With the first view of Cinderella's castle spurring us on, we braved the massive crowd and attempted to make our way up Main Street. We wanted to get to Fantasy Land...like everyone else...and see if we couldn't find a walk on ride or two to start off the trip...like everyone else...*ahem*
About half way down Main Street Jay realizes he's forgotten his Tar Heels cap...

He is concerned that he will die of heat exhaustion due to this lack of cap-age...
"Babe, I forgot my cap!"
"Uh-oh..." (sometimes I'll answer Jay like I answer the kids, b/c I'm not sure which emotion such a catastrophe calls for...*cough*)
"I need a cap..."
Jay this "thing" about ball caps. When he's in commando mode, he likes to wear his cap...it gives him a sense of being in charge...

or something like that. Sometimes I call his cap his "woobie"...he does not think this is funny...I sort of do...but I didn't want to irritate him so I didn't make mention of it...outloud. But seriously, we have turned the car around and driven 20 minutes back to the house so he can retrieve his woobie...er cap...but I am SO not one to judge on talismans of comfort and such. I have many...many.
Suddenly he's holding a 20 dollar bill out to me...
"And just WHAT are you suggesting mister...and it would be MUCH more if it's what I think..."
He rolled his eyes at me, which was JUST the response I was hoping for,

and said...
"Will you go get me one please? A cap...from the emporium...I need a cap Cam. It's going to drive me nuts if I don't have one. It's hot."
I snapped up the $20 and said
"Okay, but you are aware that as we are in Disneyworld, the cap will probably be Disney character related AND it will probably cost the whole $20...plus tax! If I go and do as you are requesting you will NOT be allowed to yell at me or be annoyed that I spent $20 on a Disney cap that you will never wear again outside of Disney...agreed?"
"Will you PLEASE go get me a cap already?"
I do so love to tease my husband!

And even though I know he has as a "thing" about caps, he was also trying to get into the spirit of things. He was putting his best "Disney self" on. He was MAKING AN EFFORT. Just one of the many reasons I love and adore him! And he's fun to tease...
"Let's GO MissCammie!!! I'll come with you!! Let's go pick out a hat for Daddy!! I'll help!! The GIRLS team is going to go get a hat for you daddy! We'll be right back!"
Sally so loves to be of help! Although her taste in hats for Daddy most likely included rhinestones. I'd have to reign in her some!!
So, off we went, the GIRLS team, in search of a cool hat for Daddy!!
The Emporium is one of my favorite places on Main Street. It's wall to wall Disney STUFF. I love it. There are so many things you don't see at your every day
Disney Store. So many Disney things you NEVER knew you needed until you saw them...like a Mickey Parts oven mitt...obviously his hand is the kind of oven mitt you stick your hand in, and his yellow shoe is a flat, no mitt...mitt. THESE ARE THINGS WE NEED!!! You may be sitting there, thinking I'm nuts...which is true, but you just don't know until you are standing in front of the thing you never knew you needed until you saw it...it's Disney Magic. Just y'all WAIT. You'll know what I mean...
where were we again? Dang those rabbits...
Sally Rally was looking for a hat for Daddy. We headed over the "hat" section in the part of the store closest to the firehouse. There were indeed a lot of HATS. Some were covered in Mickey Mouse, from past to present...some had Donald...some were, as I predicted, covered in rhinestones. Sally the Magpie, drawn to anything that sparkles, immediately grabbed one and said:
"What about this one MissCammie? It's black and it has a SKULL on it! That's for boys right?"
Weeeeelllll...yes dear, it's black...but it's a skull made out of rhinestones..and it's one of those Britney Spears caps...y'all know the ones I mean...can't think of the name at the moment...they look kind of like conductor caps....definitely NOT baseball caps.
"ummm Sally I don't think Daddy wants sparkles..."
"But MissCammie...he MIGHT like it...and if he doesn't then YOU could borrow it...or I could borrow it..."
A-ha! That SallyRally is a sly one. Always looking for an opportunity to "borrow" something she didn't have to spend HER Disney money on...yep...she's no dummy!
But neither is MissCammie...and I'm wicked.
"Sal, if you want that cap, you are free as a bird to buy it!"
"Ummm....no thanks...not with my own money..."
After a few minutes of searching and explaining to Sally that Daddy didn't want Pirate Mickey ears, we finally found one. It was a black baseball cap style that said "Disneyworld" across the front, but it was all in Pirate motif. Very Swashbuckle-y...It wasn't too girly, or cartoonish AND it was only $17.99!
SCORE for the GIRLS TEAM!!!
So we purchased our hat for Daddy and headed back out into the madness to try and find the boys.
they had wandered down the street and were on the corner next to Casey's. Teddy was mesmerized by the crowd of people.Sally ran up to her daddy and presented him with his new, not girly, very manly, still Disney but SUPER COOL cap.
"Here Daddy! Now you'll look just like Captain Jack if Captain Jack wore ball caps and had short hair and took baths!!!"
YEP...just like that!
He gave a good natured smile, declared it the coolest cap he'd ever seen and popped it on his head.
I knew he'd never wear this cap outside of Disneyworld, but he fit right in with the pirate theme for the evening seeing as how he looked just like Captain Jack...if Captain Jack wore ball caps...and had short hair...and took baths!!!
Cap crisis solved, MissCammie was READY FREDDY for a ride!
"Which ride do y'all want to do first?! Peter Pan? or Snow White? or..."
"Winnie the POOH!!!!" they chorused.
What?!

You want to ride WHAT?! The ride that is based on the very bear both children have turned their nose up at on numerous occasions even though their wicked step mother has a deep and enduring affection for him?!
It seems my look conveyed the confusion.
Teddy explained:
"Apparently Pooh is your favorite Bear...so me and Sally had a private talk and decided ON THE PLANE when you got whacked by that rude boy that we would ride Winnie the Pooh first...For YOU!"
I was finding it increasingly IMPOSSIBLE to keep my heavy make up job in place. The kids kept making me CRY! Dang IT!!
And when did Teddy start using words like "Apparently"?!
So Pooh it was. There was a teensy line! YAY! While we waited I noticed that the CM was from Texas. So I asked her which city in Texas she called home. APPARENTLY she thought I asked her what the most annoying moment of her day had been up to this point b/c she answered with:
"This woman...this braindead woman...asked me...you won't believe what she asked me...she asked me if I knew where Cinderellas Royal Table was...I mean what kind of moron doesn't know where Cinderellas Royal Table is?! IT'S IN THE CASTLE...why is it that every dumb person who walks into this park comes to ME to ask the really DUMB questions?!
I could feel Sally scooting herself in behind me. She didn't feel nearly so chatty when presented with a CM who had the disposition of a disgruntled postal worker...
The CM kept talking about all the stupid people she had to deal with each day while I smiled and nodded. She kept talking as she showed us to our honey pots...and as we were swept into the world of Winnie the Pooh.
"MissCammie..."
"Yes Sal..."
"That lady was a little bit GROUCHY".
indeed
here are some scenes from Pooh...b/c we NEED some pics in this installment...
I LOVE Kanga and Roo!!
It was a fun ride. I've always loved it...it's no Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, but it's still fun!! I always look for the urban legend of Mr. Toad handing the deed to the ride to Pooh...but I'm not sure if this really exists. Ah well, one of the many mysteries of Disneyworld!
We were deposited into the dump shop and children ran from here to there exclaiming over all the POOH things they needed. Sally declared that she had "come to love pooh" on the ride and wanted a gigantor pooh for her room. I eyebrow arched her half way and said:
"It's your money kiddo..."
suddenly we didn't love Pooh nearly so much as we had when it was somebody else's money!
Teddy saw the "Pooh Playground" and was beside himself with excitement to go "run and jump on it"!! So we set them free to frolic in Pooh's thoughtful spot.
I LOVE Piglet...love him. Gallant Piglet...my kind of guy!!!
Sally made a friend right away. There was a little girl inside the tree who was trying to get out of the tree but her brother wouldn't let her out. Normally Sally stays out of things that don't have anything to do with her, but for some reason, this situation called for "Super Sally".
She looked around to see if any adults were coming to the rescue. When it was clear that this poor girl had been completely abandoned, Sally set to putting things right.
She put her hands on her hips. Wow, that's usually a stance saved for her most annoyed moments with her brother. She asked the little girl if she needed help. When she got a tearful "My BROTHER wont' let me OUT!" Sally slapped that boy with a "look" and said:
"You let her out RIGHT NOW you...you BROTHER! THIS is Disney and we aren't supposed to make each other cry at DISNEY! It's a RULE!!" She said it with such sass and righteous wrath that I wanted to cheer!!!
Sally took a step forward which caused the offending and somewhat surprised brother to back into the tree, then she grandly told the little girl to come "join the GIRLS team!"
It's a little blurry, but is successfully masks the face of the rescued little girl!
It was a good moment for Sally. She felt powerful. She came running over to me and asked if I had SEEN what had just happened.
"I sure did babe. You were AWESOME!!!!"
"Well sometimes MissCammie you can't let people boss you around and make you cry. Especially BROTHERS. And sometimes when you are little someone big has to help you because THAT is what bigger kids are for! Right MissCammie? Because if you watch someone get bullied it's just as bad as being the bully if you don't help right? And I am NOT a bully...and I'm not rude..."
I was proud of her. I was proud that she was seeing herself as a Big Kid now. I was proud that she was so much like her daddy, willing to stand up for what is right. It gives me hope that she will be able to make it through this rough patch in her life. She's got it in her...she's like her daddy.
Up Next: The Search for Lady Tremaine