It's All About Family

Ferrying over to the park.

We all had a great time at Disney and one of the kids favorite things about the week was having Bill with us all week and being with our Grommy and Mimi. Having never taken a vacation with any family the adult/child ratio threw me for a loop! I wasn't always counting heads and keeping track of little people and I count Kyle in the adult category so the adults overruled. I see so much more travel in the future with everyone getting so much more out of the experiences.

One of the best things about the week was that the kids had some special time with their grandmothers. Ethan and Mimi ran to the deli and grabbed lunch one day. Erin got to go on rides with Mimi and Grommy by herself. Kyle joined in the late night adult conversations. Lindy had Grommy to keep her company on one of her sick days. Bill and I were able to enjoy a dinner out one night. My mom and Gloria kept the laundry and dishwasher going so I even had a break from chores!

Lindy was sick with fever, sore throat, cough and general misery all week. She was a trooper and didn't want to miss out on anything. There was one day where it was just not going to be possible for her to go to the park and unfortunately it was the last day. When we arrived at the park Kyle asked why we had come if Lindy couldn't join us. Ethan said he wondered the same thing. Paige of course always worries when her other half is not with her! I explained with five kids someone is bound to be sick or unable to go some of the time. We were fortunate to have Grommy and Mimi to help us out so we could take turns staying with her. Kyle said it just didn't feel right not all being together. The kids loved going to the park that last day but really missed having the whole family together.

Kyle had a writing assignment when we returned home that he wrote about how much fun he had on vacation with his family. How he was so concerned about Lindy and her missing out on fun. Yes he loved the roller coasters, but it was all being together he treasured the most. It really doesn't matter where we go or what we do as long as we do it together.

This was when we arrived before Lindy spiked her fever for the week.


Kyle with Lindy and Grommy following behind on the Racetrack. Erin was my driver!

Sometimes I look at pictures of Kyle and still see his "little boy" face. This is such a sweet picture!

Ready to take a ride on Aladdin's Magic Flying Carpets. Erin was on the lookout for Jasmine!

I think we spun Mimi out on the teacups.

A long day but fun and happy kids.

Erin loves to get her picture taken so when she had Mimi and Grommy to herself she was busy planning poses.

Daddy and his girls riding through Tomorrowland.

Erin Meets Mickey and Friends

Something has to be said for being the youngest. They get left out of many things daily and being too small to do what their older siblings are doing at Disney is no exception. Imagine Erin's excitement to walk by and see Mickey, Minnie, and all the gang hanging out and getting pictures taken. Even better the line was only 15 minutes long and Erin was in it before I could even ask if she wanted to wait. So while her brothers and sisters were in the huge line for Test Track at Epcot we met the gang. As you can see she relished every moment! FYI this character meet and greet is much quicker than Magic Kingdom for the same thing.

Looks like Pluto is going to eat her up, I could too.

Probably her favorite!

Thank goodness for Mickey's Playhouse to keep these characters alive for little ones.

Goofy and Goofy

Thank Goodness for Pure Exhustion

Erin hit the pool on Tuesday which was a little chilly due to the wind. She had a great time but after lunch she crashed! She walked Magic Kingdom without a stroller Monday and had a great time. Between her late night and swimming, this little princess needed her beauty rest. Good thing she took this 2 1/2 hour nap as we had a really late night.

Refueling before returning for more fun!

I Should Have Known

I should have known last week when Paige and the others came down with strep that something else was wrong. Even after almost 72 hours of antibiotics the sickies still had fevers and did not feel well. Now I know why! On top of having strep they had a virus as well. Lindy has been on the antibiotic as well and she now has the virus and we know she doesn't have strep since she is being treated.

She has not been feeling great since Monday but this morning she was really hot, not just a little warm. She is most distraught that she is missing Epcot today. By lunch time she has perked up and is totally cool. I believe we will be calling chauffeur Daddy for a pick up soon so we can enjoy the evening at the park. I think a stroller ride and another dose of Motrin and she should be good for the rest of the day. There can't be anything worse when you are 7 and at Disney watching all your siblings leave for the park while you lay in bed with a fever!





A little "medicine" via Mary Poppins!

Aloha from Disney

Aloha from the Millers

This is the closest I am going to get to Hawaii for a while! We had a great dinner with fresh pineapple and pineapple bread and a wonderful salad with mango poppy seed dressing for appetizers. Followed by chicken and ribs, rice, and assorted steamed veggies. The dessert was made with quite the presentation of smoking volcanoes with raspberry drenched chocolate mousse volcanoes. Yum! Although the entertainment during the dinner was a bit "cheesy" as my mom described it and I would have to agree, the real show was fabulous. A true luau with lots of educational info for the kids on Polynesian tradition and rituals. It was such a fun and relaxing evening!

Paige receives her lei.

Lindy was busy evaluating the costumes. She said these were the best for the men as the others were "too skimpy".

There were volcanoes smoking everywhere! The kids loved them and the dessert too!



The hit of the evening was the fire dancing (I'm sure there is a more appropriate fancy name for this!) But he was truly amazing. Eating and throwing flames was fascinating for the kids to watch.



Ethan was mesmerized. I was so glad that he liked the show! It is so nice to see him so into something.

Princess for a Day

Erin enters the castle to be greeted by Cinderella.

To be almost 4 and simply in love with the Princesses and then to meet them all well was quite the day for Erin. Her smile never left her face even while she ate her buttered noodles and ice cream sundae. The pictures say it all! Eat it up Aunt Gretch!

My Royal Table awaits.

Oh how I love Sleeping Beauty. The long blond hair and pink dress make her my ultimate favorite. She was so happy to hear this!

Ariel lost her tail for the day and declared Erin and the girls the most beautiful humans. Another of Erin's favorites!

Belle and the girls. Lindy and Paige had a good time but they are not nearly as into the Princesses as Erin.

Snow White was so beautiful and is Paige's all time favorite Princess. She was so excited to see her.

A princess needs her ice cream to keep up her stamina.



My mommy had as much fun as I did! My dimples were the talk of the table. Mimi and Grommy had a great time too!

I must ride my horse to see my prince.

But my race car will get me there faster!

Brownies - Through the Years

Troop 120 with Mrs. Smith



I love this picture of the girls with Mrs. Smith. They have really formed a special relationship with her. They get so excited when we go to visit her and she is just tickled to see them. The more we go over the years the more they talk with her. They hug her goodbye and bring her treats. She adores them! We had a special treat for her at our last meeting.

Our Girl Scout Council offers meeting kits that you can reserve for special try it's and activities. Last month we covered the Brownies Thorough the Years with our TV dinners and I Love Lucy show so I decided to get the Brownie uniform from 1936. The girls were able to try it on and we looked at copies of the handbooks from the 50's and 60's. After a quick story about how the origination of Brownies from old English elves, we drew names to see who would wear the uniform to show Mrs. Smith. Annabel won the drawing and looked so cute in her little elf hat.







We also worked on paper bag puppets from 1936 and Brownie paper dolls with uniforms from various years. I was surprised with how much the girls enjoyed these extra activities. They especially enjoyed the puppets which we can also count for our Puppets and Dolls Try it.

Lindy and Mary are such the fashion experts! They loved the paper doll clothes.

Christa and Paige were coloring queens!

Lily gave us an update on her Uncle Mike who is in Afghanistan. He sent her pictures of their sleeping quarters and the bathrooms. The girls were impressed!

We had an impromptu sharing time. Lindy shared the book we are reading on Juliette Low. She is loving to learn all about how Girl Scouts started. Paige shared her drawing collection, Mackenzie brought her favorite snow globes from her collection and Mary shared her recipe collection.

Mrs. Smith was so delighted to talk with the girls. She took a nasty fall the week before and shared the pictures of her black eyes with us. She only had a hint of bruising when we saw her. She was laughing about her "little" accident and told the girls that it is possible to fall off a straight back chair and get really hurt!

When we returned home we played a wonderful math game, more on that Try it later. Claire brought us a really good cookie bar snack and then it was outside for some of the warm weather. I love the enthusiasm and productivity of meetings like this one. As the girls get older they are getting more and more into Brownies, if that is even possible!