Day 3: Animal Kingdom!

Let the adventure begin!

We hopped on the bus in a drizzly rain at around 8:30 this morning.  We knew that Animal Kingdom had opened at 8, and usually, we are eager to get there when it opens, but we decided to give ourselves a little more time this morning.  When we got there, we walked right in and headed straight to the Safari.  We've always done the Safari first thing because first thing in the morning is feeding time and the animals are most active at that time of day.  We walked right on with absolutely no wait at all.  

As soon as we got on our Safari vehicle, a pretty steady drizzle/rain started falling.  I'm not sure if it was the time of day or the rain, but the animals were more visible than they'd ever been!  Especially the giraffes..... the GIRAFFES were everywhere and VERY CLOSE!  I counted 8 in a little herd at one point, including a new baby giraffe.  So great.

By the time we finished there, it was time to use our Fastpasses for Expedition Everest, so we headed to the other side of the park.  We had enough Fastpasses among the 10 of us that the boys got to ride twice (I joined in on the first ride, too!) On the ride, I sat next to a guy whose son-in-law works for Disney as one of the workers who builds the roller coasters.  Currently, he's working on the new mine train ride in the new Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom.  It won't be ready for us this trip, but it's close, so we'll be looking forward to that for next time!

We then walked over to Dinoland and the whole hee-haw gang rode that Dumbo-type-dinosaur-flying-around-in-a-circle-thing.  I can never remember the name of it...... 

Mary rode with Aunt Paige and Night Night and was the pilot.  She gave them quite a ride..... up and down, up and down.  Aunt Paige said her little heart was beating ninety to nothing.  Sweet thing.

At 11:00, it was time for the Nemo show!  We ate a quick little snack on the way (boys are always needing a quick little snack) and then it was showtime!  This is always a favorite, and since she's been watching the movie in the car during carpool a lot, Mary recognized the characters and the jellyfish and such and kept pointing and laughing.  I didn't even have to feed her any gummies during the show to keep quiet!  (Cause all of our gummies are stragetically hidden in the backpack for such a time as this.... showtimes..... to keep her quiet..... did the same thing with the boys when they were little.....)

After Nemo, it was time for our Primeval Whirl Fastpasses.  This time, NightNight accompanied the boys on the first ride, and then they used the extra bands in the group to ride it again.  That system seems to be working well for us and has helped alleviate a LITTLE bit of our frustration with the new system.  But have I mentioned that I DO NOT LIKE the new Fastpass system?  Boo.

Mary and I took some time while the boys rode to do some artwork.  We spread out our towel-blanket and got out some magic markers that Aunt Paige had brought as a surprise.  There may also have been some stickers distributed out to everyone, too.

After a yummy lunch at Flametree BBQ (where two ducks walked ACROSS MY FOOT to eat the slaw that Mary had dropped on the floor..... she kept telling them NO NO), we were ready for our third Fastpass selection of the day - the Minnie/Mickey character greeting.  Yes.... we used a FP for that.... cause the choices for FPs at AK are not good.  Again:  FP system = Bad.  (Although I must admit:  the option to have a Fastpass for a character greeting worked VERY well for us today. So there's that.)

Mary, once again, was THRILLED to see her pal, Mickey.  She is doing unbelievably well with her character greetings..... even when it's time to leave (which could trigger a bit of a come-apart in ANY two year old), she just blows them a kiss, gives a final hug, and waves goodbye.  The most precious part, I think, is when she turns her back on them and looks at us and points behind her like, "Hey!  Do y'all see who I found?  Do you SEE them???  Look who it is!!"

We bid Mickey goodbye and then walked up just in time to see the 2:00 show Flights of Wonder.  This is a BIRD show....a GREAT bird show (even though I normally DO NOT like birds.).... but as long as the birds are trained, I'm fine.... no worries.... cause I already had DUCKS pecking on my ankles (they maybe didn't actually touch me, but my anxiety with them right at my feet made it FEEL like they were pecking on my ankles).....but it was fine.  I'm pretty sure Mary knew there were birds in the show, but right before it started, Aunt Paige had showed her how to TRACE HER HAND on paper, so she pretty much spent the rest of that 25 minutes tracing her hand.... and Aunt Paige's hand.... and maybe NightNight's hand...... 

By the time that show was over, we decided to call it a day.  Mary fell asleep in her stroller on the way to the bus and slept in my arms all the way back to the room.  She is currently STILL asleep beside me on the bed as I type this.  Our plan tonight is to just relax and enjoy spending time as a family.  Everyone gets to do something they like:  NN, Paige, and Josh have gone to another Braves baseball game, Max is gonna go to the arcade, Jack wants to swim some more, Will wants to learn how to play Rook, Mudger is gonna watch Mary sleep, and Joe is doing laundry (I think it relaxes him).  I plan on shopping and maybe trying to catch some more fireworks off our balcony tonight.... or watch the movie by the pool, maybe?

I think so. 

Disney Day 2: EPCOT and lots of WONDERFULNESS

Today.  Was.  Amazing.

I mean, EVERY day at Disney World is meant to be amazing.  It's magical, after all.  But TODAY?  Oh, good golly.....

As I thought about/planned this trip, I knew it would look a little different from our past few trips.  It has been a while since we did Disney with a two year old, and there's a certain PROCESS to it.

One part of the process happens WAY before you actually GO.  You gotta REALLY prepare that little tyke to know the characters, the movies, the songs, etc.  If they don't see things they're familiar with, it's just not as fun. So, there has been LOTS of homeschooling going on about a few of the classic Disney characters.  Since Mary's not doing much in the way of conversation yet, I decided that keeping it to the non-talking characters might be more fun for her.  They don't talk to her, she doesn't talk to them....  it works.  So, my focus this trip was NOT the princesses, really (except for Cinderella.... we just love her), but I've made SURE she knows Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Chip and Dale, and Pooh and his gang.  We weren't sure if she would love the characters or NOT love the characters (it can go either way with a two year old.... there's no middle ground here), but we were going to test it out today.

Now.  At EPCOT, there's a little place called the Character Spot.  It's one of the best places in all of Disney to see Mickey, Minnie, and one other classic friend (Goofy today) in their dressy, classic clothes.  I've heard for years that if you're the FIRST family in line at the character spot for the day, that your ENTIRE group can get a picture made with ALL the characters at ONE time.  This does NOT happen at Disney.  Ever.  Except for at the EPCOT Character Spot.  But you HAVE TO BE FIRST.

So, that's what we planned to do.  We got to EPCOT early and were second in line at our gate.  Once the gates opened, I zoomed off.  HOWEVER.... many, MANY people zoomed off faster than I did.  I looked around and immediately assumed that these crazy MARATHONING DADS who were RUNNING PAST ME LIKE MANIACS had obviously heard that same rumor about the Character Spot, and I gave up hope before I even reached Spaceship Earth.  My nephew Josh, however, kept the faith.  He ran on past me, and when I rounded the corner to the Character Spot, JOSH was FIRST IN LINE!  I ran up there and got the scoop..... YES..... we were going to get THE GROUP PHOTO.  Oh, my word.  Now we just hoped that Mary would actually LIKE IT.

Well.  She.  Did.

  See for yourself.....

 Note:  Some of these pictures are sideways.  I've been blogging for a while now and have YET to figure out how to turn those things around.  So, just tilt your head or your computer....whichever.  But do tilt, cause the cuteness is something you'll want to see right side up......

K.  Let me start again....

Now we just hoped that Mary would actually LIKE IT.

Well.  She.  Did.

See for yourself.......

By the time we were finished, I was crying, Mudger and NN were crying, the cast members were crying.  I tell you, it was a scene.  A precious, beautiful, God-written SCENE.

After all that, we were ready to go.  The trip was MADE and we could honestly have loaded back up in the car and called the trip a success.  OH, but there was MUCH to do!

We headed over to The Land (just to check on the wait time for Soarin.... usually we head straight there and get in line cause it backs up AWFUL BAD, but we had to see Mickey first, so......)  Well, it was 9:10 and the line was already yucky, so we hopped on an old favorite, Living with the Land.  Mary's first official Disney ride was Living with the Land.... I find that hilarious.  Anyhoo.... as I think will be a pattern on this trip, she loved it.  

Then, the Raney fam headed off to Norway for their Princess breakfast (which we skipped cause character MEALS are a NIGHTMARE with a two year old - so we'll wait for another year on that one), so the rest of us followed through with a family tradition:  Eat eggs at Soarin.  

Normally, we wouldn't take time out of our schedule so early in the morning to sit down and eat, but this is something the boys have loved to do since they were LITTLE, and the Powells love some family tradition, so eat eggs we did.  (Well, eggs for most of us.  Jack gets this gigantic chocolate chip muffin.)

Then, it was off to Nemo at The Living Seas.  Mary's been watching Nemo in the car and it's one of Max's favorite Disney movies, so everyone was excited.  

There's NEMO!  We found him!  And Dory, too!

After we found Nemo, we headed over to Test Track.  With this new Fastpass system, you can't get a Fastpass for both Soarin AND Test Track, so, since we had Soarin passes for later, we all the boys hopped on the Single Rider line at TT while the girls shopped a bit. And ate a snack.  And colored a picture of Minnie Mouse.

(More to come on the new Fastpass system.  Before I write a SCATHING blogpost that will SURELY get Disney's attention about how AWFUL this system is, I'm giving it a couple more days.  But I don't like it. So there.)

Then, the boys all headed over to Mission Space and we took care of a few things.....

Some cute pictures in the spot that I ALWAYS take pictures.....

Some popcorn from Aunt Paige.....

Dad's sunglasses.....

And then the boys finally quit riding rides long enough to hang out with us!

By this time, the Raney people were done with their breakfast and back with us, so we all headed over to Soarin with our Fastpasses.  We utilized the "child swap" and everyone went on the ride while Mom and Mary hung out on a bench.  In about three seconds, Mary was SOUND ASLEEP.  So, when the crew exited the ride, Mom decided to save her Fastpass for later.  Cause holding your sleeping two year old is WAY better than riding Soarin.  For REAL.

After ANOTHER trip over to Test Track with ALL the people and a trek through history on Spaceship Earth (which Mary LOVED), and the Coke stop (we love those free drinks!), we headed over to the World Showcase.  First up on the agenda:  meet Pooh and friends at the United Kingdom.

Here's her face when she looked in the room and saw Pooh and Tigger.....

And here's another great meeting!  (Again, head tilt, people.)

Then some country photos....

Now.  Here is where I would blog about going to the American Adventure.  Here's where I would tell you that during the Voices of Liberty (a Powell FAVE), Mary fell fast asleep in her mother's arms.  Here's where I would mention that she stayed asleep through MOST of the show..... but that right about the Great Depression, she WOKE UP.  NOT HAPPY.

Here's where the blog would detail the MELTDOWN that was bound to happen at some point.  That the meltdown lasted for an hour.... through several countries..... 

We hoped that things would calm down a bit by the time we got to China, but alas, she was not quite right yet.  So, the pictures that I'd dreamed about getting at China didn't happen.  But it's okay.  We've been there.

I would blog about all that, but I don't want to mention it.

Mom DID do a bit of shopping (while carrying a little one who kept shaking her head saying, "No, No, No, No, No....")  We got three children's books about the various festivals that they celebrate in China! Plus a CUTE little China doll keychain!

I did try to get ONE picture.....

It did not go well.

And it MIGHT have been just after this at Norway where the entire family had a bit of a breakdown in communication for a bit.  So, what do you do when your family is a bit off-track at Disney?  REGROUP.  That's right.  You find a curb in some shade, sit down, and wait.... for just a bit..... and then, everyone will reboot and you proceed again.  And that's just what we did.

Mary was still a bit agitated....but THEN when she saw Donald Duck on the ride at Mexico, she was ALRIGHT.  Meltdown OVER.  Peace returned to ALL.  Thank you, Donald Duck.

To end our day, we headed back over to the front of the park and let the boys jump on the Universe of Energy ride (only we call it the Ellen ride).  They love that thing.

Dad ran back over and got some fish and chips at the United Kingdom (Jack's favorite at EPCOT), and Mom and Mary had a little picnic.

Our finale was Mom, Jack, and Max using Mom's child swap pass from earlier to ride Soarin while Dad and Mary rode and found Nemo again!

It was an awesome day.  An.  Awesome.  Day.

Minus the hour-long meltdown, it was an awesome day.

More images from the day:

GOT STICKERS?

A COUSIN CIRCLE.

LOVE MY DAD.

FIRST RIDE ON A DISNEY BUS.... EATING A POWDERED DONUT.

GOODNIGHT FROM EPCOT.

Some Days are Just AWESOME. (aka. Disney Arrival!)

I told myself that if I can blog while meeting and bonding with my new daughter for two weeks in China, then SURELY I can hold up to blogging while at Disney.  CAUSE WE ARE AT DISNEY WORLD, PEOPLE.  I'm so happy.

Today was one of those really, really good days.  We have approached this trip with the same mindset that we approached China:  "Expect the worst, Hope for the best."

So far, so good.

Course, we're on Day One of a 9 day trip, so we'll see how things work out.

But for today?  AWESOME.

We left around 2:30 on Friday afternoon.  My post on FB as we pulled out of town Friday went something like this:

One parent/teacher conference, one 6th grade book "tasting", two tests, three haircuts, one webinar for title agents, one spotless home, four laundered beds, one full tank of gas, six packed bags, one full car, one tired Mama, and FIVE happy Powells. Next stop: The Happiest Place on Earth.

Things were busy, I tell you.

So busy, I failed to document ANY of it on camera.  Boo.

But, FINALLY, we were off!  Mary earned her place in the lineup of Powell Children Who Travel Well.  I'm three for three when it comes to kids who can go on long hauls in the car.  Thank goodness.  They all hold up MUCH better than I do.  Right about the time we hit Montgomery (about 2 hours in), I was ready to get OUT of that car, and we still had HOURS and HOURS to go.  Bleck.

About the time we got to Tallahassee, Mary had about a 5 minute meltdown.  She was SO, SO tired, but then those fingers went in and she quickly fell asleep.  We pushed ahead and made it to Lake City about 11:00 Florida time.

Saturday morning, we enjoyed the hotel's free waffles for breakfast and were out the door at 8:30.  A quick couple of hours in the car.....

That's Max.  Under his "tent".  Sometimes you just need some time alone, I guess.

Unfortunately,  I didn't get a picture of MARY under HER tent.... cause if Max does something, girlfriend's not far behind.  She took her Mickey Mouse beach towel (her blanket of choice these days) and put it over HER head.  By the time I turned the camera on, she was tired of being alone under that thing and came back out to enjoy family time in the car.

Speaking of family time in the car.  Max is into games.  Games like "caterpillar" and "the alphabet game"..... you know:  let's go through the alphabet and name Disney characters for each letter:  A: Alice in Wonderland, B: Bambi, C:  Cinderella..... you get it, right?  Well, as good parents (and a good big brother - even Jack participated), we wanted to have the family bonding and all, so we happily played along.  For HOURS.  We alphabetized foods, countries, names, movies, books, all things Disney, and ON and ON and ON.  OHMYGOSH.  I now find myself categorizing things in my mind alphabetically.  What should I order for dinner?  A:  asparagus?  B:  beef tenderloin?  C:  corn?  Heavens.  You see why I hate long car rides?

Anyhoo.  We made it.  

Once we hit Disney property, she MIGHT have crawled into the already packed backseat with her Mom.  We were literally inches away from our hotel and also from me losing my mind, so, it worked in the moment.  

We made a totally quick trip over to Downtown Disney to grab our Visa Reward card (ours had expired.... OOPS!), and spotted THIS lovely lady while there....

Mary kept pointing and squealing.... I'm hoping this is a sign that she'll LOVE the characters!  However, repeat after me:  Expect the worst, hope for the best.

We then made our way to Pop Century, our home for the next week.  We checked in with our new Magic Bands and then decided to go ahead and feed everyone some lunch.  By the time we finished eating and then unloaded the car, Mary was BEYOND.

This followed:

Poor thing.  All we'd done was had lunch and unpacked the car and she's already wiped out.  But it was fine.  It gave everyone a chance to just relax... and Mom and Dad might have taken a little nap, too!

The whole Ryan clan is here with us on this trip, and just before dinner, everyone finally met up.  Mudger pulled out a WHOLE MESS of Minnie Mouse stuff for the little girl and a WHOLE MESS of food for the big boys, and we spent a while just hanging out and catching up with them.  

We ate a quick bite of supper in the food court (we heart the Pop Century food court), then decided it was time to SWIM.

Big Fun.  And we're just getting started.

Then, it was time to settle in for the night.  We caught the end of the EPCOT fireworks from our balcony outside our room, then Night Night started blowing up the air mattress that is serving as Little Bit's bed for the week.  As I type, she is snoring (rather loudly) on that air mattress that is now sporting Simba sheets and is covered up with her beloved Mickey beach towel.  God bless her.

Watching the air mattress take shape!

Thanks, NN, for getting my bed blown up!

Tomorrow, we head to EPCOT.  

 We hope to see lots of our favorite characters 

(Pooh, Mulan, and Minnie Mouse are big on the list tomorrow). 

OOOOHHHHH!!!!  And not only was today our Disney Arrival Day, but it was also our 

REFERAL-VERSARY!!

March 22, 2013, we saw THIS face for the first time.....

I remember we'd received an email from our social worker, Karla, early that morning, that she had a file for us and did we want to see it?  I was teaching math when the file came through.  I quickly shuttled my class into the room across the hall, got Joe on the phone, and, after Joe prayed a prayer for wisdom and peace and clarity, we opened the file together.

And saw our daughter's face for the first time.

That was a Friday and I spent that night and the entire weekend memorizing every word of her file and every detail of the three pictures we received.  I made a timeline on a piece of paper highlighting the events of her life as documented in the file.  I then made a similar timeline of OUR lives during that time.... just to see what WE were doing while SHE was going through so much.  

And here we are.  One year later.  This time last year, baby girl was in Shanghai Children's Home, BUT SHE HAD A FAMILY.  March 21 - no family.  March 22:  FAMILY.

One year ago today, Jiang Rui Yang had no idea how her life was going to change.

Today, MARY JEWEL POWELL is asleep, snuggled next to her Minnie Mouse doll, under her blanket, and has no idea how much FUN she's going to have this week at Walt Disney World.

What a difference a year makes, huh?

To God be the Glory, GREAT THINGS He has done.