My favorites: Florida

They're all my favorites, as Aggie would say, yet  some of the moments of last week are even more my favorite than the other favorites.

Much to my surprise, the boys were quite good during the car ride both ways. They were packed in daddy's little car quite tight, as you can see.

 I credit the mercy of God, and technology.



It seems like the more difficult car rides were in Florida- when we would drive 10 minutes here or there. Then, the bickering would start. "Meanie" this and "poopy" that. "I dare you this" and "he's touching me" that.

"I dare you to be quite and look out the window," says dad.



And wow, this kid- what a charmer. He made friends with any boy, any age, any where. After a few days of doing this, he even asked a couple of them their names, too.

They slept together in the pull out bed.
So sweet.

 

Isn't Peter pathetic?



He's sad because, you see, he is NEVER, ever tired, but his mean parents force him to sleep anyway.
"No night-night! Nooooo night niiiiiight!!!"

I love Disney's great photo ops:

This picture was taken by a stranger.

It makes me happy, because I know in my files there is a picture of Josh and me, kissing,

on this same bench,

before kids.

(I'll post it if I find it!)

Funny thing.

With only half our kids in tow, we still turned heads every where we went. 

We still heard, "my have you got your hands full! How old are they?"

While I would have been content to offer the simple explanation- their ages- Marcus HAD to point out that he was NOT the oldest. "I'm five, but Seth is SEVEN, and the girls are at home too." 

You should have seen the looks we got then!

Magic Kingdom Day:
The boys were so excited to go on the bus, they actually danced about it.

Funny thing-
when the big kids schedule playdates, I often hear, "I want to have Lilly come over!" "I want to have Gus come over!" and Eldon chimes in, "I want to have Mickey Mouse come over!" When we laugh, he gets very serious and says, "Mickey is my best friend!"

So glad he got  to meet him!

This was by far Marcus's favorite moment: driving the "race car." 

"Mom, now that you know I can drive one of these, you and daddy should BUY me one!"

I won!

And this look, on Peter's face-

the worried look

Mom, you are really going to let HIM drive?

He had that unsure look quite often as we went through the parks. 

It is a lot to take in when you are a big two-year-old!
Enough to make you fall asleep like a baby in mom's arms on the way home for a nap!

(my favorite moment.)

Marcus, laughing like the hyenas in the background.
He loved "It's a small world," of course. The first time we went on it, he noticed all the coins in the water. We told them that people had made wishes. No, son, we are not giving you money to throw in the water. (We don't have any change anyways!) He was not happy about that.

But later- Disney Magic.

After our naps, as we were waiting for the bus, he discovered a dime in the newspaper machine.

"A coin! I can make a wish now!" He could not believe his luck!

He held it in his little hands on the bus ride, through the park and back to the ride. He talked and talked about his wish. "I am going to wish that I can fly. Wait, no, mommy will you wish that the whole family can fly? Wait, no, I'll do it."  

The expectation! The excitement!

The letdown...

Reality stinks.

There was one thing Eldon liked even better than Mickey Mouse-

Shooting bad guys with daddy. 

 And Buzz Lightyear, of course.

Magic Kingdom wore us all out, of course, and we crashed that night.

Next morning, boys were up around 7:30. Daddy tried to threaten them into sleeping longer, but it wasn't going so well, so I decided to take them on a pajama walk (and coffee hunt).

Walking through the resort with these three characters was quite a hoot!  And while I was getting my coffee, they decided to cover themselves in Mickey stickers!

A few times, we tried to make them read.

They loved it. Or something.

We visited the Animal Kindgom resort one day. Marcus and Eldon both made friends on the playground.  Eldon ran around with a little guy just his size, and before we left, I heard him ask the little fella,

"Will you be my brother?"

Another one of my favorite things-

trailing behind these little boys as they explore the trails-

their awkward running styles, their competitions, their little bodies plunging ahead, feeling like Road Runner but looking like... goofy little boys! 

Run, boys, run!

As for the big kids, they did just fine back in Indiana.  The girls were wonderfully spoiled by Aunt Mary Anne, and Seth was a little man with his friend Gus all week. We are very proud of them!

This week: Back to laundry and school and surviving illness. Back to normal.

(Thank you God for the reprieve, and the memories!)