Disney World: Magic and Animal Kingdoms

Magic Kingdom was the park I was most excited about because I knew the kids would love it especially Hannah. Stephen and I surprised her with a new pink princess dress complete with gloves, earrings, a crown, and a wand... that broke. I gave Hannah the royal treatment and got her dressed, did her hair, and her make up so she was all ready to go meet some of the other princesses at the park. The Magic Kingdom ended up not being all that magical for the kids unfortunately. From the second we parked everyone was up in arms over one thing or another and we had three frowny kids. It made for a miserable morning. I took Hannah and Grayson first thing to meet Mickey because that's who Grayson wanted to see the most. As we were coming out of Mickey's place Snow White just happened to stop by right outside the door, so we got right in line and Hannah got to meet her as well. The kids were so shy and didn't want to talk or do anything with the characters. That was ok. I'd probably just as shy as they were, but I know they loved getting to meet them and take pictures.

Stephen took the two boys with Beks and Loren and went on Space Mountain without me. After we met up we ended going to the Little Mermaid ride and the spinning tea cups then decided to take the kids back to the house for a break because we wanted to come back later in the evening to watch the firework show. Turns out that no one but Lucas wanted to go back to the park, so it was just the three of us and we took advantage of it! With no stroller or whining kids in tow we hit all the rides we wanted and ended the night with great fireworks. We did Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Haunted Mansion. Our feet  were so sore by the end of the night though. Lucas a trooper and did not complain once. 

Loren bribed the kids with candy if they smiled. At least he got Lucas haha!

ANIMAL KINGDOM

I was pretty excited for this park. Anyone who knows me knows I love animals and theme park rides, so I was fit to go. This was probably my favorite day. All the kids were in a way better mood than the day before, so that helped lighten the load a lot and made for a fun day. We rode the Mount Everest coaster a couple of times before heading to the African safari jeep ride where we got to see all the animals up close. This was the longest line we waited in the whole trip--it was almost two hours long. Then we had a bite to eat and watched the Lion King show. As soon as we got outside it started pouring rain, so we were frantically trying to open up everyone's ponchos and get them on quickly. By the time I got mine on it stopped raining. But it rained off and on the remainder of the day. 

Stephen and I split up again. He took Zander on the Avatar ride  while I took the other three kids to the Tree of Life where we sat in on the 3D Bug's Life show. It was awesome! Lucas especially loved it; he was roaring with laughter almost the whole time. We got lost for a while trying to find our way to Pandora to meet up with Dad and Zander. We bought some more souvenirs, and were ready to go home, but then the kids wanted to find badges for their animal guide books, so spent some time going to some of the stations where the kids learned about plants and animals to earn their badges which were just stickers. They loved it, and because they loved it, it was fun for me too. We rode one more dinosaur ride before calling it a day. That was Grayson's favorite. 

We finally got a happy family picture!

We had an awesome trip amongst the tantrums and complaining. Overall, it was a time to remember. Stephen's brothers, sisters, and the kids' cousins were so helpful to us. On our last day we went to see "Elemental" in the theater since we had a late flight. We didn't get into Salt Lake City until 11:00 at night. Before we even landed Grayson, Hannah, and Lucas were crying or whining because they were just plumb tired. I don't blame them, but we still had to get off the plane and collect our bags at the baggage claim and then hitch a ride to our car before taking a 30 minute drive back home. Our plane landed at the farthest terminal from the exit of the airport, so we had to walk quite a distance. Stephen carried Grayson and off he went with the boys which left me with Hannah. As soon as we got off the plane Hannah was complaining and crying because she didn't want to walk. I think she was just used to being in a stroller, lol, but I explained to her over and over that I was unable to carry her because I had to carry all our luggage and she was too heavy for me. She walked as far as she could before plopping herself on the floor in the middle of the airport. I begged her get up and walk but she flat out refused, and continued to cry sprawled out on the floor. after about 10 minutes of this a man walked up to me and asked where I was going. He was going to offer to help with my luggage while I picked up Hannah, but I told him we were going home out of the airport, and he said, "Well, sadly I can't help you with that, sorry." I really appreciated the kind gesture because everyone in the airport was watching us on both sides. After another couple of minutes of talking to Hannah trying to coax her into getting up Bekah and David walked up right behind us. David scooped Hannah up off the floor without missing a beat and carried her through the airport taking me to baggage claim even though they didn't need to go there. Hannah is a hefty 55-60 lbs so carrying her through the airport is no small feat. David carried her as far he could until his arms were going to fall off, and then he put her down and held her hand and she quietly walked beside him the rest of the way to meet up with Stephen. I am so grateful for our family and their willingness to help us. We have been so blessed, and loved our two weeks we got to spend with family.

I took this right before we landed. I loved seeing Grayson all snuggled up on Daddy's lap.