Just What I Needed

My husband knew just what I needed when he invited me out on a date tonight. We dropped the boys off at Aunt Yay Yay and Uncle Josh's house. We drove up to Sonic to get our dinner, which consisted of corn dogs and sodas. Then we went to the local video store to rent a movie. And back to our house to enjoy our date.

To some it might not sound like much of a date, but it was just what I needed!

More Pictures Cont...

More Pictures

At Disney there are photographers walking around to take your picture. They give you a photopass and scan it each time they take your picture. We all combined ours at the end of the trip. There were a little over 300 pictures. Dad & Mom bought the cd with all the pictures and the rights to them. Here are some of my favorites...

Stay tuned, there are more to come tomorrow...

I Guess It's Really Over

When I woke up this morning, I realized I needed to go up to the store to get a few things. I waited by the curb for 30 minutes before I realized... no bus is coming. I thought to myself, you mean I actually have to put my kids in car seats and drive myself somewhere?

As I gathered my items at the store and handed the checkout clerk my Disney card, she said, "I am sorry mam, we don't accept those". (this card was our room key, ticket to the parks, and linked to our credit card. We used it for everything!)

I was very discouraged, but managed to pay and get my things gathered up to come back home. As I was leaving, I waited for the clerk to tell me to "have a magical day". All she said was, "Thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart".

I arrived back knowing that coming home to my place that had been cleaned, bed made, and clean towels folded nicely to replace the pile of dirty ones I left would make me feel better. When I walked in and realized that housekeeping had not been there... I thought to myself...
I guess it's really over...

Outtakes

Things that went on behind the cameras...

Here today, gone tomorrow - Our time with Rob was too short.

Anyone Got Any WD40 or a napkin? - Stephanie's 9 year old "vintage" stroller squeaked the whole time, and she likes to wipe her teeth off with a napkin... something Robert found great humor in making fun of.

Nervous Excitement - Caleb cried tears of fear before he got on all the big rides, but then ended up loving every one of them.

Doin Crack - Cade's little crack seemed to sneak out everytime he wore his swim trunks

The Class Clown - Robert kept us laughing with his sense of humor

How's My Hair? - I asked this question a million times because the humidity was making it do crazy things. They first responded nicely, but by the second week, just gave me an eye roll as my answer.

Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde - Blake's many personalities

Flat Head Syndrome - I was worried the whole time that Barrett's head would get flat from being in his stroller and car seat so much.

Geek Squad - Josh took a zillion pictures and shot hours of video footage

Achy Breaky Heart - Shan's achy, arthritic joints got the best of her some days

On Edge - Samantha's computer meltdown

Mistaken Identity - Bradley was mistaken for Cade's dad a few times since he helped out so much in Rob's absence.

I've Got It - Mom carried a ridiculously heavy bag around everyday. Every time someone offered to help (which was often) she said, "I've got it".

The Bench Warmers - Mom, Bradley, & I don't ride roller coasters or fast rides, so we warmed the benches together while we waited for the others to ride.

The Rain Forest - It started raining every time we arrived at Ft. Wilderness

Strike a Pose - Every time we took a picture, we had to take it with 5 different cameras. It was quite an ordeal.

The Magical Express - No where else but in the magical world of Disney can you cram 11 people into a 7 passenger van!

Bumps & Bruises - We got out lucky with only 4 injuries... Samantha falling in the rain and bruising her knee, Cade running into the stroller and getting a bloody nose, Cade falling and bumping his head, Blake smashing his finger.

The Perfect Plan - Our Dad worked, sacrificed, and planned in order to make all of this possible. We love you and will forever treasure your perfect plan!

Reflecting

On our drive home, we had a little time to reflect on our trip. We made a list of our favorite things... (in no particular order)

Robert
1. Blake driving him in the race cars
2. Mission Space at Epcot
3. Midway Mania Toy Story Ride at Hollywood Studios
4. Eating a turkey leg
5. Eating Smores at Ft. Wilderness

Susan
1. Being with all 13 of my family members
2. The Main Street Electrical Parade
3. Peter Pan's Flight
4. The look on my mom & dad's faces when they greeted us at our hotel upon our arrival.
5. The look on Blake's face when he saw Mickey and Minnie and said, "Oh, they're so happy to see me".
6. The gift shops

Blake
1. The racing cars
2. The electrical parade
3. Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios
4. Riding the monorail
5. Peter Pan's Flight
6. Driving through the water on the safari ride at Animal Kingdom
7. The sand at Ft. Wilderness
8. Getting to see Caleb & Cade everyday
9. Eating yummy Disney popcorn
10. Watching the 7 Top Sees of Disney World in bed every night

Barrett
1. The yellow lion toy that hung from his stroller
2. Lots of naps
3. Attention from all of his family
4. The Mickey that Gram & Papa got him
5. Not having to ride in his car seat on the bus (or in the van on Disney property for that matter)

Day 16 - We Made It!

After our 8 hour drive today, we finally made it home. The others arrived by plane yesterday, and Mom & Dad are a day behind us driving home with the camper. Thank you for all your prayers!

Day 15 - Making Our Way

Today we drove 16 hours making our way home. We are in a hotel in Baton Rouge, LA. Our day was good. The boys did good. I let Blake watch a little more of the DVD than I did on the way there because he is worn out. He slept for 4 hours this afternoon in the car. He was so tired, we tried waking him up after two hours, and he was not budging. So, we let him sleep another hour and tried again, still no response. He finally woke up at 6 p.m. They are both snuggled in their beds sleeping so soundly right now. I did not take even one picture today. We had an amazing time together and we are all sad because our trip is over and we have to come home to reality, and unfortunately that reality means burying one of the people I love the most in the world. Tomorrow we will finish the last leg of our journey home, and our trip will officially be over, but the memories will last a lifetime!

Day 14 - Goodbye

Today is our last day of vacation. We have had the best time! We have spent the last two weeks almost around the clock together, and have had the best time. It has been 9 years since I have lived at home and spent this much time with my sisters and parents. It was so nice to get to spend this time together with them and my brother-in-laws. It is time that will be forever in my heart!

Everyone had plans of getting up early and going park hopping. We were going to hop from park to park, riding our top 10 favorite rides one more time. But, as we woke slowly and worn out from our late night last night, we decided staying at the hotel and relaxing sounded very inviting. It ended up thunder storming the whole afternoon anyway, so we were glad we didn't go. I went to the bath house and did three loads of laundry. I am very excited about coming home with suitcases full of clean clothes!

Aunt Yay Yay and Uncle Josh bought the boys a special souvenir and gave it to them this morning. Blake loves to look at it and point to everything we have done.

We planned to go to The Magic Kingdom and watch the parade one more time together. Luckily the thunder storms passed in time for that. We left the hotel around 6 to ride the bus over there. Here we are waiting for our last bus ride to The Magic Kingdom.

God could not have given me a better mom!

We started saving our seats for the parade two hours in advance. A few of us at a time save, while the others ride some rides, and then we switch. We ate dinner while it was our turn to save. This is the same spot we have watched the parade from for the past 25 years.

More smiles!

When it was our turn to ride, mom kept Barrett with her at the curb. Robert, Blake, and I rode the train one more time. I love this view of Main Street and the castle from the top of the train station.

The front of the train station is one of my favorite views at The Magic Kingdom. It is the first thing you see when you walk in the gates.

After our train ride, we all got ice cream!

Still waiting, but getting closer.

And it begins... I love this parade!

After the parade was over, we all rode the monorail around the Disney property one more time. Tonight was emotional for all of us. We have had a lot of happiness and sadness... This is a trip that will forever be in our hearts for many reasons. With the sadness, we were also able to smile and have fun. God gave us all to each other, to be a family, support, and love each other... even when I thought things didn't turn out how I wanted them to and the pain from that loss hurts so badly... my family was there and we were able to find joy with each other.

I asked Blake if he was ready to go home. He said, "what home?" I said, to our very own house with your very own bed. He said, "Oh, the one with the roof?" It is so funny to me how his little mind works.

As we walked out the gates for the last time, we all said... goodbye to Disney...

Day 13 - Magic Hours

This morning we got up, had breakfast, played with Barrett, and then headed off to Ft. Wilderness to get Blake from his night with Gram and Papa.

We came home and took a long nap. Blake slept from 2:30p.m. - 6:30p.m. We then got ready and went to the Magic Kingdom for the Magic Hours. It is nice to have this special perk. It is not hot, and not as crowded.

Blake and I rode this ride together while Robert went in search of the thing he has wanted since we first got here.

He finally got it! A giant turkey leg.

While we were in line to ride the cars again, Blake smashed his finger.

We are about to get in our car. Notice his face...

2 seconds later, we are in our car... notice his face now... this place really is magical!

Robert and Caleb drove the car behind us

We rode the Winnie the Pooh ride. Blake rode in the front seat of our honey pot with Aunt Mantha and Uncle Bradley.

Enjoying a late night popcorn snack

Blake wanted to ride the spinning tea cups. Daddy and Mommy were not real excited about riding this one, so Aunt Mantha came to the rescue and rode it with him

Of course we had to ride the classic Dumbo ride. Blake loved it!

We did not get back to our hotel until 2 a.m.! We were all exhausted!!