M-I-C-K-E-Y!!!

Last week I got to fulfill my lifelong dream of getting my picture taken with Mickey Mouse!!

Look!!! I'm with Mickey!!!

I will sheepishly admit that I was a wee bit teary when Mickey Mouse rode in on the Steam Engine to start the day at Magic Kingdom.  (Yes, I am a total sap.) I turned and looked at my kids, and they weren't crying at all.  Instead, they were all staring at me! I realized that they hadn't really grown up watching Mickey cartoons or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  So, that particular magical Mickey moment was mine to savor alone.

Fortunately, there were lots and lots of other wonderful moments on our trip (in between the less magical moments that happen when you travel with three kids).  Abby's favorites were meeting her favorite characters Pocahontas and Mulan, and getting to ride all the 'fast' rides, like Expedition Everest and Mission Space.

Caroline loved meeting all the princesses (Ariel, Belle, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella), and she most  enjoyed dinner with the princesses in Norway at Epcot (Thank you free Disney dining plan!).  I should revise that a bit -- Caroline did not eat much dinner in Norway.  She was too busy helping Ben lead the princess dinner parade with his special friend Ariel.  Ariel told Ben he was "handsome," so he was completely smitten with her after that.  Hilarious!

 It was a fun but completely exhausting week.  I have another 548 photos from the trip (actual total), so let me know if you want to see those too!  Here are a few more highlights:

Cinderella's Castle

(We ate breakfast in the Magic Kingdom before the park opened one morning....it was so quiet!)

Fun Fall decorations

Animal Kingdom's Safari

Even More Toothless

Caroline lost yet another tooth last night.  Her smile is looking cuter than ever.

I didn't mention in my previous post about Caroline's smile that we had a little tooth fairy debacle.  Would you believe that the tooth fairy hadn't yet visited when Caroline woke up at 6:45a.m.?  You can imagine Caroline's disappointment when her tooth, her little note, and the very special castle sticker she had picked out for the tooth fairy were still sitting in her tooth fairy tin.  Oh the tears!

Fortunately, I remembered that the tooth fairy has come late to our house a few other times, and she's even left Abby a little note that we're one of her last stops on her route.  So, I told Caroline to go eat breakfast and stay out of her room until around 7:15, and sure enough, the tooth fairy was able to stop by.  Whew!  Our tooth fairy, named Liliana, is one tardy fairy.  She also always leaves a little glittery trail of fairy dust, so we like to follow the trail to see which window she used to sneak into our house. 

Liliana was on time for this most recent tooth loss (thank goodness). Caroline was so inspired by all these fairy interactions, and she decided to create a new little home for her fairy friends.  In perfect second grade form, she labeled the fairy house, "New Home".

(Note that the rest of things in the picture are other clay creations that Caroline has made in art class or art camp.)

Ben's First Day of Kindergarten

"I'm not going," Ben announced in my doorway before seven this morning.

Ben padded into my bedroom this morning, still warm in his footie pajamas.  He slid under the covers and cuddled up close to me.

"I don't want to go."

He pressed his warm little self all the way into me and wouldn't move so I could see even a peek of his face.

Then, he quietly confided to me, "I'm scared to go."

So, we talked about how fun it would be to ride the bus, to make new friends, to learn new things, and to play with the giant bin of Legos.  I pressed a kiss into his hand that he could carry with him all day. I told him my kiss would never wash off.

Ever so quietly, he whispered into my ear, "But, I'll miss you."

My heart melted and my eyes teared up because I will miss him too.

My littlest baby is off to kindergarten today.

All Smiles on the Bus

Off to Big Starts

#1. Soccer!

Caroline's soccer season started this morning with a swish, swish, swish, swish --  a whooping four goals!  I don't think I scored four goals in my entire sporting career, so I find this fairly impressive. Needless to say, she is pretty fired up for the rest of the season.

I even photographed one of her goals. (Note that Caroline's team is wearing gold; their opponents are wearing light yellow. The goalie is wearing a canary yellow pinny.)
 

Driving down the Field

 Shooting through the Defenders

 GOOOOOOAAAL!

#2.  Music Lessons!

Abby will soon be starting instrumental music lessons at school.  Since we already own a baritone horn from Scott's playing days, Abby will be taking up the baritone.  She initially had her heart set on drums, but we were able to convince her that the baritone would be just as fun to play.  (Cue Mom's sigh of relief.)

Our music teacher suggested taking a short video of the first time trying out the instrument to compare to her playing at the end of the school year.  You should make sure the sound is turned on to watch this video (but maybe don't turn on the sound up too loudly just yet).  Personally, I think Ben's sword fighting during the performance adds just the right touch of chaos.

Toothless (Practically)

Caroline lost another tooth last night, and three others are pretty loose.  I think that if those other three fall out before any others grow back in, I'll be forced to puree her food!