FIRST day of FIRST grade

Madelyn did start school before our Disney trip, but I didn't have a chance to blog about that until now. Here is an interview I did with Madelyn on the first day of school.

Q: How is first grade different from Kindergarten
A: "The teacher uses a lamp so it's not as bright as Kindergarten. We are reviewing everything we learned in Kindergarten."

Q: What do you like about your teacher?
A: "She's really nice and really funny. She even asked us, 'Do girls go in boy's bathrooms and do boys go in girl's bathrooms.'"

Q: What is a goal you have for the year?
A: "To read Junie B. Jones Boss of Lunch."

Q: What is something special you did today?
A: "Looking at books, taking off my shoes, and sitting on the floor."

Q: What is something you didn't like?
A: "There is nothing I didn't like."

Q: Tell me about lunch.
A: "There was a note from you in my lunchbox. I ate a lunchable, treats, and a capri sun. I was about to eat my chips and string cheese, but I didn't have time."

Q: Who did you play with?
A" "Katie and a new friend, Alexis."

Q: What are three things you learned?
A: "Reading, Math, and PE."

Q: What did you do at recess?
A: "Play tag."

Q: What did you wear?
A: "pink skirt, pink Cheetah shirt, silly bands, and glitter shoes."

Disney Vacation Days 6 (9/20/10) and 7 (9/21/10)

We spent our sixth day at Blizzard Beach, which is a Disney water park. I do not really have any pictures to post from this day for a couple of reasons. First, many of them are of me in a swimming suit....enough said. Also, I used a waterproof disposable camera, so I don't have them saved on the computer. Blizzard beach was a lot of fun for everyone. Cassidy enjoyed the wading pools and splash pads. Madelyn tried every slide they had there. We went up stair, after stair, after stair. I thought my legs would never survive. Madelyn decided that this was the park she enjoyed the most. It was pretty neat to go to this park because we have a Disney sing along video that was filmed entirely at this park so it was neat to do the same things and ride the same slides as the kids in the video.




We left on Day 7 after a wonderful, but exhausting trip. We made so many wonderful memories at Disney. When we went we really thought it would be a once in a lifetime trip, but Michael and I have decided to commit to making it a yearly trip while our kids are still young enough to experience the magic of Disney. Next year I am going to research the temperatures better. We are planning on going again in November 2011, and hopefully we will get to experience some of the Christmas Magic.

On our last day we didn't do much but get ready to leave. We had to check our bags at the hotel and wait for our bus to take us to the airport. We did do some exploring around the hotel, and we saw things that we didn't even see the first day when we looked around. We did notice that the heat was getting hotter and our patience was getting shorter. So, we had some quiet time in the cafeteria. Each girl got an overpriced coloring book and some markers in the gift shop. Cassidy entertained herself with a stack of maps. Cassidy loved to look at maps during the entire trip. She always wanted to see where we had been and where we were going. Day 7 was a long day of travel. We left our hotel around noon to head to the airport. After our flights and layovers, we didn't make it home until after 9:00pm, and Cassidy fell asleep on the plane.

Disney Vacation - Day 5 (9/19/10)

We spent Day 5 at Magic Kingdom. This seemed to be the park with the most to see and do so everyone agreed to spend more time there. We did try new forms of transportation. We rode the ferry and the monorail for the first time. I really liked the monorail alot better than the bus system. So, we decided next time we will stay in a hotel with monorail access (hopefully). Those hotels, we discovered, are quite a bit more expensive than All Star Movies.




We also spent more time looking around at the different things to see. Madelyn wanted to go in every single gift shop. She was in paradise in the gift shops, especially when we let her buy something. We ended up having to buy a luggage set to bring all of our souvineers home. And, that is after we took an empty suitcase for that purpose.



Madelyn loved trying on different hats and ears.





We got autographs from Ariel and Princess Tiana on this day also. We rode some new rides. Here we are on the Magic Carpets. And, I liked this picture of the girls playing in a band in Agribah. Aladdin is one of my favorite Disney movies so I really enjoyed this section of the park.




This is the day I was finally brave enough to ride the Teacups. I can ride any thrill ride, but spinning in a circle really makes me sick. I haven't ridden a ride like this since I was in the 6th grade. Michael is just as bad as me so he refused. But, how can you say no to these faces begging you to ride? I made them promise not to spin the teacup.



This day Madelyn also got to ride some of the bigger rides with Michael. She really loved Splash Mountain. While they were doing that, Cassidy and I rode the Winnie the Pooh ride over and over again. We never had to stand in line more than 15 minutes to ride. She loved that ride. I think we rode it four or five times.

We also went to the afternoon parade on this day. This is Cassidy before the parade started. If you know Cassidy, you know her falling asleep in public is very, very rare.


This was another time that I was glad I had the video camera. The girls have watched this parade several times a week since we have been home. They just love seeing all of the characters. We met a lady from Georgia while we were waiting for the parade to start. She had two year old twins. One slept through most of the parade. When one of Cinderella's step sisters came by she said, "Hey wake up. She's going to miss it." The girls think that is the funniest part. Here is her saying that to the baby. Her mother was glad that she still didn't wake up.




This is also the day I let my camera go dead and had to take all of the pictures with my iPhone. They still seemed to turn out okay.

This night we stayed for the electrical parade. We had to get a seat really early as this seems to be pretty popular. We got a seat on Main Street USA pretty close to the exit so we could leave as soon as the parade was over. They had games and hula hoops set up on Main Street USA to entertain the kids. Here is Madelyn. She is really good at the hula hoop. There is also a picture of the girls waiting for the parade to begin. This picture was taken at dusk, but you can still see how hot we were. My phone wouldn't take any good pictures of the electrical parade, but we were able to capture it on our video camera.

Day 4 (evening) Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

We were all looking forward to the evening of Day 4. This is when we had tickets to attend Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. The kids were supposed to go in costume. The girls both dressed as cats. There was trick or treating around the park, a special villain show, a Halloween parade, and a special fireworks spectacular. This post will probably have many pictures as this was one of our most special memories.


The park was all decked out in fall leaves and Halloween decorations. It looked so neat. Cinderella's castle was even changed to an eerie purple Halloween color.




After trick or treating around the park, we got ready for the villain show. If you know much about Madi, you know that she LOVES Disney villains. So, this was right up her alley. They did the show twice. The first time we watched it from the seats we staked out for the parade. But, we really couldn't see very well. When they did the repeat of the show, I took Madi as close to the castle as we could get. We got to see it right up close. Michael and Cassidy kept our seats for the parade. Cassidy doesn't have the same love for villains that Madelyn has. Here are some of the villains in the show.



After the show they said that the villains would be coming down for photos, but only for 10 minutes. They told us to form several lines. Madelyn and I were so close that we were in the very front of one of the lines. The only problem is that you don't know which villain's line you are in.

We had been planning our Disney trip for several months, and all Madelyn could talk about was how she was going to meet Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. I had been telling her that this probably wouldn't happen, but she insisted that she was going to meet her if she didn't do anything else. I hoped and hoped that we were in the line for Maleficent, but we weren't. We were in the line for a villain from Princess and the Frog. Neither of us really knew who he was, but we snapped a picture with him anyway. Then, I saw her. Maleficent was the next line over. The workers kept saying that they would only be out for 10 minutes, but we got in line anyway. Madelyn was giddy with excitement. The whole time I kept praying that we would get there before the 10 minutes. The workers kept the line moving quickly. No autographs and only one picture per group. Our line was long. Time kept ticking by. Madelyn was insist ant that we were going to make it, but I didn't think we would. She kept telling me how this was "a dream come true". I kept praying that we would get the picture. Guess what....WE MADE IT. Madelyn posed with Maleficent. I held my camera up to take the picture and it was complete darkness. I just kept hoping that the picture would come out and that I wouldn't mess this up since we were only allowed ONE photo. I snapped the camera, and took the picture. It is a little silly, but I even felt teary eyed while I took the picture. It was one time that I really was able to make a dream come true. It sounds silly I know. After Madelyn saw the picture we actually hugged and JUMPED UP AND DOWN saying "We did it, We did it".


Can you believe we even had time to sneak in a picture with the Queen of Hearts as she was walking back to the castle?



Then, it was time for the parade. The parade started with a headless horseman. Several different floats followed. Here are some pictures during the parade:





After the parade, we stayed for the Halloween fireworks spectacular. The fireworks were set to music. I think the fireworks show lasted 30 minutes with some of the most amazing fireworks I have ever seen.

Disney vacation - Day 4 (afternoon) 9/18/10

We spent the first part of our fourth day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. We started the day by going on a safari where we were able to see many different types of animals roaming around. There were rhinos, hippos, ostriches, birds, giraffes, lions, and even an elephant and her baby. Some came so close to the vehicle we were riding in. Here are some of the neat things we saw on the safari.








We met some neat characters at Animal Kingdom, and we did alot of waiting in line to get to some of the main characters pictures and autographs. It was at this park that we met Rafiki (from Lion King), Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. We also met Jiminey Cricket and Pocahontas (with Meeko). Of all the characters, I was most impressed by Pocahontas. She really looked and spoke like the character from the Disney movie. She even told Michael that his rainbow shirt was made from "all the colors of the wind."





I really love the picture of Madelyn looking at Minnie. Madelyn was so happy to meet all of the characters and to get their autographs. Her face in this picture just seems to show the joy and amazement she had during most of the trip.

The last part of our day at Animal Kingdom was spent at a conservation station. It was there that we learned how they take care of the animals. We got to see the operating room that they use when animals need surgery. And, we saw some small animals and reptiles that were being rehabilitated. It was neat to learn more about how much Walt Disney valued nature, animals, and taking care of God's planet.

Disney Vacation - Day 3 9/17/10

We spent most of our third day at Disney's Hollywood Studios. There we were able to see several really neat shows. We saw a Little Mermaid show, and a 3-D Muppets show, and a great live production of Beauty and the Beast.



The most important thing we did this day was let Cassidy give her "pipeys" (pacifiers) to Mickey. She had all of them in a plastic baggie. She knew that this was the plan, and she handled it so well. She went right up to Mickey and handed him the bag. Mickey wasn't really sure what the pipeys were for, but he acted so thankful for the gift anyway. We explained to Mickey that he needed to give these pipeys to babies because Cassidy was a big girl, and she didn't need them anymore. Here is the picture of Cassidy giving her pipeys to Mickey and then us as a group. By the way, Cassidy never really asked for her pipeys again. She didn't even cry for them at bedtime, but I think it was because she was so exhausted every night. We were so proud of her.




After meeting Mickey, we met Lotso from Toy Story 3. I am not kidding when I say that I was giddy to meet Lotso and to have my picture with him. He even smelled like strawberries.



We also met Buzz Lightyear and Woody at Hollywood Studios.
After spending several hours at this park, we decided to go back to our hotel and rest. The girls did a little swimming. This was the Mighty Ducks pool at our hotel.



We had planned to go to Downtown Disney and figured we would be out late. After a few hours of rest, we decided to make our way to Downtown Disney. We waited almost 30 minutes for the bus to come, but it never arrived. So, we had a great idea to ride to another park (Epcot) to try to catch a bus to the downtown area from there. Little did we know, there was no bus from Epcot to Downtown Disney. So, we decided to take a cab, which was a little pricey, but definitely worth it.

Downtown Disney is mostly an eating and shopping area. There are some neat things to see. This was in Lego Land. Can you believe that these statues were made completely from Legos?


This is another picture I thought was cute. This Cinderella is not made out of Legos.



We did eat at the T-Rex Cafe because Cassidy has a thing for dinosaurs. It is a neat restraunt with robotic dinosaurs. There is a storm that happens during the meal and the dinosaurs move and make noise. The restraunt has flashing lights and sounds of thunder. It was a pretty neat (but crowded) place. This is another place that my camera did not work too well.


Getting back to the hotel from Downtown Disney was another fiasco. After walking what had to be a mile to the bus stop and waiting for too long, we decided to take a cab back to the hotel...only to find out the cabs were back where we had come from. So, we hiked about a mile back to where the cabs were. Cassidy fell asleep again, and we had many packages to carry. But, Madelyn was a trooper and we made it back home. Other than one really neat toy store, Downtown Disney did not have alot to offer us. I am not sure that we would go back there again while our kids are still so little.

Second Day of Disney 9/16/10

Our second day of our Disney vacation started by us going to Epcot for a breakfast with princesses. This was really the only time we visited Epcot. Epcot was really beautiful with many pretty sights to see. This is us waiting for our breakfast. A Disney employee offered to take our picture.



This is our breakfast with princesses. It was a wonderful experience. After breakfast, each of the princesses comes to the table for a quick chat and a photo opportunity. Madelyn was delighted as she has loved princesses since she was three. At this point, Cassidy was still more impressed by Mickey and friends, but after the trip she also developed a love for all things princess.





After our princess breakfast, we made our way to the Magic Kingdom. We started the day by riding around the park on the train so we could get a feel for the park and see many of the sights during the trip. We also looked at the map to try to figure out a plan. This is us on the train. Look how hot we already were and this was late morning. I booked our vacation for September because I thought the temperatures would be cooler. I guess I should have researched Florida temperatures before making that decision.



We rode many rides on day two. The girls both really loved the carosel. And, here we are on the Flying Dumbos, a Disney classic.





We finished this day at Hollywood Studios. I was told that seeing the show Fantasmic was a must. And, that was correct. Words really can't describe all that we saw at this show. Fortunately we took our video camera to capture this show. The girls love to watch it. It involves lights, lasers, fountains, fire, and many special effects. I couldn't even begin to name all of the characters that you get to see in this show. This was one of the most amazing things we saw while we were at Disney. Here is one picture I was able to capture, but the show is at night so my camera didn't do to well. Also, you can see by the time we made it to this show, Cassidy was exhausted. She did wake up to watch the show. Also, this is the last picture taken of Cassidy with her "pipey."