blah!

I need to snap out of this funk I'm in. I've been feeling rather "off" for a while.

I hate this anxious/on edge/queasy feeling. It just won't quit!!

Too much drama at home and worries about the kids (Veronica.)

And tired, so very tired. Clint hasn't been home more than a few days stretch at a time since Christmas!! With more traveling to come....

I've been eating rather horribly since vacation and I feel it.

I need to get back on track - in more ways than one.

Another March....

Today we celebrate another March Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to my husband, Clint!

Spring!

For some reason, Veronica has been asking me for months:

Is it spring yet?

I haven't a clue why it was so important to her. She keeps saying she wants her birthday to be in spring, too. It almost is... we usually have spring like weather in early March! Again, I am not so sure why she was so eagerly anticipating spring!

Not long after they got up yesterday, I sprung the news on them that it was finally spring!

And then came the inevitable:

Momma, when's it gonna be summer?

Birthday boy

Meet the birthday boy, Jack Russell.

No, no.. not this Jack Russell

THIS Jack Russell!

Happy Birthday, Dad!!! He is 78 today.

So long Orlando!

Thursday, March 10 was our last day. We woke up to rain, rain, and more rain!! We debated on finding an alternative indoor activity to do. All the museums we were interested in were over an hour's drive away and expensive, so we decided against that. We waited around for a while, and went to lunch after the rain had slacked off. By the time we were done, the sky was lighter so we went back to Epcot. Valerie fell in love with Figment on the Imagination ride and wanted to do it along with Spaceship Earth again. We spent a couple of hours walking around, then it was time to go back to the condo and pack. The sun was out when we left.

Sad it was all over after months of planning..... it went by so fast... but glad to be going home.

We were up very early Friday morning to finish packing and head to the airport. Took a while to check in and get through security. Had the usual kid aggravations with a very tired and uncooperative Veronica. *sigh* Clint sat with the girls on the plane this time. Val did awesome on the flight home, but Veronica cried a good bit about her ears hurting and refused gum or any other suggestions we had. (That girl is something else.) But we made it home safely. One nice thing about having appliances is that we brought back all clean clothes! No mountain of laundry to do!

It was an awesome vacation over all! We had a great time and will go back, but probably not for a year or two. When I get my photopass pictures, I will be sure to share those also.

Another day at the World

Wednesday, March 9, was our free day. We decided to make up our missed day at Magic Kingdom and I'm glad we did. Once again, we made rope drop. Walked on to practically everything that was a must do for that day. Everything. So we walked the world and did a few extras. I had every intention of going back to the condo to rest, but we just kept finding more things we wanted to do! Crowds had thinned considerably also, so it was a very nice day.

We had dinner reservations at 1900 Park Fare for 5:00, so about 4:15 we headed for the monorail to The Grand Floridian. It was closed and we were directed to a tiny ferry. It too was full, and he told us another would be by in about 15 minutes. We waited and waited as the clock ticked closer and closer to 5pm. No ferry. We went back up to the monorail (which was operating again) and were on our way. We made it - just barely. Dinner was awesome! Food was great once again and the girls really enjoyed the characters. Lady Tremain asked "Who is the best at washing dishes?" And Veronica points to me. Ha.

We were on the go for over 12 hours and the girls did GREAT overall. Just the usual Veronica crankiness from time to time...

Oh, and Valerie was thrilled to death that we got to meet Push, not once, but twice!!!

Happy Mardi Gras!!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Mardi Gras day was to be spent at Epcot. Another rope drop day.... First thing I did was run to Soarin' for fast passes while Clint hit Test Track for them as well. FP return time was very close to our lunch reservations, so I was not sure if we would make it in time. Soarin' was a 40 minute wait, so I decided to ride it while I had the chance. I took the girls on Nemo while Clint rode Test Track. Then it was time to head to World Showcase for lunch.

I really enjoyed our princess dining experience at Akershus! It was much better than I anticipated. The food was really good and the princesses were awesome. It was the most expensive of all, but I would do it again. And finally, Veronica's dream came true! We had been searching for Snow White and here she was, up close and personal! I had lunch flagged as a celebration, so Veronica got another cupcake and birthday songs. After lunch, I decided we'd meet Snow White again since we were so close to her character spot.

The Boneyard

Monday, March 7, 2011

Thankfully everyone got a good night's rest and woke up happy! First on the agenda was breakfast at Chef Mickey's. This is one of my favorite character dining experiences. The breakfast buffet is awesome and the characters are fun!

After breakfast, we headed over to Magic Kingdom. When we got to the parking lot, there was a mass of people waiting for the trams. Yes, the parking lot trams. We had to wait for four trams before we could get on, and even then there was still a huge crowd left waiting. When we got to ticketing we saw this and this:

Thousands of people waiting for the monorail, ferry, and busses. In all the times I have been to Disney, I have never seen masses waiting just to get to MK. We debated a bit and since MK was going to be a complete madhouse, we went back to Animal Kingdom.

We took the train over to Rafiki's Planet Watch and the girls got to see and pet some animals. Valerie wanted to go to The Boneyard to play. Immediately, I did not like it. It was so crowded and hard to watch your kid. Both girls wanted to climb up on the highest platforms to go down the big slides. I let them go on the smaller slides, and even so it seemed too easy to get lost. The steps are one side and the slides are far on the other. Clint watched upstairs while I watched them on the ground. Valerie would not quit about going on the highest slides, so I relented. I told her to slide down only once and come right back. So I watched her and tried to keep tabs on Veronica. Eventually, I lost sight of Val so I just waited and waited for her to come down the slide. Then Veronica was no where to be seen... so I tracked Clint down and Veronica was with him.

But still, no Valerie.

I climbed up thinking she had found something interesting up there or made a friend. I searched and searched.

No Valerie.

I was trying not to panic.... but she had been gone at least 20-30 minutes by this time.

Clint alerted the CM and they told us Val had left, and generally if they look seven years old, they let them leave with out questioning it. It had come over their radio that a lost child was in Discovery Island, so they said to go there and ask any CM for info. We stopped at the first person we saw, and he knew nothing so he called his supervisor. She didn't know anything either!! So she was walking us somewhere to get more info, and miracle of all miracles happened. As I told the CM her name was Valerie ~ a lady passing by in the crowd stopped and said "OH you're Valerie's Mom!!!!! I found her... and she's fine! They took her to the baby care center." She had spotted Val walking in a circle crying, and she knew. So the CM took walked us over to the baby care center, and there was Valerie!!! She ran and gave me a big hug. Apparently she went down a different slide and got confused on how to find me again. What a scary moment for all of us!!! I usually tape our cell numbers to their backs, but on this day I did not do it. Lesson learned!

After that we went back to vacationing fun stuff. Overall, in spite of losing Valerie, we had a really nice day!

Cranky Day

Sunday, March 6, was the only off day the girls had. I think it was a combination of being tired from traveling and spending the entire day before at Magic Kingdom. We had a character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare featuring Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Tigger, and Pooh. Honestly, I did not enjoy this breakfast much at all. Partially because Veronica was in an awful mood and was not listening at all!! I think I spent most of the time trying to make her sit so she wouldn't bother the people next to us. The food wasn't all that impressive either. Val enjoyed meeting the characters, but a few Veronica did not want anything to do with.

After breakfast, we went to Animal Kingdom. Veronica was still very cranky. Valerie was tired and still not feeling well. There was too much crying, so it was a short Disney day. After a nap, we took them to visit the resort's castle playground. I'm glad we did because we did not have a chance to go back! Then it was early to bed so we'd be ready for day three.