Monday, September 26, 2011

WDW: the magic kingdom

first full WDW day!

the morning was a little chilly as we headed out of our rooms at 7:30am, but it quickly warmed up. humidity was up and temp ranged from 80-95 degrees.

disney transportation rocks, especially at pop century resort because it doesn't have any other stops like the other value resort buses do.


we got to magic kingdom in time for rope drop. this is the opening ceremony that takes place right in front of the train station after you enter the turnstiles. all the characters greet you in song. i won't lie, i cried. to be able to take my family to disneyworld, and to be there with good friends, such a dream come true.

 

their small world is so different than the one at disneyland. 
you have to go inside and down to get on the ride. it's a lot brighter inside too, i really like it.

we caught a show that was in front of the castle. 
we had a good spot because the kids looked at ducks on that side as well.
 roel took the opportunity to take a nap during the show.

snack time during the parade. did i mention that all of our food was included in our trip for free? 
we went during a free dining plan promotion. so good!

and then came the moment my girl had been waiting for. her princess makeover at the bibbidi bobbidi boutique. they have this at disneyland, but i told her she could only do it at disney world because it's kinda expensive. we saved money by bringing one of her favorite costumes. so i let her pick out some shoes there. thing is, they don't tell you the price of anything you add on until you are ready to pay.


hair, tiara, nails, makeup, and a sash. everything needed to become a princess.

after a sprinkle of pixie dust, she had her first look at herself all done up. 

princess shoes = $30
total princess makeover = $90
malia believing she had been transformed into a real princess = priceless



we had a famous one in our group at the monsters inc laugh floor.

the people mover is still alive at WDW!

shopping time. m&m each had their own gift card for souvenirs. 
micah bought the pirate gun but not the ears. i liked the ears though.

dinner at cosmic rays. the food was SO good. and we stayed there for a while 
because it was pouring buckets of rain outside. they had coloring pages and 
hula hoops for the kids though, so it wasn't bad at all.

we will always remember our time at cosmic rays, especially when ethan was sad that it was raining. he was so cute asking why did it have to rain.


when the rain finally let up, we headed over to town square theater to see mickey and minnie.



the castle right before wishes fireworks

i think one of my favorite parts of our time at the magic kingdom was watching the fireworks. although it was raining, we didn't have the ideal spot, and the video i took wasn't the greatest, i loved every minute of it. listening to micah watch the fireworks made my heart smile. in the video, he kept saying "whoa" and "wockets" and "that's my fwav-wit" while he was jumping up and down.


we stayed until the park closed. we even saw the castle's "kiss good night" when the castle turns different colors before it dims and we are reminded of walt disney's dream and wishes. we were happy, but so so tired.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

WDW: the arrival & epcot


when we arrived in orlando, i told the kids that we had a long stopover before boarding our plane to boston. the aquinos suggested we come hang out at their hotel. so we followed them out of the terminal and headed toward the disney transportation area.

we kept passing mickey signs. the kids said nothing but, "it's mickey." we entered the line to go to the bus, kids didn't say anything. we thought the 2 older kids would for sure get it because they are both very bright, but they didn't say anything. even when we asked them where they thought we were going, they just shrugged their shoulders and said,"i don't know." we boarded the disney cruise line bus that was taking us to our hotel, they still said nothing. a video played in the bus that welcomed us to the walt disney world resort. we asked the older kids, "where are we going?" the reply, "i don't know." by then, we knew they probably had an idea but didn't want to be let down in case it wasn't true. after all, we taught them that it isn't good to lie, and here we were, we had told them little white lies for months.

i asked micah,"where are you going?" and he said,"i'm going to disney world!"


when we arrived at our resort, Pop Century, and said,"okay let's go to our rooms," malia and joshua started jumping up and down and yelling,"we're going to disney world!" they finally said it because it was confirmed.


the kids were so excited that we had adjoining rooms.

 

 we didn't waste any time. we put away a few things and set out for Epcot!


we started at Innoventions West, and headed on to a few other attractions. the kids were full of energy, the parents were dead tired but still excited.

Where's the Fire interactive game

at Runtime, the kids got to make their own video game they could play from home here


 too funny, they didn't know how to pose with each other

this was a perk for disney visa card holders. exclusive meet & greet and a free 5x7. it was really cool. 


The Living Seas aquarium

Journey into Imagination with Figment
 making music with their hands

our group Photopass shot

what a great first day it was. too good to be true that we made it. Disney is truly magical!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

WDW: the plane ride

we took a red eye flight to get more time at WDW. i thought it would be great that the kids would be asleep most of the time.

it was a "coincidence" that we ran into the aquino family at the airport. the kids thought it was cool that they were flying together.


it was micah's first time on a plane, malia's second. they liked it. they asked me if we were in outer space. malia knew i was a little scared of the take off and landing, she held my hand each time.
the kids did fine sleeping on the plane, i didn't. i forgot how loud it is on an airplane. but i was thankful we got to orlando safely. next time we probably won't take a red eye flight.

Friday, September 23, 2011

getting ready for "the trip"

last december, we decided to book a trip to disney world. seemed like only a dream back then, but now that it's almost here, i cannot contain myself. we are vacationing with the aquino family. we decided to surprise the kids, so we've just been telling m&m that we have a conference to go to in another state. malia was asking so many questions, i thought she was catching on to the surprise. so the story changed, and now "the trip" means we are going to boston for the conference and visit our cousins while we are there.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

cookie in church

went to church early this morning. m&m had a hard time behaving. on the way back to the car, this was their conversation:

malia: i'm so hungry, can we eat?

micah: but you already ate, you had a cookie in church.

malia: micah, that wasn't a cookie, that was the Body of Christ!!!

i didn't hear the rest of the conversation. i was too busy cracking up.

Friday, September 9, 2011

i love you

i started an experiment a couple months ago. we were all in one room, doing our own things. i decided to say out loud, "i love you," to see if anyone would say it back. without hesitation, malia responded right away, "i love you!" i knew she would. i kept saying it and she would say it back. by the 4th time, micah caught on, then roel.

of course i frequently tell them all that i love them. but i like to do it randomly, without addressing anyone in particular. and now they say it back without hesitation. even better, they start the "i love you" gesture first.

i want them to know that it's okay to say "i love you" any time, any place. we'll see if they will still be comfortable saying "i love you" through the teen years.

Monday, September 5, 2011

on the way home from micah's school

micah: do you know who died for us?

me: who?

micah: jesus.

me: how come he died for us?

micah: because he love us. hey, the clouds in the sky look like jesus footprints!

me: are you going to follow them and be good?

micah: yes.

me: so that means you'll be nice to your sister?

micah: (nods slowly) but how come she's mean to me sometimes!?