Photos from Disney World

Our first exciting view of Walt Disney World! We had to stop by the military resort, Shades of Green, to pick up our tickets. I had no idea the military had a rec center at WDW!





The Magic Kingdom! It was so fun to see the kids so excited to be there.

Our one family photo taken by a kind stranger who, thankfully, didn't run off with the camera! You always wonder if that's going to happen to you when someone comes up and says "You want me to take a photo of all of you together?"

Daddy got the joy of riding the Dumbo ride with Katie Mei. It was hard to get a photo of her because her head was too low in the seat. This was the only photo I got where you can actually see her face on the ride. They hadn't even started moving yet. I also let Jay take the kids on the Mad Hatter tea cup ride; I knew I didn't have the constitution to handle that one. He regretted that later, as he was a little green around the gills and ready to yak up his morning coffee when I met him after the ride was over.

I took the kids on the carousel while Jay ran off to buy a new SD card for my camera. Wouldn't it figure I only had room for one more photo on my memory card when we got to the park? Fortunately, I took two cameras, so I could still get pictures.

Sometimes Katie Mei tries really hard not to smile. I don't know why she likes to play this game, but she'll just make a neutral face and avoid eye contact when you ask her to smile. But she really, really wanted to go on the carousel, and once she got on her horse and it started moving, she could not supress her smile. She tried, but it didn't work. This isn't her best smile, but she really was delighted to be on that horse.

Tuesday was Katie Mei's birthday, and she was given a Happy Birthday pin to wear around the park all day. Employees of the park greeted her and wished her a Happy Birthday everywhere we went.

Daddy and Katie Mei with the cake at the Princess Storybook Dining Buffet Hall. This is the lunch where we were constantly interrupted by princesses.

Katie Mei surprised us that she wasn't the least bit shy around the characters. Merrilee and Jacob were more than excited to meet them all. We couldn't get Jacob to shut up...he had to tell every princess everything about his entire day. I don't know how those women put up with all the excited kids, day in and day out. I think I would make a lousy princess. I'd probably get fired for telling a kid to put a lid on it!

Sleeping Beauty was the sweetest princess. She seemed like she really was as nice as she was pretending to be. Snow White was a bit freaky...she waved her arms all around and used a very weird, squeaky voice while talking to the kids. I told Jay I think she watched the original movie Snow White over and over again every night to really get herself in character. She was absolutely bizare!

We stopped to get some ice cream and saw Pooh and Tigger heading for the bathrooms (yep, even Pooh has to poo!--the kids loved that!). When they came out again we realized they were headed for a designated area to sign autographs and pose for photos with the kids. So Katie Mei and I put our ice creams down and went to stand in line. The line moved pretty fast, and after about 15 minutes we were fourth in line to meet the Duo. That's when they took off, with Tigger running across the road and back toward the bathrooms. I'm not really sure if the big, orange tiger was having an Immodium moment, but he sure was in a hurry. Anyway, we waited several more minutes and they returned to their adoring, and apparently patient, fans. I was kind of concerned that Katie Mei would freak out at the last moment and wouldn't want to say Hi to Pooh Bear, since she's really rather shy and doesn't like big, obnoxious, scary things. But she surprised us all with her warm hug for Pooh, and she posed for a photo to my heart's delight!

On our last evening there, Jay ran out for some popcorn for me, and we let the kids eat it in bed even though they had already brushed their teeth (yeah, I'm a bit of a stickler for no food after teeth brushing). The three of them had a grand time being allowed to eat in bed!

Notice Katie Mei's newest addition to her stuffed animals. We let the kids each get a toy/souvenir from WDW and she picked out a Pooh Bear. Merrilee chose a Tinkerbell book, and Jacob got a space shuttle model, of which he he immediately proceeded to break pieces off, of course. Pooh and Katie Mei have been close friends ever since we left the park.

Finally, we picked up the photo we ordered at Epcot. We had ordered and paid for a 5X7 photo, and when we picked it up at the photo place by our resort, there was a note in with the picture. It read "Thank you for letting me take pictures of your wonderful children! I have sent you an extra 8X10! I hope you have a wonderful vacation! Lisa S."

I don't know if she does that for lots of folks she photographs, but she did comment on how well-behaved and orderly our kids were. I was thankful for the fact that, for the most part, our kids were very composed and obedient. Yes, they had their moments and managed to ruffle my feathers here and there a bit, but really, they are great kids. Jay and I feel so blessed to be able to call them ours, and are thankful we can treat them to fun vacations like this once in awhile. God is so good!

Birthday Weekend

Well, to quote Merrilee "That was the best birthday I ever had!" I turned 43 on Sunday and we spent the weekend in North Carolina. We packed more into one weekend then I think we ever have in an entire week-long vacation! The weather held out great, considering the pop-up tropical storm, Cristobal, that came out of nowhere on Saturday. It made for big waves at the shore when we went to Topsail Beach, but that didn't stop the kids and I from braving the rough surf. We took our dunks in stride and enjoyed the body surfing.

In contrast, the kids enjoyed swimming in the New River at the marina where the waves were non-existent. We just kept watch for the American Alligators that hang out in those parts. Didn't see any, though. Too bad...the kids were kinda hoping to have to out run one.

On Sunday we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then Jay asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. I had thought about it ahead of time, so I think I caught him off guard when I said I wanted to go roller skating. But he came through like a hero, called a friend and found us the roller rink called Wheel Fun! It was so fun showing the kids how we used to rent skates and spend our time when we were in our teens. It has been thirty years since I skated! Despite all the bumps and falls, the kids loved it and didn't want to go home when I asked them if they'd had enough. They managed to keep it up for nearly two hours. We had a blast. And I have to say...Jay was quite Da Man on the floor! I didn't know he had it in him! Ladies, if you've gotten to the point of ho hum with your man, take him roller skating and see what you might be missing!

After we wore ourselves out skating, we went to the arcade in the lobby of Wheel Fun! I'm not an arcade person; I cannot stand the stress of video games, especially the kind Jay likes to play. I had to get away when Merrilee was playing one of those driving games; she was all over the place running down pedestrians and going the wrong way on the highway. I was getting way too strung out and was nearly hollering for her to "Turn the wheel, turn the wheel! Look out for that guy!" while Jay was holding her accelerator down and paying no attention to her, as he helped Jacob with his game. I was freaking out because she was going too fast and I didn't even realize she wasn't using the pedals because her legs were too short. It was awful. I was so glad when we switched to dunking basketballs. Whew, so much more relaxing.

We restored our spent energy with a chocolate cake/vanilla ice cream layer cake. It was a marvelous birthday and I think Merrilee can speak for all of us in saying it really was "The best birthday I ever had".

Trip to San Antonio

Had a little R & R this weekend visiting my sister at an American Association of Petrochemical Geologists conference in San Antonio, TX. It is a nice city, and I found most everyone friendly and eager to share a little about their beloved town. The taxi cab drivers, the kind folks who offered me a drive to the hotel from the airport, the airport employees, and even a few locals I met were fun to talk to. Service at some of the restaurants was on the sloppy side; mostly teenagers who would have prefered to be anywhere but at work, I think. But all in all, there was a welcoming, friendly atmosphere there.

The city has a canal that runs through it below street level, and it reminded me much of Venice, with a very Mexican flair. The "River Walk" along the canal was quaint, though crowded. The taxi driver I had on the way back to the airport said it is only so crowded on weekends. I was there Saturday through Monday, so I really didn't get to enjoy the city without the crowds.

Paige and I visited the botanical garden and that was a wonderful experience. I especially like the fact that it didn't cater to exotics and far-flung species that have nothing to do with Texas. There many exhibits and natural settings that highlighted the native Texan landscape and indiginous plants. If we had more time, there were several more things to see. I enjoyed San Antonio enough that I would like to go back again one day to see more.

Easter in Whoville

After what seemed like an eternal week of too cool, windy weather, we are back from our vacation. It was too cold to really enjoy the beach for more than one day, but we did get to eat out a lot and see the movie Horton Hears a Who.

The movie was revamped a bit from the original (could we expect anything else nowadays?), and the mean, creepy vulture who tried to annhilate the speck of Whoville was downright scary. But the most interesting thing by far was Merrilee's compassion for that little speck. Toward the end, when Horton was trapped in the cage and the clover with the speck was snatched from his grasp, she forcefully smashed her face into my chest and cried with the most heart-wrenching sobs ever. I kept whispering to her that the movie would have a happy ending, but that in no way consoled her. She was devastated that the entire Who-world was meeting it's demise. Poor girl. I reminded her that Jesus was also arrested and treated badly because people didn't want to believe what He said, and even though bad things happened to Jesus, the end of the story is ultimately happy. When I finally convinced her to turn back to the movie and see how it ended, she was able to rejoice in the fact that the littlest Who's voice was finally enough to reach the ears of the other animals, and save the speck from the pot of boiling oil. I was amazed and touched that our daughter has such a compassion for others, regardless of the fact that the Whos are ficticious. I hope she always cares for others that way.

Aside from the movie, we ate at our favorite seafood restaurant The Sanitary and the kids decided they didn't like hushpuppies that much. That was after they ate about ten apiece. We also let the kids enjoy the annual ritual of pouring some bubble bath into the tub and turning on the jacuzzi. Nothing like a tub of bubbles two feet deep.

We celebrated Easter while we were there, too. The kids got their Easter baskets and spent the day getting all sugared up with their jelly beans and chocolate bunnies. The resort had an Easter egg hunt in the afternoon, so both kids got an extra dose of chocolate from that. Merrilee didn't want to eat her bunny because it was too cute. She told me (and this is a direct quote) "If I'm gonna eat it, it's gotta be real ugly." She couldn't figure out why I burst out laughing, but it's just not something you hear someone say every day. Unless it's on that Jeff Foxworthy show....

Here are a few photos of the fun.