Epcot (Day 4)

So we went up in the big ball.   (There's a time travel ride inside.)

We waited in a long line to get our pictures taken with the characters--the only time we waited for characters on the whole trip.   Amelia wanted the pictures and autographs, so she was willing to knock this out all at once, but on one condition.  She insisted she was only waiting in that line if Kolby promised not to do anything fun without her.  She kept checking to make sure he didn't leave the park bench he was sitting on.

We walked thru the world.  We ate lunch in Germany at a "real" restaurant, rather than counter service.  Totally worth it for the extended air conditioning and entertainment.  It was a buffet.   Another buffet!  Florida just keeps getting better and better!  Amelia is keeping count.  She has now been to FOUR buffets in her life!  And it was actually pretty good. 

We stumbled upon Snow White in France.
This is where all our money went.  We probably spent as much at the frozen treat cart as we did on park tickets.  But completely necessary to survive 8 hours in 95 degree heat every day.

Amelia spent some money of her own.   The girls had each saved up $25 to spend, and we told them we would buy them both a set of ears.  So she picked out her ears, and bought a $9 Princess coloring set, and decided she'd save the rest of her money for Target at home.

I think the highlight of the day was the Soarin' ride, a ride that simulates hang-gliding through the world.  I chickened out at the very end when I saw the big "Persons susceptible to motion sickness should NOT ride this ride."  I didn't have that much faith in my Wonder Woman sea bands.  It is my one regret.  They absolutely LOVED this ride.  (Not us in the photo below.  Especially not me.) 

Animal Kingdom (Day 3)

This was definitely our favorite Disney park.   It is like being on an incredible Safari, with rollercoasters in the backyard.  We were told to visit the animals first while they are active, so when we got there in the morning we strolled thru the park at a leisurely pace, looking at all the animals in their gorgeous habitats.  

We got our fast passes for the jeep safari ride, and then walked thru the gorilla habitat.  

Usually when we see gorillas or other apes in captivity, they are eating their poo.  (Did I ever tell ya'll about the time we witnessed this at the Seattle zoo and Amelia said, "Uh, mom?  I don't think that's a banana.")

Well this gorilla habitat was AMAZING, and there were no poop eating gorillas to be found.  We could have stood there all day watching the silver backed gorillas lumbering through the vegetation and climbing the rocky banks of their river.  They were just so regal.  This might be my favorite part of the day:

Then we went on our Kilimanjaro Safari.  Maybe this was my favorite part of the day.  It was like we were driving through Africa.  
The trees and grasses looked authentic, and the animals were not in cages.  They were just roaming happily through the savannah, unaware that the were living in a faux savannah.   The funniest part of the ride, was that we were supposedly chasing down poachers--and it took until the end of the ride for Kolby to realize there weren't really animal poachers in Disney World.  

After seeing all the animals, and eating several popsicles, we headed over to the area with the rides.  And there we experienced The Best Roller Coaster Ever:  Expedition Everest.   We figured the girls were roller coaster pros at this point, so Kolby and I rode together, with the kids in back.  Very quickly we questioned that decision.  


Kolby and I were laughing hysterically through the whole ride--mostly because it was laugh or cry.  It was TERRIFYING.  The whole time I was worried about my delicate little daughters behind me.  I shouldn't have.  Immediately upon exiting the ride, they wanted to get back on.  And they rode it a few more times throughout the day.  (If you are a roller coaster junkie, check it out here.  What you can't see is that every time the roller coaster stops, the track changes so you have no idea what is coming next.)

The other favorite ride of the day was Dinosaur.  I was disappointed that Magic Kingdom didn't have the Indiana Jones ride that Disneyland has, but the Dinosaur ride at AK was very similar--basically Jurassic Park.  A roller coaster with big scary dinosaurs.  And there was absolutely no line for that ride, so they rode it over and over again.  

You notice I said "they" many times during this account of our day?  I tried to give the otoliths in my vestibule a chance to calm down.   (I was motion sick.)  So I rode Everest once, and the Dinosaur ride once, and pretty much held down various park benches for the rest of the day.  And I didn't mind at all.

Mission Space (Day Two)

On the flight to Orlando, I overheard a man with Swine Flu, in between nasty particle-spraying coughing fits, mention that there was going to be a Space Shuttle launch while we were there. For this bit of information I almost forgave him for spreading his pig germs.

So the second day we skipped the parks and went to see the Space Shuttle Atlantis launch! Space shuttle launches were such huge events when I was a kid. I was just a little older than Madeline when the Challenger disaster occurred, and I remember the details of that day like I remember the details of 9/11, so I got very emotional watching the the Atlantis launch with my little girls. It was really incredible to see in person.

Afterwards we ate astronaut icecream and read up on this space shuttle mission. A few interesting facts:

• The pilot is from Seattle
• They will be up in space for 11 days  (home by now)
• This was the 125th space shuttle mission
• This was the last spacewalk to work on the Hubble Telescope (see pics of newly discovered galaxies taken by Hubble here).

I am amazed that this is what someone does when he/she goes to work:  "Bye, honey!  I'm off to fix that damn telescope again."

After watching the launch, we ended up at Whistler Junction buffet and grill. Yes, you read that right. Buffets go completely against my dining beliefs--when I pay to dine out, I am paying for someone to serve me my food, not for me to serve myself.  Dining choices were limited in Titusville. Even for roadside buffet standards, this was pretty terrible. However, the kids were in heaven. In fact, when Emma came back to the table with a big chocolate sundae after eating hot dogs and mac n' cheese, she declared, "Florida is AWESOME!"

And then we drove home. It took about 75 minutes to get to Titusville. It took 4 hours to get home in the worst traffic I've ever sat in. Miserable. But watching 7 astronauts get launched into "outer space" was worth the traffic and the buffet.

Magic Kingdom (Day One)

The first day we (the parents) were so excited to introduce our kids to DISNEY. They really had no idea what Disney World was. If you have never been, DW is actually several parks: Magic Kingdom, which is almost exactly like Disneyland, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and sports something or other.

Here's a little glimpse at the excitement on the drive there:

The suspense--you have to either take the monorail or the boat to Magic Kingdom.

Our first stop was Tomorrowland for Space Mountain, which unfortunately was being renovated. So we headed over to Frontierland and the kids rode their first roller coasters--Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  Madeline knew exactly what to do.

They loved them! Aaaall the "big" kids loved them, so we rode them a couple more times that day. They also loved Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, as well as some of the milder rides--Peter Pan, and It's a Small World, etc.

This was a great time to go. Between Swine Flu, the economy, and the time of year, we had very few lines. It was hot (95 degrees) but not as hot and humid as it can get. And the heat was a very nice change from the rain and cold. We spent a small fortune on popsicles, frozen lemonades, and pineapple floats (pineapple icecream in pineapple juice--soooooooo good!) to stay cool.

And when the kids decided we were done, we headed home to swim in our pool.

Vacation, the unabridged version

Yikes!  I didn't mean to make it sound like I didn't have a fabulous vacation.  I had a WONDERFUL vacation.  It was perfect.  I loved Florida--it was so interesting to see a place with such different geography.  It's flat.  Really flat.  Except for the palm trees.  I searched every body of water (and there were plenty) for a gator, but never saw one.  It's hot.  Really hot.  In a very good "I could lay beside the pool all day long except for that skin cancer thing" kind of way.  Not that I got to lay by the pool all day long. But if  I could have, it was that kind of lovely heat.

And the water tasted like fireworks.  ???

But my kids had roller coaster mania.   So I was exhausted.  I haven't been able to sit down and write about it until now.

Here it goes.  One day at a time.

Blah

Is it post-vacation let-down, or just that it feels too overwhelming to tackle the week in writing?  I don't feel like writing about the vacation.

I will post this though.  The other day Amelia was helping me make dinner.  We put it in the oven to broil, and when I turned my back, she locked the oven.  FYI--when the oven is on broil, and you (or someone else) locks it?  It stays locked. 

A story

In the beginning, there were two little girls who had no idea what Disney World was, they had just heard enough about it to know that they were being deprived.

Their parents thought the two little girls might want to spend 3 days out of the seven days in Florida at the parks.  They thought they'd get tired.  They thought the girls might get sick or scared on the rides.  They thought the girls might prefer the swimming pool at the house to the chaos of the theme parks.

But they were wrong.  

The parents got sick and scared and tired.  But not the little girls.

The End.

Now counting down in hours

I am so ridiculously excited for our vacation.  

May is the only time of year when I do not like the rain.  May in Utah is beautiful.  My brain and body thinks May in the Northwest should be too.  Living in Utah, you are disgusted by the snow by April.  That's me with the rain in May in the Pacific Northwest.  And we always get a couple weeks of gorgeous warm weather that whets our appetite for the sun, and then it's gone for another six weeks, with nothing but gray and rain left behind.  May?  So over it.  June?  Not much better.  It's called Junuary around here.  

So I'm looking forward to this vacation.  Not necessarily the crowds and chaos.  In a perfect world, we'd be visiting this:

Destin, Florida  (someday...)

But this is good enough for now.  

Because it has this:

Which is so much better than this:

Slumber parties

It's always more fun to sleep when you have someone to cuddle with.

Keep in mind, the bottom picture is on top of Madeline's unnecessarily high loft bed.  She somehow conned Kolby into a slumber party up there one night.  He had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, which was no easy task to get off the bed in the dark without hitting his head or falling off the ladder.  Afterwards he climbed into our bed.  The next morning, Madeline was furious with him for bailing on her in the middle of the night and made him promise to sleep up on her bed again, this time for the whole night.  And so he did.  He's such a sucker. 

Fantasy vs. Actuality

I like to think that I'm a laid back, fun-loving, nary a worry in the world kind of person.  (I think that's the first time I've ever used the word "nary.")

I'm not sure why I think I'm that way, except that it's how I want to be.

In actuality, I worry about how hanta virus and swine flu could ruin my vacations.  I don't let my kids do things because of the risk of cervical spine injuries or falling off of high cliffs (even if there are no cliffs around).   And I spend a fair amount of my sleep worrying about what if I need to pee really bad but can't find a clean public bathroom.  Or a bathroom stall with doors.  

Edited to add a photo sent by my sister this morning.  This kid is totally getting swine flu.

Do NOT try this at home (except you really should.)

Bakerella Red Velvet Cake Balls  

One day last week I had Madeline alone at home with me for a few hours, so I decided we should have a cooking lesson.  I asked what she wanted to make and she said apple pie.  I was not about to start that undertaking on a Wednesday afternoon.  We eventually decided on Cake Balls, which I'd been hearing about from friends.

In short, DEEEEELICIOUS.  I can't keep my hands off them.  And the were lots of fun  because they are unusual and easy to make.   We made them with a homemade chocolate cake, cream cheese frosting, and melted milk chocolate chips.

Click here for the recipe.  But maybe you shouldn't.  I really can't stop eating them.