Thankful Thursday

1. Nadia and Paul's parents arrived home safely on Sunday! They drove over 2,000 miles to Florida and back. Nadia never got car sick! She used to get car sick on almost every ride that was an hour or longer. I am very grateful this has improved.

2. The kids had only done 3 nights of VBS last month (at the church where they go to AWANA), and our church had its VBS last week, while we were in Florida. I noticed a poster at the grocery store advertising a VBS taking place in our town this week, and the kids are thoroughly enjoying it.

3. I'm thankful for the progress Nadia is making with her swimming skills this summer, and in particular for the things she's learning during swim lessons this week! Next year I'll sign both Nadia and Ian up for swimming lessons.

4. Oliver is really making progress with his building skills (with Duplos or Mega Bloks). He also has been spending a lot of time playing at Ian's train table. Cars, trains, balls, and

blocks are his favorite toys these days! Yesterday at one point I asked him what he wanted to do, and he responded "go play choo choos". He promptly headed toward Ian's bedroom to play with the train table.

5. It's been fabulous having Paul around so much lately!

6.We had a great time at the Lycoming County Fair yesterday. The weather was perfect! Nadia's favorite rides were the swings (she rode them 5 times!), BIG slide (proof that we love our kids because that slide is very hard on an adult's backside!), and bumper cars.

7. I recently noticed that one of the local trash companies (not the one we've used the past almost 6 years) has started doing curbside recycling once a month. To have our garbage and recycling picked up by that company will only cost $3 more per month than what we're paying now to only have our garbage picked up. We're switching effective the first week of August, and the new company delivered our recycling trash can yesterday! We have been driving to another town to dispose of our #1, 2 plastics, cardboard, cans, etc. It will be much easier to put it out at the curb once a month!

8. I could list them every week, but I am very thankful for my three kids. Below you'll find Nadia's 6th birthday interview that I finally got around to doing this morning. She's wearing a costume that she pretends is Elsa's dress. Some of her answers were the same as what she said in last year's interview. For example, Friendly's is still her favorite restaurant, and pink is still her favorite color.

County Fair time

Today we made our third trip to the Lycoming County Fair. Last year we spent three hours there due to the fact it was 95 degrees out. One of the highlights last year was riding a camel. Our first trip was in 2011; we didn't go in 2012 due to my bed rest. This year we didn't ride any camels (didn't run across them, if they were there), but we were at the fair for four hours this time. Oliver could have gotten in for free, but there were enough rides that he could ride that it was worth buying him a $4 hand stamp (the rest of our hand stamps were $6 each). The kids would have gladly stayed longer, but we needed to leave to get them to their 6:30 rehearsal for the musical, especially considering they missed the last three rehearsals! It was my turn to bring the snack for the musical, and my oatmeal raisin cookies must have been a hit because they scarfed down more than six dozen of them! This year we rode rides for two hours, looked at a few animals, ate dinner while watching the dog show "Mutts gone Nuts," saw a few more animals, and then rode rides for about 45 minutes before calling it quits for the day. The temperature was about 79 degrees out with very low humidity today. Perfect!

Water Slides!

Yesterday morning Nadia started her private swimming lessons. I kept the boys in the kiddie pool during her lesson, and then we all spent some time outside on the playground. We don't go to this large playground very often, so the kids were really enjoying playing on the equipment. I had planned to take them to our pool after her lesson, but we stayed at the playground so long that we ended up just driving straight home so Oliver could take his (pitiful) 45 minute nap in his crib. This morning I started getting everyone ready at 10:00, and by 10:30 we were piling into the van wearing our bathing suits. At 10:55 we pulled into the parking lot, and my heart sank because the parking lot was totally empty. I reached for my phone and discovered that 10 minutes earlier the swim instructor had called to tell me that the pool was closed this morning because they needed to shock the pool due to the rain we'd had. I was rather frustrated that my efforts over the past hour seemed to have all been in vain, but the kids asked if they could play on the playground. The equipment was wet, but they were wearing their bathing suits. They had a blast! The slides had become water slides, and boy were the kids flying down those wet slides! It's not supposed to rain the next three days so hopefully she will actually have her lesson tomorrow morning. Today's lesson has been rescheduled for next Monday.

Last year before we went to Florida, Oliver was an amazing napper. That changed on vacation, and although things did eventually improve somewhat (months later), his naps never went back to what they were prior to that trip. This vacation he took most of his naps in a pack n play, and when we were at Disney he napped in his stroller. The only day he took part of a nap in someone's arms was last Thursday in the Orlando airport. He had fallen asleep in the van en route to the airport. He had a couple of short (one hour) naps on vacation, but most of the time he was sleeping for about 90 minutes a day. The last four days he took a 45 minute nap. Every day I keep hoping that today will be the day his naps get back to normal. This morning he woke up at 5:30 (an hour earlier than usual) so he had a really hard time staying awake until 1pm. I had to keep waking him up as we drove home from the playground. A few minutes after I put him down for his nap he started screaming. I was startled because this hasn't happened in a very long time (more than a year I think). I was so taken off guard that at one point I went back in to rock him again and put him back down. That didn't help one iota.

He finally fell asleep at 1:35 just as I was leaving to take the van for an overdue tire rotation and oil change appointment. I was stunned when Paul called me at 2:00 to tell me Oliver had already woken up. Oi vey!!! Paul rocked him, and Oliver slept for almost 2 hours in Paul's arms. The bedtime woes continued this evening as he cried for 35 minutes before he fell asleep this evening, and he hasn't done this in months. I am not sure what is the cause of this problem, but I hope putting him to bed goes back to being no big deal in the very near future, especially as a babysitter will be putting him to bed on Friday night. Nadia doesn't take many naps these days, but she took a very long nap on Monday. I had to wake her up so she could eat dinner before going to VBS. Similarly, both Nadia and Ian slept until 7:45 this morning - more than 2 hours longer than Oliver did. Paul and I are hoping that he doesn't make a habit of waking up at 5:30.

Back to Normal

Yesterday morning at church Nadia's Sunday School teacher asked me where Nadia was, and the King's Kids' choir director asked me if Nadia would be singing with the kids in church. There were more kids up there than there usually are because they were singing two songs they learned in VBS last week, but Ian opted to stay with me. It felt so strange to only have one child with me during the worship service. If Nadia had been with us, I know she would have been up there singing with the other kids. After being separated for 74 hours, I was reunited with my precious princess yesterday.

The past three weeks have been anything but normal. First we spent a week in Maryland, and then we had a couple of days at home with 6 house guests before we began our trip to Florida. That trip was 12 days long for Nadia and Paul's parents. I need to get back in gear in terms of my chores around the house, as not many of those were done the past 3 weeks. The kids still had fruit most days, but they have hardly

eaten any vegetables the past 3 weeks. I'm guessing there will be some battles with reinstating that habit. I actually ate more vegetables than usual on vacation as I ordered a salad for a meal several times. I also think we'll also have some "issues" with transitioning back to them not being able to choose what they eat for dinner every day. Nadia needs a break from macaroni and cheese, for example! Oliver is waking up at the usual time (6:30), but his naps have been 45 minutes long the past 3 days, which is much shorter than usual. Hopefully his naps will get back to normal asap! I brought books along for Nadia to read aloud, but that only happened a few times (she read a couple of Mr. Putter and Tabby books in Florida). I am not going to go into full school mode yet, but I do at least want her to get back to reading more, and I also want to get back to reading from a chapter book to the kids every day in addition to reading them picture books. Three things on the agenda this week for Nadia are private swimming lessons, working on learning to ride her new bike (without training wheels), and writing thank you notes for the birthday gifts she received!

Water balloon toss

This little black duckling was by far his favorite!

My Jacuzzi buddy! Ian asked me multiple times a day to join him in the Jacuzzi, and I almost always said "YES!".

I miss my girl!

On Thursday evening we were so busy traveling with the boys that I didn't miss Nadia too much, but by Friday evening, I was almost in tears I missed her so much. Friday morning I was busy mowing the lawn, going grocery shopping, and doing some cooking, but I definitely noticed she wasn't with us at the swimming pool that afternoon. Tommy (one of the lifeguards) asked where she was. I wasn't the only one missing her! Yesterday morning I took the boys to an art program at the library that was advertised as being for toddlers and preschoolers. It was definitely too advanced for Oliver, but we played around with the markers, crayons, and paint for a little bit before spending some time in the library. Ian was excited because I checked out the dvd of Toy Story 2 in addition to a bunch of Billy and Blaze books. 

Then we drove about 2 miles from the library to Rural Heritage Day, which was an excellent event. It was our first time going there, but I'm planning to return next year, especially since Nadia missed out this time. While we were there I was really missing Nadia (as I primarily had her in mind when I wrote this event in my calendar a couple of months ago), and I also was really missing my camera (which is in the van). A newspaper reporter took some pictures of Ian holding a baby duck so maybe I'll be able to get a photo that way. The event only cost $5 per vehicle and included many things such as butter making, basket making, blacksmithing, lace making, soap making, candle dripping, threshing, grinding grain, tinsmithing, bee keeping, etc. Nadia would have loved the games (sack races and such). The boys loved the animals. They were able to hold baby guinea pigs that were 1 day old, baby ducks that were 3 days old, and baby chicks. They were able to pet a lamb, ponies, rabbits, etc. Ian liked the baby ducks the best. I had to keep Oliver away from them because he was squeezing them so tightly I was afraid he might kill one of them accidently! Pony rides were 50 cents, and pony cart rides were $1. We passed on those, but those were very reasonable prices!

I had planned to take the boys swimming yesterday afternoon, but in light of not having a bathing suit for myself or sunscreen and the fact that they seemed just as happy to play at home, we stayed home. Ian has been playing NON-stop with his new Woody toy as well as the Buzz Lightyear and Jessie toys that we got at a yardsale a few weeks ago. Those three have been his constant companions. Every time I thought of Nadia I had to just stop and think about something else, or my eyes would start to well up with tears. I kept reminding myself that she's having a special time with her grandparents, and that there will be other times in the future when I'll be separated from her (for example, I plan to send her to Adventure Camp for three nights next June). Since I homeschool her, I am accustomed to being with her almost all the time, so it's more of an adjustment for me although not nearly as long or painful as our separations two years ago when I was in the hospital. I can't wait to be reunited with her later today that is for sure!!!

Magic Kingdom, take two!

The websites had recommended that Wednesday would be the best day to go to Magic Kingdom during the time we were in Florida. On Tuesday afternoon I started to feel queasy, and after I placed an order for Papa John's to deliver a pizza to our unit for dinner, I started throwing up and continued to do so for several hours. In the past twenty years I've only had the stomach flu three times - once when I was living in Port Carbon when I was a principal (I remember my secretary came to my apartment and brought me crackers and ginger ale), in November 2007 when I was newly pregnant with Nadia, and this week in Florida. Most of the times I have thrown up over the past twenty years it has been due to conscious sedation or general anesthesia. On Wednesday morning I wasn't sure I had it in me to go to Magic Kingdom, but I really didn't want to miss out so I took a shower, took some Tylenol to lower my fever (which was a little over 100 degrees), and ate a little something (as I hadn't had more

than an ice cube in 18 hours). I am glad I went because as the day went on I began to feel better and better. Nadia threw up before we left, and we again questioned if we should go, but she said she still wanted to go. She threw up again in the van as we entered the parking lot, and she threw up a third time right before we did Enchanted Tales with Belle. She was such a trouper because she didn't complain and was in good spirits even though she obviously wasn't feeling well. Our day would have been more "magical" minus the flu, but we still had a special day.

We made our first trip to Disney World last year. Last year we arrived really early; this year we arrived a couple of minutes before 9am. Last year we went straight to the "Under the Sea" ride, which was the new ride last year, and we got on it without any wait. This year we went straight to the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, but the line was already 75 minutes long. Thankfully, I was able to make a change with our fast passes so that we were able

to ride it at 12:30pm with a very short wait. The stand by line (in other words no fast pass) never dropped under an hour during the whole time we were there. This time around our first stop ended up being to meet Merida (from the movie Brave), and then we rode the Dumbo ride (and without using a fast pass had a very short wait). We could have ridden the tea cups without a wait, but in light of our stomach issues, we decided to pass on that ride this time. Next we did Enchanted Tales with Belle, and Nadia was again picked to be the Beast because of her loud "roar" when the cast member was assigning parts. Ian opted not to have a part this year. Nadia loved wearing the red cape and dancing with Belle. Next we did the Under the Sea ride without much of a wait, and then we used a couple of fast passes so Nadia could meet Ariel. Ian opted not to be in any pictures until our last character meeting of the day (Tinkerbell). This was proof he wasn't feeling normal either.

We didn't ride the Barnstormer last year, but we enjoyed riding it once this year, and Nadia enjoyed getting soaked in the splash station afterward. After cooling off in Mickey's PhilHarMagic, I took Nadia and Ian on Peter Pan's Flight (with fast passes) and It's a Small World (without fast passes) while Paul, Oliver, and Paul's parents ate lunch at the Pinocchio Village Haus. Paul and I then took Nadia and Ian on the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride (with fast passes) before I took Nadia to meet Anna and Elsa (with fast passes). After I took the two of them on the Carousel, we left Fantasyland for Tomorrowland. Our first stop was the Monster Inc Laugh Floor, which we didn't do last year. and then Buzz Lightyear's ride (with fast passes). Just like last year, this was Ian's favorite ride, so we rode it a second time (again with fast passes) in the evening. We planned to watch the parade, but it was cancelled due to a thunderstorm. We stayed dry while watching the Country Bear Jamboree (Oliver loved it last year and again this year) and the Tiki Room (which we didn't do last year) shows. After eating dinner at the Pecos Bill Cafe, we used fast passes on Pirates of the Caribbean and then rode Aladdin's magic carpets and met Jasmine and Aladdin (our longest wait of the day). The outdoor rides were closed for over an hour, which meant we weren't ever able to ride Splash Mountain (because the line was always an hour long and there weren't any more fast passses available), and we had to wait longer than usual (considering we were using fast passes) for Big Thunder Railroad. It was Ian's first time on that ride, as he was too short to ride it last year. While we were on that ride, Paul's parents took Oliver on the Walt Disney World vintage train around the park. While I took Nadia to meet Tiana and Naveen, the rest of the family saw the Hall of Presidents show, which we hadn't done last year.

We returned to Tomorrowland for our second ride on Buzz's ride and also to join the Incredibles SuperDance Party for a few minutes. We had fast passes for Winnie the Pooh's ride (which had a long line every other time we attempted to ride it that day), but it had just closed for a "honey spill" and we didn't feel like waiting around for it to reopen. After Grandma and Pop Pop bought each child one toy on Main Street (Mickey Mouse stuffed animal for Oliver, Woody for Ian, and a Jasmine set for Nadia), I took Nadia and Ian to meet Tinker Bell on our way out of the park. We left 10 minutes before the 9pm parade. I had thought we'd stay until 10:10pm (after the fireworks and Wishes nighttime spectacular shows), but Paul was still feeling queasy and so we took the ferry back to the van. We had ridden a bus into the park. Not counting meeting Belle in the Enchanted Tales with Belle adventure, every character they met this year was different from last year. Last year they met Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel. This year they met Merida, Ariel, Tiana, Naveen, Jasmine, Aladdin, Anna, Elsa, and Tinkerbell. Ian would have liked to have met Peter Pan, but we didn't manage to accomplish that.

I thought the fast passes were very helpful last year (the wait is usually less than 5 minutes with a fast pass), and this year I liked the fast pass plus system even better because it involved less running around the park. The only rides we didn't do this year were the Swiss Family treehouse, jungle cruise, splash mountain, riverboat, haunted mansion, Winnie the Pooh's ride, mad tea party (due to our stomachs), tomorrowland speedway, Stitch's great escape (not interested), Carousel of Progress, and Space Mountain (too short). All in all we had a great day, which is good because it costs a small fortune to spend a day at Disney World even with Oliver getting in free.

Thankful Friday

1. Paul and Ian enjoyed seeing the Lego movie at a theater for $1 on July 2nd. It was Paul's first time in a theater in 10 years, and it was Ian's second time. I enjoyed doing some shopping in the mall (with Oliver) while they watched the movie.

2. Even though we didn't have the use of a DVD player, we had a very smooth ride to Maryland on July 2nd with the boys. I was amazed at how well Oliver did!

3. My parents took us to the airport on July 3rd, which saved us paying for 7 days of parking. Paul's parents and Nadia picked us up at the airport in Orlando. We all arrived safely! It was great to be reunited with Nadia after having not seen her for about 55 hours.

4. We had a lot of fun swimming and enjoying the splash pad in Florida! We swam a little bit on the 3rd and swam many hours on the 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, and 10th. All of the kids progressed in their swimming skills in one way or

another. Nadia learned how to do a handstand in the water. Ian and Oliver enjoyed jumping in from the side. Oliver is a little too brave. He'd walk right in to water that is over his head.

5. We also enjoyed other fun things at the resort such as the reptile show, magic show, miniature golf, and the playground. Nadia enjoyed entering a variety of competitions so that she could earn sand dollars that she used to buy some toys and candy at the end of our stay. These included using a hula hoop, throwing water balloons, water slide races, etc. I've stayed at many time share resorts over the past 14 years, and this is the only one I'd even consider purchasing (which shows how much we like it). When I found out how much this resort charges for maintenance fees every year, I again realized it's much cheaper to do it the way we are now through Interval.

6. We had a great time at Hollywood Studios on the 6th even though it rained for over four hours, and the kids had a blast at Magic Kingdom on the 9th, even though a few of us had the stomach flu that day (detailed post on that day's adventures to follow).

7. The boys and I had a safe trip back home to PA last night. We got home a bit later than
planned due to our flight being delayed by 90 minutes, but it was very nice to sleep in our own beds last night. Ian woke up at 6:30, but he fell back asleep in our bed, and wonder of wonders, Oliver slept until after 7:00. Paul's parents and Nadia are spending the night in South Carolina tonight.

8. I took Oliver and Ian to the swimming pool this afternoon. I left my swimsuits in the van so I just sat by the edge of the pool, and I didn't have any sunscreen, but a
neighbor let me borrow some for Oliver as I didn't have a rash guard for him to wear (only swim trunks) because they are also in the van. Oliver really wanted to spend some time in the big pool (not just the baby pool), and the life guard graciously offered to take him in the pool and play with him a little. If we ever fly to a vacation again while Paul's parents drive there, I am going to check our luggage on the airplane. It wouldn't have been a big deal to take our suitcase with us, and it would have made life
easier for us on both ends of the trip when we were missing items that were in the van. We flew out Southwest, and they don't charge for baggage so it wouldn't have cost us anything to take it along. Lesson

learned!

9. I'm very thankful that Paul's mom was healthy enough to join us on our trip, and that she stayed healthy while we were down there. In particular, I am very grateful that Paul's parents and Oliver escaped the stomach bug. Ian and Paul had very mild cases. Nadia and I were the only two who were throwing up. All in all we had a fabulous trip. Nadia and Ian are already asking when we will be returning. Ian said he wanted to go back while he was

still 4 1/2 years old. No, I don't think so. I have no idea where we'll go on vacation next year, but I doubt it will be Florida, although we do want to take the kids there again some day in the future, Lord willing! If we do, I hope it's not in July or August.

10. The resort photographer got some good photos of us! In 2011 and 2013 we only got the free 5x7 and didn't buy any pictures. We bought a photo package this year, and this year we put a lot less effort into getting ready for the pictures than we did the other two times. Paul's parents were wearing dry clothes, but the rest of us had just gotten out of the swimming pool before the photo was taken (I threw on a dry shirt over my bathing suit top, and Nadia put a dress on over her swim suit). It's so rare to get a photo of all five of us, much less of all seven of us (including Paul's parents). I haven't looked at the Disney website yet to see how the pictures they took of us turned out yet, and I haven't gone through many of the ones I took yet. More pictures to follow in the coming days! Next month we have our annual family photo shoot, and I'll put a lot more thought into what we wear that day (and our hair will be dry!).

Hollywood Studios!

Sunday morning we left our resort at 8:30 to spend the day at Hollywood Studios. It was a first visit for six members of our family; I had been there about 30 years ago when it was called MGM Studios. Our first stop was the 15 minute "Voyage of the Little Mermaid" show. Then we rode the 22 minute long "Great Movie Ride" before riding the "Star Tours" ride. Oliver was too short for that ride, so Grandma watched him while the rest of us enjoyed the Star Wars themed ride. It was Ian's favorite ride of the day, and so we rode it again in the evening. Next we watched a 25 minute Muppet 3D show. We wore 3D glasses many times yesterday! The "Honey, I shrunk the kids movie set" playground was supposed to be our next stop of the day, but it was closed for the day. We enjoyed the Toy Story ride next (a shooting game similar to the Buzz Lightyear ride at Magic Kingdom). It was Nadia's favorite ride of the day; she wanted to ride it again in the evening, but without a Fast Pass (we had used one to ride it in the morning) the wait was over an hour long so we passed on taking a second ride. While Paul and his parents ate lunch (with Oliver in tow), I took Nadia and Ian to meet a few characters (Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jake the pirate, and Sofia the first) and see the 24 minute long "Disney Junior" show that incorporated characters from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Doc McStuffins, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Sofia the First tv shows. The kids enjoyed all the things that were showered down on us during the show such as real snow, bubbles, streamers, and gold paper circles that were supposed to represent doubloons. 

Around 12:45 it started raining (pouring much of the time), and it continued to rain for about 4 1/2 hours. We were watching a Frozen sing-a-long show at 5pm, and I was ready to call it a day after the show (and eat dinner outside the park since the food at Disney is so expensive), but it finally stopped raining. Every day the forecast has been pretty much identical (around a 50% chance of scattered thunderstorms), but of the days we've been here so far, Sunday was by far the rainiest day. It didn't rain at all yesterday. Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow when we're at the Magic Kingdom. One upside to the rain on Sunday was that the temperature really dropped and it was much cooler the rest of the day. Also, I think that some people left (we had NO wait for our second time on Star Tours, for example). Aside from the unpleasantness of getting wet (we didn't have any ponchos or umbrellas with us although there were umbrellas in the van), the main downsides to the rain were that the Lights, Motors, Action show was cancelled (first they just delayed it so we sat in the bleachers for 30 minutes before we found out it was cancelled) and my wet sandals rubbed my foot in such a way that I developed a painful sore that was bleeding. Yesterday I walked barefoot around the resort when headed to the swimming pool. I put on a band-aid for dinner and miniature golfing (so I could wear my shoes). Hopefully the band-aid will make walking all day at Magic Kingdom tolerable tomorrow.

After the Disney Junior show Paul and I took Nadia and Ian on the Tower of Terror ride. They weren't keen on it. It was a little too intense for them. Next we saw the 25 minute long Beauty and the Beast show, which was VERY well done (Broadway caliber). After the show we went to the Magic of Disney Animation, but we didn't really do much there aside from the kids meeting Mr. Incredible. After we found out the stunt show was cancelled, we saw a 20 minute long Frozen sing-along show and then the boys got their picture taken with Lightning McQueen and Mater. We ate our very expensive pizza at the Pizza Planet Arcade (looked like the set from Toy Story), rode Star Tours a second time, and went through the One Man's Dream exhibit and watched the 15 minute film on Walt Disney. Oliver fell asleep part way through that movie, and he slept for an hour. Paul and I took the kids to the 8:00 showing of The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow, and then we all watched the 30 minute Fantasmic show at 9:00 on the water. On our way out of the park, we stopped and watched a fireworks program at 9:45 that was set to music from "Frozen."  Ian fell asleep soon after we were in the van, but Oliver and Nadia were awake until we put them to bed at 10:40. It was definitely the latest that I'd ever let any of them stay up, and it was Oliver's first time seeing any fireworks. 

We did the vast majority of the rides and shows in the park. The ones we missed were the American Idol competition (too young), Indiana Jones Stunt show, the playground (because it was closed all day), the other stunt show that was cancelled due to the weather, the studio backlot tour, and the roller coaster (all our kids were too short). There were other characters they could have met. They weren't interested in some of them. The only ones we missed that Ian really wanted to meet were Mike and Sulley. All in all we had a very memorable day. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I usually do at an amusement park due to the rain and also the fact that this park has far more shows than rides. I assume I'll take more pictures tomorrow! I am grateful that Disney allows food and water to be brought in the park because the only $$ spent on the kids and I during the day (not counting the expensive tickets I purchased ahead of time) was our dinner. The kids and I ate food we brought to the park for our snacks and our lunch.

Oliver woke up at 6:11 yesterday morning. Paul was really hoping he'd sleep in a bit later in light of the fact he went to bed MUCH later than usual. Nope. Ian did sleep until 7:45 (very late for him), and Nadia slept until 8:40 (very late for her). All I could think of yesterday morning was how very grateful I was that we weren't heading to another park that day. I have no idea how parents take their kids to amusement parks four days in a row. We needed a couple of days off in between our park days. The kids can't wait for our day at the Magic Kingdom. Hopefully it won't be as rainy of a day, but I'm sure we'll bring our umbrellas along just in case!