DisneyWorld 2009 Day 4

Day 4
Church and EPCOT

A more relaxed morning at last…we were able to sleep in a little this morning as services began at 10:30 am.

We were attending at the South Bumby church of Christ (www.bumby.org) where a close friend, Josh Creel, currently preaches. Services went well as they had Dee Bowman in for a gospel meeting. The kids did somewhat OK seeing as they were used to the Disney parks each morning at this time. For lunch we went to O’boys (BBQ) with Josh and his wife (expecting their first little one in a couple of months).

Then it was off to EPCOT. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the “Capri pants” Marcia had originally selected to wear that day, but fortunately for us, she decided to change.


We were not able to see much at EPCOT this day, because we arrived around 3:00 pm, and had dinner reservations near the Magic Kingdom (Ohana) at 7:00 pm. So we began the day by riding Spaceship Earth (Everyone except me, I had to go get fastpasses), and I found out later that they got to listen to the whole presentation in Spanish. So they were all a little upset. We then got to meet Pluto and Mickey at the “exclusive” Chase Visa holders area. This is actually a very good perk for having the card. You get to take your time with the characters and get a free 5X7 from one of the photopass pictures. Great!

We then walked thru the extremely long line for Nemo and after that enjoyed the Living Seas. Sam and Davis liked seeing all the fishes and I liked seeing the dolphin demonstration. Magan and Marcia just sat back and took some time to rest while we chased after the fish, turtles and sting rays. We then had a little Turtle Talk with Crush, and left back towards the front gate.

Here is where my plan did not work too well. I had fastpasses for Testtrack that I was very excited to ride with Sam. So I convinced everyone else to go ahead to our dinner reservation at 6:55pm, while I picked up our free 5X7 and then rode Testtrack with Sam. I handed over the Tour Guide duties to Magan and instructed her that it was the Luau dinner at the Polynesian Resort. Now an important thing I left out was that this was not THE Luau dinner, it was the Ohana restaurant which served food similar to a luau.

Sam and I made it onto the Testtrack around 6:45pm…Felt bad again because this ride was again over his age and scared him, although not nearly as bad as the Tower of Terror. So…6:50pm we start exiting EPCOT…Running…with Sam on my shoulders. Finally making it to the monorail, I am about to die because I cannot breathe, and I get a call on the Cell Phone from James “Hey we just walked about a mile out to this Luau Cove, and no one is here”…I replied “What…Did you look for Ohana?” OHANA…that was back at the Polynesian Resort 1 mile walk back…so the rest of the crew hiked back to Ohana which was basically 100 yards from the Monorail exit. And then Sam and I finally made it to meet them around 7:10pm.

Ohana was great food. Lots o meat for the Carnivores, but the view we had was not that spectacular and I had the carry the kids across the restaurant for a decent view of the magic kingdom fireworks. Everyone laughed and enjoyed the meal, and it was a late night but a great day.

DisneyWorld 2009 Day 3

Day 3
Animal Kingdom

This day the weather finally warmed up into the 70s, so it was much more comfortable. The days usually begin with me running to get a fastpass for later while the others make their way to the first show. This morning was no different, except that Sam had wanted to go with me for the fastpasses. So we headed towards Africa, while all of the others made their way towards Asia via Dinoland.

Sam was having some trouble keeping his pants up, and Magan had not packed his belt. He was running beside me constantly pulling up his pants, so I picked him up and just began carrying towards the Fastpasses. But we had some time so I stopped by a store and asked if anywhere would carry a child sized belt, two guys shook their heads no, but another younger Disney Cast member had an idea. Being as this was the Animal Kingdom, he suggested a dog collar that WERE sold in a store that was on our way. So it worked! We found a large dog collar that was just right for little Sam’s waist, and he was so proud of it because it had Mickey Mouse on it. In fact he wore it yesterday and proudly showed us that he can put it on all by himself.

So on to the Nemo show, then back to Dinoland (On the way, Sam got to see his favorite character...Goofy)to let the kids play. They loved this time playing on the slides forever then crossing the Dino bridge to the excavation site where they could dig up old dinosaur bones (or in Addy and Davis’ case, lay down in the sand and throw it on themselves).

After watching the Bug’s Life 3D show (Again scaring Davis and a little bit Sam), We then made our way to Africa to ride our safari, stopping at the Pizzafari for lunch. They have one of the best sandwiches in Disney…the Hot Italian…It is delicious if you get a chance. Anyway after waiting 30 minutes for our food, it was quite good.

Finally making it to the Safari ride, we found a 30 minute wait for the Fastpass line!, so we did what I thought we would never do…we rode the train out to Rafiki’s conservation station. Eli and Davis stayed with magan and Marcia on the train, while everyone else took the VERY long walk to the station. They had some neat spiders and snakes that Sam liked. And Sam was so happy to see the Rhinoceros. We also got to talk to a talking garbage can that was fun. Before leaving we looked at the petting zoo, but then realized Uncle James has all of these animals in his frontyard, so we skipped it.

Back to the Safari ride where Sam was again excited to see 1 – 2- 3- 4- 5 Rhinoceros, yet none of them were relieving themselves. Everyone then enjoyed Mt. Everest, then we made our way back to the front of the park to leave. Davis also found his favorite souvenir...Mickey and Tigger...who amazingly have made it back to the house. Everything he saw in every store...we heard that cute little voice "Hold it, Dad?" "Hold it"

We had dinner than night at the Rainforest Café, and after an extremely long wait, with kids very impatient, they seated us at the bar with all the alcohol right behind us. We could almost see the animals that we were so anxious to let the children see. So after explaining to the manager how disappointed we were, we were moved to a much better table and enjoyed the remainder of our meal. Davis fell asleep trying to eat, and Sam was happy to see the VOLCANO dessert.

DisneyWorld 2009 Day 2

Day 2
Hollywood Studios

This day began slightly warmer at 41 degrees F, but the shows did not work out for us. We began the day by visiting with Daisy Duck and Pluto, then going over to watch the Playhouse Disney show. I have to admit this show was pretty good, and all of the children loved it. Sam was smiling but trying to hide it, while Davis just bounced along with Tigger and danced every chance he got. Sam thought the confetti that fell from the ceiling was a souvenir so he collected it all and put it in his pocket.

It was right after this show that Sam found (Magan found it for him) his favorite souvenir…a Handy Manny bucket truck matchbox car. He loved it and wanted to hold the bag that is was in for the remainder of the day.

Our planning this day did not go well…We made it to the front of the Star Tours ride, only to have them tell us it was temporarily closed, then drifted all over the park trying to find some show that had no wait.

We did get to see the Power Rangers (Sylus loves them, so we tagged along)…but Sam and Davis had no idea who these people were, so we stood for a picture then went on.

I then took Sam on to ride the Tower of Terror. Up till this point, Sam was very trusting of his Dad and liked the rides OK, even though you could tell some had scared him. I did tell him that this one dropped and was scary, and he seemed happy to ride. Well I could tell he was a little scared…then we hit the pitch black dark…flash of light…and dropped about 5 stories. His little screams were very loud. And when the elevator rose 10 flights and the windows opened where I could see his little face…I felt so Bad. He was terrified. We have a picture and I will try and add when I get it scanned in. I spent the remainder of the ride (getting thrown up in the air over and over again) trying to calm Sam down. If you have ridden this before, you know that it is hard to determine when it is actually over…and at one point when I thought it was over I told sam OK that was the last time…then we were shot up once more to the top as Sam screamed for his Mom. I think in the end he did well, he just made it quite clear to me that he did not want to ride that ride again.

So back down Sunset Blvd to meet Magan and Marcia. And Davis looked very hot in his seat. I bent over to see if he was OK, and Blah….Puked everywhere down his outfit and onto his stroller. I was trying to remedy the situation by pulling Davis out of his seat to get his clothes off of him. Panicked as I was, I started trying to pull him out with his buckle still on…Then I tried to rip off the front of his stroller because I couldn’t get the cup holder attachment off…Finally out of his seat…Blah Puked again all over the road leading down to the Tower of Terror. I had baby duty, while Magan took stroller duty. I next had a naked crying baby I was trying to console, while realizing it was still about 55 degrees outside and he was cold. Magan found him an outfit, then I went on a trek through various stores trying to find some socks for his cold feet. Finally at the fourth store I reached, I found a bargain of two pairs of infants socks for $9. But Davis was happy to have his Mickey Mouse socks and we were back in business with a clean stroller (Thanks to Mom).

We then made our way back to the Backlot area and rode the new Toy Story ride that is very fun…although once again scaring Davis. I decided after the ride to carry Davis instead of putting him in the stroller…when I felt a warm moistness on his pants. Oh yes, he had wet his replacement outfit…So Mom improvised by rolling up a pair of Sam’s pants and Davis made it the rest of the way with those on.

Sam and Davis both loved the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. They both cackled as IJ fought the “mean” guys and knocked them off of the buildings.

They had a blast with Mike and Sully…loved meeting Buzz and Woody…and almost got lost in the Honey I shrunk the Kids play area.

All in All it was a difficult day, but the kids had fun.

Disneyworld 2009 - Day 1

Day 1
Magic Kingdom

The day began at 31 degrees F, and was the start of a somewhat difficult day. This was the first trip to the World for the Sartins, and we were all very excited. We stayed at http://www.dreamsvillas.com/ , which was very reasonable and very nice. We all shared a 4 bedroom, 3 bath condo in a gated community about 5 miles from the parks. Everyone was freezing, the boys had their toboggans, but no gloves. So Davis began crying around the time we left the car and did not let up for most of the day.

We began our Disneyworld tour with Pirates of the Caribbean, great ride for adults, but as I was soon to learn, not a great ride to begin Mr. Davis on. The initial plunge, quickly followed by cannon fire that just so happened to splash water into me and Davis’ eyes was a little too much for him.

We continued through the Tiki Room and the Country Bear show. We decided this route to get to more indoor rides and shows during our 55 degree High weather with a 10 mph wind. Sam was excited about the “fast choo-choo” (Thunder Mountain), so we froze ourselves riding this thrill ride. Sam then added that he wanted to ride with MaMa, so off they went to ride again. Then a trip through the Haunted Mansion that “freaked out” sylus, and scared the rest of the kids to death. Finishing our morning with a ride on Peter Pan’s Flight and It’s a small world (good chance for me to take a nap).

Lunch carried us to the Crystal Palace where we ate at Magan’s favorite place while being visited by Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. They were very nice and even brought Davis a cupcake for his upcoming birthday. In an effort to calm Davis down, he can handle being stuck at a table for only so long, I took him off to Tommorrowland to visit the Carousel of Progress (Sure to put him to sleep, while I enjoy this as one of my favorites).

Davis cuddled up to my shoulder as we entered the quiet Carousel and were welcomed to one of Disney’s personal ideas that was first introduced at the World’s Fair in the early 1900s. As our theater slowly rotated to the first scene, and Davis already slowly closing his eyes, he saw it. The DOG…then he heard the dog barking. “Dog, Dad, Dog”…”Look Dad, Dog”…and wide awake. Then the short 5 minute presentation of that time period began and slowly Davis neared sleep…then the theater rotated with a new dog and more barks, waking Davis up again to tell me that he did see the Dog and wanted to make sure I saw it as well. This process was repeated twice more, and we left the theater with no sleep for Davis.

I exited and found everyone else in line to visit some characters…What did everyone want to do next? Of course…Carousel of Progress. Well this time Davis did fall asleep, I guess the Dog was no longer appealing. So because he was asleep, everyone left the theater after the show, but I remained for one more 20 minute presentation. Three times was enough for me, so even though he remained asleep I then left the theater and found the others once more.

While the parents took turns riding space mountain, Magan and I took the babies on the People Mover, which again scared Davis to death. I then took Davis on the Buzz Lightyear ride, and again he was terrified. Magan had a blast with Addy and Sam on the People Mover, they laughed the whole time, Sam loved the space mountain portion which was dark and he got to see the moon and stars.

Well, we were pooped, so we fought thru the lines to exit as the Spectromagic parade was beginning…Leaving our first day to go and eat at Arby’s.

25 Random Things About Me (MAGAN)

This is something I was tagged in on Facebook and since I took the time to think about it and write it, I am posting it here too :)
It is fun to get to know one another better, you should do one too!

1. I have been tagged in about 5 or 6 of these things and have loved reading each one, so thought I'd take time out to write something too :)

2. I am a christian, wife, mother (of 2 boys), daughter, sister, friend, teacher, photographer...... the list could go on and on. Each job is special and important to me. I have ALWAYS wanted to have my own family. My friends used to call me Momma Magan in school.

3. Photography is the newest on my list. It goes back to my friends and family who encouraged me to go for it. Thanks guys! I love every minute of it, from rolling on the ground to making babies laugh to seeing the finished products.
Just in case you are interested this is my fan page on FACEBOOK. Copy and paste the link-
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Lily-White-Photography/55390252517?sid=724183fabd65065267bd657f93360c38&ref=s

4. I am sometimes a perfectionist about things I am working on. Scott keeps me grounded and helps me remember when something just doesn't matter that much. But if I am sitting and looking at a crooked picture I can't resist straightening it.

5. Before I had kids, I liked to keep the house very neat and tity. Since I have had kids, I keep the house clean but don't worry so much about messy. Toys seem to pop out of couch cushions and slide under my feet even after I have spent an hour picking a room up.

6. I am not a good speller and have probably mispelled words in this note :)
When I taught school I kept a spell checker near the chalkboard and in my desk. Now I use WORD to double check myself.

7. I LOVE playing ball especially when it is a big group of friends, but I am not very competitive. Don't get me wrong I want to play with people who know how to play (especially in volleyball), I might even rub it in if I am on the winning team, but I don't REALLY care who wins just that we had fun playing.

8. In Jr. High and High School I played a lot of sports,but wasn't all that great at any of them. I once got the craziest award in Basketball called the "Most Team Spirited" HAHAHA, I laugh about it still. Like I said love sports, love cheering for my friends, just don't have much of a competitive drive.

9. I don't like it when people are mad at me but will stand up for something if I think it is the right thing to do.

10. Communication is the key to relationship troubles 98 percent of the time. This doesn't always come easy for me. I even need time to think about what is bothering me sometimes. When Scott and I got married we agreed "Never to go to bed angry" I am thankful for the little decisions that have made such an impact on my life.

11. I hate going to bed without Scott. He sleeps on his stomach and I like to snuggle up back to back. He goes to sleep in about 1 minute and his deep breathing makes me fall asleep. I miss the days we got to sleep in until 8:30.

12. If I am holding a sleeping baby I can hardly stay awake, think it is the peaceful breathing. And I love holding sleeping babies. Especially my big brown eyed baby boys!

13. My dad passed away in 2004 with brain cancer. The year he was so sick and the year follwing his death were the hardest years of my life to date. I will always love and miss him SO much. I wish my children could know him and his warm spirit. I am thankful he didn't have to suffer any more than he did. I don't think I could have made it through without my wonderful husband, family, and friends.

14. I believe that we have to work every day to preserve the things we love. Our actions, choices, and reactions all matter. Life is too short and we only get one chance! Don't take the easy way out.

15. Some of my favorite drinks are Mountain Dew, Sweet tea, and Vanilla Bean Frappicinos w/ a shot of expresso.

16. I love to paint, decorate, and especially make POTTERY. This is one hobby I truly miss. I took it like 4 or 5 times in College and would love to get on a wheel TODAY! It releaves my stress and I love creating new things.

17. Protecting our family is one of the biggest responisbilities we have here on this Earth. I pray that above all my boys will love God and keep his commandments. That our sins will not be hidden.

18. I am kind of a pansy when it comes to scary movies. I used to watch them and they were o.k., but I can't do it any more. The RING ruined it for me. I saw that girl all of the time and felt like she was going to climb out from under my bed. When I saw a puddle of water or turned the lights off.
How do children handle being IN movies like that?

19. Scott and I started dating at K-mart and used to stay in the parking lot a little too long after work. We used to make jokes about the sweeper guy who came to clean the parking lot. On more than one occasion, mom threatened to make me quit my job if I couldn't make it home sooner.

20. I played the saxophone in the band and loved playing Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera. My sister played the French Horn and we had a solo together, it was pretty awesome. It is hard to explain how much more music means to you when you are the one making the music. Your whole body tingles down to your toes.

21. During marching season I was on the colorguard. Another remarkable feeling is when you MARCH out on the field and hear the whistle to begin your performance. Wow! I loved that too!

22. I love going anywhere! When you are with friends and with people you love you can have fun sitting on a bench in the post office. But I do prefer traveling to see new things or to get out for the day and drive. I especially love going out to eat and to the movies.

23. Scott makes fun of me b/c when I get to go out by myself to run errands. I like to open the sun roof and feel the sun on my face. I always turn the radio up and breath fresh air. A lot of the time, I forget to close the sun roof. Thankfully, it hasn't rained on it yet :)

24. I miss friends and things about each place I have lived.

25. I love history, but I want to be told the history behind things. I don't want to read it all. I wish I could sit for hours and talk to older people and see how their lives have taught them what they know. So much wisdom and memories.

I think I could do this all day, but guess I should stop at 25 :)

The Hug

Magan and the boys were going to meet me at lunch today, but had some errands, and I ended up eating by myself at our cafeteria. I called Magan later, and she said the boys were upset that I was unable to join them. But she was going to Target, so I said I would come over while they are there (just a short 5 minute walk from my building). It was not to hard to find them…went to toys and saw them in the baby section. Davis saw me first and starting pointing saying DaDa…DaDa.

Then Magan turned the buggy down the aisle I was on and Sam came running. He jumped into my arms and hugged me so tight. Even as I started to let go, he kept on hugging. Not the hug that says welcome home Dad, Come on let’s play…Not the hug that is a choke hold challenging Dad to a wrestling match…Not the hug that is more of just a quick required squeeze…But a hug that seemed to last forever, a hug with so much love I have to hold back tears because I love him so much, a little hug in Target that I will remember for a long time.

To be Eggs or Not to be Eggs

I don't love eggs myself now, but as a kid growing up I loved what we called "squish eggs" I gag a little thinking of eating them now. Scott doesn't like them either so we usually either eat a well done fried egg or scrambled eggs. The kids have only ever tried scrambled and they don't eat them very well. SO, I got up the other morning and made squish eggs(sunny side up) for them. I let Sam see it and pointed out that it looked like a sunshine. His little eyes and nose were stretched over the top of the counter to see what I was showing him. He appeared to love this idea, so I took his hand and put it on the fork and let him help me "Squish" the sunshine and make the eggs ready for eating. As we did this, he said "Oooo, somtin smells stinty," (something smells stinky) then he looked at the egg we had "squished" and said "Dats yuty mom" (That's yucky mom) I tried talking him into it and halved the egg into two bowls. I sat both boys in front of their eggs. Sam was squirming b/c he know I usually make him try at least one bite and he DID NOT want to. Then I put Davis in his seat. He loves to eat, so he took his spoon and dove right in. I watched for a reaction over by the stove were he couldn't see me. As soon as that egg entered his mouth, it came flying out and back into the bowl. He stuck his tongue out and started wiping it off with the wash rag while saying "Shew" and pushing the bowl far across the table. I got tickled and couldn't help laughing out loud. My next attempt was with the fried "well done" egg. I even put cheese on top of it. Sam was thrilled to see that I had made an alternative and that he didn't have to try the "stinky squish egg" He took one bite and that was it for him. He was finished. Davis fiddled around with it for a long time, which made me think the morning had been a success, at least for one child. When I went to get him down and see what he had eaten of his egg, all I saw was tiny little finger marks were he had tried his best to scrape the cheese off and eat it. :) Oh Well, better luck next time I try! Something that they loved to eat was Ice cream at the Bass Pro shop! I am going to throw some of those pictures on this post as well. John was with us too, but some how we only managed to get him in a video, not pictures sorry John. WHAT A PLACE!!! I had no idea what we were going to the Saturday that we went. That place was crazy and the boys loved it. If you haven't been yet you should go at least once to see it. I just had to add these pictures of Davis tearing into some corn. <