Character Breakfast

One of my favorite memories of DisneyWorld are character breakfasts so I was super excited when Katie agreed that we should take the kids to one on Sunday morning. Conveniently the breakfast was located right in our hotel so we didn't have far to go in the morning.

On our way in we were greeted by Mickey!

Once in we raided the buffet. Nikos was super excited for his Mickey waffles and pancakes.

Pluto came by to say hi.

Followed by Minnie.

We made sure to get autographs from everyone.

Nikos was not sure how he felt about Stitch (or is it Lilo?) and then when he pretended to steal Niko's juice he decided he was not a fan at all.

Later he kept asking where the bunny that tried to steal his juice went. Ha.

Luckily Daisy brought the smile back.

Another birthday cake treat!

The kids did some surfing before we left the restaurant.

In our hotel lobby the kids posed with Goofy.

We walked over to Downtown Disney for a little shopping. The kids picked out something for themselves and then gifts for siblings/fathers/cousins. Jack and Tyke owe Katie and I for not letting our kids pick the first gift they saw. I mean, unless you think Tyke would like to roll in a GIANT Donald Duck sweatshirt.

Back at the hotel the kids occupied themselves while we waited for the taxi to the airport.

How cute was this little room with kid-sized Adirondack chairs (and a tv showing vintage Mickey cartoons.)

At the airport we rewarded the kids for a great trip (and bribed them since we arrived pretty early for our flight) with Starbucks.

Here they occupy themselves by playing with their toys on the GIANT castle Nikos insisted we buy Olive for her birthday (that had passed.)

For the record it was really cute, we were barely at Disney when we walked into a little shop (where Brookie got her Alice dress) and Nikos shrieked "there's the castle I wanted to get Olive for Christmas but you wouldn't let me! I want to give it to her for her birthday!" Since we were staying on Disney property it made it super convenient to buy and have it delivered to our hotel in the morning before our flight. I delusionally thought I would pack it in my suitcase (?!) or fit it in the overhead (?!) on the plane. Luckily one of the flight attendants felt sorry for me and he offered to check it down below and then deliver it back up to me at the gate when we arrived in Oakland. Love Southwest!

Did I mention it was Mother's Day and I knew Southwest gave out a free drink to moms if you fly on that day? (I was still bitter from last year when I flew home from Vegas on Mother's Day and it was too turbulent for drink service.) Well, I got one this year!

Despite the fact that my son was awesome most of the trip I still felt the need to toast myself. Especially since one of his infrequent bouts of non-awesomeness occurred five minutes earlier when he freaked out that Katie and Brookie were getting on the plane and the plane was going to leave without us (they were Boarding Group A and we were B) and he took off like a bat out of hell down the terminal. Yes, I had to abandon Sleeping Beauty's castle (and all of our other stuff) and jam after him. Lest you think this was a subtle move unnoticed by my fellow travelers, please enjoy these little anecdotes. Overheard by Katie, who observed the race from the front of the line "They're just like dogs...once you start chasing them they just run faster." And from my seatmate who sat next to us on the plane "So, you must be a runner..."

Ha.

And finally, the payoff. SO excited for her castle.

Here's to a great trip!