Lessons from Disney

Epcot had never been high on our priority list, so we’ve been every year, but only for a short time.  We’ve never invested time seeing all the countries, but we love to come late for the light/firework show.  This year, we bumped it up a notch.  We spent the entire day.  Yes, even in the outrageous heat.  It caused some emotional problems (I even got pictures of those!), but we stayed.  We ran out of steam about an hour before the light show, we just couldn’t go any longer.

Every year there is a two-week flower and garden festival, and this is only the second time we’ve made it down here in the small window.  It is totally worth it!  There are amazing (colorful, detailed, millions of pots and planted flowers, rainbows of colors and designs, etc.) displays, and topiaries of everything from fairies to princesses to (life-size) Lightning McQueen!

We did get to ride Figment, the Test Track (totally messed up my hair going 68 mph with no windows!), and the new Soarin’ virtual hangliding ride!  (Ethan was tall enough, but got scared after we turned in our fastpasses and got ready to buckle our seatbelts.  Such a bummer.) (Then he cried like a baby to ride it, and totally embarrassed Ches outside as he felt like he was being stared at by people and judged for holding a screaming kid against his will-it definitely changed the tone of our day.) : (

We loved Mexico, and it came at the perfect time.  It was so stinkin’ hot, but Mexico was dark and cold.  Lovely.  It was worth forking over some dough to sit in the cold dark to eat yummy Mexican food until the heat passed.  Clay only put out our romantic oil lamp once.  He’s still learning that it needs oxygen to keep burning. ; )  And that the glass is super-hot right after it goes out.

Worst moment: Ethan’s two tantrums over cars and rides.

Best moment: being wowed at every turn by more beautiful flowers. : )

Just the beginning!

Spaceship Earth, or "Big Golf Ball" (Mary Claire kept calling it)

Waiting for Figment!

I wanna do this.  Just tie up big sticks to use for a trellis! : )

I'll take a butterfly house too. : )

This was inside Bambi's Butterfly House.  cool, huh?

See?  Flower Perfection.  Can you see the Mickey Ears?

Winnie-the-Pooh!

Entrance to Pixie Hollow

Did you grow up in the 70's?  Don't you want a flower rainbow in your yard?

Inside the Test Track line-Ches does safety seat research and grants-he loved it!  (except the kids noticed the "kid's" feet were rotated backwards.)  (Creepy.)

"Crash tests show children are safer if they are restrained in a rear seat." (Love that my camera focused on the note and not the fence this time.) : )

She'll take this futuristic car.

He'll have this one right now.

Yep, she'll settle for it too.

Ooops-he wants one too!

No..maybe this one?

No, definitely THIS one.

Tantrum over the cars.

Aforementioned cold, dark, lovely Mexico. (pronounce Me-He-Co)

Happy Kids Color in the Cold.  God invented air conditioning, I'm sure of it.

Happy Parents in Cold, Dark, MeHeCo.

Boy wanting some of what parents got.

Coloring induces lunch time puppet show with Duffy.

Disney is pushing one more character on us.  Duffy the Bear.  They noticed Build-a-Bear profits were up, so they are investing wisely in small furry things and clothing for them.

THIS is why we invest in 14 pairs of white bike shorts when Gymboree gets them in February.  (It's pretty hard to find size 9 bloomers.)

He has amnesia about that 'web blister from yesterday.

In Canada.  Didn't know this was Canadian.

Wish list for my garden.

I'll take a beauty and a beast made from flowers too.

In Italy with Lady and the Tramp.  Clay feels like Lady needs some of his gigantic Turkey Leg.

Notes from Disney: Plant lots of flowers in various pots and group.  Very Eye-Catching.

Girl eating ice cream in Italy.

Group more colorful flowers in bigger pots in a larger mass grouping.  (I'm takin' notes.)

Add "The Romantic Road" sign ; )

Wind around to China and play puppets.  Have mommy untangle one white unicorn, then decide not to buy it.

Then add grass and plants to your roof.  Great insulation.  Reinforce roof to prevent collapse.  Ask Norway for their architectural advice.

Say goodbye as the sun sets.  Glad we're all friends again. : )

Girls Day

We are safely home. : )  Yesterday we toured the Apple store (I sat in the van and photographed my fave--Pottery Barn:

Doesn't it fit right in?

Then the kids couldn't wait to get to the Moon River Marble Company!  (They kept calling it a "factory" and we were told we'd see a marble-making demonstration!)  So..when we came upon it, and it was a little gray building, with a gravel parking lot, with only about 10 spaces, I was deeply disappointed we'd driven out of our way-into Kansas-to see this.

It's a chalkboard.

The bonus is there were train tracks just about 20-30 feet away from us, and the two times the train came through, we could FeeL it, and the boys ran outside to see it!  I was so worried after Ethan told me he'd "lay down flat, arms down, and let it go right over him!"  A mother's nightmare!  And he's awful adventurous..

To give them credit, we did see a marble-making demonstration.

A lady clearly explained how they weren't a factory.  The marbles they sell by the bag or by the tube are from a factory: machine-made.  The only ones that are human-made at that location (or shipped in by other glass artists) are in a case at the back, and run from $30-$1600.  Guess which ones we bought?  Yep: the machine-made ones! : )  (I should mention it was generally a big toy store-tons of games, dolls, girl-stuff, and...squirrel underpants.  Really.  They had boy and girl underpants, and for the life of me I don't know why I didn't take a picture!)

Sorry I didn't post last night, I was so exhausted!  I was busy trying to get my checking account reconciled (by hand!) since my Quicken software downloads from my bank online, but I realized there were chunks of time missing (and pages worth of transactions missing!).  Now, since tax-time is looming, and we have to turn in our paperwork, it's become increasingly important!  Our tax guy never finishes them till April 15th, so I'm not freaking out..yet.

..and Today Mary Claire and I had a girls' day out. (while Ches took Clay fishing!) We started at church working on envelopes together, and giving some medicine to a friend's mom and the ends of our insulin pens to another friend (we are not dealers-no money is exchanged!) (Hahaha!).  I forgot to take into account that it was spring break, (other envelope workers are gone) and that it would take longer.  Lucky I had Mary Claire to help! : )  We whizzed right through them in about an hour, then headed for the library-she was so excited.

We toured, found new fiction, got Clay some heavy-duty fiction-a couple new ones (one about a train and this one!), and got Ethan some picture books: LMNO Peas, Too Purpley, How to Teach a Slug to Read, Little Mouse and the Big Cupcake, and The Wonderful Book.  I love that they set up the newest books in a special section-they are almost all new to us!  Not that I don't love some favorite authors.  One of the picture books Mary Claire chose was Ponyella (by Laura Numeroff!), it was a spin-off of Cinderella, but with horses-so cute!  What a good class assignment: choose a fairy tale, and change the characters to write a new story with animals, talking foods, etc.  It was cute, and I loved the vocabulary and how they changed up all the magical fun!  (She also got this, this, two of these, and this.)  We got so many books, we had to buy an extra bag on the way out!  Waiting for the elevator...

And then as we were driving away, I noticed these beautiful flowers..

..and thought if there were little bits here and there at the library..the Square must be so much better!  We drove on up the hill, and I was right.  They haven't peaked quite yet, but beautiful!  I needed some colorful happy.  Enjoy:

Tulips...Spring is coming!

Don't you love this tree just full of big, fluffy white blooms?

so much color!

Then a trip to Mom's to help her get ready for her trip..and she's off!  Then we met Ches and the boys at the movies.  We saw Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules!  I have to say I liked it at least twice as much as Rango.  I forgot to tell you much about that (but they used the words h*ll and d*mn-I wasn't happy!)  We are talking about an animated cartoon, and not during a busy scene where they'd be glossed over-it was loud and clear.  Disappointed me big-time.  BUT-I laughed my head off at the Wimpy Kid!  I mean, the whole thing was fun-the parents, the kids, friends (and enemies), the talent show, the party at their house (with no alcohol, but tons of fun)..ahh, it was great.  I think I saw myself in the mom, and the older brother Roderick tells his mom, "but I showered yesterday!" and we looooked at Clay!  You should see it.  Funny stuff.

Then we had dinner out, took some library books in with us and read..just fun!  I loved that the boys liked what we got them.  Then, more shopping..I had to use a Gymboree rewards certificate before tomorrow (and found the cutest brown zebra dress that just came out yesterday, and would go SO well with that dress I got in Florida from J.Crew!) (even for Easter, but Gymboree wouldn't count it for the Easter Dresses 30% off-sadness.)  I'll have to wait for Gymbucks time since I have to save something to buy then! : )
Finally, Wal-Mart and Home.  Long, sweet day with my girl (and boys).  So thankful for time with them this week.  We still have two days...what should we do?