Magic Kingdom Day

Monday morning was Magic Kingdom day. Magic Kingdom is my favorite park and you'll never change my mind. It is literally magical. We got up early and headed down to the boat dock to catch the first boat over. 

We rope dropped with our early entry so first we got some pictures in a nearly empty park. (Monday's picture of the kids in front of the castle.)  

I seriously got emotional walking in. When I started back to work I wanted to make enough money to take my kids to Disney. Then we wound up having to buy a new to us car. So then I was working to pay off a car. Once I did that, I started saving up for Disney again and so to be actually experiencing it and knowing that we made it happen was just everything to me. 

Then we headed straight to Winnie the Pooh. If you are a big Disney person you'll know this is an odd move. Most people head to Peter Pan, Space Mountain or Seven Dwarves Mine Train. 

We wanted to redeem Pooh. In 2017, our last trip, M was a hangry two-year-old and scream-cried the entire ride. So we started there. 

It was great! We followed it up with it's a small world, C's favorite. Or... nostalgic favorite. I think he still loves it and will always but it wouldn't get "favorite favorite" status anymore. 

My Princess M and Snuggly Duckling C met Rapunzel. My favorite. M's favorite. And it was wonderful! Even without Photopass in there, though that did make me sad. 

We conquered Magic Kingdom. We rode so many rides. 

We saw the Festival of Fantasy parade. C loves parades. And the ruffian whose legs you can see saw C's Snuggly Duckling shirt and hollered at him that he was his people! And C was beaming!! I love great cast members and how they interact with kiddos! 

From park early open we did: Winnie the Pooh, it's a small world, Carousel, met Rapunzel, Buzz Lightyear, People Mover, it's a small world (again), Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin Flying Carpets, Enchanted Tiki Room, Under the Sea with Little Mermaid, a cavalcade, Splash Mountain, the parade, Haunted Mansion, met Mickey, Astro Orbiter, Dumbo. 

M really wanted to ride Dumbo and turns out it was one of her favorites. It's funny, because she has been to WDW before but this was kinda like her first time and it was magical to watch her take it all in. 

Then it was time for M to go to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to make this happen. I tried at our 60 days out and it was booked solid but I kept trying and I got it on October 21. Perfect perfect timing because I could give it to her for her birthday! 

Here we are waiting!

We got her the tee shirt package because truthfully, she will wear a tee shirt more than a princess dress without question. But she still got to go to the changing room and see the magic mirror. And I almost teared up. My sweet girl. 

She twirled while we waited. 

Then she got to get her makeover with pixie dust. 

Here are her big reveal pictures from when she first saw herself.

We met back up with the boys and had a little dinner. But at this point, it was after 7:30. M had hit her wall and even though she tried valiantly to stay for the fireworks because she knew how important it was to her brother, we wound up calling it a night at 8:15 and watched the fireworks from the boat back to Wilderness Lodge. A solid 12 hours at Magic Kingdom is nothing to scoff at though, she did a great job!

The boys did stay for the fireworks and I am just so glad C got that time with his Dad and we could meet the needs of both kids at that moment. 

It was a great day all around! 

The Start of Our Trip

 Hi! So we told the kids on Easter that we were taking them to WDW. That way we could still surprise them but they could also weigh in on the things that they wanted to do in advance so we could plan. WDW is not an entirely easy place to "wing it." 

The trip was not without snafus, what trip is? But nevertheless, we persevered and had a great time. On Friday, November 4 we were packed and sitting around the house too excited to go to sleep. (Husband and I, the kids had no choice but to go to sleep at the regular time.) And we got a text message that our flight was canceled! 

Luckily, since we were awake and got the text immediately, I was able to rebook us. Only we had to fly through Denver instead of Chicago. Yep. We flew west to go east and spent an extra 2 hours in-flight because of that. It was not our favorite but beats driving 17 hours so... 

Then the strangest thing happened. At our home tiny airport, we were asked if we wanted to be extras in a movie. We had ample time to kill so we said yes. So that was a fun little way to start the trip. 

Because we weren't on the original flights, the kids were sitting behind me on the first leg. (Not how I picked seats FYI. But we had to do what we could.) 

We made it to Orlando at like 9:30 at night on November 5. I had booked us a room at the airport hotel because I knew it would be the best bet for my not-so-night-owl kiddos. 

A room looking over the terminal was kinda cool actually! 

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant because we were starving. We didn't have time to eat in Denver with a short 1-hour layover and quite a distance between gates. 

Sunday, November 6 we were up bright and early! 

We tried to go to Mass at the airport, but apparently Fr. Bob was sick and we didn't really have time or transportation that hadn't already been budgeted for to come up with a plan B so we said a prayer that Jesus would bless our trip and our best effort. We headed down to the Sunshine Flyer bus service to take us into WDW. 

In no time at all we pulled into our new home away from home. The Wilderness Lodge.

I loved it so much, and I will probably write an entire post about it. 

We dropped our stuff at bell services and headed right out to Animal Kingdom. We stopped for a snacky lunch of a shared hot dog, Mickey pretzel, corn and apple slices we brought from home. 

We had a great time on Kilimanjaro Safari, and even saw two elephants tussling. 

 

N'avvi River Journey is a favorite, we rode it twice. 

And of course, we met the most important mice in the world. 

Our time at Animal Kingdom was short because we just wanted to do the highlights and then go check out our room. And boy did our travel agent and Disney deliver. Because look at what we could see right from our balcony?! It was magic I never got over. Being able to wake up and see the castle from my bed was amazing. 

We managed super last minute, like Friday, to get a reservation at Story Book Dining at Artist Point right downstairs in our resort. We had SUCH a wonderful time. Not only was the food delicious but the character interactions were just amazing! 

The desserts you guys. I didn't take a picture of The Hunter's Gift to the Queen, but it was fabulous too. 

These are the Miner's Treasure, Gooseberry Tarts, and the Poison Apples. And all were divine. 

It was the perfect way to kick off the trip, and our favorite dining experience of the entire trip if you want to know! 

We got back to the room, and changed into swimsuits for a little night swimming. (It was great!) Then we got showered and into pajamas to take advantage of our room's entertainment! 

We were so lucky, all the preview videos I had seen of a fireworks view room, the trees covered the castle so to be just over enough to see it was such a treat! It still makes me giddy! 

And we snuggled into bed early so we could rest up and prepare for the day ahead! 

Oh Hi!

Hi there, remember me? The reason I have been MIA is because we shot out of Halloween, into All Saints and All Souls Day... then the kids had Thursday and Friday off of school and Saturday we left for... 

The most magical place on Earth. And it really really was. Even with a hurricane in the middle. (Also, our first hurricane, and I am happy to check that off my bucket list!) 

I will blog more about this after I dig out of being gone for a week of work. I have so much to say about it. But it was the absolute best and I am so so very thankful for the time spent with my family! 

Happy Halloween!

The pumpkins are carved. The costumes are ready. 

Happy Halloween! 

Apples

 I love apple season. I am so thankful that the kids got to go to the orchard this year. 

They picked a lot! 

There's a smell at the orchard, in the apple cooler, and it's one of my favorite smells in the world. And since it's cool and there are some apples on the 3 season porch, it smells like the apple cooler. It's fantastic. 

And we've had some crisps and made plenty of sauce. Our house smells fantastic this time of year. Life is good! 

My Birthday Girl!

 Oh M had just the very best 8th birthday on Saturday! She woke up and Husband fulfilled her request for a waffle with whipped cream. He hand-whipped it and threw some strawberries on for good measure. 

She got to open two presents early in the day. C got her a Mirabelle Barbie and we got her... 

An ice maker! No lie, this girl LOVES a good ice water. And our fridge doesn't have a water hook up. And we rarely make ice cubes with the ice cube trays mostly because I don't give a hoot about ice so I wouldn't make any. 

So a countertop ice maker it is. It makes 12 ice cubes in 6 minutes. And she loved it! 

We had a snacky lunch, because we did. Featuring her new favorite "fancy" thing... the Bagel Bite. 

Then it was time to head off to her party! At the art museum! Her birthday shirt this year says It's a good day to make some art! 

She got to kill some time and sketch while she waited for her friends. 

And then they all joined her in the art studio for mask making. With a great art teacher and they had a good time!

Then they went on a gallery tour. Which was the cutest. Seriously. 

But this was the best, we were walking towards a new area and M spotted this painting and the plaque on the wall. It was Joan Miro. (I didn't know either, don't feel bad.) M got really excited and pointed it out and suddenly I had 9 second-graders giddy with excitement! They had just studied Joan Miro in art class. So to spot his work in the wild was very cool. So I had them take a picture to send to the art teacher. (Who happens to be my friend.) I knew it would make her so proud and happy. It completely did. 

Our docent was very impressed! (I was too!) But then the docent also was impressed because they knew about All Saints Day. And Haiti because of our sister parish. The kids did a great job with the gallery tour. 

Then we went back to the studio for Crumbl cookies, goldfish, and juice boxes. Oh and opening presents. 

Her birthday banner was obviously art themed. 

We had the best day celebrating our favorite girl. We are so lucky she's ours!!

Happy birthday M! 

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Happy Birthday, Baby!! 

I cannot even, for one minute, believe that you are 8-years-old today! It absolutely defies logic! How? 

And oh sweet girl what a year you've had. You figured out what kind of soccer player you want to be, and that is defensive. There's still a long way to go but you had a pretty darn good spring and fall season. Thankfully, we are skipping indoor this year though. We're all okay with that. 

You are still the most dramatic girl I know when it comes to injuries. A tiny scrape is the equivalent of a mortal wound. But yet, when it comes time for a shot you don't even flinch. What's that about? I don't know. But it is one of the mysteriously wonderful things that makes you you and I love every second of you. 

You're in the midst of doing your first show and I am over the moon about it because you apparently rocked your audition and you got a much bigger part than I would have imagined for you on your first go around. I can't wait to see it. 

This year has been so good. You're still my social butterfly who could make friends with a rock but man, have you become a sweet and wonderful friend! You are kinder than I could imagine and I appreciate that so much about you. You still get mad when there's no school. You aren't thrilled this year's birthday fell on a Saturday and there was no changing your mind that was a travesty. 

Favorite things include strawberries, pancakes and pandas--so nothing different there. But the amount of sketch pads we go through now is ridiculous. I can't wait to see what you create next. 

I am so glad you're mine and I get to be your mom. You are one of my favorite people to be around and snuggling you and kissing your cheeks never gets old to me. 

I love you!!

Happy birthday!

Love, Mom