Before we actually got to Orlando, I had Bruce veer off and head to Flagler Beach because it was only four miles off the interstate. Anyone who knows me well knows I am not a beach bum. I enjoy the beauty, but not the humid salty air or the sand that sticks onto sweaty bodies like napalm. Alas, I married a man who enjoys the beach, and our kids take after him. We haven't been to the ocean in about three years, and this brief trip to Flagler Beach was perfect by my standards. Too cold for a swim suit or for the kids to go very deep in the water, but warm enough to roll up your pants and wade. Clay even found a quarter-sized piece of a sand dollar.
The first thing he said when he realized what it was: "I can't wait to show my class at school." So I held onto it for him, figuring I'd keep track of it better. Our new camera did arrive before we left, so Bruce played around with it while the kids and I got a little wet and dug in the sand. When it was time to continue on toward Disneyland, we walked back to the van and told the kids to rub their feet in a patch of grass nearby to get the sand off. What we didn't realize, however, was that we would be invading the homes of several red ants, who promptly gave Allison a taste of their displeasure. They boys escaped unscathed, but Allison was stung a few times and raised a ruckus. I brushed the ants off and quieted Allison, and we all loaded into the van and went down the street to fill up the gas tank and eat lunch at McDonald's.
While Bruce was pumping gas, Clay asked about his sand dollar remnant, which was no where to be found in the van. I'd dropped it while dusting off Allison's attackers. Bruce was not excited to go back to retrieve it, but after much pleading, he turned around. But now, it's about half of 1/4 of a sand dollar, because it was stepped on and partially crushed. Still, we have it, and we're grateful for small victories!
A priceless quote from Clay. The very first park we went to was Epcot, and we got there about 3:30 p.m. We didn't know where to begin. We were tired from the drive, and lines for the rides were long. We hadn't quite learned to appreciate the value of a Fast Pass yet. We walked through some educational games at Innoventions, but Clay was less than impressed. He finally said, "I missed school for this?!"
At the beginning of the week, Clay felt he was too old to pose with the characters. After much coaxing, he slowly warmed up to them. I think he just didn't want to appear immature. Spencer was pretty much always game for any pose with any character. His favorite was Leo from Little Einsteins. None of the characters talk when they meet the kids, but Leo used hand signals to point out that he and Spencer both have red hair, and I think that's what cemented Spencer's interest.
Allison was the most excited to meet characters at the beginning of our trip. She especially was interested in "my Mickey" as she called him. She went on to tell me that she might like to marry him one day and even kiss him on the lips. But, shhhh... that's supposed to be a secret. She doesn't want her brothers to know because they might make fun of her for the kissing part. Anyway, Allison's stamina by the end of the week had waned considerably. To the point that when she was given the shot at a pose with Snow White, she passed. So now we have a picture of Snow White with only Spencer. Clay passed on Snow White, too. She was just too girly for him to stand beside.
I'll mention a couple funny things that happened.
One morning on the shuttle bus ride to one of the parks, Spencer trotted to the very back seat of the bus (for some reason, we always sat in the very back!) and plopped himself down next to an elderly lady and piped up with, "How are you doing this morning, young lady?" Well, she was quite taken with our little guy after that, and pointed out that he already knew the way to a woman's heart. I told her that Spencer is always very complimentary when it comes to girls. She asked if he got that from watching television, and I said no. I figure he comes by it genetically from his Uncle Brandon, who always knows the right thing to say to a girl.
Another Spencer story. There is a ride at Epcot called Ellen's Energy Adventure. It's hosted by video clips of Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye the Science Guy. The draw to this ride for us was Bill, not Ellen. We love Bill Nye! Anyway, at the very beginning, Ellen is setting up the whole premise of the ride in the "waiting area". Several rides had intro videos that played while we were still technically waiting to get on the ride. In her typical, stand-up style, she made it seem like she was actually there, talking to each of us personally. She said something about someone coming in late, and chastised them for that. Then she pointed out into the audience and said, "Oh, and you. Love your hair. That is so cute." And Spencer leaned toward me and said, "I think she's talking about me."
Now, one on both Allison and Clay. While Spencer fears nearly nothing, our other two are squeamish to varying degrees about bugs. Allison's distaste is extreme and is all encompassing. Clay's fear is less intense. He doesn't care for bugs, but really comes unglued over bees, probably because of the time he was stung five times in a mini-swarm of yellow jackets on our front porch.
Not too wisely, we took them into a 3-D film in Animal Kingdom called It's Tough to Be a Bug! What can I say? It appeared to be an educational film. Had I read the Disneyland book I bought in advance, we'd have skipped this. It plainly warns that several kids don't handle this well.
It was actually cute. What I saw of it, which was brief. There was a stink bug that said his defense against enemies was a bad scent. Then he showed us and poofed out a cloud on film, and the theater then blew out something that had the odor of skunk. The next bug said he shoots out acid against his enemies, and the theater gives the audience a little splash of water. But in 3-D, it's a bit more intense. Right around this point, Allison started crying and screaming. Loudly.
Unfortunately, we were in the middle of a very long row, or I'd have taken her out. From then on, I only heard bits and pieces because I'd slung Allison onto my lap and made her face the back of the auditorium. While she was still screaming in my ear, I heard mention of bees, which of course defend themselves by stinging. Something my oldest is well aware of. Again, the theater was quite inventive and poked you in the back with something to simulate a sting. That's about the time that Clay started screaming to beat the band! A glance at Spencer showed him to be watching with a glazed expression, but with no loss of composure.
Finally, the lights came on and the host bug of the film made a comment about leaving, but letting the cockroaches out first. Right about that time, you feel something sliding under your rear end that seems like roaches are underneath you. I thougth it was funny and clever, but Clay and Allison were messed up for quite a bit after that. And every time we took them into a 3-D show after that, Allison cried and didn't want to do it. We made her anyway, because I wanted her to see the fun of 3-D and not only the freak-out part. She eventually bounced back because I saw her reach out and try to touch some jewels that were floating in the air at Magic Kingdom's Mickey's PhilharMagic. Figures that it'd be jewels to bring her out of the funk.
My favorite still shot of Allison from the whole trip. The first time we went to Magic Kingdom, she was super excited to see the castle. The closer we got we realized our timing was perfect. We'd arrived right as a show was getting started. Oh, it was just too much to take it. Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck. All good and wonderful. But then came the princesses, dancing onto stage. And here's Allison's reaction.
Another highlight was that the kids got to be "Assistant Directors" at MGM's Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! As usual, Allison did not want to go in. Most of our trip was a struggle to get her do anything because she was afraid it'd be scary (Hey, I told you the 3-D bug thing messed her up. No joke). When we showed up with our Fast Passes, the guy asked if they'd like to introduce the show with the whole "Lights, Camera, Action" statement. The boys readily agreed, but Allison declined. She eventually changed her mind and we were led to very good seats up front. I'll have to see if I can figure out how to upload the video we took. I was praying they wouldn't embarass us too bady, because... well, that happens some times.
They did great though. Made us proud to claim them. They were asked to give their names and ages, which they did without any fighting over the microphone or pushing, which has happened at church music productions in the past. Nobody got scared up there in front of a couple hundred people, and they actually all spoke clearly enough to be understood, which isn't always the case with Miss Allison. She got all cute and girly afterwards though, covering her giggling mouth and doing a little nervous dance. Never mind that two minutes later, she was screaming to get out of there because of a loud explosion. I tried hard to coax her into staying by telling her about Aunt Alondra's stunt double days, but to no avial. She and I watched the remainder of the show from as far back as we could get without actually exiting.
In contrast to all of Allison's whining before each ride about being scared, we discovered that she has a real taste for speed. She doesn't care for dark situations, spooky noises or anything jumping out at her, but fast is good. Very good.
We have another video clip of her squealing with glee on a mini-coaster at Magic Kingdom's The Barnstormer. It is hilarious. She lets out a constant, high-decible scream the whole ride with only very brief pauses to draw breath. Bruce's mom said we should enter into America's Funniest Home Videos. Again, I'll share if I can figure out how.
Allison also cheered rousingly during the MGM Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show. (Stunts done in fast cars in daylight from seats further back are evidently less nerve-wrecking than stunts done by people in the dark and up close!). She kept screaming, "Whoo-hoo! That's awesome!!" And she loved Test Track at Epcot. It ranked another "awesome!".
Which leads me to the absolute, most terrifying thing that happened on the trip from my perspective. Two pictures say it all.
My boys. In the driver's seat. Yikes!!
I'll post more about Disney later. Time to feed the masses.
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