A Disney Surprise

A few days ago, the boys received a package in the mail, in a bright, red Mickey Mouse box. Griffin immediately asked, "Did Mickey Mouse mail this to me?" Unfortunately for Griff, I informed him that we'd have to wait until his brother got home from school to find out. Believe me, he made me pay for that decision for the next 4 1/2 hours! When the boys finally opened their package, it was full of candy, Disney World trick-or-treat bags, pirate goodness, and a letter from Minnie Mouse herself. Turns out, my cousin had recently been to Disney World with her family, and went out of her way to send a special surprise to my boys. Although I haven't seen my cousin in about twenty years, and she's never met my family, she frequently takes the time to check in on me and the boys to see how we are doing, and boy, does that mean a lot. Thank you, Janet - - you really brightened the day of two Disney-lovin' boys!

A Wonderful Week

I had good intentions of blogging while we were away, but alas, we were too busy having fun for that to happen. Vacation sped by much too quickly, and we are now back in Idaho, but our heads are full of Mickey Mouse, Jack Sparrow, and all of the fun things we saw and did while we were there. I had not been to Walt Disney World since I was a child, and I can tell you that we had a really, really great time -- it is definitely a place we will be visiting again. In fact, Camden cried quite a bit before we left, and asked if we could go back next week!

I'll do my best to keep the summary brief, but I can't make any promises! We packed a lot of action into 6 days and 6 nights. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House), which we loved so much! It has an African theme, and animals roaming the savanna, right outside the window. We were lucky enough to have dinner one night at Boma, and I am still dreaming about the corn pudding I ate there...yum. Steve and I enjoyed ordering an appetizer and cocktails each night from Jiko, after we put the kids to bed...really going to miss that! The boys loved the pool, so we did plenty of swimming, too.

Other dining highlights included a great birthday lunch (for Kevin and Griffin at The Coral Reef restaurant at Epcot. Had lunch at Hollywood Studios at the 50's Prime Time Cafe....so much fun! It was a unique experience and I definitely want to go back there again. Also had breakfast at the Crystal Palace one morning, where the boys were able to meet all kinds of characters. It was fun being at the Magic Kingdom early, before all of the crowds arrived.

On Tuesday, treated the boys to "pirate makeovers" at The Pirate's League in Adventure Land. I think this was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. Both Camden and Griffin were so into the whole thing, and took it very seriously. At the same time, Violet was at the Bibbity Boppity Boutique having a "princess makeover". Later that evening, we all went to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, which was a special event after the Magic Kingdom had closed for the day. The decorations were great, the parade was the best parade I've ever seen, and the kids could trick or treat throughout the park.

As for rides, Griffin wasn't exactly a happy participant, but I think he liked a couple of them! I think he was still a bit too young. Camden loved Pirates of the Caribbean (no surprise there). We all loved Dumbo (how could you not?). We had fun on the Jungle Cruise, Swiss Family Tree House, Aladdin's Magic Carpets, and seeing all the sights. At Epcot, my favorite attraction was definitely Turtle Talk With Crush. Kevin was able to trick me into getting onto Mission: Space - - when we were about to get on he told me that it was the ride a couple of people have died on, and seeing the motion sickness bags hanging in front of my seat didn't help any! As it turns out, it was an awesome ride! We also went on Test Track but didn't get the full experience of that one because it broke down in the middle of the ride...shucks!

Unfortunately, my sister-in-law was ill for a couple of days during the trip with a fever and generally feeling awful. I was lucky enough to be invited by my brother to take her place on the Around the World at Epcot Segway tour that they had planned to take. Yes, I can now say that I can operate a Segway. We went all over the World Showcase at Epcot on Segways before the park opened, and it was really great to be able to spend some one-on-one time with my brother. Thanks, Kevin! Hope you are feeling better, Rachel!

The boys had a great time collecting autographs of Disney characters in their autograph books, and we will be busy today getting prints of all of the photos to put in their books. I've left out a lot of details I am sure, but it is safe to say that we all enjoyed ourselves, we're glad we were able to share the experience with my parents, and my brother and his family. I was so happy to spend time with my niece, Violet - - she is the sweetest little girl and miss her already.

Now, onto the pictures:

Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House

Camden and Alice

Violet Jean

With Pooh at The Crystal Palace

With Eeyore

Giraffe on the savanna at Animal Kingdom Lodge

Dad and Mum, Main Street U.S.A.

Camden Arnett, Safari director

The boys after their pirate makeovers

receiving their swords

Princess Violet and Benjamin Goldstealer

Meeting Pluto

Nana and Camden on Dumbo

Meeting Lightening McQueen and Mater

Relaxing by the pool

Evening appetizers and cocktails

Rachel, Violet, & Kevin

Cousins

Great Britain - World Showcase

Camden's brain short-circuiting at the Lego Store, Downtown Disney
The end!

T-minus 24 hours and counting...

Awesome pants, Dad!

I think it's safe to say I wasn't too excited about this photo...

I remember looking at this picture in a photo album many times over the years, wondering who the heck that kid in the middle was

In approximately 24 hours, we're headed to Disney World and I am so excited! Steve needs my computer for homework while we are there, so I'm hoping to sneak in a blog or two about our adventures!