More Tinkerbell & Epcot

I had to throw in a couple more pictures from Tinkerbell, because Carlye wants everyone to see how much she 'really truly looks like Aunt Julianna!'

On Wednesday we went to Epcot (which, unfortunately and in spite of constant correction, Nani still refers to as Epcock when telling people about our vacation) - and it was FREEZING.  Seriously, so so so cold!  We started out with the Finding Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush. We walked right into both of them because there weren't any lines.   Of course, true to form, Crush chose Nathanael to talk to, and then talked to me as well - the kids thought that it was great!  The aquariums were beautiful, and Carlye especially loved seeing the manatee's.  I do have to say, though, with Sea World a few miles away we didn't feel too compelled to stick around for long.  After that we rode Soarin', which ended up being Nani's all time favorite.  We rode every single ride they had in the park, walked through the Countries - which were decorated for Christmas and often had their Santa Claus or Pierre Noel or whoever represented Christmas in their country out and about telling stories.  We enjoyed the shows and parades that popped up, and so much more.  It really was a fun - if cold - day, and by the time we left we felt that we had done absolutely everything that you could do at Epcot.

Where's Perry?  The kids did an electronic scavenger hunt through Epcot, and it was so much fun!  They are assigned a secret agent name and given a cell phone, and then from there they have to solve the clues that they are given.  There were magic windows, things flew out of chimneys, pictures transformed and so much more - they LOVED it!

You can see Nani's lanyard here.  The kids really got into the pin trading (I'll post more about that later) and Nani was so jealous and thought that it looked like so much fun that she bought one for herself so that she could do it too!

Carl's mom took this picture - it was so funny, because this is what happened quite frequently - someone's eyes would be closed or (in this case) the Epcot Globe that Carl wanted the picture of was hidden behind his head!

Carlye wanted to Pick a Pearl in Japan - it really was so much fun!  (I didn't have pictures of it, but the boys made Light Saber's after Star Tours in Hollywood Studios, so this was Carlye's turn to do something special.)

First, Carlye picked an oyster from the giant tanks that they had next to the counter.  After the lady took it out and had it ready to open she made Carlye count to 3 in Japanese - it was so funny!

Carlye's pearl

They showed Carlye how to clean pearls, and taught her how to take care of it after she gets home.

I found this necklace on Ebay for $9 before we left and I bought it and brought it with us.  I was so glad we did - it was $30 at Epcot,  and she was none the wiser!  After we bought her pearl I took out the necklace and we placed it inside. She still wears it every day.

Right in front of the Eiffel tower.  I don't have a picture of it on my phone, but we had all (except for Nathanael) just taken pictures with Snow White.  Carl was wearing a Grumpy t-shirt, so she asked to take a picture with him as well, which he thought was hilarious!

Random fairy sighting at Epcot - Carlye was thrilled!  We had just walked away from Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland - both of whom had to leave as soon as we found them.  We were so sad!  Finding Rosetta helped, though!

We had dinner reservations at the San Angel Inn Mexican restaurant, and the food was DELICIOUS!  Before dinner we  rode the Three Caballeros ride that ran through the restaurant.  We had special tickets for the Candlelight Processional, and can I tell you - it was absolutely amazing.  The Birth of Christ was narrated straight from the Bible, and the songs were beautiful.  It was such a fantastic way to celebrate Christmas and the birth of Christ.  The whole thing brought tears to my eyes - the kids even loved it!

Neil Patrick Harris was the narrator, and about halfway through it Noah yelled out (VERY loudly) "Hey, that's the guy from the Smurfs!"  I know that these are horrible pictures - but they are the only ones that I have of the Candlelight Processional.

The Epcot globe floating on the water.  The fireworks show at Epcot was the best closing show that we saw the entire time we were there.  It was magical.