Magic Kingdom Adventures--Day #2

Day Two of our Disney Trip took us back to Magic Kingdom.  They day before was just a taste of what was to come for our first full day at the parks!

Harper and I woke up bright and early...headed to the bus stop and arrived at MK a little before 8 am.  Just in time for her appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  Last time she got the royal treatment...dress and all.  But this time, we just opted for the hairdo and makeup because Grandma had made Harper a super comfy Belle dress that was adorable.  This time was just as magical as the last.  Our "Fairy Godmother in Training" was super nice and funny too!  When Harper saw herself in the mirror for the first time, she was all smiles!

After Harper was princessed-up and ready to go, her and I waited on the boys to arrive at MK.  Once the did, it was off to the Pirate's League...for Owen's special treat!  This was by far one of the cooler things we did while we were at Disney.  Owen was taken into the Pirate's League and turned a special treasure wheel to get his pirate name.  He ended up with Jason Seamenace.  It was hilarious because all of the ladies are in character and they called him Jason the whole time.  He was a little ticklish so the beard took a little while, but he was so proud of his pirate look!  He kept making a super cute "arrggh" noise with a "Yo-Ho!" too.  Before we left the Pirate's League...he got to go into a secret room (but it is secret room so I can't tell you about it) and have his picture taken.  So fun!

We spent the rest of the day riding a TON of rides, meeting a TON of our favorite characters and having a TON of fun!  We even got to have lunch inside the Beast's Castle.  Of course our little Belle felt right at home.  Owen got to see Captain Jack Sparrow also.  If you notice, we had so much fun that by the end of the day...our pirate was almost a boy again!

Let the Magic Begin--Day #1

For Spring Break this year we headed back to the Wonderful World of Disney!  I know I have said this before about our trips to Disney, but every penny spent on this fabulous trip was TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!  Seeing the look on my kids' faces was a memory I will never forget.
We started our adventure in Dallas on Saturday and stayed the night at a hotel close to the airport.  We got up bright and early to head to the DFW airport...we arrived at 4:16 am to be exact.  But the kids were so pumped they didn't care how early it was.  Our flight left out at 6:00 am and we arrived at our hotel around 10:30 am...Florida time.  We got checked in and headed straight to our Little Mermaid room at the new Art of Animation resort on the Disney property.  It was so cool and totally geared towards kids.  After a quick nap, we loaded up and headed to Magic Kingdom.
We arrived at just the right time...the beginning of the parade.  We got a front row seat and Harper got to "high five" and wave at most of the characters.  After that, we headed to see Mickey Mouse himself.  It was at this point, that I saw the magic in Owen's eyes.  He was so excited to have Mickey sign his autograph book and was in awe of every character we met after that.  Harper was the perfect age to still believe in the magic, but I could tell she played it up for her brother too!  I must admit, Disney is just as magical for Richard and I as it is for the kids!
We stayed at Magic Kingdom for the rest of the evening.  We rode all of our favorite rides, watched the fireworks show and danced at the block party.  We even got to visit the new part of Magic Kingdom, where the Beast's Castle is.  Harper and Owen got to enjoy some LaFue's Brew at Gaston's Tavern (non-alcoholic...I assure you!) and we were also graced with Gaston's presence.  But no rest for the weary, we headed back to the hotel to get geared up for the next 5 days!!!
Get ready...here come the pictures!

Patient Owen

Last Sunday night, Owen was running a super high fever and was complaining of immense pain in his neck.  He couldn't seem to move his head from side to side and he was crying...a lot!  We decided to take him to Children's Hospital, because he wasn't getting better with Motrin and he was inconsolable.  My mom and I took Owen and we arrived around 9:15 pm.  Then the fun began...doctors & nurses...an xray...an IV...a CT scan...IV pain meds because he couldn't move his neck. 
All this and around 4:45 am, the doctor came in and said we were going to be admitted due to the fact that Owen had a retro pharyngeal abscess.  Huh?  They explained it to me, it is a small lymph node at the very back of the neck, right at the airway that can get abscessed from complications with strep (or at least that is what I interpreted the doctor saying.).  All this time, Owen had never fallen asleep.  Richard came to join us in the mix of all that and we were both exhausted! We got settled into our room upstairs just in time for nurse shift change and IV antiobiotics, etc.  So...no rest for the weary. 
Monday morning, Owen was excited to get Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast, but wasn't interested in much else.  Just laying around and watching TV.  The best part was when our Child Life Specialist (yes that is really a job...so fun!) came into our room and brought Owen some toys and played with him.  She also invited Owen down to the Playroom downstairs, but he wasn't up for moving just yet.  Richard ran home to shower and grab our stuff.  At this point, they kept saying it would be a couple of days!  Meanwhile, Owen and I hung out...had lunch and went for a walk around our floor.  He just had a little trouble remembering that he was hooked up and could only go as far as the tube would allow.  Richard came back, I got a shower and we had a ton of visitors that brought Owen all kinds of super cool and entertaining gifts!  That night, Harper came with Grandma and Boppy and she got to play with Owen in the Playroom downstairs.  They were both in heaven!  We finally dragged Owen upstairs and got wiped down and ready for bed.  At this point, Owen couldn't have anything to eat or drink because they were planning on doing surgery on Tuesday morning to drain the abscess.  But Owen sacked out early...we all did!  Of course, I didn't sleep well with all of the nurses coming in and out, but Owen did! 
Tuesday morning he woke up and seemed so much better. When the doctor came in he said they weren't going to do the surgery, but that we would stay with the antibiotics and pain meds for a few more days!  Owen was bouncing off the walls, so the nurse and Owen agreed that if he drank all of his milk, she would "unhook" him so he could go back down to the playroom without having to drag the IV along.  He was all for that.  He ate a hamburger for lunch...again...and we spent most of the rest of the day playing in the Playroom and the outside area.  We even got to have a picnic with Aunt Mel!  We returned to our room at 3ish and not too much later the nurse came in and said, "I have your discharge papers!"  What?  I was thinking a few more days, but we packed up in about 5 minutes are we were out the door!
Since then, Owen has been on heavy antibiotics, but hasn't had motrin since the weekend.  I think he is all back to normal.  Owen was the patient...but I had to use my patience this time around!  Here's to healthy kids!!! :)