Disney - Tuesday., Feb. 20 (Day 3)

We didn't get to see all that we wanted to at Magic Kingdom last night, so we went again the following day. We took the bus from the resort to the theme park. Below are a bunch of photos. The first is of Main Street in Magic Kingdom - a lot of shops...

We visited Mickey's Country House before proceeding on to the Judges' Tent to personally meet Mickey Mouse - a highlight for Sons #1& eventually #3. See Mickey's cactus:

And here is Mickey's pumpkin....

I don't have a photo with us meeting Mickey. We were led into this room - a private meeting with our family and the Mouse himself. As soon as the door closed behind us, locking us in the room with his Royal Rodentness, Son #3 has second thoughts. He eventually warmed up though after seeing me give Mickey a big hug and telling him how much I've missed him. I met him in 1971 when Disney World first opened. Mickey didn't speak, but his hug was uh...I'm not sure completely innocent, y'know? Was I goosed by a mouse? Oh well, at this point, Son #3 was with the program and we posed with the official Disney photographers. I bought a few of their pictures and completely forgot about taking my own, which I would've been allowed to do. Oh well....

After meeting Mickey, we took the train back to Main Street, where Son #3 had a meltdown. So much excitement to process. He recovered pretty quickly, so we took the monorail to the Disney Contemporary Resort where we had lunch reservations. Whether it's because we were first in line, or whether it was because of the birthday buttons (mine and Son #3's), we were selected to ride in the front car of the monorail with the conductor. Actually only 4 of us were allowed. Sorry Dear Hubby! (By this point, he was probably happy to have a little quiet time away from the kids.) The view from up front of the monorail was spectacular. Here are my kids on the monorail...

After lunch we rode the monorail back to Magic Kingdom, with the 'regular folks' this time. Dear Hubby and the older two boys went off to ride a certain ride, so Son #3 and I had a little alone time. We rode the Tea Cups again (I love spinning rides!), then took some photos. Here's one where he looks good and I don't. I just aimed the camera at us and clicked.

I look better here than he does, so it evens out, I guess.

Before riding the Dumbo ride (which I rode in 1971, with my dad), we took a moment for Son #3 to pose for a picture. While in line for Dumbo, we met Nicholas who, like Son #3, was also celebrating his 5th birthday, plus a nice young Scottish couple who wished me a happy birthday.

After the Dumbo ride, we met up again with the other guys, had a snack, visited the Haunted Mansion and walked around a bit.


Hmmmm.....where can I get some of these for the house? Here are Son #1 and #2 in the stockades near Liberty Square (I think that's what it's called). Son #3 is in the background.

Now it's Son #3's turn. Seriously, how do I install these in the closet? Anyone?

Tom Sawyer's Island had closed for the day so Dear Hubby took the boys on Aladdin's Magic Carpet while I browsed in a shop. The Pirates of the Caribbean attraction was closed because of technical difficulties.

We returned to the hotel restaurant where we had dinner. Another great, tiring day!

Today...
Last night I attended a church service with the group that I volunteer with. I returned home to find the Bowels of Hell have been unleashed. That's code for Son 3's stomach bug....He didn't even wake up the two times that I had to clean him off, change his clothes AND wash not one, but TWO sets of bedding. I was up doing laundry until 2:30 a.m. Then I just put him on the floor in his room (his throw rug has a rubber backing which means any messes were unlikely to soak through to the carpet), and I curled up on the floor with him. I heard his tummy rumbling around 4 a.m., and again, I knew it was trouble. For the third time, he didn't wake as I cleaned him up, changed his clothes and started another load of laundry. During the day today, he seemed to feel better, but he didn't have much of an appetite. Towards the end of the evening, he was getting sleepy, dozing off before dinner. Doc said rest is more important at this point, so I put a new set of bedding on his bed and tucked him in. It's 11:30 p.m. and so far, so good (knock wood).

I teach 4th grade religion class on Wednesday (since 3 weeks ago) and this was our best class yet. I'm finally getting a handle on the class. I had to set some ground rules because everyone is so talkative. #1. Don't raise your hand to volunteer to read until after I ask for volunteers. No kidding. Some kids will raise their hands the minute they get into class, before I'm even finished taking attendance. #2. If I ask a question, raise your hand and I'll call on 3 people to answer. #3. Do NOT raise your hand unless: I've asked a question you want to answer, or you need clarification on what was just read/discussed, or you need to use the rest room. Once we're finished covering the required assignment, we can delve into all the "what if's" and off the wall questions and anecdotes they want to share.

It's different with my 6th grade class on Sundays. No one raises their hand unless they really hacve something to share. The 4th graders will talk just for the sake of talking. I admire their enthusiasm, but I'm expected to cover a certain amount of material each class period and time management is important. This was the first class since I stepped up to volunteer to teach Son #2's class (his teacher moved suddenly) that I didn't leave with with a serious headache.