Thursday was spent partially in Future World at Epcot Center at partially at Downtown Disney.  Our first stop was to get the one and only fast pass of the week for me, which was to ride "Soarin'."  Then we toured The Seas.  That was a very cool place and the girls really enjoyed all the live fish and sea creatures.  Talking to Crush was pretty neat, too!  We saw "Imagination" and toured Innoventions, followed by lunch at The Land and then finally got to experience "Soarin'!"  This was definitely one of the neatest rides of the week!  Ella was a little overwhelmed by it (and said her tummy felt funny afterwards) but still thought it was really cool.  You really do feel like you are flying and even smelling the sights around you.  Amazing.  We squeezed in a quick ride through Spaceship Earth (everybody's gotta do it!) before catching our bus to Downtown Disney for EARLY dinner reservations.

 

We all spent the late afternoon/early evening at Downtown Disney.  Troy, Jeff, and I had really good coupons for Planet Hollywood, so we ate there while Grandma and Grandpa took the girls to McDonald's.  Our time at DD was short, but very interesting!  I kind of wish we would have had more time there to explore all the different shops.  I wasn't sure if DD was going to be worth taking our time from the parks, but it was definitely worthwhile!

 

That evening, Grandma and Grandpa once again got the girls to bed back at the hotel while Jeff, Troy, and I got to stay out a little longer.  We arrived back at Epcot about 5 minutes late for their "Illuminations" show out on the lake in the middle of the World Showcase.  It was really a sight to see, but unfortunately we couldn't see much!  Having arrived there so late, the crowds were thick in front of us and we had a hard time seeing it all.  Afterwards, Jeff and I went to see "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" while Troy went in search of - can you guess - another hat.  This time, a tri-cornered, colonial America-type hat.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of that one!  We also spent some time in one of their larger gift shops trying to narrow down our souvenir choices - only one day left to decide and make our purchases!

Wednesday, Day 4, was the day slated for the Animal Kingdom.  We got a late start (we were really needing to catch up on some sleep by this point!), but had a fun, full day once we got there.  We have LOTS of pictures from this day, as you can see, so most everything we did had at least some part of it captured on film.  The highlights included Finding Nemo - The Musical, The Festival of the Lion King, and the Kilimanjaro Safaris.  Everything there was such high quality.  I know a Disney vacation is expensive, but you really get your money's worth in every way!  Even the food is worth the outrageous price tag.  Speaking of which, we ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, which is always a special treat.  The day's big rain came while were in the restaurant that day, which worked out nicely for us except for that we didn't have the stroller prepared, so it wasn't very usable the rest of that day.

 

At the end of the day, we rode the bus back to our hotel, had dinner at the cafe there (which was rare!), and got the kids to bed ourselves.  That evening, Troy, Jeff, and I made use of the "free 30-minutes of play" coupons for the hotel arcade that came with our trip package.  It was fun, but I can't understand how people can throw their money away at that stuff.  It's over so quickly!  We got to bed a little earlier that night to recharge for another full day ahead!

Tuesday morning, we got up bright and early for the big day we had been looking forward to for so long!  My mom treated the four girls on our trip to breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table.  Most of the little girls there wore princess costumes, as did Lucy (Ariel), but Ella really wanted to wear her nightgown, which I have to say is very pretty.    It was such a special moment, rounding the corner onto Main Street USA and suddenly there in front of you (with no crowds in front of it since we were there before the park opened) was Cinderella's castle!  You have never seen two more bright-eyed little girls!  We got to walk right up inside the castle.  It was beautiful and elegant and everything we could have dreamed of.  The food was fantastic (and unlimited!) and we were visited by 5 princesses.  Each girl was given a souvenir star wand and wishing star, plus five professional photos with Cinderella and one of the castle in a special frame to keep.  Lucy was a little disappointed that Cinderella didn't sit down at our table and actually eat with us, but had another idea..."Maybe if I ask her, Cinderella will take me to the potty!"  Disappointed again, we had to go without her, but there was nothing about our time in the castle that was anything less than "magical."  Thanks so much, Grandma, for giving us that opportunity!

 

The rest of the day was special, too, as we spent the majority of our time in the Magic Kingdom.  We stood in line a LONG time to get our pictures with Ariel and with Mickey and Minnie, but other than that, the lines were fairly short and we got to do and see a lot.  In addition to the things pictured, we also saw Mickey's Philharmagic, A Dream Come True Parade, It's a Small World, the Country Bears Jamboree, a street party by the castle, and Troy and Ella rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.  The boys fit in a few more attractions while we were in the castle, and Troy, Jeff, and I rushed over to Hollywood Studios that night after the girls were in bed in time to see "Fantasmic."  What an amazing show!  Then we ended the night with "The Great Movie Ride" - with no line!  Another great day, more rain, and another late night!  We were getting the hang of this...and wishing it would never have to end!

After a great first night of sleep, we woke up Monday for our first full day at Disney and our first time to take a bus to one of the parks.  One of our few "suggestions" (we won't call them complaints) for the week was that we thought Disney could stand to have some covered areas to wait for the buses.  That Florida sun is HOT!  Thankfully, though, we all made it through the whole week with no sunburn!

 

We spent the bulk of Day 2 at Hollywood Studios.  Most of the highlights are pictured.  Not pictured was the Muppet Vision 3-D show, The Voyage of the Little Mermaid show, and Playhouse Disney...Live!, plus the trip Troy, Jeff, and I made to the Animal Kingdom after the girls were in bed.  That night, we saw "It's Tough to Be a Bug" inside the Tree of Life and rode the "Dinosaur" ride.  Both were fun, but definitely too scary for the girls.  Grandma and Grandpa were gracious enough to stay at the hotel with them each night so we could do a few "non-kid" things.  It was very helpful that our hotel rooms were adjoining so the girls could go to sleep and Mom and Dad could be in their room right next door. 

 

It was also on Monday that we got our first taste of what a August day in Florida was like.  It was scorching hot in the morning and early afternoon, then the sky clouded over and we had a downpour.  After that, it was still muggy, though not quite as hot and sunny, for the remainder of the day.  Every day of the week was pretty much like this!  We were thankful to have our umbrellas with us, to have a stroller with a nice big umbrella top for the girls, and a poncho to cover the stroller with when we had to leave it outside.  It only got soaked beyond use one day when the poncho blew off.

 

We were all pretty tired by the time we went to bed that night, but so excited for Tuesday morning...the morning our girls had been anticipating for months!  And it turned out to be the best part of the whole week for them!

 

 

Since I am STILL not finished and unpacking, and since I have over 200 pictures from the trip (after going through them all and narrowing it down!), AND since I don't want to wait forever to get them posted, I decided to just do a little each day and post one day's worth of pictures at a time.

 

Let me start by saying we had a GREAT trip!  It was our four, my parents, and my oldest brother.   We are so thankful to have had the help and the opportunity to have been able to take this memorable vacation.  It truly was "magical."

 

On day 1, Sunday, we left my parents' house a little after 7 am and made the 2-hour trip to the airport.  Troy brought "Peter Pan" for the girls to watch in the van on the way.  They had never seen it before, so it was nice for them to have an understanding of the movie before going and riding the ride, seeing Tinkerbell, etc.  We had a smooth trip and when we got to St. Louis, Jeff dropped us off and drove the van to the "economy" parking.  We had some turbulence on the plane, but not too terrible.  The flight only took two hours.  Ella really got into looking out the window and pointing out all the "little" things she saw.  That was fun.  Lucy enjoyed playing with her new toys (we got them each a few new toys to play with on the plane), but didn't really get into looking out the window or anything.

 

After arriving in Orlando, we took "Disney's Magical Express" from the airport to our hotel.  We stayed at the All-Star Music resort, in the Broadway building.  They make it fun for the kids right from the beginning.  Before we even finished checking in, the girls had been given Music balloons with Mickey Mouse tags, Mickey Mouse stickers, and buttons to wear that said "1st Visit!"  The employees addressed the girls as "Princess" and everyone was super-friendly and helpful.  That first night we just ate dinner in the cafe there, went swimming in the piano pool, and walked around and looked at all the other hotels in the complex.  What a neat place!

This year's Vacation Bible School at our church finished up the night before we left for our Walt Disney World vacation, so I didn't have a chance to post the pictures!  And since I haven't had a chance to get the Disney pics ready yet anyway (laundry is done, but I'm STILL unpacking!), for now VBS pics will have to do.  

 

Ella was in the 5-year-old class this year, which averaged around 19 students each night.  Lucy (though not in any pictures ) was in the Birth-2 class.  I'm pretty sure she was the oldest one in there.  I'm so glad that next year she will finally be in a "real" class!  I led the music rotation for the 1st-5th graders and Jeff ran the sound board and media shout.  We had around 200 in attendance each night including kids from birth through 5th grade and workers.  This was our first year having our new facility, so we were actually able to have two full rotations.  One upstairs for Birth-Kindergarten, including their own music, crafts, and missions teachers.  Plus a second set downstairs for 1st-5th grade with its own set of music, crafts, and missions teachers.  Things seemed to run pretty smoothly and we never had to be crowded like last year.  The theme to remember - "It all comes back to Jesus!"

 

On a totally other note, Ella starts kindergarten tomorrow! *sniff*  She is super excited and I know she will be fine and do great, but I can't help but be nervous for her and saddened to see her exposed to so many negative sources she's never been around before.  (namely the other kids!)  I'm praying for her to be strong and hold to what she knows is right and that God will keep her safe and protect her physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  What a huge journey we are about to begin!

 

Check back soon for an update on Ella and pics of all the Disney fun!