On Sunday we took Thomas to the airport. It was the day I had been dreading for months. And, it was probably even worse then I had imagined. Last year when he went to Hawaii, it was hard to say goodbye, but this felt different. I was physically ill all day and still get a little queasy when I think about his being gone for 9 months. Three months didn't seem so bad, it was just a season. 280 days seems like a lot. He is going to miss Anna and Jack's birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, our Anniversary, Christmas, New Year's and Kara's Birthday. It's almost overwhelming to think about. I know lots of people do this. And, I know lots of people do it repeatedly, but this is a first for us, at least for this amount of time.
The kids are doing well with his being gone so far. Since Thomas is in the states for training this week, we have been in constant communication and he has even Skyped with them in the evenings to read bedtime stories. He leaves the country on Saturday and we are anxious to see what things will be like after that. We have a lot ahead of us: we are selling this house and close on September 28th, then we are homeless until October 23rd, when we close on the new house.
On a completely unrelated note, the kids all started preschool. I am a terrible mother, who didn't think to take any pictures (but, I will on the first day of Kindergarten--I promise!), but so far so good. The twins go 4 days a week and Kara is there for 2. Jack was 5/5 on getting sent to the "thinking chair," but today managed to break his streak and actually behave. I think they are all getting something out of it, Anna has been interested in reading for a while and knows all the letters and what sounds they make. She likes to play a "game" where we give her a word and she tells us what letter it starts with. Jack has shown no interest. Today, he was getting a bib out of the drawer (something they only do on a spaghetti night), and said bib, b, b, b, bib. Bib starts with a "b" Mommy. I am glad that they are enjoying it and learning.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Last Vacation Post
After our 12-hour day Wednesday, we planned to take it easy on Thursday. We started the day with donuts, and then let the kids go swimming. Jennifer volunteered to watch the kids for the afternoon/evening if Thomas and I wanted to do something. We decided that we would all go out to lunch and then Thomas and I would go to Hollywood Studios. After a couple of hours of swimming, we got in the car to go to Downtown Disney for lunch.
We had lunch at a Dinosaur restaurant. The atmosphere was pretty impressive, the food was not. It was also really expensive. Thomas and I split something (and drank water), Jennifer just ordered an appetizer and the kids had kids' meals. The bill was still over $70. So, we would not recommend that place. Maybe go in and walk around and then go somewhere else.
After that, it was nap time. We dropped Jennifer and the kids off and headed to the park. We decided to first go to Animal Kingdom and ride Everest and Dinosaur again. It was much less crowded and we easily did the two rides. Then, we went to Hollywood studios. Since we were planning on going back with the kids Friday, we didn't feel like we needed to do too much. We caught a parade, but only because we were boxed in and had no choice. Then, we went to Star Wars. That was Thomas' most anticipated ride. He liked it, but said the "story" made no sense. The ride jumped from movie to movie, which obviously took place at different times, with no rhyme or reason. This didn't bother me, but I am not a fan(atic) like he is. We rode the Toy Story ride, which was neat and then Tower or Terror (twice, well, kind of 3 times--the first time we were on it, someone in the front did something that got our ride stopped and them kicked off. Everyone else then got taken on a real elevator and back to the ride loading area to try again. I have no idea what he did, but my guess is something obscene for the camera). We also did Rockin Roller Coaster, which was fun. Since that covered the things we couldn't do with the kids, we decided to leave the park for dinner, then opted to just go back to Downtown Disney to get some treats at Ghiaradelli. Delicious!
After that we headed to the rental house. I went to Super Target with Jennifer, we came back and Thomas and I put the kids to bed and had an early night.
On Friday, we gave the kids the choice of Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios. After we told them that Hollywood Studios was more shows than rides, they unanimously agreed on Magic Kingdom. The park was not at all crowded, and again, we were able to go on all the rides we wanted by early afternoon. We even rode some where the lines had been too long earlier in the week (Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Jungle Cruise and the Magic Carpets). We all went on Splash Mountain again, but this time Kara hated it. She liked it the first time, didn't like it much the second (but, I thought maybe that was because it was dark out) and hated it the third. She whined/cried for most of the ride, saying she was worried about the "big hill."
When we finished all the rides we wanted to revisit, we gave the kids another choice: Go home rest, then go to Hollywood Studios, or go home, rest, swim in the pool. Again, the decision was unanimous--they all chose the pool option. So, the 5 of us went swimming and had a grand time. I did laundry, we packed and cleaned and decided to start our drive back at 0300 again. It wasn't nearly as much fun packing to depart as it was to arrive, and the kids were much harder to wake up. Jack actually climbed back into his bed and then tried to climb into ours. But, we were out the door right on time and since we were departing from Kissimmee and not Winter Haven, the drive home only took us 13 hours. Unfortunately, the drive was not quite as enjoyable going back as it was arriving; I was exhausted and not very good company. The kids seemed to fight a bit more, and Thomas was left with the majority of the driving. It still went fine and we still made it back with just 2 stops, which I find pretty impressive.
Overall, it was a great trip. I definitely recommend renting a house to anyone with children. It was nice to have our own space. It was easy to do laundry, we could eat at home when we wanted to, and the private pool was fantastic. It was only slightly more than the resort we were going to stay at and was well worth the money. And, it was only 15 minutes from all the parks. We did have to pay for parking, but that was a small price for all the added conveniences the house offered.
Now, it is back to the grind. We are a week away from Thomas' departure, which is weighing heavily on my mind. More on that later.
We had lunch at a Dinosaur restaurant. The atmosphere was pretty impressive, the food was not. It was also really expensive. Thomas and I split something (and drank water), Jennifer just ordered an appetizer and the kids had kids' meals. The bill was still over $70. So, we would not recommend that place. Maybe go in and walk around and then go somewhere else.
After that, it was nap time. We dropped Jennifer and the kids off and headed to the park. We decided to first go to Animal Kingdom and ride Everest and Dinosaur again. It was much less crowded and we easily did the two rides. Then, we went to Hollywood studios. Since we were planning on going back with the kids Friday, we didn't feel like we needed to do too much. We caught a parade, but only because we were boxed in and had no choice. Then, we went to Star Wars. That was Thomas' most anticipated ride. He liked it, but said the "story" made no sense. The ride jumped from movie to movie, which obviously took place at different times, with no rhyme or reason. This didn't bother me, but I am not a fan(atic) like he is. We rode the Toy Story ride, which was neat and then Tower or Terror (twice, well, kind of 3 times--the first time we were on it, someone in the front did something that got our ride stopped and them kicked off. Everyone else then got taken on a real elevator and back to the ride loading area to try again. I have no idea what he did, but my guess is something obscene for the camera). We also did Rockin Roller Coaster, which was fun. Since that covered the things we couldn't do with the kids, we decided to leave the park for dinner, then opted to just go back to Downtown Disney to get some treats at Ghiaradelli. Delicious!
After that we headed to the rental house. I went to Super Target with Jennifer, we came back and Thomas and I put the kids to bed and had an early night.
On Friday, we gave the kids the choice of Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios. After we told them that Hollywood Studios was more shows than rides, they unanimously agreed on Magic Kingdom. The park was not at all crowded, and again, we were able to go on all the rides we wanted by early afternoon. We even rode some where the lines had been too long earlier in the week (Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Jungle Cruise and the Magic Carpets). We all went on Splash Mountain again, but this time Kara hated it. She liked it the first time, didn't like it much the second (but, I thought maybe that was because it was dark out) and hated it the third. She whined/cried for most of the ride, saying she was worried about the "big hill."
When we finished all the rides we wanted to revisit, we gave the kids another choice: Go home rest, then go to Hollywood Studios, or go home, rest, swim in the pool. Again, the decision was unanimous--they all chose the pool option. So, the 5 of us went swimming and had a grand time. I did laundry, we packed and cleaned and decided to start our drive back at 0300 again. It wasn't nearly as much fun packing to depart as it was to arrive, and the kids were much harder to wake up. Jack actually climbed back into his bed and then tried to climb into ours. But, we were out the door right on time and since we were departing from Kissimmee and not Winter Haven, the drive home only took us 13 hours. Unfortunately, the drive was not quite as enjoyable going back as it was arriving; I was exhausted and not very good company. The kids seemed to fight a bit more, and Thomas was left with the majority of the driving. It still went fine and we still made it back with just 2 stops, which I find pretty impressive.
Overall, it was a great trip. I definitely recommend renting a house to anyone with children. It was nice to have our own space. It was easy to do laundry, we could eat at home when we wanted to, and the private pool was fantastic. It was only slightly more than the resort we were going to stay at and was well worth the money. And, it was only 15 minutes from all the parks. We did have to pay for parking, but that was a small price for all the added conveniences the house offered.
Now, it is back to the grind. We are a week away from Thomas' departure, which is weighing heavily on my mind. More on that later.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
12 Hours Straight of Theme Parks (+ Photo Dump)
From there, we did the River Rapids. Anna sat out with my Dad, but everyone else really enjoyed it. Then, it was the safari, Lion King show, and lunch. My Dad and Basille left after lunch and the rest of us headed to DinoLand. For the kids this was the best part, in addition to rides there was also a dinosaur-themed playground area. It had slides, climbing areas, and best of all--a dinosaur dig. The kids could pretend they were excavating fossils. They loved it! Thomas watched the kids while Jennifer and I went on a ride (Dinosaur). Then, I watched Anna and Kara while Thomas took Jack on Dinosaur. Another ride that proved to be too scary. I had read the warnings and was reluctant to have him go, in fact, Anna at one point said she wanted to try and we wouldn't let her. Jack is generally very brave, and we had talked to him about how it was very dark and loud and told him about the realistic dinosaurs. He still wanted to try it. Unfortunately, it really scared him. I have a picture coming on cd at some point that will illustrate this point. The rest of us thought it was impressive.
After that, we had had enough of Animal Kingdom, but it was barely 2pm. So, we headed to Epcot. We did Spaceship Earth, which everyone liked. We also road Soaring, which is a new ride and a pretty big headliner. We all liked it, but I don't know that it lived up to our expectations. I would say the favorite was Turtle Talk with Crush. We didn't go into the World Showcase, but enjoyed the few attractions we did do in the Land and the Sea pavilions.
It was now dinner time and we still weren't ready to call it a day, so we took the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. This time Anna rode Splash Mountain! It was so fun to have all of us on it together. When we got off, she said she liked it, but when I asked if she wanted to ride again, she said "no, I don't want to get sick of it." She is so funny! We did most of our favorites and were there until closing. I couldn't believe we did 12-straight hours of parks. We contemplated going out for ice cream and told the kids if they stayed awake we would go. Thomas and I weren't ready for our fun day to end. Unfortunately, Kara didn't even make it to the parking lot. She slept on the ferry, stayed asleep when we got on the monorail to take us from Magic Kingdom to Epcot. She almost woke up when we transferred her from the stroller to the car, but mostly stayed asleep. The funny part was she woke up when we got close to the house and commented, "that was close, I almost fell asleep." The kids were definitely tired, they didn't even protest when we said ice cream would have to wait for another day.
Our first two days at Disney were definitely a success. I don't think I had ever before gotten to a park at opening and stayed until closing. We definitely got our money's worth out of the park hopper option!
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| They loved the people mover. |
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| Kara said the carousel was her favorite ride. The kids all got along so well on this trip! |
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| Kara in Dinosaur Dig at Animal Kingdom |
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| Jack after riding Space Mountain. He loved it, but admitted to closing his eyes. I didn't bother trying to reason with him on that one. |
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| It's a Small World--and I am still singing the song. |
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| Buzz Lightyear ride. Thomas' score exceeded the rest of ours put together. Times ten. |
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| Pirates of the Carribean. |
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| Jack and Jennifer at Epcot. Jennifer was a great sport during our lunacy of a 12-hour day at the parks. |
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| I didn't get many pictures of my dad and Ms. B. We loved spending time with them at the parks. |
Disney World!!!
Tuesday was Magic Kingdom day and the most anticipated day of our vacation--at least by me. Our plan was to visit the Magic Kingdom until about 3pm, return to our house for a break and then head to our 6:10pm character dinner reservation at the Grand Floridian.
We arrived on schedule and were there for the opening of the gates ceremony at 9. Then, we raced to Dumbo, via the teacups. We rode lots and lots of rides. Jack and Kara enjoyed Splash Mountain, but Anna wouldn't ride. We also took Jack and Kara on Big Thunder, which Kara hated. I felt bad for telling her it wasn't scary--I certainly remembered that one wrong (well, not that it was scary, but it was a lot more intense than I recalled, I wasn't thinking from a 3-year old's perspective and she was terrified)! The morning flew by and I would be hard-pressed to choose a favorite ride. I really love Splash Mountain and I enjoyed the upgrades on the Haunted Mansion, the special effects are just amazing. Thomas really liked Pirates of the Carribean. The kids were happiest with the simpler rides, like the Carousel and Dumbo.
We had lunch at Pecos Bill's Cafe and were surprised by how good the food was.
Then, we did some more rides and shows. My favorite was probably Monsters Inc. It was somewhat interactive and they did close-ups of some of the people in the audience to correspond with characters in the movie. I was thrilled when Kara's picture flashed on the screen as "Boo". She looked adorable and the audience gave a collective "aawwwnnn." It was already a fun show, but that was the icing on the cake.We were behind schedule and didn't leave until 4, which gave us just enough time to give the kids baths and rest for about 30 minutes before leaving for our dinner.
For the dinner, we choose the Cinderella Dinner at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. We gave the kids the option of dressing up, which of course they wanted to do. Since I needed time to work on costumes, they had to make the decision months ago. Anna wanted to be Cinderella and Kara chose her wicked stepsister, Drizella. We told her she could be Cinderella too, but she wasn't interested. I was certain that Kara would change her mind, but she never wavered. I started her costume, but it proved too complex for me. Fortunately, my sister volunteered to finish it for Kara. Lesson learned, I ordered Anna one off Etsy. Jack initally was going to wear his Buzz Lightyear Costume, then decided he would like to be Prince Charming, which meant another Etsy purchase.
They were adorable! We got them dressed and then they ran around calling each other by their character names and fretting that we were "going to be late to the ball." We were a little put-off when we didn't get seated until 30 minutes after our reservation time, but the annoyance quickly left when we sat down. The food was great, the characters were wonderful and we had a fantastic time. When I made the reservation, I made a note that Jack was allergic to peanuts. They had the information and sent the Chef to our table so he could tell us what Jack could eat. He also said when it was time for dessert, he would bring something out for Jack. Jack was really disappointed when the girls started eating their desserts. Then, the Chef came to our table, set down a monstrous dessert in front of Jack and then drizzled chocolate syrup over the whole thing. It made him feel very special. It was nice for him to have the girls be jealous of something he got to eat for once!
Originally, we were going to go back to the park after dinner, but it was around 7:30 and raining, so we decided to call it a night.
We arrived on schedule and were there for the opening of the gates ceremony at 9. Then, we raced to Dumbo, via the teacups. We rode lots and lots of rides. Jack and Kara enjoyed Splash Mountain, but Anna wouldn't ride. We also took Jack and Kara on Big Thunder, which Kara hated. I felt bad for telling her it wasn't scary--I certainly remembered that one wrong (well, not that it was scary, but it was a lot more intense than I recalled, I wasn't thinking from a 3-year old's perspective and she was terrified)! The morning flew by and I would be hard-pressed to choose a favorite ride. I really love Splash Mountain and I enjoyed the upgrades on the Haunted Mansion, the special effects are just amazing. Thomas really liked Pirates of the Carribean. The kids were happiest with the simpler rides, like the Carousel and Dumbo.
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| Jack opted to go on the race cars with Daddy. He rode Dumbo the next day. |
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| Pecos Bill's. Thomas loved this place, they had a toppings bar for the burgers. We were pleasantly surprised by the food all week. |
For the dinner, we choose the Cinderella Dinner at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand Floridian. We gave the kids the option of dressing up, which of course they wanted to do. Since I needed time to work on costumes, they had to make the decision months ago. Anna wanted to be Cinderella and Kara chose her wicked stepsister, Drizella. We told her she could be Cinderella too, but she wasn't interested. I was certain that Kara would change her mind, but she never wavered. I started her costume, but it proved too complex for me. Fortunately, my sister volunteered to finish it for Kara. Lesson learned, I ordered Anna one off Etsy. Jack initally was going to wear his Buzz Lightyear Costume, then decided he would like to be Prince Charming, which meant another Etsy purchase.
They were adorable! We got them dressed and then they ran around calling each other by their character names and fretting that we were "going to be late to the ball." We were a little put-off when we didn't get seated until 30 minutes after our reservation time, but the annoyance quickly left when we sat down. The food was great, the characters were wonderful and we had a fantastic time. When I made the reservation, I made a note that Jack was allergic to peanuts. They had the information and sent the Chef to our table so he could tell us what Jack could eat. He also said when it was time for dessert, he would bring something out for Jack. Jack was really disappointed when the girls started eating their desserts. Then, the Chef came to our table, set down a monstrous dessert in front of Jack and then drizzled chocolate syrup over the whole thing. It made him feel very special. It was nice for him to have the girls be jealous of something he got to eat for once!
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| My sister did a brilliant job with the costume--we got so many compliments! Thanks Kim!! |
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| THE dessert. Also, note the kiss marks on his cheek from Cinderella . |
Originally, we were going to go back to the park after dinner, but it was around 7:30 and raining, so we decided to call it a night.
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