Hey y'all!! I am trying to be a bit more prompt with the chapters! I so appreciated all the nice comments. I read them all I just haven't had the time to reply just yet. The schedule hasn't slowed down *THAT* much! soon I hope!!! Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!!
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Once we set Steve free, it was time head indoors...to the air conditioning. i was fixing to fall down dead if we didn't get out of the sticky ick air that I could feel sliding past my face as I walked. Ick. That kind of air makes everything feel damp...which is almost as irritating as being wet...which I do NOT like.
didn't Florida know I was coming?!
*ahem*
Once inside there was really only one place to go to keep young minds stimulated without the use of a television...which I DO try to limit...especially on vacation. Never mind the fact that if we'd sat down, I'd have been OUT in seconds flat. I don't think any of y'all will be surprised to know that I am not a big fan of open air public sleeping. Talk about no control. It did not help that I went to a college in which fraternity brothers found it HILARIOUS to draw all over people when they made the most unfortunate choice to fall asleep anywhere but in a bedroom...with permanent marker...sharpies to be exact...usually green. Aren't fraternity pranks funny. ha ha. ha...
OR the time my older sister went to a slumber party and was the first one to fall asleep. The MEANEST girl in the WORLD...you know who you are...TABITHA LOUISE DAVIS...*ahem* stuffed potato chip crumbs up my sisters nose and she ended up with PNEUMONIA b/c she got a potato chip in her LUNG.
seriously...people are evil. I mean, who does things like that?! If my sisters or me had EVER treated a guest in our home that way...well we never would have. There would have been torture and bread and water involved...
wait...what were we talking about?
OH yes...trip report...SO...we did NOT sit...we found our way to the Zawadi Marketplace and got our shopping groove on!!!
This place was AWESOME. It was huge and colorful and filled with all the bright and wonderful things that so attract Sally and me to shopping! Sally is a Magpie and loves sparkles of any kind...lots of that here...there were framed paintings and prints and books (my fAVORITE thing to shop for EVER), tons of clothes and bags and all manner of African crafts and knickity knack stuff. Not to mention the abundance of Disney loveys (as I tend to call them...stuffed animals were loveys to me when I was little...I still call stuffed animals loveys...even though the children mock me...little urchins!). There were tons of Mickey Ears...and Minnie Ears...and hats of all shapes and sizes. There was also a very decent display of PINS!!! The kiddies did not know this yet, but Jay and I had gotten them both pin starter sets. We created a shrewd little pin trading monster in Sally by the time this trip was done. As I am also a packrat of the highest order, pin trading...well more collecting...was very much an activity I was happy engaging in!
The Zawadi Market was pretty much Disney HEAVEN!! Especially for weary travelers who only just arrived and needed a bright colorful shot of Disney Magic!
I am fairly sure I heard Jay groan as we entered the large space of shopping and browsing excess! He was a good sport though...and is actually VERY helpful on shopping trips!
Before I let anyone disperse, I reminded both the kids NOT to put hats on their heads...until MissCammie had done a once over with my pocket sticky roller.
what?
bugs are NOT our friend.
Doesn't everybody do this?
*ahem*
The kids promised and Jay laughed. I also reminded both kids to stay where they could see me or Daddy. Another round of promises...
and away they went.
Sally giving Stitch a cuddle...apparently she's forgiven him for the chili dog burp incident from last summer...
Bags and tees!!
on this particular trip I took A LOT of pictures of the different shops. Pictures of the merchandise and pictures of the stores in general. I never realized just how much is going on over our heads in the stores. There are some amazing displays. It's a whole level of magic I missed b/c I was always looking around but never up! I highly recommend making it a point to really look at the displays that tend to be up near the ceiling when you are in the stores. It adds to the magic y'all! Really. I was amazed.
Fun animal print dishes!
Wild animal loveys! The
crocs and the tigers are pillow pals!
Sally is a Disney Bride!
and a princess...bride...
This excess of Disney marketing was the final push for cautious, careful Sally to become Disney Sally. Each minute that passed was another minute that Sally relaxed a little bit more. The room filled with cigar smoke was no longer THAT big a deal. She wasn't worrying about what would come next, what problems might arise, what bad thing may be lurking around the corner...she was just Sally...the carefree nine year old girl who delights in sparkly shoes and pretending to be a bride or a princess...and it's all okay. Whatever it is, it's okay...because we are at Disney...and it doesn't matter if it's raining or our plans aren't exactly perfect...we made it to Disney. We were all standing inside our dream, we were all together and it was okay to smile and breathe deep and just be.
I loved watching her. Sally is often the one who reminds me why we come here.
At one point I was taking a picture of Sally and Jay together...both facing the camera and smiling. At the last second she turned and threw her arms around Jay and said "Thank you Daddy for Disney. I am so happy here!"
I was glad to have captured the moment. (I know the glasses are wonky...couldn't un-wonk them!) Of course Jay is talking...when he is supposed to be smiling...and NOT talking...it's not a video Jay!
notice too that Jay was wearing his anniversary button! He's very committed to the anniversary button!
Let's not forget about Teddy, who is always a joyful soul! He was greatly enjoying his findings. He proceeded to find the NOISIEST thing possible and he went. to. town.
I knew as soon as I heard the noise that it was Teddy. I let him make his noise...for about 10 seconds...about five seconds longer than I normally allow. I turned toward the noise with full intention to STOP it...but I saw that Jay was of a similar mindset as he was already on his way over to redirect Teddy to a less obnoxious pursuit.
Now y'all...don't judge. I know he's a little boy and they have a tendency to be noisy. And that's fine...but there is a time and a place for noise. Inside an enclosed space in a store or anywhere else there are other people is NOT the time or place. Even at Disney. After ten seconds, whatever noise that is being made is just obnoxious and unnecessary and inconsiderate to fellow shoppers. I realize in this day and age there is a "He's a child let him do as he pleases" philosophy. I don't buy that. At all. Neither does Jay. Kids need to be respectful of others...which they are capable of doing by age 3!
*MissCammie steps off her soapbox*
*ahem*
AND As Teddy's wicked step mother, it is my job to ruin all his fun and stop obnoxious noise making.
that's called setting limits.
and being wicked.
which is my favorite thing.
I was much pleased when Teddy decided on a much less noisy endeavor.
Being a lion!
or Stitch! (which SO fits Teddy's personality. If he was a Disney cartoon he would be Stitch HANDS DOWN!) Notice Sally in the background!
Sally got in on the act too...(my sticky roller was MUCH smaller by the time we left! But we didn't have any head bugs join us on our trip!) wooHOO!
Seriously...Sally was a walking talking billboard for Disney merchandise! She walked around the store in princess ears and lion heads...she carried tote bags as she wandered. It was pretty cute. Mostly b/c in the real world Sally would NEVER ever do anything in public that would draw attention to her in any way. At all. Disney Sally can relax and just be a kid.
at one point Jay took the camera from me as Sally was presenting me with a pair of Minnie Bride ears. Hmmm...conspiracy...I like to be the BOSS of picture taking...I'm not a very good picture subject. I only include this picture b/c Sally looks so cute...and brown. Look at that child compared to my white Irish self...and that is with an airbrush spray tan that I paid way too much for! There is just no tanning this pale Irish girl. AT all.
The kids really had a wonderful time in Zawadi Marketplace. As much as we love and adore our precious Wilderness Lodge, even Sally had to agree that Zawadi Marketplace had one up on The Mercantile at WL.
Finally FINALLY it was time for our room...our new and better be smoke free room...was cleaned and ready for us!
Just in time too...b/c the kids Disney money was starting to burn a hole in their mental pockets (b/c Daddy carries the money!) and they were beginning the "Can I buy this...with my money or your money" dance. We'd made a rule when the trip started that our first few days we would LOOK and MissCammie would write down (Naturally!) whatever fabulous thing was desired. Later on we would come back to it if the object was still very much wanted.
Sally surprised me by asking if she could open the door again. It's that Disney air she was breathing...b/c I was 110% sure that Sally wouldn't go anywhere NEAR our room (never mind the door!) until we had all been issued HAZMAT suits and the place had been scouted and scoured and totally sanitized.
But Sally was feeling good. She was feeling brave. She was willing to forgive and ready to try again.
Jay handed her the room card and we set off in search of our room!
Marching bravely into the unknown!
Disney feet in the elevator! (Jay gets after ME for poor posture...um hello pot, I'm Kettle...!)
Our room was a bit of a hike...long hallways...elevator ride...twists and turns...but it wasn't bad once we got the hang of our route. As we walked Teddy commented that this was like hiking...but inside...with no bugs!
indeed Teddy!
finally finally we made it to our room. Sally literally got down on her knees and sniffed under the door!
Once she was satisfied that there was no smoke, she put the card in the lock and opened the door.
then she jumped backwards like there was fire in the room and said,
"okay...MissCammie you can check. We'll wait in the hall."
thanks.
I did just that.
There was no smoke.
YAY!!
from the hallway Sally called out "Are you using the Lysol wipes now? And the spray? Don't forget the spray!"
seriously...I don't know WHERE she gets this odd germ phobia.
I don't.
at all.
*ahem*
Although I was fairly certain this room was super extra cleaned...less than five minutes ago, I did indeed wipe down...pretty much everything. I started with the remote for the TV and the phone. Ugh...y'all don't even want to IMAGINE the colonies of disgustingness that live on phones and tv remotes.
When I'd done a good once over, I declared the room ready to enter.
Teddy came bouncing in first.
He was thrilled to find a Towel Mickey Head on the big bed!
Sally trailed in after her daddy...sniffing away at the air. I gave her half and eyebrow arch and said,
"Sally...this room is clean...like Daddy cleaned it clean. It is completely sanitized and germ free and no one has EVER ever smoked anything in this room. EVER. So that means you can stop worrying about what happened before...or even thinking about it. We're not going to give rule breaking smokers one second of our vacation. Got it?"
Sally thought it over.
Then gave a very bright smile and pretended to throw away her worry into the garbage can.
"Good Girl...now check out that bed kiddo!"
She scooted up the ladder onto the top bunk. She bounced around a little and declared it good.
Teddy was happy with his bed as well. Next thing I know, he's running over to the sliding glass doors. I was bracing myself for the disappointed questions of "Where are the animals?!"
What came out of his mouth was a high pitched squeal of excitement!!
"WE CAN SEE THE POOL!!!!!!"
seriously. He was over the moon happy to be able to see the pool. He did a little happy dance where he stood.
I love Teddy. He can always make lemonade out of lemons.
Sally followed after him and was equally delighted with the view of the pool! She whipped around and asked when they could go swimming!
Teddy gave another cry of delight and said "A ZEBRA!!"
what? where?
I mean OF COURSE! Didn't I promise animals outside our room? No promises broken here! All was well. see how things work out? yay!
I was incredibly relieved that the kids were so thrilled with our view of the pool. I honestly didn't care either way as long as there was no smoke in the room. We had been refunded for the loss of the view AND given an envelope that contained $100 Disney dollars. (which we had not opened until we got to the room. I thought it was more paperwork type stuff...boy was I wrong!) Wow. Jay is always really uncomfortable with that sort of thing. He is never looking to get more than he paid for or expected. He just wants things to be the way they are supposed to be. In his reasoning, Disney Dollars did not make up for the distress caused to his daughter...to all us. He doesn't want money for "our inconvenience". He doesn't want there to be any inconvenience in the first place! So, in all his Type A glory, he was about to leave the room to return the Disney dollars...but before he could get out the door I tackled him to the ground, put him in a headlock and ripped the envelope out of his hand. Then I thumped him on the head for being bull headed and shouted in his ear "ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
Okay...I didn't really do that. but I DID stand in front of the door and stomp a little bit on his foot...for emphasis.
here's why.
I understand Jay's thought process. I agree that Disney Dollars don't make up for the earlier distress...but dang it we lost our view of the animals through no fault of our own...there was disgusting smoke in our room...and the kids had been upset...but they had handled themselves and the disappointment very well. I thought it would go a long way with Sally to see that sometimes when people are flexible and able to handle change in a polite and controlled way...there can be pixie dust as a result. Not always...but sometimes being polite can have unexpected benefits. And really...if people are going to hand over a little pixie dust, I say we gather it up and use it while we are inside the magic!
Jay made a face at me...but he knew I was right.
naturally!
So...to recap...we arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge. There was a nasty surprise...tears...animal explorations...a frog named Steve...some retail therapy...a pool view...lots of smiles...a teeny bit of violence...and some pixie dust.
I'd say our Disney vacation was officially started!
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And you're a great mom.
