watch the fireworks over the lagoon.

Saturday morning we were greeted by more rain and freezing temperatures. Cristy was raining that morning and saw snow, sleet and rain. We cheered her on at the Epcot finish line then went to Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club Resort for a character breakfast. Thankfully the weather cleared up and we had a great time at the Magic Kingdom.

Sunday was a beautiful day eventhough it was still very cold. We spent the morning at Hollywood Studios. We did the usual rides and shows: playhouse disney, the little mermaid, toy story mania and pictures with the characters. We had a great time.

In November we tagged along on one of Paul's work trips to California. We of course visited Disneyland and had breakfast with Minnie and friends and had lunch with the Princess' at Ariel's grotto. This time we visited plenty of parks, Craig Park in Brea, William Mason Park in Irvine and Irvine Regional Park. Alexa and Paul Andrew love playing in the park. Irvine Regional Park was real nice because we got to ride a train, ride ponies, play in the park and visit the zoo. We also saw a one ring circus in downtown Brea the day we arrived. On our last day we visited Ana Maria in Huntington Beach and took the kids for a walk down by the beach. We took a red eye home and thank goodness the kids slept most of the way home.

Now in December we did our annual trip to Disneyworld for Very Mickey Christmas. Unfortunately this year s Very Mickey Christmas was very wet. We stayed in the Magic Kingdom a few hours, had dinner with Winnie and friends at Crystal Palace, rode a few rides, took pictures with some characters, had hot chocolate and cookies then called it a night around 9. Saturday, the weather was much better. Christina and my mom went to the outlets, Paul went to class and my dad the kids and I went to EPCOT. Alexa wanted to go so she could take her picture at the Character Spot. After lunch in England of fish chips and of course beer for the adults, we met up with everyone at Hollywood Studios. We rode Toy Story Mania, saw the playhouse disney show, Ariel show, and the Osborne Family lights. Sunday we had breakfast with the characters at Chef Mickeys. However, before breakfast we saw the Jonas Brothers in concert for the filming of the Christmas Day parade at Disneyworld. Look for us in the audience on December 25. We are waving yellow pieces of cloth.

In September we visited Disney twice and began October with a trip down to Miami Beach. Our first trip to Disney was a weekend that Paul had class. Tia Cristy came along to help me out with the kids while Paul was in class. We visited Hollywood studies where we had lunch at Hollywood and Vine with Leo, June, Jojo and Goliath. Dan joined us for dinner in Downtown Disney at the T-Rex restaurant. The kids really enjoyed see all the dinosaurs, meteor showers and ice cave come alive every 20 minutes. Sunday as usual we visited the Magic Kingdom while Paul was in class.

Two weeks later we returned to Disney to cheer Tia as she ran the Expedition Everest 5K and scavenger hunt. The race was at night so we spent the day at EPCOT enjoying the Food and Wine festival. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for the first time and the kids loved it. They loved the bunk beds and watching the animals from the rooms balcony. Not so Scary was also going on so the kids got all dressed up in their Peebles and Bam Bam outfits and trick or treated around the Magic Kingdom. Alexa and Paul Andrew also loved dancing with all Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and friends. Sunday morning began with a delicious breakfast at The Polynesian with Lilo, Stitch, Pluto and Mickey. After a ride on the monorail we headed back home.

The following weekend Gene and Tina invited us to spend the weekend at their timeshare, Solara Surfise, in Miami Beach. The kids love playing in the sand and swimming in the ocean. It has been a very busy couple of months

Summer is over, and its back to work for Gloria, back to school for Alexa, and first day of school for Paul Andrew. Gloria is back at her school from last year, with few changes to her schedule. Alexa is now doing mornings at Gateway, and then going to Coral Park Elementary for classes in the afternoon, a busy young girl.

Paul Andrew started Gateway this year, being the youngest, and cutest in his class. He was not apprehensive on his first day, he ran around the classroom a few times, until he got settled at his favorite new station, the magnetic letters painter’s easel. There, he likes to play with the letters and numbers, placing them on the board, and then taking them down. On the third day of class that week, the kids figured out what school was about, and they were all crying when we arrived. Of course he cried until we distracted him with the letters. He’s learning quickly, and by Friday had tricked the teachers that he was sick, so he could20get out early!

Like last year, Paul has to drop off the kids at Gateway, because Gloria has to be at work before the school opens. This year, Paul takes both kids in the MDX, and then swaps cars at Gloria’s school, before finishing his commute to Beckman Coulter.

Taking advantage of a work trip for Paul, we headed to Australia for 2 weeks last month. Paul headed out first, for work, and Gloria followed a few days later. The time difference was difficult to manage at first, but got better eventually. We spent the first week In Sydney, where Paul was working. The hotel was located in the “Rocks”, which is the oldest part of Sydney. The location was wonderful, with many shops and restaurants nearby, and only a few minutes walk from the downtown and the Opera House. On the first weekend, we did the Sydney Harbor Bridge climb, an amazing trek up a 40 story bridge! We also took a wine tour in the Hunter Valley, a couple hours outside of the city. While Paul was at work Gloria had a great time walking around the city. She visited the Botanical Gardens, the Victoria Building(a shopping mall), the Australia Museum, walked up and down St George and Elizabeth Street (more shopping) and enjoyed the cafes in The Rocks. Gloria also took the bus out to Bondi Beach and enjoyed the walk along the cliffs from Bondi to Bronte Beach so much she made it a point to make sure we went back before leaving Sydney.

After Paul finished up work, we took a flight up north to the tropical city of Cairns. We took a dive boat out to the Great Barrier Reef. Paul scuba dived for the first time, and Gloria did some snorkeling. The coral was amazing, but not as much fish as the Florida Keys… I am sure it depends on the dive spot. The next day, we took a scenic railroad to the rainforest city of Kuranda, and got our pictures taken with Koalas, and fed some Kangaroos.

Then we were off to Brisbane. In Brisbane, we caught our breath, and just chilled out for a day. We went to the Australia Zoo, better known as the Crocodile Hunter’s zoo. Later, we stopped to visit Gloria’s friend, Susana and Tim, and Aaron and their new son Alec. The next day, we rented a car, got up early in the morning, and drove up to Hervey Bay to see Humpback whales. It was worth it, as the whales really put on a show. Driving on the opposite side of the road was also interesting. Finally, it was time to go home, and we were missing the kids very much at that point.

We once again traveled with Paul up to Orlando while he had classes. This time we were joined by my parents, grandparents, and met up wtih Paul's parents and brothers. We stayed at The Fountains which belongs to the timeshare Paul's parents own. The room was large. It had two bedrooms, two baths a living/dining room and a full kitchen. The hotel had many amenities: large pool, pool tables, boats on the lake, fishing, and activites for families. Alexa and Paul Andrew's favorite part of course was splashing around in the pool.

Saturday night we were supposed to watch the launch but it was scrubbed due to the weather. Instead we all had a delicious dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Sunday we checked out of the hotel around noon and said goodbye to everyone. Alexa, my mom and I stayed around waiting for Paul to finish his class. We hung out at the outlet mall, did a bit of shopping and Alexa got to ride the mechanical rides she loves to go on. Paul finished class a bit early and we began the drive back home.

We once again visited Orlando In June. However this time we did not visit the Disney parks. First of all its too hot and my passes are no good for the summer. We stayed at the Gaylord Palms and had a great time. Our rooms had a balcony that faced the indoor atrium. My parents came along with us for this trip and Uncle Dan came and visited on Saturday. The kids had a great time in the octopus pool and splash area. The pool was great because it had a beach entry. The indoor atrium had different areas. The Key West area had a boat and the southern most point booey, St Augustine had the fort and the Everglades had some reptiles. We had a great time strolling around the hotel even did a scavenger hunt and got some prizes. Paul as usual was in class most of time. We had a great time at the hotel!

Paul had class the weekend of May 15, so Alexa and I tagged along, and Paul Andrew stayed home with my parents. We stayed at the Hilton in Lake Buena Vista to try out a new hotel. It was great! We got upgraded to an Executive room and the Disney buses are only a 3 minute walk away at Downtown Disney. We had a very busy weekend. We arrived late Friday night, checked into the hotel and Alexa and I walked around Downtown Disney while Paul studied for his test the next day. Saturday, while Paul was at class, Alexa and I went to Hollywood Studios. We had lunch with the characters, saw Playhouse Disney Live, The Little Mermaid, and played with the parachute before watching the Block Party Parade. Sunday morning, started out with a character breakfast at Cape May Cafe. Alexa loved eating with Minnie, Donald and Goofy. After breakfast, we went to the Magic Kingdom. We rode the carousel, It’s a Small World, danced with Minnie in the parade and visited Toon Town. Once our day was over, we rode the Monorail to the Contemporary, where Paul was meeting up with us, to begin our drive home.