A Super Thanksgiving

On Wednesday morning, Wesley's school had a Thanksgiving program. The kindergarteners memorized "Thanksgiving Day" by Lydia Maria Child for the program.

On Thanksgiving morning we had homemade cinnamon rolls. For dinner I made my mom's sweet potato dish, apple and onion stuffin' muffins, macaroni and cheese, and brioche. I love to cook so I really enjoyed making these dishes.

Our next door neighbor cooked the turkey and made gravy, green bean casserole, a cranberry dish, mashed potatoes, and salad. We had pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Everything was delicious.
After dinner Wesley, Lydia, and Ethan dressed up as Super Heroes.
Aaron even got in on the action.

Thankful Trees

For the third year in a row, the kids did Thankful Trees.

Lydia said she was thankful for:

Wesley

Mommy

chickens

family

Josiah

Daddy

trees and leaves

dinner

the wind

the breeze

numbers

vacation

gymnastics

Wesley said he was thankful for:

colorful leaves and tress

turkey

seals (and then he listed other animals)

God

friends at school (he named a few of them)

Josiah

Lydia

Daddy

Mommy (I barely made the list!)

Wesley's teacher made a little book of what the class was thankful for this year. Wesley said he was thankful for turkeys and he drew a picture of a turkey.

What am I thankful?

I most thankful for Jesus who loves me and died for my sins.

I am thankful that I can look forward to eternity in heaven.

I am thankful for Chris who loves me and our family and shows his love through his actions.

I am thankful for my children.

I am thankful that Wesley loves kindergarten and I am so grateful that he gets to go to a wonderful school that teaches the children about Jesus and has high academic standards. I am thankful for the loving teachers there.

I am thankful that Lydia is so articulate and has such a wonderful imagination. I am grateful that Wesley is her best friend.

I am thankful that Josiah is such a sweet, loving, and laid back baby. I am so glad we were blessed with a third baby and that the transition from two kids to three was a smooth one.

I am thankful for my wonderful parents and in-laws.

And like Lydia, I am thankful for vacations!

A Local Favorite Restaurant

Wesley and Lydia love going to the Japanese Steakhouse. On Sunday we went to Shiro right after church and had to wait a little while for the place to open. We were the first costumers of the day.
One reason the kids love to eat there is because they like volcano and all the entertainment provided by the chef. They also like to watch the chef at other tables.
Can you believe all of that food was for our family? We ordered two adult entrées and the kids shared with us. I asked Wesley and Lydia if they wanted shrimp, steak, or salmon. They wanted steak and so I ordered the filet and Chris ordered the teriyaki steak. The kids ate really well.

Wesley also really likes the little umbrellas the kids get in their water cups. Maybe we should just buy some umbrellas for their water at home. The umbrellas always remind of Jimmy Buffet's song "Boat Drinks". (I can relate to "I gotta go where it's warm.")
The kids also like trying to catch the pieces of shrimp. This chef made it easy for them.

A Roaring Good Time at Lunch

On our last day at Disney World, we back to Magic Kingdom for a few hours. While Wesley rode Space Mountain with Chris, I walked around with Lydia and Josiah. This was the first time we have seen a fairy godmother out for photos. When we left Magic Kingdom we headed to Downtown Disney for our late-lunch reservations at T-Rex Cafe.
The restaurant is owned by the same company who owns Rainforest Cafe. T-Rex is a very large restaurant with different themed areas.

If your child is afraid of loud noises, this is not the restaurant for your family.

The Kitchen of Fire.
The cool octopus over the bar moves slowly.
The ice room.
The kids loved this restuarant. They were well behaved and ate very well. Chris and I really weren’t expecting the food to be very good so we were pleasantly surprised. Lydia liked her corndog nuggets and baked apples. Wesley loved the creamy tomato soup. Chris and I thought the Guac-asaurus Burgers with guacomole and bacon were delicious and they should be at $15 a piece. But, you are also paying for the atmosphere.
I love this picture of Wesley, Josiah, and Chris.
We really enjoyed eating at T-Rex and we will probably go back there; eventhough, it is not on the dining plan. It was a great way to end our Disney trip. It was also the first lunch or dinner in nine days without dessert; a sure sign that reality was starting again.

Mickey's Christmas Party

Normally our family doesn't start thinking about Christmas until after Thanksgiving (the day after Thanksgiving) but this year we started celebrating early. Disney World was already decorated for Christmas, there was Christmas music playing, and we got to attend the first Christmas party of the year.

It snowed on Main Street. This prompted many questions from Wesley.

The castle was beautiful!

Several of the quick service restaurants had apple juice, hot chocolate, and cookies. Wesley and Lydia loved getting the treats which were included in the price of the party admission.
At one point during the party Chris carried Josiah and Lydia.
We saw the regular fireworks on the first night we were there but the Christmas party fireworks were much more impressive. There were smiley faces and boxes...

and stars. And many other spectacular fireworks.
Lydia fell asleep during the fireworks. Chris and Dianna took Wesley to ride Big Thunder Railroad while Wayne and I waited with Josiah and a sleeping Lydia for the parade. We had a great, uncrowded spot for the parade. Everyone watched the parade with Lydia.
All seven dwarfs were in the parade.

We saw Mickey and Minnie and most of the Disney Characters. Several princesses and characters blew kisses at Josiah who I was holding using the bjorn. He seemed very interested in watching everything.
There were ice skaters (on roller blades) and dancers and a rocking horse.
The wooden soldiers were the most impressive part of the parade for me. And yes, they played their instruments too.
I enjoyed the Christmas party but I liked Mickey's Halloween party better. Maybe because I was warmer but it was more fun to see all the kids and the characters in their Halloween costumes. The Halloween parade is also my favorite parade at Disney. I love Halloween when it everything is g-rated. Of course, I love Christmas more! Just not as much when it isn't focused on Jesus.

Taking a Baby to Disney World

Several people have asked me about taking a baby to Disney. It was relatively easy taking Josiah for several reasons. The first is that Chris' parents went with us so they held him while Chris and I rode some of the "big kid rides" with Wesley and Lydia. Chris and I both got to experience Lydia's first time riding Splash Mountain, Test Track, and Tower of Terror. Of course, Grandma and Grandpa rode a lot of rides too.
The second thing that made it is easy to take Josiah to Disney is that he usually sleeps through the night. I feed him around 10:00 every night and he usually sleeps until 7:00. Wesley's teacher asked me if I needed a vacation from my vacation and I said, "No, I got more sleep on vacation. I slept later than normal every day because I didn't have any of my normal household chores."
The third thing that makes it easy to take a baby to Disney is that babies can ride almost every ride there. For instance he rode this ride, TriceraTop Spin, at Animal Kingdom. He rode most of the rides that don't have a height requirement (and not that many have one). He seemed to like the rides, especially It's a Small World. He had a minor meltdown on Spaceship Earth one day but then calmed down when he saw the lights near the end of the ride. The second time we rode it, he was fine.
Also, he wasn't afraid of the characters. He appeared to be interested in most of what he saw at Disney World.
The biggest challenge was just that everything takes more time the more kids you have. This is probably especially true with a nursing infant. I did nurse him on several rides like the Mexico boat ride and the Haunted Mansion. We didn't seem to get as much done on this trip. We didn't go to the pool (mostly because it was cold but we wouldn't have had time), we missed a few rides, and we only rode some rides once. This wasn't all because of Josiah; some of the lines were a little longer than they have been in September.

We did have a wonderful trip. We love spending so much time together as a family.

On Thursday, we saw one of Wesley's favorite shows - Flights of Wonder.
We also saw It is Tough to Be a Bug. Lydia looks so cute in her "bug eyes" and her crown.
The line to see Tigger and Pooh is always very long at Magic Kingdom but the line at Animal Kingdom is always very short. This is probably because you can't see the characters from the start of the walking path that takes you to them. I think most people don't even know that they are at Animal Kingdom.
We always skip seeing them at MK but enjoy them at AK.
That night we had dinner at Captian's Grille at the Yacht Club Resort. I think this restaurant is a hidden gem. It is off the beaten path because not that many people go to the Yacht Club. The food was very good and the service was the best we had all week.

Josiah was a little fussy at the start of dinner and Lydia and Wesley were loud (they are always loud) and I found it all a little stressful. Wesley also had to read a book to me while we waited on our food; he needed to practice his reading since he was missing a week of school. Trying to do school work probably added to my stress level.

When the appetizers came I told Chris, "I would probably enjoy my food more if the kids were better behaved." (They were staying seated, they were just loud.) Chris said, "I would enjoy this dinner a lot more if it was just the two of us!" Then he looked at his parents and said, "No offense." They were probably thinking the same thing, that they would enjoy it more as a date night too. Wesley and Lydia settled down when their food got there and Josiah took a nap and we all enjoyed the meal.

Of all the Deluxe Resorts, I find the Yacht Club to be the least inviting. The lobby was very "stuffy" to me. Even if Chris and I went without the kids, I wouldn't want to stay there.
These little armchairs are so cute though!
On Friday morning we headed to Magic Kingdom. We got there before the gates opened and saw the welcome show. We bought breakfast on Main Street using our snack credits.
Lydia rode Big Thunder Railroad for the first time.
Chris took Lydia and Wesley on Splash Mountain then we all rode Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise.
We all rode The Magic Carpets of Aladdin (aka Dumbo without the wait).
Here we are waiting in a short line to see Ariel.
Around noon, Magic Kingdom started getting crowded so we headed to Epcot to have lunch.
We saw Aurora in France.
The characters from The Beauty and the Beast make beautiful topiaries.
Earlier in the week one of the photographers told us, "The Beast will be out later for pictures if he is behaving himself." When Lydia saw the Beast she said, "The Beast must have been having good behavior today."
We saw The American Adventure. The kids were very good but I don't think they really liked it. Wesley kept whispering to me, "Is it over?"
Grandma and Grandpa spent the day at Hollywood Studios. They met us for dinner in Italy. It as our last dinner of the trip. We left Epcot as the park was closing at 9:00. It was a long day but everyone had fun.