My rockin' New Years Eve!

Josh was working on New Years Eve and Emily had gone to spend the night at a friends house to "work" on her cience Fair Project, leaving Jacob and I to fend for ourselves. Jacob was about to make his regular dinner on the fly, Taco meat, when I thought it would be way more fun to cook up a pizza and watch Wall-E, which we had picked up from the Red Box the night before. Jacob was game, so I let him make the pizza all by himself- with a little direction from me.

Now when I say, "Make a pizza" I don't mean make the dough. My mother used to make the dough from scratch when I was a kid, but once these little pouches came out where all you have to do is add water, she went to that and that is all I have ever done with my family. So here is Jacob puring in the dough.




Stir it up! He loves to stir!


Got to grease the pan. I remember having to Cisco it with my fingers whn I was a kid. It was SO gross. And my mom always made me do it!


Spreading the dough out. He did a very good job. I had to help him in the end, but he almost did it all himself.


Extra seasoning. Got to make it our own!


And the sauce. We don't use anything fancy. What ever we have in the house already. This is some sort of 4 cheese sauce.


Add the cheese, oops! Caught ya! He loves to eat shredded cheese. I think he may have eaten more than he got on the pizza!


But the smile makes it all good!


In the oven! Yummy!

Once it was done, we snuggled up and watched Wall-E, the third viewing for him and the first for me. I enjoyed my rather tame ringing in of the new year. But I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Prayers and Blessings

I have been attending a Sunday school class using the book Revolutionary Parenting as a guide. During the last 5 minutes of class our children’s minister stands up and would issue a challenge for the week. A challenge to get us to be better parents. She usually would give us something along the lines of bringing God into the conversations more or praying around the dinner table.

This class has been so wonderful. It allowed me to have the gumption to ask Jacob to pray at dinner and when he said no, again like he does every time we would ask I tucked that information into the back of my mind and that night when I tucked him in I asked him why he didn’t ever want to pray at dinner. His response was of course to say nothing at all, just like when I ask a difficult question to him. I asked if it was because he didn’t actually know how. If he was intimidated because when our babysitter prays at her table it is always very flowy and showy? His response to this question was a big nod and big scared eyes.

I quickly informed him that he was ok to have very simple prayers and that his prayers would be just as important to God as any big showy prayer he had heard anywhere else. We now, have nightly “prayer time” and he is excited to do it and getting more confident in his prayers every night. They are still very simple and “thank you for the trees” kind of prayers, but he is comfortable doing it and it pleases me more than anything else in this world.

Additionally another challenge given was to write a blessing for your children. This was especially difficult for me. I was very unsure of what to write. But I did it. I am sure it is horrible. But I plan to give these to the kids on Christmas Eve, and make it a tradition. And let me tell you--- it blessed me more than I am sure it will bless them. It is nice to sit down and really think about the wonderful things about your children and how they bless you and how you only hope for the very best for your children.

This class has come to a close and I am really sad about it. I know that the next class we will begin after the new year will be fabulous. It is a more Bible based course and I love to delve into the Bible during Sunday School, but I will miss this class, it is the first “parenting course” that I REALLY enjoyed and will miss going to every week. I am glad that I purchased the book in order to read and re-read it as my children grow. I would recommend it to anybody!!

Happy Birthday little one

Today, my baby girl is 10. Take a moment and let that sink in. She is 10. (Insert HUGE sigh from me.)

It seems that just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital when I was just 20 years old. I know I just gave my age away, but, seriously people, we have bigger fish to fry.

In these last 10 years I have watched my child go from an extremely strong willed child. So much so that I had to hold her down some nights to get her to go to sleep. She was a fierce child.

She turned into an even stronger willed child, who has already been picked up from the police station. She sure gave her father and I a run for our money. Never a dull moment with my little one.

She developed a speech “thing” that even the diagnostician had never heard of before. She began going to school 2 years earlier than she should have. She worked her way out of that speech thing, but began to struggle with reading. What a long year 2nd and 3rd grade were.

Then, it was as if a switch went off and she got it. She became my little academic. She is excelling in all of her subjects. She is reading so much that we can’t keep books in the house for her. She is currently reading Marley and Me, and eating it up. And that is not exactly at a 4th grade reading level. I am SO super proud if her.

She has also developed her first real crush. She told me about it just last night. I was so happy and sad at the same time. I was so sad because she is becoming a young lady, but so happy that she felt comfortable enough to tell me about it.

Here she is just last weekend. Beautiful as ever.



I love you Emily, Happy 10th. I hope it is everything that you want it to be.

A change

My mother, who has been a teacher for a “few” years decided to send me a “back to school” box. I received it in the mail this afternoon and opened with the excitement of a young child. You see, my parents oftentimes send my children boxes filled with prizes and fun toys. Only this time, it was all for me.

I slowly opened the box and found this:



It was almost as good as it gets for me. I love school supplies. They bring me happiness that is really quite unnatural. The post-its and highlighters. They bring me joy that many people do not understand.

When I left a job about 4 years ago, because I was being promoted, my boss had left for the afternnon in order to go to Sam’s Club. He returned later that evening to the office with his hands full of stuff. In one hand was a beautiful framed print, in the other was a box with a 2 pound bag of m & m’s and a stack of yellow post-it’s. I asked him what he had been up to and he told me he had been out to purchase my going away present. I immediately was giddy with the prospect of my going away present being the box with the m & m’s and post-it’s. It wasn’t, and I left that place with a beautiful framed picture which I have kept at my desk for the last four years and it has reminded me daily of my time at that hotel. It will make it’s way into my classroom as well. And now, I have these wonderful office supplies, which will carry me through my teaching career.

I can’t wait.

On growing up

This weekend I made the 4 hours one way and then 4 hours back trip to ACU in order to drop my 9 year old daughter off at church camp. Her real first sleep away camp. I was a bit of a mess. Mostly because she wasn’t. She had spent the week prior in New Mexico with her grandparents, having a great time, apparently behaving like an angel- with occasional attitude and she had only arrived home the day before I made the trip to take her to camp.

She was SO excited. Wearing her brand new High School Musical dress that Memaw had bought for her at the Disney Stores annual “It’s so cheep, we pay you to take it” Sale. She was so adorable in it and looked like such the little lady. And honestly, excited does not give justice to what she was. She was just plain thrilled. When we saw the first sign that said “Abilene” she squealed. Literally, like a pre-teen at a New Kids on the Block concert. Not that I would know anything about that, at all.

Anyhoo.

We made the drive up with her brother in the backseat playing Mario Games the entire way, complaining about the length of the trip about once every hour. Once we arrived, she checked in, got her room assignment and off we went to unpack the car. After hauling two suitcases up to the third floor she went looking around while I made her bed. It was like I was in some sort of weird Freaky Friday moment, only I was the mother this time. I remember doing the same thing to my mother; only she was dropping me off for college.

When she came back 15 minutes later she tried shoving me and her younger brother out the door, but I insisted that we stay until she was completely unpacked and moved into that college dorm room. (And that part I am not even exaggerating about. They stay in college dorm rooms!) After she was entirely unpacked I tried to get her to walk around the campus with me and her brother, to get a feel for the place, but she simply shoved me out the door and said, “See you on Friday!”

Jacob and I made our way down the 2 flights of stairs, went and paid for the picture package we ordered and got into the car and left.

Just like that.

It was so dramatic…. in my mind.

I am sure she is having a fantastic time and I can’t wait to hear all about it on Friday.

But I have found that I am having quite a time letting her go this time. I have been leaving her for weeks at a time since she was 6 months old, but I have always left her with family. With any camp environment, I have been with her, as the leader and even then it was only for one nighters. But this, this is so big. No contact for an entire week. No family members there to keep an eye on her. The freedom she will have is like none she has ever tasted.

And what funny is that I am not worried about her. I know that she is perfectly safe. I know that she will be accounted for more times than I will ever know. I know she will have a great time, making new friends and learning all sorts of things. But the thing that I am having the most trouble with is the letting go. It is so, so very hard. I want so much to be by her side when she is making those friends and learning those things. But I can’t be. And I don’t really want to be. Because I know that I am who I am because my parents dropped me off at camp and left when I kicked them out the door. I made my way just fine, and I know she will too. I just know how much I grew as a person and as a Christian at those camps and I am sad and selfish that I won’t be there to witness it. I just have to be ok with it. And that is so very hard.

I know she is going to come home a completely different young lady that who I dropped off, and I can’t hardly wait to meet her!

Jacobs crazy dance

I have two children. They couldn’t be much more different if I had tried. But one thing they both have in common is their “whiteness.” They are both so, so white. Both my husband and I are very pale as well. Now, call it global warming if you like, but the sun seems to be out this summer like never before. It is hotter than I ever remember being, and I come from Southern New Mexico, where it is HOT! I remember growing up and getting into a car, and your legs melting to the seat, almost literally. But this summer the heat has been cranked up. And here in central Texas, it is HOT!

Anyhow, it is really hot here as of late and the kids like to head out back and take a dip in the pool. I spray/rub them down with sunscreen, with reapplication at appropriate times and they still have ended up burnt to a crisp. The first burn they got this year was horrible. They both blistered and moaned and groaned about the pain for weeks. They also stayed away from the pool for a while. They went last week to the local swim park with their sitter and got burnt again. But this time it wasn’t nearly as bad, because they had that first layer of color on them.

Last night, I was chasing my son into the bath and he lowered his britches about 3 inches on his hiney and showed me his white, white, white booty. And giggled. When he laughed it caused me to loose it and began to giggle as well. Then, ladies and gentleman, he began to shake his little white booty at me, nearly falling over with laughter.

It was one of the funniest things I have seen in weeks. That boy, shaking his white rear-end at me while laughing his infectious laugh. I finally had to walk away, but only so I could tell my husband.

My spin on Parenting

We have had quite an eventful week in our house and as I look back and reflect, I think about Amy’s post, which was in response to Brandy.

On Monday I received a call from my husband asking about what appeared to be bug bites of some sort on Emily’s forearm and check. There had been no bites the day before and she was asleep when I left for work on Monday so I had no clue what he was talking about.

When I got to the Y to pick the kids up from “camp” I looked at Emily’s face and arm and was concerned. Mostly because the spot on her arm was larger than a quarter and when I asked her if it itched or hurt, her reply was “hurt.” After consulting with my mother and she with Nurse Sandy, we decided a trip to the Doc in the Box was necessary. After dinner was complete Emily and I jumped into the car and headed over to the clinic. We packed books, just in case. But when we arrived, it was like a ghost town. Not a soul in sight besides the desk clerk.

After we see the doctor and are diagnosed with a boil, that is possibly a staph infection (but we don’t know because we came in when the infection was still at such an early stage that there was no puss to culture) we head over to the pharmacy and sit and wait for what seems like hours in order to pick up her prescriptions. It was a late night for us on Monday, but her well-being was my concern.

With that diagnosis, I am extremely grateful that I, after much consultation, made the decision to take her to the doctor and felt that I had made a good parenting choice.

With this diagnosis she is required to take 3 teaspoons of antibiotics twice a day for 10 days. 10 days! I can hardly remember to take the medicine I have been on for 9 years daily, much less remember to make sure my child takes her medicine twice a day for 10 days. I have forgotten almost everyday, but bless her heart, she has not forgotten and has self medicated nearly everyday.

I don’t like it one bit. Next thing you know, she will be dosing her own baby with their medicine.

So, I had a point.
We are not always perfect. Hardly ever. But our efforts do not go unnoticed. And honestly, when it really matters, we get it right. I got my child to the doctor. Almost too soon actually, and that is what matters. Luckily, I can lean on her to remember to take her medicine on her own, because I know she can. Plus, she hates it when I nag her. And let it be known I am not claiming to do everything right, I rarely do. But I know I get it right when it counts. And that is what really matters.

Disney World Update VI

On our last day in the most Magical Place on earth we went back to the Animal Kingdom, so the kids could ride Expedition Everest once more and maybe we could catch a few of the shows we missed earlier in the week.

When we arrived the crows were considerably lighter and we walked over to the Expedition Everest and we all four rode it together. Once we got off Emily wanted to ride again, but Jacob was done with it. So I went back onto the ride with Emily while the boys hung back and shopped. After we were done Josh rode it with Emily while Jacob and I shopped. So Emily rode it 5 times total and loves to tell anybody who will listen how many times she rode the coolest ride at Disney World.

After our time at the roller coaster we headed over and caught the Nemo show. It was SO cool. It was all puppets with people in the stage next to them, singing. It was just really neat. Once that was over we walked right onto It’s Tough to Be A Bug, which is one of my least favorite shows. It is a 3D show with smells, air, pokes and prods. Not really my idea of fun. Josh and the kids liked it, but me…not so much.

We head over to Dinoland to try to ride one last ride, but Jacob is too short so we play a few carnival games just to kill time. We are all starting to get a little depressed and the exhaustion from the week is quickly catching up to us.

We have our last lunch and start working our way out of the park. As we are almost to the exit we find Lilo and Stitch and stop to have our pictures made. Jacob will have nothing to do with it. It was very typical Jacob. We hit the last gift shop on the way out and Jacob spends the rest of his money. He buys a Mickey Mouse pirate ship play set. One piece has been destroyed by the dogs already, but the rest still gets a lot of play at bath time.



We arrive back at our hotel to wait for our car to pick us up and Emily plays with some of the chalk they have on the sidewalk outside our hotel. As we load everything into the car we are all a little sad and decide then that we will be back.

Once we got to the airport we realize that we are about to stand in the longest lines of the week: Security.

Disney World Update V

On Wednesday May 7th we woke up extra early and headed out to Epcot.

We were really excited but sad at the same time. We knew our time was coming to an end. We arrived before the gates opened and kinda wandered around checking things out. The opened the gates and then held us back, similar to what they had done at nearly every other park this week. Our first order of business was Soarin’. We figured out who to follow and when the rope dropped, we high tailed it to the ride. We only had about a 5 minute wait, and that is because there is a little movie you watch prior to the actual ride. This is one of the newest rides to the park, and none of us had ridden it. You basically feel like you are hang-gliding. You are pulled out over a huge IMAX type screen, which is on the ground and then you watch this movie and you can feel the breeze in your hair and the aromas of the pine trees and orange orchards as you “pass” over them. It really was such a cool ride. I think it became my new favorite ride.

After Soarin’ we headed straight across to Mission: Space. Also a newer ride that we had not ever been on. This is a ride which is so “intense” that they have a gentle side and a high intensity side. We put our big boy pants on and all 4 of us rode the more intense side. In this ride they spin you so fast that you feel like you are taking off into space. The “problem” with this ride, is that if you look to the side you can become very disoriented and nauseous. If you follow the rules, you get the thrill of the ride, and no throwing up.
Both Josh and I looked to the side for a second and both of us felt the effects of this choice. Both kids followed the rules and were totally fine. The ride is really fun and very realistic. We all enjoyed it, but were not jonesing to get back on it. Right next to Mission: Space is Test Track and we jumped into line for it. It was very cool, and one Josh feel into love with many years ago. It was still really neat and the kids enjoyed it. It was also nice that the ride was so empty that we were able to be in a 6 person car with only the 4 of us. When you finish the ride it dumps you into a showroom for GM and the kids ran up to every car and got in and pretended to drive and got finger prints all over the glass for some poor cast member to clean off.


Jacob had been eyeing the Mickey ears all week long, but could not commit to a pair, until he saw the sorcerers set. He tried them on and he was sold.


Josh tried a pair on for fun as well.

After Test track we walked through a butterfly garden, and I took about a bazillion pictures. I could of stayed there all day long. It was so neat to see all the butterflies.

After the family dragged me out we headed over to the World Showcase to have lunch. We ate in Japan, at a nice little place were we had chicken teriyaki and rice. It was nice. Jacob ate something completely different. Nuggets, I am sure.

After we ate we headed through the rest of the showcase, taking in all the cultures and shops. The kids both got a henna tattoo at the India pavilion and Jacob didn’t follow directions and his was gone within 5 days, but Emily did follow the directions and hers lasted at least 10 days. It was very cool and I wished afterwards that I had gotten one as well. They both really liked the way it looked and were totally excited to be able to do something like that with their spending money, something I never would have paid for myself.




We eventually made our way into the United Kingdom Pavilion. And guess who was right around the corner? Why, it was Mary Poppins!





After we had seen her we walked off and Josh got into line to get us something to drink, and I took the kids to take some funny pictures and Emily went to wait in line with her father.

Jacob wanted to go watch Mary Poppins.

Here he is watching her:

Here is our view of her:

And here is the last picture he asked me to take of her:

I am afraid we may have a stalker on our hands. J

We continued on through the countries, enjoying the ride in Norway, the miniature trains in Germany, wishing for a vacation in France, watching an amazing 360 video of China and walking through the plaza in Mexico. I really enjoy the World Showcase. We wandered into Mexico just in time for our early reservation and enjoyed a lovely meal there. Not as wonderful as we had remembered, but good none the less. After the meal we rode on the Mexico ride, which was horrible. It is a boat ride with movie clips from the Three Caballeros. It was bad, just bad.

We wondered back into future world and went on Space Ship Earth. They have recently redone this ride and it was better than before, but already outdated, as technology is growing by leaps and bounds. When you get off this ride it dumps you into a world with educational video games and interactive games like shuffleboard. The kids and Josh were really enjoying it so I stepped away to the Kodak camera shop and bought myself a new camera neck strap with Mickey icons on it. It is so much softer and not nearly as scratchy as the neck strap that came with the camera was. I love it.

We made our way back into the World Showcase and settled in for the fireworks show. We were determined to catch this one, since we had missed the show at the previous days park. Illuminations is a neat show, but I don’t really “get” it, so it is never really touching to me. It was ok. I really enjoyed Wishes at the Magic Kingdom ten times more.

After the show was over, we, along with 50,000 of our closest friends started heading out and we got caught up in the shops at closing. Big mistake. The lines are SO long and there are so many people and the kids were tired. We finally made it out of there and headed back to the hotel for out last nights sleep at Disney World.

Happy 10 years!

It was 10 years ago today that I woke up a little nervous and excited. I had several of my best girl friends that were to be my bridesmaids staying with me at my parent’s house. Girl friends who I am STILL in contact with today. Granted some more than others, but I am still in contact with them! They are some of the greatest friends I have ever had.

We hung out in the nursery at church, our dressing room of sorts, ate Burger Time rolled tacos for lunch and made floral head wreaths for my Maid Of Honor and the flower girls who all had hair too short for the gently placed flowers like the other girls.

Amy helped me into my dress and did my make-up. And attempted to keep my nerves down.

We headed into the auditorium for a few pictures prior to the ceremony. But once people began arriving I was quickly whisked away to be hidden from anybody’s eyes prior to my entrance.

I was taken into the cry room at my childhood church and left alone. I watched through those windows as friends and family members began finding their seats. As the music began, both sets of grandparents made their way into the auditorium and found their seats near the front of the room and then the groomsmen filed in, with Josh as their leader.

I watched as the music changed and my four bridesmaids began their walk towards the front of the auditorium at which point I felt my father tap me on my shoulder and tell me it was time.

I walked down the hallway of my childhood church and waited as the flower girls were sent down the aisle before me. As the music swelled, I made my entrance with my dad by my side. In the pictures, I look terrified. But I think I was more nervous than anything else.

I was lead down the aisle by my dad and given away. My “uncle” Dean began the ceremony which had horribly embarrassing stories sprinkled throughout that only those who have known and loved you for nearly your entire life can retell at your wedding without the bride loosing her cool. As horrified as I was, I was grateful to have people surrounding me who knew me and my history.

I really don’t remember much of that day, but I doubt many brides do.

So honey, here’s to the last ten years and I can’t wait for the next 10!

Disney World Update IV

On Tuesday, May 6th we headed out to Hollywood Studios. We had originally planned to go to Epcot that day, but the kids REALLY wanted to ride the Tower of Terror, so we switched things up. We were able to change our lunch and dinner reservations, so the switch was complete.

We arrived at Hollywood Studios before they opened. And it was actually not to crowded! YEAH! They let us through the gates about 15 minutes before the park opened and down the street. Where they held the crowd at bay until the opening time. There was a short opening “show” and we all watched and laughed. We ran down Sunset boulevard and the family got into line for the Tower of Terror and I went to Fast Pass the Rockin Roller Coaster. I caught up with the family right before they were going to enter the first room. There was so little wait. We watched the movie about the Twilight Zone and headed into the “basement” and walked right into the “elevator.” Our ride didn’t seem very exciting, but Jacob was done with it when we were through. He liked the actual ride part of it, but all the physiological part of the ride messed with my little boys brain a little too much. So we moved on.

We headed over to the Rockin Roller Coaster to find that Jacob was 1 centimeter too short to ride. We were all devastated. So we moved on.

We headed over to Star Tours, which we walked right onto, and really showed its age. Everybody enjoyed it, but it could really use an update. After Star Tour s we stopped and waited for the next Jedi Academy to take place. It was interesting to watch the little kids go up on stage and fight Darth Vader. Unfortunately our kids didn’t get picked.

We scooted over to MuppetVision 3D. The kids had been enjoying the other 3D movies we had seen, so in we went. It was silly and ridiculous, just like anything Muppet related should be. We poked around and headed over to the 50’s Prime Time Café for lunch. We enjoyed the food, but our server was from someplace where they have VERY thick accents and we could hardly understand her. The food was ok, and after we headed over to the Indiana Jones Stunt show. We were some of the last folks to make it in and we barely found a seat. I was excited to have the kids watch this, as they both enjoyed the movies and this was a neat show. We really enjoyed it, especially the part with the giant rock! Jacob thought that was amazing.

As soon as the show was over we raced out of there and literally ran over to the Lights!Moter!Action! Stunt show. This is a show that shows how the movie making folks choreograph all the fancy car chases. The kids and Josh enjoyed the show, I wasn’t thrilled, but, that’s ok. It isn’t all about me.

After the show we were headed out of the park, but got caught by the parade! This is a new parade that is really fun! Lots of high energy cast members and LOTS of character interaction.

After the parade was over we decided to head back to the hotel for a break. The week was catching up on us and the kids were hot and tired. Once we got back, the kids and Josh went for a dip in the pool and I sat. It was wonderful. Once I finally became human again and went to join them at the pool, they were heading back from one pool, to head to another. Apparently the first was too crowded. We hung by the pool for a while, but we were anxious to head back to the parks!
We cleaned the kids up and headed back to Hollywood Studios. It was nice because the air had cooled down, the crowds were not bad at all and we just strolled through the park. We hit up the great movie ride, which I love, the backlot tour in hopes of getting wet, we didn’t and saw a few characters.
We had made it down to see Mickey, finally. Jacob had been on a bit of a mission to meet Mickey. I think we had sufficently brain-washed the boy to love all things Disney at that point.

When we had gone back to the hotel we had changed Jacob’s shoes in hopes that he would be able to ride the Rockin Roller Coaster, but he was still just a hair too short. So Emily and Josh went on the ride and Jacob and I had ice cream. Once Emily and Josh came out of the ride Josh ran across the park (literally, to the demise of his knee) over to Star Tours and he and Jacob rode the ride twice without having to get off.

Emily and I went onto the Rockin Roller Coaster and then thought we could get one last ride on the Tower of Terror before they closed down. We did, there were only 3 other people in the ride with us, and we were the last ones to ride it for the night! We had a great time and caught up with Jacob and Josh at the big hat and walked through the shops on the way out and beat the crowds, since we didn’t make the nighttime show, Fantasmic! But we did beat the rush back to the hotel and got ready for a great, big full day tomorrow at Epcot.

Disney World Update III

On Monday, May 5th we woke up early and headed back out to the Magic Kingdom. We grabbed breakfast, “Breakfast on the go” as Emily named it. Just some donuts and lots of Diet Coke. We did this a couple of times during the week, so that we were not wasting time eating at the food court while we could be waiting in line for the bus! We made it to the Magic Kingdom before rope drop and were able to catch the opening ceremony. This is where we first caught a glimpse of Mary Poppins. We were not able to met her, yet, but we did get to see her.



After the gates were opened we headed straight to Fantasy Land. The kids wanted to ride Dumbo, for some reason.




So Josh stood in line with them, the only ride with a line at this time, while I went and attempted to Fast Pass Mickey’s Phillharmagic. I was unable to get the machine to spit my coupon out and when I went over to ask for help, he just gave me some and said, “Use your tickets to Fast Pass Peter Pan, that line gets long really quickly” So that is exactly what I did. So we were able to hold 2 Fast Passes at the same time. YAY! After the kids got off Dumbo we headed over and walked right onto Snow White. I love this ride. It is just simple and reminds me of my trips to Disneyland. After Snow White, which the kids didn’t seem to enjoy nearly as much as I did we went over to Winnie the Pooh. This already had a slight wait (10 minutes) so I broke out the bags of nuts from the back pack and I think everybody already needed a boost of energy and didn’t realize it. They were chomping those nuts down so quickly I thought I would loose a finger when I had to put them away to get on the ride. This is a neat ride. We all enjoyed it, and once we got off we had a decision to make. Jacob did NOT want to go on the TeaCups, and really, neither did I. So We split up. Jacob and I went to the Winnie The Pooh play area (which is kinda lame for a 6 year old) and the other two went on the TeaCups.



After they got off they found the Mad Hatter and Alice signing autographs. Josh called us and Jacob and I hightailed it over there to get autographs. And Jacob actually let me take his picture with them.



Once we were done here the kids and Josh began to skip to the other side of Fantasyland. I took pictures.



We headed over to Peter Pan but we still had about 10 minutes until our Fast Passes were good and we were right across the way from It’s A Small World. So, haha, we rode it again. I really do love it.

After that we headed over to Peter Pan, which is honestly my favorite ride in Fantasy Land, even over Pooh and Small World. I love how you feel like your flying, and the city is below you. It is my favorite. I took no pictures, because I just sat in the pirate ship and enjoyed the ride with Emily.

Once we were done with Peter Pan we realized we had done everything in Fantasy Land, since we didn’t want to wait in line to see Ariel and the Carousel was under repair. We had finished everything in that area in just a little over an hour! I was thrilled, because this can be the most time consuming part of the park, because there are so many rides and such slow load times. So we headed over to ride Space Mountain again. The wait time was minimal and so we just rode standby. It was just as good as it was the first night. The kids were both laughing and enjoying themselves the entire time. Once we got off Space Mountain we high tailed it over to the Crystal Palace to have lunch. This is where I once worked, many, many moons ago. The food was good, the characters fun and the kids liked the freedom to go back and fill their plates as often as they wanted. Plus, meeting Pooh, is like meeting a celebrity.




After lunch we headed over to Toon Town and waited in one of the longer lines we were in all week for Goofy’s Barn Stormer. Too quick of a ride for the line we waited in. Pus, I remember it much more fondly when Josh and I rode it 9 years ago. After that we waited in line again, to meet the Princesses. Jacob was a little nervous to meet them and a little embarrassed. But they were all very gracious and kind to my poor little boy.





We didn’t spend too much time in Toon Town, because it was CRAZY with people. It was probably the most crowded section of the entire park. The people, they were everywhere!!! So we hopped on the train, which Jacob had been hounding us to ride all day long and went over to Frontierland. The kids wanted to ride Splash Mountain. They really wanted to GET WET! It was so very hot and they thought they would get wet like we did the day before at Animal Kingdom. The wait was the longest we had seen, at 90, minutes we knew they would have a melt down before that line was up, so we Fast Passed it and headed over to ride Big Thunder Mountain again. The wait was minimal and the kids enjoyed it once again. After we got off the ride the Parade was getting ready to begin. So we worked our way through the crowds to go to the Hall of Presidents. One of the longer, cooler, darker shows in the park and it was 3pm and HOT! When we arrived the nice colonial gentleman told us that the show would not start until after the parade. Jacob wanted to watch the parade, so we left and watched the parade and the kids both loved it.

They really liked the parades more that I thought they would. I really thought they would not enjoy the parades at all, but I was dead wrong. I had to re-work some plans in order to see the parades in the parks.

After the parade and the Hall of Presidents, which the children complained loudly about, we headed over and got onto Splash Mountain. I thought I would be smart, and have Jacob ride on the right side of me, because he wanted to get wet and I didn’t. I forgot that my poor son is as thin as a rail, he didn’t protect me nearly as much as I expected him to. We all got wet, but not as much as the kids would have liked us to. But enough to cool us all off for the evening.

At this point we need to start heading out to make our dinner reservation at O’hana. We head out through Adventureland and are able to take in the Tiki Room and allow the kids to roam through the Swiss Family Robinson House before making our way to Main Street. The kids really enjoyed the tree house, because about a month ago we rented the movie and both of the kids really, really enjoyed it. So because here was a frame of reference the kids thoroughly enjoyed their time in the tree house, while I sat with all the stuff and rested my quickly blistering feet.

Once we arrived to Main Street I had to get my shopping going. I had not purchased anything except for the ride picture at Expedition Everest the day before. I wanted to have the kids silhouettes cut, like I had Emily’s done the years prior. While Jacob was having his cut, Emily and I went into the shop next to the stand where the silhouettes were being done and looked around. Emily found what she HAD TO HAVE. A crystal slipper with her birthstone in it and a tiara. Another reason why I am glad we gave them their own money, because I would not have ever purchased the crown. Maybe the shoe, because it was “affordable” but never, ever would I have purchased the tiara. But she loves that tiara. Once the silhouettes were completed we watched the glass blower do his thing. It was really fascinating for the kids, I remember watching a glass blower in Europe somewhere, as a middle schooler and finding it really interesting. After we pulled the kids away from the glass blower, we headed a little further down the street towards the gate. Josh found a beautiful print that I purchased that I need to have framed and a postcard which I have at work to inspire me to do my best.

Once we had completed the shopping we excited the gates and hopped on the boat which took us to the Polynesian Resort, where the restaurant O’hana is located. We checked in and almost immediately were seated. This is a different kind of place to eat, in that it is a fixed menu. Salad, several appetizers, and then lots of meat, brought out on sticks. It was delicious. I loved it. The roasted turkey was to die for. Jacob of course ate chicken nuggets, but Emily tried everything and loved almost all of it, even without ketchup.

After fully stuffing ourselves we left and headed back to the Magic Kingdom, by Monorail this time. Our only monorail trip the entire vacation. Once back inside the gates we saw Stiches grate escape, Monsters, Inc. Laugh floor, and finally Wishes.

Wishes is the “new” fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom, and I feel in love. It was fantastic! The music, along with the choreographed fireworks was simply amazing. We found a pretty good spot to watch the show in the rose garden and really enjoyed the show as a whole.

After the show we left, with all the rest of the visitors to that park. It was a crazy mess, but we finally made it back to the hotel and collapsed into the bed. It had been a long day, but one that was wonderful.

Disney World Update Day 2.5

After our relaxing time at the pool we got cleaned up and headed back out. We first went to Downtown Disney, because there is a Build Your Own Lightsaber at one of the toy shops.

From the moment that I told Josh about this over a year ago, he had been super excited to do it. We head over to the Once Upon a time store and build some lightsabers. Emily and I pick out our My Little Ponies. You get a box and then you cram it as full of stuff as you can and you get everything you can fit into the box for $20. When I was young I LOVED My Little Ponies. I spent many hours in my room playing with them. So when I head about this, I was all over it. Emily and I filled our boxes so full, they almost didn’t close. This is where Jacob found his Indian Jones dress up set. He was going to get a light saber like Josh, but once he saw that set, which has a machete, whip, treasure, gun and most importantly the hat- it was all over. He loves that set, so much he still is playing with it like crazy.



Once we were done “playing” we headed over and check out some of DTD. We saw the Lego Store and The World of Disney. The Christmas store and the pet store. We really enjoyed all the picture opportunities presented through out the area.






We decided to head over to the Wilderness Lodge to hit the Whispering Canyon Café a little early to see if we could get in a little early. We couldn’t. So we waited for our table and the kids (Josh, Emily and Jacob) went to the arcade and played a little games while we waited.

Now, I don’t know how to describe this place. Our waitress was the best ever. She was friendly and over the top. It was great. The kids were allowed to have milk shakes with their dinner, Bubble gum flavored to start. Yuck. They both moved on to a more traditional flavor later in the meal. Josh and Emily got a “platter” of sorts with chicken, steak, corn on the cob, beans, mashed potatoes and who knows what else. Jacob got chicken nuggets, of course and I had a steak of some sort. The food was fantastic.

But the food was only half the fun.

Josh, who always drains his first glass of iced tea within moments of it being set down in front of him was given a nice surprise when he did that at this restaurant. He was given at least a gallon of iced tea, maybe more. And he almost drank it all.



Emily, who can not eat any meat without ketchup asked our wonderful server for some ketchup. Big mistake. We ended up with 20 bottles of ketchup on our table. Now, some nice young diner also was needing the ketchup, but not wanting the hop-de-doo that went with it came up and took a bottle of our table. Well, we were fully into the “game” of the restaurant and Josh politely told our waitress that he had taken a bottle. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to stand for that. We all had to grab a couple of bottles and wait, hidden behind a door while she called him out in front of the entire dinning room and waved to us to bring in the ketchup. Which we then did, to a bright red-faced man.

Jacob ate all his chicken rather quickly and the raw broccoli but was still hungry. The wonderful waitress was able to get him another serving of nuggets- just one of the many times that the people who worked there went over and beyond what they were required to.

In addition to the simple casualness of the place and the fun we were having with the waitress, she made us all napkin hats. It really was one of the funniest meals we have ever had and we will defiantly be back to the restaurant again when we return. The kids are still talking about that giant glass of iced tea that their father drank.