The most Magical Place on Earth

Half way through, and this is what it looks like, cause I'm sure you're dying to know, or wish you were here with us (we wish you were too!)

We got here Wed eve, went swimming and to a Luau...Yeah! (too late a night for the kids, wishing for a sitter). Thurs morn, Bella screamed til lunch...not fun. Wish we had a sitter. Then she chilled out and we had a great time! Saw the Killer Whales, sea lion show and fell in love with dolphins! Entranced with penguins, manatees, manta rays and sharks. Oh, and the Manta roller coaster ROCKED!!

Fri we met my mission trainer/great friend, Larina and her 4 fabulous children who stair step my own, and our oldest daughters LOVED each other, wouldn't let go to say bye at the end of the day...so sweet! And the Magic Kingdom was awesome! (did ok without a sitter today, Yeah!)

So when we were waiting at the gates for them to let us in, all the characters came out and did a little song and dance and I seriously got tears in my eyes. (What in the world? Seems to be happening ALL the time lately! Always got the tears. Is this an age thing? Here they come!) Walking into The Magic Kingdom was amazing for all of us. We got to the castle and just stood there trying to figure out what to do next. So mesmerized.

We went through a Swiss Family Robinson tree house and I thought, wow, they really went to a lot of work for this. Amazingly done! And we went on Space Mountain, again, wow! and the train around Tomorrow land, wow. And the Haunted Mansion and EVERYthing Disney does, I'm convinced is just AMAZING! From the wax figures that look just like Johnny Depp from Pirates to the backlot at Hollywood Studios. It's just amazing.

So we rode the big rides there, even in the rain. Had a fabulous time. Said good byes, so sad, but so great to see them!

Next day we went to Hollywood Studios and took it at a bit slower pace, but got so much out of it! Met lots of characters, saw a Beauty and the Beast show, went to Tower of Terror (so awesome), and our all time FAVORITE coaster was the Rockin' Roller Coaster by Aerosmith. Thrilling! And so fun! Fabulous music, even when you are ride swap waiting. The extra "magic" hour you get for staying in a Disney resort is totally worth it before the big crowds come, so we learned.

Today we went to Downtown Disney and my princesses were made up to be real princesses! And Jonathan was made up to be a "Cool Dude!" It was so fun for me and them!! (Ed didn't like the price tag that came with it, but it was just so fun!) Later, a little girl, about 3 walked up to Rebecca. She totally thought she was Cinderella! Rebecca gave her a hug and the little girl ran to her family and was so excited and in awe! They laughed but the other little girls with them just looked longingly at Rebecca as their family led them away. She was approached by another girl later, but the girl was repremanded before Rebecca got to give her a hug. She felt so special. It was so fun watching her. She has such a good heart. And Savannah was Sleeping Beauty and now likes her a lot. We ate at the coollest Dinosaur place I've ever been to or seen, and it was a restaurant, big enough to seat over 600. So cool. The kids were mesmerized with Legos for awhile, and then Ed got into the pin trading business. So fun.

We are only half way through our vaca! When I get home I'll add pics, but can't do that yet. (and still sometimes wishing for a sitter, but the kids are doing much better. I think they were just so excited and it made us crazy)

There's so much to do! I'm just in awe of the whole thing. We are definitely becoming HUGE fans, planning our next visit, looking into memberships...? And now pin collecting? I thought it sounded fun, so did Becca, Jon got into the trading aspect, then Savannah, now Ed and so hey! Why not everyone get their own lanyard! Now we can all buy the pins we want and trade what we want...Yipee! Just another fun Disney thing to do.

We will do Animal Kingdom tomorrow and then go back to Magic Kingdom, I think, maybe catch a flea market and the water ski museum. There's so much we still haven't done here! We will have to catch Epcot next time, along wiht Universal Studios, and a zillion other things.

SO FUN!! We're thinking the even years (Rebecca's idea) to come visit time and again. We'd love for you to come too!