The real downer was…….
coming home.
 It really stinks to have to leave such a magical and storybook place. We really had such a wonderful and memorable time there.
It was so lovely to just leave all the cares of “reality” behind and just be transported to this awesome and unbelievable location that truly took our breaths away.
We couldn’t believe all the beautiful detail this place held…everything is done so perfectly there! From the fireworks, to the smiles, to the hospitality, the organization….everything is so “HAPPY!” LOL
It was so wonderful to just be a kid (along with my kids) and enjoy, as a family of 7, all those fabulous things that make all humans smile…no matter your age:
….first airplane rides, parades, cotton candy, amazing fireworks, castles, characters, rides, 3-D glasses, shows, fairy tales, animated characters that talk to you, light shows, music, dancing, hotels that are magically cleaned every time you come home, safari rides, scary rides, roller coasters, princesses and princes, happy smiling people, incredible restaurants, …..I could go on and on…..
here are some of our favorite memories of our time there!
Getting up at 4:15 and riding in an airplane was actually one of the kids’ favorite part of the trip…one of the many favorites!
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| watching their airplane |
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| watching the sunrise from the airport |
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| Orlando Airport!! |
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| In front of our resort! |
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| DUMBO RIDE!!!!!!!!! Tahlia LOVED IT! |
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| TEACUPS! |
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| They LOVED looking for Lizards |
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| Waiting for Toystory Ride!!! This place was amazing, like you were in Woody and Buzz’s playroom! |
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| Tahlia loved to play in the suitcase! |
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| SHE LOVED to get wet right next to the water ride |
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| Trying Cotton Candy for the first time, she loved it! Thanks to Bella for introducing her!:) |
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| the ducks came right up to us asking for food! Kids loved it! |
The Chrystal Palace in Magic Kingdom was where we had lunch the second day, it’s one of our favorite memories. It’s where we discovered Tahlia’s obsession with all things POOH! She LOVED the characters….and she didn’t want to let them go!
ALL the kids loved the POOH characters, they were just so cuddly!! Great food too! ALL YOU CAN EAT!
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| she LOVED Tigger’s tail! |
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| just look at that smile!:)) |
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The Carribean Resort, came complete with Beach scenery, lizards for the catching and hammocks which I couldn’t quite master! LOL
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| ooops! |
The Fireworks in Magic Kingdom were amazing, and spectacular and like nothing I’ve seen before! And, we were so glad that we caught the Electric Parade as well, one of my favorites!
Then, it was off to Animal Kingdom…The Safari ride, the Dinosaurs, the Bugs Life 3D movie!! Such a fantastic park!! The kids Favorite ride was the Mount Everest Roller coaster! I loved how the park (the Asia side) reminded me SO much of China!
Then it was off to Ohana’s at the Polynesian for a family style dinner of Hot off the Grill skewered meats and of course a Luau! This was Helaina’s favorite place, because it reminded her of her favorite dream destination: Hawaii!
ANOTHER FAVORITE: All you can eat breakfast bar at Chef Mickey’s…OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| AShton was taking FULL advantage! |
We got to meet all the Mickey Mouse Gang!!! Tahlia, of course, was beside herself with excitement!!!!
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| Minnie wiping Tahlia’s tears away…. |
Tahlia and Isabella bonding over Tahlia’s newest delight: Cotton candy!
HONEY!!!!!!!!!!!! I shrunk the Kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂
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| running through the life-size spider web! |
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| GET ME OUT OF THIS WEB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
another favorite memory: The kids got to go through a “real American Idol Audition” They werent able to go on because they weren’t 14, but they were so excited to actually audition!! Helaina and Isabella did a duet (helaina didn’t want to audition by herself), Isabella sung a song by herself, Ashy sung the B-I-B-L-E :), and even Tolly got in on the singing action!Â
They were a hit!! And, they even got their 15 minutes of fame on the “red carpet” for a photo op! 😉 And of course the parents had to ride the fame train too!;)
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| here we go!!! |
Tahlia was up first…..she was ALL READY to perform! LOL
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| Tahlia was Isabella’s back up singer!:) |
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| getting greeted by RYAN SEACREST!! |
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| WHAT A BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Ashton, Tahlia, Helaina and I saw the Beauty and The Beast show, we LOVED it! Tahlia was infatuated with pretty Belle and Mrs. Potts!:)
What’s better than Disney…..how about Disney with FRIENDS!!!!!!!!
It was so special to surprise the kids!Â
We had been planning this Disney trip with our best friends, “The Woodies” for months! But, our kids had no idea! What a blast! We’ve shared so many life-memories with this family over the past 14 years, adding Disney to the list was like hitting the Jackpot! What a blessing, so thankful for such amazing relationships!
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| gettin’ Wet together in Epcot, Italy of course! |
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| (((((HUGS)))) Love them like family! |
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| Dinner at T-rex! We ate in an ice Glacier! |
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| Love this couple more than words can say! |
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| Poor Tahlia was WIPED out….slept all the way through dinner at the T-rex restaurant! |
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Speaking of friends, How awesome is it that we got to meet up with another special family who we are close to! Our trips in Disney overlapped each other so, we go to meet up and let the kids ride a roller coaster together!
ALSO, We got to meet up with long time fellow-adoptive friends who used to go to our church but moved to Florida a few years ago, it was so good to catch up with this awesome family and swim and eat at the Rainforest Cafe together!
Such a blessing to have such treasures as friends! And, to get to share such a magical place like Disney with them!
Another special memory: The parades. We really loved watching all the characters go by waving to us, Tahlia was mesmerized! We all were!
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| Daddy provided the BEST seat in the house! |
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Helaina finally got to meet one of her favorite Disney Characters: TINK!!!!!!!!!
Tahlia’s favorite ride: THE CAROUSEL! She got to ride Cinderella’s horse!
 Making memories in EPCOT!!!!!!!!!! Tahlia was actually afraid of the Big ball!
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| Just enjoying each other…:) |
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| The light show was incredible! |
 We loved Nemo and CRUSH!
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| Tahlia taking her only daytime nap of the week….she couldn’t hang any longer! LOL |
This place was very cool!Â
Thanks to some good friends, we got VIP passes to Siemen’s office! We were able to cool off, get some fountain drinks, get free ponchos and play with their cool futuristic gadgets!
They also allowed us to the front of the line on Spaceship Earth!
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| daddy gettin’ dressed up! LOL |
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| largest IPAD ever! |
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| the floor lit up in a rainbow of colors |
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| that huge screen was touch screen…actually, you didnt have to even touch it, all you needed to do was wave your hand over it! crazy! |
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 SO FUN!
And, it sadly….had to come :(…..our last day.Â
We did NOT want to leave. We were having so much fun!
Such a special week, we are so thankful to the Lord for allowing us such a amazing opportunity as a famiy!
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| Tahlia dancing in the rain in front of the Magic Castle! |
 Our last family shot in Disney, it was raining, but it didn’t damper our time at all!Â
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| last family Dinner at “SHUTTERS” at our resort, we then went swimming till Midnight! A great way to end a memorable and magical week! |
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Goodbye Disney,
 Of course, we are bringing home lots of sniffles and colds, and of course hurting feet…..
BUT IT WAS SO SO WORTH IT!
Thank you Daddy for taking us to DISNEY!
YOU ARE AMAZING AND WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
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Looks like a great time and that you didn't waste a single minute! You have inspired me to plan a trip for our little girly!
I am so so so so stinkn' JEALOUS!!!!! We are dying for a trip to see the mouse!!! Just have to live vicariously through all your pics and I'm glad you included every single one of them!
nancy-of the crazy 9
Such a fun trip and thanks for taking us along in photos. It looked like such a great time!
Loved all of the pictures! You have such a happy and bubbly family! Love seeing Tahlia's innocence and joy with the characters! So glad you guys had a great time!!!
Love the LONGEST post every!!! It deserves a long post. What a great time! I think being away as a family is so fabulous! So happy you all got to do that!