Disney Adventures.....the conclusion

Yes, I realize I have a post labeled "Disney Adventures....the beginning" and now the "ending" but no middle. Oh well. We've been a tad busy.

Here are a few highlights from our week.......

*Convincing the girls that the rides and shows have fake people yet the Animal Safari has real animals

*Watching Anna Grace freak out when a "ghost" joined her on the Haunted Mansion

*Watching Alex and Anna Grace "space walk"  and skip through Tomorrowland hand-in-hand

*Listening to Abby scream on Rock 'n Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios (it never ended)....or so I'm told.

*Seeing Katie light up when she saw Beaker from the Muppets (her favorite! and yes, we bought it.)

*Asking Anna Grace if she was still with us on Space Mountain after a sharp turn (yep, I asked)

*Watching Katie and Alex be silly taking a Star Wars picture at Epcot

*Nine o'clock dinners and midnight bedtimes (oh my!)

*Searching for ice cream right before fireworks at Magic Kingdom (not recommended!)

*Being attacked by a killer stroller driven by an apologetic dad

*Spending four hours walking around Epcot...in the rain

*Not taking time to take pictures

*Buying the little girls charm bracelets and Alex.....a bow and (suction) arrow set

*Watching the girls feed the sea lions dead fish.....yuck!

*Riding the Mexican Small World (also known as the Mexico ride at Epcot)

*Watching Abby and Anna Grace drive (crash) their siblings on the Speedway

*After riding the Star Wars Tour at Hollywood Studios, Alex commenting, "There were so many things chronologically wrong with that, I don't even know where to start."

*Having my cousin Ryan join us for a day of fun.....brave man

*No tears and no meltdowns

*Meeting a dad at Magic Kingdom with the same double stroller we used to have and relishing in the fact we did not need it this trip......unlike our trip five years ago

*But the best thing, was having all four kids together for at least a few days. I know those days are coming to an end so we cherished every moment.....

Disney Adventures...the beginning

Are we there yet? Which way are we going, north or south? Is it almost lunch time? Are we there yet? Is this Orlando? Where is Disney? I can't see it. Are we there yet?

Nope, that's not the funniest thing that happened today.

Waiting in line for the Ariel Under the Sea ride only to find out we waited in line to meet Ariel.

Nope, that's not the funniest thing that happened today.

Hearing Anna Grace freak out when I told her a ghost had joined her on the Haunted Mansion.

Nope, that's not the funniest thing that happened today.

Sitting in a Tomorrowland restaurant and having a lady ask me if I was a teacher. When I replied yes, she said, "I knew it when I saw your girls sit so nicely and pull out books to read while they waited for their dinner. You set a good example outside the classroom."

Within seconds of this nice lady leaving the area, one of my lovely children ditched her book and began dancing around the terrace, looking for ducks, and chattering on about the castle changing colors.

All I could do is shake my head and think, "Lady, you have no idea!"

It's only Tuesday?

Oh my. Where to begin?

Do I start with the fact that Katie's car suddenly stopped working while she was driving? And despite the fact it was towed to a great garage, no one can figure out why it died or how to fix it?

Or, do I talk about Anna Grace finding an old, supposedly dead, i-pod that she managed to salvage and revive? And on that previously uncooperative i-pod, she found many, many songs that she likes to sing very loudly? Especially the songs from "A Chorus Line"?

Oh, I know. I'll share that it took Dave three hours to get home from work today.....when it should take forty-five minutes. Ah, lovely Atlanta traffic.

No, no, no. How about the fact that I rounded up my small children to head to soccer practice only to find out we were the only ones there. Turns out the fields were closed due to muddy fields. But I didn't get off scot-free.....Abby's coach and most of the team showed up. Yep. We had soccer practice in the mud. Mud which then got brought to my car and home to my house. And, I had to listen to the whining of the child who really needed to be running but her coach followed directions and did not show up.

Or how about this? After sending the girls to play after school while I prepared for tomorrow, I was greeted with silence. Silence is bad. Trust me. Then I heard whispers. Whispering is worse than silence. That means they are conspiring about something.

Nah, here is the icing on the cake for today.

Anna Grace piped up with the fact that we could hear God if we listened carefully and were quiet. I said, "He's saying that you need to obey your mother." Whereupon she said, "Nope, He's saying that Anna Grace gets to do whatever she wants."

Oh hold on. Let's add some candles to that cake.

Dave mentioned today that he may need to be in Tokyo on Monday.

Yay me.

Yep, it's only Tuesday.

Can't wait to see what happens the rest of this week.

And the dust settles......

Imagine my surprise this morning when I came downstairs after my shower to find Anna Grace sweeping the kitchen.

I could say, "Oh, how sweet. She's trying to help." But this is Anna Grace I'm talking about.

That should have been my first clue.

I was a little befuddled by the amount of dirt she was sweeping into the dustpan. After all, I had just swept yesterday. As far as I know, we had not tracked in inches of dust and dirt in just 24 hours.

Nonetheless, I let it go, got the girls, and headed out the door to meet my adoption friend Denise for lunch. My mind was totally focused on meeting a long time friend in person, in real life, after almost ten years of online communication.

Dust and dirt? Not so much.

When we arrived back home, I walked in the house and almost slipped.

Why was my floor so slick?

Katie, home for the afternoon, then asked the all important question.....

What is up with the dust on the counters?

I stopped, looked, stopped and looked again, and said....

Huh. I have no idea.

Every counter top in my kitchen was covered with a thick layer of dust.

I checked the ceiling to make sure nothing had exploded.

Nope.

Checked for any other possible clue.

Nada. Nothing.

And then I looked at two short children.

When eye contact was made, Abby piped up and said, "It was Anna."

Really? Why am I not shocked?

Turns out Anna Grace decided to dust with the feather duster and then proceed to shake the duster.....all....over.....the.....kitchen.

Deep sigh.

Why am I not surprised?

Daddy's Advice

(cough, cough)

Yep, I just blew the dust off my keyboard. I hope you appreciate the effort it took. After all, there was over four months of build-up from lack of use.

Today was just another one of "those" days. Busy, crazy, hectic, and filled with a contrary attitude from a certain 9 year old someone.

I'd had enough by dinner and ever-so-politely stated......

"Stop, you are getting on my ever-lasting nerve."

Where I got that phrase, I have no idea. After all, an ever-lasting nerve would be horrible. Can you imagine? Constant annoyance, constant pain, constant something.

Nonetheless, the words came out of my mouth which then prompted.....

Daddy: Yeah, you don't want to get on Mom's ever-lasting nerve.

Anna Grace: Where is it?

Daddy: I can't tell you or you may find it. Then you'd always be there.

Oh heavens.

Please don't tell my children where they can locate my ever-lasting nerve.