When Jay and Teddy returned, Jay took one look at our faces and started laughing. Loudly. Like he couldnt help himself. When he recovered he looked at me and said Let me guess
Minnie Mouse came by?
I had to laugh a little bit too as I nodded my head.
Then Teddy went and did the sweetest thing ever
he saw his sisters face had some tears. So he came around the table to Sally, put his arms around her and said Are you okay sister?
I thought for sure that Sally would at the very least reprimand Teddy for getting in her space, but she surprised me by leaning into his hug a little bit and saying Im okay. Thanks Teddy
Well color me shocked.
Sally and Teddy arent very physical with each other
unless there is a camera around. They hug adults and friends
they would rather be sitting ON someone than next to them
but when it comes to purposeful body contact with each other
not so much. Really not since Sally hit about 7 and Teddy was old enough to derive pleasure from annoying his sister.
Of course this little interaction would be tucked away in my brain and brought out when Sally finds herself at a boiling point with Teddy.
Use what you got is my motto!
After the love fest, Sally and I went up to get our food. There wasnt much that Sally was interested in. Shes had a nervous tummy as of late and her already limited diet was more limited. We ended up with some chicken strips and some veggies. Not too bad overall.
We joined Teddy and Jay and got some food in our hungry bellies! Sally was feeling much better and was all smiles and really seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere. She took her camera out and snapped pictures as characters came by. She and Teddy were both delighted as characters came up to our table!
hugs from their favorite pooch! BIG smile from Teddy!
taking pictures of Pluto!
When Donald Duck headed toward us, Teddy gave a squeal and said "Lookit MissCammie!! Your favorite Duck is almost here!!!"
true indeed!
hugs for Sally from my favorite Duck!!!
At one point Teddy looked at me and said MissCammie, Im telling you
and I really mean this
Chef Mickeys ROCKS!
I agreed wholeheartedly!
Once we finished dinner food, it was time for DESSERT!! But before we could get up, two cupcakes were brought to our table in honor of Jays and my anniversary!! There was napkin waving happiness all around us! Teddy LOVES this kind of thing. Sally got into it too
she insisted that Jay and I kiss b/c you love each other
getting into the spirit!
NOW it was time for dessert. Teddy and Jay got their chocolate fix with some brownies and Mickey Oreos. I think I got in on that Mickey Ear Oreo action as well...seriously...FABULOUS!!! Sally had some vanilla ice cream with gummie bears. She still obsessively counts out the gummie bears to coincide with her age. She excludes any green gummie bears and gives them to her father.
She has done this since she was very small. No one is sure why
least of all Sally. Its just what she does.
A picture of our collective sugar fixes!
Sally was thrilled with the cupcakes but made a point to tell me "MissCammie, your cupcakes are WAY better!"
naturally...
*ahem*
We sat together and got our sugar high and watched the characters as they pranced around the floor. The Grumpy side of me kept an eye on the increasingly wild weather outside.
When it was time to go, we settled up and got ready to head out!
Just as we were leaving, I caught sight of Minnie. She was seemingly whispering something to a CM. Im not sure if this was a handler or not, but she appeared to saying something! Next thing I know, shes scurrying towards us! (I'm glad I saw her doing this...I'm not an over big fan of large characters rushing up behind me...when I'm not prepared I tend to jump and yelp...not so classy...) Minnie ran right to Sally and scooped her up in a great big Mouse hug. (Which I imagine is the mouse version of a Bear Hug!) She sort of danced back and forth a little bit and gave Sally a little shake. She kissed her hand and pressed it once more to Sallys face. Ack
got me all choked up again. Sally was beaming. Minnie gave Teddy a hug as well and ruffled his hair. I thanked Minnie and I hoped that she really caught my look of gratitude. It was heartfelt and very sincere. I think she did because she took my hand and gave it a squeeze. Minnie made a heart with her hands and pointed at Sally. Sally caught the drift.
I love you too Minnie! See you later!
I thanked Minnie once again as we left. She nodded her head at me as we bid her goodbye. I found myself once more very grateful for Disney Magic. It had settled over us, over Sally in particular. We were lifted up and surrounded by that Disney feeling. This moment is the reason I will return to Disney every single chance I get. Its the magic. Its pure and simple and true. The people I love most in this world were sparkling with that magic. That means something to me. Its real and it touches Sallys tender heart in a way that will stay with her forever.
Who needs therapy when you have Disney?!
I know...sappy sappy. Sometimes I can't help myself!
On a side note: I sent a thank you message to Minnie by way of a call to Chef Mickeys. I gave the day and time we were there and I told the manager to thank Minnie for her special attention that day and how much it meant to my Sally. He assured me he knew how great Minnie was and he would certainly tell her of my thanks!
The greatest ending to this moment would have been the sun breaking through the hurricane force winds and rain.
But it didnt.
Oh well. Adversity builds character!
*sigh*
Before heading out into the wilds of the evening, we stopped at the gift shop just outside of Chef Mickeys.
Before anything else however, we had to hit the Penny Smashers!! Our first of the vacation!!
Daddy is handing out the coinage!
Giving Sally some pointers!!
Next stop: GIFT SHOP!!
This trip I made a point to take pictures of gift shops. There is a thread on the Dis dedicated to gift shop pictures. I have to say
those are some of the most fun pictures Ive seen! Its almost as good as being at Disney! So I took out my camera and snapped away as the kids perused and got ideas for things they might like to buy LATER in the trip! They both would have loved to start the spending frenzy. But Im mean and make them wait. Jay is in full agreement. We had a long stretch of vacation in front of us.
I loved saying that
reminding not only the kids, but myself that we had ten days in front of us. Vacation galore. Adventures to come! It was a thrill just to say it!
Clearly this was before Pal Mickey became scarce in stores! We love Pal Mickey!
This wall elicited a squeal from Sally! I believe it sounded like "ZAAAAAC!"
Jay finally announced it was time to get to it. He can only stand browsing for so long before he starts twitching! We needed to head to Magic Kingdom anyhow. Normally Id have been chomping at the bit to get there, but darn that weather and wind. I was seriously afraid Teddy would get blown away if we didnt strap him to us! It was dark and brooding out there!
I dragged my feet some as we made our way to the monorail. There were some really neat-o pop art pics adorning the outside wall of the gift shop. Ive always been a Mickey Parts fan
does that sound weird?
its this stuff:
a handsome face!
love those plates!!
cute cute cute!!
At one point Teddy grabbed my hand and said "MissCammie, aren't you coming?! We have to ride rides!! Here comes the Monorail!!!"
indeed.
We made our way up to the monorail platform and a quick clip and hopped on!
Sally sat between Jay and me and Teddy settled in the seat across from us. The monorail was strangely empty...just a few people here and there. Teddy thought "maybe the sun will come out when we get there, but it's okay if we get wet because we can run in between the drops!"
such an optimistic little thing is Teddy!
Sally gave a sigh and shook her head in a "My little brother is so naive" kind of way!
Teddy is trying to figure out how to "avoid" the rain drops...
As we pulled into the MK station, I handed out the ponchos and said a little prayer and gave Teddy strict instructions about hand holding!
and we were OFF!!
It wasn't actually raining all that hard as we made our way to the entrance. It was windy as all get out though.
Even so...the Disney magic did its work and suddenly it didn't matter a bit that it was dark and brooding outside, or that the wind was blowing mightily around us...we were here! We were fixin to take our first steps into the Magic Kingdom!
We had our bags searched, did our fingerprint thing and that was that.
We were IN!!!
Jay grabbed Teddy's hand and led the way through the little tunnel toward Main Street!
I seriously got chills. I'm such a sucker for that first glimpse. So is Sally. It's her favorite moment.
Sally took my hand and gave it a squeeze.
"There it is MissCammie! The Castle! It's pretty even if it's raining...right? It's still the castle."
She took her camera out and snapped a picture.
It's a little blurry...but it's still pretty...it's the Castle after all!!
and since I've used up my picture allowance, this is a good place to stop!
up next: A wet night at Magic Kingdom!
to you all.
