My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

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!

Yesterday we returned from a wonderful week-long vacation to Orlando, Florida.  As we left the baggage claim, loaded down with suitcases stuffed with flip flops and Disney souvenirs,  we were hit with a gust of icy wind and I could feel my spirits flag.  How I longed for the warm Florida sun!  How I disliked having to hunch my shoulders against the cold!  How I feared driving on those wintry roads!  But when we arrived safely home, the first thing my boys did was jump into their snowsuits and snow boots and head back outside to plow the driveway with their dad.  And once they finished that, the boys gleefully rolled around in the snow as if it were a sandy beach.  The girls sat and watched the snowfall as they surrounded themselves with art projects, and I made hot chocolate to warm up the frozen troops.   I told myself not to think about the palm trees and sunny skies…those were indeed beautiful, but not more beautiful than the frosted trees and quiet dignity of the white hillside behind our house.  I absolutely love spring, summer and fall here in New England, and if a cold winter is the price to pay for the green splendor, then so be it. 

I may feel like grumbling as I scrub the muddy footprints off the entry stairs for the hundredth time, but those footprints are joyful ones, left by kids who can’t get enough of stomping through the snow, and by a husband who serves his family by happily plowing, blowing, shoveling, scooping, and raking the snow away (yes, we have to rake the roof!). 

Our vacation to Florida was perfect; we loved every minute of it.  But it’s good to be back.  Jimmy put it well when he was asked to identify his favorite part of the trip: “Coming home!”

(Thanks to my mom for the title of this blog post – that was the perfect phrase to capture our day!)