Homeward bound, and real life

February 2017

The trip home came very early the next morning, and none of us were very happy about it. The boys fell asleep at the airport waiting for Dad to bring breakfast from 20 yards away.

 her selfie says it all: We didn't want to go home!

 Back to real life in a hurry-- Grapes got her braces off right after we got back.

Before:

After:

Some of us wanted to relive the trip over and over again. (Indiana Jones style...)

 (And Elsa style...)

In all seriousness, the dress was worn daily... 

And braids, braids, braids....

We also had a girl turn 13- and her sweet bestie threw her a surprise party. 

It was (of course) Harry Potter Themed, and I got to make her cake!

(It was harder than you'd think to make a messy, Hagrid style cake.)

Magic Kingdom AGAIN! (Disney World Trip part 7)

February 2017

We really enjoyed the cabin where we stayed. We did spend loads of time there, but we could (and maybe should) have. By our last play day we were tired from playing so hard, but we weren't through yet!

We had one more day to explore and enjoy the Magic Kingdom.  

We were able to meet up with Tia again as well. 

The Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin was a hit!

We rode the people mover! (Earlier in the week Feta and I rode it with Tia and it got stopped. We were stuck for about 45 mins.) This time went much more smoothly.

Feta and I visited Belle. She loved it almost as much as visiting Anna and Elsa.

We rode the 'new' Seven Dwarfs ride, and Pencil LOVED it.

Tia introduced us to a side adventure, as part of the "Pirates" fun, where people can participate in a sort of treasure hunt, finding clues and accomplishing tasks. My boys love it! We even got to ride the Pirates ride again because they earned fast passes.

Us girls may have paused to enjoy a Dole Whip while the boys hunted.

We unintentionally got front row spots for the daily parade, and Feta fell asleep and missed it all!

Space Mountain was another favorite! (multiple times)

Merry go round, again!

Tia taught us about Magic Kingdom's design-- it was historically inspired, and each 'land' had lots of interesting things to correspond to the respective times. (like the 'river' of brown rock in the middle of the path in frontier land is reminiscent of the raw sewage that flowed in the streets back in the day)

My boys liked trying out the Stocks.

We stopped at the Incredibles Dance Party, and Feta let it all out!

She did NOT want to dance with Frozone though!

As the day wound down, we visited the Monsters Laugh Floor.

Feta was spotlighted, and got to 'play' Boo in the movie's retelling.  

My kids laughed and laughed at all the corny, silly jokes.

Feta also got a mermaid light-up bubble blowing machine. 

It was terribly noisy, and it lasted long after our trip ended, but it made her so happy at the end of our last long day.

Epcot! (Disney World Trip part 5)

February 2017

Because Feta LOVES Frozen, and because the rest of my kids don't....
she and I made the most of the Early Hour available at Epcot to visit Anna and Elsa.

The ONLY souvenir she wanted. An Elsa dress (that has since been worn to death!)

Thanks again Uncle Lon and Aunt Liz, and May-May and Jared for souvenir money!!

 The first line, for the Frozen Ever After ride was happy. And twirly. (new dresses do that to you)

Then we got in line to meet the princesses...

we waited...

and waited...

After an hour plus, the goal was in sight!

When her turn came though, she was suddenly shy.

I think she was in awe of it all

Elsa introduced her sister, and as Feta walked over she finally opened up a bit.

 (It helped that Anna was less regal and much more chatty)

For our little monkey, this was definitely the highlight of the whole trip. 

We met up with Dad and the big kids right after this

 (they sort of got to sleep in!) and we pressed onward.

Epcot had SO many other adventures. The kids loved Mission Space and the Test Track.

 We tasted lots of yummy food this day. Mexican tacos, sushi, German sausage (as a bonus we saw Snow White!) and then delightful pastries as we walked back to our bus.

It was a very warm day, and we loved the snacks too!

(not pictured, but we fully loved the frozen lemonade as well!)

We also accidentally found BayMax and the boys were THRILLED.

Not to be forgotten- the Turtle Talk with Crush (where Pencil got to ask a question, and asked, "I don't actually know how fast you breathe." (not technically a question, but that's not important)

After everyone laughed, Crush responded, "I don't either, Dude! But that reminds me, I need to breathe now!"

It was beautiful- and that evening I couldn't help snap a picture of the Epcot Ball. (I think going inside it was my favorite ride of the day!)