Disney World - Day 2

Tuesday morning we had a very important appointment - with the Princesses.  I bought Bonner a new Cinderella dress to wear for her magical morning and she was so excited!  We headed for Magic Kingdom and right to Cinderella's Castle.  We met a beautiful Cinderella and then ate breakfast with Snow White, Belle, Aurora, and Ariel.  Both children were in heaven :-)

It was so much fun.  The food was delicious and the princesses were fantastic!  They spent time with both Ian and Bonner and made them feel so very special.  Ian enjoyed kissing all the princess' cheeks and Bonner loved giving them each hugs!  What a special memory!

Needless to say, Bonner was very dramatic when describing some of the event :-)

After that, the children were deadset to ride the carousel again!  Bonner acted like a princess and waved to everyone watching!  And, Ian insisted Buzz rode with him!

As we got off the carousel, we saw the Fairy Godmother off to the side signing autographs.  (We didn't do autograph books this trip, but we loved getting pictures taken with the characters!)  And, since Bonner tells me at least 1 time a day that I am her "Fairy Godmother", I thought it only appropriate to snap a picture with her.  And, Bonner wanted to make sure that Abby Cadabby was not left out :-) as she gave the Fairy Godmother a sweet kiss!

Next stop was to meet Mickey & Minnie ... Ian was not very interested in getting very close to them, but Bonner was right in the middle.  She was truly amazing as there were only 3 characters that she was not interested in getting very close to, but more about that later!  She really took it all in ... and Ian did, too, when it was the princesses :-) and, of course, Woody & Jesse like you will see in a few minutes!

I need to pull these pictures from our Disney Photopass since I am not a big fan of the lady walking behind Mickey - ha!

As I look back on our pictures, I see that we were certainly not very efficient in our covering the pavement at Magic Kingdom; but, hey we did what we wanted to do!  Since all of Bonner's wishes had come true - she met the Princesses and Minnie Mouse - it was off to find Ian's favorites!  And, lucky for us, Jesse and Woody were hanging out in FrontierLand so we were off!

 Bonner, in her Cinderella dress and Minnie Mouse shoes, and Ian in the Toy Story shorts I made for him!  Woody thought the shorts were great :-)

 It's hard to tell, but Ian brought his big Woody to meet the real Woody.  Well, when the real Woody got a hold of the doll, he was so funny.  Ian doesn't like his doll to wear his vest for some reason, but the real Woody wouldn't have that so he got him all dressed (Ian wasn't too sure about that, but he did pretty good) and then ....

 he showed Ian's Woody how to dance.  It was so sweet and special.  He really spent quite a big of time with us and Ian ate up every second of it!

I am pretty sure we could have boarded a plane after these encounters and our trip would have been complete.  Ian and Bonner were thrilled to see all that they had seen; but, of course, there was still so much more to do!  Next stop was my favorite, the Jungle Cruise.  Again, Ian and Bonner were not too sure what to think but they warmed up eventually!

And then Bonner insisted on riding "Aladdin's Magic Carpets" ... again, Ian wanted to "drive them high!"

We decided that we were going to head back to the hotel for a rest when all of the sudden, we saw the Disney Philharmonic Band playing in the middle of Main Street.  Both children got very involved in dancing! I couldn't get a good video of Bonner because she was dancing amongst the crowd; but, Ian got right out on the street "with that good foot" just-a-going!  (I can't figure out how to rotate the video so I hope it doesn't make you sick to watch!)

We made our next attempt to leave the park and right at the exit, low and behold, we saw Daisy - another one of Bonner's favorites - posing for pictures.  So we waited to see her!  In the meantime, Ian noticed that Bonner's dress was leaving an aftermath of glitter, also known as pixy dust, everywhere she went.  He kept rubbing her dress and then staring at his hand!  So funny!

And next to Daisy was our favorite dog, Pluto!  Bonner didn't want to wait in line, but we got really lucky when he took a "potty break" and came right by us upon his return.

And, then off to the corner, was Snow White again.  There was no line at all so we ran over to see her again that day.  Of course, Ian needed to give her another kiss!

By this time, it was almost time for the afternoon parade to start so we headed up top at the Train Station and got great seats to see the parade.  As usual, it was as a terrific event and the children loved seeing all of their favorite characters!  I videotaped the whole thing, but I will spare you those details :-)

Cinderalla was so cute when she saw Bonner in her Cinderella dress staring at her from the balcony.  She pointed to Bonner and then pointed to her own dress and then blew Bonner a kiss.  Super sweet!  I think that is the thing that makes Disney such a wonderful place - each and every "Cast Member" pays such close attention to the details and makes every encounter with the children so special!

All and all, it was a full day with Mickey and his friends.  We left the park about 4 p.m. and headed back for a nap at the hotel.  We enjoyed a low-key dinner at the hotel grill and then the children wanted to watch a movie back in our room.  They picked none other than Snow White; after the movie was over, they decided they actually wanted to "play" Snow White so Bonner named Ian "the witch" and she was, of course, Snow White.

Their antics were hysterical and I am not sure that this video does them justice.  Basically, Ian would start out as the witch - give Bonner an apple - Bonner would fall out and then hurry to become the dead Snow White.  Ian would then transform from the witch into Prince Charming and kiss Snow White to wake her up!  Bonner's falling out was just hysterical!  Gigi and I could not stop laughing at them!

Disney World - Day 1

Sunday, October 9, we headed off to Disney World.  We drove to Charlotte in the morning and ate lunch at the airport.  Thank goodness for the family security line as we had enough stuff to bog down the line :-)  It was smooth, though, and the children did terrific on the flight.  I sat with Ian and he enjoyed watching Toy Story the whole flight; Bonner and Gigi played paper dolls and colored.

We arrived in Orlando and since we were using the Magical Express transportation through Disney, we were loaded onto the resort bus without even having to get our bags.  I definitely recommend the Magical Express.  Ian and Bonner fell asleep on the bus so that was good; a little cat nap before we "hit the ground running".

We arrived at our beautiful hotel, the Grand Floridian, and were welcomed with open arms.  The staff was great and our room was terrific.

The resort is comprised of several buildings and this was the view out the front door of our building, the Boca Chico.

This was the view from our room - overlooking the lagoon.  So peaceful!

Bonner and Ian changed clothes and we got ready for our first adventure!

 Ian had to wear the button he got when checking in at the hotel - "1st Visit" button!

The monorail came right to our hotel and Magic Kingdom was the first stop so we were there in no time.  We actually got to Magic Kingdom about 5 p.m. or so and we tackled alot that first evening.  It had rained like 7 inches in past 48 hours in Orlando so we were glad that we missed the monsoon.  However, the skies were still very ominous; it did not keep us from getting out and about!  We walked through Cinderella's Castle, of course, first thing!

The first ride we took on was the carousel - kids loved it!

The look on his face is just too precious ... he wasn't quite sure what to think, but he warmed up to the experience pretty quickly :-)

Next, it was Dumbo!  I really had no idea if they would ride it or not, but they didn't even hesitate!  Ian wanted to "drive Dumbo up high!"

Next ride on our list was "It's a Small World"... at first the children had no idea what to think, but it didn't take them long to enjoy seeing all the children along the boatride!

I was very surprised when Bonner insisted that we ride on the Mad Hatter's teacups!  (Ignore my southern twang in the following video - ha!)

We left Fantasy Land and headed for Buzz Lightyear's ride in Tomorrowland!  There was an interactive Buzz in the waiting line that was cute; but we really didn't have to wait for very long so there was just enough time for a quick picture!

 I took this picture with my cell phone so sorry for the graininess ... basically, you used those guns on the cab of your vehicle to shoot at all the crazy things around you.  Ian was totally in awe and no idea what to expect - thus, the deer in headlights look :-)

The ride was good, but the trip was complete when, of course, we exited the ride and right there in front of us was a "big Buzz Likeyear!"  (The exit of the ride was right in the middle of a Toy Story toy)  You might remember that Gigi got Ian a big Woody and a big Jesse for his birthday.  He plays with them non-stop and has been begging me for a "big Buzz" ever since.  Well, they are $40 at Target so I just wouldn't do it ... when we found "big Buzz" at Disney, though, there was no telling him, "No!" And their price tag of $25 was much more doable.  As you can tell from this video, Ian was super excited!  He took Buzz, Woody, and Jesse everywhere for the rest of the trip :-)

By this point in the night, we had been going strong for a few hours and we were all hungry.  We headed back, by boat, to the Grand Floridian and grabbed dinner at the hotel grill about 10 p.m.  Needless to say, the children passed out pretty quick after dinner and slept well.

Words from the Mouths of Babes

Bonner-Lingo

• On our way to school each morning, we say our prayers and thank God for our blessings and remind ourselves how we should act at school.  After I finish saying the prayers, I ask each child what they are thankful for that morning.  Well Bonner truly melted my heart one day when she said, "I'm thankful God gave you to me, mommy!"  Oh my goodness ... I could have cried!  Of course, Ian is not so "sappy" - he said, "I am thankful for my Buzz Like-Year!"
• Not sure what the children were playing on this particular day, but I heard Bonner say, "Ian, do you want to have a luau in my bed?"
• Bonner loves to play with play-doh and cut it with whatever object she can find to serve as a knife.  Recently, she looked up at me and said, "Look mommy, I cut it in HAP!"  (You know, 2 haps make a whole)
• We were at the pool and there were some children playing with some of Bonner's toys.  She very quietly walked over to me and said, "Mommy, I'm nervous when they take my cups!"
• Just after we moved to our big beds, Bonner looked at me and asked, "Mommy, can I have breakfast in bed?"  To which I replied, "Of course, your Fair Princess; what else can I get for you today?"
• As Ian was bothering her one day, I overheard her talking to her Abby.  She said, "What are we going to do with this brother of mine?  He's taking all my stuff away!"
• "It's sunny today because God made it a beautiful day!"
• "Mom, can you please give me a piggy-BANK ride?"
• "That's not yawning, mommy; that's queening!"  (I had no idea that queen could possible be a verb but it seems it can for a 3-year old)
• "I'm in a good MOVE, mommy!" (mood, of course)

Ian-isms

• Ian put all of his toys in a bin one day and said, "Bye, mom!  I'm going off to college!"  (No, please say it ain't so! Of course, Andy in Toy Story goes off to college so that's where he got it ... at least I hope!)
• We were out walking through the park a couple of weeks ago and these 2 foreign ladies were walking towards us with their heads covered up (as they do in Saudi Arabia).  Ian said to me, "Look, mommy, it's Mary & Joseph!"
• We were outside playing one day and we could hear a child crying.  Ian looked at me and said, "Mommy, someone sounds frustrated!"
• "Bonner, that is a beautiful dress!"

Niven's Apple Farm

Everyone around here goes to Sky Top Apple Orchard in Hendersonville, NC, and, unfortunately, we just haven't had a chance this year to do that since it is about an hour away and this wonderful sport called football is back on ... so I found a much smaller orchard located about 20 minutes from our house and the children and I headed out there today to enjoy the beautiful weather and the first glimpses of fall!  Here are some pictures from our adventure!

 Ian wasn't sure about the teepee - his expression of "Hmmph!" pretty much says it all!

 When we saw this donkey, I kid you not, Ian looked up at me and said, "Maybe we will see Baby Jesus, mommy!"  :-)

This little guy is getting so big ... he is a true miracle and my favorite little pumpkin :-)

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

It's Been SSSSSOOOO Long....

Wow, I cannot believe that it has been almost 2 months since I last gave an update on our uber-exciting lives.  To be honest, with everything going on personally, I am just trying to take one day at a time.  It's been really hard but I think the children and I are coming into a good schedule and that's all I can really hope for at this point.  And, of course, to stay busy so I don't have to think about the reality of where my life is at this point ... so busy it is!

I had a wild idea to put a chalkboard up in the children's room so they could enjoy it. Well, as I was talking to some people about it, a friend mentioned that you can buy magnetic primer and chalkboard paint at Lowe's ... well, voila!  Both of them love it!

We tried a new gymnastics place but it was just too over the top for 3 year olds ... Bonner is not happy with her ballet class so I think we will look at going back to the Little Gym.  The children were able to show off a few of their "tricks" at the new gym!

 Yes, those are his toes on the bar with his hands... I would not describe Ian as limber at all so this is actually pretty impressive :-)

Here are some pictures from our music class that we have really enjoyed - so much, we have signed up to take it weekly.  Ian absolutely loves it!  Bonner is still adjusting to all the people in the class and how loud it can get when all the instruments start going at one time :-)  (Sorry the pictures are so blurry, these were from my phone which doesn't take into account their wild motions)!

 Notice who she sat up to "watch her" play the triangle...

There's a song we sang in the class called "Dancing with Teddy" which is a slow song that talks about dancing with your teddy bear... well, when our teacher, Ms. Elizabeth dumped all the stuffed animals out on the floor, you guessed it, Ian went right for the stuffed squirrel :-)  Ha!  You can't really tell from this grainy picture but his mouth is wide open and he's screaming with excitement... So funny!

Bonner is still a princess... that hasn't changed one bit since our last update!  And she still loves to dress up all the time!

I absolutely love this picture!!

I guess I took this one with my iPhone, too ... so grainy but you can't miss the tutu and the gloves :-)

I have taken up sewing recently and I just love it ... I get to combine my logical side with my creative flair.  Here are the first projects that I have finished!

 A bag was my first solo attempt - I must say that it turned out pretty good ... I wouldn't look too closely at the stitching, but nothing has fallen out of the bottom yet! Ha!

 I made Bonner a Hello Kitty gown - the great thing is that it actually went over her head and fit her arms at the right spot!

 We leave for Disney World this coming Sunday so in honor of our trip to see Mickey and friends, I made (with a great deal of help from a friend, Kerrie) a Minnie Mouse dress for Bonner.

The Toy Story shorts for Ian were much easier to tackle - I even got the elastic around the waist without too much difficulty!  Stay tuned for more sewing projects and remember it's my new hobby whenever you open your Christmas presents from me :-)

I was blessed to have our Wild Dunes for a week in September so I took the children down there for some fun in the sun.  My mom joined us for the beginning of the week which was a huge help.  It was so nice to get away from everything and, of course, watching these 2 people enjoying themselves so much was a special treat!

 Not sure why this picture is so blue in tint, but I just thought it was too funny ... Cinderella standing on her head on the table.  You can guess which little guy did that to his sister's favorite princess.

Of course, this is where Cinderella belongs - with her "Fairy Godmother"!

 I just think this picture of Ian is so funny ... as you can just barely tell (with your magnifying glass), he has a Toy Story friend in each hand!  I just think it's cute how he's standing on his toes so that one of them can "get a drink of water, mommy!"  He could step in a foot and not need the toes, but hey, he didn't need the drink of water, right :-)

Here is our sand princess :-)  This child digs in the dirt more than anybody I know.  But then she asks me, "Is this lady-like, mommy?"

 Ian has no desire to play in the sand - he would much rather find a stick ... also known as a "surfboard" for Buzz & Woody to enjoy on the beach!

 And, this mother of the year, allowed her children to go through 2 bags of Salt & Vinegar potato chips during the week away :-)  Of course, Gigi and I helped polished a few of them off ... but I just think it's so funny how they devour these chips and then complain to me that their toothpaste is "too spicy"!

 The sun can wear a little princess slam out ... she's not really asleep, but I think if she had laid there another minute, she might have been!

 Your guess is as good as mine on this one ...

 But in the end, the sandier, the better!

On the Friday we were at the beach, it rained alot so we headed downtown and checked out the Lowcountry Children's Museum.  It was a great price and made just for children Ian & Bonner's age.  Of course, the first thing Bonner spotted was a Snow White dress so she was set!

I think this picture is so funny because it looks like there is actually a crown on her - but that was just part of the chair.  As you can see, the dress was 5 sizes too big but that didn't matter to her at all!

 They had this little puppet show area and they both enjoyed putting on a show for me!

 And, of course, Ian sniffed out the water play from the front door :-)  That child loves water!

 I thought this was a great idea - they had a chalkboard but instead of writing with chalk, you used water.  Pretty amazing but definitely much less messy and Bonner loved "drawing with water"!

The weather here has finally turned bearable outside so we have enjoyed some beautiful days outside recently.  The children love to be in their "berry patch" which is simply where they can pick the flowers outside the front door and then drop them in an empty flower urn on the front porch.  But they could literally do this for hours.  Of course, Ian can't just play with his sister by himself; he must have an audience of his "best friends" watching!

For those of you non-Toy Story fanatics, this is Woody, the cowboy toy, riding the Evil Dr. Porkchop, the pig; and Jesse, the cowgirl toy, slumped over her faithful steed, Bullseye.  So funny how Ian places them just perfectly... and see all the flowers around them - that's part of the berry patch!

I will definitely start updating the blog again and am still considering starting my own personal one ... because as Toby Keith says, "Sometimes I just wanna talk about me!"