Disney...Soooooo Much Fun!

Our awesome friend Carolyn convinced us to meet her in Florida for a Disney vacation. She was going to run her first marathon and needed us there for moral support. We needed a family vacation to re-group after Daddy had been in Afghanastan for 8 months. So, our desired Disney Cruise turned into a Disney World trip as she paid for our stay there. We only paid to get there. An offer we couldn't refuse. A week to remember always.

This entry is about our last day.

Magic Kingdom

This was our last day in Disney World. It was quite cold but beautiful.
I was really glad that I listened to that quiet voice that told me to pack winter coats at the last second before we left Vegas.

"Hey guys come back here! Let's dance with Mr. Incredible!"

We didn't want to dance with Mr. Incredible because he was kinda scary looking. But then we saw Jessie and Woody.
We missed getting their autographs the first time we went to Magic Kingdom. So there was no way we were going to miss the opportunity to dance with them!

Carolyn and Lily gettin' their groove on with Jessie.

I thought the men dancing on stilts were quite impressive.

Lincoln normally loves to dance...I mean really boogie! Unfortunately he was REALLY tired and just couldn't get into it.

Woody

Chloe gettin her groove on!

Then we made our way over to Space Mountain. After riding that a few times we got to meet, as Lincoln calls him, "Butt Year"...........otherwise known as Buzz Light Year!

Linc couldn't take his eyes off him!
We thought about letting Zurg keep them for awhile.

Moving on to Thunder Mountain!!
Daddy riling them up!

Mommy soothing their fears.
Thank goodness for Fast Passes and the courtesy child switch passes. The girls were able to go on again and again!

Then onto the train to take us to Fantasy Land.

Carolyn!!!

Linc was mesmerized by the steam engine train. Until they blew the horn and scared the crap out of him!

It was rather impressive.

Face painting fun. (Chloe only kept hers on for about 30 minutes. She washed it off in a huff and would not tell me why).

Lily wanted to keep hers on for days.

Chloe became a magical rainbow.

Lily became the Water Fairy.
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This was also the day we lost Chloe. I took the girls on the merry-go-round. Chloe insisted on running off to get a particular horse. I of course chose to stay with my younger child who wanted to do her own thing too. Well, when you exit that ride there are 3 exits. It took us about 20 minutes to find her amongst the crowds of people. Luckily this nice couple that didn't speak any English stood with her until Daddy found her. She was all tears. Needless to say she never "ran off" to do her own thing again.
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Here we were waiting in line to see Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder. Chloe is holding Pascal.

The kids got to color while waiting to see Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder.

Dancing with Flynn Ryder! Lily got to hold his hand!

Linc got tired while we waited in line to meet them. He fell over and then decided to stay on the ground for awhile. It reminded me of the little boy in the Christmas Story....all bundled up and unable to get up on his own!

Autographs

These two actors were incredibly good at their roles. They never came out of character while talking to us. Definitely worth the wait!

Much To My Dismay...

About this time last year I started coaching gymnastics again. I have such mixed emotions about this sport. I love it for everything that it did for me. It taught me hard work and perseverance. It kept me out of trouble. It taught me how to be a perfectionist in all aspects of my life. I also learned how to take care of my body. That is until I blew my ACL. Twice. I now have the arthritis of a 70 year old and have to go into my orthopedic doctor as often as possible for injections. Cortisone shots don't work anymore and I'm only 33 years old!
But I vowed that I would let my children decide what sports they did and did not love. Both girls started gymnastics this year. Chloe decided that she hated all the stretching and only lasted about 3 months. Lily, however, LOVES it, and has been moving up the ranks already. She had her first exhibition in December and got her first medal. She was sooooo excited that she wore it everywhere she went for the next 3 days. The only reason she took it off was because she broke it. (Totally fixable....Mommy just hasn't gotten around to it yet)!

When not standing on podiums, she is doing cartwheels or handstands everywhere. I have to remind her to clear a path before she starts as my jaw and her foot have had several close encounters. (Brings back memories of when I broke my own mother's jaw doing a cartwheel in the kitchen....not a great day at our house)!
Lily stays with me on the nights I coach...so she's in the gym for 8 hours a week. She just hops into whatever class she can and does her best. She's becoming quite the gym rat and loves every second of it.

Some of the girls on her team. They are all just as dramatic as she is. And I am one of her coaches. Sometimes that's a good thing, and sometimes it's not!