Day 6 -- Magic Kingdom Goodbye...

The saddest day in the "happiest place on earth" is always the last day...

But we still managed to have fun & the weather was (once again) PERFECT!

Getting ready to go into the park... I think Clay's had a *little* too much fun here!

Mickey's house in "Mickey's Toon Town Fair"

Inside Mickey's house!

Mickey's kitchen is a MESS!

On to Minnie's house!...

Making ourselves at home... =)

Does Minnie have anything good to eat?
Let's see... hmmm, just CHEESE.

Cinderella's Castle (up close!)

Inside the castle!

Nadia on "Tomorrowland's Transit Authority"

Raisha & Natasha with BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!

Natasha on the Mad Hatter's Tea Party (Tea Cups)

Waiting in line for "Mickey's Philharmonic!"

Someone's looking a *little* sleeeeeeeepppyy....

Cinderella's castle is most beautiful in the early evening!

The castle lit up at night with the light parade going by...

That's just what I was thinking!
A perfect ending to a perfect day.
Sweet dreams, Raisha...

Day 5 -- Around The World (EPCOT)

Day 5 (Wednesday) was another GORGEOUS day! Sunny and about 70 degrees, so we decided to take a trip around the world -- World Showcase
aka: the "back half" of EPCOT.

Beautiful landscaping of Mickey from Fantasia

First, though, we popped in to "Club Cool" -- a neat little shop sponsored by Coca-Cola -- which features FREE tastes of soft drinks from all over the world!
My favorites were from Mozambique & Germany.
The ones from Italy and Mexico tasted like medicine! Blech.

Performance in front of the America Pavilion

Natasha with a camel I would LOVE to own in the Morocco Pavilion :)

Nadia and I in front of the fountain in "Morocco"

The beautiful architecture of "Italy"

We had lunch in the Germany Pavilion at "Biergarten"

Clay & Raisha in Biergarten waiting for the "Oktoberfest" show to begin!
Raisha was not a fan of the food here & she thought the sauerkraut made the place smell "stinky."

Nadia wasn't really interested in the show; she just wanted to finish her book!

Natasha being "snacked on" (yet, again) by a hungry lion in the China Pavilion. ;)

Overall, it was a great day... especially since Raisha got to meet one of her very favorite characters: Donald Duck in the Mexico Pavilion

Some thoughts about EPCOT:
We made a point of starting in Canada and working our way counter-clockwise around the "world" which hosts representations of 11 different countries.
Previously, we have always begun in Mexico and we usually peter out about the time we get to France, so I was curious what we had been missing...
Not much, actually.

No offense at all to the people or their countries, but this half of the "world" was far less interesting (for us) than the other side. For one, there were mostly only films and shows geared toward older guests. The educational value would have been OK for Nadia & Natasha, but a 4-year-old is only going to sit through so much of that. Plus, in the Canada Pavilion, you have to STAND for the whole show! Not something our tired, aching feet were inclined to do!

The United Kingdom Pavilion had an interesting toy shop and I bought some wonderful hand cream from the "Scottish" shop, but that was about it.

In the France Pavilion, we decided to have a snack of various pastries since that is one of the things they are famous for. They were good -- especially the profiteroles (cream puffs) -- but I think the Kringla Og Bakeri in the Norway Pavilion has them beat with their fruit tarts (shortcake crust!) and (my personal favorite) Schoolbread -- A bready pastry filled with vanilla creme and covered in toasted coconut... Mmmmm

It's probably a good thing the Norway Pavilion is nowhere near here... I could definitely hurt myself with that Schoolbread!

Here, a man feeds a rather tame (wild) squirrel pieces of his schoolbread.
See? Even the squirrels agree it's delicious!

M-I-C... K-E-Y... M-O-U-S-E!!!

Ok, I know that everyone over the age of 35 just hummed along when they read that title. LOL!

Yes, we are headed back to the HOUSE OF MOUSE!
The bags are packed.
The house is clean (relatively).
and the last load of laundry is about to go in.

MANY Thanks to our friends for house-sitting & pet-sitting for us while we are gone! You guys are the best!

I will try to post some pics & blog reports while we are there, but in the meantime, you can enjoy THESE from our last visit...

Now where did I put my mouse ears???

You Can't Ever Go Home

No matter how hard you try.

I'm still in Arkansas visiting family and checking out all the old hangouts. So much has changed, but nothing really has.

I went to my Alma Mater (UCA) and as I strolled beneath the enormous oaks seeking any shade I could find, I almost felt like I was back in grad school... that is, until my middle daughter started grumbling about the heat and "When are we going to leeeavvve???"

I went by Pizza Inn on Oak Street, where I worked for almost 2 years and, in fact, where I met my husband, Clay.
But my former boss Rusty is no longer there (he's at Church's Chicken right down the road!) and the pizza just doesn't taste the same. Checking my blood-sugar and giving myself a shot before I indulge kind of ruins the ambiance, too.

Went by and saw Rusty so he could meet my daughters... he looks great, but the thought intrusively occurred to me that Nadia's not so much younger now than I was when I first went to work. Suddenly, I feel so old!

Spent a day with my high school boyfriend and his wife (how weird is that!) and found that she and I could be best friends if we lived closer. Such a great, Christian couple; I feel blessed to know them!

And as I drove past my old high school, the old neighborhood, and all the places I once called, "home," I realized that it wasn't so much the town that had changed, but rather, I was the one who had changed.
I may resemble the girl I once was; I may even gravitate toward the same locales.
But that girl is no longer.
Inside, I'm not even remotely the same.

The first time I stepped into a strip club,
The first time I held the hand of a homeless mother or prayed with a woman at wit's end,
Every time I hand out a bag of groceries or help a young mother "shop" for clothing at the Dream Center...

All these things have changed me from the inside, out.
Maybe my old friends and family can't see it, but I know it's there and no matter how often I visit, this will never be HOME again.

Out Of The Office

If you've reached this recording...

I realize I haven't posted in several days, but we are leaving in the morning to go to Arkansas for 2 weeks and I've been running around here like mad trying to get everything done!
We have some great friends house-sitting & dog-sitting for us, and even though I know she won't hold it against me if my house isn't "perfect," I will hold it against me.
;>)

I will have some computer access while I'm away so I will try to post while I am there.
I'm hoping to meet up with some old friends, re-connect with some new friends (Megan, Brittni, Carolyn), and visit family.

So, what are your big 4th of July plans?

The Glass is Half Full... I Think.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... stop grumbling.

I know I haven't posted in 2 weeks, but I *did* say I would be back SOMETIME after we got home from Disney World... LOL! Seriously, we have been "recovering." :D Ok, so it was a good trip. Really, it was. But when I was thinking about how I would blog about it, I realized that really, this post could go 2 ways: REALLY negative or REALLY Positive. For example,
*Orlando was experiencing unusually hot weather (mid-90's) and 90-100% humidity while we were there -- BUT HEY! WE WERE IN DISNEY WORLD!!!!

*It RAINED every day we were there -- and not just an afternoon heating shower, either -- pouring, drenching rain for hours on end -- BUT we just donned ponchos and slogged our way through the parks anyway! (we're starting to dry out now)

*Our flight was delayed 5 times going and 6 times coming home and Raisha threw up IN the airport -- BUT we arrived safely and had a good flight and they didn't lose a single piece of our luggage!!

*We didn't get to ride Expedition Everest (raining), Rockin' Rollercoaster (maintenance), or Spaceship Earth (upgrade) -- BUT we DID ride Pirates of the Caribbean about 50 times and It's a Small World 30 times and Natasha and I rode Space Mountain until we nearly passed out. Oh, and we sat in the FRONT on Splash Mountain and can I just say, wearing a poncho does NOTHING to protect you from getting soaked if you are riding in the front!!! It was a blast!
And did I mention, we were in DISNEY WORLD???!! Bottom line?
It was an AWESOME trip and I thank God for giving us the opportunity to go and the many blessings we received as a family along the way... We are already planning our next trip to the "Happiest (Soggiest??) Place On Earth" for sometime in 2009... Here are just a few pics from our trip:
I took over 200 pictures, but I'll spare you and not post them ALL here... I will have more up in a separate post later, I promise! =)

PS: No, Raisha did not get to wear her Minnie Mouse costume OR her Cinderella dress to the Princess dinner at Akershus (sp?) because it was pouring rain and I didn't want them to get ruined... she's really too young to care anyway but she did LOVE seeing all the princesses!!

Headed to the House of MOUSE!

*** Just wanted to give everyone a heads' up that I will not be posting for the next week or so... After 2 REALLY hard years for my family, Clay and I are taking the girls to DISNEY WORLD for a family vacation! We are all so excited. It has been 7 years since we were last there...

If you've never been to Disney World, I have to tell you, it is NOT over-rated. It is worth every penny (and it's a lot of pennies!). Did you know you can start paying for your trip up to (correction) a year and a half in advance???
We started paying for our trip back in February and paid a little every month through Disney's payment plan -- no credit card required! Now, our trip is paid in full -- including our meals -- and all we have to take is spending money. :) I will post lots of pics & stuff when we get back (and fully recover), but until then, pray for us -- for a safe journey, good weather, and GREAT fun & family togetherness. We are all SO ready for this vacation!***