First Day of School and Anna Got Braces!

The first day of school was August 12th! Normally, I take the day off. However, there was a meeting at work I needed to attend. But, Thomas and I both did a shortened day. We walked Luke and Kara to school. Kara was nervous. I am sure it was hard for her.  As I've probably said (more than once I am guessing) she had been at Hollywood Elementary since Pre-K, so to be starting over as a 5th grader was difficult. For example, she was disappointed that safety patrols and the morning news crews had already been assigned (things she likely would have been able to do in Hollywood). She had a great attitude, but we still felt bad for her. Luke had no such memories and walked in like he owned the place. He was not even slightly nervous. He was just ready to get the day going. We were allowed to walk him to his classroom and I don't think he even looked back at us when we left.

And, just like that, all Wilson children are officially school-aged.

May he always have the kind of confidence that he exhibited on the first day of Kindergarten!

We then walked with Jack and Anna to their bus stop. Our neighborhood is so big and has so many kids that their bus stop fills an entire bus. And, my understanding is that there is more than one in the neighborhood! They were both nervous. The other kids at the bus stop all seemed to know one another. Fortunately, Jack and Anna had each other. But, again, I felt bad. In Hollywood, they knew all the kids in their old neighborhood. 

Luckily, the first week went well for everyone. I asked them on a scale of 1-10 what they would give the week, with 1 being the worst week ever; 5 being just what they expected; and 10 being the best week, so wonderful they could have never even imagined how wonderful it could be. Anna said 7.5, Jack and Kara said 6 and Luke said 11000. I think it helped that they all met kids over the summer, so there were some familiar faces in their classes. Jack and Anna are still only talking to each other at the bus stop. They also sit together at lunch. 

In other news: Early on, we knew Jack and Anna were going to need braces. Unfortunately, they both have significant overbites and crooked teeth. They had Phase I (palate expanders) done in Maryland and we were waiting for all their baby teeth to fall out for Phase II (braces). For Anna, that happened recently. We researched orthodontists in Orlando and found one that was close by, had great reviews and took our insurance. Score! He confirmed that Anna was ready. So, on Tuesday, Thomas brought her in. She now has a mouth full of metal. He said to expect her to be in the braces for about 2.5 years. She did well with getting them and was surprised that it didn't hurt at all to have them put in. Unfortunately, by nighttime, her mouth was aching and she didn't want to eat. She is doing better today, but it still hurts when she eats and she says has a bunch of sores on her mouth from where the braces are rubbing against her gums. Hopefully, it gets better quick.

Normal Smile

"show off your braces" smile

Kara doesn't have the significant overbite, but she has a crossbite and will also need braces. She and Jack should be ready sometime next year. We will have three kids in braces at the same time! So far, Luke doesn't have any obvious issues, so we are holding out hope that it won't be 100% of our kids.

Last Week of Summer Break

We always try and do something fun the week before the school year begins. In Maryland, we would let the kids choose one activity each. Generally, small things, like a trip to Bruster's or the Marine Museum. This year, Thomas and I decided on a fun week of surprises. But, we still had to work and there was a lot going on, which meant we had to scuttle a couple of activities. Monday, we went to the library and Sweet Tomatoes.

Tuesday was Jack and Anna's back to school night. We picked everyone up from camp and went to the middle school. It was a zoo! I was not prepared for the crowds. Jack was placed in all advanced classes. However, reviewing a Powerpoint for incoming students, it looks like the advanced classes are more average. In other words, if you get a passing score on the FCAT, you go into "advanced." If you fail the FCAT, you are in "average." There are no remedial classes. Anna was in advanced language arts, but average everything else. The Powerpoint also said if you get a 3, 4 or 5 in language arts on the FCAT, you should have advanced English, Science, and History. Obviously, our kids didn't take the FCAT, but they took the PARCC, which according to Google, is somewhat analogous. And, Anna got a 5 in Language Arts--the highest possible score. She is also a mostly A student, with a couple of Bs. Her math was a  4. So, her schedule didn't seem right. I e-mailed the counselor who said she would change her schedule--if there was room, but I have not heard anything back. It's not the end of the world, but it is annoying.

So, Tuesday we all went to the 6th grade back-to-school night and then out to dinner again. We also went to Jeremiah's, which is a delicious Italian Ice place. Wednesday was a movie/popcorn night at home. We watched Hercules. We were going to swim, but it was lightening.

Thursday, was Luke and Kara's meet the teacher. They both seemed very nice. But, again, I found myself missing Maryland. Luke was going to be with Ms. Thanhauser (Jack's amazing K teacher) and my friend Amanda. Kara would be in her final year at a school she'd attended since pre-K. After 6 years, we knew the routine and most of the teachers/staff. Now. we are starting over. So, even though I know it is a great school, it just didn't feel like our school. Fortunately, Kara's teacher is new this year, so at least the teacher won't know everyone but her. Which, is also true of Luke, since he is beginning Kindergarten.

Thursday, after dinner, we went to Hollywood Studios. We had fast passes for Toy Story Mania and Star Tours. After we did those, we went to the Launch Bay and looked at Star Wars stuff, then we decided to see what the wait was for Slinky Dog. It was down to 55 minutes (it had been 120 when we did Toy Story Mania). We decided to wait. We used their play app on my phone and did games in line and it went by quickly. By now it was dark, which made the ride amazing. I highly, highly recommend riding it in the dark. The lights are what truly make the ride. When we got off, it was about 9:15. Perfect timing to watch the Star Wars fireworks show--which we did. It was a very fun night. And, probably my favorite way to do the theme parks. We ate an early dinner, which meant we didn't spend any money at the park. And, because it was later in the day it wasn't so hot.

This picture doesn't do justice to how fun the lights are on Slinky Dog

Friday, we were going to go to a baseball game. But, it was really hot and the weather was again looking bad. So, we decided to stay in and have a second movie night. Plus, we had a big day planned for Saturday--rope drop at Magic Kingdom. For everyone's birthday, they get to dictate one day at the theme parks. This one was Thomas' belated day. We wanted to rope drop and ride Seven Dwarf's Mine Train. We pulled into the parking lot at 8am and were at the rope at 8:30. It was actually easier and more orderly than I anticipated. The ropes dropped at 9 and we got to the ride shortly thereafter. By 9:15, we were right at the front. Then, the ride broke down. Around 9:30, they gave us all return fast passes and kicked everyone out of line. We wanted to stick close by, so we did Winnie the Pooh and the Tomorrowland Speedway. But, it was still closed. We did our first Fast Pass--Pirates of the Caribbean (Thomas' favorite ride). And, in line we saw the Utzingers (well, two of them). We knew them when they lived in Maryland. There are tens of thousands of people in the park on any given day, so what are the odds that someone we know and haven't seen in years would be in line directly behind us???? It was fun!

Luke loved this ride!

Thomas giving Anna a hard time (Kara and Jack were in front of me, so no pictures of them)

We had lunch and saw that Seven Dwarfs was open again. We did our next fastpass--Big Thunder and then went back to the Mine Train. We used our Fast Pass, waited about 10 minutes and it broke down. Again. We killed some time in Tomorrowland and did two more of Thomas' favorites--the People Mover and Carousel of Progress. Mine Train remained closed. So, we walked back to our last fastpass which was Splash Mountain. Then, we explored Tom Sawyer's Island for a bit. It was really neat, but too hot. We went back and saw Mine Train was reopened. Third time was the charm! It was fun, but not worth a long wait. It is a very short ride. We did a few more favorites, had some Dole Whips and left the park for dinner. We went to Chick-Fil-A, then went to Hollywood Studios. We wanted to do Slinky Dog again, now that we knew the routine. We rode Star Tours, saw the Little Mermaid Show, then did Alien Saucers and Slinky Dog. We finished up at closing. We did open to close, tried 6 new things and walked over 10 miles!


Some more of my favorite photos from the day:

I don't really like spinning rides, but Alien Saucers was fun enough

But, my favorite ride pictures came from Haunted Mansion

What are we looking at?

I love the expressions on their faces!

Another great Thomas expression (and, we had no idea where the cameras were)

All 6 of us in one photo (you'll have to trust me that Kara is hidden behind my arm).

Today we rest and get ready for the first day of school!

Atlanta: Stone Mountain & Jimmy Carter

When I was researching what we could do in Atlanta, I came across several recommendations for Stone Mountain. I had never heard of Stone Mountain, which is a massive granite mountain (825 feet above ground). It is the centerpiece of a large park with tons of activities. However, the mountain is best known for it's carving of three Confederate leaders. The carving is the largest in the world, bigger than Mount Rushmore. But, let me reiterate--it's of three Confederate leaders, two generals and the President of the Confederate States of America. The same Confederates who fought to continue slavery, attempted to secede from the Union, and committed treason against this country. In my opinion, these men are not heroes and should not be honored. So, we had to weigh out whether to go. In the end, I was swayed by the positive recommendations and the interest in seeing the fete of ingenuity.

And, the day was fantastic. We got there around 1030 and immediately began the outdoor activities. The first was a ropes course. None of us have ever done one and we didn't really know what to expect. It has three levels, the first 12 feet above the ground, the second was 24 and the third was 40. I got out on the first level and wanted to quit. I was afraid if I fell, I would hurt myself. I knew I wouldn't fall to the ground and I trusted the harness could support me, but it was disconcerting. However, after a few minutes, I was okay and completed levels 1 and 2. Anna was very nervous, but she pressed on and did the first two levels. Jack got up to level 3 and decided he had done enough. Kara, Thomas and Luke completed the entire course. Luke was completely fearless. Of course, he also weighs 44 pounds (important later) and is less than 4 feet tall, I saw him slip off the course a couple of times and he just picked his feet up and kept moving.

Can you see them up there?

We all enjoyed the experience. From there, we went to the rock climbing wall. Thomas, Jack and Kara all tried it. Luke really wanted to go, but there was a minimum weight of 45 pounds. This is where we learned he weighs 44 pounds. He was extremely disappointed. Anna agreed to run around with him on the tiny ropes course. For a few minutes he would tell anyone who would listen that he wasn't big enough to go on the rock climbing wall, but fortunately, he has a pretty easy personality and quickly recovered. Thomas did the most difficult course and reached the top. Kara and Jack started on the easier end and both rang the bell. Since there was no line, they just kept moving up, ringing the bell each time. Then, Anna joined in. I think Kara and Jack climbed 3 times before a line built up.

Next, we headed to the sky tram. It is a 3ish minute ride to the top of the mountain. It was pretty neat. We were able to get off at the top and explore. The view was amazing! You can also hike up, but it is very steep and we weren't prepared (would need better shoes and water). But, it's on our list of things to come back and do!

The controversial carving

Slightly zoomed in. It is hard to tell scale, but two school buses are the size of the middle horse and a six foot man would fit in the mouth of one of the horses.

Stock photo of the tram, since I couldn't get a good picture

After exploring for a bit, we rode back down the mountain and made our way to the museum. We watched a short film about the men who carved the mountain (interesting) and then walked around the museum. They had replicas of some of the carving so you could really see the scale. By now it was almost 2 so we went in search of lunch. Everyone was having so much fun, no one realized how late it was. Luke asked, is it even time for lunch? After lunch, Anna and Kara wanted to go back to the ropes course. The rest of us decided to play miniature golf. I almost won! I had two holes in one, but Thomas still go the victory. It was really fun. We played all eighteen holes and then went and found Anna and Kara. They had done the ropes course several times and Anna even worked her way through level 3! She had been so nervous when she started, but with time and patience she accomplished the whole thing. She and Kara had a great time together and were even commenting on how nice it was that they had a sister for a best friend. Those moments are often short-lived, so we enjoy them when they happen.

Unfortunately, the sky was starting to look ominous, so we quickly made our way to the historic site. They have transplanted several houses from the 18th century and decorated them with period furniture. It was interesting to walk through and see similarities to other historic homes we've visited (Mount Vernon, Stratford Hall, Pope's Creek, Sotterley, etc.). They had a kid's scavenger hunt, which kept Luke and Kara happy. It asked them to do things like count how many instruments they saw and find the house that had a sewing machine. The historic area also had a farm, but it was closed, likely due to the weather. After we had gone to a couple of the houses, it started to rain. Then, it started to pour. Thomas ran and got the car and we headed back to the main ticket area. They have a rainy day guarantee and since there was more we wanted to see and do, including trails and a train ride, we decided to take advantage. It was a super easy process and we are able to go back anytime within a year. It was an amazing place to visit and I was happy to see people of many different races enjoying all that it had to offer.

The rain turned into waterfalls on the mountain

We went back to the hotel and were hoping to find someplace within walking distance for dinner. Even though our hotel was right next to the Georgia Aquarium and some other tourist attractions, nothing was open. We settled for t.v. dinners from the hotel lobby. Kara was excited to see Descendants 3. She watched the countdown and was thrilled when we said everyone could stay up and watch the entire movie. I thought they would fall asleep, but everyone stayed awake. It was a fun day.

Saturday was our last day. We had our hotel breakfast and then went to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. It was interesting to learn more about President Carter. He and Mrs. Carter are amazing humanitarians and powerful examples of people who have truly made a difference. The museum stated that hundreds of millions of lives have been improved thanks to their foundation. They have helped people in poverty-stricken countries have access to clean water and the tools necessary to eliminate diseases that have been eradicated in the United States and other wealthy countries. There were interactive exhibits for the kids and it was a good conclusion to our trip.

The girls and especially Luke LOVED this exhibit. We had to pry him away.

Such simple ideas, we could use that attitude in the White House today.

It was a good, quick trip to Atlanta and we look forward to going back and seeing more.

Atlanta!

We decided to do a quick trip to Atlanta. It's only been two months since we moved to one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world. So, it felt odd to be leaving so soon. In fact, Thomas and I had some regrets and tried to talk the kids into a "staycation" instead, but they were excited to see someplace new. Anna especially loves staying in hotels and was really looking forward to our trip. We took a vote and all 3 older kids wanted to go to Atlanta. It didn't seem fair to change it up at the last minute, so we moved forward.

We left on Wednesday around 2 and got arrived at our hotel around 8. It was an easy drive, but longer than we are used to for our weekend trips. In Maryland, we frequently went to Williamsburg and Philadelphia. Both were about 3 hours away. We could be in New York in 5 and all the places in between. Fortunately, it was a pleasant drive.

On Thursday, we went to Six Flags over Georgia. We had a great time. School here started on August 1, the same day we visited, so crowds were light. The rides were fun and the park was big. However, the employees were the most apathetic of any park we have ever been too. It was almost comical. We were on the log flume and the employee tasked with monitoring the ride at the top of the hill was watching his phone and didn't even look up at us. We got bumped from a ride for "weather" and the employees had no idea if or when it would reopen. They also stated they had no idea what the weather policy is (specifically, I asked if they had to wait a certain amount of time after lightening is spotted). The sky was blue and I hadn't seen rain or lightening, but the whole park basically shut down twice that day for "weather."  Finally, as one employee checked Luke's seatbelt on a kids' coaster he asked her if it went upside down and she completely ignored him. Obviously, most employees were fine, but I don't think any were actually friendly. Six Flags must not treat their employees very well, because seriously--they were an unhappy bunch!

I screenshot this from a video I took of Jack and Thomas on this crazy ride. They loved it! In fact, Thomas liked it so much he convinced me to ride, but it is the one that closed right as we sat down.

But, we still had a good time and it was a very nice park. We rode a couple of really fun big roller coasters and spent a lot of time on more family-friendly rides. We got there at opening and left right around closing (1030-7). Because of the weather shut-downs (one of which was totally legit) we didn't get to do everything, but we came pretty close. I would rank it as my second-favorite Six Flags in terms of ride selection and overall "fun". First is definitely New Jersey. We have really enjoyed our Six Flags passes and I will be sad when they expire at the end of the year. I suppose I will have to console myself with a trip to Disney World.

From there, we drove to Suntrust Park and dropped Thomas and Jack off. Originally, we were all going to go to a game on Friday or Saturday night, but the forecast didn't look promising, and we wanted to make sure they got to go. Luke and the girls were tired. I was tired too, so I didn't mind going back to the hotel, although I had been looking forward to seeing the Braves' new stadium. We got back around 7:30 and relaxed before bed. Thomas and Jack made it through 5 innings before Jack said he was too exhausted to stay any longer. They headed out right as it started to rain, then it began pouring. They had to wait about 15 minutes before they could get a Lyft driver and were completely soaked. But, they still had fun and enjoyed the game, so they said it was worth it. Thomas said the crowd was fantastic and it was a really great baseball experience. His only regret is that he did not buy a Braves jersey.

Thomas sent me this one to show where their seats were.

Our first day was a great success! As is typical, we didn't really take pictures. But, I made up for it on Day 2 when we visited Stone Mountain.

Ice Cream, Baseball, and Getting Older

I constantly have great blog ideas, then when I decide to sit down and write, I draw a blank. But, there is one thing I know I wanted to mention. On July 20, we decided to go to a Flying Tigers game. The minor league games here don't seem to have the great promotions we were used to in Maryland. The Blue Crabs and Baysox had frequent, awesome theme nights (Harry Potter! Star Wars!) and fireworks on a weekly basis. But, this particularly game did have a promotion we could not pass up--all you could eat ice cream! The ice cream was offered between 4:30-6:30. The game wasn't supposed to start until 6, but then they were forced into a double-header due to a rain out the night before. We were excited to get there at 4:30 to see the game and eat some ice cream. Unfortunately, we finally experienced the terrible I-4 traffic we hear so much about. It was stop and go in Orlando. And, when we were finally clear of that, there was an accident that caused miles of back-up. That one was especially annoying because it wasn't blocking our side of the road, people just slowed to a crawl to look.

But, we still managed to get there around 5. We weren't sure what the ice cream entailed, so we had warned the kids to be moderate in their expectations. However, it was great! It was a separately ticketed event, so they gave us a bracelet into the third base concourse and told us it really was all-you-can-eat, we were free to enter as many times we wanted until 6:30. They had 5 different vendors: Publix, Cold Stone, Dairy Queen, an ice cream food truck, and a shaved ice stand. We didn't know where to start! Over the course of 2 hours, the kids tried them all. My favorite was the shaved ice, it was the best I've ever had! We had a couple of rounds and then watched some of the game. Our seats were close to the ice cream, so we let the kids go back whenever they wanted. And, they definitely took advantage! It was really fun. Jack said it was the best thing we've done in Florida (and, he went to Universal with Express passes!). The ice cream part was a huge success, unfortunately, the game entered a rain delay about halfway through. We waited around for a little while, but ultimately decided to leave.

I thought I took a lot of pictures, but this was it :)

The 21st was my 42nd birthday. I didn't mind turning 40, but 41 and 42 have bugged me a bit. I am not happy with the changes I am seeing in the mirror. There are new wrinkles and even an age spot. But, I try to remind myself to be thankful for good health and a body that lets me do what I need. Of course, I do need to lose weight, but that has been an issue for years. I am hoping I can have a renewed focus on health this year. I have fallen out of my exercise routine since we moved and I really want to get back on it.

Thomas' birthday was the 23rd. He wanted to go to a baseball game, preferably the Tampa Bay Rays. He was going to go on Saturday, but then he couldn't get tickets, so we settled for the Tigers. It turned out there was a glitch with the ticketing, so he could have gone, but it ended up working out, since everyone loved the ice cream so much. For my birthday, I wanted to spend the day at Magic Kingdom, but I decided to put that off a week, so that we could do the baseball game while they had the fun ice cream promotion. Thomas left for a training on my actual birthday and was gone all week. So, his birthday was spent alone in South Carolina.

In other news, we are (almost) down to our last two weeks of summer break! School here starts on August 12th. We have gotten everything Kara and Luke need, but won't get supply lists for Jack and Anna until they get their class schedules at meet-the-teacher-night, which I think is August 6th. Everyone still misses Maryland. Except Luke, he only misses the playset and says he would even trade the pool if we could have it back. It makes me feel guilty. Yesterday, Jack and Anna had a field trip to Animal Kingdom. Yet, when they got in the car, Anna commented on how she had fun, but still really wishes we could move back to Maryland. Then, Jack said, "yeah, me too." I know it has only been two months, but if they are thinking that way after a field trip to Animal Kingdom, there is no hope in the foreseeable future. Maybe in a year or two. They like being near family and the theme parks, but it's not enough to overcome that Maryland was home and Florida just isn't. I like it here, but it is weighing on me that everyone else (except Luke) wishes they were somewhere else. Of course, I miss Maryland too. I miss our house (and the significantly smaller payment!) and my friends and my job. So, it has been difficult.

Work Travel and What I Missed

I had to go to Milton, FL, for work. Not the most glamorous of locations, but it was necessary. Originally, I was supposed to be out of town for 5 nights, but I was able to get it down to 2. Florida is big; despite staying in the same state, Milton is 450 miles from Orlando and in a different time zone. So weird!

I have a like/dislike (love/hate is too strong) relationship with travel. I like to see new places and learn more about my job, but I don't like to be away from home. I feel guilty leaving Thomas to do everything, and I don't like missing anything. This time, I missed swim team tryouts.

The YMCA in our neighborhood has a swim team. Actually, they have two, a competitive and a recreational. Anna, Kara and Luke all wanted to try out. Unfortunately, Anna's back hurt on the day of the tryouts, so she decided to wait a month. But, Kara and Luke tried. I thought that because it is a rec team, everyone who met the basic requirements would make it. But, apparently, I was very wrong. Thomas said 20-30 kids tried out and he only saw 2 make it. Fortunately, one of them was Kara. Luke was disappointed, but he is a fairly new swimmer, so it wasn't a huge deal to him. He may try again "in the future." I put that in quotes, because we had a whole conversation about what "in the future means." The coach told him he is great for his age, but he needs to work on side breathing before he is ready for the team. He has really developed into a good swimmer in a very short time. I am okay with not burning him out anyway--practices are three times a week! I am not sure if they have to go to all 3 or not, but that is a lot of swimming. Although, with thunderstorms, maybe they are lucky if they get one in. Kara is very excited and ready to get to started!

So, I missed swim tryouts, which was logistically difficult for Thomas and I was sad to not see it. Anna and Jack had a field trip to SeaWorld while I was gone. Jack had fun, Anna had a bit of bad luck. They didn't do much and waited a long time for one ride, which broke as they were sitting in it (the restraints wouldn't lock). Earlier in the week, Kara went to Legoland, she had a good time, but was disappointed that they didn't get to do very much. They were only there for a few hours and one of them was to eat lunch. She really wants to go back. Luke maintains his ongoing objection that his camp doesn't go anywhere, but he is still having fun.

We have continued with our Disney passes. A few hours each weekend at one of the parks. We went to Animal Kingdom last week. We tried the Safari, River Rapids, Everest and Dinosaur. Luke did not like Everest or Dinosaur. But, he really loved the Dinosaur play area. And, while everyone else rode Everest a second time, I took him on Triceratops spin and we met Donald Duck. His shoes had been hurting his feet, so I bought him some socks and he had picked Donald Duck, so he needed to show him. Donald was duly impressed.

While on Dinosaur, Thomas tried to recreate a picture he did with Jack back in 2013. Here's the original and the new one.

Yesterday, we tried out Hollywood Studios, we did Toy Story Mania, Star Tours and the Muppet 4D. It was too hot to sit and watch shows and the lines were too long to do anything without a fastpass. We had a final fastpass for Rockin Rollercoaster, but it was later at night and we decided to just leave. The park is under construction for the new Mickey and Minnie ride and Star Wars land, so it just wasn't fun to navigate. It will definitely be better when it is not as hot and crowded. Although, Toy Story Mania and Star Wars were great and I've always liked the Muppet Show. So, it wasn't a total loss.

Our kitchen is still under construction. I can't remember if I've written about that. But, we are gutting the kitchen. New floors, cabinets, counters, and backsplash (and, most appliances). We are also doing the floors in the family room, so everything from the family room and kitchen is shoved into the front room. We have no microwave or stove, so we have either been eating out, cooking in the skillet or grilling. It is only supposed to last 2 weeks, but I have a feeling it will go longer. The cabinets were supposed to be in on Friday, but already that has been postponed to Tuesday "or maybe next Friday." Ugh! I will do a complete post about it when it is all done.

Our Magical Weekend

Our family last visited Disney World in May of 2013. The twins were 5, Kara was 4 and Luke was 10 months from making his first Earthly appearance. It was the time of Disney. In August of 2012, we went as a family to enjoy time together before Thomas' deployment. Because we planned on staying in Florida for most of his deployment, the kids and I bought annual passes (although, our plans changed and the kids and I only stayed in Florida for about 3 weeks as opposed to 7 months). But, since we had the passes, in May, we went back to celebrate his return. Finally, in October, we went on a Disney cruise. We loved it all, so it is surprising we haven't been back. In the 6 years since, we have done Busch Gardens (both Tampa and Williamsburg), annual passes to Kings Dominion and Six Flags, and an epic trip to Universal Studios. But, for some reason, Disney just kept getting pushed to the wayside. Not anymore!

Once we knew we were going to move to Florida, difficult problems arose. Where to buy a house? To go before or after the school year finished? And, perhaps the most challenging--where to buy annual passes? Obviously, I wanted them all. But, that was not financially responsible. And, we didn't want our time to be too divided. There are other things besides theme parks after all! SeaWorld was a given, I was anxious to go back and it is so close to our house that it just made sense. Plus, it came with great perks, like some free guest passes, so we could enjoy it with our friends and family. And, we had promised Luke and Kara waterpark visits as belated birthday gifts (we never made it to Kalahari) and their waterpark is phenomenal. Finally, it is by far the least expensive (despite having the best perks). The original plan was one park per year. And, we would rotate between SeaWorld/Busch Gardens, Universal and Disney.

But, I couldn't wait a whole year to go to Disney World! So, for our first year, I thought a bit more was okay. We love Universal, but it is not great for Luke--you really have to be 48" to reap the most benefits from that park. So, we decided to add Disney. I say "we", but really this is primarily me. Thomas is okay with theme parks, but he doesn't love them the way I do (no one is perfect!). So, the plan was finalized. Then, with no warning Disney raised their prices. Substantially. And, there are 6 of us, so raising their already expensive passes by more than $100 each was crazy. I began to rethink our options. Then, I read something about Sam's Club selling discount annual passes (thank you Facebook!). I did some research and realized I could get the passes for $29 less than the old annual pass price. We were back in business! The rumor was the number of passes available at the old price was limited and once they were gone, they would go back to being just $29 off the newly raised price. So, I acted fast. We had a year to activate, but I was so excited that I went online to see what kind of fast passes I could book for the next evening. I looked at Magic Kingdom and got Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise and Big Thunder Mountain. I wasn't sure we would actually use them, but if we wanted to, we would be prepared! (The passes would become active after we first entered a park, but I could book fastpasses up to 30 days out.)

My brother, sister, JD and Amanda came to visit on Friday. We had a great visit. The kids swam while Kim, Kevin and I played Qwix. We went to Wendy's for lunch (the kids chose) and came back and played Harry Potter Clue with JD and Kara. I ran out of House Points and got booted. JD thought he had it won, but his solution was wrong. Then, we realized something--I had put two rooms in the envelope and no weapon! Ugh, it was a very embarrassing mistake. So, while no one won that game, I was the clear loser on many fronts. They left around 2:30 and Thomas and I decided to go forward with the surprise Disney trip. We told the kids we were going to an outdoor mall, so to wear comfortable shoes and hats or sunglasses. Then, off we went.

We drove through the Disney welcome sign and pretended we were lost. Finally, we said, "since we are here anyway, maybe we should just check it out." The kids understood the surprise and were very excited! We redeemed our passes and headed in. We rode our fastpass rides, and had dinner. We also rode Small World, the People Mover and the Carousel of Progress. Everyone loved everything! The lines were pretty long, so we didn't do much else. We stayed for the fireworks and nighttime show--which was awesome!

I only took a couple of pictures, this one is from the Swiss Family Treehouse.

The night show was amazing!!! Obviously, the picture can't convey.

Luke was exhausted, but it was a fantastic day. We were only there for about 5 hours and still walked around 5 miles. Our plan is to go in the evenings and see all the nighttime shows. Once we have seen all of those, we'll go in the mornings. We will work rope drop and the fastpass system until we've done everything we want to do. And, if it takes all year--that's fine with us! It is much more relaxing than trying to see it all in one week.

We intended to go to Epcot yesterday afternoon/evening to see the nighttime show. We even talked Luke into taking a nap, but shortly before we were going to leave, it started to look nasty outside. The forecast had been fine earlier, but a quick check revealed it had turned to rain all evening. So, we ran some errands and postponed Epcot to today. Since it is a work night, we decided to forgo the evening show and got there at park opening instead. Epcot has fastpass tiers, you have to choose between Test Track, Soarin', and Frozen. I was able to grab fast passes for Soarin', Spaceship Earth, and Finding Nemo. So, when we arrived, we ran straight for Test Track. It was amazing!

I loved this ride and this picture!

Then, we did the Frozen ride, which was fun (but wouldn't be worth an extended wait). From there we tried the different "cokes" from around the world and then went to Mission Space. I hated it! Luke was crying and also hated it. It was very uncomfortable and disorienting. Thomas gave it a 2 on a scale of 1-10. Kara and Jack thought it was okay. And, Anna liked it. Never again for me (unless I do the less motion version). We had lunch and then used our first fast pass on Nemo. The ride was mediocre, but the aquarium in the Seas area was amazing!

We rode Spaceship Earth, which everyone enjoyed. Then, we did the Figment ride, which was cute. Finally, it was time to use our Soarin' fastpass. Everyone loved it, although, I was the only one who proclaimed it my Epcot favorite. Thomas chose Spaceship Earth, Jack, Luke and Kara said Test Track and Anna chose Club Cool, where we got to sample the sodas. Since Soarin' was our last fastpass, I checked the system to see if any others were available and was able to grab passes for Living with the Land, which everyone but Luke liked. I grabbed one more fastpass to ride Spaceship Earth again and then we called it a day.

 Our annual pass ownership is off to a promising start! We have days lined up at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom and then will likely start over again. Today, we were able to ride every ride at Epcot, but there is still lots more to see there and we barely made a dent in the Magic Kingdom.