"This is what I dreamed about!"

exclaimed Katie. Yes, that is what Katie said as she watched the "Wishes" fireworks at Magic Kingdom last night. And Noah gave it a resounding, "This is incredible!" It was so awesome to see them enjoying everything so much!

We were refreshed when we went back to the park after our rest. We started out with the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, which Noah LOVED! Then we ended up watching the fireworks from a not so great view, but the kids 0bviously still loved it. Then we watched Mickey's Philharmagic again. It is a 3-D show with great effects and songs from some of the best movies. This is the first 3-D thing they have done before and it was so cute watching them "reach out" to try to touch the things coming at them from the screen. After that we ate at a place called Pinochio's Village Haus, which has a view of the boats leaving for "It's a small world" so Katie and Noah loved waving to all the boats while we ate. Then we rode that ride again, then we headed down to the Jungle Boat Cruise. It was okay....the kids liked it. Then Meme and Daddy rode the new Pirates of the Carribean while Mommy and the kids took a bathroom break. So, when they were done Meme and Katie went on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. It is an outdoor "flying in the air" round and round type thing. Katie LOVED it and they ended up riding three times! By then it was 11:00 and the park was getting ready to close, so we headed up to the front of the park where as we were walking by the castle there was a "Goodnight" annoucement over the loudspeakers with pretty music and special effects lights and sparkling lights over the castle. It was so sweet standing there with the kids watching the castle say good night! Perfect timing. So we picked up Mickey and Minnie balloons on our way out to top off the day. It was so much fun! I have to add that Katie and Noah were AWESOME during the day! They didn't complain except a couple of times about walking so much. I really think the break in the day helped! And they didn't have any breakdowns of crying! I was so proud of them for their first theme park experience!

So, by the time we got back to the resort, took baths, and had a snack, it was 1am before they got in the bed. They were out almost instantly and slept LATE this morning! We all did, so I am even happier that we decided to take a day in between park days to hang out and rest.

This morning we hit up the private pool! It is small, but perfect for a family our size with young children! It is only about 5 feet deep! We got the pool heat on for us so the water was PERFECT! Both Katie and Noah were paddling around and having a blast (with their arm floaties on) in no time. They didn't want to leave, but today was our designated "buying" day so we took the afternoon to go to Downtown Disney and spend our souvenier money and have lunch at Rainforest Cafe. Downtown Disney was a lot of fun and they both found PLENTY to spend their money on (and then some!). I think that setting a day aside for the shopping was a good idea too because we didn't waste any of our park time fiddling around in the gift shops....

On our way back from Downtown Disney we decided to look for the resort playground. It was so cool! It is a huge castle playset and they also had swings, a seesaw, a merry-go-round, bouncy ride on things, sand...it was so much fun!

Our day of rest didn't turn out to be exactly that, but we still got to sleep in and go to bed early, which is what you DON'T do on a day you go to a park!

We are already talking about reserving this townhouse for this time next year! ha ha. We are having a blast!

Tomorrow is Disney Hollywood Studios in the morning and Epcot for the evening! Another long day! The picture above is of the family watching the fireworks! FUN TIMES!

OH WHAT FUN!

We got in last night around 8:30pm. The townhouse is SO NICE! I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is planning a trip!

I don't have long because we are about to head back out for part two of day one at Magic Kingdom, but I will give a brief summary.

When we were driving into town we got to see some fireworks from one of the parks! What a perfect welcome! That was so special to the kids...and mommy, daddy, and meme of course!

We were all pretty tired this morning, but we got on up and made it to the park by about 9:15-ish. Katie got sprinked with some "pixie dust" when I mentioned to the lady at the turnstiles that she was a "first-timer!" So cute! It was little Mickey shaped confetti!

Then, first thing in the door we saw two characters which Katie knew but we didn't: Clarabel the cow and Horace. The lady gave us stickers because Katie recognized them! lol.

So, we took the train to Fantasyland and saw them open that part of the park with Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, and Goofy! Then we went through Mickey and Minnie's house and took pictures! We saw Mickey and Minnie first thing of the day! We were so excited and we weren't rushed. It was great! Noah wouldn't hug, but he gave a high five! At least he didn't cry!

So we spent the rest of the morning riding the Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World, Mickey's Philharmagic (AWESOME!), and TheFlight of Peter Pan. By then after the lack of sleep it was TIME to leave for lunch.

So, a meal, a nap, and a snack later we are about to head back out! Maybe I will have time to blog more tonight, but no guarantees! Here's a picture of everyone with Mickey.... I will make a slideshow at some point but we really need to head out!

Who was I kidding?

Of course I have time to post before we leave! I was awake at 4:45am! The fireplace is completely covered with "stuff" ready to go out the door.

I didn't mean to get up at 4:45. About that time my husband kicked something off the chest at the foot of our bed and it woke us both up. It was a stack of board games that I hadn't put back up in the closet. He immediately, amazingly almost instantly went back to sleep.

So...at that point I started thinking about all the stuff I had left to do. We were at church last night and I was tired, so I didn't get everything all ready to go last night. Therefore, finally at 5:15am I gave up trying to go back to sleep and got up to finish cleaning the bathrooms, kitchen, and finish packing.

We plan on putting the kids straight in the car....I dressed them in some sweat outfits that would be comfy in the car today. Then, maybe we will hit up Cracker Barrel on the way out. YUM!

See you in approximately 12-14 hours or maybe tomorrow night. It depends on how quickly and successfully our search for a Walmart goes this evening. Hopefully we will get there in time for a quick dip in the pool!

If you are reading this, please say a prayer for easy and safe travels for us today!

Status Update:

Just found out the resort offers FREE highspeed internet access, so YES I can update my blog while we are gone and post pictures!!!! So, check in daily for updates!

I doubt if I will have another chance to update before we leave, since we have church tonight and loads to do to get ready!

TOMORROW! TOMORROW!

I love ya! Tomorrow!

Tomorrow we hit the road! Today will be cleaning and packing day! I will be washing last minute things we want to take, making my list and checking it twice! Orlando, here we come!.....well...tomorrow.

I am one of those people who have to have the house all cleaned up before we leave on a trip. Some people, I have learned, are not like that. They just leave in a whirlwind ready to get out on their way. I couldn't do that. I have to have the house totally cleaned before we go. There is nothing better to completely ruin a trip than to know on your way home that you will be greeted by a cluttered, messy house. It would negate all the happy fun I had on whatever trip I was on. I don't want to be greeted by chores. I hope to even have all the kids bedtime stuff layed out before we leave so when we get home it will be all be ready for us!

Corey is gone now to get the oil changed and pick up a couple more things for the trip. I have also gotten supplies to make surprise bags for the kids for the car. It is the neatest idea, you can read about it on my regular blog.

We have church tonight. Then we hope to leave out by 8:00 in the morning. We talked about leaving earlier, but we would just hit traffic in Atlanta, so maybe leaving at 8 we will miss most of it. Surely most people arrive to work between 8-9?

Not much else to say. I may or may not have time to blog in the morning! If I can find free wireless while we are gone and have time I may have pictures up while we are gone, but I am not sure of that.

We're going to Disneyworld!

The final stretch!

GREAT NEWS! Corey is feeling much better today, so it looks like we are all coming out of the cold fog we had going on the past week and a half or so. We will, however, be taking our entire medicine tote with us! I am attempting to avoid having to visit a pharmacy while we are gone. It never fails that on every trip Corey and I go on we end up HAVING to find somewhere to buy: fill in the blank medicine product. I have always been tempted to just bring the whole medicine tote, so this time I AM!

We are now down to TWO days. I do optimistic counting by the way....I don't count the day we are in right now. So, two more days, then the next day we leave! yay! I started this with the kids because Daddy is usually home from a trip when they wake up. He actually comes home the night before, but we say two more days and when you wake up Daddy will be home! So, therefore, two more days to mark off, then when we wake up we will go to Disney!

Here's the final, set in sand final, intinerary: lol

Thursday: drive down, maybe stop for lunch with our Valdosta friends.

Friday: Magic Kingdom ALL DAY with a break for lunch and nap approx 2-5pm. (This park is open till 11, so we can take a longer break and not miss much.

Saturday: REST, swim, shop, hopefully eat at Rainforest Cafe.

Sunday: AM: Disney's Hollywood Studios, break for lunch and nap approx 1-3pm. PM at Epcot.

Monday: drive home

Tuesday: blog about trip and post pictures! lol!

Wednesday: still talk about it, maybe get postcards in the mail that I will mail to the kids while we are gone...postcards from the princesses and Mickey thanking them for coming! (I KNOW!)

Interesting tidbit: www.allears.net

A VITAL website for planning a Disney trip. They have all the restaurants in every park with a menu and ratings. So we also have tentative plans for where we will eat dinner in the parks each day. We are thinking Pinnochio Village Haus at Magic Kingdom (they have booths with views of It's a Small World) or Cosmic Rays. For Epcot we are going to do the San Angel Cantina which is Mexican food (Noah LOVES chips and cheese).

I will probably blog one more time before we leave. Maybe more. We'll see.