Enchanted Tales with Belle

On our first day in the Magic Kingdom, we ended up in Fantasyland.  We came across an attraction Enchanted Tales with Belle.  We had no idea what kind of experience we were in for.  We only knew that the line was short and it had something to do with Belle.  After waiting forever (well it seems like forever with impatient little kids), we made it inside Belle's cottage.  Once inside, we were instructed to move the kids to the front of the room towards a big mirror.  We were told that the mirror was magical and that we were going to be transported to the night that Belle and the Beast fell in love.  The mirror then got big and we all walked thru it into another room.  In that room was the wardrobe and she and a cast member told us that we were going to help Belle and that they needed helpers.  They asked for volunteers and my John raised his hand immediately.  The cast member started to select people from our group for different roles.  The first gentlemen selected were suits of armor.  Uncle T got to be a suit of armor!  Next the cast member asked us to roar!  And she picked John to be the Beast!  She also selected someone to be Belle's father, Phillipe (Belle's horse), a wolf, and Mrs. Potts & Chip.  Then the cast member asked "Did everyone get a role that wanted a role?"  Once again, I was surprised to see Gillian raise her hand.  She was given the role of a pepper shaker (which is perfect for Gillian - she likes to shake her booty).

Now that everyone had their roles, we moved to the next room where Lumiere told us that Belle would be arriving shortly and told us that we would be helping Belle prepare for her big night with the Beast.  And then she arrived!  

Belle was dressed in her beautiful yellow gown.  John looked really nervous, and Gillian was a little scared.  She gave her pepper shaker over to a cast member and came and sat with me.  The kids started to reenact when Belle first met the Beast.  She was searching for her father and that's how she got to Beast's castle.  John played his part well and he jumped out at roared at Belle.  Belle was scared, but stayed at the castle so that the Beast would release her father.  Then Belle and the Beast became friends and they danced!

      
 

 

 

After John (aka the Beast) and Belle danced, Belle gave each of the kids (and adults) a bookmark to thank them for participating.  The cast members that were assisting Belle made sure that Gillian got to meet Belle as well. 

 

 

 

I am so glad that we stopped at this attraction.  It was worth the wait in line and we have such wonderful memories of how we met Belle and John got to be the Beast!

Opening the Magic Kingdom

On our first day at Disney World, we went to the Magic Kingdom.  Since we were staying at a Disney Resort, we were able to enjoy magic hours and get into the park at 7 am.  It was an early day, but it was totally worth it.  We arrived and waiting for the train to arrive with Mickey Mouse.  He arrived with Minnie, Pluto and Alice.  He welcomed us and  then lead us in a countdown and the park was opened with a bang!

 

 After Mickey, opened the park we were able to get our day started.  We took a few family pictures and then we got to meet Pluto and Minnie Mouse!  Gillian was a little unsure about meeting the characters at first.  It was early in the morning, and they can be a bit overwhelming.  But I will tell you by the end of our visit, she wasn't afraid!  John was super excited to meet Pluto.  Before we left, we asked him who he wanted to meet the most.  He kept telling us "Pluto!"  We were very lucky to meet Pluto within 10 minutes of being inside the Magic Kingdom.  Below are a few videos of the kids meeting Pluto and Minnie Mouse!

 



 

 

Tree shopping

We planned to do our annual Christmas tree shopping this afternoon. We met at Conover Tree farm in Wall and started our search for the perfect tree. Did I mention that it was snowing today? Well it was snowing. Not enough to cancel our trip, but enough to make it a little chilly for the kids. We walked around and looked for the perfect tree. John knew exactly how tall the tree should be. "It's me and Dad together! If I sit on his shoulders." About ten minutes into our search, Gillian fell in the snow. She didn't get hurt, but that did mean that Mommy needed to carry her the rest of the way. But she was very helpful, every tree we passed she asked "How about that one?" We finally found the perfect tree. While the guys cut the tree down, Gillian and I warmed up in the car. Gillian fell asleep in the car on the way home. I think running through a field in the snow was exhausting.

St. Nick

I picked Gillian up from school today.  She was playing babies with Nicholas and Clarissa.  When she saw me she jumped up and hugged me.  Then she said "I got candy!"  She was so excited!  I asked her why, and she said "Nicholas came.  And him left us candy.  We put out our shoes (and she picked up her foot to show me her shoe) and him come."  Then Clarissa came over and said "I got candy too!" And Nicholas also said "I got candy too!"  I asked them, "Did St. Nick come during nap time?"  They were all trying to talk at once, but Clarissa won and said "We put out our shoes and ba-bam! We got candy!"  Then little Nicholas said "And I heard footsteps on the ceiling!"  They all nodded in agreement.  I love all their imaginations. 

Typical night

Daddy picked up the kids from school tonight. When Gillian and Daddy picked up John, Gillian went running into the gym to find him. She hugged him and they bumped heads. When she retold the story to me later she said "We bump heads. I cry. But I no go to timeout!" 

I got Gillian out of the car tonight. She laughed at me and pointed at the lapel of my coat. She said "Your beard tickle me!" I was sure if I heard that right, so I asked her to repeat it. She grabbed the lapel of my coat and said "Your beard! It tickle me!"

I tucked Gillian into bed tonight. I gave her a squeeze and a kiss. She wiped the kiss away. She thinks this is hilarious and loves wiping kisses off her face. I told her that it wasn't nice and that she was going to make me cry. I gave her another kiss and again she wiped it off. I walked out of her room and into John's. He said to me "Do you want a replacement?" He is so sweet. 

The airport

We had to get up super early last Wednesday morning to get to the airport on time. We left our house at 3 am so that we could meet at Uncle T and Aunt Missy's house. We thought the kids would sleep in the car. We were wrong. They were wide awake by the time we reached Uncle T's.

Aunt Missy's dad drove us to the airport. It was raining so we were all a little nervous about the flight getting delayed (well at least the grown ups were). Gillian fell asleep on our way and as we approached the airport I whispered "Gilly, we are at the airport." She jerked awake and opened her eyes. We checked our bags (and realized we left the strollers on the van) and headed to security. John went with Uncle T while I had Gillian. John did awesome and was even given a TSA badge sticker. Gillian was also very good in security. She listened to the TSA agents and they were patient with her. 

We had plenty of time to hang out at the gate. We picked up some breakfast sandwiches (and the egg fell out of Gillian's sandwich) and waited for our plane to board. Southwest does not assign seats, but since we were traveling with small children we were able to board early. We got two rows. The boys sat in front with John at the window while the girls sat behind them with Gillian at the window. 

It was the kids first flight. We were not sure how they were going to like it. As we were taking off, John loudly told Daddy and Uncle T "The plane is going to catch on fire!"  Gillian, on the other hand, repeated "We flying! We flying!"

 

 

Again, we thought the kids would sleep on the plane. That didn't happen. They were wide awake and colored in their new books or played on Daddy's iPad. Gillian enjoyed the snack. Well she enjoyed everyone's snack. She ate her cookies, my cookies and some of Aunt Missy's too! 

As we were landing, John said "We're going down!" I felt the need to correct him and said "Yes, the plane is landing!" We landed and took the tram over go the main terminal and that's where we found Mimi and Poppy.  

Below are some pictures from the airport.

Back to the routine

Today was our first day back in our routine. Eve though we put the kids to bed early last night, it was hard to wake up the kids this morning. I woke up John first, he said "But I don't wanna get up!" I gave him a few extra minutes to stay under the covers and I went to wake up Gillian. Gillian didn't say anything, she just rolled over and ignored me. I was only able to get her up by asking her, "Who are you going to bring to school?" She jumped up and said "I bring Princess Minnie!" 

Both kids had good days at school. I think they were very excited to tell their friends about their adventures in Disney. Everyone ate their dinner and there were no arguements at bedtime. I think they are still exhausted from our trip (I know I am).  I will post later about our adventures, but right now I am just thankful to be back to our routine.