Disney World

Matt had to go to Orlando for a conference and since school was about over, we decided that the kids and I should jump at the chance to share his hotel and enjoy Disney World.  We never said a word about visiting Disney to the kids and they were so surprised!  Not jumping up and down surprised, but shocked and excited.  On the way in I broke the big news to them.

We arrived at Magic Kingdom before opening on the first day and watched the welcome show.  I was tearing up the whole time watching how excited the kids were to see Mickey and go visit the park.  It brought back wonderful memories of going as a kid with my family.  Alex waved to Mickey the entire time.

 

This really is the most magical place on earth!  Let's make some memories!

 

I'd done my homework on lines and wait times and we hit all the attractions at just the right time to avoid standing in line and see everything we wanted to do.  Alex's favorite was the tea cups.  Several times.  Ben's favorite was his misting fan.  It's in nearly every picture but was the perfect entertainment while we were in line and sweating.

 

 

 

Dumbo is always a must-ride.  I had to get in one picture to prove that I was really there!

 

And a stranger took this one for us.  I carefully packed all kinds of things and still somehow managed to leave my camera at home (on the kitchen floor...I think it fell out of my backpack at 5am when we left the house) so I didn't want to pass my phone around to complete strangers.

 

The kids loved exploring the park but were not into stopping for photo ops!

 

We caught one of the afternoon parades and waved to all the characters.  Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to cool off, nap, and swim.

 

Later in the evening, we headed back to the park to see more of the rides.  Buzz Lightyear was great fun again, but not quite as cool as Hong Kong's.

 

Afterward, it was time to go meet the big mouse.  The kids were in awe!

 

They couldn't believe it was really Mickey and Minnie and asked a million questions. 

 

Totally speechless!  This is such a magical age to experience Disney.

 

My little navigator studied the park map and did pretty well figuring out where we needed to go.

We caught one of the shows on the castle steps.  Can you tell we were a little hot at this point?  We actually lucked out with the weather because a tropical storm passed through the day we arrived but had blown over before we got to the park.

We had a very busy first day and packed in all kinds of rides, even Splash Mountain.  I was surprised that Ben really loved it and wanted to ride again but Alex was scared of the drops in the dark and refused to go any more.  He didn't mind the big drop at the end and held his arms in the air like a champ!  At the end of the day we found a great place to watch the light parade and I was so thankful I threw a tube of light sticks in my backpack on a whim.  Perfect entertainment while we waited and much better than buying $20 light toys :)

The electrical parade was just as cool as I remembered as a kid and one of our favorite events.

Alex was thrilled to watch the fireworks because he's been obsessed with them for years....

....but it turns out they were louder than he wanted.  Like mother, like son.  I have an almost identical picture when I was 2!  We called it a night and headed home.  Exhausted but happy.

 

Day two we headed back first thing and saw a few new things and rode our favorite rides again.  The 3D philharmagic show was lots of fun.  Love their yellow shirts?  I matched them both days so I could keep up with both kids.  Even wrote my phone number on their tummies in permanent marker just in case we got separated.  It was hard sometimes being the only parent and making sure we all stayed together!

The carousel was lots of fun, too, and great to hop on every time we walked by because there was no line!

Ben's favorite activity was exploring Tom Sawyer's island.  It was lots of fun with a cave, rope bridges, a playground, and even a fort.

Shooting from the top of the fort was definitely a good time.

Toward the end of our second day, I could tell Alex was wearing down.  Little trooper walked everywhere and never complained until the very end that his legs were getting tired.

Our last ride was the jungle cruise and Ben asked about every 30 seconds if the sights were pretend.

Last stop - the gift shop on Main Street to pick up some buddies to take home.  The kids talked to their new friends all the way to the car.

Back at the hotel, it was time for some rest!

Then we enjoyed our next favorite activity again.  The pools were amazing at the hotel.  Ours was a big resort-style spread.

 

Next door, the partner hotel had a lazy river with little pools all the way around.  We'd do loops around the river and stop to play in the different pools.  It was really cool.  So fun, in fact, that after a few hours of playing at Disney World, Ben asked if we could go back to the hotel pool.  Kids are so funny.

The boys had an absolute blast and played their little hearts out.  It was such a fun trip!

The only drawback was that Matt was working the entire time and we rarely saw him and he didn't get to join in our fun.  We did get a babysitter the last night so he and I could enjoy the closing dinner together and I could meet some of his colleagues, but then we were on separate flights coming back so we didn't meet up again until we were all home on Friday.  It was a lot of work doing Disney by myself but so worth it for the fun and the memories!

Celebration of Learning

Ben's school doesn't have a kindergarten graduation, which disappointed me because I wanted pictures of Ben in a tiny cap and gown, but they did have a celebration of learning last week with all 277 kindergartners.  We started off in the classroom and Ben had quite a crowd to cheer him on.

 My baby is so big!

The kids had a little presentation for the audience about kindergarten, then Mrs. Cara read a little bit about each student.

Here is Ben's kindergarten bio...I loved it!

 

 The entire class

Probably a little more realistic picture of all of them together

And thumbs up for first grade!

Next it was off to the gym for all the classes to sing together.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to film it all but you can see Ben singing right in the middle of this picture.

This year the school had 12 classes with an average of 24 kids by the end of the year, so the gym was PACKED with kids and parents.  Next year a new school will open in another neighborhood so we will "only" have 8 classes for each grade. I was amazed and impressed at how well this school functioned with over 1,700 kids this year.

Even though school isn't officially out, this was Ben's last day.  Matt has a conference in Orlando this week and the kids and I are going to tag along.  They love hotels so they think we're just going to play and enjoy the pool.  The boys have no idea that (shhhhh.......) in two days we'll be at Disney World!  I think that will make up for missing the last few days of school :)

All Done!

Six Years Old!

My precious Ben, 

I can't believe it's already been six years since you blessed our lives.  Your entrance was not ideal.  We prayed for your very survival, then our hearts broke daily watching you endure so much pain and discomfort, but you not only survived, you thrived and flourished.  Your birth made you a fighter and the strongest little person I've ever met.  This will serve you well in life.

Your first birthday passed in the airport in Toyko, mostly lost after crossing the international date line.  After just one year, the pain of that day was still too fresh in my memory to allow for any celebration.  Instead, we just quietly celebrated YOU and the fact that you were so healthy and such a joy.

Your second birthday was a fun celebration with Singapore playgroup friends and your last as an only child.  This year you were old enough to enjoy cake!  You were growing up fast in so many ways but still had those sweet baby cheeks.  Two days later you proved you were still a tough, strong boy when you broke your arm and barely shed a tear.

Your third birthday was a wonderful party in our new house, complete with your first ice cream cake (no small feat in a tropical country!)  Your only request on your birthday was to get to ride the bus, so we hopped a double decker and had french fries at KFC on Orchard Road together.

We celebrated your fourth birthday in the southern hemisphere, probably the only time your May birthday will be in the winter.  It was Thomas the Train day at Caversham and you played with your friends and enjoyed the carnival. 

It wasn't until your fifth birthday that you were in Texas again on the big day!  You said it was your favorite birthday yet because you got to see all your grandparents that week and then got to enjoy them frequently all through the summer.  After four years away, it was a real treat to be just an hour away from them.

 
Now at six years old, your life has been pretty equally divided between living in America, Singapore, and Australia.  I love that all of your experiences have molded you into such an amazing, unique little boy.  You are thoughtful and gentle, funny and rambunctious, and so clever that you still surprise me almost every day with the things you think.  You're still about as skinny as the day you were born, but you're healthy and growing so we don't worry about it anymore.  Your imagination is endless and I hope that never changes.

Happy birthday, Ben!  Thank you for all the joy, love, and laughter you bring to our lives every day.