Vacay Day 4

I took Caitlin to the Main Street Barber Shop near the MK main entrance, first thing on Day 4. She had been wanting a haircut and I'd read that the prices were reasonable and there was pixie dust involved. Sold.



Next we got in line to meet Ariel and I have a bunch of poorly lit pictures of that.
Next, onto the Magic Carpet Ride.

Ryan and I rode together, so no pictures of us. After, we went to a really cool simulated "Jungle Cruise" on a river boat. The guide was very "punny" so, of course, John thought that was the best part of the entire trip.
Then, Caitlin had her heart set on the Splash Mountain ride, which surprised me, but she said it and she was going to do it. All throughout the day, we asked her "are you still going to do it?" YEP. So, John went to get Fastpasses for them for Splash Mountain and I went and got in line to see the Fairies. It was Terence and Tink. They have this place all set up so that the flowers and leaves are gigantic and it looks like the fairies are small in proportion. Despite this, as soon as we left, Caitlin said "I thought they were going to be really small." Huh? I thought she knew they were all regular folks dressed up. Maybe not. I let it go.Swiss Family Robinson's treehouse was next. It was pretty cool. A nice opportunity for Nora and Ryan to get out of the stroller and move around and up and up and up.
After Lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern, Caitlin and John headed over to redeem their fastpasses and ride Splash Mountain. I tried to sit with Ryan and Nora and watch Caitlin and John come down the ride, but the littles were cranky and antsy. I decided to go get Caitlin's zebra mouse ear hat embroidered with her name. I surprised myself by getting hats for Nora and Ryan too. You do kind of get sucked in at D-world.





I took about 20 pictures of them in their mouse ear hats and this is the best I could get. By the way, Caitlin did do Splash Mountain without hesitation, and loved it.

After some rest time, we headed out to Downtown Disney where we were to meet Nana and Grandpa for dinner at Wolfgang Puck. We had also planned on stopping at the Lego store, but ended up not having time for that. The kids didn't mind though, since there were so many other things to see. Like this super cool dragon made out of Legos in the river!


Kids picked flowers (sorry Disney!) while we waited (way too long) for our table.


Lots of fun and great food at dinner. Nora ate my entire dinner, nearly.


This was the last time we saw John. He got awfully sick overnight and the next morning. Fortunately, he got to rest and the kids had a nice birthday and last day at Disney (next post) with Nana and Grandpa.

Vacay Day 3

Day 3 was Magic Kingdom. We took the ferry over from our campground on a beautiful, sunny morning. The kids loved the boatride.

Amy and Phil and their gang had been to MK already before we arrived, so they had ideas of what the kids might like. First thing first, though: family picture with the castle in the background. can't do D-world without that, right?























Next, we went to Fantasyland for a Winnie the Pooh ride, which was rated "not scary for anyone, ever" in our taking-kids-to-disney book. They should bring Nora along in their evaluations of these things in the future b/c she proved them wrong. The ride was really cute and should have been very benign. Ryan loved it. Nora cried. It was dark so I think she just gets worried / disoriented.

















She cried and huddled next to me the whole time (after this initial photo that I took before we really got going) and then proclaimed "I'M NOT SCARED" as soon as it was over.
















Next was "It's a Small World." Nora did better on this. So much to look at! it was my favorite and I think the kids loved it too. Caitlin was sitting with Jack most of the day, so I am noticing I don't have as many pictures of her.


i love how Nora's arm is on John's leg. Safer with daddy.










In awe.

Ryan had some mysterious rash on his face this day. Still not sure what that was about.

























Goofballs. Caitlin and Jack really had a great time together. I'm so glad they got along so well.








Amy, our family photographer :)














After a few rides in Fantasyland, we went to hang out in front of the castle and wait for a cute little show to start.








While we waited for the show to start, the boys brought us all lunch.

















The kids really enjoyed this little show. Lots of princesses were in it as well as the mice and their dog friends.






After lunch, we watched this big parade. The kids loved it. The music was really fun and positive and catchy. (I had it in my head for the entire week after we got home)

As soon as the parade was over, Ryan completely fell apart. We decided to call it a day at 4pm. It was a long day for them, especially after the previous 2 days. Nora and Ryan both fell asleep on the ferry ride home. Caitlin and John decided to try out the swimming pool at the campground and brought us home a freezer pizza. In the meantime, Nora and Ryan ate toast and peanut butter for the 9th time in 3 days and then went to bed early.

Vacay Day 2: Animal Kingdom

We met the Lozens at our cabin bright and early on Day 2 (Friday). We'd previously decided to go to Animal Kingdom and had a couple "must-dos" outlined--Lion King show and the safari. John and Phil hightailed it over to the safari tour for fastpasses. Meanwhile I stopped to get waters and had a minor freakout that I'd lost my pass/charge card within the first 10 minutes of our first full day...but John found me in my panic and reminded me that I'd actually just handed it to him 5 minutes prior, so that he could get the fastpasses. This is why I need a partner.




The Lion King show was AWESOME! It was a bit intense for Nora in some parts, so John and I had to swap kids so that Nora could be with Mama--after the initial loudness and some reassurance, she settled in and really enjoyed it.






After Lion King, we headed over to redeem our fastpasses. The safari was awesome, lots of animals to see and they have tons of roaming space. We saw hippos, nile crocs, antelope, big cats, rhinos, elephants and a very up close and personal visit from an ostrich. Here we are waiting in line. Note Nora's birthday pin--she wore it proudly...for about 5 minutes.

A few shots from the safari, which, by the way, so cool!






























After the safari, we went to our lunch at Tusker House--the food was very yummy and there was lots of it--and, best of all, Goofy, Daisy, Donald and Mickey were there! The kids loved getting hugs and pictures with them, despite starting off on the wrong foot by beating Donald's bill a bit. After a few words from the parents, the kids settled down a bit.



























































































After lunch, we went to Dinoland where the kids can dig around for bones and run around in a contained area--they had a blast. I didn't see Caitlin the whole time.



We did some rides and Ryan fell asleep in the stroller.





















Later, John took Caitlin and went with the Lozens to the "dinosaur ride"--I'm sure there is another name. I walked around with Nora and Ryan in the stroller and tried, unsuccessfully to get Nora to rest. The dinosaur ride was pretty intense, I'm told. The dinosaurs looked real and moved and John could feel their breath. Caitlin was pretty spooked by this intensity and continues to talk about it weeks later. She's pretty proud to have gone on it. "I was terrified and so was Jack, and so was Lexi, and so was Miss Amy," I hear this every time she brings it up.

Later on, we watched an awesome parade through AK. Kids on our shoulders, lots of loud, fun music and familiar characters (as well as some we didn't know, I'm proud to note!). No outdoor pictures for the rest of the day due to the rain.

After the parade, the boys (except Ryan) went on a real roller coaster (I think John was probably the only one who actually rode it-a Mt. Everest ride or something?). Amy and I took the rest of the kiddos to meet the Pooh crew. Nora was beside herself. Here she is having just seen him for the first time.

She was just jumping up and down over and over and as soon as Winnie caught a glimpse of her, he started jumping up and down too--it was really sweet and Nora still tells me about jumping with Winnie.












Ryan was really shy with this group of characters--probably because it was the first big day there. He warmed up in subsequent days.
























All-in-all, a great first day. Then we headed back to the cabins to get some rest for a big day on Saturday.

Family Trip

First off, I recently got a new camera after ours died in the fall, which explains why I haven't posted much lately. Plus, you know, life.

Moving on.

I had a rough fall emotionally. I was dealing with some bad memories and flashbacks from the NICU, specifically the day Ryan coded and the days following when we almost lost him many times it seemed. Scenes from those days were playing like a video in my mind whenever it was quiet. I wasn't sleeping well and I wasn't being very nice. I've struggled with some of this in the past. It comes and goes. Probably always will, dammit.

Our minds are fascinating, but they can sure screw with us, you know? That was/is/will be hard to deal with. I was surprised to find out how fragile I still am with the NICU experience and how fresh the wounds are nearly 3 years later. I realize Ryan has beaten the odds and is a living, breathing miracle, and we should be doing nothing but celebrating. Unfortunately, his current status and past successes haven't helped me shake the memories associated with those days and I really see what "traumatic stress" means.

John was great and prayed for me lots, especially while I was up at night with these flashbacks. There are some other factors that I was able to step away from that I think helped too. John also suggested we go on a vacation. I thought that having something to look forward to was going to be a good thing. He also suggested writing a book. I picked the vacation option.

It worked! (lots of other things happened too, but I don't want to get into that right now...or probably ever in this forum) Distraction is a good thing! Lots of planning to be done.

As soon as we narrowed down where we were going (think Orlando, big theme parks, giant mouse) and I got to planning, it was a great big distraction that was really needed.

I told my friend, Amy, that I was a bit nervous about the trip...the kids mostly. I fretted about handling complaining, whining, tantrums due to over-stimulation, schedule changes, heat, etc. I think I wasn't worried about them as much as I was worried about myself and my own reactions during a time where we were supposed to be "relaxed" and on "vacation." Like, how does one accomplish this relaxation idea when one is trying to manage two just-about three year olds and one six year old along with about a million other people doing the same? Time-outs with Tink? Do I react differently than when we are at home? I felt like somehow I needed to because it was vacation. How does mom go on vacation? I am a very talented pessimist is the bottom line. The kids were fine.

Now that I'm home, I still don't know how it's done. Pray for a miracle, maybe? I did.

Despite my worries about the trip, I was really looking forward to it. John told me I was more excited than the kids (I was) and wondered what it was about D-world that I was so excited about. Nothing about that, actually. I was excited for what I was leaving behind. I saw the trip as an opportunity to scoop up our family and get away from all the life stuff that gets in the way of us being us. We could leave work, phones, computers, school, cooking/shopping, commuting, etc all behind and just be together. I didn't care what we did, it was what we weren't doing that I was looking forward to. I had ZERO expectations because D-world was not for me, it was just the place we'd be, being together. The time and the memories were for me, but they were for us all. We agreed to stay unplugged and not order wi-fi at the room and I'm glad we did that.

Looking back on the trip, we had a blast and created some great memories. The kids were awesome. AWESOME! So awesome in fact, that if you'd like to take them on vacation with you, we should talk! Seriously, though, they were great. We had a fabulous trip and it couldn't have gone better. (except we could have gone without John's illness the last 2 days of the trip, but that will be the last time I will mention it)

So, no real transition here, but let's just jump right into the vacation. We worried about seating on the plane b/c of the stupid airline policy of not allowing seat selection until 24 hrs before takeoff. I logged in 22.5 hours before the flight as I was at a doctor's appt with Ryan 24 hours before the flight. There were no seats left next to each other. Worry ensued until we got to the airport to try to deal with it. Once we got to the airport, the check-in attendant switched others' seats around who weren't check in yet. Suckas! I figured they'd probably do that versus the option of just letting the two year old fend for themselves on the plane. Probably not good for the unfortunate folks with the seats next to them. I have had some not-very-nice things to say about this stupid policy. Unnecessary stress for parents is the bottom line. Can these idiots not figure out a better system??? Call me, AirTran, I have a few ideas.

Flight was fine. I took the girls in one row and the boys played the iThing in another row. We got in to Orlando and took a magical bus to our little campground cabin which was the perfect accommodation for us. We hung out there and then got on the Epcot bus and ate dinner at a Moroccan Restaurant there. Did the fast and crazy tour of this park, finished the loop within 2.5 hours, including stopping for dinner for an hour. The food was delish. And, luckily, Caitlin's favorite princess just casually strolled by--first character sighting was her favorite! yay!



The belly dancer entertainment was cool. She got the kids involved. Ryan loved the music and the action and was antsy to join in and Caitlin was really working it!

We only spent from 5-8ish pm at the parks the first day, but it was fun. Back to rest up for day two. If you made it this far, thanks! you are probably the only one!