It's all good . . .

Fun with Friends and the Fourth of July

Last weekend we took a break from our unpacking adventures and headed to Goldsboro, NC to visit Kevin's best friend Rob and his family.  We got there just in time for dinner, and the kids had a blast playing together all evening.

And then, because we had to head back early the next morning for church, us adults stayed up until 2am talking and playing games.  There is nothing quite like the craziness that ensues when Kevin and Rob get together, and it is always fun to be reminded that Rob became another little brother to me the moment Kevin and I got married :).  (Did I really need an extra one?  Wasn't Matthew enough, not to mention Kevin's real little brothers?  He he!)

When we finally decided to head to bed (mostly because Rob had to be up at 6am for an Air Force thing), the boys couldn't even stand up.  They did have enough energy for 2am popsicles though :).

It was such a fun night, and we are looking forward to more fun times with them, especially since they are only 1 1/2 hours away now.

Then for the Fourth of July, we got together with some other good friends.  One of the reasons we were excited to move here, was because Andrew and Jeren were here.  We have known them since Lily was a baby back in Monterrey when Kevin and Andrew were in the same class in Monterrey.  And they were even in Savannah with us, but had just moved to Ft. Bragg.

So, on Saturday we had them over, with their sweet little girl, Emelia.  We had a BBQ and I got to test out Kevin's new grill with a super yummy chicken recipe.  The kids played in a kiddie pool in the backyard, and we had a great time enjoying the beautiful weather.

Later that night, we joined up with one of our neighbors and combined our fireworks to put on a show for the kids.  Before it got dark, we started the kids out with poppers.  They loved throwing them, but even more than that, they liked stepping on the ones that didn't explode at first.  Then there were the cars that didn't move and the creepy snakes I bought not knowing what they were.

(Notice Lily in the "Fourth of July outfit" she put together on her own, along with her "Princess Leia hair" she begged me to do this morning.  So cute!)

 

Lily and Derek sat with our neighbors' kids at a safe distance and watched the fun, although Derek did end up on my lap after a little while.  It was a blast, and even turned out to be more of a show than we expected, because the house next door and the one behind us had the really good fireworks.  We were a little nervous that they would set a tree or one of our houses on fire, but luckily all ended well.  The kids loved every minute of it, and it was the perfect way to end our day.

Piano Buddies

I wrote this post back on the 16th of June, but never posted it because the cable for the video camera was accidentally packed.  I finally found it, so now you get to read about our piano recital adventures . . .

Saturday was a big event in our family, Lily and I had a piano recital.  Yes, I said "I" had a recital. 

You see, I have always wanted to play the piano, and have severely regretted quiting back in the 2nd grade.  (It was my teacher I didn't like, not the piano.)  I had only taken for a few months back then, and all I could remember was middle C, and so recently I tried to teach myself how to play.  It wasn't working, and so a few months ago, I started taking a lesson after Lily's.

It has been so fun, a lot of work, and even though it is so hard to find time to practice, I love it!  However, when Maria approached me about playing in the recital, it terrified me, and I even told her no at first.  I really fell in love with my song though, and so I gave in and agreed to do it.

So, on Saturday, Lily and I sat side by side on the front row with all the other students (me being over 20 years older than most of them).  Lily in her fancy Scottish dress, and me in a new dress Kevin sent me out to buy earlier that day :).  (He said that he had always got a new outfit to wear to a recital, and so should I - how fun!  Totally worth the humiliation I felt while playing.)

I went first, and as I sat at the piano, my hands were shaking so bad, I could hardly play.  At one point in the song, my hand just froze, and I couldn't get it to move where I needed it to be.  It was awful, but I pulled it together and finished the song.  I guess it was pretty good for my first recital though :).  Oh well.

Lily was awesome - not at all nervous and she was glowing with excitement.  She made a few mistakes in her song, but it was because she has a tendency to just start making up whole measures and then getting lost.  I loved it :).

We had lots of support and friends who came to watch, but were especially glad Kevin was able to come back from North Carolina for the weekend so that he could be there.

And so we survived :), Lily better than I, but she is younger.  Here are the videos of our adventure.  Please be kind, and remember that I have only been taking piano a few months :).  Enjoy . . .

And yes, Lily's song was even harder than mine :).

Adventures in Unpacking

I feel as if I haven't had a moment to breathe in over two weeks, but hopefully I will soon see that light at the end of the tunnel. 

Last week the packers came on Monday and Tuesday, and the movers loaded us up on Wednesday.  Thank goodness for good friends, because a few of mine, not only took my kids for the entire day each day, but some of them even had us over for dinner.  It was such a blessing to get them out of the house, especially since the emptiness and boxes made Derek burst into tears every few minutes.

On Thursday morning, I loaded the kids and the rest of our stuff in the van, and tried my darnedest to beat the moving truck to Fayetteville.  Luckily, the kids were amazing, and we made it to our house with 20 minutes to spare.  Just enough time for me to find the keys Kevin hid for me, and then get the van into the garage.

From that moment on, it has been one chaotic mess of unpacking, made worse by the fact that the house was dirty, and so I had to spend hours cleaning before I could even touch a box.  Today, I finally finished unpacking and arranging my kitchen, which meant I could actually cook dinner.  I somehow managed to make the tiny cabinets work :), and I even got to use my brand new Dyson vacuum to clean the floor - so awesome.  So now I have to finish the rest of the house, but it's all good - Kevin will be here to help :).

We have had some fun in the chaos though.  We have already scouted out the mall and began our search for some new furniture and a lawn mower, as well as go to our new ward on Sunday.  We met a few of our neighbors, and Lily was in heaven that she had friends to play with.  And the best yet was going to dinner at our new friends, the Mann's, last night.  (They are very good friends with my best friend Marilyn, and so it felt like we have known them forever already.)

And so yes, we are still alive, but just a tad exhausted.  And hey, as a bonus, Lily is having a blast with all the boxes.  Here she is exploring her "caves."

Too Many Good Byes . . .

I am sad.  Usually I am able to completely live in denial of impending changes.  My brain gets all the organization and such done, but I don't let my heart feel it, until after the fact.  That is getting harder and harder to do, since I have had to say too many good byes.

In the past little while, and especially in the past few days, I have had to say a lot of good byes to a lot of amazing friends.  I am so sad.  I have been so blessed to have found some amazing women who have been my family while I have lived here.  They are, like Anne of Green Gables would say, "kindred spirits."  In fact, I feel as if Heavenly Father placed them in my path specifically to bless my life.  I love them all so much, and they are the only reason I will regret leaving Savannah.

You see, we have really been wanting to move, and are looking forward to this change, but it doesn't make leaving them any easier.  To make myself feel better, I try to think about the things I won't miss here, like: living in an apartment and sharing walls with people, all the smokers everywhere, the nasty sand gnats, how flat it is, the way the town is taken over by tourists during the summer, the horrible drivers, and constant j-walkers.

Not to say there aren't things I don't love about Savannah.  I love many things about Savannah and will especially miss:

• Pralines - the ones from The Savannah Candy Kitchen are the best anywhere!
• The beautiful Oak trees and how they stretch over the roads like a canopy.
• The winding rivers and marshes.  They are so pretty, and are also the only open areas here.
• The long stretches of beach and the WARM ocean water, even if it is silty from all the rivers.
• Downtown Savannah, with it's history, beautiful mansions, and great places to eat - my favorites being Mrs. Wilkes, Alligator Soul, and The Mellow Mushroom.
• Having a beautiful swimming pool at our apartment complex, and warm enough weather to use it from April to October.
• How green it is all year.
• Very mild winters.
• Lily's amazing piano teacher, my fantastic dentist, and great chiropractor.  Why can't they move with us?
• The Young Women I worked with.
• etc, etc, etc

So, I guess you could say I have mixed feelings about this all.  However, I really can't wait to get to North Carolina and be with my husband.  I can't wait to live in a home and have a yard.  I can't wait to live near some friends I haven't seen in ages.  And I am excited for this new adventure.

So, as of Thursday morning, my final good bye will be to Savannah.  Thanks for four great years.

PS. I need to post about the piano recital last week, but the video cable I need is in a box packed away, so it will have to wait until after we unpack - sorry Mom and Valerie.

Good Bye to Kindergarten!

Lily's last day of school was overshadowed a little by Derek's illness, and I didn't get to do nearly all the fun things I had planned, but it still managed to be a fantastic day for her. 

When I left to take Derek to the ER, I left Kevin with a list to help Lily get ready for her last day, which included things like finishing the thank you cards for her teachers (Luckily I had the gifts already wrapped), taking a last day of school picture, and fixing her hair - which he did a pretty amazing job at, if I do say so myself.

Instead of a graduation ceremony, the kindergarten teachers at her school opted for a water fun day.  They rented inflatable water toys, had slip-n-slides and kiddie pools, and let the kids play from 10am-2pm.  They even had a special hot dog picnic lunch. 

Any and all parents were invited, and so after returning home with Derek, I took an all too short nap, and then headed to her school to join in the fun.  She was so happy to have me there, and gave me a grand tour of everything, along with her best friend Alexandra, since they were inseparable - it was so cute.

As I watched her, I just couldn't believe that my baby girl has already finished her first year of school!  Although it had a rough start, Lily has had a wonderful year, thanks so much to her wonderful teacher, Miss Joiner.  It was her first year, she was so full of enthusiasm and fun, and you could tell she loved those kids.  (It was too bad she on maternity leave at the beginning of the year.) 

Here Lily is with Miss Joiner and the teacher's aide, Mrs Oglesby:

She came home loaded down with prizes, awards, and other fun things, and has been walking around bursting with excitement about how she is a first grader now - so cute!

PS. I never got around to posting about this sooner, since things have been crazy, but I thought I would write about it, while I was already talking about Lily's school. 

At the beginning of the year, deciding that I wanted to be an involved parent, I went to a PTA meeting.  Somehow I came away from the meeting in charge of their "Wonderful Wednesday" program. 

This entailed arranging for treats to be donated and delivered to all the teachers and staff once a month.  What was I thinking???  Luckily, I was blessed with a great partner and some really awesome moms that helped me every month, and it ended up not being so bad. 

During our last Wonderful Wednesday, I decided I should record it somehow, and took a picture of the carts we took around.  It was a lot of work, a lot of fun, but I am glad I am done :).

Strawberries, good; cake, good; pudding, good!

Last week, for Young Women's, we had a going away party for Ariel, our one graduating Senior.  She is heading to BYU this week, and so we had a fun party, all about her.  (It was also my very last activity with them before I leave.)

I was in charge of the dessert, and decided that I needed to do something with strawberries.  Then I knew I wanted angel food cake with them, and then I found myself staring at my beautiful new trifle bowl, and knew that I had to use it.  Soon I had created this . . .

To make it yourself, it is pretty simple.

• First, wash and cut up a pound of strawberries.  Mix in a few spoonfuls of sugar and let it sit in the fridge a few hours, so the juices start running.

• Next, bake an Angel Food cake according to the package directions and let it cool completely.  (I usually use the Dunkin Heinz brand.)

• Then, make up a box of White Chocolate pudding (Jello brand).

• Last, make some homemade whipped cream*, but if you want, you can replace it with cool whip, it just won't taste as creamy.

Fold the pudding into the whipped cream, and set aside.  Then tear the cake up and layer one half of it in the trifle bowl.  Then pour in half of the pudding/cream mixture.  Layer in half of the strawberries, and then repeat.  It is so yummy!  Enjoy!!

*To make the whipped cream, beat a pint of whipping cream until it starts to get thick.  Then add in 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 T of sugar, while continuing to beat until it is thick and creamy.

More important things . . .

It is amazing how something can just through your life into perspective.  This week has been crazy, but with things much more important than moving - it has been full of taking care of my very sick baby boy.

 

On Monday, Derek came down with a high fever and lost his appetite.  Tuesday he cried all day with sever stomach pain and then started having diarrhea.  I took him to the doctor, but thinking it was a virus, he sent me home with instruction to keep him hydrated and use Tylenol to keep his fever down. 

The next day he was much worse, but on Thursday he seemed like he was doing better.  However, that afternoon he became lethargic again and had some added complications that got me scared (spiked fever and blood in his stool), and so when he was doing particularly bad this morning at about 4 am, I decided to take him to the ER.

We got right in, and after quite a struggle, they were able to take some blood and get him on an IV, which they had to completely tape to his arm, since he used energy he didn't even have to fight us off.  Once he settled down, I convinced him the IV machine was a medical droid from Star Wars, which helped a little.

They did some other tests, and the doctor, although he hasn't had all the results yet, seemed to think it was salmonella, or other bacteria.  He sent me home with an antibiotic and thinks that Derek should be doing better within 48 hours.  I certainly hope so.  He is so sad and miserable, and is in a lot of pain.  So please keep him in your prayers.

PS.  The one positive thing, or silver lining, in all of this, is that I have completely stopped stressing about moving :).

Fun Stuff Amidst the Chaos

Life has been going a million miles per hour since we found out for sure we are moving.  It is has been an endless amount of phone calls, work on the computer, and even more crazy organization in preparation for the movers next week.  (I have piles everywhere, and we have already thrown out or sold a ton of stuff.)

I can't seem to relax or sleep, because every time I close my eyes, an endless array of thoughts attacks me.  I can't even make them go away with writing lists, which usually works, and so I am trying to find some fun things to focus on from the past two weeks.

First off . . .

DEREK SILLINESS

After Derek's obsession with the walkers in Star Wars was revealed, his Grandma Valerie couldn't resist sending him a real one (so he didn't have to use the blocks to create them.)  He LOVES it and is playing with it constantly.  It is pretty fun to watch.

Another silly thing about Derek, is that he just can't seem to keep his bed made (He must get that from his dad - he he!).  I will make it, and five minutes later when I come in the room, it looks slept in again.  This is partly to do with the fact that he climbs into bed when he is throwing a tantrum.  Pretty funny :).

And there is Derek's hair.  We have had to buzz his hair since he was 4 months old, and I was loving how thick and nice his hair is now so much, that I did not want to buzz it this time.  However, he just doesn't hold still, or even come close to it, and so I have been putting off the haircut for quite a while. 

So, when my friend Kristi cut my hair the other day, I asked her for tips of what to do with Derek.  After her, a professional, had an insane time getting that hair cut, I knew it was not possible for me to do it :).  She managed to still do a great job though, and it is so nice not to have it so shaggy and in his eyes anymore.

 

And then there is . . .

THAT LILY GIRL OF MINE

I love looking at the work Lily brings home from school, and the other day, she had the cutest drawing of me on her worksheet for the letter "M" - very fun!  I am thinking that it was so sweet and cute, and then the next day I was shocked to find the picture she drew for the letter "G" - not something sweet like grandma, or silly like gorilla.  No, my baby girl drew a picture of the word "gag" - which I realized I use way too much - a throw back to the 80's I guess :).  Here they are:

And then there is her imagination, which blows me away.  Today we had to play library, the other day it was a magic show - to which she charmed our neighbor Brent into being her assistant - so funny.  She always has some sort of costume on as well, and here is a cape she had Kevin fashion her out of one of his golf towels.  (It had to be a black towel for some reason, who knows.)

 

(In the picture she is holding the remote, because she loves to look at ALL the bonus features when she watches a movie - pretty silly.)

Something Lily has been working hard  is learning the 13 Articles of Faith.  Today she passed off 10, 11, and 12, leaving 13 for next week, our last week in the Georgetown Ward before we move.  Kevin and I are so proud of her!

Lily has also been working very hard on piano lately, especially since she has a recital coming up on Saturday.  She earned another prize, and decided that she really wanted a date with her daddy.  Being the sweetheart she is, she asked if she could invite Derek on her date.  And then when Kevin asked if she wanted mom to come too, she said, "I don't know.  I think she has chores to do."  (So funny, and yet sad at the same time.  I told you it has been crazy around here.)

We did end up making it a family date, which she planned out, originally scheduling it from noon to 6pm on a list that she decorated and labeled.  After a few adjustments to the time frame, we loaded up and went to lunch at McDonald's, and then to see the movie "UP" - which was fantastic, by the way.  It was a great family date :).

Which brings me to . . .

FUN WITH FRIENDS

With us leaving so soon, I am trying really hard to get together with my friends here to say goodbye.  After almost 4 years in Savannah, that is a lot of people, and so I may not get to everyone, but hopefully I will see most of them.

On Friday, I did get to play with my friend Kristi.  She came over and cut my hair - it is super cute and as short as I will ever go with it, and just long barely enough to get in a ponytail.  I love it!  (She has the picture of it on her camera, which I will post when I get it from her.)  After the haircut, it was lunchtime and we took our boys with us to Olive Garden - and luckily both of our sons love pasta :).  It was so much fun and I am really going to miss her!

That night, we had our good friends, John and Victoria,over for dinner and games.  We had so much fun, and it was a marathon of our favorite games: Guitar Hero, Pinochle, and we even opened Kevin's Father's Day gift early and played Ticket to Ride: Europe Edition.  Ahh, I am going to miss them a ton!!  Here's the Guitar Hero mania :) . . .

 

I also had my very last Savannah photo shoot yesterday, with this great family from church.  I am hoping to squeeze in editing their pictures sometime tomorrow, but for now I am going to bed, where I hope I can get some sleep, because although there will be more fun in the works, I have way too much to do before the movers arrive next Monday morning.

Yes, We Are Moving

So, we have known this might be happening for a while, but now it is real.  We are moving to Fayetteville, North Carolina because Kevin has orders to go to Ft. Bragg.  Last weekend we took a very quick trip there to find a place to live, and found a beautiful house to rent.  We are so excited about it, and know that it was an answer to prayer.  And yes, my kids will FINALLY have a yard :).

(Yes, that is Lily playing in the yard with the neighbors, already at home.)

And so in a week, Kevin will be gone, and we are to follow soon after.  We are very excited, but at the same time, I am so sad to leave all the friends I have made during our four years in Savannah.  Luckily we will only be about 4 hours away, and so we can easily visit.  This is longest we have lived anywhere during our marriage, and we actually have roots.  It's all good though.   There are wonderful things to look forward too . . .

A Magical Week at Disney World

 Those of you who have ever mentioned Disney World to me know that I love it.  I have been five times in my life and would go more if I could.  I love the magic and fun of it all, and now I love sharing that with my family, and so when Disney offered an amazing deal for soldiers and their families, we decided to take advantage of it :).  (If you are military, you should really check it out, since the offer expires on December 23.)

So we headed out last Sunday for a wonderful, albeit wet, week at Walt Disney World.  It was such a great way to spend time together as a family, especially after having Kevin gone for so long.  It all started on . . .

DAY 1

Sunday morning we loaded up the van and headed to Orlando.  We stayed at Shades of Green again, the military resort at Disney, and as soon as we got checked in, we took the kids swimming.  (It turned out that it was a good thing we did, because the rain the rest o the week made it so it was the only time they got to go.)

 

Our room was great, a little bit of a walk, but had a beautiful view of the golf course.  Derek also enjoyed racing Lily back to our room everyday after we got back from the parks.  I don't know where they got the energy from.

 

After settling in, it was time for Lily's birthday dinner with Cinderella (See the post below).  After a fantastic dinner, we went to bed early so we could be rested for . . .

DAY 2

Magic Kingdom Day - the kids were so excited, that they got in trouble a few times before we left, which explains their "not as happy as they should be" faces.  I love the cute little packs I found for them on-line!  They had a little snack, a glow-stick, and a few dollars they had saved to buy something.  (Also indispensable for the week, was Derek's harness and the cool Kinderkord for Lily - so awesome and saved my kids from disappearing in the crowds.)

 

Once we were out the door of our room, the kids were glowing with excitement.  We spent the morning visiting:

• Dumbo
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Peter Pan's Flight
• Big Thunder Mountain - Derek's first roller coaster, since he was barely 40 inches tall with his shoes on - both kids loved it.
• The Country Bears Jamboree
• Splash Mountain
• The Haunted Mansion

 

While we were on Thunder Mountain, the rain started.  By Splash Mountain it was POURING rain.  Lily and I were trying to stay dry in ponchos, but Derek was soaked, since he wouldn't wear one, and so we went back to the hotel.  We gave them a warm bath, put them in dry clothes and tried to get them to take a nap, which they refused to do - that was, until we got in the car. 

 

We were in the car in search of raincoats for Derek and I (Lily and Kevin already had them).  We found a massive Bass Pro Shop, found some great raincoats, had a yummy dinner at Chevy's, and headed back to the park all prepared for the weather.

I am so glad we did, because we had a great time!  We went to:

• Mickey's Philharmagic (My favorite, and what made it all feel magical for me.)
• Cinderella's Golden Carousel
• It's a Small World
• Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
• Monsters, Inc. Comedy Club

And on our way out , we toured Main Street and bought ice-cream and treats from the candy store.  It was the perfect end to a great and adventurous day.

DAY 3

Today was our day at Disney Hollywood Studios, something that Derek had been especially looking forward to, because not only did they have Playhouse Disney characters, they also had Star Wars!  Derek loved riding Star Tours, but I think he liked seeing the walker the best :).

 

We had a great time there, despite the fact that it rained on us the entire day.  We didn't mind the rain - it kept the crowds small and with our raincoats, we were just fine.  Our time was spent with:

• Toy Story Mania (So fun!)
• Playhouse Disney Live on Stage (the kids' favorite)
• Voyage of the Little Mermaid
• Star Tours (What Derek had been talking about for weeks, but almost didn't get to ride because the guy wasn't measuring him right.)
• Muppet Vision 3D
• Lunch at Toy Story Pizza Planet (Where Derek and Kevin took full advantage of the arcade.)
• Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
• The Magic of Disney Animation

The boys also had a hey-day in Tatooine Traders, the Star Wars store.  We came away with two blasters and a bag of Star Wars bath toys.  And then, we just couldn't top the kids getting to meet 3 of the 4 Little Einsteins!  (Derek is still wondering where June is though.)

We were back to the hotel by 3:00, and after a brief rest, we went in search of a McDonald's for dinner.  It was right by Downtown Disney, and so after dinner, we went there and had a great time finding some more special souvenirs, including a Tinkerbell musical jewelry box for Lily.  (She and Derek spent a lot of time dancing to the music from it - silly kids.)  It did start POURING rain again on us as we went out to the car, but it was still a great day :).

DAY 4

Wednesday was our day at Epcot, and the first day we actually saw the sun since Sunday.  There was a flower and garden festival going on, and so there were gorgeous topiaries everywhere, I especially loved this one of the princesses.

 

We had a really fantastic time, and were so blessed, once again, to walk onto every ride, and walk into every show right before it started.  (That came with good planning, small crowds, and someone watching over us.)  We had a blast with:

• Mission Space (Lily went with Kevin and got to fulfill her dreams of being an astronaut.)
• Test Track
• Spaceship Earth
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends
• Turtle Talk with Crush
• Soarin' (My favorite!)
• Honey I Shrunk the Audience
• Touring World showcase - Canada, The United Kingdom, France (where I got the most delicious pastries), Morocco, Japan, USA, Italy, Germany (where  we got a yummy pretzel), China (where Lily finally got the Chinese fan she has been talking about for months), Norway, and Mexico.

 

We were having so much fun, and really enjoying the sun.  We eventually even put sunscreen on the kids, but about 20 minutes later, the clouds quickly rolled in, and as we were making our way past Japan, it began to rain.  Not too hard, but enough.  We quickly finished our tour of the countries, and considered ourselves lucky, since we had done everything we wanted to, and it was only about 2pm. 

On our way out, we stopped at a big store so I could find a cute Disney shirt, and when we came out, it wasn't just raining, it was a torrential downpour!!!  All you could see was white, it was raining so hard.  So, Kevin and I made our plan to get out to the car.  We put Lily in the stroller with a poncho over the top, which I pushed, while Kevin took the umbrella and Derek. 

 

We trudged our way through the storm, walking in puddles up past our ankles.  My shoes were so full of water, I felt like my feet were floating.  We did make it to the car, and happily spent the rest of the night at our hotel, even eating at one of the restaurants there so we didn't have to go back into the storm.

DAY 5

Our Animal Kingdom day was cloudy, but only sprinkled for about 15 minutes at the end of the day, and it was the park we stayed at the longest, not going home until about 4:30 in the afternoon.  I love this park, as I am a huge zoo fan, and it is just fantastic for seeing animals, as well as having the awesome shows and fun rides thrown in.  We did a ton, spending our time on:

• Expedition Everest (I was on the first ride of the day, and as soon as I got off, Kevin AND Lily got on.  It was her first intense roller coaster, and she loved it.  She was so proud of herself for not screaming - so fun!  Kevin bought her an adventure kit because he was so proud of her.)
• Kilimanjaro Safari
• Pangini Forest Trail
• Kali River Rapids
• Maharajah Jungle Trek
• Flights of Wonder
• Finding Nemo the Musical
• The Boneyard (Where the kids ran off energy I didn't even know they had.  You should have seen Kevin chasing Derek - so funny!)
• Festival of the Lion King
• The Tree of Life Discovery Trails

 

The animals were amazing, the shows were great, and the weather was awesome!  The only day we went home dry - wow!  When we got back, we ordered room service.  What a great day.

DAY 6

For our final day at Disney, we went back to The Magic Kingdom to do all the other stuff we had wanted to do.  We started off the day with sunscreen and sun, but knew that it was not going to last, so we were prepared.  (I got to know the Orlando weathermen really well as I watched them on the local news every morning - fun times.)

We got to the park early, as usual, and the kids had a great time watching the opening of the park show.  And the kids also loved riding the monorail, which is the only way to get there, unless you want to ride in a boat across the lake.

 

As soon as the park opened, we got straight down to business; the business of fun :).  We went on:

• Tomorrowland Indy Speedway (In which both Derek and Lily got to drive a car - let's just say that they need a little more practice steering.)
• Astro Orbiter
• Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (For a second time - it is that fun.  And Kevin topped his record with a score over 500,000 points)

 

• The Mad Tea Party
• Goofy's Barnstormer
• Mickey's Country House
• Judges Tent
• Donald's Boat
• Minnie's Country House
• Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• The Enchanted Tiki Room
• Pirates of the Caribbean (Because you all know how much our family loves pirates - he he!  Although Kevin does thinks they desecrated it by adding in Capt Jack Sparrow to the ride.)

 

One of the most exciting things for the kids, was meeting Mickey and Minnie.  It was the only time we stood in a long line to meet any of the characters, but it was worth it.  They were just glowing with excitement.  So worth it!

 

Everything went great, but our sun started to dwindle as we got to Adventure Land, and as we were riding the magic carpets, it began to rain.  Just lightly, but I had watched the weather that morning, I knew what was in store. 

We finished up with Pirates, had a treat, and then it started raining harder, and then harder.  Soon we were in a massive downpour, and so we did what we had done at Epcot, with Lily in the stroller and Derek getting carried.  By the time we got to our hotel, we were exhausted.  We ate some lunch and "forced" everyone to take naps :).

 

After watching torrential rain outside our window for four hours, playing games, taking naps, and getting a little bit of cabin fever, we hopped in the van and went to dinner at Qdoba (A yummy burrito place we discovered by accident back in 2007 when we were searching for Chipotle).  After dinner, we went back to the hotel for ice cream and to get ready for the last part of our adventure.

By then, the massive storm had finally blown over, and the rain was gone.  We headed back to the Magic Kingdom, and this time we got to ride with the driver of the monorail.  It was really fun, and all you have to do is ask, and they will let you :).  Lily especially loved it.

 

Before we knew it, we were back and having fun. 

 

We each picked a favorite something to do again.  I picked Mickey's Philharmagic (one of my top 3 in all the parks), Derek chose the Winnie the Pooh ride, and Lily chose Small World.  (And yes, she sang the song to us the whole night . . . fun times.)  Kevin didn't pick anything, and so we took the kids to the Winnie the Pooh park  in Fantasy Land.  They loved running around, although I have no idea how they still had that much energy at 8:30pm when they had been going all day.

After they blew off some steam, we went and staked out a place on Main Street to watch the Spectromagic Parade.  While we waited, Kevin and I took turns with the kids getting treats - yum!  The parade was great and the kids loved it!  Snow White even shook their hands :).

 

After the parade, we rode the monorail back to the Polynesian Resort, which is was the closest stop to our hotel.  They have a beautiful dock there, overlooking the lake and Cinderella's castle.  We sat on the dock and were just in time to watch the fireworks - which were amazing, by the way.  Better than any 4th of July show I have ever been to.  The kids sat in complete amazement, especially when the ones shaped like Mickey or a star exploded.  It was the perfect way to end our vacation.

PS. We - or I should say, Kevin - drove home on Saturday through a torrential downpour the whole way.  The rain just seemed to like us, I guess :).  It is nice to be home.

NOTE:  I love helping people plan their trips to Disney World, so if you want to see my tips and recommendations, go to my Disney World Fun page.