Disneyworld-Day 4

Today was “supposed” to be our really chillin’ day. It was to an extent. We had a 10:30 breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey’s which is located in the Contemporary Resort. Since this resort is only a 5 minute monorail ride from Magic Kingdom, we went there first. We got to MK around 7:45am. It is amazing how awesome the parks are that early in the morning. We didn’t have to wait for ANYTHING!! We did lots of things in 2 ½ hours.

We did several rides that we had already done in tomorrowland and fantasyland. We then went to adventureland and rode the magic carpets and the jungle cruise. After the jungle cruise, we took a small boat over to an island called Tom Sawyer’s Island. It had lots of neat trails and forts. As we were leaving, another mom told me about having the kids find special paintbrushes. We immediately found a couple and were told to give them to the captain upon our return to the MK. When we did, the kids were given a fast past to either Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

The breakfast buffet at Chef Mickey’s was really good. We got to see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald. Layne is so funny. He had not wanted anything to do with any characters (except Lightning McQueen & Mater). Goofy was the first character to stop at our table and of course, Layne immediately looked the other way. BUT, Mickey came out next. When Layne saw him come toward our table he said, “I want to have Mickey sign my autograph book and I want a picture.” I said, “Layne, are you sure?” He said, “Yes mom, I love Mickey.” So, he loved talking to Mickey and all of the others. He even remembered that he didn’t get to talk to Goofy. So, I had to go find Goofy’s chaperone and ask if Layne could get a photo with him. We are still wondering what happened in his little brain between Goofy and Mickey!!

After breakfast we went back to our hotel for some swimming. The weather was very nice and the pool was heated. The pool was really cool with a neat water slide. It felt nice to just relax for a couple of hours. After the swim we all went back to our room for a short rest. Ken and the kids napped while I did a load of laundry. I had just planned on hanging out at our resort and going to bed early, but Ken thought that was crazy. So, after rest we headed off to Animal Kingdom.

By this time it was around 6:30. Ken immediately went and got a fast past for Expedition Everest (roller coaster). We went to the Bug’s Life 3-D show and the Festival of the Lion King show. The Lion King show was just like something you would see on Broadway. It was amazing! We weren’t able to do the safari, but knew we would be back at AK tomorrow.

Disneyworld-Day 3

Today was the day Layne had been looking forward to since we told him about our trip. This was Hollywood Studios day and he would get to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater!! He loved meeting the characters from his favorite movie! This park was mostly shows and Layne kept asking us "where are the games?" He called all rides, games. Anyway, we went to lots of neat shows. My two favorites (along with Anna) were Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. The boys favorites were Indiana Jones Stunt Show and Lights, Motor, Action, a behind the scenes stunt car show. We all absolutely loved "Fantasmic". It was a water and light show they have at Hollywood Studios at night. Another great day!

Disneyworld-Day 2

This is Layne trying to not look at the princesses.

On Saturday, we got to the Magic Kingdom around 8:45. We slept in because it did not open until 9. We got to see the last of the opening ceremony. We took several pictures while walking on Main Street and the kids began to get pretty annoyed with all of the picture taking, so we immediately went to some games (that’s what Layne calls all of the rides).

We rode a few rides and then had to go to Ariel’s grotto to see Ariel. Ariel was one of Anna’s favorite princesses when she was 3-4 years old. Her four year birthday party was Ariel. Anna was very timid about meeting all of her favorite characters. She is usually very talkative and full of energy, but would get shy with the princesses. After a meeting with Ariel, it was off to Toontown to meet some more princesses. We were very fortunate this day b/c we did not have to wait long at all for any of the attractions (this was the case for the entire trip).

Around 1:30, we left the Magic Kingdom and went back to our resort for a rest. The kids took a short nap and then we were off to dinner at the Grand Floridian resort for dinner with Cinderella and her friends. We met Cinderella, Prince Charming, the step-mother, and the step-sisters. Layne was too funny during the dinner. Anytime a character would approach our table he would immediately look the other way and pretend he was doing something else. He would not even make eye contact.

After dinner we went back to the Magic Kingdom. Anna & Layne got to ride in the front car of the monorail (which Layne called it the mermail). We then hit Fontierland and rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. About ¾ of the way through the roller coaster, Anna starts screaming “I changed my mind!”. Of course now she denies that statement.

That night we watched “Spectromagic” parade and “Wishes” the fireworks show.

In Tomorrowland, we rode the Indy Speedway (Layne’s favorite), Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and saw the show Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. Ken & Layne rode Space Mountain. I think it was a little too dark for Layne.

In Fantasyland, we rode, Peter Pan’s flight, Cinderella’s Carrousel, Dumbo, Snow White’s Scary Adventure, and saw Mickey’s PhilharMagic. We also rode Goofy’s Barnstormer roller coaster. As you can see, we had a very packed day. We got back to our room around 10:45pm.

Happy Easter!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend to spend with family and remember the resurrection of our Savior!! I know we did. We spent yesterday dying eggs and had an egg hunt in the backyard. Today we went to church and out for lunch. We spent the afternoon watching "Enchanted" and baking cookies. Wanted to share a scripture with you all from our sermon this morning.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Disneyworld-Day 1

On the plane

At our resort. This is the entrance to the pool.
View from our room
Kids in front of the "microphone" as Layne called it during the entire trip!

Okay, these posts are probably going to be pretty lengthy. I want to write about our trip before I forget!! Well, most of you may not know, but Layne got sick again 6 days before we were leaving on our trip. So, the day before our departure, I took both of them into the doctor for one last check-up. Layne was great, but guess what? Anna ended up with a low-grade fever. Our doctor gave me a prescription for Tamiflu, just in case we got to Orlando and she became worse. I don't know what it was that caused the fever, but she was fine. Our doc also gave the kids a prescription for Phenegran (sp). With all of the people from many countries at WDW, you can easily pick up bugs and I appreciated the script for that. Thank goodness we didn't have to use it!

We left Abilene airport at 6:40 Friday morning. So, we were up before 5am. I had a backpack full of activities for the kids for the plane ride, but they didn't touch any of it. They just sat in their seats and enjoyed the ride. I was very proud of them. We even got some compliments on their behavior from other passengers! We had a short layover in Dallas and then we were off to Orlando. We arrived in Orlando around 12:30 and were at our resort by 2:00.

We stayed at one of Disney's resorts called Port Orleans-French Quarter. This was recommended to me by the travel lady that I used to plan our trip. The pictures of it online looked really cheesy, but it was nice. It is one of Disney's smaller resorts, so you are only a short walk to your bus stop, pool, and food court.

After a quick late lunch, we were off to Epcot. We went to this park because we had 5:30 dinner reservations at The Coral Reef. It is a seafood restaurant that is built around an aquarium. It is a little weird b/c you are eating fish while you are looking at them :) That night we were able to ride our favorite ride, Soarin, plus the Nemo & friends ride. We also rode Mission:Space. Ken and Layne went to the orange team while me and Anna rode the less intense version, the green team. Ken & Layne also got to ride one of Layne's favorites, Test Track. We saw some characters at Epcot. Anna got her picture made with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto. You will not see Layne with many characters at the beginning of our trip because he was a little shy about meeting them. We left the park around 10pm. Our day was long, but we weren't really tired. We were excited for Saturday was the Magic Kingdom!

We're home

We got home around 8:30 last night. Our flight was supposed to be here at 6:30, but was delayed. That and another little incident earlier in the week were the only problems we had on our trip. It was absolutely wonderful!!! Weather was great, kids were great, it was awesome. I will post pictures and full reviews later. Got lots of laundry to do today.

Easter Egg Hunts

Both kids had their Easter egg hunts this week. Layne's preschool went to a local park and had an egg hunt and a picnic lunch. All of the kindergarten classes at Anna's school went to a park (250+ kids) and had an egg hunt, picnic lunch, and played for several hours. Here's some pics of both.

Anna with some girls in her class eating their lunch

Layne with his best friend, Jackson

No more babies for us

I am selling all of our baby equipment in a consignment sale. We are not planning on having anymore children. I just hope that is God's plan as well! Someone asked me if I was sad about selling everything and the answer was "no". I'm really not. Now, if I had done this about two years ago, I would have been. We are a very happy family of four and glad to be out of the baby stage!! Guess what? My neighbor saw us loading everything up on Sunday and came over and bought the crib and high chair. Yea!!

Crazy weather

No wonder we are all sick. Yesterday our air conditioner was on (no joke) and today it snowed. Go figure! The kids enjoyed playing in the little bit that was on the ground for awhile.

What a week!

Well, we have had such an eventful week. Where do I begin? It started on Tuesday. My mom and dad (Mimma & Snow to Anna & Layne) came for a visit. As you know from my last post, Anna was still sick with strep throat. Well, it didn't get any better. On Wednesday, she woke up with 102.1 temp and I called the doctor. We got in that afternoon and her flu test was positive. We don't really know if she got another strain of the flu or if she really had it the first time around. We just assumed last time b/c it was three days after Layne tested positive. Needless to say, she missed all week of school. I am just glad my parents did not catch it!

Since Anna was sick, that sort of put a damper on all of the activities I had planned for Mimma and Snow. But, she was home from school and got to spend quality time with them. The girls did take a little shopping trip and that made Anna feel much better!! Mom & dad helped me prune all of my trees/bushes in my yard and I also got spoiled to waking up to a hot breakfast every morning!! I was even able to get in some shopping for our trip. We had a great visit and look forward to the next. Anna is doing fine, but still fatigues very easily. She did not get up this morning until 10! That is not the norm for her, but she is very excited about going back to school tomorrow. I took the picture of her before our shopping trip. She missed her spring pictures at school last week, so we took our own!