Keiper Family Christmas Vacation: Part III

Yeah, this is going to take so many posts. I have way too many pictures. So Part III...

We went to the Magic Kingdom the day after Christmas.  Thank goodness we decided not to go on Christmas Eve.  That would have been horrendous.  It was so crowded that week and the holidays are the busiest.

 So we made it to the Magic Kingdom.  We took our time and didn't get there until after lunch.  It rained as soon as we left.  But like rain in Florida, we knew if we waited a half an hour, it would clear up.  It did.  The Christmas decorations still looked cool in the rain.

The entire park was decorated for Christmas.

We snapped a quick pic in front of the castle before heading off to Tomorrow Land.  Tommy wasn't quite sure what to think just yet.

When I went to the gift store to buy a poncho for Andrew, Tommy started eating his pretzel snack.  You can bet your ass we packed ALL his food for the day after the Rain Forest incident (see Part II).

Tommy had his pretzels but we had Mickey Pretzels from Tomorrow Land! Yum!

We rode our first ride of the day in Tomorrow Land called the People Mover.  Tommy loved it! Look at his cheese face! :) (This was after the ride by the way.  It wasn't a people mover like in an airport. That was just how you got off the ride. It was actually a slow moving train ride.) 

After that, we found a DJ playing "Today's Hit Music"and Goofy came out to dance.  Andrew and Tommy cut a rug with him in the center the crowd.

 We stood in line for the Dumbo ride thinking it wasn't actually going to be an hour long wait but it was.  We ran out of ways to entertain Tommy after about 20 minutes so we got out of there.

 We decided, instead, to go on It's a Small World.  Took some time to take a quick "Selfie" of the group.  Look at Tommy making his best goofy face. Gawrsh!

 The sign when you go through says "Welcome to the Happiest Cruise That Ever Sailed!"

 It definitely was the happiest cruise for Tommy.  He really enjoyed it.  We pointed out all the animals and things he would recognize.  He even started to jam out to the music after awhile.

Then we went to get pictures taken with Goofy and Donald.  We had to stand in line for this, OF COURSE! Before we saw Goofy, Donald made a special effort (when he was waiting for the next kid to come up) to walk over to the line where we were standing and give Tommy a high five and 'knuckles'.  It was so cool!  Tommy was completely enchanted after that happened.

So when we actually got up to meet and get a picture with Goofy, he was cool as a cucumber.  No big deal.  A giant quirky dog in his face was no problemo! :) He wasn't scared at all.

 Then we met Donald after that.  Giving him a high five the second time was totally old news! :)

 I had set my purse down in front of this little set up and Donald accidentally tripped over it.  I almost took Donald DOWN on his FACE!! YIKES!! I felt horrible! This picture is of Donald recovering very gracefully.  Heehee!! The people in those costumes are definitely professionals!
(I do love the look on Tommy's face in this picture.  It was like he had something to do with it!)

 Here's a nice family picture after the Donald Duck Drubbing Debacle.


Our next stop was the Haunted Mansion.  Before we went on that ride, we stopped to get a bite to eat. It was the saddest thing in the world.  We ordered 2 plates of chicken nuggets and fries and drinks (which was an astronomical $32 or something ridiculous).  Tommy sat there going, "I want chicken nuuuugggggeeets!" We had to tell him No over and over again.  It was awful because here we were scarfing down our nuggets while he whined for some.  So finally I said, "Tommy, these nuggets will make you puke."  He seemed to understand that.  But we had to use a little reverse psychology to get him to eat his sandwich.  Poor kid. :(

 I didn't get any pictures of the Haunted Mansion but this is a picture of Tommy playing outside of it.  It is definitely different riding the Haunted Mansion with Tommy.  We kept telling Tommy "Oh look at the silly ghosts dancing!" "Look at the kitty cats! They're so nice!" or "See the nice woman talking?"  HA! Poor kid.  He was a little scared but just from the darkness.  He did really great.  We were so proud.

That evening it got dark and pretty darn cold.  I think it was in the 50s.  Which isn't that bad considering our blizzard weather in Indiana.  But with just t-shirts and shorts, we were freezing! 

 Some of us didn't prepare for that kind of weather (most of us), so we had to buy the overpriced gear in the gift shop.  I wanted to buy a freaking blanket. It's the same one the little girls are sharing in the pic above.  It was $18.95 according to the sign.  However I didn't read the fine print.  You had to spend $40 to be able to buy the blanket for $18.95.  WTH?? I did, like a fool.  But other people in our group were able to sweet talk the cashiers and they only had to buy the blanket.  No fair! :)

On Main Street at a certain time, it started to "snow".  It was so cool! It was actually tiny little soap bubbles when you could examine them up close. Not really sure how they did it.  But it was safe to get in your mouth and eyes (or at least it didn't burn I guess).  This picture looks like Tommy is reaching for moon.  Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. :-) 

My mom took this picture of the Keiper Kiddos.  She put it on facebook and didn't realize until the next day that Lilli is accidentally flipping off the camera.  Heehee!! We laughed so hard.  So did the kids.  

Here's more Main Street Christmas decorations.  You can almost see the snow in the picture.

Our main goal in going to the Magic Kingdom together was to get a family picture in front of the castle.  It took us until 7:30 pm to finally get everyone together for a picture.  It was taken by professional photographers at the park. I captured the preview pic online for the blog.  Ssh, don't tell!

We walked up closer to the castle and we found out they had professional photographers about every 20 feet.  We got another picture closer to the castle when they lit the lights before the Christmas show.  We really had to squish together.

We watched the Mickey Christmas Show where all the Disney characters come out and sing Christmas songs.  Tommy LOVED that.  He didn't take his eyes off the stage the whole time.

It was also getting really late and really cold.  He was wrapped in a blanket and getting tired.  But he didn't take his eyes off the stage.

 After the Mickey Christmas Show, there was a light show ON the castle.  It was soooo cool.

 It was like they kept repainting the castle right in front of our eyes.

 Magical! How did they do that??

Our day at the Magic Kingdom, although we didn't ride many rides, was really fun.  Tommy did amazingly well.  Especially for a kid who was recovering from sickness and an allergic reaction AND hadn't had a nap all day.  Way to go, Tommy!

Part IV coming soon!

Keiper Family Christmas Vacation: Part II

So on Christmas Day with Tommy's fever mostly broken, we decided to get out of the house.  We went to "Downton Disney".  No, it's not actually called that but we couldn't help it.  It's actually Downtown Disney.  It's where Pleasure Island is and lots of shops, bars and restaurants. Biggest bonus? It's free to get in.  So off we went.

 It was crowded when we got there so the manly men dropped us off and we walked around until they found parking spaces.

 We hadn't walked even halfway through before we had already bought Tommy a toy.  We couldn't help it.  It was dark and they had spinning light up Lightning McQueen cars.  So cool.  He of course loved it.

 There is a LEGO Imagination Center (or as we called it LEGOLAND!) store there and they had a lego Woody and Buzz on a rocket.  Nice!

Tommy was content eating snacks and riding around.

 But you should have seen him once he found this Pluto pillow pet.  He really loved on this thing.  We didn't end up buying it.  I know, I know.  But we got made fun of for not even making it 30 yards before buying him something so we opted for a Pluto Christmas Ornament that he picked out instead.

We made reservations at the Rain Forest Cafe for dinner and it was an hour and a half wait.  So we walked around and played.  There was a fountain that kids could run and play in.  Tommy didn't want to get too close.

I took several pictures and none of them had any water spouting up in them.  But that is what he is looking at in this picture.

We also rode the Merry Go Round and train while we waited.

Once our reservation for 13 was called (hmm, I wonder why we had an hour and a half wait?), we parked our stroller in the stroller parking area by the elephants and headed into the restaurant.

 We had to sit at two different tables so the Keipers sat at one table and the rest of us sat at another.  I caught this cute family pic before we got our food.

I ordered a kid's meal for Tommy thinking it would be ok. I talked to the waiter a little about it but apparently I wasn't specific enough about it.  He told me the hot dog was cooked by itself (whatever that means) so I figured he knew what he was talking about.  He brought the hot dog and chips to our table and Tommy ate it all gone.

Then....

Then he started vomiting.  We always know when it's an allergic reaction vomit.  This was definitely that.  It did not stop.  He vomited all down my leg, all over the floor, and he kept vomiting.  My dad handed me his salad bowl so he didn't have to keep vomiting on the floor.  Poor kid.  Andrew was fast-acting and grabbed the Benadryl out of the bag.  He gave him some Benadryl and as soon as we knew he could keep it down.  I think that is what really helped Tommy.  Steph jumped up and found a waiter and told them what was happening so we could get some napkins/towels/a mop.  My mom and I took Tommy to the bathroom and cleaned him up (and me too).

We still aren't sure what it was that he ate.  There could have been peanut oil used in the chips.  Or maybe there was cross-contamination with the hot dog.  We have no idea.  He broke out in hives all over his belly and chest by the next day.  Thanks goodness for the Benadryl.  It keeps us from having to use the epi pen.

After everything was cleaned up, Andrew and I scarfed down our meals so we could get the heck out of dodge.

I think this picture is so sweet.  My dad held Tommy while we ate.  Poor kid.  This week was just not going his way.  First he was sick.  Then he had a terrible ear popping flight.  Now an allergic reaction? 

This is supposed to be the most magical place on earth! 

Will his week get better?? Stayed tuned to find out as the saga continues! :-) 

Keiper Family Christmas Vacation: Part I

I've never been anywhere but Indiana for Christmas so a real Christmas Vacation was such a foreign idea but it was truly awesome.  So many things went wrong, just like in the Christmas Vacation movies, but it was still great! 

My parents rented a house (through this site) 3 miles from Disney World that would hold all 13 family members.  That was the best part.  The fact that we could all stay in the same place and have true family time.  Holidays are always so rushed so having an entire week with each other was a nice change.  

We decorated our Christmas tree and somehow we had that many presents under the tree after traveling that far.

Tommy was still not feeling very well.  He had a fever for the first few days we were there. :(  His fever finally broke on Christmas day.  Poor kid.

We were still able to do my favorite Christmas tradition of watching It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve.  I love that movie.  I cry every time.

 The girls crawled into the built-in shelves in their Christmas jammies.

 The next morning was Christmas! Time to open presents!

 I got all the kids Mickey and Minnie ears.  You can see Jack wearing his in this picture and hiding.
 

 Steph got all the adult ladies Mickey Onesies! We wore them throughout the week.

 Here's a pic of the "honeymooners" by the Mickey pool.  HA!

 Here's a family pic of us.  Andrew is wearing his Star Wars jammy pants.  Tommy is still not feeling that great. :(

 He did go swimming a little though.  He enjoyed floating around with dada.

 It was pretty crazy being able to swim on Christmas Day.  Something none of us have ever done before.

 Andrew, Adam, and the kids played football in the pool while we all watched.

 Sweet catch, Thornburg!

 It was still a little chilly (for Florida) outside so we kept Tommy in his Mickey blankie that he got for Christmas from Gaga.

Here is the ONLY picture that we got of all five grand kids together the entire week. I wish we had gotten more.  But I do like this one.  They're all wearing their Mickey ears (or taking them off like Tommy).  Cute kiddos.

Stay tuned for the vacation blog post sequels! :)

Tommy's First Flight

For Christmas, my parents planned a trip to Disney World.  So the Sunday before Christmas was going to be Tommy first flight.  We prepared as best we could and took off for Indy. 

 We stopped at BK before heading to the airport.  We needed some lunch and we're very familiar with their allergy menu.  Chicken nuggets, fries and apples, YUM! Tommy "ate it all gone" as he likes to say.

 We parked our car and rode the bus to the airport.  With Scout in hand, Tommy was having a good time!

Once we checked in and got through security, we looked out the window at all the airplanes and trucks.  He thought that was pretty cool.  Any vehicle towing the luggage was automatically "Mater," of course.  

 This picture is pretty telling of what was to come on this flight.  Foreshadowing for sure. Look at the look on his face! Stinker!

But he was a perfect angel for the first 3/4ths of the flight.  He was seriously awesome.  In a great mood, quiet, sat still... the whole shebang.

Then he crawled into my lap and fell asleep.  It was too good to be true.

He was still asleep when I felt the plane start to descend. I hoped he would sleep through it all.  He did not.  He woke up most likely from his ears popping and OMG was that boy pissed off.  He was inconsolable.   Plus he was in pain and he didn't understand what was going on so he screamed his horrible high pitched scream for the last 20 minutes of the flight.  We tried to give him all his favorite foods, drinks, etc and he wouldn't take ANYthing from us.  He was confused, ANGRY, and in pain.  Things were not good.  We were panicking.  THEN he made himself so incredibly upset that he started vomiting.  He vomited all over me, my lap, the seat, the floor.  He just kept vomiting.  Then I freaked out, handed him to Andrew and tried to clean myself up.  The flight attendant came over and said, "Can I get you wet naps, napkins, or a garbage bag?" I said, "ALL OF THE ABOVE!"  When she left, Tommy started vomiting all over Andrew.  All over him, the seat, the floor, etc.  She finally brought all the stuff she said she would.  He puked more into the garbage bag and in between each vomit, he screamed a shrill, bloody murder scream.  Everyone was super excited that we were on the plane at that point.  No one offered any help, not that there was anything they could do.  Then a male flight attendant came over and asked in between vomits and screams in 'David Spade SNL receptionist style' "Um, for cleaning purposes, I need to know if any of that got on the floor?"
I replied, "IT'S EVERYWHERE!!!!" He left us alone.

As soon as we landed and were able to disembark, we busted ass off that plane looking no one directly in the eye.  There was just nothing we could do at that point but run and hide and hope to never see those people again.  We were mortified.  Tommy was still pissed but at least he wasn't vomiting and screaming anymore.  We walked to baggage claim like we had peed our pants because we were completely soaked with either vomit or liquid from the wet naps.  It was gross.

Tommy recovered quickly once we finally convinced him to eat and drink something.  All was well again and we will hopefully never ever see any of those people again.  Tommy's first flight was not a success.  But hey, we made it to Florida.

Christmas Time is Here Again

With Christmas and cold weather, often comes sickness.  Poor Tommy wasn't feeling very good on Friday before Christmas.  He fell asleep on the floor watching Mickey on his phone.  

Poor kiddo.  He hardly ever randomly falls asleep like that.  

 Then when we went to Christmas at Aunt Erin's, he fell asleep on the couch there too with a pillow on his head.

 On Saturday night when we got home, I dressed him in a his new Christmas jammies.  Check out those Santa feet.  I made him pose for pictures and he gave me his cheese face.

 I think he's saying 'Hooray!' here.

 What a Christmas cutie!

 He was ready for his close-up!

 Then that evening, Santa Dad stayed up late putting a new toy together for Christmas morning (Sunday for us).

Tommy was totally stoked about his new Finn McMissile oil rig track.  Tres cool.

He also liked his Cars book with the sound effects and steering wheel.  

Check out those shark jammies!! (At least one thing wasn't Cars related.)

Then it was time to chillax and watch Mickey.

It was a very short Christmas at home for very good reason as we were leaving to go on a Christmas Family Vacation.  More on that later.