Hakuna Matata!

September 13th was Day 3 of our Magical Adventure.  We met for a big breakfast in the resort which included Mickey Mouse shaped waffles!  They were so cute and yummy, and we ended up getting some every morning after that (per my request!) 

We spent Day 3 at Animal Kingdom.  Thankfully it was one of two days that we would go there because we really enjoyed it!  Later that evening we had a character dinner with Mickey and Friends, so we made sure to dress for the occasion!  The boys had matching Mickey Mouse shirts...

and the girls had matching Minnie Mouse shirts. 

Maddy is fascinated with flowers and Animal Kingdom is full of beautiful landscape.  I think she stopped to observe and smell each one!

We went to see the "It's Tough To Be a Bug!" show first.

They gave everyone 3D bug glasses to wear during the show!  Katybug loved them! 

The show was a little creepy! They made it feel like bugs were crawling around and stinging you in the back!

Next was the Jungle Safari which we all really enjoyed.  We boarded a huge Safari Rover...

and saw lots of animals up close!

After the Jungle Safari we saw Flik from A Bug's Life!

Jonathan, my Dad and I took Lily and Katy on the Kali River rapids which is a white water raft ride.  The sign said, "You WILL get wet, but you MAY get soaked!"  Lily and Katy loved this ride, and boy did they get soaked!  It was one of our favorite rides for sure!

After lunch we saw the Broadway production of the Festival of the Lion King show.  It was awesome!

After a fun day at Animal Kingdom, we headed over to Disney's Contemporary Resort for our character dinner at Chef Mickey's!

Our family with Chef Mickey!

I wasn't sure how the kids would react to Mickey Mouse and Friends.  We have NEVER had Cable TV, so we don't watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse at all, just borrowed a couple of movies for our road trip.  But the kids fell in love with all of the characters and had a great time with them when they visited our table!

Goofy was so silly!

Parker finished the night off with some yummy chocolate ice cream! 

We had another great day together!  Thank you LORD for allowing our family to explore your creation up close! 

And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so.God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:24-25

Fairy Tales Do Come True!

Day 2 of our Magical Adventure was spent at the Magic Kingdom.  This was our first of three days at Magic Kingdom, so we were able to take our time and enjoy the day.  We arrived around 9:00am and closed down the park at 9:00pm!  The park was decorated for Halloween already! 

The girls couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the castle!

After walking down Main Street, U.S.A. we headed over to Adventureland.  First ride was:

Notice the camel...well, he spits out water!  Jonathan held up Parker to see...

and he got spit on for sure! 

A whole new world...on a magic carpet ride!

Next stop was Swiss Family Treehouse.

The kids were fascinated.

Jonathan told Lily he'd like to live in a treehouse one day! 

One of our favorite rides of the week was the Jungle Cruise.

Parker still loves trains.  He carried Thomas with him all week.  I can't believe we didn't lose him!  He loved watching the train at Walt Disney World Railroad. 

He was excited to finally take a ride on the choo choo!

Every day there was a parade.  We loved watching them and seeing all of the characters.

Look how sweaty Katybug is!  The kids did great dealing with the heat.

Belle blew us a kiss!

Maddy loved staring out at the castle...

Our Character Dinner on Sunday was at The Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and Friends! 

I love, love, love Winnie the Pooh!   

After our supper, we found Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen from Princess and the Frog!  They were both so great with the kids!  I couldn't believe how much time they spent talking with them.  Katy loves Tiana so she was so excited!

Parker was being shy and didn't want to see Tiana, so Prince Naveen came over to talk to him about Thomas! 

Prince Naveen tried to lure Parker over for a picture by giving Tiana his Thomas!

No luck with Parker, but I did get one with the girls.

Katy is still talking about getting a hug from Tiana!

Then we headed over to Fantasyland and rode Dumbo the Flying Elephant!

Next, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh!

As the sun went down, the castle started changing colors.  It was beautiful!

All of us had fun riding Prince Charming Regal Carrousel.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the kids.  They had never seen a 3D movie before, so they were so excited to put on the silly glasses!  Mickey's PhilharMagic show was really great!  It is a must see!  We ended up seeing it 2x!

We tried to stay for the Wishes Fireworks show, but a horrible thunder and lightning storm blew in right before it was to begin.  Those of you that know Jonathan, know that we can't go on any vacation or outing without a near death experience occurring!  :)  The storm was the worst we have ever been in.  The rain was blowing sideways, the lightning was striking all around the park, and the thunder was deafening.  Thankfully we made it back to our resort safely...a bit soaked and trembling with fear...but safe nonetheless!  We had another wonderful day together and thank the LORD for making our fairy tales come true for us!  We snuggled in bed and rested up for our next adventure! 

"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted."