September

The girls made their annual trip to the dentist.  It's hard not to feel guilty as a mom when I get the report.  Even though the dentist says he can tell they brush well, their poor little teeth are apparently not so strong.  A has 2 cavities and L has 4, one of which will require an extraction.  My poor kiddos.  Even little Miss E had her first visit, sitting in the chair and letting the dentist have a quick check of her teeth.  We had to return later to have the fillings done, leaving the kids numb for a few hours after.  Unfortunately A chomped down on the inside of her cheek and lip, chewing them to hamburger and leaving it painful for several days.


The company camp out was a ton of fun.  We loaded up the girls and the trailer and arrived just in time for dinner Friday.  (they actually were waiting for us, we had the main course).  The girls bounced around through dinner, playing with kids their age and barely eating anything.  After dinner, they played while the adults did a short activity and then the group dispersed quickly.  Our kids were eager to play in the trailer so they set about exploring, setting up their beds and watching a movie.  Husband had to make a late night run to the store so after the girls fell asleep, I got to sit around the fire with friends for a little while.  The next morning we made a huge breakfast and the girls played with some boys their age again.  Everyone cleaned up together and drifted away, visiting the new plant as the girls and I stayed in camp to play.  We took a walk and explored around the lake.  The girls loved the craft I brought and painted sun catchers to hang in the window.  Then it began to rain and we hurried inside to cuddle into our blankets and watch a movie while we waited for Daddy to return and take us home.  Quick trip, but fun.

Other than that, it was a busy month with travel and birthdays and all the usual chaos.

milestones

Milestones

L, age 6 ½

Oh my sweet, sweet girl. You are so precious to me.  You are helpful, generous, tenderhearted and kind.  I love how helpful you are to me, offer to do jobs or being so willing to take care of sisters.  I love listening to you read.  I love watching you play with your sisters, trying to include everyone and it make it fair for everyone.  I love your sensitive nature, even with the frequent tears.  I love listening you talk about school.  I’m so glad you’ve made new friends and despite your growing shyness, love going to school.  I love watching you dance, you’re so graceful and gifted.  I love your big beautiful blue eyes, telltale signs of every mood.  Your curls are more relaxed and gentle now, always smoothed into a happy ponytail.  I love you even when you’re grumpy in the mornings, always reluctant to wake up for school.  Your tender nature has a hard time with reproval and you’re always first to respond and correct a behavior.  I sympathize with your terrible sweet tooth and sugar cravings and appreciate your mature palate and willingness to try new foods. 

Favorite color: pink

Favorite movies: Princess Diaries, Tinkerbell, Barbie movies, Magic School Bus

Favorite foods: chocolate, ice cream, fish, tacos, pizza, steak

Favorite activities: dance, reading, helping mom cook, playing on the computer

A, age 5

My crazy silly girl.  I love your endless energy.  You’re always bouncing off the walls and pulling your sisters into your fun and creative games.  Your vivid imagination is a gift, creating all sorts of adventures out of the most simple things, with perfect clarity and detail.  You’re friendly and fearless and can convince anyone, of any age, to join your games.  You are a big flirt and collect countless boyfriends.  You love school, mostly for the friends and art projects, and are eager to imitate your big sister and practice reading.  You’re already begging to go to kindergarten.  You struggle with an “inside voice” and waiting your turn, especially at school when you get so excited about everything.  And your frequent outbursts on gibberish nonsense, which make me crazy, are usually an attempt to join a conversation when you feel left out.  You are exquisitely beautiful, with perfect features and a gorgeous smile that lights up your whole face.  You’re tough, strong and ambitious, wanting to try everything and have such big dreams for the future.  You’ve wanted to be a doctor for at least two years, but more recently are also considering being a Viking or an astronaut.  You have strong opinions and insist on doing everything yourself, including picking out your own clothes, doing art projects or making your own lunch (even if you do pick Ramen three times a week). 

Favorite color: “rainbow”

Favorite movies: Narnia, How to Train Your Dragon, Doc McStuffins, Letter Factory, Bedtime Stories (“raining gumballs”)

Favorite foods:  ramen, tomato soup, ham and cheese sandwiches, cheesy potatoes, chicken noodle soup, spaghetti, tortellini, grapes

Favorite activities: playing with toys, going to the park, board games, the drive in theatre, tumbling class, painting

E, age 3

I can’t believe you’re three! You’re getting so big and I’m not ready for it, I don’t want our baby time to be over yet.  Luckily you still let me cuddle and hold you.  You give the best squish hugs and sweetest kisses.  I love when we walk, with you in my arms and you shout “stop!” and have to kiss me before I can walk again.  You’re happy and sweet and mischievous!  You tend to create the biggest messes, innocently following your imagination but leaving a path of destruction.  You love to explore and have a hard time remembering to wait for me.  You are such a good helper and love when I give you jobs, especially when it’s something we do together.  You’re social and friendly and love to visit the park to play with other kids.  You love going to preschool and have been a great help to the teacher, setting a good example for others.  She has expressed gratitude and is impressed how good you are at cleaning up and your independence.  You are feisty, insisting things be done your way and can have a quick temper when you get frustrated.   And I have to admit, your new favorite word is “damn”, despite my best efforts to get you to stop.  You hate having me do your hair so your curls are often wild and crazy, but fitting for your personality and perfectly impish grin.  I love your smile, your bright eyes and your happy cheeks and dimples.  Your mood is contagious, cheering me up and making me laugh for no reason.  I miss you when you sleep through the night now, without sneaking into our bed anymore and secretly don’t mind when you occasionally do.  I miss naptime since you don’t sleep anymore but appreciate that you stay on the couch for a quiet time movie every day, settling into your favorite spot with a pillow and blanket.

Favorite color: blue (and recently latched onto Cinderella as a favorite princess)

Favorite movie: Peter Pan, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia the First, Jake and the Neverland Pirates

Favorite food: mac and cheese, ramen, candy, olives, berries, cheese, ranch dressing

Favorite activities: playing with stuffed animals, coloring, digging in the dirt, playing dress up

General schedule
I wake L up at 7:30, we have breakfast together and she’s on the bus at 8.

A, E and I finished getting ready and by 9:00, we are off to preschool, the gym and errands.

Home by noon for lunch, chores and a quiet time movie.

L gets home at 3:30.  Once a week, she heads straight to dance and I go back to the gym to teach an evening class.  Other days we play until evening.  Husband usually arrives home just in time for dinner and then evenings are unpredictable and can have any variety of playdates with friends, church activities, family dates or visits from Grandma and Grandpa.

We start getting ready for bed at 7:30: pjs, brush teeth, read books, Happy&Sads (my favorite) and say prayers.  If dad is home, he sits in the big girls’ bedroom while I sit with E for a few minutes as they settle into sleep.

And then we do it all again.

Family Vacation 2014

IT BEGINS…

I chatted with the cashier as I checked out the grocery store.  “What are you up to so early today?” she asked.  “Well, I just left the gym, picking up donuts for the girls and then we’re headed for DisneyWorld.”  She paused, looked at me, “Wait, really?”  “Yeah, it was a rough workout.”  She laughed, possibly still not sure if I was kidding.

So I got home, there was a flurry of last minute packing, organizing, eating, loading into the car and finally, we arrived at the airport.  

Last Christmas, we gave my parents plane tickets to Orlando for Christmas.  We told them they could go anytime to visit my little sister or they were welcome to come with us when we went to visit in October.  (I was hoping for the latter, I avoid being outnumbered by my kids in public.)  And finally, October has come and the long-awaited vacation could begin!  Husband had flown out the night before (Sunday), going to Orlando for a work conference and would join us on Thursday.  But in the meantime, Grammy, Papa, the 3 girls and I were ready to start our vacation.  The first leg of our flight went smoothly.  The girls each had their backpack filled with activities and fun things to keep them busy.  We had a long layover at the Denver Airport and made good use of all the open empty space upstairs.  We turned the kids loose to play with toys for awhile, ate lunch, ran laps up and down the escalator and finally piled back into the plane.  The highlight of the flight was the Disney Princess paper dolls I brought and the new art kits Grammy had given them.  And of course, our usual favorites: pipe cleaners, Twizzler Pull-n-Peels, ring pops, coloring books, puzzles and hot chocolate (the flight attendant can bring it with a lid, perfect choice for my littles).

We arrived late in the evening and gathered our enormous amount of luggage (11 pieces, including 4 boxes being taken to my sister, plus 8 carryons, a wheelerchair, a stroller and a carseat.  That has got to be my new record.)  We made our way to the other side of the airport with the help of a Skycap employee and checked in for Disney’s Magical Express.  The girls bounced around and excitedly boarded the bus to take us to DisneyWorld.  L and A were fixated on the video playing, describing activities at the various parks, but little Miss E crashed quickly and was sound asleep until the next morning.  We checked in at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort and finally settled in to sleep around 1 am.

DAY 2

I had promised the girls they could sleep in as late as they want and when they awoke, they could cuddle me in bed and watch cartoons.  So at 6 am, L perked awake, asking to watch cartoons.  (We don’t have Disney Junior at home, so that in itself makes any hotel thrilling in their opinion.)  Fortunately, she cuddled in and went right back to sleep.  We slept in and then spent the morning settling into our hotel room, unpacking and organizing a bit.  For the first night, we (Grammy, Papa, the 3 girls and I) piled into one room.  But we had reserved two rooms for the rest of our stay to give us more space, especially once we were joined by my kid sister (and eventually Husband).  Also part of our morning fun was when the girls discovered 3 princess-themed gift bags waiting for them.  (this magic would continue each morning of our Disney stay.)  The girls opened the bags and found a swim cover-up, super cute terry cloth dresses, embroidered with their favorite Disney characters.  They immediately shed their pjs, and dressed in the swim suits and cover ups, begging to go to the pool.

But first, we ventured over to the dining hall to eat (seeing as it was almost lunchtime already).  This was the first trip we’ve done the meal plan and we loved it!  We figured we spent about the same amount of money we normally would (my sister was able to use an employee discount for the room and meal plan) but got a lot more food and were able to schedule a couple character meals! So for us, it was totally worth it and will definitely do it again if we can.  

After lunch we went swimming at our hotel.  We were in the Broadway Music hall (perfectly appropriate for us), located right next to the piano shaped pool.  The girls loved dancing across the piano keys (floor tiles), chatting with the Ariel statue, splashing in and out of the pool and especially, tossing around the beach balls provided by the hotel.  

By the time we finished swimming and returned to our room, we found that my sister had arrived!  She works in the Magic Kingdom and was working that morning.  But now she had the rest of the week off and was ready to play.  We lounged for a little while and then we were off to our first park adventure: EPCOT!

We made good use of the few hours we spent at EPCOT and had a fantastic time.  We went immediately to the back of the park and met Mulan.  The girls were thrilled!  Even little Miss E who has previously shied away from the characters, warmed up quickly.  This was also the first time we’ve collected autographs.  I brought a little photo album for each of them, as well as a stack of index cards and retractable Sharpies.  My plan is to use a larger photo album so that across one spread, they can have the autograph plus pictures from multiple trips as they get older.  After meeting Mulan, the skies cracked open and the light drizzle of rain became a sudden drenching with buckets of rain thundering down. We dashed for Mexico, where we could go inside and keep dry while we rode the 3 Caballeros ride (twice).  Then the rain ended as abruptly as it begun.  (I love the rain.  Plus, then the parks empty out a bit more as many people go home and the lines are shorter!)  The girls loved puddle jumping and splashing along as we met more characters.  We got to meet Snow White, Aurora, Mickey, Minnie and Goofy.  L and A were ecstatic and eager for each character.  E was a little more reserved but happy to see the princesses. She was definitely more reluctant when we met the others, needing a few minutes of time to warm up and then eventually launched herself at Minnie.  She was grinning and rambling and so excited to see her.  (However, E did complain to me that Minnie didn’t talk or answer her questions.)

We also rode Finding Nemo and Soarin’.  A loved our first few rides but broke on Soarin’, confirming our suspicious that she can’t do heights.  On previous rides, she has excitedly begged to go on rides but once the ride has begun, sometimes she will suddenly turn white and burst into tears.  She loved the spinning tea cups but hated the ferris wheel. Thus, we conclude it must be heights.  (poor girl!)

EPCOT was hosting the Food and Wine Festival which looked so fun! We didn’t stop to sample as the kids were begging for rides and characters.  But had it just been adults, we would have loved sampling the food and wandering more leisurely.

But all too soon, the park closed and it was time to go.  We rode the bus back to our hotel, stopped at the dining room for a late dinner, ate way too much ice cream and headed for bed.

DAY 3

The girls slept in again and eagerly found their Disney gift again, beautiful princess tiaras.  But they elected to wait and wear them with their princess dresses the next day.  So we dressed, readied for the day and went to the dining hall for chocolate milk and breakfast pastries. 

We spent Wednesday at Hollywood Studios.  Our first stop was for Toy Story.  We met Buzz and Woody and a Green Army Man and rode Toy Story Mania! (one of my all time favorites.  Even though kid sister beat me, as usual.)  We met Mr. Incredible and Frozone (the girls had to flex their muscles for them) and watched the Little Mermaid stageshow.  Then we got to have our first character meal at Hollywood & Vine with the cast of Disney Junior.  The girls were thrilled!  The buffet made it a little chaotic but the girls stayed at the table, eagerly waiting for the characters to visit while I filled their plates.  They didn’t know Handy Manny very well but were happy to meet him.  Soon Jake came to visit and they were even more excited, followed by Doc McStuffins (A’s favorite).  She got extra hugs and pictures and chatted nonstop.  Then they joined the kids parade and danced and played but the highlight for E came when Sofia first appeared.  She stayed at the table but called for Sofia to visit her and then bounced and grinned as she waited.  Soon she came and E was in heaven.   She latched on for a long hug and then stuck right at her side for pictures and autographs and an even longer hug before saying goodbye.  So adorable!

After lunch we visited Ralph & Vanelleope and Mike & Sully.  We watched the Disney Junior stage show and saw the Frozen Sing-a-long.  We sat on the very first row, I laughed until my cheeks hurt (the performers were hilarious and openly heckled my dad) and the girls sang at the top of their lungs for each song.  L made several friends throughout the week, usually in lines or on the bus, and got to sit with one of her new friends during the show.  We visited an exhibit on the new movie, Big Hero 6 and watched a movie about the animation process (hosted by Mushu).  We met Lightening McQueen and Mator and watched the Muppet 3D movie.  We made a last minute decision to attend Fantasmic! and I was so glad we did!  The girls have previously been too young and would have been scared of the noise and villains but they did great!  We managed to get seated minutes before it began, near the back end of a section and the girls loved the show.  They shouted at the villains and cheered at their favorite characters.  They loved the water effects and fireworks but my very favorite was A and E yelling “Mickey, you have to break the spell! You can do it Mickey!”

We made our way back to the hotel for another late night dinner and even more ice cream (this time L and A picked Mickey shaped rice krispy treats) and were quickly sound asleep.

DAY 4

Thursday’s Princess Present was glow stick jewelry.  The girls were excited as they always loved glow sticks but especially as princess themed jewelry.  But we set them aside with the promise of using them at night.

On Thursday we had made a reservation for another character breakfast, the 1900 Park Fare.  This required us to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then board the monorail to go to The Grand Floridian Resort (which was beautiful but the kids mostly just loved getting to ride the monorail.)  Breakfast was amazing with custom omelets, plenty of fruit, a unique strawberry soup, crepes, eggs, Mickey waffles and all sorts of breakfast pastries.  We were first visited by Mary Poppins (who recommended the strawberry soup), followed by Alice and the Mad Hatter (he was especially hilarious and took plenty of time to play with the kids).  KidSister had never met him so that was especially fun to be with her for a “first”.  Lastly, we were visited by Pooh and Tigger, who the kids were most excited about.  

After we finished breakfast, we went upstairs to the large gift shop and let the girls wander.  E collected a stack of toys and stuffed animals but L quickly settled onto a beautiful Belle doll (from the Animator’s collection).  Following her lead, A picked out a Rapunzel doll.  E took more time deciding and eventually declared she wanted a Cinderella doll to match.  Unfortunately Cinderella couldn’t be found.  KidSister even made a dash into the Magic Kingdom and checked 3 stores plus her cast connections before finding that Cinderella is currently not available.  But E was easily persuaded (and I’m sure equally satisfied) with the promise of a Tinkerbell doll (who might be the cutest of them all).  However, the girls were tired and easily upset and I knew what an adventure we had that evening, so I mandated naptime and the girls were soon asleep again at our hotel. (bliss!)

After naps, the girls got to get dressed up for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.  L dressed in her beloved Belle dress (made by KidSister for L’s 3^rd birthday but luckily still fits), A dressed as Rapunzel and E was Princess Sofia the First.  They donned their new tiaras and we were off.  

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 4:00, hoping to visit as many characters as we could before the Halloween Party started at 7:00.  We first met Tinkerbell, who was one of my favorite experiences of the trip.  She played with the girls and teased them into touching the white fuzz on her shoes, laughing and jumping like it tickled.  She let E admire her wings and helped the girls explore some of the “lost things” in her room.  Then we headed to New FantasyLand for a whirlwind of rides, characters and pure Disney bliss.  We visited Belle at Enchanted Tales (L and A got to participate in the storytelling), rode the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and visited Ariel.  We rode the Barnstormer and Dumbo, visited Elsa & Anna and Rapunzel & Cinderella.  (Poor Rapunzel, A was thrilled to see her and wanted to linger and talk but E blew right past her, making a beeline for her favorite Cinderella.)  As we rode the carousel, Daddy arrived and the girls squealed, quickly latching onto him and excited telling him as fast as they could about all our adventures.  We rode Winnie the Pooh and visited Merida.  I held our place in line as the girls visited a trick-or-treat trail, collecting candy and then joining me to visit Tarzan & Turk.  Meeting Tarzan was another first for KidSister and he was especially fun with her, singing a song he wrote about bananas and drawing her an illustration.  We visited Tiana (E patted her “so pretty dress” and danced with her) before joining Grammy and Papa who were holding our seats in front of the castle.  As we waited, the girls donned their glow stick jewelry and danced in the street.  Then we got to watch the Villains Stageshow as we ate popcorn, watched the AMAZING parade as we ate Pineapple Dolewhip and loved the castle projection and fireworks while we ate churros.  (Disney snack Heaven!)  After the shows, Grammy, Papa, E and KidSister retired to the hotel while Husband, L, A and I rode Pirates of the Caribbean, visited more trick-or-treat trails and lined up for Haunted Mansion.  I had really wanted to visit the Haunted Mansion, which gets especially decked out for the Halloween Party, but my sweet and sensitive L got too scared and we bailed just before getting into the car.  (Husband reported that A loved it.)  Meanwhile L and I wandered over to Peter Pan’s Flight and waited as long as we could, trying to get Husband and A to join.  But finally, just as they closed the line, we slipped on without them and cuddled, enjoying the ride just the two of us.  And then, with the park closing, we went home.

DAY 5

Having had such a late night, Friday morning was a little rough.  Even with the lure of Princess Presents (new water bottles themed with favorite characters), they were tough to wake up.  But eventually the girls roused, we packed up and checked out of the hotel.  We drove (since we now had KidSister’s car and Husband’s rental) to DisneyWorld’s Polynesian Resort for one last Disney experience: a character meal called Ohana with Mickey, Pluto, Lilo and Stitch.  The island ambiance was wonderful and the food was amazing.  This meal was served family style so I didn’t have to worry about filling the girls plates at the buffet.  Instead they helped themselves to the waffles, eggs, breakfast meats, delicious potatoes and sweetbread.  E was tough to contain since she saw Lilo as we entered the restaurant but we convinced her to wait.  Then she saw Stitch and became even more excited and impatient.  The girls loved joining the kids parade, happily shaking the maracas provided for them, following closely behind Lilo.  The characters each visited our table for plenty of hugs and photos.  Mickey gestured that the girls black and red and white Hawaiian dressed reminded him of Lilo and the girls were all eager to pat Pluto’s head but the favorite of course, was Stitch.

After breakfast, we said goodbye to DisneyWorld and embarked upon the second part of our vacation: a Bahamas cruise.  

We arrived at the dock, checked luggage, waited in line, filed out paperwork (I was disappointed in that because I had made sure we were all pre registered and had cruise documents in hand), took photos and finally, boarded our ship, Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas.  (Coincidentally, it was the same ship that Husband and I sailed on for our honeymoon 9 years ago on the opposite coastline.)  Our first stop: the soft serve ice cream machine (we visited often throughout the weekend, in addition to my perpetual virgin daiquiris—which Husband pointed out is really just a fancy Slurpee).  Then we hit a rough spot in the trip with some unfortunate accidents (typical clumsiness, kids’ upset stomachs and general miscommunications).  So we’ll skip that part (including the muster drill and a failed first attempt at the swimming pool) and get to the good stuff: dinner.  (I love cruise food!)  Husband and I took the girls to the WindJammer, the casual buffet restaurant where L sampled a variety of food while A and E devoured spaghetti noodles and then all the kids relished the dessert table.  Husband and I sampled, but tried to resist for now.  Then we checked the kids into the kids club (where they had a total blast!) and left for the more formal dining room, admittedly, ready for a break from the kids after such a rough afternoon.  Plus I love the luxury of the lesiurely, delectable cruise dinners.  We met Grammy, Papa and KidSister for dinner lingered over the amazing food.  Eventually we picked the kids up, who were reluctant to leave.  The kid’s club, called Adventure Ocean, was fantastic.  Each session was planned with tons of great activities with staff members that the kids adored.  But we promised them we could return in the morning and went back to our room for the night.  Grammy, Papa and KidSister went to a show in the theater and reported it was enjoyable but sounds like we didn’t miss too much.  E snuggled into bed in between Husband and I while L and A were ecstatic about their bunk beds that had magically appeared while we were out (thanks to a very friendly and helpful stateroom attendant).  Our room had a door adjoining us to Grammy, Papa and KidSister in the next room.  This made it more suite-style and fit our big group perfectly, especially once we got unpacked and settled.  After a little tv time (no Disney but we learned that we had a channel that continuously played Barbie movies, much to the kids’ delight), we all slept soundly.  The motion of the boat was a little rough the first night but hardly noticeable at any time after that.  

Day 6 (I actually had to check.)

We slept until 10:30.  Even the kids.  That might be a record.  The dark room and recent long nights encouraged everyone to sleep their fill and then we barely made it to breakfast (still in pjs) before the WindJammer reset for lunch.  Soon the kids were dressed and begging to return to the kids’ club.  So we signed them in for the rest of the morning session and the lunch date as well so we could go ashore without them for awhile.  The ship had docked in Nassau, so we made our way off the ship and through the initial throngs of shops and merchants and photographers.  We wandered some of the stores nearby and explored the nearby markets.  We picked out a few treasures to take home, including my “trip earrings”.  My amazing husband knows my love for jewelry and I have a pair of earrings from every major trip we’ve done together.  Some were a surprise he picked out (and he has fantastic taste) and some we’ve picked together.  This trip, he saw me fall in love with some pink flowers carved from a conch shell and bought them for me.

Back on the ship, we collected the kids from kids club and took them swimming.  The loved running in the sprinkler splash pad and bounced around in the pool (far too cold for my taste but Daddy played with them while I took pictures, sipped my frozen drinks and sat with kids when they needed to warm up in the hot tub).

After swimming we showered and readied for formal night.  We spent some time attempting family pictures but E was particularly uncooperative and we finally gave up.  (We did like some of them well enough to purchase, one portrait of our little family of 5 plus another of our whole group.  But the best photo was our group photo as we boarded the ship.)  We went to the formal dining and had a great evening (despite a rough start). A LOVED the shrimp cocktail she got for an appetizer so much that after eating only half her entrée, begged and ordered 3 more shrimp plates. E bounced around and devoured her mac and cheese as well as half my food while my beautiful L seemed to thrive on the elegance, being sweet and dainty and picture perfect.  As we finished our dinners, our fantastic waiters did magic tricks for the girls and then brought each of them a brownie sundae as well as a little plate with three mini cupcakes, frosting and an assortment of sprinkles so they could decorate them.  It was a huge hit, the kids played and decorated and then licked up all the frosting leaving the cupcakes largely untouched.  Meanwhile, I relished my carrot cake and the “chocolate sensation” which was divine.

Day 7

After another morning of sleeping in and barely arriving in time for breakfast, we took the girls ashore to Royal Caribbean’s private island, Coco Cay for an amazing day.  We briefly wandered the small cluster of shops and then explored on to find the kids club which was held on shore that day.  They dove into the sand castle building while Husband, Papa, KidSister and I explored the beach.  (Grammy wasn’t feeling good and stayed on the ship.)  After just a little while, we picked the kids up to take them swimming with us.  The water was perfect, the beach was pristine and beautiful.  The girls immediately set about finding sea shells and played in the water until they quickly discovered the first of many jellyfish and hightailed it onto lounge chairs sitting just high enough in the water to keep them safe.  We teased them and played until lunchtime.  They especially loved the pufferfish swimming by and the large conch shell crabs Papa found and brought to them.  Royal Caribbean provided a huge barbeque lunch on the island.  L especially loved the ribs, A loved the fruit punch and E mostly just played and explored.  Once satisfied, we returned the girls to the kids club, KidSister went back to the ship to nap while Husband, Papa and I headed for the beach.  We discovered the snorkel gear we brought was missing a few pieces so Papa and Husband went snorkeling while I lounged, swim and wandered.  The men saw all kinds of fish, coral and creatures.  They even visited a staged snorkel area with sunken treasure and artifacts.  Meanwhile I soaked up the sun and found plenty of sea life without fins and a mask.  My favorite was the trumpet fish and the large stingray (I didn’t notice it until I almost stepped on it!)  

Back on board the ship, we took our time getting cleaned up and stopped for another round of ice cream.  We took the girls to the WindJammer for dinner (again, sampling a little as well) and dropped them off at kids club while we went to the formal dining for dinner.  Our waiters were openly disappointed we didn’t bring the kids! They had even already brought appetizer of shrimp so the girls wouldn’t have to wait at all.  So after our own appetizers and entrees, we picked up the kids and had them join us for dessert (including an amazing key lime pie).

KidSister and I hurried back to the room while Husband played games with the kids for awhile.  My KidSister, among her many talents, is a gifted seamstress and costume designer.  She had brought her gorgeous, very authentic, Anna dress and invited me to be Elsa for a photo shoot.  So I had put together my own costume of sorts and together as Elsa and Anna, we wandered the ship for appropriate backdrops and settings.  Grammy and Papa followed us as our photographers and we had a great time playing and posing for photos, greeting strangers and posing for strangers’ photos.  I loved seeing KidSister fall into character and had so much fun with her, probably one of my all time favorite moments with her.

We returned to the room to see the kids.  Husband and them tucked into bed, waiting for us.  KidSister had brought the perfect book for her and I to read together (as Elsa and Anna) for a bedtime story.  It was a perfect, delightful evening.  We sent them drifting off into sleep while the adults resigned ourselves to reality and began packing.

Day 8

The next day, our last day, started way too early and with too little sleep.  Even with all the lights on and music playing, we couldn’t get the kids to wake up.  So I dashed to the WindJammer and collected enough for breakfast, trying to bribe the kids awake.  Even that didn’t work and E ended up sleeping as she cuddled a waffle to her cheek.  But eventually we managed to get everyone awake enough to empty out the room and gather in our disembarkation location.  We made our way off the ship, collected luggage, checked in with customs and finally found our car.

With a few hours before our flight, we took an airboat tour of the Everglades.  It was a company I had identified in a random coupon book,called the Gator's Nest, based on their location, price and availability.  It turned out to be fantastic and we had a great time.  Grammy, KidSister and I had front row seats while the girls sat in the middle of the boat, flanked by Papa and Husband.  We flew around a lake with our friendly and fun captain pointing out birds or plants or challenges of the wetlands.  We got a quick glimpse of a few large alligators as they disappeared from us but finally found a perfect spot with several young alligators that were willing to lounge and ignore us as we admired.  The girls each got a close view of the alligators (as well as several tiny frogs that tried to hitchhike in our boat).  Back at the dock, the captain encouraged the girls to pose for pictures in the captain’s chair and L was especially fascinated as he showed her how the controls work.

After a quick stop for fast food, we arrived at the airport and hugged KidSister goodbye. We found our plane and played games until it was time to board.  The first leg of our flight was not crowded and E and Husband had all three seats to themselves.  She was sound asleep in minutes and was able to sprawl out for nearly the whole flight while the girls and I worked on art projects.  Then we had a quick layover before our next flight so we stopped for pizza and gourmet popcorn.  On the second flight, the girls played with magnetic paper dolls and watched cartoons on Daddy’s computer.  All of them were finally zoned out and drifting off as we landed at our home airport.  It’s hard to say who was more tired, adults or kids as we collected luggage and found our cars.

And now home again.  There’s piles of laundry to wash, plenty of miscellaneous things to organize and put away, a few souvenir suckers to share with friends, over 20 gig of pictures to view and sort, homework to make up, and more, but a very happy and content little family.

Disney Countdown Calendar

I tended to get a little overexcited.  Possibly because of that, or simply because I just can’t stop myself, I couldn’t resist all the reading, researching, planning, organizing, etc.  And therefore I now present the Disney Countdown Calendar.

My mom thought it was adorable (I agree) and posted a picture to Facebook where she got tons of compliments and questions.  So here’s the rundown. 

Calendar was created in Microsoft Word using a table that I spread across four pages.  (I wanted the month-long calendar to be bigger than a single page)

Table 1: I found a simple black Mickey using google images and pasted it into each cell, then used WordArt to add the countdown number on top of that.  (Right click on your picture and use “text wrapping” to stack your pictures behind each other.)  These squares were cut apart and taped over the corresponding day to hide the activity.  (Alternatively, I saw on Pinterest that Home Depot has Mickey-shaped paint samples which could add lots of fun color.)

Table 2: I typed activities on each day (I had to plan ahead for our busiest days/out of town/movies for long car rides/etc.)  Then using google images again, found Disney character to match and cut and paste them into each cell.

Suggested activities:

1. Write a letter to your favorite character   Mary Poppins
2. Give your favorite stuffed animal a check up   Doc McStuffins
3. Go on a treasure hunt   Peter Pan
4. Receive a Disney gift   Robin Hood
5. Decorate princess crowns   Sofia
6. Do something nice to surprise your sister   Stepsisters
7. Do extra chores to earn Disney dollars   Cinderella  (we used this multiple times)
8. Watch Wreck It Ralph and build block towers   Ralph
9. Build snowman snacks (marshmallows, pretzel sticks and chocolate chips)   Olaf
10. Read your favorite Disney stories   Belle
11. Watch Lilo & Stitch and practice your hula  Lilo
12. Make Mickey pancakes   Mickey
13. Watch Frozen and cut out snowflakes   Elsa and Anna
14. Watch Dumbo and eat cotton candy   Dumbo
15. Play games at www.disney.go/games   Wilbur Robinson
16. Eat spaghetti for dinner   Lady & the Tramp
17. Eat Ratatouille for dinner   Remy
18. Make magic dust cookies (Snickerdoodles)   Zarina
19. Decorate Mickey cookies (sugar cookies)   Minnie
20. Check out the rides on YouTube   Pluto
21. Make a list of the characters you want to meet   Pooh
22. Explore your Disney Resort online   Pongo
23. Watch the Tigger Movie and practice your bounce   Tigger
24. Watch Toy Story with your favorite toys   Buzz & Woody
25. Watch a Tinkerbell movie with Tinkerbell fruit snacks   Silvermist
26. Have a tea party   Alice & Mad Hatter
27. Do Disney puzzles   Donald
28. Play Mickey match   Mrs. Potts and Chip
29. Have your own Bippity Boppity Boutique!   Fairy Godmother
30. Do a Monster Mash (dance in the dark with glow bracelets)   Mike & Sully
31. Go swimming   Nemo
32. Color a picture   Boo
33. Go for a nature walk   Pocahontas
34. Play Disney Just Dance on the Wii   Baloo
35. Play Dazzling Princess (board game)   Jasmine
36. Play Disney Bingo   Daisy
37. Play Disney Scene It   Chip & Dale\
38. Watch the Little Mermaid and eat cheesy shells   Ariel
39. Make Mickey sandwiches (use a cookie cutter) Goofy
40. Go for a picnic   Bambi
41. Paint a picture with watercolors   Rapunzel
42. Go to the zoo   Rafiki
43. Eat princess spaghetti-os for lunch   Aurora
44. Watch Mickey shorts on YouTube (the original cartoons)   Donald
45. Make a race course for your toy cars   Cars
46. Make homemade beignets   Tiana
47. Make race car snacks (twinkie as the car, pretzel for steering wheel, oreo tires, etc.)   Vanellope
48. Make fruit wands (skewer blueberries and use a cookie cutter for a watermelon star top)   Tinkerbell
49. Make pirate ship snacks (apple wedge with a cheese/toothpick sail/mast)   Jake
50. Make Mickey cupcakes (red cupcake liner, chocolate frosting mini-oreos for ears)   Mr. Incredible
51. Make Mickey Popcorn (drizzle with chocolate and sprinkle red and yellow M&Ms)   Bolt
52. Watch Brave and eat chocolate teddy grahams   Merida
53. Watch Finding Nemo and eat goldfish crackers   Nemo
54. Make Snow White apples (rice crispy treats w red food coloring, add a tootsie roll stem) Snow White
55. Play with Mr. Potato Head and have a potato bar for dinner   Mr. Potato Head
56. Watch The Lion King and eat animal cookies   Simba
57. Build a fort  Tarzan
58. Have Chinese food for dinner   Mulan
59. Create an obstacle course   Hercules 
60. Visit the aquarium  Crush
61. Pack your suitcase and activity bag for the trip!   Dusty