And sometimes, things actually do go (mostly) as planned.

(Whoa, this one is long and wordy. Enter if you dare!)

About this time last year, Nana came to visit. We had a bunch of plans -- the beach, Busch Gardens, more. Most of it didn't happen. Meltdowns, vomit, and doctor visits happened instead.

Sunburns and nasty colds aside, this trip was pretty disaster-free, and we started with the tourist thing.

We went to Epcot. Nana's first time.(Insert obligatory shot of giant golf ball.)

 

We had breakfast with the princesses in Norway. Lily was, of course, especially excited to see Cinderella. She knew Cinderella was going to tell her how pretty her dress was. 

 

And we saw Belle, Aurora, and Snow White, too.  

 

But Lily was confused by her visit with Ariel. "Her no have feet," Lily told me. So Ariel had to show Lily her shoes and tell her how she got legs. Lily was also confused by the lack of a prince in the room. (Other than her father, of course.) I wasn't sure how to explain that no one gives a hoot about Prince Charming, or Snow White's prince who didn't even get a name, but Ariel said her Prince Eric was out sailing that day. Well done, Princess. 

 

And then it was time to leave. Yes, maybe Lily was too young for the princess thing. Maybe I wanted to do it. Fine.

 

After breakfast, we wanted to try a couple boat rides nearby. Boat rides are nice and slow and easy, right? OK for a little one? Sure, except Maelstrom. (The name might've been a hint, genius.) I'm such an idiot to take my 2-year-old on that ride. Giant trolls with flashing red eyes popping up, giant polar bears roaring at us, and my poor child making a very small whimpering sound. 

So my big idea to make up for that was to try the boat ride in Mexico. I KNOW that one's better. Lots of music and light, lots of  Donald Duck, and no giant monsters. Lily wanted to go.

Until she saw it was another boat ride. Then she shook her head, no, no, no. We tried, but she was adamantly against it. So we left, no need for Disney Trauma, and on the way out, I mentioned that this was Quinn's favorite ride. And bam, we were on that boat in a hot minute. And she loved it. (Quinn is about her age they have playdates so I can talk to his mama about the important issues of the world like Harry Potter, Glee, and eyeliner.)

After that, Nana and I went on Soarin' (best ride in any theme park anywhere ever), we all went to the aquarium and did the Nemo thing and Turtle Talk. And just as we were getting ready to head back to the World Showcase to visit some more countries on our way out, Lily was out like a light. 

 

Probably just as well. We went to China. 

 

And Germany. And then I decided I was going to make Husband and Nana pose in every country. They did not love this idea. (Photography note: no one likes to look at the sun and smile.)

 

And we went to Italy. And Morrocco, Japan, and France, and whatever other countries are between them on the Disney map. 

 

 

The very next day, we went to Fort Desoto. Last time, we were ill-prepared. This time, we set up camp. Lily had to help. 

 

And then she wanted to take her "goldsish" in the water. Look, she's floating away. (Don't worry, there were plenty of hands hovering just above her but just out of the frame.) 

 

And Husband played in the water with her. 

 

Nana was pretty happy in the water, too. 

 

And I was pretty happy to play with my camera. Look! Self-portrait. (Husband was not amused.)  

 

And this one's for you, Nana. 

 

I love this shot. 

 

Lily and her daddy played in the waves for a long time.  They sat and waited for each wave.

 

Sorry about your hand, baby. (Photography note: limb chop =  not good.)

 

Lily giggled and shrieked every single time. 

 

Sorry about your foot, too. (This one's a little more forgivable, I think.) 

 

And, yes, they jumped on the waves, too. All in all, it was a pretty darn good day at the beach.

 

When the tourist thing ended, the baby shower thing began. (More on that later.)

Between all the busy stuff, lots of happy memories were made at home. Playing games, reading books, making cookies. With just a couple of hours before we had to go to the airport, I realized I had zero pictures to show for that. 

And just like that, problem solved.