Happily Ever After...

All week we laughed and joked about how long the wait was in the "turkey leg line." I mean, who wants to stroll around Disney World gnawing on a leg of a very large bird? Apparently LOTS of people.  No offense to you turkey leg eaters out there, but I have a revulsion to eating almost anything with my hands. And, a much bigger repulsion for gnawing on bones. It's so... barbaric and primal...Eeewww! Just thinking about it makes me shudder. Ofcourse, knowing that about your mom is tempting for sure. And by Thanksgiving Day, Ryan could no longer contain his inner pester-your-mom self. "Hey, MOM!" Look what I got!" "Your worst nightmare come true Mom. BWUHAHAHA!" "And I LIKE IT!!!"

I started a list of all the things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving, and the list became entirely too long without adequately describing the gifts  that God has given me....  So let me just simply quote the scriptures in voicing my heartfelt gratitude for all His blessings. "Unto Thee O God, do we give thanks." Ps 75:1

Another day, another park. These old parents are getting TIRED!  Gianna getting into the beat in Africa. Another 3D show.... The girls still look really cute though. Tomorrow is a marathon open to close at Magic Kingdom. The boys went to another park when we went on Tuesday, so they have lots to see and do. And, we want to see the fireworks over the castle. It is CRAZY crowded here, and more so each day, so hopefully a few folks stay home and eat turkey. Thankfully, we don't have to stand in the long lines with our pass... I have so many things bubbling over inn my heart in anticipation for Thanksgiving Day but I will wait and share them tomorrow...

Not sure who the lady is posing next to them, and not sure how to crop her out, but here are my sweet girls.... They were SO EXCITED when they finally saw a glimpse of the castle (you have to take a trolley from the parking lot to the monorail station and then ride the monorail in to the park, which is terribly long when you have been waiting ALL WEEK to see that castle!) They faithfully carried their Cinderella dolls on each and every ride. Gianna wasn't too sure about letting Mickey and Minnie hold them for the picture! In front of Minnie's house. Apparently, she and Mickey haven't tied the knot yet... They live next door to each other though! Can you see the excitement on their faces??? They take my breath away! It was a long day at the park, and Gianna decided to fall asleep on the race car ride. The LOUDEST, bumpiest ride, and she crashed next to her Daddy :) You know what they say about getting kids to sleep by driving them around! Then we decided pizza and putt putt ...

MGM changed it's name to Hollywood Studios, but coming from a woman who still calls Costco Price Club, they aren't selling me on the new name. It was however, another really fun day! The girls got asked to be a part of the parade. Aria *forgets* how timid she really is at time like these, and her wild side really come out! Toy Story was an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G ride! We rode it twice, with a wait of over 100 minutes it would have been impossible without our V.I.P. status. Can't pass up a photo- op with the Mouse! Gianna said he was wearing his birthday hat! "Disney is a really fun place Mommy!" Tomorrow is the MUCH anticipated Cinderella's Castle... Stay tuned!

This morning as we walked into Epcot, a very nice lady from the "Disney Dream Team" came up to us, noticed the girls and offered to take us to have pictures with the characters before anyone else.  Well, we started chatting about Gianna, and the reason we made this trip, and all of the sudden we became Disney Stars, with our own person escort. Our guide, Melody gave the girls princess crowns, gave us buttons that say we are honorary citizen of Walt Disney World,coloring books, mickey pens, and she even gave them these necklaces that you collect and trade Disney pins at each attraction. She met us at dinner to give the boys a book of all the hidden Mickey Mouses in each attraction. The boys spent the rest of the evening looking for the hidden mickeys. They are VERY hidden and hard to find. What a great way to include the boys!! We had dinner in Norway with all the Disney Princesses. The fireworks display was AMAZING!!! THANK YOU Dream Team for treating our family like royalty ...

Dor@ went to China for friendship bracelets on a video they were watching. Daddy: "China? We LOVE China!" Aria: "Jiangxi, China" Daddy: " We LOVE Jiangxi, that's where you were born!" And where was Gianna born?" Aria: "Pennsylvania." Huh?!??

This morning Aria called,  "Look at my new baby Mommy."   Thankfully I had the camera nearby. What a good Mommy to take care of her doll. Whoa! Wait just a minute..... That's not a doll! Its GIANNA!!!!!

Aria was invited to her friend's birthday party. It was girly, girly, GIRLY! The birthday girl's mommy teaches an etiquette class, so she taught the girls to lift their pinky when sipping tea. Here they are learning proper tea manners.. They each got to make their own "Southern Belle" hats. Aren't they adorable? Look at my beautiful Georgia girl! They played "pass the tea pot" and Aria was the winner! She got her very  first lip gloss as a prize... Oh, no- that may be bad news for mommy! She may have just entered the world of flavored, sparkly lip stuff. Here they all are posing for the cameras after trying on different dresses.  Gianna was making her place card for the table. Remember the little girl Melissa that fell out her window? Well, here she is, a miracle of God. She is doing wonderfully and we are so thankful to the Lord for her miraculous recovery! Thanks to Paige and her mommy for a wonderful time!!