Disney Day One

Last Thursday was a busy day. Micah and I went to playgroup, I got ready for class, taught Biology (we did coin-flip kids since we're in genetics right now-- it was fun!), and packed. Jeff came home from his conference in Vancouver and ran some last minute errands while I cleaned the house up, and then we were off! We left around 6 to our good friends' Katie, Angie, & Bre and spent the night at their place. Katie was nice enough to take us to the airport the next morning. (We're keeping our eyes out for a cool souvenir for you gals to thank you!)

Friday morning, way too early, we got ready and our flight left around 8:45 pacific time. Micah did great on the first flight and made buds with the kid in front. We had a layover in Chicago (convenient that Micah had his Cubs shirt on that Grampa brought him back from baseball trip) and Micah was really good again. We had to convince him to go to sleep, but thankfully he did for a little bit. Jeff was such a great dad on the trip. He sat by him for most of the trip, playing games with Micah, convincing him to sleep, watching his videos with him. We arrived in Orlando at 7:30 east coast time to be met by Grampa. After a quick bite and quick hello to the J's (Joel, Jodie, Jordan, Jadyn, Julie) we hit the hay at our place. Thankfully, Micah slept through the night.

We hit it hard early this morning and met everyone at Disney Hollywood Studios. We started it off with a Toy Story ride, and wandered around. The pace is a tad slower with the kiddos! We did run into a lot of characters and Jodie had made these awesome autograph books for all the characters to sign for Jordan, Micah, and Jadyn. One special moment was at lunch, Jordan saw a lion named Goliath from a show she loves and gave him a really long hug! (See Flickr to the right for all the pics.) Then, we saw two little einstein characters named June and Quincy and June noticed Jordan's Make-a-Wish button and gave her extra hugs and kisses, a special note and autograph and even kissed Jodie! When you consider that these characters can't talk, it's amazing how well they communicate. Another neat but humbling thing was that Jordan's pass allowed her to the front of any line. It was cool to see how every cast member noticed her and ushered her past all the people.

One of our favorite moments of the day then happened when we saw the Handy Manny character. Micah was so excited, but he was very afraid of all the characters. Usually he waved from a distance but became upset when they got too close. When Handy Manny came out and stood at his post, Jordan went up to him first. Micah was proud to show him his "tools" that he always carries around with him and then Micah stood by him to take a picture! We tried to get him to smile for the camera but he wouldn't take his eyes off Handy Manny-- he was mesmerized! We then saw a Playhouse Disney show that included Handy Manny and Little Einsteins and others, and Micah hardly sat down, he was dancing so much to the music.

We then went to Give Kids the World (where the J's were staying) which is like a small theme park in itself! We had ice cream at the ice cream bar, rode the carousel, rode the train around the campus, and just had a great time exploring there. Jordan made her pillow and her special star (that every child who stays there makes and it goes on the ceiling in the castle). It was just amazing to see how they made kids feel special and amazed in every way. It is a very special place. We were also humbled to see families with kids all with their own challenges and realize how fortunate Jordan really is. This trip is truly special for so many reasons.

Happy Mothers' Day tomorrow to Mom, Becky, Gramer, and and all my mom friends!