And this is Just Day 1

In what turned out to be a genius move, I confirmed that I DO, in fact, want my kids to go back to school this week.

Sometimes, right before school begins obscenely early in August, I have thoughts of a longer summer, more late nights, ice cream runs {although my shorts are protesting}, and lazy days.

Then today, millions of children came over, played wildly, needed 75 band-aids, bled all over the house, caused me to tweezer splinters out of a few pairs of dirty feet, fought, name-called, cried, and became irate when after SEVEN HOURS of non-stop play, I broke up the party.

So, back to school on August 3rd?

YES.

But I'm going to live in my fantasy vacation world a little longer...so we're finally to one of my favorite parts of our trip: the beach!

I hope that a murky lake with an artificially sandy shore qualifies as a beach, because that's where awesomeness happens.

The past several years, we've gone to camp in Michigan with Brad's family...all the uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents and those in various stages of dating come to have a wonderful weekend together.

It's so much fun to watch all of the kids play together, build sandcastles, water ski, play mini golf, kayak, zipline, and giggle.

The adults talk, talk, talk, lifeguard when necessary, and try to read books.

It's a place where a swim suits are the only attire required and showers don't even get you clean.

But that's ok, because it's fun:)

Didn't get nearly as many pictures as I wanted, but the sand/water elements make having the phone/camera at hand VERY risky. VERY.

Lilly is always one to be part of the castle-making effort. I love her navy and white swimsuit. Such a classic.
Navy and white always feels Kennedy-ish...like we're vacationing on the Cape in our compound.

I mean, doesn't this just SCREAM elegance and fashion?


Right.

Lilly and Allie are looking a little beach-ified, but sweet. Allie is our newest cousin and STINKING CUTE. There really aren't words. She is like a little peanut you can put in your pocket, but tough as nails.

Well played, Allie.
Oh, I forgot to mention the water gun fights.


And digging for buried treasure.

And paddleboats.

And sandcastles.
And COUSINS! Did you see them all? They rock. There is an amazing bond and so much love even though they don't see each other nearly enough.

Of course, the fave activity is anything related to the boat.

Lilly is pretty much the Evel Knievel of tubing.

She is too strong and too little to throw off the tube without causing serious harm.

Sadly, I didn't get some of her best tubing moments on camera. She and Jake took more of a sea cruise around the like that involved him clinging to the tube for dear life while protesting the "speed" of the boat, and Lilly standing up behind him experimenting with various gymnastics poses.

I was too busy laughing so hard I cried to get pictures.

We had no problem, however, throwing Brad and Jackson.

{Too bad the iphone doesn't have a telephoto lens. Maybe the 5.}

Dude, all that fun is tiring.


Yes, indeed.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Making Random Look Organized

We've been home from Disney World for almost a month now and my mind is still full of untold fables and lore from our amazing time there.

However, I think most of these fables and lore are going to stay in my mind because I AM TIRED.

I've started getting out Christmas stuff, planning holiday cheer, taking Jackson to the orthodontist, and trying to shower at least every other day. So, in addition to tired: BUSY.

I picked out five more pictures since that's all Blogger will allow me to upload at once and I thought I'd share them, and then MOVE ON from all the Disney.

#1

This was probably my favorite moment:

THE MICE!

Now the best thing about going to Disney over Fall Break is that lines were non-existent. We'd exit Thunder Mountain and run (because walking is too slow) back around to the front of the line and not have to wait even a little bit.

Pretty much our only wait was for Mickey himself.

Come to find out, in Disneyland he wanders the property freely and you can find him on the grounds.

Not so much in Orlando. You have to go to his house where he is waiting just for YOU.

Minnie's house is next door, where you get to wait for her. I always thought they were married, but now I'm wondering if they're brother and sister? In a Luke and Leia sort of way? But I think they've kissed in some Disney specials so I'm not clear. Perhaps Mickey is dating Daisy.

Anywho, after waiting for about an hour, we walked into a little room where we'd get to have some quality time alone with Mr. Mouse. Lo and behold, his sister/wife was with him!!

The kids' eyes (and ours, honestly) lit up like spaceships.

And of course, The Mice acted like they had been waiting, just waiting for us to arrive. I am completely dazzled at the Disney cast members' ability to make each visitor feel so special.

If we ran into Mickey in a bar, I think he'd remember our names and slap us on the back.

Or at least nod knowingly.

#2

Here we are at Epcot:
The craziest part of Epcot was running into our next door neighbors who we didn't even know were at Disney World.

Other than that, Epcot was a little underwhelming.

#3

Did I already show you this picture at the Spectromagic Parade? I can't remember.

The sabers of light and magic are still in hot demand around here.

Kind of like the swords we got at Sea World a few years ago. Because you know, Sea World = swords.

#4

This next photo cracks me up because it screams of our Leg and Joint Failure on Day 6.

(And also shows where my horrible photography skillz come from.)

We were only paces away from the park exit, but couldn't take another step. NOT ONE.

Like vagrants at a bus stop, we just sat and waited hoping our location would change despite the fact that we weren't moving.

The babes WALKED through these four ginormous parks, from parking lot to tram to monorail to park to seven thousand rides to the queues and all back again for six days straight.

No strollers, no nothing...fueled only by ice cream and EXCITEMENT.

So when the excitement ran out, so did our legs.

{A quick shout-out to my Reefs, which propelled me the ENTIRE TIME in great comfort and airy-ness. I really hate socks, so the flops were phenomenal.}

#5

Oh, and lastly, here's Splash Mountain:

Both Jackson and Lilly declared this their favorite ride. I really have no idea why, but they loved getting wet during the big drop.

I rode it once, but the temperature dipped below 85, which means COLD FRONT.

Our initial voyage soaked me so badly that my underwear was sopping for at least 5 hours. Um, not comfortable.

Therefore, due to great experience and training, I took over as photographer.

Brad only raised one hand because he had just texted me to herald the arrival of their Splash Mobile and was praying it wouldn't get wet.

Even though there are over 250 more pictures from All The Fun, I will spare you (and myself, really) from them.

Instead, I'm going to go eat some cookie dough and review the changes our benefits package for next year. So all in all, exciting!

See ya real soon!

You Know I Am Wearing It Right Now

I interrupt the Disney Madness to offer you proof that I've officially lost my mind.

File this lapse in fashion judgment with the Crocs and character t-shirts.

Except worse.

Way worse.

I've gone the way of infomercials and crossed to the dark side of insanity.

Y'all, I bought a Snuggie. (And so did my mom.)

Although the Orlando days were a perfect temperature, the night air, combined with my insatiable desire to see as many shows/parades/fireworks extravaganzas as possible led to some interaction with chilly weather.

I'd been secretly longing for a Snuggie (or honestly, a Slanket) for awhile. Every morning, I'd been unsuccessfully juggling my coffee, books, pencils, Bible study lessons, laptops, and occasionally, balls...all while trying to stay warm under a blanket.

This led to much spilt coffee, pencils lost in the abyss of my chair, and general frustration.

(You can see where this is going.)

I resisted buying a Snuggie because of:

a) the name

b) the electric blue airplane blanket color

c) it's on infomercials

d) it's also sold at fine retailers like Walgreens

e) mostly the color

f) but the name is terrible, too.

However, it became obvious on the vacay that some sort of blanket coverage was necessary for us to see Fantasmic.

And if I was going to spend money on a blanket, it WAS going to have sleeves, and it WAS going to be a Snuggie.

Much to my delight, the local Orlandian Walgreens carried a leopard print Snuggie!

Glory in the highest!

(Dad, what are you doing in this picture?!)

Fearful of me bringing (greater) shame to our household, Brad balked at the spending of $14.99.

But approximately 2 minutes into the show, he was begging for forgiveness and searching his Blackberry for the 2-headed version that we could share.

{Come to find out, that's the "Slanket Siamese" and while I don't think it's the best choice for us, if you are into being close and not moving for awhile, it might be nice.}

Since getting home, the Snuggie has pretty much become a beloved member of our family.

It's been on a trip to the mountains and even comes with me to friends' houses with suspect heat situations like our own (aka husbands who freeze out their wives).

It waits patiently each morning on my chair, welcoming my coffee and me with a gentle purr and invitation for warmth and love.

So it goes without saying that the kids are getting them for Christmas and Brad may have some Texas Tea under the tree.

I opened Photo Booth to take a picture of me in it right this very moment, but we both would've regretted it in the morning.

My Leopard Lovely is fleece...but there ARE microfiber versions available. Had I known the great attachment and love I would feel towards an inanimate object (that is neither flip flops nor coffee), I would've shopped around a little more.

But I didn't know that $14.99 could make a girl so happy.

Like the Macy's Parade, Except FANTASTIC

So, if you can believe this, we're only on Day 2 of Le Tour de Disney. We actually spent it at Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM, as I came to find out) and I adored every magical moment.

{By this point, I was telling Disney employees--it's still hard for me to call them "cast members"-to 'have a magical day.')

We did as any light-saber toting, sci-fi loving American family would've done and sprinted to the back of the park to begin our Star Wars experience.

The "Star Tours" ride was honestly a little lame. And it was a simulator, which in my mind, simulates nausea.

Jackson, however, loved it. And of course, I pretended to.

Next, we moved outside to the Jedi Training.

Despite Brad's and my ridiculous and downright shameful attempts to get crazy and freak out so the Jedi Master would choose Jackson as one of his next Padawans, we (I mean, Jackson) were not chosen.

J was seriously bummed, but handled it amazingly well (considering it was a lifelong dream and I don't envision us returning to Disney anytime soon). Even without being selected, the whole training sequence was super entertaining and I found myself quickly sucked in by the force.

To combat the great sorrow, Papa led everyone into the gift shop and the Jedi Rejects picked out a souvenir to remind them of their great struggle with the dark side.

Jackson picked out Boba Fett (the bounty hunter) and was instantly happy. Plus, the ginormous AT-AT walker in the background was just plain cool.

At this point, I should admit that I know all the names of obscure characters and Star Wars vehicles without looking them up.

Because I am a dork.

Finished with simulators, we split up into two groups.

Brad, Lilly, & Grammy headed to the Tower of Terror.

Jackson, Papa and I jammed to the Rock n' Roller Coaster.

Thanks to Steven Tyler and his cool limo, it was tied for my favorite Disney ride. I did feel bad because Jackson audibly cried during the "fun," but he wasn't prepared well since I didn't realize it went upside down a few times in the pitch dark.

Oops.

But he recovered and actually wanted to ride it again at the end of the day.

From all accounts, Lilly braved the Tower of Terror and will brag about it to anyone she can.

However, we couldn't convince her to ride it a second time...which didn't surprise me at all.

{Before I continue, I should mention I don't have ANY pictures of the best part of Hollywood Studios--the Lights, Motors, Action show. I was too stunned and amazed to do anything but repeat, "How in the heck do they do that?" about 50 times. You should see the show. Amazing}

After scaring the children silly (on the roller coasters, not the Motors, it was time to enter the land of Pixar and happiness and Toy Story Mania.

This ride was amazingly creative and just as fun for the adults. Plus, we got harassed by Mr. Potato Head himself. AND we got to wear 3D glasses. AND shoot stuff. Perfect.

I'm going to be very vulnerable and reveal yet another super lame thing I love: The Muppets.

I mean, love. I always have and I always will. Miss Piggy first charmed me in "Muppets Take Manhattan" and I remember many a Saturday morning filled with the Muppet Babies cartoons.

{You can all go ahead and walk away from our friendship now if you wish.}

So here are the kids with the Statue of Miss Piggy. Because I had to.

If you aren't exhausted yet (which I was, because Grammy, Lilly, and I RAN--not jogged, RAN--from the Beauty and the Beast show all the way across the theme park and crowds of people to the Lights, Motors, Action show. This was accomplished in my flip flops which are made for standing on soft beach sand, NOT athletic conquests.)

(My shins are still aching.)

But finally, the magical hour of 3 o'clock arrived and you know what that means: PARADE TIME!

This was considered a "Block Party Bash," which meant my beloved characters and shockingly-old Disney dancers parked their floats on Hollywood Blvd. and danced with us for awhile.

Magical.

It was mostly Pixar characters and I don't believe I need to convince anyone that they are great.
The Green Army Guys were the lead vocalists/MC's and they were hysterical...even ad-libbed most of it.

Led by the Spirit, I let out a "whoo hoo" during "Celebrate Good Times." (If you can keep your whoo hoo to yourself during that song, something is sorely wrong.)

Anyway The Green Army Guy yelled right back at me, "Did you just whoo hoo me? Don't whoo hoo me!"

A Macy's balloon has never done that.

Lilly even got picked to come out and dance, but there was so much stinkin' ENERGY!!!!!!!!!!! that even she was a little overwhelmed.

I am just thinking about how much money someone would have to pay me to wear that costume and entice little kids to do the Macarena.

The amount is lower than you might think.

Now for my favorite part of each day:

You knew it had to do with food. The ice cream break. YUM. It was like a delicious encore to the parade.

Our favorite Ice Creamery (because there are many and it seems like I should lead you directly to the best one in case you visit) was Mrs. Potts at the Magic Kingdom.

They had full-on sundaes. Usually, we restrained ourselves and shared a couple of cones.

But in the interest of full-disclosure, let me reveal our order before the Spectromagic Parade (sometimes there are parades at night so you can watch TWO in a single day. Brilliant.)

Eh-hem...

*strawberry shortcake sundae

*brownie sundae

*chocolate milkshake

*rootbeer float

*chocolate ice cream with hot fudge sundae

*thighmaster

After conforming to the shape of Mrs. Potts herself, we decided to start sharing sundaes.

Oh, speaking of Mrs. Potts, here are Grammy & Lilly at "Beauty and the Beast." (It was FAB.)

And our favorite talking, racing, cow-tipping, animated vehicles:

p.s.

Dear Jackson & Lilly,

Those awful things on your feet are Crocs. I know Crocs are ugly. I know they are ridiculous, obnoxious, and plastic.

I completely understand that you will look back at this trip and a) complain about how they compromised your sense of fashion, b) wonder how I could've possibly let Lilly wear red Crocs with a pink bow on her shirt, or c) Photoshop them right out and tell you friends I was a much better mother than I actually was.

You did thank me for them after you were soaked on Splash Mountain and even told me they were comfy several times.

I know, that is no excuse.

In the same way that I've never forgiven Grammy for the Dorothy Hamill haircut, I understand that you may withhold your forgiveness as well.

Love,

Mom

Look What My 30's Have Done

*WARNING* If you know me even a little bit, several things in this post will be shocking.

I had to put *WARNING* in red because that is a double-meaning to *WARN* you that you will be shocked. (Shocked!)

Check out the amazingness of Cinderella's castle:

I will not lie: I got TEARY-EYED when I saw it from afar on the Monorail.

TEARY.

It was absolutely beautiful, more gigantic than I could've imagined, and gorgeously located in the middle of the Magic Kingdom.

If I ever travel to Europe and see the Sistene Chapel, I guarantee you I will not think of Mr. Famous Painter and then get teary.

But Disney World and it's castle made for a PRETEND person who is FAKE? Oh yes.

Let's zoom in closer:

I'm sure the alarm-bells are clanging in your tired head already.

Nicole, the Sworn Hater of All Things Character, is wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt and so are my offspring and husband.

Since Jackson's birth, I'd relegated character wear to pajamas because I cannot handle them on clothing any other time of day. In my mind, a Lightning McQueen t-shirt was only acceptable when tucked neatly under the covers for 11 hours where no one has to actually look at it.

But my inner nerd came out and I demanded that we all hike through Disney World looking every bit the part of lame tourists and total geeks.

And it was great!

The next sign of My Personal Crazy was that I absolutely adored the parades and shows.

In my former life, I was only gung-ho for upside down roller coasters and other thrill-seeking adventures not involving circular motions.

But I found myself checking the time and scheduling fun around parade and show schedules.

My favorite characters of the whole deal were Cinderella's stepsisters. They were evil and mean and heckled the crowd and even better actresses than in the movie.

Cinderella herself was amazing (of course) and Snow White was probably the most beautiful human I have ever seen. (Except this insanely gorgeous French model we met and I can't even describe her hair without getting teary because it is more magical than the entire Kingdom.)

Anyway, the princesses were unbelievable and had this wave thing that was so non-Miss America. It was like they were yo-yoing sideways while working on their Olympic Ribbon Waving routine. If you've seen it, you know what I mean.

Here is the Fairy Godmother, who Lilly also got to meet in person right outside the aforementioned castle. When she signs her autograph, she draws her magic wand and says "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" like 17 times and makes you want to hug her and ask her about Jack and Gus like they are REAL PEOPLE instead of rodents.

She is that convincing. Or I am gullible...but either way we are all happy!

Now comes the fun part. I decided that for Halloween, Brad would be Peter Pan and I would be Wendy Darling.

The thought of Brad in green tights hopping around all night made me laugh to no end. Plus, I was excited about wearing a costume that wasn't form-fitting and closely resembled a bath robe.

However, Brad is so quick to laugh at himself, that he showed almost too much excitement about the green tights, so I had to ki-bosh the whole deal.

{I just realized I have no idea how to spell ki-bosh...ky-bosh, kie-bosch, kybosh...}

Jackson loved Smee. I had no idea what his name was...just kept referring to him as Captain Hook's friend. But J gently corrected me and then I remembered that I've let him watch Peter Pan over 1 million times.

After the parade (the first parade of many parades), we headed to the world renowned Tomorrowland Speedway.

This was fantastic because it hadn't changed one bit since I was last there in 1982. Driving was something the kids took very seriously.

Thankfully, they have another decade before they are let loose on the streets. At this rate, Lilly will need the little guide rail in between her wheels for the rest of her life.

Before she'd proved that driving actually isn't her thing, they had handed her a driver's license, which she kept in her pocket and flashed around Main Street as often as possible.

I'm realizing I should clarify (with all these shameless photos of us in our character clothing), that since our return home, all shirts have been neatly tucked away in pajama drawers, only to be worn at night or in the privacy of our own closets.

After letting loose for a week and wandering around in clothing that screamed "Middle Aged Tourist Mom Nerd Reliving Childhood" I had to get back to my more sophisticated sweaty workout clothes and stained hoodies.

There is no telling how this picture of the Teacups made it's way into this lineup, but I don't really know how to delete it, so hopefully you can fully appreciate Brad working the spinner in such a way that he came out of there soaked in his own sweat.

Hopefully you can see these cute pumpkins:

More tomorrow!

(maybe)