We survived our First Family Vacation! After months of planning, wishing and fingers crossed that things would fall into place, they did. Of course not without about 923460 emails, daily phone conversations (and by daily, I mean 3 4 5 x a day), Skype dates and virtual high fives. I began packing 3 weeks before we even left and found that apparently that’s the way it needed to be done. We stayed busy the last week before leaving but the night before and day of, we were never stressed. Beside throwing the last minute things together, we were making awesome timing all morning! And that’s saying a LOT coming from the person that religiously runs 30m late for everything.
Saturday morning Mady woke up and like always, she asked:
Mady: “Mommy, can we go to Disney World?”
FINALLY I was able to say: “Well… let’s see. Are you sure you’re ready to go on vacation?”
Mady: “YES!”
Me: “Well alright then, LET’S GOOOO!!!”
She was SO happy!! We packed her Minnie Mouse backpack from Aunti Dandi with her favorite toys, a gigi, sippy cup and cheerio’s. Grabbed our sunglasses, sneakers tied tight and we were ready to hit the road!
Kristy texted me: Hey friend, I was going to make some delicious chicken, roasted potatoes etc for dinner. Do you think you and your family would like to join us?
Me: You know, I think that would be great! We don’t really have any dinner plans anyway so sure, we’ll stop by ;) We’ll be leaving soon! Hehe
AK and I strategically planned our flight to fall into naptime, so the plan was to make Annabelle a bottle as soon as we got on the plane and she would eat and sleep during the flight. Excellent plan, right? Except we hit turbulence for the entire first half the flight and the attendants weren’t able to come around and take orders or bring us water to make her bottle! Which meant Annabelle yelled at us until we were able to secure her some water.. which as to plan, knocked her right out. Mady played games, enjoying looking out the window and actually made a little friend that was sitting behind us, she was also going to Disney World!
Uncle Matt met us on the other end of earth that’s called Orlando Airport, we collected our bags, AK and Matt hugged each other a little too long and we headed out. Mady was happy to sit in Charlotte’s carseat. Annabelle was ready to eat again. AK was just happy to be with his boyfriend and I….. I was on the search for a Palm Tree! The moment I saw one, I literally screeched!! YAY!
Finally that evening we arrived in an area of Jacksonville called Orange Park (although Im not supposed to repeat that). But in the center of this town is a gorgeous community that I admire, they have gorgeous paths around the neighborhood, playgrounds everywhere, a water park, pool, amenities galore! Kristy and Matt even have a palm tree in their back yard, seriously! I couldn’t take it. All our friends welcomed us with open arms and warm tight hugs. Just like that, a thousand miles away we felt like we were home. With our friends and people that love us dearly and equally as much as we love them, that is where home felt. They welcomed us in their home just as if it were ours and we embraced it with our family just like it was home. Everything was perfect. Kristy kicks ass and made every accommodation she could think of to fit our family, I couldn’t be more grateful at how easy she made our trip. We sat down for dinner, said grace and the little girls ate at their own table, Annabelle ate with us and we all sat back, shared stories, laughed and talked with one another until it was time to bathe the small people and get them in bed. Madelynne slept in Charlotte’s room with her BIG girl bed and Annabelle slept in baby Adele’s room with the crib lowered to the bottom just like home <3 Afterwards, while Kristy got Charlotte to sleep, AK and I joined Matt on the back patio, under the stars and beside a palm tree as he played the guitar and we talked for hours about random fears, thoughts, opinions and anything else under the moon to discuss with our friends. Just like old times we picked up right where we left off.. hanging out with them at their house and then going to bed all under the same roof.
The next day, the world started to slow down exactly how it should while on vacation. We all enjoyed our coffee together, Kristy enjoying her new awesome RVA mug, courtesy of the Bishop’s ;) and we let the girls play. My girls loved to have full access to all new toys and Charlotte loved sharing her things with her friends and showing them the ropes. Mady and CharChar made a game of hide and seek with the worst hiding spots ever. Charlotte would hide under the open table between the chairs and Mady would hide face down on top of the bed. Those girls have a couple things to learn!
Eventually we packed our new family of 7 into the minivan and made our way to Mass on a beautiful Sunday morning. It was perfect timing. I used the time sitting in those pews to reflect my life, think about what the service was telling us and praying. Praying so hard for Kristy and Matt and baby Addy. Each time I would look at them, my eyes flooded with tears from the pain I knew they were carrying in their hearts, the worst thing I could do was to let them see my pain for them too, so I decided to walk to the back of the church with the girls and listen from there. I prayed to myself for the strength of their family and the health of Adele. When we left I felt wonderful, as I always do when I leave church, but that day I felt like I was heard and my prayers went a little further than a typical Thursday sitting in my grey cubicle. AK and I were so happy and grateful we were able to spend this precious time with our friends and most importantly able to join them in mass to be with them before their doctors appt on Tuesday. Afterwards we made our way to St. Augustine and WOW what an awesome little town that was! The shops were adorable, the Architecture was breathtaking and the FOOD was outstanding!! My goodness.
After we had lunch, we mingled into a couple small shops. One of which was called Filthy Rich. Before I left our house in Richmond, I put lotion on and took off my rings, but then realized on the way to the airport I didn’t have my wedding bands and we couldn’t go home to get them. I HATE that feeling, here I was on vacation with these married people and I have two illegitimate children with me because I’m not married! The store Filthy Rich makes fake versions of celebrity rings and sells them, AK proposed to me with Ashlee Simpson’s engagement ring, and I said YES!
The smell in the air was heavenly, It was ice-cream and I would cut someone to find a cone!! I sniffed out the best spot and we all stopped for ice-cream, it was everything I wanted and apparently everything Charlotte wanted too bc she fell in LOVE with my caramel peanut butter cone! J
The boats, the water, the scenic view and our friends made the entire day perfect. St. Augustine was wonderful, it was quite busy that day but not overwhelming in the least, again.. did I mention Perfect <3
On our way back to the car, Mady found a Mady Palm Tree, just her size!
Home. Bathtime. Storytime. Bedtime.
The next morning again was slow. It was perfect. The kids played around with toys and had a mellow breakfast. Charlotte enjoyed a sip of coffee on the couch with her feet propped up as Annabelle took her first nap of the day. After everyone pulled themselves together we mosedy(good word, huh?) to the mall. Holy Goodness of Retail Heaven!!!!! This Mall was BEAUTIFUL! We valet'd our van and began our walk between stores. I picked up Mady some adorable new undies from Gap, and Kristy and I did our usual of indulging too heavily at Gymboree. We stumbled (by stumbled, I mean made an abrupt sharp right turn) into Tiffany's. Something about the blue is just so eye-catching. I was wearing my new Filthy-Rich ring when one of the associates walked up to me and grabbed my hand and said with full sincerity, "Oh my gosh! Mam, you ring is STUNNING!" I pulled my hand back and quickly said thank you and smiled. I wanted to go on and on about how beautiful my new ring was but I knew if I said another word I would burst out laughing so instead I turned to AK and instructed, "It's time to leave. Now!" My $50 ring is getting Tiffany's compliments, score. haha
Another staple in the mall was their Pottery Barn Kids which was about 3x the size of our Short Pump PBK. I could have played in that store for 10 hours. The girls played with toys and Mady picked out a jewelry box. When we left we grabbed flavored lemonade, hot pretzel and relaxed outside by the fish pond and under a palm tree until we all agreed to move our vacation spot one more time :) Shopping day was a total success!
Tuesday morning came too soon. Tuesday was the dreaded, much anticipated day to learn more on Baby Addie's condition. I knew Kristy and Matt were worried sick but having been in their shoes, I knew there were no words to help alleviate their pain. I spent hours and hours praying for good news for them. The morning was quiet. No one spoke much and we silently gathered and dressed the girls for the day. Our plan was to visit the doctor and make it a beach trip. Somehow though, packing buckets and shovels was way less exciting when anticipating the worst news. The drive to Jacksonville, as every drive, felt like an eternity. When Matt and Kristy got out the car I gave her a tight hug and said another prayer. We took all the girls down the street and let them run and play around the fountains and near the water. We were right on the 'river'(?) and watched boats move in and out. Eventually we packed the stroller up and took a little walk along the boardwalk to do a little sightseeing.
What we learned while walking around:
· Everything is vacant and boring at 11a on a Tuesday.
· You can go from a beautiful, upscale area to street thug in Jacksonville in only a block radius.
It was a little nerve-wracking so we picked up our pace for our walk a little faster, AK carried Mady and we pushed the stroller back to the van, loaded babies back up and as we started driving to the hospital, Matt called AK "We're ready ..... and the baby looks great :) " AKs smile on his face while talking on the phone told me the entire story and my eyes flooded with tears. We couldn't pull back up to the hospital fast enough!!!!!!!! As soon as we saw them, AK and I both jumped out the car and gave the tightest heartwarming hugs. The biggest relief in the world was lifted. Nothing else had to happen in our trip and everything that's important would have been in place.
The rest of the day was wonderful, everyone's goober, ear to ear smile was hilarious to catch all day. The beach was all ours, the white sand wasn't hot and the water.... well, the ocean was apparently full of shark and dolphin a little too close for my taste. Red flags were flying and I wasn't going anywhere near that water! haha.
Once we got everything situated on the beach, I was eager to introduce my girls to the ocean. They have never been to a beach before and I couldn't wait to see their reaction. Me, Mady, Charlotte and Kristy. We all stood there with our feet in wet stand, holding hands and waiting for the waves to roll up over our toes.. we waited ... and waited .... finally agreed we needed to move a little closer. When we did a wave came and about 2in from Mady's foot, her jaw dropped and she turned around and TOOK OFF RUNNING, she yelled the entire way, "Get away from that water mommy!!! Get away, it's dirtyyy!!!" She spent the next hour or so playing in the sand and building castle's, before we left she finally got the courage to go near the water again and we played a fun game of jumping over the wave when it came up. Annabelle slept thru the first half of our beach trip, but woke up in enough time to experience it for herself too :)
Charlotte found a bird, and started following it. With her little hiney stuck out and arms stretched wide she tried calling it, "Tweet, tweet!" "Tweet, tweet bird!" it was entirely too adorable to handle watching her chase him all over the sand.
That night the girls fell asleep all too easily. Who knew an early start to the day and an afternoon spent running in the sun would be exhausting? It worked like a charm though because we had lots of packing to get done. Packing .... for........ DISNEY WORLD!! Yay! The time had finally come to head to Disney World tomorrow! Kristy and I made an assembly line of essentials along the dining table. We started planning which household essentials we would need and then collaborated for coordinating outfits in which parks. I needed a nice top for breakfast with Cinderella and she wanted a new black top that could be worn with an Addy-bump. We both exchanged the perfect items and made a pack that we will exchange them back when they visit in December. I spent a great deal of time re-organizing our entire luggage. Washing clothes so I wouldn't have to go home with dirty laundry. And rotating the things we would be using for Disney World, to the top so they're readily accessible.
The next morning the kids were entirely too excited for Ni-ney-worldddd!! Kristy and I spent too much time making sure everything was ready to go and pack the car, I stripped the bed and left a lovely hidden note below the blanket and finally. we. were. on. our. way! Mady walked to the car and had a bit of a shadow, it was a butterfly following her and saying goodbye! The drive to Orlando was quite underestimated but we finally did make it there. We drove straight to Downtown Disney where the fun began at the T-Rex Cafe!
The girls were way less than thrilled. The moment the 'Meteor Shower' began (happens every 20m), the terrified looks on all their faces told me, "Too soon Ashley, big mistake, too soon." Charlotte kept waving to the dinosaurs "Bye-Bye! BYE-BYE!" to make them go away. Mady sat practically on top of somebody and Annabelle looked horrified and confused all the same. By the end of the dinner, everything was fine and the kids knew what to expect every time the dinosaurs started to roar.
The Disney Store in.. Downtown Disney: Magical to say the least :) Greeting us at the door were fairy godmothers to sprinkle 'Pixie Dust' in the girls hair. Mady to this day still asks if there is pixie dust in her hair.. of course I tell her yes. The store was endless of things. We had so much fun walking around, but I will admit also frustrating. For some reason the store sent my anxiety level thru the roof as I was scared I was going to lose one of the kids! There were just too many people, turns and corners for my comfort. We picked up a few gifts and I purchased a pair of sequins Minnie Mouse ears and we left.
Florida weather didn't disappoint however, it began to rain. Between heavy rain falls, we would bounce from one store to another and kept moving. It was a lot of fun. I finally found a Christmas Store so I could secure my Family's First Christmas Ornament from Disney World and have it personalized.
Driving home that evening was dark, I don't remember exactly what time we finally arrived at our Villa but it was late and all the kids (well, minus Char-char of course) were asleep. After quickly scooping the place out, I designated where my girls would sleep and setup their beds quickly. It took no time to have them situated and back asleep.. we unloaded all the things from the van and without a second thought put on our bathing suits, grabbed a beer.. or three and took a dip in the pool. It was so nice to be able to reflect like adults and talk in the midst of our trip. When you're traveling with kids, and when at Disney World "FOR the kids", it can be a little overlooked to remember were adults and friends too and also deserve a good time. Fortunately, Matt and Kristy parent so similar to AK and me that it was never a second thought to remember each other just as importantly. Everything about the trip was a blessing, many times I asked AK to pinch me to make sure it's all still real :) I didn't want to wake up!
Thursday morning was our first real day in Disney World; we were going to Animal Kingdom! Dressed in all our safari outfits we hit the mini-bus and made our way to the magical arch that said "DISNEY WORLD"! I swear I screamed every time I saw it, how exciting!!
AK and I had already decided that we would not be purchasing our tickets to the park ahead of time, what if something happened? What if the weather interfered with our park days? I wasn't chancing the loss of that money, so we waited to purchase tickets at the gate. The time had come, the Visa was out and we were ready to swipe for that $700 purchase. Gulp.
Me: (walking up with my family). We need two days, both with park hopper options.
Lady at the Ticket Counter: Alright, that will be $523
Me: (looking puzzled) No, that doesn't seem right, who all are you considering?
Lady: You and your husband, two adult tickets, two days and park hoppers on both. Right?
Me: Oh yes, that's right, but you missed my daughter. The oldest one, she also needs a ticket.
Lady: Hm.. how old is she?
Me: Three, how old does she need to be to buy a ticket? (suddenly I am playing dumb)
Lady: Well... three, but..... when was her birthday?
Me: (impulse response) Last month!
Lady: Let me see for a second.. (she goes back to her computer). Hunny if you really want to pay for her it's going to cost $238 for the child alone, are you sure you want to pay that?
Me: Absolutely not, you can't twist my arm and I won't beg!
Needless to say, we didn't pay for either of the girls. Obviously that will never happen again and it also goes without saying, we still spent a solid grand just on the Disney portion of vacation alone so I am confident they got their money out of us still. However, for my pockets, I appreciated more than ever that we were able to luck out of $238, my family actually see's all the dollars we spend.
Animal Kingdom was very interesting. The African music was probably my favorite part, I loved hearing the drums beating and people dancing in the streets, it really felt like a little piece of Africa.
We took a safari tour and got to see, up close and personal, and lot of animals. They were up and moving around and it was very cool to see, the girls loved it. Matt introduced me to fried cashews (I think that's what they were) and oh my god, they were so soft and hot they melted in your mouth! I practically wanted to rip the bag out of his hand, but composed myself and remember to sustain some class! We rode some rides, one in particular that went in circles and made me want to puke, however Mady didn't want to stop riding (the kid FINALLY found a ride and she wasn't giving it up! I think she had Bush Gardens expectations with lots of rides, and Disney doesn't really offer that). When we were leaving I made her get off the ride to go and she pouted, Matt asked "Mady do you want to go again" and of course she sighed and said yes. So he picked her up and took her AGAIN! The kid was so happy I think she pooped rainbows and sunshine! That really made her day. Matt and Mady had a great time running and playing dangerous road rage games with the stroller, Kristy and I strolled behind with the other two babies who were snoozing and enjoyed the crisp sunshine and our families enjoying one another. I remember distinctly walking from a specific area of Animal Kingdom and towards lunch and thinking, "We are truly blessed. We have some of the most amazing friends right here beside us that genuinely love our kids as much as we love theirs. There is no better feeling than that. What do you do with that feeling? If I had a million bucks and I gave it all to them, would they understand? Can I scream it to the top of my lungs that "I love you guys!", then would they hear us? Its hard to explain to someone how much you truly love and care for them without sounding like a pathetic freak. But we do. We love our friends more than we probably love a chunk of our own family's. The reality hit me while pushing Charlotte and Annabelle and watching Mady belly laugh with the biggest smile, the second reality hit that we would be leaving in a couple days.. and then suddenly I was quiet. I felt like time was slipping away too quickly and I wanted it to STOP.
Tusker House
All I remember when walking up to give our name for the reservation, was how hot it was! I looked like a sweaty hot mess, Mady needed her hair fixed, Annabelle was sweaty and asleep. I just knew air conditioning was coming and I couldn't wait.. o yea, and for FOOD! We walked around the side to take our seat to be called and Donald Duck was standing outside. I thought Mady would explode with excitement!! She ran up to him and they kept giving each other high-five's, Annabelle wasn't as interested but Donald Duck played peek-a-boo with her and she cracked a smile. Mady had a lot of fun playing. We took pictures as a group together and then escorted inside to our seats. I absolutely loved Kristy's suggestion of doing the character meals. We spent our days enjoying the park and each other, not hunting down another Disney character to stand in line and take a picture. What's better than eating and they come to YOU?! ... well, with a $130 pricetag of course. But hey, it's Disney! It was worth every penny, hands down. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Daisy all came to our table. The first couple times we saw them, Mady was a little nervous and Charlotte was quite shy. We managed to get another group picture and it's definitely one of my favorites. One thing that is certain, none of the kids like Goofy. He was tall, scary and personally.. he really was terrifying. lol They warmed up to all the characters, including Charlotte willing to give hugs and high-fives!! But no one was alright with Goofy. Poor Annabelle wasn't interested in any of them, despite how many times they came around her table. She wasn't having it!
As we were leaving, we could see the storm clouds brewing and the sprinkle of rain starting. We all wanted a picture in front of the tree of life and stopped for a split second to capture it and then began our speed walk to the parking lot. We failed. The bottom dropped and just as Florida weather promises, it poured. And poured. And poured. By the time we got everyone in the car I think we all sat silently and then laughed. We were DRENCHED. It was fun though and nothing no one could be mad at, I am just glad it happened at the end of the day and we were finished. On our way back to the house we made an extremely necessary stop at Wal-Mart for beer. AK made the run and we kept the van moving.
At home we got all the kiddos down for a nap, well beside rockstar char-char, she's too awesome for a nap. Me, AK and Matt all made our way back out to the pool for a bit while the house was quiet and enjoyed some time together. Kristy and Charlotte joined us a little later and Charlotte wanted to take a dip in the water too. She played around for a little with her daddy until the thunder started and we all got out. How hateful to pull a baby out the pool as soon as she gets in, right? She begged to go back and finally Aunty-Ashley gave in. "I will take you back into the pool to play baby, come on!" We got back in just for a couple safe minutes until we were all satisfied and then packed up before the storm gave it to us again.
That evening I pulled out the specifically labeled bag for Magic Kingdom. Mady's pink Snow White in sequence embroidered shirt and Puma sneakers, Belle's pink layered dress with adorable shoes. I couldn't WAIT to set foot in Magic Kingdom. We chose to take the Ferry to the park, and after we boarded and were heading across the water, Cinderella's Castle finally came into view. This was the moment I couldn't wait for, to show Mady the CASTLE! She was so excited!! We were all cheering for 'Disney World' and almost wanted to sprint when the ferry docked. The sun was setting and the night was absolutely perfect. We needed to have dinner and half way thru, Matt and AK asked if they could be excused to go ride the Haunted Mansion together. Kristy and I agreed to let the boys go play and we sat with our girls and finished dinner. Cleaned up, packed strollers and kept it moving. Next mission: Find the perfect spot to watch the parade! The girls were all amazingly behaved. Charlotte was in love with her new Peter Pan and happy to sit in a stroller and wait patiently, Belle was hungry again (of course!) and Mady played alongside of me, looking at things the entire time. It was past the girls bedtime but we were having so much fun, no one would notice.
The parade was... ok. Matt said it best, they play the same music the entire time and I think the parade and equipment itself hasn't been updated since we were all kids. The lights though were exciting to see and all the girls enjoyed it.
Afterwards, we moved not far from where we were standing, to take a seat in front of the castle and wait for the fireworks show. We all sat down .. including a creepy guy that was insistent on sitting RIGHT ON Kristy. It was disturbing and regardless where she moved or positioned herself, he was right there. Gross. Finally, we saw the light to Tinker Belle!! She took her flight out the window and the music began. It was beautiful. I loved every bit of the fireworks show. The fireworks themselves were so beautiful but the sound was not intimidating at all. It was mild and Annabelle was actually able to enjoy it after she got used to the first couple booms.. until she fell back asleep. Mady sat in my lap and watched the whole thing and applauded when it was over. The show was worth every second of staying up past bedtime and pushing the kids thru the night. I loved it.
Friday morning! Breakfast with Cinderella!
The sun hasn’t come up yet. the house is quiet but the house is moving fast. We have a big big date with Cinderella for breakfast and no time to spare! Fortunately for the family of 7 we’re vacationing with, two of the head chief’s are the Ashley-Kristy Team and 100% of everything we need for the day is already strategically laid out and ready to go. We just need ourselves and the small people loaded into the van to make it happen. ….. the Ashley-Kristy Team’s only weakness = making it somewhere on TIME. That’s where Matt comes in to crack that whip ;)
Princesses cannot travel in a princess gown and 5pt safety harness, so the ball gowns had to be loaded into the back of the carriage while the girls travel nakey. We loaded up, everyone half asleep, full of anticipation and zero caffeine and began our drive. We all wore smiles as we turned the bend and Matt called out, “Hey you guys, look!” .. it was the sign: DISNEY WORLD!!!!!! We screamed again!!
An 8:15am breakfast date secures you front row parking in Disney World. We began to unload the van and pack the stroller as I watched a parking attendant, older gentlemen walking around but kept turning back to take a look at us. I grabbed Madelynne’s dress and pulled it over her head, she pursed her lips together and smiled with sparkling eyes. One finger up, I said, “Wait!” The beautiful new crown placed perfectly on top of her head and I gasped, “My gosh, you are just beautiful princess Mady!” She twirled and twirled in the middle of that Florida parking lot at 7:45a.m. just beaming. I turned my focus towards Annabelle and AK when I caught eye of the gentlemen approaching Mady. He knelt down on one knee and clasped his hands over his face in complete awe. Mady, as eloquently as she could, walked to him with her hands like a duck on each side of her.
Gentlemen: “Oh my gosh, I just can’t believe it. I’ve been working here and in all my years, I have always wanted to meet a princess. And here you are, this morning in front of me. A real princess and I just can’t believe it!”
Mady: “But my name is Mady!”
Gentlemen: “Princess Mady, the pleasure is all mine.”
He leaned over and kissed her hand and she spun in a circle for him before waving goodbye. The rest of the walk towards the castle, Mady kept reminding me. “Mommy, that nice man thought I was a real princess!”… “I know it sweetie, that’s because you ARE a real princess. Let’s go have breakfast with the rest of them..”
We rode the tram towards the park (what is this, our 5th means of transportation since arriving in Florida?!). Charlotte was calm as anything chilling in her stroller. She doesn’t do mornings and was just taking it in.. Annabelle was hyper but on the prowl to finding food. Mady was so antsy she could hardly sit still the entire way. She kept peeking out every window to catch a sight of the castle!
Finally we were approaching the ticket gate for Magic Kingdom. Both girls were in the stroller. Slide my ticket, place my finger to be scanned and begin walking. The gentlemen stops me, “How old is she?” pointing to Mady. I immediately reply, “She’s two. We’re here for her birthday. Have a nice day!” and kept walking. Shew! Haha
As we walked thru the first tall arches and before turning the corner to see Main Street, Disney staff began walking out of their little stores to greet us! They would step outside and curl one arm below their stomach and reach the other in the direction we were walking, “Good Morning your highness, your Kingdom awaits you..” We ALL felt like pure royalty! It was amazing to see everyone participating. And even more amazing that we were the only ones there!! Best decision, hands down was making our breakfast reservation before the park opened. As we were taking it all in, a man stepped into the middle of the street in front of us and asked to take our picture. We agreed and it turned out great. When else can you have a picture taken in front of the castle in the middle of Disney World, and be the only ones in the picture because the park was practically empty?! Absolutely incredible!
We quickly moved our way down towards the castle where we waited in line to check in. I snapped a quick picture with my phone to send to mom, grammy, andi etc and it turned out to be one of my favorites of Mady that morning. Once our reservation was confirmed, we walked into the castle and stood in line to meet Cinderella. I just knew Mady had butterflies in her stomach! It was so sweet watching her wave to Cinderella as we stood in line. Matt, Kristy and Charlotte took their picture and finally it was our time. Mady slowly walked up to the princess and showed her the beautiful dress she was wearing. She was so shy and it absolutely broke my heart, but she did so well! She pushed thru the pain of being uncomfortable and managed a half smile for the camera. It wasn’t a beautiful smile, it was definitely fake, but she did it and I couldn’t have been more proud of her! It’s the little milestones and accomplishments that make my heart beat a little harder.
Next it was time to climb the red spiral staircase to be seated in the main dining room of the castle. Madelynne sat in a tall rich chair, with arm rests and was immediately served OJ, a Wishing Star and a Magic Wand. Belle got the same and made it her mission to use the wand as a sword and knock everything in sight off the table. J One by one the princesses began to visit our table. We spoke to everyone and then like mommy does best, I would make her stand up to take her picture with every princess so we could remember the morning perfectly. It was magical. The food wasn’t magical and incredibly over-priced, but the experience was worth the $35/plate and the sparkle in both my little girls eyes made me wish the morning would never end!
When breakfast was finished, we left the castle slowly and I found my way to a bathroom with a large stall so Mady and I could move into dress change x 2 of the day J It was time to put on the little dresses that Grammy and I worked so hard to sew for weeks beforehand. They fit PERFECTLY! Annabelle’s was quite short, so we turned it into a top and little pants ;) Mady and Charlotte’s couldn’t have been more perfect. They were adorable and the outfit was completed with Andi’s touch of sparkly silver Tom’s. Big bow’s in our hair, we hit the carousel and picked out the perfect horse to take a ride.
Winnie the Pooh ride was adorable and Charlotte showed us the ropes how to do it. Mady absolutely loved it and I wish we had gone back before we left. We took a little jungle cruise and did some sightseeing. The heat was really starting to get to everyone. I was worried about Kristy doing so much walking in the sun and both girls were sleepy so we decided to seek air conditioning… It’s a Small Life. We found ourselves a little boat and took a stroll thru the countries. Charlotte zoned out, Mady cuddled up close next to me and I held Annabelle as softly as I could until I felt her take that deep breath in and exhale, she was asleep and so comfy. She needed the rest and she loved the cuddles. We all needed a little down time in some AC.
A lunch, then a trip thru a gift shop that resulted in Mady having a tantrum because she wanted me to buy her a Disney Princess SUITCASE, which led me to break her heart, pop her butt and made her put the bracelet that she wanted back because she couldn’t learn to be grateful for the trip she was on and happy for the one thing I was willing to buy! We walked outside and took a seat on the sidewalk near the entrance waiting for the parade to begin. Finally Mady calmed down, gave me a hug and the apology I deserved. We all sat on the curb and waved to princesses and Disney characters for the parade and enjoyed the fun music.
It was the perfect ending to an afternoon in Magic Kingdom. It was a lot of walking. Overwhelming in some areas and underwhelming in others. We had managed an entire day from sun up in the park, and we were all eager and looking forward to the cars air conditioning and some naps before our evening. This time there wasn’t a mad dash for the car in the rain, it was simply a short ferry ride back to the parking lot and happy little princesses yelling “Hello!” under the tunnel to hear their echo J …. And daddy’s too, because we all like a cool sounding echo.
That evening started becoming bittersweet. I pulled our very last baggie of clothes out the suitcase for our last night in Florida :’( It was heartbreaking. Our dinner plans were to visit Epcot. 1) The food is incredible. 2) The fireworks show is incredible. Kristy and I did some light cleaning and started a load of laundry before the night in Epcot. I really didn’t want to have to come home to piles of dirty laundry so we attempted to wash everything before leaving. We repacked diaper bags. Got everyone dressed and also managed to find coats because the weather again was promising us Florida afternoon rain.. only this time it wasn’t a brief shower. We drove in the rain. Arrived at the park in the rain. Parked in the rain and then sat in the van, pondering the rain. Eventually we knew our reservation wasn’t going to wait for us and we needed to make a break for it. I asked Matt and Kristy, “Alright friends. You live in Florida, you frequent Disney World. Where is the stash of ponchos?” …… What the hell do you mean you don’t have a box o’ hundred ponchos in your van at all times?! WHAT THE HELL????!! We quickly assembled strollers, pulled out blankets to act AS ponchos and began our dash for the park. Why? As if the park would grant us shelter from the rain? Whatever. It’s September. It’s rain. It’s vacation. BRING IT ON! We made our way to Germany and checked-in for our reservation. We were quickly seated during the Chicken Dance playing loudly in the background and kids dancing the night away. Matt promptly ordered an array of beer samples and AK and I, the genius we are, decided to just try every one of Matt’s beers before ordering our own. We narrowed down our choices and both ordered a stein of beer. HOLY MOSES! I don’t drink that much fluid in a WEEK, let alone of beer at a sitting! I tried my best, I really did, but I only managed to conquer 1/3 of my glass. Matt had to drive, Kristy was pregnant so the responsibility fell onto AK to finish his AND mine before leaving. It’s a good thing we were eating pretzels and mac n cheese for dinner!
Before we were ready, it was time to head outside for the fireworks show. Annabelle wasn’t extremely thrilled with the fireworks at Magic Kingdom the night before and they were as quiet as fireworks come. The moment the fireworks began in Epcot, she jumped. They were loud. VERY loud and in her defense, it was almost uncomfortable for me. With every burst she jumped and clenched onto my body even harder. Finally after only a few seconds she began to cry, hard, and wanted so badly to get away. I hurried as fast as I could to escape the sound and made my way into a gift shop along the walk and found a back corner that shielded a good amount of the sound. She could still feel the fireworks and sense the boom so I began to sing to her quietly. Her song. “Baby Annabelle of mine. Everything about you is perfectly fine. I love what you are, and I love what you do. Baby Annabelle, I love you.” I held her as tightly as I could and repeated my whispered song in her ear for what felt like a solid 30min. A fireworks show btw, is NOT a lot of fun when you can only hear it, cringe when it booms and can’t see anything. I prayed it would end soon and finally I heard the grand finale. It was so loud. Once the pops and crackling stopped I walked out of the store only for it to fire up again! My god! That wasn’t even the grand finale!! We darted BACK into the store where it sounded like our Richmond family could hear and feel the pounding of fireworks exploding! It must have been a helluva show to watch. It had to of been from the sounds of it!
I finally, cautiously, emerged from my German antiques / Christmas shoppe and found our friends. The rain was gone. Mady was happy, AK was drunk and the night was young… late, but young enough because I didn’t want it to end. We walked slowly. Talking and laughing with one another towards the entrance.. well, Matt and I walked together talking about life. Kristy kept up with AK and Charlotte right behind us as AK made it his mission to photobomb EVERY ONE’s PICTURE! It was hilarious. I can’t imagine how many people got home to find my husbands face in all their pictures. Mady spotted all the light up swords and asked if she could have one. It was the last night and her daddy was slightly tipsy, he gladly picked out and bought the biggest light saber she could find. It’s pretty cool too, it lights all different lights, strobes etc. We laughed and chased each other for a while beneath the big globe and finally made our way back to the van. I don’t really remember the drive home but I remember I hated it.
Saturday morning was heartbreaking. We all walked around like silent strangers for a while. AK and I came downstairs with Mady to watch TV and Matt said he would go grab breakfast for everyone. He made a Dunkin Donuts run and gathered coffee and enough sugar to make us at least fake a smile. The girls played and ate their breakfast. Annabelle liked to knock the coasters off the coffee table. Mady and Charlotte played with their new toys and tick-tock-croc. Matt, AK, Kristy and I sat in the living room.. sweat pants, yoga pants. T-shirts and unbrushed hair. We talked about how much we will miss one another. We recapped our vacation together. We talked about Aidyn and I broke down in tears about how much I miss and love him. We smiled thru happy tears. We poured over the blessing that Adele Josephine would be to all our lives and how grateful AK and I were to be here for them during this week. Eventually the time came to pack our suitcases once again, but this time to go home. Somehow to my surprise, I managed to make everything fit comfortably. Mady got to repack her Minnie Mouse backpack. The diaper bag needed freshening. Girls slipped on comfy clothes and I threw on a tshirt and jeans. The van was loaded and we headed out. While on the road we had an “Oh crap!” moment and remembered we needed to pickup our personalized ornament from Downtown Disney! A casual morning got a little rushed and we detoured towards Disney once again. Another loud squeal for “DI-NEY WORLDDDD!!”. We made AK get out, run and go get the ornament. We kept the vehicle moving to avoid Annabelle exercising her right to scream her lungs out during the car ride. He took far too long, we lost him but finally spotted the VCU t-shirt among the zillion vacationers. Picked up the package and we were MCO bound.
Tight tight hugs at the airport. Kristy’s eyes filled with tears in record time, and caused me to cry. It’s not that were just emotionally sappy people (well, she’s pregnant so we can give her the benefit of the doubt). They are just really good friends. AK and I are learning as we go, that although ‘family’ has always been there, friends are just the same as family to us. Our friends love us unconditionally. Support us and give us respectful advice and guidance when we want it. They don’t judge us as a couple, parents, friends or people. They know we equally love them unconditionally without judgments. Some friendships just come naturally. Some friendships require a good bit of work. All relationships are important and ours with the Lloyd’s is one we hold dear to our hearts. We love their kids as much as our own. We want their happiness as much as we want ours. When we’re all together we pick right back up just like we always have, relaxed with our feet on the couch and a coffee mug in hand, and when we’re apart we skype and laugh and joke as if we’re not 600 miles away. That’s a true friendship. That’s love. This was our first family vacation and we couldn’t have chosen a better part of our family to spend it with.
