My Fair Laney: A Magical Vacation

Here is a recap (finally) of our awesome 2 in 1 vacation. Scott and I traveled with the Tide to Miami, FL for the 2013 BCS National Championship Game, after which we drove to Orlando to meet Allison, Alan, Anna Scott, and my parents for some Walt Disney World fun!

We left bright and early on Monday morning, tickets in hand.

Our plane landed in Orlando, where we rented a van to drive to Miami.

Three hours later, we arrived at the Epic Hotel in downtown Miami. It was such a nice place to stay. Beautiful.

That evening, we rolled into Sun Life Stadium!

We got to spend time with some friends before the game.

We walked in the stadium just in time to grab a bite to eat, take a few photos, and watch the teams warm up before the pre-game show started.

I didn't take any photos during the game. I was too busy cheering and taking it all in. After our first drive (and touchdown), Scott looked at me and said, "Sit back, relax and enjoy the show." And that is just what we did. It felt so nice to really enjoy a game in its entirety after what we went through in the Georgia Dome. :) I did get a few pictures during the celebration.

Here are LaVohn and Scott after the game...

...and here they are after the SEC Championship game. All smiles! I thought this was a good pic of them and I just haven't shared it yet. We have developed a great relationship with LaVohn and Patsy. They are such wonderful people who we have come to love and respect, and we have enjoyed sharing these special moments with them. We sat with them in Pasadena 3 years ago as well.

Scott and me after the game!

We stayed until the party was over.

On Tuesday, Scott and I enjoyed a beautiful day together on Miami's South beach.

We had a delicious lunch at News Cafe...

...and an even more delicious dessert at Kilwin's (my absolute favorite).

That night, we had dinner reservations at Yard Bird on South Beach. Southern cooking at its finest. I had the best fried chicken I have ever had in my life. Our conversation at the dinner table that night consisted of how we were going to tackle Disney with a 20 month old. I don't think this is something you can really plan for, but we did the best we could. :) We enjoyed a second night to ourselves at the Epic Hotel and then drove back to Orlando the next morning to experience the magic of Disney.

First, let me say that part of the reason it has taken me so long to post this is because Anna Scott is usually around with I start to work on it, and she always wants to sit in my lap and scroll through all of the pictures. She knows what we are doing in every one of them and talks about it all like it just happened. She hasn't forgotten a thing! It is really amazing.

We stayed at the Yacht Club, which I highly recommend. It is in a great location (just a short walk to Epcot and a bus ride to the other parks) and the scenery is beautiful. I wish we would've had a day to stay around the hotel, enjoy the pool, and relax. Maybe another trip.

On our first day, we went to Epcot, and the very first person we saw was Mary Poppins! There could not have been a better start to our Disney experience because Mary Poppins is Anna Scott's favorite Disney movie. She is familiar with all of the songs and loves to sing along. Her favorites are "Spoon Full of Sugar" and "Stay Awake." She still talks about meeting Mary Poppins, her pretty dress, and touching her umbrella. :)

We rode lots of rides in Epcot (don't let anyone tell you this park isn't for kids). Anna Scott loved a lot of the rides there including Finding Nemo and the Imagination ride. It was much less crowded than the other parks as well, which was nice. That night, we had dinner with the princesses! Anna Scott met Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White, Belle and Sleeping Beauty.

After watching the firework show at Epcot, we went back to the room for a good night's rest, only to wake up and hit the ground running the next morning. Here are ASL and Minnie on their way to the Magic Kingdom.

Anna Scott loved the Magic Kingdom the most. Fantasy Land was wonderful. She loved all of the rides so much, especially the tea cups, the voyage of the little mermaid, dumbo, and it's a small world. We are still singing "it's a small world" many times a day. :) Most of all, she loved the shows and the parades, and she was (still is) crazy about Cinderella's castle.

When we talk about the tea cups now, she says "I spinned it," because she "spinned" it all by herself.

She still talks about dumbo and how we "flew high in the skies!"

We watched 3 or 4 parades that day...

The next day, we went to pick up our running gear then spent the remainder of the day in Hollywood Studios. This is where the big kids got to ride something! However, most of our time was still spent on making sure Anna Scott was happy. Her favorite thing here was Disney Junior Live. She got to watch a live performance of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins, and these are two of her favorite shows on television!

In Hollywood Studios, Anna Scott also saw the Muppets in 3D. She still talks about wearing the 3D glasses. Here she is with a giant Kermit the Frog.

She danced the afternoon away with these boys and girls...

...and enjoyed the spectacular show Fantasmic that night.

That day (January 11th) was Dad's birthday, and we had dinner at Prime Diner, where "Mama" took care of us and brought Dad a birthday card and cupcake (he is wearing a sticker for cleaning his plate). :)

On Saturday morning, January 12th (the morning of our last day in Disney) Allison, Alan, Scott and I ran the Walt Disney Half Marathon. We were up bright and early for a 5:30 start that was signaled by a burst of fireworks.

We all finished the race with great times. I was so proud of Allison because it was her first half marathon and she ran it in under 2 hours. Awesome! She finished 120th out of 1781 in our age group (25-29 year old women). I was also proud of myself for setting a personal record and running a 1:49. I finished 40th out of the 1781 in my age group.

Here are some pictures at the Yacht Club before spending our last day in Magic Kingdom...

Our last day in Magic Kingdom was full of the fast pass and catching up on things we hadn't done.

Of course, we made time for a few more parades!

Anna Scott met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Daisy. She gave Mickey "five," and she will make sure you know this if you ever mention Mickey around her. She still talks about Minnie's pink shoes.