3 more times?!?!?!?!

Today was a slow day for us. Slow getting up. Slow getting going and slow moving around Animal Kingdom. Not sure if it is people overload or Disney overload but either way, we were moving very slow today. We didn't get to Animal Kingdom until about 11am. We went for the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. Katie really likes that one because of all the animals. Well, we go on the truck and drove about 100 yards and came to a complete stop. We remained that way for almost 25 minutes. We never did get a good reason for the stop, they just said it was an animal in the road. I felt so bad for the girl driving, she had to keep us entertained the whole time. She told us about the park, the safari, the animals we might see, it got so bad she had to resort to "So, where is everyone from?". Thank goodness we were in the shade or it would have been very bad. I did feel bad for Katie though. When we did get moving again, she had a hard time seeing things because the animals would blend into the background so well, I don't know if she ever really did see them or not.

We then went to lunch at a place called Tusker House. Good food and very nice on the inside. Katie got a nice surprise however, the waitress brought Katie a plate full of deserts, browines, cookies, tarts, you name it, it was on the plate. She also got Katie a birthday card signed by the likes of Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and even Pluto. She got a kick out of that for sure.

We then took a short trek through one of the jungle walks. We got to see a tiger up close (through a window of course). Katie loved that and so did we until a VERY rude woman from England decided that it was more important for her to get a picture than for my little girl to see a tiger. She was so rude that she even put her camera right in front of Katie's face to get her little picture. I almost grabbed her hand and pushed her back. The final straw for us was when Leeann had a great shot of tiger and was just about to take the picture when the British Chick's kid jumped into the shot!!!

We all were tired and decided it was time to go so we gave Katie a choice, Everest or Dinosaur? She at first choose Dinosaur but as we walked there we passed Everest and Katie could not pass it up. So, for the 6th, 7th and yes 8th time we made the trip to battle the Yeti. This kid can not get enough of that ride. I have never seen her love to do something as much as this ride (except maybe being around animals).

To say we are tired is an understatement at the very least. We plan to take it easy tomorrow and maybe go to the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks, we will see.

This was truly a magical day for all of us. We decided to just take it easy and not be in a big hurry for anything. We made lunch reservations at the Liberty Tree Tavern, but other than that, we were on no timetable for anything. We hit TomorrowLand first since there were a couple of things that Katie wanted ride again that she remembered from last year. We did the rocket cars (think the Dumbo ride only with rocket type cars). Then Katie could not wait to drive the racecars with Leeann as the unlucky passenger. With our pass for Katie’s handicap, we were able to ride some ride twice in a row with the racecars being one of them. Katie just loved being able to do that. We then went to the “Laugh Floor”, “Buzz Lightyear”, and “Stitch’s Escape”. They all were fun and Katie really enjoyed them all.
We then headed over to Liberty Square for lunch, which was very good, but you would think for a good size restaurant would have had a bigger bathroom. I had to make a little break for the bathroom and when I got there, I could not believe how small it was, ONE stall, oh well, it worked for me.
After lunch we did the Pirates of the Caribbean. Now, first off, I have not seen any of the movies and nor do I have a desire to see them. So, that said, I really did not know what to expect with this ride, but I was surprised at how fun it was and how much Katie really took it in. She was like a sponge on some of the rides today, just looking around and taking it all in. When we got off that ride, she wanted to do the Big Thunder Mountain. Now let me tell you, this kid loves her roller costars. The faster the better (see yesterday’s blog about Expiation Everest). She rode that thing two times as well.
Then it was off to Fantasy Land for a few more rides, things like Dumbo, “It’s A Small World” (which I have never been on, but it was fun), and what surprised me was that Katie knew all the countries we went by.
We were worn out by the end of today, so we just swam for a bit and called it a day. We took things easy today and really took a lot of breaks and lots of water, so we lasted a lot longer than we have before, so it was a great day.
Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom again. ROAR!!!!

5 times in a row!!

Today was Animal Kingdom. Last year this was Katie’s favorite park and she could not wait to get there. She kept asking all morning “are we going to miss the bus?” and I kept telling her that we had plenty of time and we would not miss the bus. Once we got to the park, her face lit up and she headed straight for the Dinosaur ride. Leeann and Katie had a great time on the ride side by side. We got off the ride the first time and Katie was already saying, “can we ride it again, can we ride it again”. So, you guessed it, we rode it again. She couldn’t get enough.

We then went to a really fun ride called “Primal Twirl”. This is a ride that spins you around and around while going on a small roller coaster. Katie, who loves to do anything that spins anyway, really loved it. She loved it so much we rode it 3, yes 3 times.

Then it was off to the main thing Katie wanted to do most of all. Now you all know that she loves animals more than just about anything, but when it comes to “Expiation Everest”, even animals take a back seat. She could not wait to get on that ride. When she saw it, she almost ran to get in line. We got in line and she could not wait. We rode it not once, not twice, not even four times, but 5 times in a row. The people running the ride kept saying hi to Katie and asking if she was having fun.
We did lunch at the Rainforest Café, again. I will say that the one at Downtown Disney is much better than the one at Animal Kingdom, but we still had fun and Katie was still taking it all in. Sorry Outback Steakhouse, Katie now has a new favorite place to eat.

We ended the day by doing a little swimming, which Katie just loved. She wore herself out. After dinner, she climbed into bed and said, “Can I go to bed now?” We said sure and before we could turn around, she was asleep.
We are hitting the Magic Kingdom tomorrow; we are having so much fun here. We love this place.

A Little Good, A Little Bad and A Lot of FUN

It has been a long day. it started at 6:15 this morning when Kate climbed into our bed and asked if it was time to go to Disney. Well, not really but since we were up and going we got ready anyway. We had a lot of time to spare which was very nice and a lot different then most times we leave on a trip. We usually are trying to get out the door by a certain time and feel rushed all day. Not today, we had A WHOLE LOT OF TIME.

The trip down here was pretty simple and very uneventful. I like trips like that. Well, let me correct myself, there was one little, or should I say BIG bump. We landed in Atlanta and we were getting ready to get off the plane. Leeann was on her Blackberry doing something for one of her clients and I was rushing her to get out of her seat and get moving. I thought she was just texting someone for fun. I was very wrong and needed to slow myself down. So anyway, she got a little upset and jumped up and WHAM. She hit her head on the celling above her. She said she saw stars and had a pretty good headache for a while, but she is much better tonight.

We got to our hotel and we must be very luck or blessed because we have two rooms for the price of one. You see, since Katie takes medicine daily we need a way to keep some applesauce cold for her (she takes about 8 or 9 meds at one time and the apple sauce helps get them all down). So we ask for a handicap accessible room that way we get a fridge to keep her stuff cold. Katie's Dr. gives us a not for this when we travel. Well, we get here and they don't have any of those rooms available so they gave us, at NO ADDITIONAL COST mind you, two adjoining rooms. One room with a King bed and the other with two double beds. How sweet is that. I love Disney.

We decided that we would go down to Downtown Disney for a little shopping (Leeann & Katie's favorite past time) and get some dinner. We went to the RainForest Cafe. If you have never been it is a theme restaurant, but to me, it is the best theme restaurant out there. We had never been and didn't know what to expect. We only had to wait about 20 minutes for a table, not bad since it was 6pm. While we waited, they have this gift shop you can look through, Katie was in HEAVAN. Everywhere you looked, ANIMALS of every shape, size, type, and color. Think of a jungle animal and they had it. She was picking up everything, looking at it all.

Our table was ready and we sat right next to some very life like elephants. Katie's head was turning around as fast as she could trying to see what was all there. She kept petting the elephants and then would point out a new animal she found. She just could not take it all in fast enough. I think she has a new favorite restaurant (sorry Outback). Our waiter was so nice, he rushed mine and Leeann's dinner when Katie's came out so fast. I don't know why we worried about it, Leeann and I, for the first time ever, finished our dinner before Katie did. The wait staff then brought out a HUGE ice cream, brownie, chocolate cake, diabetic coma of a desert. They sang happy birthday to her and she just beamed. Then her eyes got big when she saw the desert thinking she was going to eat the whole thing (it was almost as big she she is).

We left and checked out a couple of shops, Leeann of course found a scrapbooking store to look though. It started to get late and we headed back to the hotel. If you have never stayed on the park at Disney, let me tell you something. The transportation system here is great. You get on a bus and they take you anywhere you want. No driving hassles, no parking hassles, no hassles at all.

Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom, this should be fun.

DISNEY HERE WE COME!!!!!

It is late and I am going to make this a shot blog. We have been so busy today getting ready for our trip to Disney. We don't leave until Tuesday, but we have a VERY full day on Monday so we packed everything today (and tonight) so that we will be ready to go come Tuesday morning.

I did my first Catholic wedding yesterday. It was very nice, but it was also a bit long. The reception was very nice and what I downloaded so far looks really great.

I have a very long day tomorrow, I will write more from the land of the big mouse.

Lawn Mower Fairies

Most every one has heard of fairies. We all know about the tooth fairy, fairy godmothers, fairies in the forrest. Heck, some guys even believe that there is a booby fairy that visits pregnant women. But has anyone ever heard of a lawn mower fairy? Let me fill you in:

We are getting ready for Disney and trying to get all of our errands done on top of all the regular everyday things we have to do. Then add a wedding I am working this weekend and I was thinking that a few things were going to have to get left until we got home next Sunday and one of those things was going to be mowing the yard. I was going to try and get it squeezed in this Sunday if possible. Anyway, Leeann and I went out and did our errands today, then I went to the rehearsal for the wedding I am doing this weekend.

I met up with Leeann and Katie at the mall to get Katie's birthday build-a-bear. We had a blast and Katie picked out a new bear for her collection. I got home before Leeann did and when I got out of the truck with Katie I was looking in the front yard and noticed that something seemed strange. The yard was mowed, the edges were trimmed and the grass trimmings were blown out of the driveway. I thought "WOW, what a great wife I have, she jumped outside and mowed the yard to help me out. What a great wife I have!!".

So I asked Katie when mommy mowed the yard? Katie looked at me like I was from another planet. She said that Leeann was inside all day and that no one mowed the yard that she knew of. When Leeann got home I asked her and she had not a clue how the yard got mowed either. I even went to the neighbors and asked them if they saw anyone in our yard. "Nope, no one that we saw.". What a puzzlement.

The only thing I can think of (other than a lawn mower fairy) is the house on the opposite end of our street who has the same house number we have (there is an east ******** and a west *********. Same numbers on both the east end and west end) hired a lawn service and the service got the wrong end of the street. It has happened before with package deliveries and things like that, so I look at it as a blessing.

Do we have tickets?

Most of you I am sure know that this time next week, we will be in Disney for Katie's birthday. If you didn't know before, you know now. We are really looking forward to going. Katie is getting more excited by the day. Leeann and I are both looking forward to getting away for a couple of days and we know that this may be our only vacation out of state this year. Oh well.

We had a great weekend with Leeann's dad and step mother. On Saturday we all jumped into my truck as it was the only vehicle large enough to carry all 6 of us (Leeann, Katie, Leeann's dad, step-mother, Leeann's grandmother and myself) and headed up to Cades Cove. If you have never been to the Great Smoky Mountains, then you don't know what Cades Cove is. It is a small area of the park that you can drive through (11 mile loop) and see what the area kinda looked like back when the park was first founded 75 years ago. Along the drive you can go to some of the old cabins and churches that are still standing from old pioneer days. If you ever watched a short lived show called "Christly" about a young teacher in pioneer days, this show was shot in Cades Cove. Sevierville

We all laughed and enjoyed the beauty of the area and just spending time with each other. We stopped in at "Logan's Road House" for a early dinner. Since Katie's birthday is this Saturday, we though we would make last Saturday her pretend birthday since they were with us. We told the waitress that it was Katie's birthday and like most places, they may a big deal of it. The waitress got up on a chair and announced to the whole place that it was Katie's birthday and they did a big "Yah Who". Katie loved it, she had the biggest smile on her face.

Well, today I took Katie to STAR for her riding lesson. We told the instructor that Katie would not be there next week because of the Disney trip. Then on the way home Katie was quite for a bit then she looked at me and said, "dad, do we have tickets for the airplane?" I looked at her and said "What?". She said, "you have to have a ticket to get on the plane when we go to Disney. You know that if want to get on the plane you have to have a ticket. If you don't have a ticket they won't let you on the plane." I told her we had out tickets for the plane, then she wanted to know where did we get the tickets and was the bus we had last year (when she was little) going to take us to the Disney. (Last year we took the Magical Express to the park and the hotel, great service and very recommended) I told her that yes, we are taking the bus to Disney and she was happy.

Katie never ceases to amaze me with the things she says and does. DISNEY OR BUST.........