Sunday in the Magic Kingdom

Sunday morning we were all really excited to head to the Magic Kingdom.  We got up early and had a good breakfast and made sure to be where the buses loaded before the first bus arrived at 8am.  We knew that if we got there early we could see what happens when the park opens.  It was fun to ride the bus and SUPER EXCITING when we pulled under the gates that said we had arrived! 
We stood in a group of people waiting to see what would happen and before too long we heard music and saw a man come out to welcome us.  It was great!  We saw lots of characters dancing and singing, "Good Morning!"  The GREATEST surprise was right toward the end of the little show when ELSA AND ANNA came out and waved to us!!!  That got us ready for those gates to open!
When it was finally opening time, we got inside and waved at all the cast members who line the sides of Main Street waving and saying, "Good Morning!"  It didn't take long to see Cinderella's Castle and it was SPECTACULAR!!  We were so excited to walk through it!  Just through the castle and around the carousal we saw the line beginning to get long to meet Elsa and Anna.  We'd decided that was the most important thing to get done, so we got in line.  It was a long line...almost an hour...but by the time we got into the Hall of Princesses and could see the glass slipper and all the paintings of princesses we were entertained enough. 
When it was FINALLY our turn to get into the room where some of our favorite princesses were waiting, Myla's face was worth the price of admission!!  She just stood and watched Anna with a big smile on her face!  Just a few minutes later it was our turn to meet Anna.  We got her autograph and got to sit on the floor and talk to her for just a minute.  Myla was so excited and gave her a hug!!  Before we knew it, we were ready to see Elsa.  We both loved it!!!  We probably could have left Disney World right then and been very happy princesses ourselves, but we got to check out all the Frozen stuff in the gift shop, make a souvenir penny, get sprinkled with pixie dust and head out for the rest of our day!
We loved following Maximus's hoof prints and seeing Rapunzel's tower.  The Small World Boat Ride was one of Myla's absolute favorite parts of the week and we were able to ride a couple of times!  The Peter Pan boats were so much fun, as were the Flying Dumbo's! 
We met some of our FAVORITE characters and I always had questions for them.  It was great because they all talked to us!  I asked Merida if she would draw me a picture by her autograph and she did!  All the princesses were so beautiful!
We went to Enchanted Tales with Belle and daddy got to play the part of a guard!  It was so funny to watch him!!  We were all very proud of Myla because she rode every ride we did.  That did mean a couple of little roller coasters that day.  Those weren't her favorite, but she didn't complain much!  I LOVED the Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride and we all thought the Jungle Cruise was a nice few minutes off of our feet. 
WE HAD AN AMAZING DAY!  The plan was to leave in the afternoon and take a nap, but we were all so excited to be there that we stayed ALL DAY!!!  We were pooped out by the end, but very excited to know that we would be spending 4 more days in the parks!  Just when we thought the magic was over for the night, we returned to our hotel room to find that Tinker Bell had brought both of us presents during that day!!  We got great Minnie Mouse outfits to wear the next day!
(Get Ready, People!!!  We've got LOTS of pictures...)

Magical Fall Break - The Beginning

For the first time in forever everyone had fall break at the same time!  That meant that we were really able to take a big trip together and we have been planning for it for months and months!  So, last Friday the 4 of us left for Disney World.  We drove most of the afternoon and evening Friday, stopping for little breaks and a delicious dinner at MOOYEAHS in Knoxville.  We drove all the way to Acworth, Georgia and stopped there for a few hours of rest!  Honestly, the two Douglas Darlings really could not have been any better on the car ride.  Even though it was long, they entertained themselves very well!

Saturday morning we ate breakfast and headed back to the open road.  We eventually made our way to SUNNY FLORIDA!  We made a stop at the "OFFICIAL" Welcome Center for pictures and to stretch our legs.

By Saturday afternoon we were SO EXCITED as we saw this coming closer...

At last, we'd arrived at the most Magical Place on Earth!!  And just a couple of turns later, we made it to our home for the next several days!  Not only was it beautiful and so fun to watch all the animals from our balcony, but it was super fun to hear everyone say, "Welcome Home," every time we walked in the building!  Even cooler, everyone called us "PRINCESSES!!"

Immediately we wanted ACTION!!  We headed to the pool area, where we roasted marshmallows and swam!  Myla was quite taken with the little water slide, and Lynley was enamored with the 187 ft. water slide that she went down time after time after time!  (Mom and dad really liked that slide, too!  They even got in on that action!)

We probably stayed up way later than we should have for our first night, but it was just so much fun!  Who would have thought it would be so warm late in the evening that the pool would feel amazing until past our regular bed time!
After swimming and dinner we all headed to bed because we knew that the next several days would be so much fun and so tiring!!  When we next woke up we would be visiting the MAGIC KINGDOM!!

Exciting Times

Where do we start??  So much has been happening in the Douglas house!  We've celebrated Grandpa Dave's birthday, started fall/winter swim club, completed lots of 1st grade homework, went on a 1st grade field trip, begun Friday night Family Swim Nights at BSU, RECEIVED LETTERS FROM TINKERBELL!!!!, and MYLA IS USING THE BIG GIRL POTTY!!
Yes, it has been a crazy time!  We sure enjoyed time with Grandpa Dave for his birthday a couple of weekends ago.  It was good to see everybody and we got to end the evening with having smores at Greg and Debbie's house because they had a little fire that evening.
Swim club is going great!  I am really glad to be back in the pool after a month off and my coach is really starting to work on helping me learn to jump off the block and improve my technique.  It is a little more intense than the summer club was and, so far, I am okay with that!  After 4 nights of swimming during the week I still wanted to go to family swim night where I could just play around the pool and NOT have to work on any strokes!  So far we are handling all the swimming, homework and other evening activities and not getting too overwhelmed!
Me an Myla got HUGE surprises last week.  I checked the mailbox after school and there were letters for both of us.  I read the return address and it said, "TINKERBELL!!"  I was so excited I could hardly stand it!  I even woke Myla up from her nap because I wanted to wait on her to open our letters.  Tinkerbell told us she cannot wait for us to come and see her at Disney World in a few short weeks and she told us that she is going to leave us a present in our room every day while we are at the parks!!  Then when we get back to our hotel we can find the gifts!  We are so very excited!!  AND to add to our excitement, we got our MAGIC BANDS in the mail!!!  Me and Myla both have count down posters on our refrigerator that we can mark off every day so we can count the days until Disney!
Last week I had my first field trip this year.  Daddy took the day off and went with me and we had a great time!  We spent the day at Minnetrista learning how to make apple cider, walking through the orchard and learning about apples, and then spending the afternoon with the creepy crawlies!  We learned about ALL kinds of bugs, butterflies, etc.  We learned about pollen and how bees transport it and we learned about how insects communicate and we GOT TO SEE A REAL BAT!  
AND, if that wasn't exciting enough, Myla and mommy have been working really hard on Myla using the big girl bathroom and she is doing pretty great!!  It will be no time and she'll be kissing those pull ups goodbye!  We are all so proud of her!!!
I know I am probably forgetting some things...because it sure seems like more has been going on...but these are the highlights I can remember right now!

Catch Up on Last Week

Last week was a big one!  Myla Joy went to school for the first time on Wednesday!!  She did a great job and really loved it.  She reported to mommy that she played with her new best friends and she learned to hold on to the rope when going down the hall.  She is super excited to go back this week!  Here she is on the big day!!

Myla also tried another first last week.  On Thursday she decided to give herself a hair cut!  Mommy was diagnosed with Vertigo and so she wasn't moving around as fast a usual and Miss Myla went into my room and found my scissors.  The good news is that she really did a pretty even job and mommy thinks we can get by not cutting all her hair off! 
And Saturday was another fun time as we all go to go celebrate Tabatha and Jacob's wedding!!  We won't post a lot of pictures from the big day so Tabatha can share them, but here are a couple showing the fun we had!!

And here is a picture of all the cousins on Labor Day!  We all got to see each other for lunch and it was sooo much fun!  It was a good week!!