Our trip to Disney was a little different this year. Last year we did all the parks and ran ourselves pretty ragged. This year, we opted to take advantage of all the 'other' things Disney has to offer. One of the changes we made was staying at a place that had a kitchen so we could avoid eating all of our meals out. This was our first experience at The Cabins at Fort Wilderness and I think it received a big 18 thumbs up. We absolutely loved this place. Just before we left for Florida, Christopher read about a grocery delivery service. Taking Disney transportation from the airport meant we had no rental car and no way to get to the grocery store ourselves. The campground does offer a camp store but we were not sure what exactly they offered OR how expensive Disney groceries might be. So, for a $12 delivery fee, we had our 5 days worth of groceries delivered. Right to our cabin. They were there when we arrived and all the cold items had been placed in the fridge and freezer. I was probably overly excited about this and really wish I would have taken a picture of the cute little groceries just being there, but it really was nice. But, enough about food. Let's move on to the actual cabin. 
So, they have 407 of these cabins. All the same and placed in different cal-de-saks around the resort. (They also have regular camping sites where you can bring your own tent or RV. Even some snowbirds who stay there October - March. Yes, I have informed Christopher that this would be a really, really, really good idea...) In fact, the campground is so big that they have buses to shuttle you from one end to the other- if you don't rent a golf cart, but more about that later. Each cabin had its own deck with a full-sized picnic table that we were able to take advantage of for every meal but one. (It was sprinkling a little, and we didn't want to risk getting caught with everyone outside.) 
The pictures look a little gloomy, but it really was nice weather. 
(Notice the sunglasses and shadows on the cabin.) Oh, they also delivered a highchair to our cabin for Abby. It was nice not having to feed her every meal in the stroller. The bedroom was very cozy. 
I hadn't told the boys about the bunk bed and they were more than excited. 
(Grandpa Doug said Noah was up on the top bunk faster than the rest of them even entered the cabin.) This is the main living area. 
We look pretty settled, hunh? (Meaning I didn't pick up a thing for the pictures.) As you can see, we took a lot of toys with us. Abby isn't as excited about getting to 'watch TV in the hotel' like the boys so we wanted her to have something to do. Turns out she really just wanted to walk up and down the hallway to the bedroom and back. She also got really good at unrolling the toilet paper. There is a Murphy bed (or as Noah liked to call it, the 'magic' bed) in the far wall there. I tried sleeping on it a few nights. Much to my delight, it did not fold up on me. None of the beds were particularly comfortable which wasn't all that exciting to some weary travelers. And last, but not least, the cute little kitchen. 
Full-sized fridge, oven, microwave. Even a dishwasher - that housekeeping was kind enough to start for us daily. As I said, we were all thrilled with the cabins and highly recommend them to anyone headed that direction. You can also take a ferry straight from the campground to the Magic Kingdom, which is nice.
So, they have 407 of these cabins. All the same and placed in different cal-de-saks around the resort. (They also have regular camping sites where you can bring your own tent or RV. Even some snowbirds who stay there October - March. Yes, I have informed Christopher that this would be a really, really, really good idea...) In fact, the campground is so big that they have buses to shuttle you from one end to the other- if you don't rent a golf cart, but more about that later. Each cabin had its own deck with a full-sized picnic table that we were able to take advantage of for every meal but one. (It was sprinkling a little, and we didn't want to risk getting caught with everyone outside.) The pictures look a little gloomy, but it really was nice weather. (Notice the sunglasses and shadows on the cabin.) Oh, they also delivered a highchair to our cabin for Abby. It was nice not having to feed her every meal in the stroller. The bedroom was very cozy. I hadn't told the boys about the bunk bed and they were more than excited. (Grandpa Doug said Noah was up on the top bunk faster than the rest of them even entered the cabin.) This is the main living area. We look pretty settled, hunh? (Meaning I didn't pick up a thing for the pictures.) As you can see, we took a lot of toys with us. Abby isn't as excited about getting to 'watch TV in the hotel' like the boys so we wanted her to have something to do. Turns out she really just wanted to walk up and down the hallway to the bedroom and back. She also got really good at unrolling the toilet paper. There is a Murphy bed (or as Noah liked to call it, the 'magic' bed) in the far wall there. I tried sleeping on it a few nights. Much to my delight, it did not fold up on me. None of the beds were particularly comfortable which wasn't all that exciting to some weary travelers. And last, but not least, the cute little kitchen. Full-sized fridge, oven, microwave. Even a dishwasher - that housekeeping was kind enough to start for us daily. As I said, we were all thrilled with the cabins and highly recommend them to anyone headed that direction. You can also take a ferry straight from the campground to the Magic Kingdom, which is nice. One word of warning, though. If you are headed down in the colder months, take your long underwear for sleeping. No heat means COLD nights. And it is really hard to sleep when you are all wadded up and shivering. Trust me.
We actually got back Wednesday night. 20 degrees and more snow. Oh, how happy we are to be back home.... Just kidding. Sort of. Getting home is always nice - if only to be done living out of suitcases and sleeping in our own beds. We do miss the sun and getting to eat our meals outside, though. But we do have all the suitcases unpacked and the laundry done. That is also a good feeling. (Notice I did NOT say the clothes were yet put away...)
What do you think? This is a little trick I play with Noah when we are napping together because I have found it gets him to lie still long enough to sometimes actually fall asleep. He's been known to try it with his daddy too, so I am going to go on believing that they drift off to sleep holding hands. Auuhhhh....
Lots of batting practice.
The boys really wanted to do real batting. They waited quite a while in this line. 
I think the man pitching hated children as he really didn't try all that hard to help them. They tried so hard. Noah hit one or two.
Benj didn't hit a single pitch. But check out the sile on this kid's face. Is he cute or what?
Sluggerr. (Please note Abby was NOT in this picture. If there were sound, you would know exactly why.)
Caught some just over the wall:
A look at all our loot. Grienke t-shirts. Hats. Beads. Tattoos. A golden glove. A stuffed lion. Balloons. Boy, oh, boy. Did we make out or what?
And what happens when you spend all morning running errands, miss your nap, then spend all afternoon playing baseball? Well, this...
read lots and lots of books. I even got Noah to work on his writing. Almost willingly. And that NEVER happens. 
(His favorite was this last page. He didn't ask for a single clue as to what letter he needed, although he did need help remembering what a 'G' looked like. Have to admit I am pretty proud of him. If he ever figures out how close he is to reading, the kid is going to be unstoppable.) We even got the Christmas stuff put away. Noah was a huge help, surprisingly, and I am sure that it had nothing to do with the fact that that meant we got to get out the bouncer - inside! 
It was all good. Well, until the cold set in. THE cold. Noah started getting a little stuffed up on Wednesday. Abby caught it next and Friday morning found us at the doctor's office with a double ear infection. Daddy came home from work on Friday all stuffed up. Benjamin fell victim on Saturday. I thought I was going to escape unscathed. With the whole house down, I was even able to throw together this quilt. 
Two days? No way. But it was not meant to be. So, Noah was cleared for school on Monday but by Monday night it was clear the house was nothing but one big germ. The ship was going down and we were all on board. In its honor, today was an official Sick Day. Even daddy stayed home - and that never happens. Oh, and when mommy and daddy are down, the TV comes on. For all of us. 
There is just too much coughing and nose dripping going on. What I wouldn't give to be able to open all the doors and windows to air this place out!! But instead, we'll just keep the kleenex and cough drops close by as we put on sweatshirts. Take off sweatshirts. Cover up. Turn on a fan. Drink lots of water. Have some toast. Well, you get the picture. So, maybe someday in the near future we will be up and running in real time again. Until then, we will be using up all available cans of Lysol...
Not true. The truth is, she couldn't wait to get out in the stuff. She LOVED getting hit with snowballs - through the door, of course.
I think it reminded her of the bathtub so she could flop all around. She had a great time.
Noah was very excited about this and wanted so hard to perform well. 
Our idea of just winging it didn't really work so I pulled out a book to read as they acted it out. It was really fun and Noah did a great job.Benjamin was actually just more interested in crawling around, under, and through the "stage". Once all were jammied, we gave them some juice glasses and set the kitchen timer for their big countdown. They thought that was big fun and, surprisingly, went right to bed. We adults then settled in for our big game of Mexican Train. Miracles of miracles - I WON! And not even with the biggest score this time around. Not sure what happened, really, but probably no one will ever play with me again. Guess that means I will be the reigning champion. FOREVER. We made the mistake of turning on CNN to watch the NYC countdown while we played. Can anyone tell me why in the world Kathy Griffin has any place in the limelight? She disgusts me. And yet none of us could turn the TV off. Go firgure. Anywhooo, we managed to stay up until midnight central time - which doesn't always happen. And I got to ring in the new year with a big smooch from my best friend. What could be better? 