Good morning! We are back home after another wonderful trip filled with fun memories. We enjoyed staying at "French Porter', and Brooklynn loved the slide! Bella and I hung out on the pool steps while Brooklynn logged many miles of
up the stairs and down the slide activity. Bella loves the water and wiggled with delight when we neared the pool. She knew it was time for fun!
French Quarter is a very nice resort - very calm the whole time we were there. I did notice a difference in the overall age of the guests in comparison to Pop and the All-Stars. I noticed many more middle-aged and older people. I think couples there alone for a mom and dad get-away probably do appreciate the quiet atmosphere and beauty of this resort. We were given a corner room very, very near the main building, so that was nice. Jill had called and told them she was going to be there with a lame woman, two kids, and two strollers, and they had mercy and were gracious to her. If we ever stay there again, we would love Room 4135, but we're certain we would have to pay preferred for that in a normal situation.
We met up with our cousins for most of the day Sunday, hung out at Epcot several hours on Monday, played with them for a little while at The Boneyard on Wednesday, and did
MNSSHP together on Tuesday. It was fun to see their reactions to new Disney things. They are developing a very strong liking for Disney.
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was fun. We got pictures with Mickey and Minnie behind their houses, which were very cutely decorated for Halloween. We saw lots of characters getting their groove on at the dance parties. The Villains Mix & Mingle was cool, and Hallowishes and the Boo to You Parade were as exciting as ever. Along with seeing all of that, we were able to ride Haunted Mansion, the Teacups, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Buzz (3 times). We left the park with the masses at midnight.
We enjoyed several goodies at the Food & Wine Festival. It was a beautiful day to walk around Epcot.
We had four Dis meets. We met up with
Katie and Patrick at Haunted Mansion.
Poolrat found us taking pictures in front of the train station before park opening and then we met up again later, where she gave Brooklynn a pack of glow necklaces to enjoy at parade time.
reelmom surprised us at Magic Kingdom as I was snapping a castle show picture for Dawn. It was great to meet her, and so neat that we just happened to be at the same spot at the same time!

Then we met up with
mickeyfan71 and her daughter at T-Rex yesterday. They were just beginning their trip as we were ending ours. Every Diser we have met has just been so nice! We hope to meet more of you on future trips.
We did have to go back to the room every day for naps or the girls would not have made it. If Bella was awake, I would walk her while Brooklynn got to sleep, and then she'd go back and go to sleep. While they were both asleep, Jill got a rare minute to walk around the gift shop alone, get a drink from the food court, and read a magazine. I really want to take her back at the very least for a long weekend without the girls. It would be nice for her to be able to get only herself ready, as well as get on and off the bus without the strollers and extras that come with little ones. I know she would not want to be away from the girls for very long, so I thought maybe she could leave work early on a Thursday, so she'd only have to take one day off, drive up here to catch a flight, and we'd have Thurday evening, two full days Friday and Saturday, and then we'd get a decent flight, like our 6:40 one this time, on Sunday. The girls would be in school Thursday and Friday, John could bring them up here to have Trent's help on Saturday, and then Sunday would be a good day for John's parents to meet him in Nashville for one of their zoo visits. That sounds like something that could work, and I know it would make John realize how much Jill does every day, so it would be good for him. It would be good for Jill to get away to her favorite place and just be able to be Jill and not wife and mommy for a short time. Not that she needs a lot of convincing, but if you guys want to help encourage her toward that, I'll take your help. I had said I would not be doing a spring break trip, but for this, I would find the money to make it work. We could do grown-up things and see the Flower & Garden Festival, too.
I took pictures, but I also did a lot of video. Jill made fun of me, rightly so, because I would forget to turn it off, so I had a lot of film of my leg, the floor, etc., too. I would forget it was on video and go to take a picture, so there are several three second clips of me saying
'oops' and then turning it off to change over to the regular picture setting.
Jill has to work this morning, but I still have two days off. I have some school work to do, and I need to rest this knee a lot. The boys did a great job with the house, so all I have to do is unpack and wash clothes. I'll get all of my souvenirs together and take a picture to show soon.
Okay, I've got to get started on this day. No one will be cooking for me today or making my bed. I will miss the jazz music in the air as I walk outside this morning. No plastic alligators playing musical instruments will line my path down the driveway. I will be picturing children splashing around in the pool at POFQ today. Our cousins will spend their last half-day and will be flying in on the 6:40 flight tonight. I know they have created magical memories, as well. The mom of that bunch was already talking about coming back with her husband for their 30 year anniversary in January.

I think they are getting hooked. They'll never be like us, but I think Disney World is going to be a regular part of their vacation planning in the future. They will probably do the every 2-3 year thing at the very least, but I won't be surprised if it's even more than that.
Anyway, we had a great time, and we hope you enjoyed the pictures from Trent's Facebook. Thanks for being there with us. It was fun to share it with you, and when the summer trip report is over, we'll get started on this one. I have much catching up to do on your reports, too. I can't wait to share in your trip fun, as well!