Good Morning, Grumpy Alice.

It was another cool February morning.

 

Evie was feeling good, but 'Alic'e Belle was not.

 

She had come down with a serious case of the grumpies.

 

I don't know if you've noticed, but she brought a baby to the park every day.  (She is still so into baby dolls and she takes one every where we go.  In fact, the above baby just took a trip to the grocery store.)

Can we get a smile, girls???

 

At least we had one happy child.

We started the morning by grabbing 'breakfast' at Sunshine Seasons and picking up fast passes for Soarin' in The Land.

I've read so many wonderful reviews about the strawberry shortcake there. Sadly,  I wasn't all that impressed.

 

We also shared a heaping plate of breakfast potatoes.  They were really good.

 

These are just two of the many items you can get for a snack credit on the dining plan.

 

Belle asked to visit The Universe of Energy next.

The Figment ride is a ride for the senses and it was almost too much for Gregg and myself- we knew there was NO WAY we would allow her to ride that.  I did think that both girls would enjoy the leaping fountains so we decided to head that way.

Moods were starting to improve.  Is that a smile I see???

Belle took off into the pavillion and we decided to let her explore and see what she thought.

It was pretty loud inside, but it didn't seem to bother her.  Right away she went to a computer and started to create her own 'Figment'.

 

She named her final product 'Lovegood'.  (We watched the Harry Potter series over Christmas break.  She liked Luna.)

There was an area where you could jump around from square to square and they would light up different colors.  (I probably could have explained that better, but my brain is still recovering from pregnancy.)

She had a blast!  It was so worth the trip and I can't wait to bring Evie back to do it, too.

She also had fun conducting her own orchestra. 

It's hard to see in the picture, but when you wave your arms between the bars it makes music. Gregg was outside with Evie (nap time) and missed that, but I think he would have had fun doing that with Belle.

 

We were all getting pretty hungry after such a small breakfast and were very ready for lunch under the sea...

Treehouse Fun and Dinner at Ole' Faithful

I had really been talking up The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.  I should have considered the fact that I was newly pregnant and very tired.  Belle loved it and nearly killed me by going through so many times.

As tired as I was, my heart was full because it's one of my favorite's, too.  I love that about Belle.  I know that if there is something that I adore there is a 99.9% chance she will feel the same.

Afterwards, we decided to meet up with our Disney sister, Emma, in Tommorowland for a spin or two on the Tommorowland Transit Authority.

Belle relaxed while Emma and I talked and enjoyed the ride.  The weather was warming up and it was starting to feel great.

Magic Kingdom had been insanely crowded all week and it was starting to fill up by that point.

We all stopped in the Main Street Bakery.  I bought a cinnamon roll and lunch for Gregg.

The parade was making it's way past so we stopped to dance a bit.  (Emma- I miss you so much!  We need a Disney dance party soon!)

Belle loved having her special ears.  The helped so much during parades and shows.

We spent the rest of the day resting.  Evie started her antibiotic and her fever was down.

That night we had plans to celebrate our anniversary at California Grill.  We ate there on our Honeymoon and have such fond memories, but with Evie being sick we had a tough decision to make.

Just for the record, here's our history with Cali Grill ressies-

-On our 'last adult' trip, we canceled because the Disney Dining Cast Member had double booked us at Cali Grill and The HoopDeeDoo Review.  We chose to spend the evening at the HDR.

-On Belle's first trip, we canceled for a reason I can't remember and decided to have dinner at the resort.   We ended up loving Boatwright's.  (Especially the cornbread.  It really made an impression on me.)

Sadly, for the third time, we were forced to cancel Cali Grill for the 3rd time.  

 

Poor us.

However, we did feel like Evie was well enough to cross the bridge at our resort and dine at Boatwright's.  In our experience, we've only had trouble getting reservations once and that was many moons ago on our Honeymoon.

Before dinner we had a little photo session outside our room.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip.  I love that Gregg caught me in a 'mama moment'.

These pictures break my heart.  Evie was so little here!

 

Ahhhh...  my beloved cornbread.  It's sweet and fluffy and exactly how cornbread should taste.

Gregg had the prime rib with red wine Demi-glace with Yukon gold potatoes, watercress and balsamic vinaigrette.

I had a grilled pork chop with Amber Ale Barbecue Sauce, Cheesy Grits, and Onion Rings

I'm almost positive that Belle had pizza, which is why I did not take a picture.  It was pretty much all she ate the entire trip.

For dessert she had a sundae.

I ordered creme brulee, which is my favorite dessert in all of WDW!

We returned to the room early and let Evie rest.  She was starting to feel much better.

Without knowing it, Gregg and I both snuck Valentine's in to our suitcases for one another and the girls.  We exchanged Valentine's before bed.  Such a dear memory for me.

Things were starting to take a turn for the better.

Mommy Daughter Magic Kingdom Date

I was heartbroken over Evie.  All of our plans were quickly flying out the window.

Looking on the bright side, however, I was stoked to take Belle to the Magic Kingdom all by myself.

When I was a young lass working for Disney, I never thought the day would come that I would return home.  I imagined spending many fun days strolling around the Magic Kingdom- just my daughter and me.  It was really a dream come true.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, a cold front surprised Florida that week.  I had been checking the weather religiously, but things can always change quickly.  Wardrobe-wise we were not prepared for 30 degree weather.  We had to buy Belle a sweatshirt and I happened to find one stored in the trunk of my car. We mixed with blue jeans, random shirts and our boots. We looked like a HOT MESS, but we were warm.

Our morning started off with a stop to the food court.  I instantly fell in love with these cinnamon buns and had one every day for the rest of the trip.  Belle had a cup of fruit.  Each were one snack credit.  (I love being able to use a snack credit on breakfast.)

We arrived to an almost empty Magic Kingdom and Belle asked to ride 'Small World'.

She needed to check on Poodie's mama.

Poodie is Belle's beloved stuffed poodle who has been to Disney World twice.  On our last trip Mousekeeping accidentally took Poodie away while they were changing the sheets.  Belle was devastated and we told her that Poodie had gone to visit his mom on the Small World ride.

Thankfully Poodie was returned safe and sound.

I probably have a million pictures from this ride, but each time I always find a new piece to photograph.  I love this ride!

Next up was the carousel.  On Belle's first trip it was the only ride she enjoyed.  Whew!  So glad that is over. 

We decided to stroll through Adventureland and it was hoppin' with characters.  Since it was early in the day there were hardly any lines.  (Good tip-take a morning to do meet and greets.  There was a really cool selection of characters, as well.  Prince Eric was out with Ariel that morning.)

Okay, so it's time for a disappointing moment in the lives of Belle and her mama....

It's no secret that we are huge Tinkerbell fans in this house.  Even though she's almost six, we still call Belle 'Tink'.  We have every movie and more Tinkerbell pajamas and costumes than should be allowed.

Our favorite fairy, other than Tink, is Rosetta.  She's also the only fairy we had not met at that point.

We love her personality and southern accent.

We were thrilled to find out that she was in Pixie Hollow that morning.

Well.....

She was about as Rosetta-like as Cinderella's horses.  No resemblance and no southern drawl.  She wasn't that friendly either.

I seriously think that is the moment when Belle realized that the characters were really just ladies in a costume.  :(

(On a happy note, Belle wants to be one of those ladies when she grows up.)

Tinkerbell was sweet, but not very chatty.

Belle really wanted to see the Tikee Room, since we love the song.  It was pretty boring, so we left early.

Our tummies were hungry for 'grub and grog' so we decided to check out Tortuga Tavern.

We were a bit early and some sweet ladies offered to take pictures of us.

One of my favorite moments occurred in Tortuga Tavern.

We had the sweetest cast member assisting us with ordering.  In great detail she explained the menu to us.  (It's pretty much Tex-Mex, so we just nodded and smiled.)

Belle asked for an order of rice and beans.  She bent down to Belle and said, "Oh sweetie, you don't want to eat that.  You would like a quesadilla better.  It's like bread and cheese."

I chuckled and let her know that we live on the border of Texas and Louisiana.  Beans and rice are a staple in our diet.

We also split a beef taco.  There is a toppings bar and you can make it your own.  It was pretty good!  (Tip time- they are HUGE!  You can easily split them between two adults.)


We really enjoyed the scenery and took our time eating and visiting.

Next up- Belle finds her favorite corner of the kingdom, a visit with Emma and our 3rd attempt at California Grill.  Will we make it???