CHANGE

‘If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.’

— Maya Angelou

I've never been great at it, and God would use this trip to remind me of just that!

There is something about planning a trip to the happiest place on earth. After spending MONTHS and MONTHS planning for this trip of a lifetime, you often find yourself thinking about how things are going to happen...the sights, the sounds, the smells and for all these months...that was me! I couldn't wait to get to Orlando, everybody wearing the biggest smiles of their lives, with the best attitudes, wearing the cutest shirts...WELL, not everything goes as planned and this trip was definitely NO exception! From day one, I knew that our first full day would be in Magic Kingdom, because, afterall, that is where Dreams Come True! HOWEVER in all my planning, I NEVER imagined that one of my sweet children would be sick as a dog and ABSOLUTELY miserable! So needless to say, my schedule needed to be TOTALLY redone! Magic Kingdom didn't need to be our first stop, so we went to Animal Kingdom instead!

But first I must back up to the night before...I slept in the bed with Avery (afterall, she is sick and she needs her momma when she doesnt feel good!) and Brenly was with Ray...In the middle of the night Avery starts coughing, choking almost because her throat hurts so bad that she won't swollow...Next thing I knew, she was throwing up ALL over the place...herself, the bed, me...CHANGE...we are ALL in the same room, so Ray races to get a towel, we don't want to turn on all the lights for fear that Brenly will wake up...we have to CHANGE Avery and as I lift her gown, it gets ALL over me...I then proceed to CHANGE and look down at the bed and the sheets are covered...We need to CHANGE them as well, but you see, its 3:00 in the am and we are in a hotel...so instead we proceeded to pull all the sheets off the bed and Avery and I would leran to be comfortable on hotel towels...CrAzY!!!

So the next morning, we wake up and prepare our minds for the animal kingdom! We are all somewhat miserable from our LACK of sleep from the night before, but we manage to put our best smiles on and go for it...well some of us put our smiles on...


I asked Avery if she could muster up even the slightest of smiles and this is all I got...

We wait on the bus...

and finally arrive at our first park...

and as soon as we get just inside the front gates we see Mickey and Minni and Pluto...I think I was more excited than the kids :0)

We round the corner and spot the tree of Life

and then we start spotting characters right and left...Avery finally decided that she would get up and get an autograph or two..


and then it is time for the Lion King show to start (we really liked this show!)


and as we exit the building we see more characters


Avery was over it at this point so we left there and went to go on the safari ride, thinking it would be low key and we could all just enjoy a ride looking at all the animals...(*disclaimer...my children are not ones that have meltdowns..EVER...I mean, sure they don't always get there way, but NEVER do they through all out fits...UNTIL TODAY!) We are waiting in the line for the safari and THIS is what happens...

TOTAL MELTDOWN...in the line of a thousand people waiting to get onto this fabulous ride...

and there is sweet Brenly trying her best to smile her way through this nightmare :)
Thank the good Lord for Lamby on this trip...NONE of us would have survived if it weren't for that thing


we finally board the ride and she has another meltdown, like fall in the floor board of the ride and have a fit! and not while the safari tour guide is talking...it was during one of those real quiet moments, the one where everyone on the ride has their video cameras out trying to film this serene setting of beautiful animals that God has created...YES, that is the exact moment that Avery LOSES it! Screaming, Hollering, bloody murder...UGH...by this point we were ALL OVER IT! We decided to catch a good spot for the parade and unwind...

Can you tell that Avery wasn't excited about waiting either...

Brenly was as patient as ever...

(finally some peace and quiet, poor, sweet, sick, little one!)
Avery missed half of the parade...









After we saw Mickey Mouse, we decided that it was time for us to head and and get some rest...Day one proved to be a LONG day...But not before Brenly rode Expedition Everest...She didn't LOVE it, I just can't believe she did it!



(pictures came from the Disney handbook Website:)