"Hello? I'm in the Carousel of Progress.."*UD1/13pg74"All Good Things...*

[longing2Batdisney]

how fun! back to school!!! and you have joined the High schoolers club! my baby is a SR. & all at the same time....I'm sure I will take it hard will Ashton goes to Kindergarten. when do your kids get out that they start soooo late in the year....our poor kids have to go back a slight bit earlier every year! Soon they will be starting in July at this rate

great smiles and pictures!!! wonderful memories...

 

[mommytothreeboys]

First off....love the pictures of your boys going back to school! So cute! I have one in 3rd grade this year as well.....pains my heart to think about it! Growing up is hard on moms!! I hope they have a great school year!

It really is tough on us moms! My BABY is in 3rd grade.

Secondly, love the update! I can understand the lady's frustration with the line situation, but she should have just grumbled to her own self and left it at that! She was not setting a good example for her child, that's for sure! Such a shame....

I agree...it was definitely a bad situation, but her reaction was over the top. (Jeff says I didn't do it justice when I wrote about it!) Like you said...keep it to yourself, or go complain to the appropriate people at the appropriate time.

The pool looks like a lot of fun! Love the cannonball pics!

I do too...I love that I caught them mid-air!

Looking forward to hearing all about the EMH at Epcot!

Sara

Soon I hope!

Great pictures of the boys going back to school, Missy!!

Ahh...love the one of Isaiah and Jonah hugging!! Brotherly Love.Hmm... I know you need to capture those moments when you can because they don't come around very often as they are getting older. (at least at my house, anyway )

I hear ya!

My boys started school last Thursday. I now have a 1st and 4th grader. Where does the time go??

So true about your last picture!!

I'm not really sure where the time goes, but it seems to be going there FASTER and FASTER every year!

Awww! Love the back-to-school pics!! Time does fly!! I still can't believe that Ally started Kindergarten this year!!

I remember when Dan started Kindergarten...it FLIES by! Enjoy being able to dress her up and pick her clothes and hold her hand.....it won't last forever.

I enjoyed your update. The Soarin' situation doesn't sound like it would be fun for anyone. I am glad you all got to ride it though. It sounds like you all were having a FULL day, I don't think I could make it until midnight after the day you've had. I will be waiting to see how your late evening goes.

LOL! We're pretty tough...we definitely scheduled in more down time this trip, but we really like to go, go, go!

I'm joining in late but I'm coming along for the ride. i just read your entire TR so far! Great report. I can't believe all the luck your family has with finding lost items!!!

I'm glad you joined in!

What a handsome bunch of boys. Mine went back on Tuesday and it wasn't a day too soon!

I know how that feels! And thanks for the compliment on the boys..I think they're pretty handsome too!

how fun! back to school!!! and you have joined the High schoolers club! my baby is a SR. & all at the same time....I'm sure I will take it hard will Ashton goes to Kindergarten. when do your kids get out that they start soooo late in the year....our poor kids have to go back a slight bit earlier every year! Soon they will be starting in July at this rate

great smiles and pictures!!! wonderful memories...

The boys did not get out of school until June 24th. They always go until the end of June and start the week of Labor Day.

The first day of school pictures are a tradition...Dan will just have to suck it up and play along for a few more years!

 

[Incredimom3]

Missy, Thanks for the update. We leave in one week for our trip. I can't wait. It's so hard to think of anything else....and there's so much to think about. Our oldest started high school this year, too. My girls are in 5th, 7th and 9th grade, but we homeschool so things are a little different. Still, it felt strange to send Katie off to the Youth building at church. It seems just yesterday that she was a preschooler. Tomorrow, my middle daughter will be 13! My sweet girls are growing up, but they still enjoy having fun with their family. I'm so thankful! I hope your boys have a wonderful year in school. And, thank you for the great report. You've added to my anticipation. I can hardly wait to dip my toes into the pool on Ole' Man Island...

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Pardon the brief interruption in this TR. I got a new computer!!!!
Jeff is still working on transferring all my pics, etc from the old, piece-o-junk computer so I need to wait until everything is all set up.

Thanks for your continued patience!!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Missy, Thanks for the update. We leave in one week for our trip. I can't wait. It's so hard to think of anything else....and there's so much to think about. Our oldest started high school this year, too. My girls are in 5th, 7th and 9th grade, but we homeschool so things are a little different. Still, it felt strange to send Katie off to the Youth building at church. It seems just yesterday that she was a preschooler. Tomorrow, my middle daughter will be 13! My sweet girls are growing up, but they still enjoy having fun with their family. I'm so thankful! I hope your boys have a wonderful year in school. And, thank you for the great report. You've added to my anticipation. I can hardly wait to dip my toes into the pool on Ole' Man Island...

Wow...homeschooling 3 almost teenagers! You go MOM!

Are you uber-excited for your trip? You'll have to write a TR so we can all live through you!

Happy TEENAGER to your middle daughter!

 

[cjackearl]

A new computer!!Congratulations Missy. We'll be patient.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Great back to school pictures Missy!! Ah yes... the bus! I've been driving them in so far this year but Zachary thinks he wants to try the bus... we'll see - drop off hasn't been going very well, with the exception of the last two days.

Congrats on the new computer!! I'll be here when you are ready!

 

[mousescrapper]

The boys look great going back to school and love the pic of you and Jonah and I spy a Mickey shirt...

 

[littlezar]

Hope the boys have a great school year! My oldest 3 are in the same grades as yours. I knew they were all around the same age, but wasn't sure on the grades. My freshman loves the high school and the only thing that he's a little concerned about is that his Spanish teacher said the little bit of English she spoke on the first day (going over expectations, supplies, etc) is the most English they'll hear her speak all year! It's his 2nd year taking Spanish so I'm sure he'll be ok!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hey Missy! Great pictures of the boys starting school. I always have to take a "first day of school" picture. It's a tradition.

Congrats on getting a new computer.......and it's not even Christmas!

 

[Incredimom3]

Wow...homeschooling 3 almost teenagers! You go MOM!

Are you uber-excited for your trip? You'll have to write a TR so we can all live through you!

Happy TEENAGER to your middle daughter!

We are absolutely thrilled to be going back. Thanks for the birthday congratulations! My husband came up with the most wonderful birthday party idea we've ever had. Last night, we took my daughter and 5 of her closest friends to the mall. We gave them each $20 and let them shop! I wish someone would do that for me... She was so happy. I'm not writing a trip report, but my DD14 just started a PTR called Our Incredible Family Vacation on the Trip Report board. She'd welcome readers. It took us 6 days to learn how to post a picture, but we finally did it!

 

[hhockman]

Love the Back to School pictures Missy. We participate in that tradition too. This was my very first year where my boys started on the same day. It was weird. Christian almost didn't start the same day as Will. He was supposed to start two weeks later, but then we switched him from his old preschool to the state PreK and we very luckily got a spot and he started the same day as Will...August 4th. I can't even imagine Christian going to 3rd grade...and I don't want to! Thankfully I have a few more years.

on the new computer. That's awesome. Can't wait to see more pictures.

Incredimom3, maybe I'll see you. We are apparently leaving on the same day and going to the same place. We leave Friday. My boys are 4 and 7 though, so our kids are just slightly different. LOL

Looking forward to EMH at EPCOT (we're planning to do it too)!

 

[Mommy2BnB]

Jumping in to say I'm enjoying your trip report and can't wait to read more!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

A new computer!!Congratulations Missy. We'll be patient.

So sweet! Thanks Christine!

Great back to school pictures Missy!! Ah yes... the bus! I've been driving them in so far this year but Zachary thinks he wants to try the bus... we'll see - drop off hasn't been going very well, with the exception of the last two days.

Congrats on the new computer!! I'll be here when you are ready!

I have a love/hate relationship with the bus! I love that it is so convenient, but if there is trouble to be had, it will be on the bus! Hope things are going better for Zach.

The boys look great going back to school and love the pic of you and Jonah and I spy a Mickey shirt...

Oohh...you are good! I am wearing a Mickey shirt!

Hope the boys have a great school year! My oldest 3 are in the same grades as yours. I knew they were all around the same age, but wasn't sure on the grades. My freshman loves the high school and the only thing that he's a little concerned about is that his Spanish teacher said the little bit of English she spoke on the first day (going over expectations, supplies, etc) is the most English they'll hear her speak all year! It's his 2nd year taking Spanish so I'm sure he'll be ok!

Dan is in his 2nd year of Spanish as well. So far he is enjoying high school....I just can't believe I have a HS freshman!

Hey Missy! Great pictures of the boys starting school. I always have to take a "first day of school" picture. It's a tradition.

Congrats on getting a new computer.......and it's not even Christmas!

I love tradition! I will have a first day of school pic for each boy for every year of school...that will make a great scrapbook!

My old computer was so bad that I was afraid it was going to die and I'd lose all of our info/data/pictures etc. It kept shutting down, freezing ALL the time....BAD news. Although I hated to spend the money on a new one, it had to be done. Now that I have it, I LOVE IT!!

We are absolutely thrilled to be going back. Thanks for the birthday congratulations! My husband came up with the most wonderful birthday party idea we've ever had. Last night, we took my daughter and 5 of her closest friends to the mall. We gave them each $20 and let them shop! I wish someone would do that for me... She was so happy. I'm not writing a trip report, but my DD14 just started a PTR called Our Incredible Family Vacation on the Trip Report board. She'd welcome readers. It took us 6 days to learn how to post a picture, but we finally did it!

That is a fantastic idea for a party! Good thinkin' DH!

I'll have to pop over and read your daughter's TR. Cool that she's writing it!

Love the Back to School pictures Missy. We participate in that tradition too. This was my very first year where my boys started on the same day. It was weird. Christian almost didn't start the same day as Will. He was supposed to start two weeks later, but then we switched him from his old preschool to the state PreK and we very luckily got a spot and he started the same day as Will...August 4th. I can't even imagine Christian going to 3rd grade...and I don't want to! Thankfully I have a few more years.

on the new computer. That's awesome. Can't wait to see more pictures.

Incredimom3, maybe I'll see you. We are apparently leaving on the same day and going to the same place. We leave Friday. My boys are 4 and 7 though, so our kids are just slightly different. LOL

Looking forward to EMH at EPCOT (we're planning to do it too)!

Epcot EMH coming right up!

Jumping in to say I'm enjoying your trip report and can't wait to read more!

Hi and

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I was SO excited for late EMH at Epcot! We had only done one evening EMH on our last trip and that was at AK which closes early anyway, so this would be our first “late night” at Disney. And at our very favorite park…so exciting!

We arrived back at Epcot from our afternoon at the pool around 8:00 pm. Our first order of business was to head to Morocco to get dinner to go for Jeff and I. People were beginning to find spots for Illuminations as we made our way through the WS. We planned to watch it another night, so we made a beeline to Morocco and got in line for our food. Tangierine Café is one of my favorite CS places in all of Disney! Jeff got the chicken and lamb platter and I got the chicken platter. We both got baklava for dessert…YUMMM! We grabbed our plates, juggled our drinks and desserts, and began to make our way to the UK for fish fry for the boys. My receipt from the Yorkshire Fish Shop says we got our food at 9:10pm. The nice thing about eating during Illuminations is that the food stands are EMPTY and we were able to grab a nice table on the sidewalk outside of the Rose and Crown Pub. We sat down to enjoy our late dinner to the sounds of Illuminations in the background! The boys loved their fish and chips…the one complaint was that the choices of dessert at the fish shop are VERY limited. They got packaged shortbread cookies which they were not all that impressed with. Jeff and I thoroughly enjoyed our food from the Tangierine Café…as usual!

We stayed at our table as Illuminations finished and waited for the crowd heading out of the WS to go by us. As the crowds began to thin, we made our way to the first stop of the night….Canada! Now, some background….my oldest son LOVES Canada and all things Canadian. I can’t really explain it, but he always has. Kinda strange, but we live only an hour and a half from the border so at least if he decides to live there someday, he’ll be close!

All my pictures for this installment were taken at night..the quality is not the greatest, but Epcot at night is really beautiful and I’m glad I got to take these.

The boys in front of the Bambi topiary.

Once in Canada, we had to take this one!

We wanted to see the O Canada movie so we headed in to see when we could catch the next show. We waited about 10 minutes and then they ushered us into the 360 theater. Martin Short is a hoot! Canada is a beautiful country…we only see the eastern part of the country living where we do, so it was cool to see the different provinces. I’m glad we took the time to check out the movie!

Next stop…back to the UK to explore! We hit the little toy shop, browsed the Beatles memorabilia (Jeff is a big Beatles fan) and of course took this picture!
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The little street bathed in the streetlights.

My favorite…Earl Grey!

As we head out of the UK and over the bridge, we entered France. We went into the gift shop in the back so Jonah could get his “charm” for his mask.

Not much was open here so we sat and took these pictures in front of the beautiful fountain.

I just want to mention here that late EMH at Epcot is so nice! At least in the WS the crowds were non-existent. We strolled from country to country, explored the shops, talked to the CM’s. The one thing we missed by doing the WS at night was seeing characters, but we had another full day and ½ at Epcot so we knew we’d have more opportunities.

The next stop on our late night tour was MOROCCO! This is our favorite pavilion in the World Showcase. I love all the detail in the streets and the shops. I took LOTS of pictures here so bear with me!

We decided on this trip that it was necessary to pass the fez tradition down to the next generation! For those of you who did not read my PTR, a bit of history. Jeff and I went to WDW on our honeymoon and fell in love with the WS and Morocco especially. I have a silly pic of Jeff making a funny face wearing a fez in the gift shop. In 2007 when we returned, I have a similar picture of myself. Now it was the boys’ turn…..here are all three pics for your enjoyment!

Jeff was able to strike up a lengthy conversation with the CM who was manning the Kidcot station in this shop.

I LOVE how detailed these shops are!

And this room is gorgeous with all the tiling.

(continued in next post)

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Still in Morocco!

One with and one without flash. (Sorry…liked them both!)

Sadly, we left Morocco and headed in the direction of Japan. We wanted to take some time to look around the toy museum, so that’s where we went first.

I love that you can see Jonah’s reflection in the glass in this picture!

It was now about 11:15 and most of the gift shops were closing, so we exited Japan and decided to go to the American pavilion and try to catch the final showing of the American Adventure. By now the WS was virtually empty except for a few of us diehards! We did not see the American Adventure show on our last trip, but I had heard good things about it and figured it would be a good way to end the long day. We entered the building and sat for about 10 minutes before the CM led us up the escalators and into the theater.

We had our pick of seats and the CM made jokes about moving to the end of the aisle! LOL! The show was fantastic! Both of the older boys enjoyed it, but poor Jonah was just too tired out and ended up sleeping through most of the show.

It was very close to midnight as we walked toward the front entrance of Epcot…going through an empty Italy, Germany, China, Norway and Mexico on the way. One thing I noticed with the lack of crowds and distractions was how the background music changed as you walked from one country to the next. SO cool! It’s one of those little things that makes Disney awesome!

These aren’t great, but I wanted to post a pic or two of a completely empty WS.

I took this next picture at 12:04 am. Good-bye Epcot! We’ll return tomorrow! (Or later today as the case may be!)

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

OOOH...I would love to do WS at night!!! DD just isn't quite old enough to handle the EMHs though

 

[mom2mek]

Great updates Missy! Those fez pictures had me totally laughing out loud - how crazy is it that your oldest looks so much like your hubby! Love the Taz fashion that he is rocking! So funny!

WS for EMH sounds really beautiful! It is such a beautiful part of the park anyway, but at night it is simply gorgeous!

Sara

 

[cjackearl]

Ahh, Epcot at night. Meandering through the WS, checking out all of the movies and details that are easy to miss when crowds are in the way. Great way to end the day!

How funny that your family did the same thing ours did for CS in the WS. Mom and Dad-Tangeriene Cafe Kids-Yorkshire County, although we also had a Japanese meal thrown in there. Eating around the World sure is fun!

Oh my, the fez pictures! Your DH looks like he's Dan's age in that first picture! How cute that you've got the matching photos through the years. I love those traditions.

 

[mommytothreeboys]

OOOH...I would love to do WS at night!!! DD just isn't quite old enough to handle the EMHs though

Someday!

Great updates Missy! Those fez pictures had me totally laughing out loud - how crazy is it that your oldest looks so much like your hubby! Love the Taz fashion that he is rocking! So funny!

Yeah...he was wearing some crazy outfit...goofball! Glad you enjoyed the pictures....they make me laugh to this day!

WS for EMH sounds really beautiful! It is such a beautiful part of the park anyway, but at night it is simply gorgeous!

Sara

All the little villages and courtyards all lit up was really breathtaking. I'm so glad we chose to do WS at night.

Ahh, Epcot at night. Meandering through the WS, checking out all of the movies and details that are easy to miss when crowds are in the way. Great way to end the day!

I agree....we always feel rushed through WS and we didn't this time! It was so nice!

How funny that your family did the same thing ours did for CS in the WS. Mom and Dad-Tangeriene Cafe Kids-Yorkshire County, although we also had a Japanese meal thrown in there. Eating around the World sure is fun!

You know it! I need to try that French pastry shop next time!

Oh my, the fez pictures! Your DH looks like he's Dan's age in that first picture! How cute that you've got the matching photos through the years. I love those traditions.

He really does look young, doesn't he? We were only 22....babies!! I love traditions too and this one just cracks me up!