What I can't do anymore

is take pictures like these. you save for over a year and still end up using part of your "economic stimulus check" to purchase your dream "I'll-never-have-to-buy-another-one" camera and what do you end up with?









needing to send it back to the manufacturer for a glitch in the battery/auto focus feature. thanks, Nikon. you broke my heart.

The Disney Principle

We talked in the car while at Disney about what we've come to call the Disney principle. How over-the-top well Disney does all things. How they never miss a detail, expend more than the amount of energy (and time, and expense, and workers) to keep things way beyond average. We talked about how our lives as followers of Christ should reflect the same.









We talked about how we should live such an exemplary example of self-lessness and "loving our neighbor" that people stop and notice that we're different. and wonder out loud why. and at the end of the day, if I fall asleep on the short walk to the car because I'm so exhausted from experiencing that kind of life.....then it seems that's the way life should be lived. Praise God for insight from not-necessarily-godly things, and forHis immeasurable depth of second chances.

Two of P's favorite things were the Country Bears and the fireworks (which he thinks sleep in the castle during the day and only come out at night).

more MK

It's a small world..... still a classic after all these years.


Funny story about this girl. N. was convinced she wasn't real, so he blew her a kiss. You should've seen him blush and wish he could disappear when she blew a kiss back :)






Tea cups--this is the crazy cup








This is the more subdued cup (P. held on like that the whole time, even when Robin got us going really fast).


Yea Buzz Lightyear! The lines for all the other characters were so long (or like Belle they closed her line just as we got to it), but Buzz was fresh and cheerful--look at that smile on his face! boy, was he glad to see us.

Magic Kingdom

Cinderella's Castle

Space Mountain

Rainforest!

ever since robin and i ate here 11 years ago when we were staying up the street for his convention, i've wanted to bring the kids here. every 20-30 minutes there is a thunder/lightning storm, lots of animated animals, rain (real!) falling gently from the ceiling. it's just a once in a lifetime experience. and i thought i was going to surprise the kids. until they told me they already knew all about it, they had seen it on "unwrapped." oh well. they didn't know it was in FL (there are other locations). and I think they enjoyed it. P. wasn't so sure. we heard thunder last night with our short rainstorm, and kept calling it "lightning".
p. was quite enthralled by the tropical bird show out front.

o. in front of one of the many exotic fish tanks. it really is an awe-some place to see.

the bird show. it was so hot, we were wishing she'd miss the birds and squirt US.

they put us at a back table. we were so glad. we got quite a bit of attention, and even a surprise at the end of our meal--the couple who ate quietly at a secluded table for 2 next to us (poor people) had grown up children, and because they only got an appetizer (all food portions are extra large!) they couldn't use their some-kind-of-membership discount, so they gave it to us. 10% off 4 of our entrees, equaling about $9. every little bit helps, and we were appreciative.

Priceless

obviously, N. was not thinking of the future blackmail his sisters will have access to as a result of this pic
this look (seen often throughout the 36 hours of Disney-dom) made it all worth it.

these 2 think they struck gold with the awesome assortment of potato appendages we fit into those 2 tiny boxes (and a small box of snowman accessories just in case we never actually get to build a real one again). this is what everyone has played with pretty much non-stop since we got home 2 days ago. priceless.

Lots of spots for photo ops (and signs that actually say, "Kodak moment" which made me think you plagiarize, Mom, whenever you say that....). Our trick was making sure that everyone was actually looking at the camera when the little boys were. P. was trying real hard to put his hands on his hips to be tough and show us he could jump down from that bench all by his-bigself.

I took a picture of this mammoth wall hanging in the Team Mickey store thinking I could have it printed as a poster when I got home for the little boys. But then, on the actual drive home (while I was trying to keep myself awake on the doldrum they call I-10) I was thinking that maybe that's infringing on Disney rights. anyone know?

Wonderful World of Disney-store!

This is the expression the 2 littles had on their faces most of the time in the store. Sheer a-maze-ment. Their little heads were about to explode taking it all in.




This was spinning just like in the game of Life--only this was on the ceiling!








I tried to gently remind them how *many* people try on these hats. and they still didn't understand why *I* didn't want to wear one....

Downtown Disney

The Lego Store

The Lochness-Lego monster in the lake--did you know legos rust? (down near the water level)

The All-American Lego family. can you tell the reals?

This was H's favorite store--this whole mosaic was made of JELLY BEANS! She really thought she had died and gone to heaven..... (only there won't be cavities there!)

This was the toy store there--and we bought lots of potato-head pieces (more pics of the individuals to come, I'm sure... it's been played with non-stop almost ever since we got home).

Birthday-part 2-Beach

So, as we arrived we saw these flags flapping wildly in the wind (click on it to enlarge). Dangerous currents. common. check. Dangerous marine life? are there man-eating crabs? turtles migrating that would shoot poisonous darts if you were in their way from nest to ocean? no. sharks. enter water at your own risk (which is what all bodies of water in the state of FL technically have to say because if it's not sharks, it's alligators. really.)
Sadly, Haley was very busy with her friends and I didn't get many pictures of them. I was really paranoid about getting my camera covered with either sand or salt water, or worse yet stolen by the many non-American speaking people that surrounded us and stared at the camera. and circled our seating area.
Love this one of Sierra, H. and Kristen. It was the roughest we've ever seen the Gulf Coast due to the red flag conditions. I wondered but forgot by the time I got home, what weather was churning in the gulf to create such.... Atlantic-ness (but the water was August-Atlantic Ocean temps).
Love this picture of big/little sis. They are growing up way too fast. I love them so much.
No, he's not really *that* much taller than the girls. But they are slowly accepting the fact that not only will he be taller, but stronger as well. Good thing they listened to their mother when they would pick on him as a baby when she told them that "one day he'll be bigger than you and will remember all these mean things you're doing to him." actually, I don't think he remembers anything but being smothered in love. and water.

remembering.....

Robin's dad, brother, our Grandfather........ our nephew Stefan, our friend Val's husband (currently in Iraq until July).... remembering this weekend, amidst our celebration of Life, the sacrifice of service these men (and many, many others like them) for our freedom and safety. God bless America...