Why the Royal wedding ircked me...

So the last week or so all the coverage of the royal festivities has really started to get on my nerves. Honestly, I couldn't figure out why. I heart weddings. I really heart weddings. I mean it's like going to a real life Julia Roberts movie that's catered. What could possibly be more amazing?!
Today it totally hit me. The things I love most about weddings have nothing to do with things. It seemed the wedding details were getting all the hype.
 The things that make a wedding truly amazing have nothing to do with the colors, the location, or even (this hurts to say) the fantabulous dress.
What makes a wedding a wedding is the loooove.

One of my fav wedding moments is a stressed out groom. He was pacing and, well, just a touch cranky beforehand. I'm telling you when his bride stepped into the church, his whole demeanor changed. His eyes lit up, and he had the sweetest smile every time he touched her. During pictures you expect the bride to be gitty, but the groom was on cloud nine. Truly a fairytale moment.
I remember catching a father of the bride sitting alone with tears in his eyes. Watching a bride slip into her dress and her mother's face. The bride's face as she peeks into the sanctuary waiting for her song to start. A groom at the reception who was watching his bride from across the room as she greeted people with tears in his eyes. The hugs between father and son. Watching the groomsmen try to figure out which side to pin their flower on and how to do it without drawing blood. And oh the stories of groomsmen with sunglasses, carrying the groom, sneaking out to 'decorate' the getaway car. The tiny flowergirls with ringlets who pile up rose petals in one big mound as they giggle. The ringbearers who think the ring pillow is actually a weapon. The moments after the ceremony when it's just the bridal party. When a husband holds his wife for the first time in a quiet hallway.
Weddings are this unEarthly moment when God joins two people together. It's a moment that makes me tear up over and over again. To look at my husband and so truly grateful for him.
This is why I love weddings.
And btw, I did catch a pic of Kate. And yeah the dress was fierce.
And now some of my fav moments

Yes, my 4 yr old did ride the Tower of Terror

Pizza at...wait for iiiit....Pizza Planet!

It was our last day. We were all pretty run down, happy but run down. And as we turned a corner, Seth spotted it. The menacing run down building known as The Tow-errr of Terrrr-or (echoing freaky voice.) By this point Seth had learned exactly what the lil measuring tape thing was next to the rides. He sprinted to it, and when he realized he was tall enough, squealed like a pig being mowed down by an angry bird.
Let me say, he had watched videos of it on the dvd we'd gotten from Disney to plan our vacation. At one point before the trip he had said how scary it was, and he did not want to ride anything like that. I was pretty shocked when he started pleading to ride it. Wayne and I exchanged some seriously concerned words about the whole thing.
This was the conclusion we reached.
1. If we said no, he was going to have a meltdown and cry like a baby in the middle of Disney.
2. If we said yes, he was going to have a meltdown and cry like a baby while on the ride.
So by letting him go, we got to let him make his own decision that wouldn't permanently scar him (I hope,) and Wayne got to ride the tower of terror. So after trying to no avail to convince him it would be too scary for him, off the two of them went.
And being proper weenies and girls, Grace and I went off to shop.
Now this next part of the story is pure hear-say. Wayne said he did get a few worried glances from other people as they waited. Actually I think he used the term dirtbag. Seth was pumped. Seth was pumped in line. Seth was pumped when he buckled in. Seth was pumped...and then Seth was dropped.
For those of you not familiar with the ride, let me explain. It takes you up stupid high. And it doesn't just drop you, it pulls you down. So you're going faster than the speed of gravity. Why that sounds super fun I have no idea.
I know this is the part where u think he freaks out. Think again. He laughed when it dropped them. He loved it. The the tower yanked them back up...
This is the part where he freaks out. He cried that he wanted off and cried for me over the next several drops and pulls.
Let me back up for a minute. He had ridden a small roller coaster the day before with my Mom and Wayne. He absolutely loved it. He had also ridden the Spiderman ride. That one was 'sk-eeerr-eee.'
I know this because after he got off he gave me a long play by play of the whole ride complete with Seth-tastic hand motions and epic dramatic pauses. He is an amazing story teller...if u can understand what he's saying.
When I saw him after the tower, this was the conversation.
Me- Seth, was it fun?
Seth- It was scary. I cried for you.
Not really sure where to go in the story now. So lemme make a totally awkward jump....

Aaaand we got to meet Buzz and Woody. Oh I heart them. Seth about knocked Woody over. Oh and the actual Toy Story ride was pure awesomeness. When u walk in right before u get on the ride, it's like being in Andy's room only you're the size of a toy. We rode it at least twice, wait maybe three times. See why I'm trying to write it all down now.

I totally made them pose for this.

And my biggest geek out moment had to be at Disney Hollywood. The Muppets, oh how I adore the Muppets. And the 3D show was so good even the non-muppet enthusiasts, aka Wayne, enjoyed it. I had to stop and take pics in the hallway. Oh and afterward there was a whole store devoted to Muppet awesomeness. My mickey ears that I bought are Kermit Mickey Ears. Dude, they're ah-mazing.

I think it was right after that show that we spotted McQueen and Mater. To be fair, I think Seth spotted them. He ran over to McQueen who was purring like a, um, insert fancy car reference here. Sorry Wayne's at work so I have no one to get car metaphors from.

The arm across the hood, hand on the hip, blue steely gaze, all Seth's idead.

Grace tried to go stand next to him. Seth shoved her out of the pic. And then he posed himself. I would've stepped in quicker to make him behave, but I was doubled over laughing. He was hardcore serious about that pic. Wayne swooped in by Grace, and they took pics with Mater. Sweet Daddy :)

We also went to see Beauty and the Beast. We got to sit stupid close. So close I could see that Gaston's muscles were built into his costume. But it was like it's own lil Broadway style show. Grace is a fan of all things dancing and singing. She and I were sucked in pretty quick. And also, Wayne noted that when the Beast turned into the prince his hair looked like Fabio. Then Seth asked who's Fabio.

And the Honey, I shrunk the kids playground is still there. I remember playing on it when I was younger. Still adorable and the kids were gone. Grace got a lil wigged by te giant ant...til it purred at her. Then she was hooked. Had to drag her away from a giant ant.
All in all, I have to say this was one of our fav parks. Wasn't quite as crowded as Magic Kingdom and the size made it super easy to find things. And this was the park where I got to do the most shopping so win, win.

Fairies, hats and a Segway

So I figure I've only got a week or so left to get this down on paper  blog before my memory craps out on me.

So day, um, 4 I believe we were Epcot bound. Now Grace was not at all interested in the big ball thingy ma-gig or any of the amazing flower topiaries that were out for spring (Wayne learned a new word that day. Topiary not ma-gig.)

Because Epcot is the land of the Fairies. Oh Tinkerbell, we traveled hours and crossed many states to meet you. She could barely contain herself as we pushed her up to the lil fairy grove in the stroller (excited but still willing to rest in a stroller.) Tinkerbell was on a pixie dust break, but we did see two adorable lil fairies. Grace ran to them and giggled the whole time they talked to her. The pic of her with her lil hands on her hips is just one of my fav of the whole trip.
After her lil visit she said she knew Vidia, and then said, "Mom, I can't remember the other fairy's name." Now had I been thinking I would have at least taken a few more seconds. But no, I didn't miss a beat. "Rosetta," I replied. This is the point where I'm fairly sure I have seen Tinkerbell movies one too many times. Btw Vidia was my absolute fav of all the fairies.

So a few min later, Tinkerbell emerged in all her pixie dust glory. Grace again started the giggling. And I was very proud to say that I have no idea what the boy fairy's name is. Whew, still an adult ;)
I think we could've gone home right then and Gracie would've been content. The rest of the trip she talked about the fairies.
I was onto meet the rest of the animated gang. Oh, side note. That morning Mickey AND Minnie had come to Give Kids the World. We got to meet them there, and take what will be our family Christmas card pic (Those of u who know me know that I never actually get around to sending out a Christmas card, but maybe since Mickey and Minnie are in it... still prob forget.)
But the rest of the gang was all in one big place. It was beyond awesome. U got to go from Minnie to Goofy to Donald to Pluto...well u get the idea. Wayne was quick to jump into the pic with Gooffy...insert obvious joke here.
Oh and outside we later met Chip and Dale. Didn't even realize Seth knew who they were, but man he was all over them like Chip on a walnut. Still no clue which one is which.

Oh and I forgot the hat parade inside one of the stores. Seth is my moody picture taker. When it's my idea, he's hiding his face and sticking his tongue out. But when it's his idea, oh it's a par-tay! So Seth began to systematically try on every hat he could find. And Gracie noticed I was snapping away pics of him. She doesn't understand why anyone would ever take a pic of anyone but her. So she began modeling too. 

It was a much needed distraction because this was also the store where I got a glimpse of the Disney Dooney and Burke purse that I had been stalking online for weeks. I think I sensed it the moment we walked in the door. The soft leather called to me across the aisles. Even the zipper was amazing. All the lil teeth were different colors. I would just like credit for walking away from it. 

And Wayne feel in love too....with a segway. He and all the senior citizens stood in line just to try one out. I think it's a good idea. I mean he's so hard to spot in a crowd now, I feel the segway would really make him a head up, make that another head up on everyone else.

So this was the park where we rode only a few rides. We rode the ride with Figment the Dragon. Pretty sure it was the exact way from when I rode it as a kid. Wayne and I were both thinking lame-o, but the kids wanted to ride it again as soon as it ended. Turtle Talk with Crush from finding Nemo was super cute, and the Nemo ride was too adorable. But for 4 and 6 yr olds, Epcot is mostly about who u can meet :D 

And now the parade of hats! 

Hello Suess and Fivel

Honestly, I hadn't thought too much about Universal Studios before our trip.

Hands down fav part of her day!

I mean how could anything compete with Disney, and after playing with dolphins I thought Universal would probably be a bit of a let down...I was so wonderfully wrong :D
We got there, and as I was waiting in line for a stroller I spotted Scooby Doo. Didn't bother pointing him out to the kidlets. He was way too far away for me to hunt him down...too far for me.
Super Daddy to the rescue. He scooped up both kids. And off they went. Scooby turned the corner, but Super Daddy's stride is way longer than any dog, no matter how big. And he got Mr. Scoobert. Cute phone pics and everything. Can I just say I'm totally in love with man?!
Grace drug me back to see Scooby one more time later that day. He gave her beads that are now hanging on the door of her room. Oh and he danced with her. Pretty smooth for a Great Dane.

It was all good times from there. We hit Fivel's playground. Now the kids have no clue who Fivel is, but they def enjoyed his world. Grace rode the lil water slide at least five times. And here's what we learned about the slide.
1. Grace will wait til ur at the top to decide she doesn't want u to ride with u. At which point ur that weird adult riding down it all by yourself.

I'm thinking about having this made into an 8x10

2. How wet u get is directly related to how much weight is on the raft...Wayne was soaked.
And speaking of soaked, we found Curious George's lil town square. So it's this whole lil area where u can get soaked, not a bad idea at an amusement park in Florida. But I was just wet enough from the slide to be quite content to follow the lil path around the outside avoiding all the H2O. I got to the end, and my sweet son asked me to walk into the lil post office. It was at the edge, no one was manning the water cannons, what could be the harm?
Seth was showing me around and pulled me over to the mailboxes. And without missing a beat he opened the one mailbox that hid a hose down worth of water. I don't mean a spritz. I mean soak from about the neck down. And then the lil monkey busted out laughing.
Apparently he had been in the post office earlier with Granny. He knew exactly which one would spray buckets of water. And had waited til he got me in the right spot before opening the mailbox.
Honestly, I'm pretty proud of his lil prank. Smart kid,
teen years are gonna be rough.
Now I need to give another shot out to my super awesome hubby. He knew when he married me that I was a big weenie when it comes to rides. For real the tea cups at Disneyworld hold no appeal to me. He voluntarily missed most of the roller coasters. His attitude was if the kids couldn't ride then we'd find something to do as a family. Have I mentioned that I heart this man.
Anyway, Universal has some pretty amazing scary rides...I mean at least from my viewpoint on the ground. And Wayne and my Mom did decide to try the Twister ride. Btw it makes me super happy that Wayne and my Mom are all buddy-buddy. The kids and I waited at the exit where Seth and Grace put on a dance show for me. They can seriously bust a move...I think it's all that MJ gaming.
So the actual point of this story was so I'd have an excuse to post the pic of my Mom when she got off the ride...

If those shirts and hats hadn't been so dang expensive,

we'd all have matching outfits for Halloween...

or whenever.

Later that afternoon we found Dr. Suess-land. Now lemme say that Seth and I have a special Suess connection. It's all those Horton books. A story about an elephant who sits on an egg and when the egg hatches the lil flying elephant is Horton's. Hello adoption water works :D
Anyway, I think he and I would've moved in if possible. I mean it was like walking into the book. Plus all the thing 1 and thing 2 merchandise. Seth really makes a cute thing.
So at the end of the day we left Universal with a stuffed Scooby (who's nametag we later noticed is sewn upside down,) a sticky spiderman (he needs to be washed every 1/2 hour but he does stick to the ceiling,) thing 1 and 2 toe socks (I forgot toe socks don't work very well with my partially webbed toes,) and stupid big smiles on our faces.

 So I now totally get why people have dolphin tattoos. I have to admit that I always thought the sea creature obsession was, well, I just never got it. I mean they're cool, but come on they're just big fish.
That said I was still super pumped to go to SeaWorld. My mom, aka superGranny, had paid for all us to have a dolphin interaction. (really didn't know what that meant either)

We walked into SeaWorld and headed to the dolphin nursery. And as we turned the corner they were jumping out of the water and doing that lil chatter thing. And right there I was hooked. All of us were immediately sucked in by their smiling lil mouths and playfulness. No lie, I was seriously considering scaling the wall and jumping in. Fortunately, the love of my camera kept me on dry land.

Now when the trainer started talking I assume he explained all kinds interesting and educational dolphin facts...I do not remember anything. I was staring intently into the dolphin's eyes, and I know we did the 'vulcan mind meld' thing.                                                                   Then we headed off to our actual 'interaction.' Each group got their own trainer and group of dolphins. The trainers would feed them, tell them to do tricks (I know there's a more pc word for trick, but once again I wasn't really listening to the trainer.) And then they would slide up on a ledge by the edge of the pool so we could...wait for iiiiit...rub them down. They were like petting a puppy of solid muscle that was coated in watery adorableness. Looking at the pics and video later, I realized it was a good five min of Wayne and I playing before we noticed the kids hadn't gotten to touch one.We did finally share, and the kids also experienced dolphin bliss. And after it was over, we were so hopped up on dolphin love that we paid $40 for a cd of pics. Btw totally worth it :D



There are no actual killer whale pics...
I didn't have a poncho for my camera.



Then we headed over to see the killer whales. I'd also never seen one in real life...and holy moly were they huge-animous!

Grace had convinced us to sit in the splash zone. After numerous attempts to talk her out of this plan, we sat in the 'reserved' seating area, aka the prepare to be hosed down by salty 52 degree H2O. Being resourceful I remembered that friends of ours had told us to take ponchos just in case of random Florida rainstorms. So a few min later my whole fam sat wearing ponchos on the bleachers in 80-something weather, not a cloud in the sky. Btw ponchos don't really breathe, but we were totally prepared for the coming downpour.
And out came the whales. Wayne later said that when the mom and baby jumped out of the water together he 'cried on the inside.'
We cheered, teared up and gasped...and then came Shamuu. The dramatic music pounded and the hosing down of the crowd begin. His massive tail projected icy water across the entire stadium...except a group of about 10 people.
After the show, the woman behind us thanked us for wearing ponchos. She was sure that the fact we had on ponchos was the only reason our lil area was completely dry, like not even a spritz of moisture.That's right. We enjoyed the super close seats and didn't come out with wet pants to chafe us the rest of the afternoon. Plus we looked super cool in the ponchos.
I'm now debating on a dolphin and a killer whale hugging in a giant heart or a baby dolphin sharing fish with a killer whale in an ocean. Either way, it's gonna be a killer tat.



Ode to Magic Kingdom

So we loaded onto a ferry with hoards of other lucky people. Of course we went to the top level (tip: the top level is pretty chilly in the morning with the breeze. don't recommend it unless you are carrying your own personal wind block, aka Seth) 

The boat set off and in the distance we could see IT! A castle, a big sparkly castle. For real it was like being an 8 yr old girl.  

Ya know sometimes when u build something up in your mind, it never seems to measure up. Ya this was not one of those times :D The whole place was so big and crazy fun over the top. I think we just wandered around for an hour or so with our jaws wide open.

I'm not sure who spotted Rapunzel first, but she was the princess Grace was most excited about meeting. The line stretched around a corner, and we heard it was a 2-3 hr wait to see her.

And then in stepped Super Granny. (instead a cape she rocks the visor) She found the cast member at the front and told them about Grace. This is where we discovered the awesome power of the Make A Wish. We were rushed to the front of the line and a minute later Grace was snuggled between Rapunzel and Flynn. And btw they looked just like um. Flynn did smolder and for real I swooned a lil bit. 

And that was when the day got amazing :) 

Turns out with her disability pass we got to go to the front EVERY line in the park. (There have been a few CF perks over the years. Mostly the part where she gets to eat everything in sight. But that pass was by far the best one EVAH!) We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride twice in like 20 min. Oh and what's important about that arcade style ride is that I didn't just beat Wayne, I crushed his gamer soul. And that it was super amazing and fun.

Then we met Buzz himself. Smart guy had a stamp to sign Grace's autograph book. Still wondering how long it takes the other characters to learn to write with those gloves on. 

Anyway, not sure why my mother planted a big ol kiss on buzz, but she did. She always had a thing Tim Allen. Would've loved to have seen the guys face under that costume when she did that.

He was dead serious...to bad I was deadly accurate.

Oh, oh I forgot the Wayne's a pirate story. So the original plan was for Seth to do the Pirate's League and be turned into a pirate. He was kinda cranky that first morning and chose to skip it. We were gonna lose our deposit so Wayne graciously agreed to step in. It's like a boutique...for all things piratey. He got a new name cuz Wayne is a land lover's name. 

I noticed when I walked into the actual pirate making area that there were lots of other adults there...watching their children. He was the only adult getting made over. Heck at that point we didn't even have the kids with us. (They were hanging with Granny.) And a good chunk of the make-up artists pirates were guys. They called for Thomas Gunskull and up he went. He did luck out and get a piratess (girl pirate word I just made up.) The pics of a guy doing a guy's make up would've have been priceless tho. He got all pirated up, had to take an oath (video of that somewhere, look for it on fb,) and was then taken into a secret pirate lair (aka super awesome area for them to take piratey pics.) 

And Thomas Gunskull rocked the pirate look all day. Although he did spend a lot time asking if his eyeliner was running. Johnny Depp got nothin' on my man!

Disney blog 1 of prob a 1000 or so

The carousel outside the Castle. We rode at least once a day.
One day she actually rode three times. She loved the unicorn :)

Wednesday night I could hardly sleep. I'd close my eyes and start to giggle. But Thursday morning I did a Tigger spring out of bed. Wayne and the kids were a lil more Eeyore but still super excited :)
And up pulled a Limo. It was my first time to ride in one, and I have to say I highly recommend doing it in sweats. Cuz everything is better in sweats.
So we spent the rest of the day on planes. Turbulence is not my friend. Draminmine is def Seth's friend. Spent some quality time on the runway in Orlando during a nasty storm. Spent some quality time with most of Orlando waiting on luggage. And then couldn't find our greeter from Make A Wish at the airport. So 12 hrs after leaving our house, we were pretty ragged. That moment when ur children start crying, and u completely agree with them.
We finally decided we didn't need our greeter, got the rental car ourselves and set off in the dark rainy night. I was having visions of that scene in Beauty and the Beast where Belle is wandering thru the woods. Only instead of a castle we found a Walmart. (It's the landmark we were looking for to find our way to Give Kids the World.) And then we pulled into Give Kids the World.
This is the part of the story where there's a climatic ballad by Elton John. Think parting mist and sparkly covered landscapes.
Give Kids the World is Make A Wish's own lil hotel and hands down one of my fav things about the whole trip.
It's this whole community of kids and parents that are all here for the same reason. It's a place full of volunteers who are there to make a wonderful trip into an amazing one. And it's where I saw the most amazing things of the entire trip.
We checked into our lil house that night, and the next morning headed to breakfast at the Gingerbread house. It's this beyond adorable restaurant where everything is free and overflowing with shiny happy people. The room is full of all these children with life threatening conditions who couldn't be happier.
I watched a 10 yr old girl help her wheelchair bound sister get her breakfast. The 10 yr old was carrying her sister's tray and so sweetly asking her sister what she wanted, if the portions were big enough. The selflessness of this sister just touched me so deeply.

Honestly, it made me tear up like a big ol girl. I saw such love between families every time we where there I just can't put it into words.
I've noticed before that my kids are very close. That Seth will go sit with Grace while she does her treatments. Anytime she's sick, he's upset and worried. But even apart from her illness, they are close. He runs to hug her everyday when she gets home from school. On the weekends they're always having their own sleepovers. Until this trip it had never crossed my mind that maybe there friendship was partly because of her illness.
I watched him run to get the door for kids in wheelchairs and smile at everyone of them. Maybe his compassion is in part because of her Cystic Fibrosis. I found myself suddenly grateful to this terrible disease for small favors.
So I know u were thinking this blog would be all about Minnie and Mickey. To be honest, I thought it would be too. I'll get to all that. This is gonna take awhile.
pics of give kids the world :D
Next time the story of how Wayne became a pirate and my Mom smooched a space ranger.