Celebrating Mae...

Ernie's dear, sweet, compassionate, nonjudgemental, loving grandmother went home to be with the Lord this morning. There are many, many more wonderful adjectives to describe her. She's been doing poorly for about 2 months. They called the family back in Tuesday this week. Ernie and the kids went to see her at the nursing home Tuesday evening. Ernie went back Wednesday evening. He was able to say goodbye and tell her he loved her. Bella and I were quarantined at home due to her having swine flu. I am so thankful to have had the past 15 years knowing her. She was such a huge blessing to us. She was always there for everyone, any time she was needed. Her family meant the world to her. When Ernie and I started dating when I was 15, she took me in just like I was her granddaughter. She was always so accepting and approving of other people. She was my grandmother by marriage, but she was definitely the best grandmother I ever had. She was such a giver. When Michael was a toddler, we spent many days at her house visiting. She would cook him purple hull peas every single time we went to visit. He used to say "Peas? Mae, cook me peas?". She loved her family like no one I've ever known. Our kids adored her. She is so missed already, but I know she's in a better place. She's in Heaven with her husband who's been gone 30 years and her son. Maybe she's already met the baby we lost almost 6 years ago.






Michael's gotten a little too big to share the recliner with her. :)












When all of our kids were little she would rub heads with them and call it "head sugars".





I know it's only goodbye for now, until we see her in Heaven again one day, but it hurts. She shares a birthday with Ernie and has always called him her little birthday present. Michael almost shared a birthday with them, he was born two days earlier. I have never known anyone that loves their family like Mae did. She deserves a lot of credit for the kind of woman and mother I have turned into. I would spend hours with her when Michael was a baby. We would pack up and go spend the day at her house. I was 19 and a new mom, with most of my old friends still in college, definitely not married with kids. She was always there just to hang out with or to share a meal together. She always had an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on. She will never be forgotten.

Disney Day Six!

Our last breakfast reservation was at Ohana at The Polynesian. I think we served the best breakfast for last! The food here was really good. Ernie and I loved the POG(Passion fruit, orange & guava) juice. The kids weren't huge fans. Service, food, characters, atmosphere and price were all great. I think this was our least expensive meal of the trip, out of all of the table service meals. I was happy to pay for this one out of pocket, which we had to do, because we had booked a couple of meals that required two table service tickets. Bella enjoyed Lilo and Stitch a little bit.








My kids look worn out!


Bella smiled a little bit at this meal.








Parading around the restaurant.


Stitch snuck up on Annalee.


Stitch playing with Michael.


Bella smiling a little bit at Lilo.




The Magic Kingdom getting ready to open!








Halloween decorations.








Splash Mountain!






















It's a Small World... my least favorite ride! My knees were killing me from pushing against the bench in front of me the whole ride. It was cramped and I'm a short person!


More Halloween decorations!

We spent the afternoon at the resort then came back to MK for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. It was a blast and well worth the extra price, in my opinion!


Best Tooth Fairy costume I'd ever seen!
























Waiting for the Boo To You parade.


Headless Horseman!






















The lady beside me was going on and on about the pirates... I just don't see the attraction!


























Candy station

Disney Day Five!

Day 5 of our trip was hubby's birthday. His one request was that we sleep in, since it was one of the few days without a breakfast reservation. We slept til about 9, ate breakfast at the resort(one of the best breakfasts) then headed to Animal Kingdom.

































We had the coolest driver on the safari ride. She was a lot of fun & corny as all get out.




We ended the day with supper at Hoop Dee Doo! It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip and a keeper! We will definitely go back there our next trip. The food was fantastic & entertainment was a barrel of fun!


Bella fell asleep on the boat ride over.


The kids waiting patiently for the doors to open.


Michael got called up to ring the dinner bell.


Everyone got moved forward to Tier 1 and 2.



That wrapped up day 5!

Disney Day Four!

We went back to Epcot again for day 4. We sat around killing time while waiting for them to open the gate for those of us that scheduled an insanely early breakfast at Akershus in Norway.


I loved the fountain. Bella wasn't crazy about it.




A quick break tp re-tie shoes. Annalee looks thrilled to be up and about this early.














This was Annalee's favorite meal, because it was the only place we saw her favorite princess!


The food was decent at Akershus, but the service left much to be desired. It was the only Disney meal where the service was not even what I would call decent. The whole meal felt very rushed. Annalee still claims it was her favorite because of Ariel, though!


Monorail!


Ellen's Universe of Energy. I was skeptical of this ride, but we enjoyed it!


Trying to appease Bella while a worker checked to make sure the ride was ready to go.


Michael and Annalee playing a recycling game by Waste Management. They loved it.


These guys were pretty good!


Character Spot!












Mousegear... I loved this store!














Tired kids on the bus, headed back to the hotel.

Disney Day Three

Our 3rd full day at Disney World was Michael's 11th birthday. We started our morning at Chef Mickey's. I think it was one of our least favorites for food, but the characters and entertainment were great!



My Bella was so tired! She was asleep until they took our picture when we got here.














My birthday boys got birthday cupcakes!




The birthday celebration! They know how to party at Chef Mickey's!








Then we went to Hollywood Studios. After the fact, I wished we had planned two days here. This is the back side of Tower of Terror. One of my favorite rides!
















I think the boys really enjoyed this show. The girls and I sat outside and waited for them. It was too loud for them.




The High School Musical 3 show. We loved it!
















Michael's birthday supper was at Rainforest Cafe. That was one of the best meals we had down there!




The kids posing outside of Design a Tee in Downtown Disney.

This was one of my favorite days of the trip. The pictures are bringing back lots of memories! I already want to go back again.

Disney Day Two!

We started day two out bright and early at Epcot. We all had a great day at Epcot. We rode several rides and explore the countries a little bit.


We all loved seeing the big ball!




We all started out on Spaceship Earth. I had Bella on one knee and Annalee on the other, because her side of the seat was wet!






The kids enjoyed doing the Kim Possible mission.


I loved seeing a picture of them working together! I was outside with a sleeping toddler. I didn't realize there was a handicap accessible entrance(allowing me to bring the stroller in) until they were close to finished with the mission.


Bella was worn out!








Supper at The Garden Grill. We loved the characters here!




This Pluto was my favorite!










Pluto singing Happy Birthday with his hands.



That wrapped up Day Two!

Panama City Beach & Disney Day One

We are finally home from vacation! It has been a long time since we've all gone on a vacation longer than a long weekend as a family, so we really did this one up big! We spent one night in Panama City Beach going and coming and 7 nights in Disney. We've only been back since Sunday night and I'm ready to go again! I'm not sure my family agrees, though. We are all still somewhat tired. We were very impressed with the condo we stayed in the first night in Panama City Beach, but on the return trip the condo left a little to be desired. They put us in a smaller room than we'd reserved, but they did correct that problem. I seriously doubt we'd stay there again.

Our view was awesome.

The beautiful pool.

Pineapple Willy's deck.

The kids had a good time swimming in the cold pool! I couldn't handle the chill.




Then Disney! The most magical place on Earth! I have never had a vacation I have enjoyed as much as this one. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and it was beautiful! We were in Alligator Bayou. We saw a bunny hopping across the sidewalk several evenings. I had a frog land on my foot while we were out walking after dark one night. There were lots of squirrels and cranes around. We loved it.

We started the morning of our first full day with breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table in the castle. Ernie wanted to take the bus provided by Disney and I wanted to drive. It has been 12 years since I'd been there and I'd forgotten that you have to park way out and wait for a tram at Magic Kingdom. Our reservation was at 9:45 and we weren't ready to leave the resort until 9:00. A big mistake to wait that long to leave. Ernie insisted I go ask for directions, thank goodness! So, I went to the bell services and asked for directions, trying to get out of there in a hurry. One of the workers gave me a map and highlighted the route and said we could easily make it. Another worker looked at her and said "not today, she won't". My heart sunk. I didn't want to start the vacation by missing our first meal with the princesses! She said there was a triathlon going on and all of the main roads were closed. She sent me to the concierge for directions. After waiting in line, I finally got to a concierge and was told that our only hope was to ride the bus. She said that using the back roads and waiting for a tram would take a minimum of 1.5 hours. At this time it was 9:15. Just 30 minutes til our reservation. She said they would hold the table for 15 minutes. We finally made it to a bus and were on the way. My stomach was in knots and I just knew that we were going to miss it. We made it to Magic Kingdom at 10:10. I told the kids that we'd probably lost our table, but we were going to try to make it there and at least find out. We made it to the castle around 10:17 and they still had our table. That was seriously the worst part of the trip(other than the drive). We really enjoyed the breakfast and the atmosphere once everyone calmed down.

Bella loved the stars on the table.

Bella's plate. I loved that they brought her food!

Snow White and my sweet girls.

Michael even enjoyed this meal.





Bella wasn't too sure of Jasmine.



Our first ride.





The older two were thrilled to meet Mickey and Minnie. Bella, not so much!















That was it from day one! A day full of tons of memories.