The second day, Ann was feeling a little better as we headed back to the park. We could’ve gone to any park, but we decided to go back to the Magic Kingdom and finish up all the stuff we didn’t do the first day. I’m glad we did; as we got to do a couple of special things for the kids as well. First off, we decided against riding the bus again and instead drove over to Magic Kingdom and rode the monorail in to the park. We waited a couple turns and got the kids in to the front compartment with the pilot. They loved it and it was a very cool view! You could only seat four, so Ann went ahead of us and got video of us coming in to the terminal, which turned out pretty good. The kids each received honorary monorail co-pilot’s licenses. J As we walked through the WDW RR terminal, we decided to go see Mickey, since we didn’t know how long Ann would last. So, we took the train around to Mickey’s Toontown Fair to see Mickey & Minnie. Luke again was privy to special treatment, as he was named an official guest conductor. He got to stand in the very back with the conductor and announce, “All aboard!??? over the intercom! J He thought that was pretty cool. I’m glad we went up to see Mick early, as Ann got sick again right after eating lunch at Pinnochio’s Village Haus. So, we found a quite place for her to sit, just west of Cinderella’s castle and the kids and I headed back to Adventureland to see Pirates of the Caribbean (it was cute to see Lukey yelling and waving to Captain Jack Sparrow and we even saw him outside, performing on the street!). After that, we went to Frontierland for Country Bear Jamboree and of course Splash Mountain!
Then it was time to check on Ann. She only wanted to ride one ride – Peter Pan’s Flight. So, we did a fast pass for it and when we came to get her, it was time to ride. Thankfully, she was feeling better. So, we headed in to Fantasyland and got in the fast pass line. We weren’t in line but just a couple minutes when suddenly, wham! The ride came to a screeching halt. The message over the intercom wasn’t very encouraging, “Captain Hook got a hold of one of the boats, so we have to fix it.??? It took the maintenance crew about 20 minutes to complete the job, but Ann kept her spirits up. This was Matt’s favorite ride when he was little and we all rode it numerous times previously, so it has a special place in our hearts. The other one we have always enjoyed is the Small World ride, which we never made it to this year. After seeing Peter Pan, Ann was ready to go, so we made our way up through the castle and stopped for popcorn and sodas. As we did, we found we had a front row spot for the afternoon Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party parade, so we stopped and watched it. As we made our way through Main St. USA, a couple of cast members were doing jump rope with visitors. Abby did it with them for what seemed like five minutes! We took the ferryboat back to the car and headed over to Downtown Disney. Although Disney’s theme for this year is “Celebrate Today??? …needless to say, for Ann it was neither a celebration nor the happiest place in the world! L
At DTD, we put in our names at Rainforest Café and visited the ornament shop (Disney’s Days of Christmas) first! We could’ve spent hours in there…or at least Ann and I could’ve… We found our annual ornament, plus a few special treats for the kids. We had them personalized and shipped home, so they’ll be surprised here in a few days! We then went around to various landmarks, where we had taken pictures in previous years. I thought it would be cool to see the progression through the years. We ended up over at Legoland (Lego Imagination Center) and it was still as cool as ever. We did miss the snoring old man, friendly dinosaurs and the UFO with alien and fog; but they had new Lego sculptures that were equally impressive. The kids all had to get some new Legos! We then made our way back to Rainforest and didn’t have to wait long before getting our seats. Luke was enthralled with the entire scene, but especially the thunderstorm. Matt enjoyed our appetizer. We had gotten a mix of items, including calamari. I told him it looked like chicken when he asked what it was… He was fine until he found a piece with 8 little legs still attached!! J You should’ve seen his face, it was priceless!!
We got up fairly early the next day and went out for breakfast at a little mom ‘n pop diner just up the road that the grand parents frequent. It was like Cheers, “where everybody knows your name.??? J Afterward, we stuck around their home and played euchre. Dad & I enjoyed a few cocktails & beverages, including the new Bud Lime. It went very well with the Florida sunshine! J It was boys vs. girls and we edged out the ladies 4 games to 3 before leaving to go meet up with old friends Bob & Jackie. We went out to eat at a neighborhood Greek restaurant before heading back to Treasure Island to do some shopping at John’s Pass. Dad had warned me that it wasn’t like we remembered. He was right, it had been modernized…and it was packed. There were over a thousand people there; which is why there was a new parking garage…I guess it holds true; if you build it – they will come… We got to bed fairly early, in preparation for driving home the next day. We left about 3 or so in the afternoon. Mom & Dad were having their trees taken out the next day, so I helped them do a few things around the yard before heading out. It was great to see them and we are already talking about when we can go down again to see them.
We got back home about 7 am, again making it straight through (this time shaving an hour off), stopping only for dinner and of course gas. Again, I drove for about 12 hours before giving way to Ann when I starting seeing hallucinations in the road! LOL! When we got back, we all took little naps before we got up and unloaded / unpacked everything. Once that was done, I took Matt out to Wal-Mart. I told him we were going for a ride. I parked outside lawn & garden and then told him I needed help loading stone and concrete bags for a new project. I totally had him going; you should’ve seen his face! We went inside and I told him we would run back to look at the Hot Wheels. Once we got back there, I told him we were really there to pick out a new bike for his birthday. J He slugged me in the arm and bounced over to the bicycle section. He looked for about 10 minutes before deciding on a new 18-speed Mongoose Blackcomb. It is a very nice bike and will most likely be the last one we ever buy him. After he got back from testing it out around the neighborhood, we had a yummy “birthday??? chocolate pie and small party for him (his actual birth date).
This week has been crazy as well. On Monday, Matt started track & field practice each night this week as Ann went with Abby to tap class that night. On Tuesday, Abby did Girls on The Run and Ann held Bunco here at the house. She had all her girlfriends over, so I took the kids out for a dinner and a movie. We went to Acapulco, only to find that it had been bought out. Their new name is now El Chile Poblano. We then went out to Wolf Theaters to see Race to Witch Mountain. It was a cool flick that was very true to the original movies. On Wednesday, Ann went scrapbooking with Amy and the gals. On Thursday, Abby did Girls on The Run again and we had parent / teacher conferences for both bigguns. Abby got straight A’s, earning $20 from us! Matt just missed the A/B honor roll, receiving a C from a very tough teacher. He got very good remarks from all his teachers; telling us how great of a kid he is and how special he makes his classes. We are proud of our kids, but know they both have room for improvement. Afterward, Ann took Abby to Dixon Dance studio for jazz class. That night, Matt was featured with the other Science Fair finalists in a nice newspaper write-up. On Friday, Luke got to stay with Gigi at the station until school and got to be on the air with her all morning!! He spoke a few times and got to spin the Birthday Wheel for prizes. J That afternoon, Luke went to his first dental appt. He was so proud that he “caught a cavity creep??? on his toothbrush! J On Saturday, Lukey went over to his best friend’s house (Alex Dance) for about 4 hours. Shortly after he returned after lunch, we had Matt’s official 13th birthday party – with a real cake from Grandma! Of course, Grandma and Gigi were here – along with Dee Dee & Gracie, Chad (whose father is back in the hospital for another bypass – our thoughts and prayers are with you buddy), Phyllis & Dick and one of Ann’s best friends, Natalie with her three kids (including Matt’s best friend, Brayton). Natalie and crew stayed later and we ended up grilling out burgers and dogs as the kids played. It works out great, as her kids are roughly the same age (and same gender) – they just kind of go their own ways and do their own things. The kids played really good together. Brayton ended up spending the night, just like old times and he and Matt had a blast staying up late, playing video games and watching movies.
Well, I don’t have the space for a Waybac feature this week, so watch for that next time. Hope everyone is ready for spring; I know we are desperately needing to get outside more often and enjoy the great outdoors. Now if this darn rain would just go away…
Until next time, have a good one. Later, Scheu