Going on a Little Trip

Today is Friday!

YAY!!

Tomorrow, we're taking a little trip to the Metroplex, the kids and I.

Frank is fishing.

Sunday, Frank and I will fish!

YAY!!

Have something to look forward too.

Until next time,

Go bless

Mattie Mays Excellent Disney Adventure - Day Four

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTIE MAY

FIVE YEARS OLD

Mattie May went to bed a four year old and woke up a five year old. Believe me, there was no way she was letting us forget that today was her birthday. We all sang happy birthday to wake her up. We had a few gifts for her to open, including her birthday ears. I've decided that everyone should wear Mickey ears on their birthday! They're just too much fun!

We had a great breakfast at Chef Mickey's where we were joined by the big guy himself. Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy were all there. They each came to our table to wish her a happy birthday.

They were all great and the food was fantastic. Donald duck was even able to get a smile and a laugh out of Frank! We all know how difficult that is!

There was so much going on, she was having trouble eating. And before she finished her breakfast, our waitress brought out her birthday cup cake. The candles and the wrapper were the only things not edible. Even that little Mickey face was made out of chocolate.

Look at the five year old smile! Who couldn't love this kid?!

About all she could finish was her milk and then she was ready to ride the monorail to EPCOT. By the way, did you know EPCOT is an acronym? Do you know what the actual name is? Well if you promise to read to the end of this post, I'll tell you! As anxious as she was to find Mulan, she asked to go in "the ball" first.

OK More useless trivia - do you know the ball is called Space Ship Earth? That is also the name of the ride inside!

While we waited for our FB time for Test Track, we watched Captain EO. Let me say, that movie is 25 years old but the special effects are still really cool. They must have really been ahead of their time when they filmed that! Mattie May was so excited that she was getting to watch Michael Jackson, but when the villain cat lady thing appeared on the screen, I started looking for a way for us to get out of there! She screamed this terrified scream, a truly blood curdling scream. Katie got her to take of her glasses and sit in her lap until she calmed down. She put her glasses back on and just closed her eyes when "the scary cat lady" came on the screen. She was very happy when she turned into a nice person at the end of the show. As we were walking out, she just kept jabbering about how good that was and if we had time could we see it again. I guess she has a love/hate feeling for Captain EO.

To waste more time we rode Imagination w/Figment. That is a really cute and educational ride. We had a pretzels and popcorn for snacks because we couldn't find an ice cream stand. We looked all the way to Test Track and never did pass one.

Test Track is amazing!! We were a bit concerned about the simulations of wrecks (we're all still a bit jumpy from last year!). OH MY GOODNESS! That was the most awesome ride! Trina, I'm really sorry you didn't get to ride it, but now you have a reason to go back! It is so cool!!!

Heading into the World Showcase, we found Mattie May an ice cream stand! She hadn't had any all day and we were afraid she would go into withdrawals! That kid loves ice cream! She would eat it every day at every meal if we would let her!

We visited Mexico for a while, walked through Norway and found the castle where we were to have her birthday dinner and then made a bee line to China. This was going to be the most important stop on our entire trip.

Why?

Mulan is in China!

We had to wait about fifteen minutes for her to come out but it was worth the wait. Mattie May patiently waited her turn with all the other princess in line. I don't think I have ever seen that child's eyes light up like they did when she saw her. When it was her turn, Mulan motioned for Mattie May to come on up, but before she took a step, she respectfully bowed to Mulan. It was so cute and Mulan was very impressed with her. Mattie May explained to Mulan that she liked her so much because she knew karate too. Mulan asked her what belt she was and asked her to show her some moves. She did part of her kata for her and gave her a bit of surprise when she did her little yell! Mulan said "Every good warrior packs a surprise!"

Mulan was impressed with Mattie May's kata.

They talked for a bit longer and Mulan signed her book, then they posed together for some pictures. I think Mattie May could have stayed right there for the rest of the day and been happier than any other child in the park!

Mulan asked for a Warrior pose!

Mulan gave her a great big hug, wished her happy birthday and told her to keep practicing her karate. Maybe next time they see each other, they can demonstrate some of their weapons skills! LOL

Always time for a silly picture!

After we watched an amazing movie on China in a round theater, we headed to Germany. Katie, Mattie May and I waited in line to see Snow White and Grumpy disappeared! He reappeared just as it was Mattie May's turn to speak to Snow White. He was a very happy camper with a bratwurst, sauerkraut and beer in his hands! Snow White got pretty amused when Mattie May told her she lived with one of her dwarfs. She asked which one and Mattie May told her Grumpy and showed her where he was sitting. Snow White waved and blew a kiss to him! It was just priceless!

From Germany we walked to Italy where Frank insisted that we try some gelato. It was only about 45 minutes before we our dinner reservations, but we had some anyway. I had never had any and it is probably a good thing that there is no where near home that sells the real stuff or I would be huge!!!! That is some yummy stuff!

Italian Gelato on the way to dinner?

Of course! It's Mattie May's birthday!

It started getting cool and we forgot Mattie May's jacket, so as we walked through Italy, America and Japan, Katie and I would walk through the stores looking for a child's jacket. We could only find clothes in adult sizes. It was so strange. Finally in the Japan pavilion I found some cute hooded jackets that Katie liked, so I got one that would fit her and we rolled the sleeves up and Mattie May wore it the rest of the night when we were outside.

It was taking so long that Frank and Mattie May came in to find us. While they walked around, they found the oyster bar. Not an oyster bar for eating but one for buying pearls! Frank had snuck around and bought two oysters for me for our anniversary. He knows how much I love pearls and I can't wear my pearl stud earrings any more.

This store was so much fun. I don't remember the conversation, but the little girl helping us got Mattie May to count for her in Japanese. She, the girl helping us, got so excited! She had all the other girls in there listening to her. I think she would have taken Mattie May home with her if we would have let her!

She was also the person that opened the oysters to find the pearls. After she opens the oyster, she leads everyone in a count down in Japanese as she takes out the pearl. When she did our pearls, she had Mattie May lead the store in the count down! I think everyone in there was amazed that this little girl with blue eyes and blonde hair was counting in Japanese!

Both of my oysters had pearls and they are very close in size but one has a yellow tint to it. They wanted me to change one pearl so they would match, but these are the ones I picked and the ones I wanted. Besides, they are on opposite sides of my head and so far, no one has noticed the color difference!

When the girl finished getting Frank's order on how he wanted the earrings, she came from behind the counter and had an origami crane she had made for Mattie May. She sang happy birthday to her using the crane like a puppet. She not only gave her the crane, she gave her a huge hug to go with it!

Because we had spent so much time in Japan, we had to practically run through Morocco, France, the United Kingdom and Canada to get back to Norway for dinner! Our reservation was for 7:55 and we walked up at 7:53! Yes, we were rushing! And all for nothing. They were running behind and they pushed our reservations up until 8:15! I'm glad we were doing so much walking since we seemed to be eating later and later each night!

To pass the time while we waited, we road Maelstrom, the Viking boats telling the story of Norway and the Vikings. It was another fun and educational ride, but I was just glad to be sitting down not rushing.

Our dinner was very good. We all tried something new, including Frank! I almost fell out of my chair! He never tries new stuff!! Mattie May was pleasantly surprised when she figured out she was having dinner with the Disney princesses. As much as she wore a tiara when she was little, she is not much into the princesses now. But she still had fun. During the Parade of Princesses she not only got to walk in Arial's group, but she got to hold her hand during the entire parade.

Her Mattieism for today wasn't something she said, it was something she did. As all the princesses, big and small, curtsied at the end of the parade, Mattie May bowed at the waist like she does for karate! All the people around her noticed. We actually didn't notice until we were watching the video and saw some customer's point and laugh.

She was promised she could have anything she wanted to eat as long as it wasn't ice cream or cake, it had to actually have some nutritional value! I guess when it's your birthday, any meal can be special! HAHAHA!

A hot dog for her special Birthday dinner!

Frank and Mattie May walked outside to find out what all the noise was we could here. It was the laser/fireworks show. They couldn't see all of it from where we were, but they could see enough to know it was an amazing show! And when they came back in, we surprised Mattie May with another birthday cake! It was a great chocolate cake and it was delish! We carried most of it back to our room because we also had dessert with our meals. Our waiter brought us one of each thing they had and we shared them all. And I wonder why I didn't loose any weight while we were gone!

On the way back to the monorail, we were finally able to take our time and not rush. My feet and legs were very grateful for that! I never complained, but I wondered with each step when my legs were just going to stop and say no more!! Next time I go, I'm not going to forget my pedometer so I'll know how far I walk each day!

We thought Mattie May was going to fall asleep on the monorail ride back to the hotel, but she didn't. And we walked back to our room just in time to see the lighted boat parade, so we went down to the beach and watched the rest of that. Lots of great Disney movie songs. Katie and I sang as many of them as we could at the top of our lungs. I am sure we woke some people up, but I didn't think about that until later. We were having to much fun!

Tomorrow is Disney Hollywood Studios!

God Bless!!

EPCOT is an acronym for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. That's your useless trivia for today!

Mattie May's Excellent Disney Adventure - Day Eight From Her Journal

OK! I'm back on track!

This journal entry is a little bittersweet for me. It was our last day in Florida. I was very ready to get back home to Texas and my own bed and house, but we were having such a great time that I didn't want it to end. And I must admit, when I called Mom to tell her we were heading to the airport, I had to choke back some tears. I'm sure part of that was because we were so tired, but most of you know, that's just me, the crier!

I just love her drawing in this post. When she showed it to me, she pointed out the crooked windows. She was extremely proud of those. LOL. Silly goose. If you haven't figured out the H Hotel, it is the Holiday in Express. We stay in them almost every time we travel. It took us a couple of times to figure her out, but look here at their logo. That is where she got the name. She is learning to read and she definitely has her letters down! Just love her!

See you tomorrow for her final vacation entry.

God Bless!

Disney Adventure - Day One Complete

Well, it is 9:00 on New Year's eve 2010 and we are turning out the lights! We have had an awesome but long day! Mattie May is already asleep, Frank is watching football and Katie and I are headed to la la land too. We have to leave the hotel in the morning at 5:30 AM to get to the airport on time and go through all the security measures.

One short note, I gave Mattie May a journal for Christmas. I don't know why. She doesn't spell very well yet but I saw it and thought she might like it. And for other reasons unknown, I threw it in the suitcase as we were packing. When I saw it in there this afternoon I had the bright idea to have her tell us her favorite part of the day each day! She loved the idea!! So I left her a little room at the bottom of the page and she added a picture! When we get home I will scan the pages and make those my posts! If I have time after we arrive in FL to do any post, I may tell some of the story but I won't let you know that was what she wrote about!

One last funny note - when we finished writing in her journal tonight, she looked up at me and said "I'm going to have these in a book one day." LOL My Mattie May, already planning on writing her life story!

God Bless Your New Year!!!

The Excitement Continues

Well Christmas has come and gone and we had a great time. I hope to get some pictures up this week but I'm not sure that is going to happen. The excitement continues around our house as we get ready for Mattie May's birthday trip. I can't believe how close it is! Look at our countdown calendar in the right side bar. It has gone from over a year to just days! Mattie May reminds us daily how many more days we have so I really don't need that calendar! LOL

We have already started packing and getting things together for the trip. Last night Mattie May packed her backpack. Such a smart girl, she asked her mom for a spare set of clothes in case hers get dirty! I promise, no prompting from any of the adults in the house. She did that all on her own!

I have been looking back at my little blog post from this past year. There have been not nearly enough. Call it a resolution if you want, but I am going to try hard this coming year to post each day. Even if it is just a short one to remind me that life is great and everyone is happy. 2010 started out great, but before the first month was over, things went downhill. It has been a difficult year, with so much of it being focused on that wreck. We never thought it would be that time consuming, but it was a major focus through about mid year. We then started trying to focus on our trip, but Mattie May started school, soccer and karate and our focus was changed again.

Frank had knee surgery in August, and much of my time went to that. Not that he couldn't do things for himself (he walked out of the clinic by himself!), it was that I just kept worrying about his recovery. That's just the way I am.

So now with the holidays mostly behind us, we can get ready to go. 2011 is going to be a great year and we plan on starting it off with a bang. There will be many firsts to report on this trip, for all four of us. Starting with Mattie May's first ride on an airplane! That should be fun.

This is the first time that any of us have been to Disney! Frank said he plans on being a big kid! I don't know why he thinks that is any different than what he usually is, but we are definitely going to have a great time.

Just in case I don't get back here until we get back, I wish you all safe and blessed new year! 2011 is going to be great!

It Started out a Nice Peacful Morning...

I started writing this Monday afternoon but am just now getting around to posting it. Just wanted you to know so you didn't think I left my laundry for a week!

This morning I was looking forward to a little down time before Mattie May got here. I had planned on making our room reservations for tonight, eating a little breakfast and starting the laundry from the weekend. Nothing terribly hard and should have been finished quickly.

Katie, Mattie May and I are going to Dallas tonight to go to the zoo in the morning. Frank earns points for staying at a certain hotel when he is out of town on business so we have points for us to use when we go on leisure travel. Now I have made reservations on line many times as I am sure most people have. This is not a difficult task. As they say on "Special Agent OSO" "three simple steps"! Pull up the web site, fill in the arrival information, get confirmation number. Super simple. Unless the web site wont take your credit card information!

It told me it couldn't take my card and to try again later. I fixed my bowl of cereal for breakfast, sat back down and tried again. Same thing. It is at this point I get a little concerned because I know there is no reason my credit card should not be accepted. So I got my other one that we use for emergencies, knowing for sure it is OK and the same thing happens. I try again. Thinking there is a problem with the web site, I start looking for the number to customer service to get this fixed. I get a nice young man on the phone and explain my problem and in the process of giving him our information he tells me someone else will have to help me because we are club members and he puts me on hold.

I put it on speaker phone so I can at least start a load of laundry without holding the receiver to my ear. While starting the laundry, call waiting beeps in. It is Katie telling me she is almost to my house. I click back over just in time to hear someone on the other end. Not only does she have a very heavy accent and I can hardly understand her but it sounds like she is just barely whispering. By this time Katie and Mattie May get there. Of course Mattie May is talking up a storm and this makes it really difficult to hear the girl. I explain to the girl she is going to have to do something so I can hear her. She takes my number and calls me right back. Katie gets all of Mattie May's things out of the car. Mattie May starts crying because her mom is leaving. (it's not that she doesn't want to stay with me, she just doesn't want her mom to leave and she smushed her toe on the table).

So now I have a crying three year old and this girl on the phone trying to help me with reservations. About this time, my door opens again and it is Katie bringing me her iPhone. Excuse me - her SHATTERED iPhone! Some how in the two minutes from when she called me to the time she got back in her car, the glass on her iPhone cracked.

Now I have a crying three year old, the girl on the phone I can hardly understand and an upset 25 year old on the edge of tears trying to figure out what to do with her phone. And now call waiting is beeping at me again. It's Frank. He is just checking to see how my day is going. How sweet! Not good Frank. I will call you in a bit. It is about this time that my Internet provider's service goes down, so now I can't even look at what the customer service girl and I are talking about!

Get back on the phone with customer service girl and she tells me that there are five charges for my room. Oh wow! Not really what I wanted to hear. She has to go get her supervisor. Luckily this gives me a minute (or 20) to get Mattie May settled down a little bit more, get her something to eat and start her favorite Disney shows.

I think I am on hold for about 20 to 30 minutes this time and she finally comes back and tells me they have manually made my reservations and that the charges will be removed in three to five days and if any additional charges incur, they will also cover those.

Calm begins to settle in my house. But now I have to call customer service to take care of the broken iPhone! Thankfully, this customer service person spoke where I could understand him! So I thought all was well... but then we leave to go on our trip! That is an entirely different post!

I Promised You Pictures...

I know you have had to wait, but here they are, pictures from our trip to Corpus Christi and Sea World. Hope you enjoy. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.



This is kind of small, but if you will click here, it will take you to my scrapblog and you can view it in a full screen and adjust the timing so some of the longer journaling can be easily read.