And then there were none...

LC's first day of school was today. It was her meet and greet with the teachers and the other students, which only totals 8 kids---5 boys and 3 girls. It's a small class, which I am kind of disappointed in. The teacher said that she thinks the economy has much to do with it. But, LC had a great time and the other kids seemed very nice, so, I'm thinking positive.

Her first day by herself is Tuesday, Sept. 2. I'll let you know how I do.

First Day of School...

Today was the first full day of school for the boys, and were they excited. Well, Henry was, at least. Wyatt was excited to see his friends but hated having to get up early and not being able to stay home and play all day. They both wore their uniforms and I will admit that I got teary seeing them matching and having Henry make a comment about how he likes looking "just like Wyatt." To me, he still looked too little to be wearing it and to be going to school all day, period. But, he is and I am dealing. In the interest of full disclosure, I did have to pull over to let Todd drive home today because I couldn't see through my tears. *sigh* The house was vry quiet today without him and I kept thinking I needed to rush through stuff to pick him up, but, he and I both survived and he seemed to have had a good day, so, we begin a new normal.

Here's the boys in their uniforms. I'm sure Todd has better ones, but they aren't uploaded, yet, so let these tide you all over...

Henry...He was really cold because it was only 65 degrees here this morning but supposed to get to 80:


Wyatt...he looks so tall to me, now. He is almost 5 feet tall:


The boys together...I think Todd has a better one. At least, I'm hoping so:


Stay tuned for LC's first day...

Disney Vacation 2008, Day 8....

Saturday, August 9, 2008...

Our last day and we decide to go to breakfast as a family to the Kona Cafe and have something so disgustingly delicious called Tonga Toast. I regret not having Todd take a picture of that sucker. It was literally half of a loaf of sourdough bread stuffed with sliced bananas and then fried up and covered with cinnamon sugar. I didn't even put syrup on it, it was so sweet.

After breakfast, I asked Todd to take some pics of the kids in front of the two-story waterfall that was located in our lobby:


We made one last trip back to MK to hit a few last rides that we didn't get on the last 4 times we were here. Wyatt really wanted to go to The Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and I am so glad that we did because LC ended up being one of the stars of the show. They picked an audience member to be Mike, Sulley and Boo and LC was picked to be Boo. She got a lot of "awwws" when her face was shown on the big screen and showed the 200 people in there that she could play "peek-a-boo." She even had people pointing her out afterwards, saying "there's Boo." It was soooo cute. We also went on "It's a Small World" and "Pirates of the Caribbean." Neither of which the kids were impressed with much.LOL

We did hit the Carousel one last time per LC's request:

And one more ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority:

On the way back to the hotel via one last ride on the Monorail:

Headed home after a long, memorable, fun vacation:

Well, there you have it, folks. Our vacation to Walt Disney World, that can definitely be labeled a huge success. I hope you've enjoyed looking at all of the pictures. I know I've enjoyed reliving it for you to get it down for all posterity's sake.

And with that...

THE END

Disney Vacation 2008, Day 7....

Friday, August 8, 2008...

Another lazy day ahead of us. LC's fever never came back after the initial dose of Advil yesterday, although she is still sinusy and teensy bit crabby. We head back to Downtown Disney today to pick up our ornaments and then plan to head back to MK for the afternoon parade that I have wanted to see for the last three years--since our initial trip where Wyatt ended up with pneumonia, thereby canceling our trip.

Rain is in the forecast, today, so Todd decides to leave the camera at home for fear of damaging it, so, no pics of the parade. It was fun, though. We got great seats for it right in front of Cinderella's Castle and I have to admit that I got a bit teary watching it and seeing the kids wave to all the characters and having so much fun. This is why I wanted to do this trip. This is why we suffered through the oppressive heat and crowds. To see the unbridled joy on my kids' faces as they watched the characters go by in the "most magical place on Earth", my dreams really did come true, as cheesy as that may sound. *sigh*

O.K. enough maudlin.

Enjoy some pics that the boys took with Todd's camera of Downtown Disney:



Tomorrow is the last day, but still many, many pictures to post...

Disney Vacation 2008, Day 6....

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Phew, a day to take it easy. No EMH, no alarms, just sleeping in and going at a slower pace, especially since LC woke up with a fever this morning. I knew it was coming, though. The night before, during the lights parade, she was very lethargic with watery eyes and a runny nose. I think all the swimming she has been doing--which includes jumping in on her own and dunking herself--has finally caught up with her little sinuses and they are rebelling. I give her some Advil and we head to Downtown Disney for some shopping where I find my X-mas ornaments for this coming Christmas. Anyone that knows me, knows that I do an ornament for each of the kids and then one family ornament. This year's theme is obviously Disney.

After DD, we went back to the hotel so that LC could take a nap. Todd took the boys back to MK so they could ride a couple of rides they had missed the day before--Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. They came back in time to get ready for the luau we had reservations for at our hotel.

A family picture:

The boys, before we went in:

LC having a hula lesson, before the ginormous princess to the left of her got in her way:

After the luau was over, we headed back to EPCOT so that the boys could meet the characters like LC had done on Sunday. After an hour wait in line, it was our turn to pose:



To close out the night, we headed back to our resort beach to watch the MK fireworks. We did this about 4 times this past week. It is so nice to have to walk only a short way to the beach to watch them in no crowd with almost no loud booms:

Stay tuned for more...

Disney Vacation 2008, Day 5....

Wednesday, August 6, 2008...

Early Magic Hours are today at Animal Kingdom, so off we go. Our plan of attack is to hit the Kilimajaro Safaris first:

We then decide to try to conquer Expedition Everest, which Henry absolutely loved. It's a roller coaster that goes up a hill, through a mountain, stops you at the top of the track and then sends you backwards back along those same tracks. It then stops you to watch a Yeti destroy the tracks which then sends you forwards down a huge hill and around some hairpin turns. It.was.a.blast. So much so that we all went on it twice.

Henry, in front of EE:

Dinoland is up next and while Henry and I go on Dinosaur, Wyatt and LC go on Dine-O-Rama together:

Kimodo Dragon:

Giant freaking fruit bats:

Us looking at the GFFB. Notice that there is no glass between those wood bars. You could put your hand right into the area where they were. The guide said that it is open air because the bats' wing span is six-freaking-feet, so, they can't fit between the slats.:


After we were done with the nature walks, we headed back to the hotel to relax before our dinner at Magic Kingdom's Crystal Palace for the Winnie the Pooh and friend's character dinner.

Another pic in front of Cinderella's Castle. Note the little diva that is LC, striking a pose:

Tigger and the kids:

Pooh Bear:

As is obvious by this Piglet picture, Wyatt is the only one that has the hang of looking at the camera and keeping his smile plastered:

Eeyore:

We then stayed for the Spectromagic Parade at 9:00pm. LC was not feeling good, but was a trooper and still enjoyed the lights:




What a great way to end the day.

Disney Vacation 2008, Day 4....

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Magic Kingdom here we come! Once again, the alarm was set that we could get to the park for Early Magic Hours. EMH are only for resort guests and we get to get into the park an hour earlier than the general public. Only certain rides in the park are open early, but it's all the ones we want to hit in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland.

First, we have to have a picture in front of Cinderella's castle:

Next up, we grab fastpasses for Space Mountain which tells us to return at 10:05, so we hit the rest of the rides in the areas that the kids want to hit.

The Astro Orbiter:

The Tomorroland Transit Authority, which is a raised train that runs through all the rides in Tomorrowland, including Space mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Star Command. It's a great ride with absolutely no wait for it:

Next up is Tomorrowland Indy Speedway where Wyatt is tall enough to ride on his own:

After that is The Mad Tea Party, aka The Teacups, which is one of my favorite rides. LC and I rode together, in a pink teacup, of course:

And now, a break in the action for a shot of cuteness from the boys:

Back to the rides we go, and next up is Dumbo's Flying Circus:


Finally, it's 10:00 and time for Space Mountian. First to go is Todd and the boys. I'll go with Wyatt as soon as they are done. Wyatt, the lucky dog, gets to go on all these rides twice so that I can get to go, too. Henry is fine going just once.:

The last ride we hit for the day is Goofy's Barnstormer, which is a kiddie coaster in Toontown. It was the longest wait we had all day, but we figured that LC needed to experience a roller coaster all her own:

We went to dinner at The California Grille, located in The Contemporary Resort, which was very, very good--some of the best Sushi I've had, as a matter of fact. Afterwards, we went into one of the gift shops and had some fun trying on some silly hats:




And off we head to watch fireworks from the beach before starting it all over again in the morning. Next up, Animal Kingdom...