Sunday, December 14, 2008

Our Annual Disney World Family Trip

I have to say, I honestly can't remember EVER getting to Disney before the gates opened. But this was a first! LOL! All the dwellers of the Castello went. We also invited 7 friends to come along for the fun. We had a great time!

While we waited for the gates to open, the crowd sang Christmas songs led by cast members. Cast Members are the employees that work at Walt Disney. Our wait time was less than 20 minutes, so it wasn't too bad at all. :o)



We were entertained by the younger ones playing with the hula hoops provided by Disney. Superstar is the one wearing the gray, GAP sweatshirt. Giggles is the one wearing the Cubs sweatshirt. Let me explain how they came by these pseudonyms. Superstar is quite the baseball player. Giggles, really enjoyed the Muppet 3-D movie at Hollywood Studios. I mean, he REALLY enjoyed it. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. He was really taken with the 3-D effect. It was priceless.



This is their sister, Dee. I'm having trouble coming up with a name for her. So we'll go with Dee for now. She was getting into the fun too.

Of course the first thing we went to ride was Space Mountain. But I have no pictures of that. While the older ones rode the roller coaster, Superstar and his mom, Lady D rode the Buzz Lightyear ride. Once we were done with Space Mountain, everyone rode Buzz Lightyear too. Yep, Superstar and Lady D rode it again. :o) From there, we were off to...



... the Race Track! Oh, this was the first time Superstar had been to Disney World. Can you see the joy in his face?! :o)



Dr. J (basketball is his sport) is the eldest of the four sibblings. He and G.I. Joe are the same age. They play basketball for the same school. He's a nice young man. I'm glad he and G.I. Joe are friends.


I'm so glad I got a picture of Dee smiling. Turns out she didn't want to go to Disney World. She wanted to go to school. She's a little social butterfly and wanted to be with her friends. Well, she ended up having a great time anyways. :o) How can you not?! After all, it's Disney World... The Happy Place! :o)



This is Giggles first time at the wheel. He LOVED it! LOL! I'm sure he can't wait until he's 15. But he's got a ways to go.



Gent that he is, JC let Soaring Amongst The Clouds drive. Oh, did I mention how cold it was? Well, it was in the low 40's. The sun didn't come out until almost lunch time. Wind was blowing too. So to us native Floridians.... it was FREEZING!!!




Steps was a gent too and let Daughter of the King drive too. Isn't that so sweet. :o)



I'm sure G.I. Joe can't wait until he's REALLY behind the wheels. Wish I could say it'll be a while. He turns 15 next year! YIKES!!! Be still my heart...

Next stop was the Tea Cups. Let me go on record saying, that I LOVE ROLLERCOASTER RIDES and ANYTHING THAT SPINS! But due to my ah... chiari issues, per doctor's orders, I'm not allowed. :o( So, I decided to hurry and take pictures before the ride started...



Four of the Castello dwellers...



Giggles wanted to ride by himself.



I don't think Giggles would of fit here anyway. Good thing he wanted to ride by himself. I took a picture of Soaring Amongst The Clouds, JC, Daughter of the King and Steps, but it didn't turn out. :o(

After the Tea Cups, we headed out to Goofy's Barnyard Ride. That was a big hit too. I went into one of the stores to "thaw out". Brrrr!!!!



It was decided that Splash Mountain was not going to be ridden. I'm sure no explanation is needed. Brrrr..... So we went on to Thunder Mountain.




Can't believe Still Waters got this picture. She turned around while riding, just to get this shot. Not bad! LOL!



I'm so glad this picture turned out. First family picture this year. I really need to take more "family pictures", but it isn't easy!



Group picture! Ok, now everyone smile! Come on now! Help me out... pleeeeease?! Pretty please?!



When we left the Magic Kingdom, we had a compartment on the monorail all to ourselves. Steps decided to lay on the top of the backrest. Once the monorail got going, he fell back. Way to go Steps! Daughter of the King really got a kick out of it. LOL!

By this time is was time for lunch (around 1p). We went to a McDonald's that right on the Disney property. After lunch, Soaring Amongst The Clouds and JC headed back home. JC had to go to work. They also had a viewing to attend after work.

Everyone else went to Hollywood Studios. They all rode, Tower of Terror, Rocking Roller Coaster and Star Tours. We saw the shows The 3-D Muppet Show and Lights, Motor, Action! We walked the entire park. We also saw the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. It was absolutely beautiful! We see it every year and I still find it breathtakingly beautiful!

Well, we practically closed the park down. LOL! We were all very tired puppies. We stopped to eat dinner on the way home. There happen to be a Chick Filet and a Panda Express close by. The few that ordered Chick Filet carried their dinner and ate it at Panda Express. The workers didn't mind since most of us ate Panda Express "cuisine". I had never eaten there. It was pretty good for "express" Chinese food. The serving portions were very big. We even had enough left over for lunch the next day.

We all had a great time. Can't wait for our annual Disney World family trip next year. YEAH!!!

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Facebook Chat

I'm always logged on to facebook and my instant message account. This morning, my G.I. Joe decided to have some fun with his sisters. So he started having a conversation with them (on facebook chat) pretending to be me. This is what transpired...

G.I. Joe (pretending to be me): I like G.I. Joe the best.

Still Waters: ?
Still Waters: huh?
Still Waters: for what?

G.I. Joe (pretending to be me): 4 being so awesome

Still Waters: what did he do?
Still Waters: G.I. Joe is that you?
Still Waters: you stink

G.I. Joe (pretending to be me): no he doesn't

*At this point The Warrior got into it. He got on Still Waters computer and wrote, "you stink" to G.I. Joe. Then she got back on and said...

Still Waters: i didn't write that
Still Waters: nice try


At the same time he was doing the same thing with Daughter of the King. This is what transpired between them...

G.I. Joe (pretending to be me): i like G.I. Joe the best

Daughter of the King: funny G.I. Joe, I know this isn't mom. go do your school work!


End of conversation. LOL!


Have I mentioned lately how much I love my children? Well I do. I love their sense of humor. My cup runneth over...

Monday, December 01, 2008

Tennis Anyone?

Well tennis fever has hit the dwellers of the Castello. Last semester, Soaring Amongst The Clouds took a tennis class. She really enjoyed it. But she really hadn't had a chance to keep playing. Until.... recently. The tennis bug has bit us... and has bit us hard!

On and off for the last 3 weeks our Fair Maidens have been on the tennis courts. Steps and JC have also been bit. Some of their friends from church have also been bit. They have all been having a great time.

Did I mention that my Knight and I use to play tennis? Well we did. We really enjoyed playing too. We stopped playing once we had Soaring Amongst The Clouds. Remember, Still Waters was born 10 months after Soaring Amongst The Clouds. Daughter of the King came 18 months later. I never played again. LOL! I really haven't missed it. But I'm enjoying getting back into the swing of things (pun intended) with our children and friends.

Here are some pictures we took the other day...



I LOVE this man! It's been years since we've played tennis. But it's like riding a bike. It all came back. He was awesome!



Still Waters had never played before. She had a good time though. I'm sure she'll get the "swing" of things. Pun intended. *hee hee hee*



Time to say, "good game". I believe JC and Soaring Amongst The Clouds won. G.I. Joe and The Warrior put up a good fight.



This is probably one of my favorite shots of the day. I love how Soaring Amongst The Clouds is giving her all and she's in the air. TOO KEWEL!!!



JC giving it back to my Knight and Still Waters. JC and Soaring Amongst The Clouds beat my Knight and Still Waters. That's ok, a rematch will take place soon. ;o)



G.I. Joe is a natural born athlete. God has truly blessed him in the athletic "department".



I love being my Knight's partner. We had such fun!



We're taking a breather. We are watching G.I. Joe & The Warrior play against, Soaring Amongst The Clouds & JC. I love spending time with my family.



I thought this was so cute, I just had to share it. Daughter of the King and Steps lost against, G.I. Joe and The Warrior.



He must of had a great shot. The Warrior's smile makes everyone else smile too. It's contagious.

We have had a great time playing tennis. I like tennis cause it's a sport that the entire family can get into. It's also a sport that a couple can do together. Fun for everyone. Can't wait to hit the courts again!