Our Life: An Autobiography

Up at 7AM and to bed by 11PM. As I write this post, the kids are sleeping soundly. The grace of God was all over them today. They never stopped from early to late and their attitudes were incredible. I was so thankful at how God worked in their little hearts today. It could have gone bad with all the heat, the foot traffic, the lines, the worn out bodies, and the very long grind of a day at Disney World.

Did they have a blast? I’m not sure they could have been more encouraged. We were one of the first ones at the gates before they opened. I bought Tristen an autograph book so she could get all the princesses autographs throughout the day. She was so grateful.

The Disney crew came out and did their opening song and then the gates were opened. We headed right to the Dumbo ride at the back of the park. There were no lines. The first two hours in the park for us were rides, re-rides, and no lines. It was pretty cool. Most of the folks went right or left when they entered the park and swept either clockwise or counter-clockwise and eventually converged where we were. By the time both groups got to us, we were gone. It was a good day.

Ansa had her first roller coaster ride. All of them liked Splash Mountain and the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rides. I believe those two rides were their favorites. We went on them several times. They couldn’t stand it (that’s a good thing). As they came off, they were cheering to get back on. It was fun times for them.

The first character we saw were the step-sisters of Cinderella. I had no clue who they were and went to them to get their autographs for Tristen. One of the mean step-sisters was mean to me. I was slightly offended because I did not know she was acting. I thought, “Who the heck are you? I only want an autograph.” I mentioned this to Lucia only to find out who the character was. I didn’t read those stories as a kid.

When we got on the Mad Tea Party, I spun the cup we were in as hard as I could. I nearly threw up. The kids couldn’t get enough. Being fifty-one is a bit different than being 4, 6, or 8. Ansa loved the tea cup. I was done!

We had planeed on returning to Kidani Village for the afternoon and going back later, but we were so energized that no one wanted to go home, especially me. It was just too much fun. I’m sorta not looking that forward to getting back to work. I’d love to be here with my family for a month. This is fun.

Today was off to Downtown Disney. It was a full day for the kids. We finished it off with some monorail rides. The kids got their first glimpse of the castle. That has been the main point of discussion over the past few months.

Surprisingly, Tristen said, “It’s pink! I thought it was white.” She was disappointed. It was funny.

The cool thing about the kids is that it takes nearly nothing to stimulate their imaginations and bring enjoyment to their lives. They live somewhat simply and can enjoy the most modest things. With that in mind, you can imagine how “off the chain” they are about anything they see or experience.

Whether we’re looking out the window of the Kidani Village at the animals, or swimming in the bathtub, it’s all awesome to them.

They also get their free pic of a Disney movie from the gift shop. As a guest, you can watch any Disney DVD for no extra charge. They watched Pocahontus II tonight. Can life be better? I bought a $15 mug and you can refill it as many times as you want. I think it has been refilled 15 times the first day! Life is good.

The folks at the registration sent us some cake, whip cream stuff in ice cream cones. They wanted to bless us. They knew we were first timers and thought it would be a nice touch. It was!

We went to Lego Land at Downtown Disney. I had a cuban sandwich at Bongos. Haydn ate half of it. I was surprised. He totally loved it. Haydn and Ansa had 1/2 my Cuban coffee. That revved their engines.

We went on a ferry ride. We bought a box of Mr. Potato Head parts. You could fill a box for $20 and it didn’t matter how many parts, as long as you could close the box top. We got mostly “Mickey” type parts.

A friend back home gave the kids some pins to trade. You can go up to any Cast Member and ask them for one of their pins if you’re willing to trade yours. They have been trading pins all day. That has been good for them, in that they are interacting with adults. They have traded many times now.

It rained a little, but no big deal. I hardly think this week could be ruined. The kids (and us) will need a week to recover, but it will be well worth it.

Tomorrow…off to the Magic Kingdom…

Today was packing and travel day. We packed the van and made our way northeast for the two hour trip to Walt Disney World. The kids maxed out St. Pete Beach and were ready to go. It seemed perfect. They were not “pre-thinking” Disney, while missing out on St. Pete. They fully enjoyed St. Pete up to the last minute and when it was time to head to Disney, they transitioned appropriately. It could not have been better.

They became focused on Disney when we headed to Disney.

The trip was quick. We stopped once at the restroom and kept moving. We did not give the kids any hints about when we were getting close to Disney. We wanted them to figure it out through their own observations. When we hit the exit off I-4 they figured it out.

Tristen said, “Daddy, all things are becoming colorful.” That was an awesome quote.

Ansa said, “We made it; we made it; we made it; we made it…” She was singing it.

When it was time to be at Disney, there were fully stoked about being here.

Tristen’s quote reminded me of what I might say when I get to heaven. I would not want to equate Disney World with heaven, but I do think when I get to heaven there will be obvious, quick, and discernible differences.

We are staying at Kidani Village. Let’s just say it is incredible. Disney is Disney. They do things right. The folks are kind. The facilities are clean. Things are administrated in a common sense way. We are well taken care of. The condo is huge.

The kid’s first Disney experience was getting in the jacuzzi tub with the jets roaring. The kids are small, the tub is huge, and the fun was quite entertaining.

We’re here!! Praise God…

Today was our last day at the beach according to our vacation plans. It was also noticeable in that Tristen was not asking to go to the beach today. That is quite remarkable! Tristen loves the beach as much as any place in the world. She was born to be in the water. She is just like her mother. However, today she was not asking to go to the beach. I think she is nearly worn out. That, too, is amazing. The hot sun, the non-stop activity, and endless fun has brought her down to a mere mortal girl. She’s tired.

Today we donned on our roller blades and rolled to the Don Ce Sar, the pink hotel on St. Pete Beach. I rolled about 1/2 mile and then walked the rest of the way. Lucia and Tristen went all the way there and back on their roller blades. It was three miles. Haydn rolled part of the way, took the blades off part of the way and rolled back to our house. Ansa got the royal treatment as she sat in the stroller the whole way. She was the only one who really complained about the weather. It was hot.

Tristen was amazing. She went the whole distance on her blades and never complained. It was a fun trip, but probably about as long as we could go under the circumstances. We took pictures of beautiful flowers. We stopped at a picnic shelter and then a convenience store for ice cream and a potty break.

That was the highlight of our day.

We came in and sat under the cool air conditioning for awhile. Then we went to the beach around 5PM. I did not get in the water for the first time this week. Lucia spent a good bit of time in the water, more than I expected. Tristen initially stayed on the shore digging out a village. She eventually wandered into the water and played quite a bit. Haydn went in, though he was still a bit hesitant after the jellyfish incident on Wednesday. Ansa went in and splashed around a lot, but was ready to crash about two hours later. She lay on a beach towel for about a 1/2 hour. She is my only child who listens to her body. When she is tired, she says she is tired and cooperates 100 percent when asked to lay down. She knows she is ready to lay down no matter how much fun she is having and she does lay down. Quite amazing. The other two push themselves past wise limits.

I continued reading “The Cross Centered Life,” the larger volume. I told Lucia that it is more meaningful this time through than ever before. The message of the Cross becomes sweeter as the years pass along. That was a pleasant and welcomed surprise to me.

The kids did some broad jumping (Haydn and Tristen) on the beach. Haydn jumped nearly 9 feet. Amazing. I was more than surprised at how far he could jump. He naturally gets athletics.

We came in to eat and pack. Tomorrow (Sunday) is our day to go to Disney World.

This has been our best vacation ever, no doubt.

“I like this house, mom, because the bedroom is close to the kitchen, the living room is close to the kitchen, and the bathroom is close to the kitchen.” -Haydn (I see a pattern here.)

We paid for a four-day stay, with us leaving on Friday AM. We figured if we didn’t like the accommodations or if the kids had enough or if the weather was stormy or if we wanted to do something else or if we wanted to go to Disney two days earlier and just hang in the hotel, we would not be locked into a longer term lease in St. Pete.

After being here a couple of days, we all wanted to stay longer, so we talked to our owner about extending another two days. We knew our bungalow was reserved beginning today, so we would have to move to another place that she had, if it was available, or move to a different kind of place altogether.

The Lord was extremely gracious to us, not that he had to be, but he was: she had another place two doors down. It was a bit smaller, but for us it was perfect. Small or large matters not. Being together matters most. So we have a smaller place with the living room, bedroom, kitchen, and dinning room all in one big room. It’s pretty cool actually.

We spent from 10 to 12 moving and then hung out watching cartoons for a few hours. This was the first day that we did not do anything as far as a planned activity. Nobody really complained about it, which was a clue that slow was best. I think everyone is tired. We’ve been going at it pretty hard.

(Right now Lucia is in bed and I’m watching nickjr with the kids. They’re sitting together on the couch eating popcorn.)

Lucia took a nap after we got all moved in. Then I took a nap. By that time it was 4PM and we decided to head out to the beach for a 3-hour splash time. That was great. We buried Haydn because you’re supposed to do that when you go to the beach. Ansa wanted to be buried, so we buried her too. Tristen found more sand dollars.

I threw the kids up in the air a bunch, launching them into the ocean. They really liked that. The sad news is that Tristen is getting so big that I can’t lift her anymore. I’m sad about my little girl getting bigger, but life must go on.

Toward the end Lucia saw a jellyfish, so I had the kids get out of the ocean. Haydn still has sting marks all over his wrist from getting stung on Wednesday. He has been super-tentative about getting in the ocean. I don’t blame him. He will go in if I go in. He’ll go in with Lucia. Sometimes he will go by himself, but prefers to be close to someone.

We were going to go roller blading when we got back to our place, but after Lucia took a shower and we all got turned around, I wasn’t really up to it and no one else was terribly disappointed. Food was more important. It was a good and much slower day. I think that served Lucia and the kids much better today.

Yesterday Lucia met Emily on the beach. Emily is from Kentucky. She had a cute little baby daughter with her. Her husband is in Japan for three months. Emily is staying in the bungalow in the same house as us. There are three “apartments” that this house has been converted to. Emily went to DeSoto Beach yesterday and raved about it. She said we should go. Desoto Beach was rated as one of the top ten beaches in America for 2005.

We did the research and also found out there was a fort on this peninsula. It is called Fort DeSoto. Blue water, white sandy beaches, and an old historic fort. It was a no-brainer. We must go. And it was 27 minutes from where we were.

We arrived at the fort first, since it came before the northern tip of DeSoto Beach. It was a concrete walled fort with several artillery guns. I thought it was odd that the “Walmart” size parking lot had only about three cars on it. We parked close to the fort, since there were about a hundred different choices. Ansa had to pee.

Mommy took Ansa to the potty, while I went with Tristen and Haydn up the long steps to the top of the fort. You could walk around the top of the fort and see what they saw as they looked out into the ocean. It was over-grown with a lot of weeds and other plant life, but it gave you a good idea of what it was like back in the day.

By the time I stepped onto the sidewalk a mosquito bit the back of my leg. I thought, “Oh, that hurt! I wonder how many mosquitos are out here?” By the time I stepped on the first step I was bitten five times. The really odd thing was that these “birds” didn’t just bite and leave. They bit and stayed latched onto the skin. And it didn’t feel so much like a mosquito bite as much as something taking a chunk out of your skin. I looked down at my leg and there were 1/2 dozen of them leached to my leg. I looked at the kid’s back and notice welts popping up on them. I yelled at the kids to get off the fort and let’s run out of there. Tristen was already yelling, “Something bit me.”

By that time Mommy had come back from the restroom trying to find us so she could get the key, to go to the van to get the bug spray. When she got up top with Ansa I yelled at her, “Let’s get out of here!!” It was absolutely horrible.

We went down below to do some adventuring, but the mosquitos were relentless. We stayed as long as we could, but everyone was scratching their legs, arms, backs, and necks. There was another couple walking through the fort and I noticed they were swatting mosquitos as well. It was torturous.

We decided the fort was not worth it and beat it back to the van. We had used nearly 1/2 a can of spray during our 15 minute stay. I felt like I was in a Hitchcock movie. The couple who were on the walking tour were right behind us, getting in their car. They had enough too.

In 51-years of living I have never experienced anything remotely like that, as far as mosquito bites are concerned. I told Lucia they were “skeeter-hawks.” We named the fort, Fort “Mosquito.” On the way to the beach Ansa wrapped up in a towel in the van. She was afraid she would be attacked in the van. Though it was hot in the van, it didn’t matter. She was not taking any chances.

DeSoto Beach was pretty cool, but we were whooped by the time we got out there. The mosquitos were out there as well. The good news was that once we got to the water the mosquitos were not too bad. Sadly, I had to go to the potty, which was back in “Mosquito-ville.” I had to do a #2 and when I got to the stall I saw a swarm of mosquitos waiting on me in the stall. I had to take my pants down to poop and really didn’t have a choice. I dropped my drawers and told the “skeeter hawks” that I was going to show my @$$ and they had better not bite me. They did not honor my request. It was another horrible ending.