Disney Diaries, Post 3 (St. Patty's Day...Magic Kingdom style)

Sunday finally arrived and the boys were so excited to begin our adventures in the parks! Josh had a couple more hours of conference to put in. I decided to brave the park for the first few hours alone hoping we could get in some rides before things got too crowded. After a slight delay, the monorail broke down just before we got on, the boys and I made it to the Magic Kingdom. I had tried to read up on all the expert tips. I was prepared for the Rope Drop, but instead this was one of the mornings where you must wait outside the Main St, USA train station before being let in. I had envisioned the boys having a bit of roaming room while we waited, but instead we were just among a big clump of people. They were a bit giddy and wild, but we survived, and those around us didn't seem to mind. I met a nice family from Birmingham, who were seasoned Disney travelers. She gave me some great tips about using our FastPasses.

Once the gates opened we milled onto Main Street USA. There's a city hall a couple stories tall to the left as you walk in. Jack said, "hey, look, it's the castle!" I told him that was most definitely not the castle, so we rounded the circle and positioned ourselves dead center, and I pointed out the castle. His eyes were as big as saucers as he said, "Oh, WOW!"

After the obligatory photos of our first moments with the castle, which the boys were very sweet to comply with, we headed straight into the castle. Directly on the other side, the boys saw Prince Charming's Carousel and wanted to ride it first!

We spent most of our morning in FantasyLand, hitting the new Little Mermaid ride, Dumbo and the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. Then we headed to TomorrowLand and became Galactic Space Rangers on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Not long after, Josh joined us and we repeated a few rides and hit the TomorrowLand Speedway. Sam could hardly wait to race those cars. In FrontierLand, Sam was so excited to ride the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Jack couldn't help but love getting scared at the Haunted Mansion. We stopped in on Pirates of the Caribbean and the Magic Carpets before making our way back to the hotel. Somewhere in there, Sam fell asleep. Josh grabbed fastpasses for Peter Pan and we hopped back on the monorail.

When we got back to the resort, Sam just looked so comfy. We hated to disturb him, so we didn't. A little over an hour later, it was time to head back for our dinner reservation and Sam was still napping. After we re-entered the Magic Kingdom he finally woke up. Sweet thing never even knew we left the park. That's a boy who loves (and needs) his sleep.

Dinner was at Be Our Guest restaurant, which is in the Beast's castle and is a recent addition to FantasyLand having opened last fall. The interior was so much like the movie. Our table was right by a window, which simulated snow falling just outside. The food was great, and we had heard to ask for the grey stuff...it's delicious. Don't believe us? Ask the dishes! After we finished up, we had the opportunity to meet the Beast himself. He was quite friendly; thank goodness that Belle came into his life!

We hit several more rides and then looked for a position for the Electrical Parade. People line up well in advance, but that wasn't really our M.O. We were able to find a pretty good spot near the beginning of the route, which worked out nicely because we then followed the end of the parade all the way up Main Street to snag a spot for Wishes. While we waited for the castle illumination and fireworks to begin, Josh got ice cream for everyone. The boys were a sticky mess, but oh so happy.

Our favorite memories from Sunday were...
Jack: "the haunted house" (Haunted Mansion)
Sam: "the big train roller coaster" (Thunder Mountain)
Mom: Jack's reaction when he first saw the castle
Dad: When the boys and I came out of the Monsters, Inc. Laugh floor and he was waiting on us. The boys gave him a big hug! We were so happy he was joining us now!

Tag Sechs - Rollen auf dem Fluss (Day Six - Rolling on the River)

We departed Heidelberg for Rudesheim after a slight delay. The majestic Rhine River was our destination. We found a cruise departing within 45 minutes from nearby Bingen. While we waited Josh walked across the street into town and found the most excellent pastries and collasal juice boxes for the boys. Later John & Lisa ventured over to the same bakery, and my brother emerged with one of the most delightful treats of the trip. It was some sort of flaky crust topped with a cream layer and topped with a strawberry gelatin-like top. It was sampled and enjoyed by all.

Because of a recent boat accident that was apparently blocking a portion of the river we were only able to cruise about half as far as we had originall planned. We still enjoyed some pretty spectacular views along the Rhine River valley, which is filled with castle ruins, beautiful villages, and many, many vineyards.

We deboarded for a few hours in Bacharach and enjoyed another streetside cafe style lunch. We spent some time walking around and more time river watching by the dock. A charming village, but not much in the way of shops, and certainly not as much people watching as our previous day. While we waited for our ride, Jack asked to do some photography of his own. Here is some of his work.

We boarded our return vessel to find a slide on the top deck. The boys were in heaven sliding away as we cruised back upstream. We had worried about some forecasted showers when we planned our day, and they finally caught up with us on that return cruise. We dashed down to the enclosed deck for the last hour or so of the ride.

After we returned, we took the ferry across the river to Rudesheim for shopping and dinner. A much more active area, most of our group split up to enjoy window shopping, wine tasting and tour the cobblestone streets. We met back up for dinner. We chose a restaurant with an enclosed outdoor area not considering the threat of more showers. About halfway through dinner, we began to feel sprinkles. Before we realized it, a retractable roof had closed above us...if only it could have followed us as we left the restaurant.

Since we had promised the boys a sweet treat in exchange for good dinner and pleasant dinner behavior, we stopped at an ice cream bar. I again chose the erdbeer eis (strawberry gelatto). The boys both had these adorable mouse like ice cream treats. Josh had a shake. It was a perfect ending to a beautiful day on the river.

C is for...

Chick-fil-A...duh!? Life in the Sham is now complete bliss. We officially have our very own Chick-fil-A just miles away from our house. We've been drooling since January when construction began. The signs have been up at least three weeks. Each time we drove by Sam would say, "Too fay, Mom! Too fay!" I would tell him it wasn't open yet. So, his proclamation developed into, "Too fay, not open."

On Thursday, that all changed! I had a meeting at 6:30, so the boys and I met Josh at Chick-fil-A for dinner at 5:30 for our first bite as a family*. Never mind that Josh had already had breakfast there. Everyone thinks I'm the crazy one, but none of the employees have called me by name yet. Ask my husband if he can say the same after a breakfast trifecta their third day in operation?!

So, as you can see, it was a big week around here. And, I'm still working on Sam, who continues to say, "Too fay, not open," every time we drive by. Now, I can reply, "Only on Sunday, Sam, only on Sunday!"


*FYI, I chose the Caesar Chargrilled Cool Wrap meal as my inaugural bite at our Chick-fil-A.

exploring the castle

Tuesday began our adventure at Biltmore Estates. It's the largest home in the country. It was an incredibly interesting, and the boys weren't too terribly bored. Sam hung out in the backpack, and Jack was content was to walk. We moved at a little faster pace than most, but we had a preschooler wanting to lead. Interestingly, his favorite part was the Halloween Room in the basement. Apparently named for the wall scenes painted by Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil's guests at a 1920s Halloween party. On the way down the hallway towards the Halloween Room Jack heard a ghost saying, "Ooooo!" I suspect it was another patron touring the home. He also enjoyed finding the bats, owls and other animals painted on the walls. He says it was scary, but also says it was his favorite. Maybe we have a future horror flick fan on our hands?

If you have the chance to visit the Biltmore House, I'd recommend doing so. We thoroughly enjoyed it, and I wouldn't mind going back (sans toddlers in tow) to do any of the guided tours that take you into un-restored areas. You can certainly take more time touring the house and the gardens are enormous, but the heat and the walking was too much for our crew. We drove a couple miles over to the estate's Antler Hill Village to have lunch. Both boys fell asleep during the five minute drive. So, we drove around a little more. There's plenty to explore when you're driving around 8,000 acres.

After lunch in the village, we walked over to the barn and stables. The boys loved exploring the old tractor and stables. The petting zoo was a hit as well. But, the biggest hit was our stop at the Creamery in Antler Hill Village.

just add animals & ice cream

A sweet long-time friend of mine and Josh's (who happens to be a fellow blogger) lives in New York City with her family. Lucky for us, her in-laws just retired to Ellijay and they decided to visit. So, we took the opportunity to meet up. The last time we had seen them was at a baby shower for the first child that was held in Atlanta. Dilan is now 3 years old.

Since we're both bloggers, I don't feel like it's been that long. I feel like I knew this sweet and funny 3 y/o, from the pictures, stories and letters shared on Kajal's blog even though I'd never seen her in person. And she felt the same about our two boys. I was still interested to see how the kids would interact around each other.

We met up at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve, outside Dahlonega. It was ridiculously hot, but we made the best of it and enjoyed catching up while strolling among some semi-exotic animals. In fact, we shut the place down! Nevermind, they close at 4 p.m. My favorite part of the reunion was the impromptu decision to journey into Dahlonega and enjoy some ice cream from Connie's in downtown. Of course, we enjoyed catching up and hearing about preparations for their second child set to arrive at the end of the summer. But, I'm pretty sure the kids had fun too. Jack insisted Dilan sit beside him at ice cream, and she didn't object. So, maybe it was the animals or perhaps the ice cream, but either way, we look forward to the prospect of more reunions now that Grandma & Grandpa are a short drive away.

Spring Breaks

Around here spring break doesn't mean much other than Jack asks every other day if he's going to school. I'm thinking he's going to be pretty disappointed when the answer is "in a few more weeks" instead of "tomorrow." I'm sure we'll find a way to pass the time this summer...like with potty training. Ugh! Seriously though we are looking forward to fun playdays at the park, trips to the water park in Gainesville and more. In the meantime, we enjoyed what spring break meant to everyone else. First, it was a visit from Aunt Emmy a couple of weeks ago when her school was out. As always, Jack had a blast playing with Aunt Emmy.

Last week, it was Grandmommy's turn. She came and spent the afternoon with us on Wednesday. We had fun taking her to our Wednesday night fellowship dinner at church. Jack enjoyed playing some baseball in the yard before we all piled in the car to take advantage of the DQ Blizzard anniversary...does anyone know where to get a blizzard around here? Anyway, here's a pic of Grandmommy Garrett with two of her favorite things: grandkids and ice cream! We loved celebrating the Blizzard's 25th with you!