First, may I thank you all for reading AND for your very kind heartfelt words about my family and my Granny? You have sincerely touched me. Shrek and A have read them too and we appreciate you! I will unfold the rest of Granny's story as I write the rest of the report but I really wanted to share the Illuminations night as a separate story and tell you of the emotion and sidebar of what we carried into and with us on the trip.
Jaycns~That night was the worst. It was also the most memorable.
Suzflee~I wish I could just remember that every day: Granny is usually right! Thank you!
NM~Live Out Loud.
Indeed, my friend. 85? I don't do yardwork now!
Kimmie~Mad love. No tears.
Bibbidi~Maybe I am missing something with the gardening. That is a great story about your father, and I am so glad you are still enjoying time with him! It sounds like your grandmother knows what you need.
Grammy~Join the club about Shrek
GA Cat~It is life that is overwhelming. Why do we need to be reminded how fleeting it is?
IluvXU~It feels good to write, especially when I have such kind people reading!
Momof2princess~Thank you!! It is good to see you!
Timon~Cool smilies! I'm glad you are here!
Katy Belle~Hi my ex-pat friend! How are things on the other side of the world?
princessjv~Me too. That was the BEST. If I hadn't been right there, I might have never had that feeling, you know? Thanks!
PrincessV~Thank you. My heart and family are very very blessed with a rich life and a blessed assurance!
praisehisname~Oh Denise, I am sorry. We are never ready! Thank you.
OK, I am back to the middle of the day Saturday when we left MK just after I got the call(s) about Granny's downturn, so remember this was all going on (we were still enjoying our vacation!) that same day. We are back in real time!!
When we left the busy Magic Kingdom Saturday afternoon for Shrek and Cledus nap times, we had tallied four meltdowns. The meltdowns increase with heat and as the day wears on, so we usually dont tune up our radar until about 3:00 most days.
Some days we had some surprises; that day was one of them. Mustve been a full moon.
You can announce on the bus and elevator that you want to take a nap and you can invite anyone you want to take a rest before a busy evening in Disney World. More than likely, however, on a sunny (if chilly) day in Florida, especially if you havent worn your swimwear in six months and you are pale and starved for chlorine, youre gonna laugh at your old Dad and turn away for this:
The Fixers and Gatelatches arrived on the fifth floor to find Mousekeeping had not made it to our rooms yet. As the boys were getting into swimsuits and the dads getting tucked in for naps, I met the CookMaster in the hall where she was having a broken-English conversation with a Mousekeeper.
MKeeper: 5:00?
CMaster: Yes, I think well be out of our rooms by 5:00, right Fixer?
Me: We should be, or close to it. We certainly can. Le Cellier is at 5:50.
MKeeper: You go to sweeming pool now?
CMaster: Yes, but we have a couple of nappers in our rooms.
That slayed me. She said it in perfect deadpan with her glasses perched on her nose as if she was about to read a toddler a bedtime story.
We proceeded to hit the water park of legend in various states of dress and with a variety of goals in mind. The Coattails arrived first and had set up Base Camp in a nice central location that looked like it might protect us from the pesky wind. Mr. Coattail was happily into his tennis magazine, a cocktail, and watching his lovely wife soak up the sun in her bathing suit. The older kids were down the big slide within seconds and the two seven year olds quickly found the sandy section and happily enjoyed it for the next two hours. The CookMaster was a vision in a shroud, never removing her jacket as she worked on scripts, blocking, and rehearsal schedule for our elementary school production of Cinderella, which began production as soon as we returned. I flopped on a chaise and fell asleep within minutes. The People magazine and LaLas trip report entertained me well but I had SLEEP in bold green on my spreadsheet and wasnt about to veer off course.
I woke to giggles and that horrified feeling that everyone had been watching me sleep. They had, of course, as they listened to me snore. The kids were still exploring and my friends and I decided it was time for a cocktail. About that time Mr. Hurricane Hannas Bartender appeared with his picture menu, so we ordered up. Mmmm
Lemonade Something. We relaxed (thats why we go to Disney World!), caught up on back-home social news, and watched our kids soak up some sand and sun.
Here is an It Can Happen At Any Resort Pool Story: when I stayed at Pop with my friends last fall I saw some grown ups Yak at the bar after they were overserved. Ive heard tales of pool closures from baby and barf accidents at every resort pool on property. I had this thrill after my nap when we took a walk around SAB to look for the kids. There it was: Fruit Loop puke. Theres no mistaking it. The amazing part was the dad and child were still playing in the sand two feet away. Now, it was on the side of the pool but for all I know it was IN the water too.
Puke, pee, and poop. They are everywhere.
Lets change the subject.
4:00. Naptime was over for Cledus and Shrek and it was time to get dried and ready for an evening at Epcot. We somehow persuaded the kids to dry off and exit Stormalong with promises to return. It really is a wonderful water playground and easily cinched a future trip for this family. Before we left, I looked and looked and pictures and the Disney video to try to get a good idea of the scope and feel of it, but I didnt really know how great it would be until we experienced it!
Disney is not a hair show.
Let me say that again, for it is one of my favorite CookMaster quotes.
Disney is NOT a hair show. We have tried to blame it on the humidity, showers, water, schedule, towels, wind, you name it, but we cannot get our hair to cooperate there. Last year we gave up. This year we discussed it with our HairMaster two weeks out and properly timed our cuts. We took our own hair products (of course) and dryers.
We felt far from zesty by noon each day. Add a nap, a thrill ride, and some rain and you know I needed an appointment with a hairdryer before dinner. Between trying to take family calls about Granny, coordinating departure times, get out of the room before Mousekeeping returned, pack a bag of jackets for the Illuminations Cruise, and FIX MY HAIR, I really needed my dear husband to do something besides check basketball scores (NCAA tourney) and wrestle with the boys on the still unmade beds.
There. That feels better, especially since it covered a theme for the week.
The Coattails had a Kona date so we said our goodbyes in the lobby and pointed our happy (its so close!) feet toward Epcot. By the way, if youve stayed at Beach Club or in that area you are familiar with that beach area in front of the resort. Well, E and G (the seven year olds) walked through the sand every time we went to Epcot. Every time. It was fun to watch. Boys and sand. Cant keep em apart.
I love sneaking in the International Gateway at Epcot. I feel like Im a backdoor guest, a familiar face. Since we are Epcot resort guests this trip, I guess we qualify! This was St. Patricks Day, and the British were embracing their Irish cousins, I guess, and putting on the green. We got an earful of Off Kilter before this teetering little shamrock lady made her way across our path:
I dont know if it was her heels, her hat, the green beer, or a combination of these, but she was a bit off-kilter. The CookMaster and I wanted to take our time to soak in some of the atmosphere of Britain and the festivities, but the men were far ahead and never looked back.
Then Cledus stopped.
Remember (benember for our Meanest Mother in the World readers) the Buzz Lightyear bet? Youll recall my 778,000+ score? Shrek defeated Cledus and thus won a grand? Well, Cledus is a man of his word and has a giving heart to boot. Something had struck his eye and stopped him in his tracks.
He wanted to buy me a diamond pin to thank me for planning our trip. I also heard him muttering to Shrek about skimming off the bet total but he truly did this for me.
I was honored he took his time to remember, and choose, this for me outside the Canadian pavilion:
I couldnt wait to put it on and LOVED wearing it the rest of the week! Its perfect! In fact, its still here right beside my computer and makes me smile every time I look at it. Thanks Cledus!!
Le Cellier is one of our favorite restaurants and always makes everyones must list each trip. This night was going to work out great (and it did) for us to have dinner before our Illuminations Cruise. It was a memorable dinner with yet more pixie dust and a couple of dreams!
Next chapter: Dreams at Le Cell, friends stop by, better news from home, and Epcot!
(Why, Oh why, won't he dance for me?) 
