Day 3 - Father's Day Brunch and Medieval Times

Day 3 - Father's Day Brunch, Downtown Disney and Medieval Times

This day was supposed to be a relaxing day from the busyness of the parks so we slept in and then went to brunch at Cracker Barrel for Father's Day. After a wonderful breakfast we made our way to Downtown Disney which is a shopping area and walked around and then went to Medieval Times for dinner. It was a great relaxing day with the Dads.

Jeremy is a fantastic Daddy to Addison and Rhett!


Addison LOVED playing in the sporadic fountains at Downtown Disney

I'm really not quite sure? Fun picture though!

Cheers to the Blue Knight!

Addison was SOOO excited when the blue knight threw her a flower

Posing with their princess crowns that they made

Cuddling up to the Green Knight!

Memories, Moments and Miscellaneous!

* It was soooo nice to sleep in after jet lag and two full days of parks

* It was HOT, HOT, HOT and HUMID!! Especially while we were walking around outside.

*We purchased the infamous Mickey Mouse hat for Rhett and got his name engraved on the back. It was a fun purchase - now if he would just enjoy wearing it.

* At Medieval Times we were cheering for the blue knight who ended up being a disappointment and was killed in the second act - Boooo!

* Walked around the museum town at Medieval Times and saw some pretty incredible artifacts.

* Addison received what she had been hoping for which was a flower from the blue knight. After she got that flower she was the happiest girl in the world.

* We ended up having to spend quite a bit of money on Addison a new outfit at Downtown Disney because she got soaked in the fountains.

Day 2 - Disney's Hollywood Studios

Day 2 ~ Hollywood Studios:

This day was a complete blast. It is the equivalent of Universal Studios done Disney style so it had some fun rides and shows. Enjoy the pictures of this day:

The Tower of Terror - we rode on it 3 times!!!

The Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground - way cool!

Getting Fast Passes for Tower of Terror

Addie with her princess hat and balloon - she was the happiest litte girl in the world with those two things (at the time)

Star Tours - riding on a speed bike

Beauty and the Beast Musical production - it was quite AMAZING!

Eating a turkey leg for dinner - looks yucky but tastes yummy!

Moments, Memories and Miscellaneous!

* Katie and I were terrified to ride the Tower of Terror but once our husbands dragged us on it the 1st time we had to go back two more times it was so much fun.

* The Rockin Roller Coaster was shut down for the majority of the day but we were fortunate enough to catch a ride on it right before dinner.

* Fantasmic - the best night show at Disney was NOT showing this night and we were really bummed.

* It was HOT, HOT, HOT and HUMID!!!

* Jeremy LOST his WALLET sometime throughout the day and we were hoping that maybe he had just left it in the car but when we arrived at our car that evening - no wallet. So Jeremy ran back in to check at the lost and found and see if someone might have turned in a wallet. He was fortunate enough to find it all in tack - with money, credit cards and his license still in place - amazing!

* Our ride on Star Tours was not quite what I had remembered. The ride rose up and remained at a tilt the entire time - weird!

* Addie FINALLY was able to purchase the Minnie Mouse hat that she had been wanting so badly.

Our Vacation!!

Well - the anticipation, the stress and the excitement are long gone and as I sit here on this side of our vacation I have a variety of emotions. I'm so happy that everything went well - the kids did well on the plane, adjusted well to the time change and the humidity and were great troopers throughout the busyness of our trip and Addison LOVED it!! I'm grateful for the wonderful memories that were created and the fun times shared with my family. I'm sad that it went by way too quickly and that years of planning can be gone in a flash. I'm tired due to the time change - a two hour difference can really take it's toll on ya. I'm exhausted with the fact that now I again face the daunting task of grocery shopping, laundry, housework, pulling weeds and the list goes on. When people say that they need a vacation from their vacation they are 100% correct. I'm excited to begin blogging about our journey, share pictures and experiences and am looking forward to putting together a Disneyworld scrapbook as well as a DVD scrapbook. And I'm eager to begin planning our next trip to Disneyworld. I will begin blogging our vacation by starting with Day 1 and tomorrow I will blog Day 2. There are just too many pictures and memories to share at once. Hopefully you can laugh at some things and experience a little bit of the magic of our vacation. Enjoy!!

DAY 1 ~ Disney's Magic Kingdom

Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse

Peter Pan's Flight

Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Treat for a Hot Humid Day!

Brave little girl about to experience Splash Mountain!

Winnie The Pooh Ride ~ holding a tired little boy!

Mom is trying to shoot me on the Buzz Lightyear ride.

NO fireworks can measure up to Disney


At the end of the day Rhett let uncle Derek know what he really felt about the humidity mixed with formula - Uncle D got slimmed and it was pretty funny!

Memories, Moments, and Miscellaneous:

* It was HOT, HOT, HOT and HUMID!!!!!! We had to seek the shelter of nearby restaraunts and tourist shops more often than we would have liked.

*We brought in a cooler full of frozen water bottles and it saved us TONS of money.

*Fast Passes saved us LONG waits in line - however we did wait in line for the Peter Pan ride for 45 long, hot minutes

* Addison did not enjoy the Haunted Mansion

* Addison's favorite ride of the day was Thunder Mountain Railroad

* Nothing is better than Disney's frozen lemonade!

* We were so proud of Addison being willing to ride Splash Mountain - she did great and on the last day even wanted to go on it again. Brave girl!

Disneyworld or Bust!

Disneyworld here we come!

I can't believe that 5 years of planning, preparing, and saving are finally here. Ever since I was a little girl I LOVED everything Disney. The first Disney movie I ever saw was Pinnochio and from then on I was hooked. Maybe it was the pure imaginative genius of Walt Disney himself or maybe it was the fun characters that came to life on screen or the fact that good always prevails over evil that made me become a fan. My first trip to Disneyland was when I was 2 and I don't remember anything about that experience. According to my mother my reaction to some of the rides should have scarred me for life but I was forever transfixed by that magical place. I think that as a little girl I always dreamed of becoming a princess and finding that magic place where all my dreams could come true - a place where if I wish for something very hard a fairy godmother would appear and grant it. A place where laughter and fun abound and the worries of today are completely forgotten and you are mesmerized by the decorative bushes, fountains, sparkly sidewalks, the luminous dreamlike castle and the friendly lifesize characters that greet the young excited children as they meander through the streets. I feel truly sorrowful for those who have never experienced Disneyland and even have no desire to - they have no idea what they are missing. Since that trip when I was 2 I have been to Disneyland 3 times and Disneyworld twice and I hope to return many more times in the future.

As we prepare for this next week of fun I can't help but be extremely excited, anxious and apprehensive for our journey. We have planned for so long that I hope and pray everything goes well. I am so excited to share this experience with my little princess and look forward to her reactions. I can't wait to see her face as we enter the park, as we find and meet the princesses or visit Mickey's house, or even see Merlin the Magician pull the sword from the stone. She is so much like myself with her love for this place and she has never even been there.

I'm excited to return and post pictures and share our trip with you. I know we will be making many wonderful memories that will last a lifetime. Cheers to the Happiest Place on Earth ("On Earth" being the most key words in that phrase) - HERE WE COME!!!

Sunday School Kids - what they come up with!!

I received an email from my cousin of cute little things that children say about Sunday school or church and I thought I would post it as a blog. It's pretty cute!!

LOT'S WIFE:

The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted, 'My Mommy looked back once while she was driving,' he announced triumphantly, 'and she turned into a telephone pole!'

GOOD SAMARITAN:

A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan. She asked the class, 'If you saw a person lying on the roadside, wounded and bleeding, what would you do?' A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, 'I think I would throw up.'

DID NOAH FISH?

A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?' 'No,' replied Johnny. 'How could he, with just two worms?'

MOSES AND THE RED SEA:

Nine-year old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday school. "Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.' 'Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?' his mother asked. 'Well, no, Mom. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!'

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD:

A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter. Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that they kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know.'

UNANSWERED PRAYER:

The preacher's 5 year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day, she asked him why. 'Well, honey,' he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of his messages, 'I'm asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.' 'So, how come He doesn't?' she asked.

EQUAL REPRESENTATION:

When my daughter, Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every pet, current and past. For several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, "All girls." This soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing. My curiosity got the best of me and I asked her, "Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?" Her response, "Because everybody always finishes their prayers by saying 'All Men'!"

End of the year Blues and Wahoos!

Wow! It's even weird to hear me say the word "summer" right now. This year has flown by super fast. As I sat in meetings today reluctantly reliquishing the rights to my precious 4th graders into the 5th grade teachers hands I realize how impacted I am by each of those little faces that I see for 9 months straight. In all reality I am trusted by their parents to provide for them a safe, secure, happy place to learn and grow and laugh for 9 months at a time. Throughout those 9 months I hug, encourage, scold, discipline, love, smile, laugh, humble myself, comfort, cry, befriend, play and truly become part of their little 10 year old life. Then in an instant of time they are gone - back home with their parents and I'm left with an empty, overwhelmed exhausted feeling of pride, fear and loss. Yes, I will see them again in a few short months but it won't ever be the same. They will become passive and "too cool" for their 4th grade teacher. I enjoy teasing my former students who tower over me. I know the "real" person that they are and I often get after them for being so nonchalant. They can't fool me! It's crazy to think that my first class will be Sophomore's in highschool next year. WHAT????? Where did the time go?


I am extremely appreciative of the years that I've spent out in Melba and the people that I have come to know and love. I am so grateful that they fought for me and were willing to find a way to keep me employed out there. I think that God had a hand in it because I was ready for a change and I was ready to be able to spend more time with my own children. I LOVE 10 year olds and I will always love teaching 4th grade and God willing I will someday go back to it. But for now I am extremely excited to add Kindergarten to my resume and am looking forward to 5 year old faces some of which I luckily already know due to the close-knit family community out in Melba. I do look forward to next year. And I get to teach them the most important part of coming to school - to LOVE to learn - that's a pretty awesome responsibility and I'm pumped about it.

Throughout my process of transition from 4th grade to Kindergarten I am going to be setting up another blog sometime soon. A blog only about my Kindergarten class - I will of course get the permission of each parent before posting any comments or pictures of their children but I am looking forward to documenting my Kindergarten experience. Through this blog I will share special moments, personal struggles, cute stories, art projects and such. I hope it will be worth the effort.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers as to the direction that I needed to take next year. God took care of it like I knew He would and I can't thank him enough for the opportunity. If I have to work I am blessed to be where I am.

Now I going to concentrate on having an awesome summer with some much needed time with friends, family and most importantly my children. Can't wait!!! Wahoooooooooooooo!

Surprise for Great-Grandma!

So, this past Memorial Day weekend we traveled up to Moscow, Idaho to surprise Jeremy's Great-grandma for her 85th birthday. It was a fun but LONG trip, especially for the kids but we made it Friday evening safe and sound. Grandma was very surprised to see all of us pull up and I think she was a bit overwhelmed but we could tell that she was so happy that we came to visit. The weekend was quickly filled up with fun, birthday barbeques, water fights, games, Indianapolis 500, church, yatzee, and crazy kids. I always enjoy our trips up to Moscow to visit and hopefully we can visit again sometime soon.

Birthday Barbeque - Happy 85th Grandma Franklin

Rhett and Aunt Joyce

Water fight! Jim versus the three boys!

Walking to church on Sunday

Great Grandma and her Great grandkids!!