M-I-C-K-E-Y – Hive and Nest

I never really gave much of a recap of my trip to Orlando.  Mostly because I didn’t want to mention that I was on vacation lest any thieves be avid readers of my blog and decide to rob me while I was gone.

We went to Disneyworld with most of Mister’s family.  There were 22 of us and we rented three condos at Old Key West near Downtown Disney.  Grandma and Grandpa had one condo, the grown-ups (plus my two babies) had another, and we put all the rest of the kids in their own condo and let them fend for themselves. Seriously.  It was such a fantastic idea. They were right next door in case there was any trouble. The cousins range in age from 7-17, so it’s not like there was a houseful of five-year-olds left to their own devices.

(Yes, I made the kids wear matching clothes every day.  Do you know how hard it is to keep track of six children at an amusement park?) Apart from the total stress of being at Disney during the busiest time of the year, it was a really fun trip.  Everybody got along extremely well (except for husband/wife spats which happen any old time).  

The weather was perfect; 75º and sunny every day. Nobody got sick and there was no throwing up even once.  

Jasper wasn’t crazy about the rides. He would start to whimper the second we sat down in one. Good thing I brought his pacifier (his one true love).  He was like little Maggie Simpson, sucking on that thing for hours.  Who cares as long as he shuts up? Other than that, he was pretty chipper.

Why, yes, it is a small world after all

Ada loved “the World”, although like most toddlers she was not thrilled about the life-sized Disney characters.  We miraculously got tickets to Cinderella’s castle for lunch on New Year’s Eve (in case you are unaware, the breakfast and lunch reservations can be made six months in advance starting at 7 am, East Coast time.  Usually they are full by 7:03.)  My vigilant brother-in-law somehow wrangled the reservation and Ada came fully prepared. Little girls traditionally come wearing full princess regalia.  Ada wasn’t too interested in Cinderella, though.  When I asked why she didn’t like Cinderella, she explained that this Cinderella was “fake and weird”.  Apparently Cinderella belongs strictly in the cartoon world. We got to meet all the other princesses too (except Ariel, who I guess sticks to the ocean).

Don’t I look like a haggard older version of Belle?

Cousins Daisy, Arabella and Corinne with that sleaze-bag Jasmine

India and York with their favorite cousin, Jane.

Jasper got pretty Disney-ed out

We also went to Gatorland the last day in Florida.  Finn got to sit on the back of an alligator.  It was the highlight of his entire trip.