Tooth Fairy...

Mason finally lost his wiggly bottom tooth last night. There were many tears spilled over this one, but we triumphed over the fear! That tooth fairy pays a whopping $5 for teeth these days! Wow, that is some inflation over the lousy 25¢ I got when I was a kid.

There will be no toothless smile photos posted here, though. Sorry to disappoint. Mason's bottom adult teeth started growing in loooong before his baby teeth decided they needed to take a hike. I feel very robbed of a toothless grin. Good news, though – his two top teeth are loose and could bust out any day now!

Tree + House

Sometimes I come across something in Mason's book bag that makes me giggle, and this one takes the cake. What kid doesn't want a tree house? I am guessing you have to climb the tree Ninja-style to get to the house part, since there isn't a ladder. That isn't unsafe at all.

100% Fear

Water rides are not my favorite type of ride, but Splash Mountain is something you MUST do when you're at Magic Kingdom. The weather was quite nice for being outside all day, but not quite warm enough for a drenching water ride. We risked it anyway. Lucky for us, the people in front of Mason and I got soaked...we just got a few droplets. Whew! Needless to say, as much fun as the ride was, we didn't tempt fate a second time.


This ride scared the buhjeezus out of me. **Please note the smile on Brian and Mason's faces and the look of terror on my face.** Mason loved it so much that we rode it again. *Gulp*

8-Step Program...

Step 1: Start with a clean Mason face. Check.
Step 2: Put on a coat of primer. Check.


Step 3: Begin painting the details with a very tickly brush. Check.
Step 4: Try to contain your laughter – as giggling is contagious. Check.



Step 5: Fill in the details. Check.



Step 6: Sit back and basque in the magnificent splendor that is a kid's painted face.
Step 7: Wonder how long it took this professional face-painter to get so fast at this!


Step 8: RUN in fear!!!

Disclaimer: No actual tigers were harmed in the making of this 8-step program. A special thanks to Disney's Epcot face-painters for being amazingly quick!

Magic Kingdom Day #2

WARNING: Seriously cheesy tourist photos to follow!!! Proceed at your own risk!


Yes, I really do exist. I know there isn't much photographic evidence, but there it is, folks! No, I'm not the Goofy hat on top of Mason's head...I'm the one on the left. No really, that's me.



Thank goodness for PhotoPass people! I, being the professional photographer of the family, forgot to charge the camera battery the night before. So, the photos you see on this blog post are the photos I have of our day at Magic Kingdom. They were taken by random people and no thought or love went into them. Only I can tell, though.




I DID take this one. It was my first shot of the day...and one of my last. I must admit that it was very liberating to not have to capture every bit of an exciting day on camera. The only part of the day I was seriously disappointed was at the fireworks display. Words really won't do it justice, but it really was amazing.



Brian had to get in on the Goofy statue action. Aren't my boys handsome?



Teacups. I was forewarned about the teacups. Luckily, I know my limits when it comes to rides. Anything that repeatedly goes in a circle I put the kybosh on. No questions asked. The boys had a good time in them. Let's go to Space Mountain, shall we? You really can't go wrong with a roller coaster that is completely in the dark. In a word: AWESOME!

Sometimes It's Okay to Follow...

Check out the new gadget on the right-hand side of this page...Google has done it again! Nothing wrong with adding a little social networking to my social networking, right? Thanks to Kelly sBlog for making me so envious that I had to seek it out!

Animal Kingdom: Day #1

This tree is called The Tree of Life and it's the first thing you see as you wind your way into the park along a tree-lined trail filled with parrots and other animals. You can't really get a perspective on how massive this tree is until you take a step back from it...


Wow!


The entire thing is made from some kind of resin and there are animals carved out in every nook and cranny. Truly amazing! We all had fun picking out all of the animals. Later in the morning, we were inside of the tree for a 4-D show of It's Tough to be a Bug. I won't reveal any details, but it's not a show for the faint of heart!


Fans of The Lion King: This show is a must-see at Animal Kingdom! There is something for everyone in this show – singing for the music-lovers, dancing for the Broadway show lovers, characters for the kids and acrobats for the dare-devils!


The animatronics in this show were not stellar, but the live performers were AMAZING!


The costumes were beautiful and really eye-catching. I'll let you in on a little secret: Brian enjoyed this show. I know! So, go see this show...NOW!



After an amazing show, it was off to see some characters! We didn't stand in line too terribly long for any characters and it was tons of fun for Mason to collect their autographs! Of course, it was tons of fun for me to collect photos of Mason collecting their autographs. What?


While Mason and Brian stood in line for Chip and Dale's autographs, a park employee was striking up conversation and asked them if they wanted to be in the parade at 3 pm. Really? What kind of question is that?! So, we went where they were told to go shortly before the parade began and we were escorted backstage to where all of the floats were lined up. We were on a float right in front of Minnie Mouse! This was our view from backstage. I will post the photos from our view during the parade later.



Snack time at Disney is no small feat! With so many options, you can't really go wrong...especially with ice cream. The weather in Orlando was outstanding, so an ice cream treat in 80º weather was just the thing to cool us down. **Note that Mason is biting the strawberry bar with the side of his mouth since he has 3 loose teeth in the front**



Brian doesn't like to admit it, but when he's in the mood for sweets, he has giant eyes! When I took this photo, he had already eaten half of that cereal snack...and look at how much is left! For the record, I had an ice cream sandwich that was shaped like Mickey's head...it was delicious!



Performances were held throughout each park and we happened to be sitting in the snack area while this was going on. Music and dancing while you eat...how can you go wrong?


What is an animal park without a safari? Disney did a pretty good job making it look like the African plains, yes?



We saw lions, ostrich eggs, cheetahs, alligators and more!



A far-off view of Expedition Everest...the only ride I wasn't able to convince Mason to go on. Next time we visit Disney, it's first on my list!

The Happiest Birthday...

Here's a sneak peek of our very first day in Orlando. At check-in, they gave Mason a "Happy Birthday" button to wear during his visit. This proved to be quite beneficial throughout our stay...more on that later. Enjoy the birthday song!