My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

Danny, pointing to my breakfast: “What’s that?”

Me: “An English muffin.”

Danny: “That’s not a muffin.  That’s bread.”

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Susie: “What did the banana say to the grape?

Grandpa: “What?”

Susie: “I haven’t thought of that part yet.”

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Danny kept saying he wanted “banana apple pie.”  It took me a while to figure out he wanted a piece of pineapple!

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Becky was sitting in her usual spot in the car beside Jimmy, who had kicked her for the thousandth time.  She sighed and said, “I’m tired of Jimmy.  He’s yucky.”

Jimmy just laughed uncontrollably and took it as a compliment.

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I was talking to Jimmy in the car about how much I loved the classical music we were listening to on the radio.  Jimmy suddenly exclaimed, “There’s doorbells in it!” 

I shook my head and started listing the instruments I heard: “There’s a violin…oh and there’s a harp…”

Jimmy: “…and doorbells?”

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The kids were being loud and wild, so I told them all to “pipe down.”  They quieted and then Becky smirked and said, “What do you do if you are stuck in a pipe?…Pipe down!” 

On our last full day in Florida, we packed a lot in – a visit to Celebration, a little Disney-owned suburb complete with a wooded boardwalk:

A quick jaunt over to Orlando’s Old Town where the kids got to see their first real monster truck:

And last but not least, an airboat ride.  It was the first time we’d ridden an airboat near Orlando (we’ve gone several times further south in the Everglades).  The views were gorgeous, and we were impressed by the variety of wildlife we saw – great blue herons, osprey, coots, bald eagles, water moccasins, cows, kingfishers, and yes, even alligators!  It was quite chilly, but it was so beautiful careening through the cattails as the sun went down.  And the grand finale was getting to go back and hold a real baby alligator!  It was a trip to remember!

I don’t think I’d ever taken the Tomorrowland People Mover before, but we were all pleasantly surprised at how much we could see from our lofty perch:

And look, you can’t even tell how much my husband dislikes crowds (but you can tell how much my son likes popcorn!):

The gang ready for the Main Street parade, which was as magnificent as I had remembered:

We did the Astro Orbiter for the first time.  Becky even got Bubba up high!

Meeting Rapunzel and Cinderella (which was fortuitous, because we got to skip to the head of a long line, thanks to a kind Disney worker.  He saw one of our kids decide not to ride the Astro Orbiter at the last minute, and he took pity on us and gifted us with an “exemption” pass to the front of the line for our whole crew!  We joked we ought to have staggered our kids’ scared moments and gotten a bunch of those passes!):

Our princesses, just after they had finally gotten the gift shop toys they had been coveting all day!  Becky chose an Ariel bride doll, Susie chose an Elsa doll with accessories, and Katelyn chose a stationary set:

The highlight of the day was eating at the new “Be Our Guest” restaurant in Fantasyland.  We still have no idea how we got seated, since the reservations had been full all day, but we’re so glad we got in!  Not only was the ambiance amazing (it really felt like the ballroom in the Beast’s castle, complete with snowflakes falling outside the windows and rose-shaped napkins), but the food was truly fantastic.  Even the Mickey meatloaf was adorable!  And it came with a meet-and-greet with the Beast:

After dinner and another stop at a gift shop, we caught the nighttime Electric Parade.  And as we piled into the rental vans around 9pm, after having been at the park for twelve hours, we were thrilled to see the fireworks in the distance, signaling the end of a great day.  I’m still in awe of how much fun we packed into our park visit!

As a treat upon returning to the hotel, we let the four big kids have a sleepover in the same room.  Fortunately they were too exhausted to carry on for very long:

Jimmy was still awake when I got home, and since he was feeling a bit left out after having missed the second half of Disneyworld, and then the big kid slumber party, Jim and I indulged him and let him stay in our bed all night (a first!).  It was a very sweet way to end the day, cuddled up with my little prince:

I haven’t had time to go through all our Disney pictures yet, so for tonight I’ll share this post!

Becky wasn’t about to let her little brothers knock down her carefully-constructed blanket fort.  She took matters into her own hands:

“Sorry.  But no little brothers in the fort.  Not even one!  Becky’s orders.”

There are so many places in Orlando that I love, but Downtown Disney is among my favorites.  Where else can you get the magic of Disney without the entrance fee? 

We started off the evening at the Rainforest Café, which was a huge hit with the kids (especially the elaborate gift shop).  Jimmy was absolutely certain the animatronic crocodile in front of the restaurant was a real animal.  He refused to believe otherwise!  

We just HAD to stop at Ghiradelli’s for ice cream (although I know that’s not so exotic for my California family!)

After shopping in the souvenir shops, we topped off the night by watching an audience-participation hula hoop competition, which transfixed Becky and Danny.  Danny begged us to let him go up and compete, and even though we all knew the kid wasn’t going to get a single rotation, I decided to humor him.  I walked him up to the front and as I was looking for an unused hoop, I failed to notice Danny getting dangerously close to a fellow contestant.  Before I knew it, Danny had gotten thwacked right in the temple by a powerhouse hula-hooper.  He was pretty banged up, but I think his pride took more of a hit than his head!  

We said goodbye to the Lego sea dragon outside the Lego store.  My girls spent a lot of time trying to figure out how they assembled the monster in the water!