Disney in the Evening

We headed over to EPCOT for the rest of the evening. We would have returned to Magic Kingdom for the evening, but they were having a Halloween Party there that required a separate ticket - hey Disney knows how to make money!


The kids were a bit young for EPCOT, but we still had a great time. We rode the Nemo ride..

Kids inside of the shark!
They also had a great fireworks show at the end of the night, and we sampled foods from around the world in the part of EPCOT that has mini cities from other nations...I can't remember what it is called though.

The kids were officially the most tired that I had ever seen! Karis went to bed without even changing her clothes! She thought that was funny the next morning when she got up.

Craig is the best at putting the kids to bed! He has a sweet routine with each child. Joshua likes when Craig prays for him , and Karis loves what she calls "Night night snuggles", but she was too tired for those!

So tired!

Craig gave each children a Disney Hat to enjoy. Somehow we didn't get a photo of Karis, but here is Joshua's Pirate Mickey. So cute!



After all this fun, the kids were beat! We headed back to the rental house for naps, a swim in the pool and some food. The kids barely made it to the car. Karis almost fell asleep while riding in the stroller back to the car!



What was funny (or funny now at least) is that Karis was too excited to eat any breakfast, didn't eat the snacks we brought to the park, and then rode the teacups...then drank an 8 oz bottle of water, then a whole apple juice box...then as we were going to get on the ferry to ride to the parking lot area, her little body couldn't handle it. You can guess what happened after the spinning tea cups and 16 oz of liquid! Thankfully, the dock was mostly empty before all that liquid saw daylight again!

All three kids fell asleep before we left the parking lot!

Even the non-napping princess!

Especially the littlest princess!

So Much Fun!

The older two and I rode the teacups together




All smiles before it started

Joshua loved it! Karis said it made her a little sick. I didn't get them spinning like some of the other thrill seakers did! Craig opted to hold Charlotte and sit out on this ride! He doesn't like anything that makes his stomach turn. Not in the least!

Karis and I practiced our princess smiles and silly faces while the boys rode the race cars

She has the silly faces down!

Princess smiles!

The boys riding the race cars

Going to Disney in October is perfect! There are very small lines. Joshua liked this ride so much - they waited in line twice to ride it two times!

First Thing There

Right as we entered the park, we went toward's the castle. To our amazement, we were walking there right as the welcome show began! It was the best part of the whole day. For the children, it was their highlight and they are still talking about it. The show had all the Disne characters (Mickey, Minnie etc) but it also had the princesses and Peter Pan and Capt. Hook - a favorite of my boy!

Mickey and Minnie


After the show - the first thing we did was ride It's a Small World. I distinctly remember riding that ride with my mom, sister and grandparents. My grandmother loved that ride - all the little people!

Karis is still singing that song, only every time she sings it she asks how it could really be a small world when the world is so big?! Too complex to explain! Believe me, ...we have tried!

Craig and Joshua on the ride

This is how Charlotte enjoyed the ride

Exciting Day

This face doesn't look very excited...maybe because she doesn't know what comes next, ever...

These faces look excited...

And this face sure does. Why is it?

Because this is what we were looking at! Magic Kingdom in Disney World!!

We suprised the children the first day in Florida by taking them to Disney World! What a way to start vacation! We drove from Craig's parents in Atlanta to Orlando the first day of our vacation. A VERY generous young lady in our church gave us tickets to the park. She works there in the summers, and had connections to get us in for free - to us! Thank you Suzie!

As we drove into Orlando late that evening the children started seeing signs with Disney characters on them. Their conversation was hillarious!

Joshua: Maybe we can go to Mickey Mouses' house

Karis: Joshua, you know Mickey Mouse isn't real!

Daddy: Are you sure? Maybe we will see him...

Karis: Daddy, Mickey Mouse is only on TV

This kind of talk goes on for a few minutes.

A few minutes later...

Karis: Why is there so much Disney stuff here?

Daddy: Probably because Disney World is here in Florida.

Joshua: Can we go there someday?

Daddy: Well...(pause) actually...we brought you all the way down here to Florida to suprise you and take you to Disney world!

The kids were speechless. Then they jabbered all about what Disney World would be like for the next 10 minutes until we got to our rental house. This was funny to me because neither one has been there. The funniest was Karis when she said, "I don't know what to imagine Disney World looks like because I have never been there!"

Where are we?

We are on the Emerald Coast of Florida - 5 miles from Seaside in a beautiful beach resort area called Seacrest. It is lovely here and we have been enjoying a nice, slow vacation as a family. I was thanking the Lord this morning for this wonderful time.