Disney for Rosemary’s Birthday

This past weekend we headed down to Orlando to spend the weekend at the condo with my parents. It also worked out for Jonathan and I to go to the Magic Kingdom with Rosemary to celebrate her 6th birthday (thank you, Steve!).

We needed to be at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom by 8:30am. The park didn’t open until 9am so when we parked, we parked close enough that we didn’t even need a tram to get to the Transportation Center. We caught the first monorail of the day (with about only 20 other people) and rode over to the entrance.

So excited about the day!

We double checked about riding in the front of the monorail on the way over, but like we thought, it’s not allowed anymore. The last time we rode in the front Rosemary was 2, so she won’t remember it.

We were there early enough to see the opening show. In all the times I’ve been to Disney, I had never seen the opening show so that was very fun.

Once in, we basically made a beeline for Fantasyland. It’s also nice getting there early because then you can walk through the middle of the castle. I don’t know why, but I love doing that.

Since it was early, we managed to ride all of the Fantasyland rides except the tea cups in 40 minutes. It was amazing. By the time we were finishing up, lines had gone up to 20 minute waits. We rode Peter Pan, Snow White, Winnie-the-Pooh, the carrousel, and it’s a small world. It’s amazing how fast you can move without a stroller!

Riding the carrousel.

Walking onto it’s a small world. No line at all!!

Riding with her dad. Every time we ride this we talk about how Rosemary fell asleep in her daddy’s arms the first time she ever rode it.

In the stocks

After Fantasyland, Jonathan grabbed a bite of breakfast and we headed over to Adventureland to meet Tinker Bell (which did not go well), ride the magic carpets, see the Tiki birds, and ride the Jungle Cruise. Rosemary did not want to ride pirates this time.

After Adventureland, we went to Frontierland and rode Splash Mountain for the first time with Rosemary. I’ve ridden that ride quite a bit and never gotten as wet as we got on Saturday. And it was chilly! Thunder Mountain was closed so we didn’t get a chance to ride it. Next we headed to Tom Sawyer’s Island.

Then it was time for some lunch. Lobster rolls for Rosemary from Columbia Harbor House. She loves those.

After lunch we went over to Tomorrowland, but stopped and watched Dream Along with Mickey at the castle. We rode the People Mover, Carousel of Progress, and Buzz Lightyear.

It was almost time for the parade so we found a seat near the riverboat, which Rosemary wanted to ride next. By the time the parade was over though, the riverboat was closed for maintenance so instead we went over to the train and rode from Frontierland to Main Street.

From there we stopped by the Emporium to pick out a souvenir (a Minnie little doll set) then since we did everything Rosemary wanted to do (or at least didn’t want to wait to do) we caught the monorail back to the Transportation Center and then over to EPCOT. First we picked up our heavy coats…the temperature was definitely dropping!

We got to EPCOT around 5pm and got Soarin’ Fastpasses (the ride Rosemary REALLY wanted to ride) and then rode the Nemo ride. It was getting close to dinner so we decided to see how long the wait for dinner would be at the Rose and Crown. It was only 15 minutes so we waited.

Enjoying a roll.

Still daylight at this point. Dinner took a REALLY long time, we were there for about an hour an a half, and by the time we headed out it was dark. We did a quick tour of the World Showcase and stopped in Japan, Italy, and Mexico to look around a bit. Then we headed over to Soarin’. I think Rosemary liked it as much as she had hoped to.

Our last ride of the day was Spaceship Earth. By the time we were heading out, it was after 9pm, over 12 hours after we’d arrived. We took the monorail back to the Transportation Center and on our way out to the car, Rosemary asked to be carried. At first I said she needed to walk, but then I realized just how tired she had to be. I picked her up and she fell asleep in my arms. Jonathan carried her the rest of the way and she stayed asleep until we were back at the condo. It was such a full, wonderful, and special day. Even if Rosemary doesn’t remember it, I know I will.

Morningside Nature Center Field Trip

Rosemary’s co-op went on a field trip to Morningside last week. I thought that it was going to be about farm animals, but it was actually about animals and their natural habitats.

Rosemary was hesitant to participate and engage in things at first, but once the guides started talking about animals, she perked up. I was very proud of her for being able to identify a great horned owl when the group was asked.

One part of the trip involved the kids building a habitat in a sand box and then identifying and placing animals in the habitat and as part of a food chain. The kids loved this part.

Adding trees to the habitat

More trees

The finished habitat, just need to add the animals!

Rosemary is 6!

At the end of last month, Rosemary celebrated her sixth birthday.

Jonathan took the day off and we spent it relaxing and enjoying our family. Ben went to school that morning and while he was there, Jonathan stayed at the house while Charlotte napped and Rosemary and I headed to Toys R Us. She had a couple of gift cards and birthday money to use. After picking out some mermaids for her and a toy fly for Ben, we headed home.

We picked Ben up from school then went to Chick-fil-a for lunch.

Our big 6 year old enjoyed some nuggets before heading into the play area.

The older two kids feasted on some ice cream too.

Charlotte is our little ham. She enjoyed this year’s Chick-fil-a lunch a bit more than last year’s.

After lunch the younger ones slept and Rosemary watched her Fashion Fairy Tale movie then rode her new bike. I need to get some pics of her riding her bike because she’s been riding it without training wheels since November (maybe longer?) and I haven’t snapped a photo of it yet. After that, it was time to get ready for ballet.

Rosemary requested to go on a date with me to Five Guys after ballet. So we did. While we were there, she told me a lot of different things.

1. If she could go anywhere in the world, she would go to Hawaii to see the hula girls.
2. When she grows up she wants to be either a farmer, a dress designer, or a gymnastics or ballet teacher.
3. Her best friend is Hannah.
4. Her favorite subject in school is snack time.
5. Her favorite color is pink.
6. Her favorite food is peanut butter and honey sandwiches and drink is orange soda.

Then we stopped by Publix to pick up some cupcakes and came home and enjoyed those.

Making her wish.

Happy birthday, sweet girl! How special you are.

Legoland Florida

Earlier this week we headed to Legoland. Our homeschool co-op arranged for a field trip and we were able to get amazingly inexpensive tickets. There were 167 people from our co-op there, but since it was a ‘self-guided’ tour, we were able to all do our own thing. It was our first trip to Legoland, although Jonathan and I had been to Cypress Gardens when we were kids. The last time I went to Cypress Gardens though was one summer in college so it had been a long time.

Rosemary and Ben loved Legoland. And we all had a great day.

The lion roared as we were getting ready to take Rosemary’s photo.

Ben wasn’t quite tall enough to ride some of the rollercoasters, so he and I waited for Jonathan and Rosemary to ride the dragon. He was pretty content to dress up like a pirate.

The gardens brought back lots of memories of family trips to Cypress Gardens when I was little. I’m pretty sure there’s a picture of me and my brother somewhere near this sign with a real southern belle.

Another Cypress Gardens icon.

We rested a bit under the big banyan tree that’s still there.

Another lego southern belle

Miniland was one of Ben’s favorite spots and it really was a pretty neat area with all the lego creations of big US cities.

We caught the ski show and that brought back lots of memories too.

While Rosemary and I rode another rollercoaster, Ben, Charlotte, and Jonathan built a lego car and raced it.

This was a fun wooden coaster. Pretty fast and a lot of fun.

Our last ride of the day (and we didn’t get any photos while on it) was the Island in the Sky. It was around five o’clock so the sky was beautiful. Again, lots of good memories and it was fun to share that with our kids.

We closed the place up and didn’t even ride all of the rides. We enjoyed the entire day.