Bovineophobia

Pin It I made that up. You guessed that, didn't you? I thought it sounded better than heiferophobia or plain ole' cowophobia.

So ... the trip home ... and how it relates to bovineophobia:

We left the campsite at 10:00 on Sunday morning. Ideally, we would have left a little earlier, but it took a couple of hours to pry the baby out of the hands of my girls.

It was an 11 hour drive, which practically means 13 hours after stops for a couple of meals and a couple of bathroom visits. I always forget how the trip home stretches out! We were thinking about getting home at 11, so we ended up not meeting another friend along the way. We should have taken the time to do so. Maybe I would not have bovineophobia now if we had.

So ... 10:30 pm. I had just sent a facebook note that we were in TX and didn't have far to go. Kids were asleep and we were excited to be on familiar ground.

We turned onto the dark highway. Black cows. Black night. Black road. Shriek, crash, screaming.

900 miles driven. Half an hour from home and unfenced cows decided to cross the highway. There were three cows hit and we hit at least two of them. Each side of the car had damage, but (thankfully!) we didn't hit any of them with the middle of the car. Our airbags did not deploy and there were no cows across the hood or anything like that.

The sleeping kids were awakened ... by my screaming rather than the impact. I'm a little embarrassed by that now. Between my screaming and the fact that I threw up every time my eyes went into the vicinity of the cows, we learned that unless there is a need for screaming and throwing up, I'm probably not the best person to have around in an emergency. At least in an emergency involving livestock. There were no injuries to people at all. I was a little bit sore, but even that was minor. My car was repairable, thankfully. I'm very fond of my car and really did not want it to be totaled!

Because I strive for this to be a poop-free blog, and well, when you hit a cow driving at about 70 mph, there is poop involved, I'm just posting a couple of pics. I didn't even realize there were dents on the driver's side until I saw the pics. I knew the mirror was gone, but the dents were a surprise.



And now we're just waiting for my car to be finished. And we're still busy being thankful that the cows were small. Not calves, but not big huge 1500 lb cows either.

Oh - and get this - the DPS officer said that we were NUMBER SIX to hit cows on that road THAT WEEK. Oh my. Let's all hope some farmer fixes his fence before someone is killed!

For the rest of the night, my friend came and got the kids because we didn't know if the car was drivable or not (it was). We just let them keep the kids overnight because the next day was our last class day of co-op, and the kids all wanted to be there. Jim and I drove home ...

... and were pulled over for driving with a headlight missing. The officer said "um, I think this is probably the least of your problems." LOL Um, yeah ... pieces of the car are flying off as we drive, it's covered in poop ... go ahead and pull us over. Thankfully he just gave us a warning and said that he usually tells people to drive more carefully, but in our case, he'd just tell us to watch out for cows. Um, yeah, thanks for that.

It was still a fabulous vacation, and I can't wait to go back to Disney World! I think we'll drive straight through I-10 next time rather than cutting off though! At least if it's dark!

Trip, part 7

Pin It I can't believe I've dragged this out into so many posts. And to the poor people on my facebook, and especially my photobucket, you have to be tired of these same pictures! We're just about done though, I promise!

When we went to Disney World two years ago, I wanted to meet my friend Valerie, who lives in Florida. We decided to get together on our way home at a cabin at a campground on the way. We decided to do that again this year.

It was GORGEOUS and we had a fabulous time! The cabin was right on the Suwannee River. We went for a short walk down the river. Oh, so beautiful!



Then we went on a short drive to another part of the river, Madison Blue Spring. Absolutely gorgeous! Brendan really wanted to swim. Mommy was really nervous about that!


Madelyn was a little timid about it all. She did dunk her feet and wade a little, but mostly she stayed around the stairs. She kept acting like she was going to jump off the platform. She'd walk up there and look down and then change her mind. She did this no less than five times!


Gabbi, on the other hand, walked up and jumped. I was shocked! Look at how blue the water is!


As we were thinking about getting ready to leave, someone pointed out the snakes on the stairs. Yikes. Then Madelyn kicked one of Brendan's shoes off of the platform by the stairs. I was fully prepared to bid a fond farewell to the shoe; no way no how was I going to get close enough to water moccasins to rescue a shoe that's close to being too small. Valerie's husband saved the day and got Brendan's shoe. Bren was very glad, he loves those shoes! LOL So, we survived, shoes intact, and nobody was bitten by a snake!

We thoroughly enjoyed Valerie and Clif and their family! I was a little concerned, as was Valerie, that the girls might try to stow her sweet baby away into our car!

Okay, so that's it for the vacation. I do have one more post regarding the *interesting* trip home. Drive 900 miles and get within about ten of home ... and ...

to be continued!

Trip, part 6

Pin It Day 7, our last day in the park. We went to Animal Kingdom.

We started out at Tusker House with a breakfast with Donald Duck. This was our first time to do this breakfast and we all really enjoyed it.


Another required pic of kids with Mickey.


Brendan REALLY wanted to get his face painted. He told me earlier in the week that he wanted to, but it was raining so I told him we'd talk about it later. He saw the face painters and asked "Can we talk about it now?" So sweet! He was a very cute little pirate!


Madelyn had to have hers done too. She chose tiger eyes. This was her first time seeing herself in the mirror.


Just a cute pic of the two of them showing off their newly painted faces.


When Animal Kingdom closed, we went back to the resort. The kids went swimming for a while, then we went to one of the resort's programs - a campfire and singalong, plus an outdoor movie theater. We made s'mores and ate popcorn and just enjoyed the night. Unfortunately, one of us was way too tired to stay for the whole movie ... that would be ME, and Gabbi. So, we went back kind of early. The two little ones wanted to watch the movie and then got distracted by the pool, so they stayed and went swimming again.

We had every intention of going back to the Magic Kingdom the next morning before heading out, but then we woke up. We were all tired, and it was Saturday and we just couldn't handle more waiting in lines. We'd already spent seven days in the parks and had sucked out all the fun we could handle, I think. So, we went back to the pool for a little while. It was nice to just relax before heading back home.

It's funny, we always start planning a trip to Disney with the attitude that this will be our last one. We kind of did that again this time, but I guess it was mostly half-hearted. We know that we very much want to go back. We've kind of picked a date and a savings plan and can't wait to go back. There's just something that happens there. Disney magic, pixie dust, I have no idea. It's nice though, and I want to hold onto it! Funny that looking at long time financial goals and knowing how CHEAP I can be that family vacations are a priority. They are though, I wouldn't trade the memories we're making for anything!

I have a couple more vacation posts to come! You're waiting by the edge of your seat, I know. ;)

Trip, part 5

Pin It And now for day 6!

We spent this day at Epcot. We spent the morning being lazy and then going swimming. It was nice and a little relaxing.

Then we met our friends at Epcot. Brendan went on a date after we got off Test Track. LOL


Then we were attacked by sharks.


We got all the kids good and caffeinated. These two, with the little one added in, were deep in conversation pretty much every moment we were together, as were the older two.


We had supper at Akershus. It occurred to me just a little bit ago that this was probably our last princess meal. Kind of sad. Brendan already wasn't terribly interested in the princesses. Gabbi played along for the benefit of her parents (good girl!) and Madelyn still enjoyed them quite a bit. It cracked me up that Madelyn loves Snow White. Wanna know why? Snow White has a squeaky voice, which apparently appeals to my squeaky voiced small child. Brendan wouldn't take a picture with Snow White or Aurora, but he did decide that Ariel was kind of cool, and that he would get in a pic with her.


I thought this was a good look for Mad.


Then the sad part of the evening. We had to say goodbye to our friends. And this is the only pic I took of that. I can't believe I didn't take a pic with Becky, or get Gabbi to take a pic with Jim and me with Dan and Becky. Oh well. I did get a cute pic of the older kids.
(Note to Becky -- I am SO GLAD y'all joined us for several days of this trip! We were all blessed to have time to spend with y'all. It was great having Tour Guide Dan to show us some things we would have missed. We love y'all, and I thank God for giving us friends with whom we can just pick up like no time has passed. I really hope it won't be too long before we see y'all again. Love you guys, every one of you!)

Trip, part 4

Pin It Are we on day 5 now?

We started the day at Epcot.


The girls, especially Gabbi, really enjoyed the butterfly garden.


The only other thing we've done every trip is go to Teppan Edo. This time we went for lunch. The kids love the hibachi grill, and the Disney chefs just do a fabulous job. Ours was very entertaining; we loved him. (And oh my heavens ... I could have eaten the scallops he made for every meal for the rest of my life! And the ginger sauce? That could very easily replace sweet tea as my drink of choice! Okay, maybe not, but it was fabulous and I had to bring some home with me.)

From there, we went back to Hollywood Studios, and met our friends again. We arrived just in time for the Block Party Bash. It was fabulous! I already mentioned that I'm a big fan of parades. I think this one was my favorite, which is saying a lot because I love Spectromagic! Here are all of us except me getting ready for the Block Party Bash to begin. Jim is back there talking with Dan and Becky. The kids cracked me up - in deep conversation.


Then we were walking through to see the Prince Caspian show/movie/whatever it was ... I wouldn't know because I didn't get to see it. Why not? Because a certain little guy got a little distracted when we walked by a certain window. So, the little guy and I waited in line to see not one but TWO heroes while everyone else went to see Prince Caspian.


Here we have the missing picture. All 11 of us went on Tower of Terror. Yep, I put my 4 year old on Tower of Terror. I actually figured he would enjoy it more than the 8 year old would. (I was correct.) Anyway - there's a camera that takes a pic right as the ride starts to drop. This was THE most fabulous picture. Nine people are hanging on for dear life and two have their hands in the air with looks of glee on their faces. (Should be pretty easy to guess which two!) I cannot BELIEVE I did not buy that pic, or at least take a pic of it while it was on the wall.

When Hollywood Studios closed, we all headed back to Epcot. We had a great trip over there, taking a boat and kind of touring Disney's Boardwalk, which I hadn't seen before. We arrived at Epcot just in time to grab some food, and then RUN to Soarin' to get there before it closed. Seriously run. The guy said "IF YOU WALK, YOU WILL NOT GET THERE ON TIME!" We were excited to do Soarin' with no wait, since we figured everyone would be watching Illuminations. So we made it and got in a short line. Then we waited. And waited. The kids got bored and practiced their hanging from bars skills. Turns out the side we were on was having some issues, so they moved us to the other side. We rushed, had no line to speak of, and still waited about half an hour to ride. Ha. It was fabulous though - everybody REALLY loves this ride. (Although I have to admit, this one kicks my fear of heights into high gear. It's better to be in the back row and not so high in the air, although on the back row, you have to see the feet of the people in the top two rows which kind of grosses me out a little. I'm aware that I have issues.)

Trip, part 3

Pin It This is day 4, which we spent at Hollywood Studios.

I know I've commented before at how very sweet it is that my four year old has a best friend. They've been best friends since birth - before birth actually! - and Brendan REALLY missed his buddy on our trip. He talked about "Dean" a ton and told us that next time, Dean will be coming along with us. (I wonder if his mom will be up for that? ;) ) I told Brendan he could pick out a postcard and we'd put it in the mail to Dean that day. Brendan was SO excited!



(Hm, it appears that this whole day was about Brendan. There was a lot at Hollywood Studios that he couldn't do, so while we waited, he's the one who got lots of pics.) I thought this was just cute with his Toy Story Mickey ears.


Woohoo, Pizza Planet!


For some reason, Hollywood Studios was absolutely packed that day. Way more packed than any other park we had gone to, and I think even the cast members working there were surprised at the crowds that day. This ride, Toy Story Mania, had a 105 minute wait. Jim's exact quote was "I'd rather have my appendix removed without anesthesia than to wait in this line." Fast passes were all gone for the day, and with the huge toy story fan that we have, there is no way I was going to miss this ride. So we waited. Thankfully it was cool inside during the wait - cool in both meanings of the word - and the ride was AWESOME. I think it might be my favorite ride ever. Well ... it's a toss up between this one and Rock n Roller Coaster. (btw - Mad HATED that one. Absolutely hated it. She loved every other roller coaster, but that one was a bit much for her.) Anyway - here are Jim and Brendan on Toy Story Mania. Fabulous ride!


Up! and Cars.



And, I finally got to see Fantasmic. This was my fourth trip to Disney World and we have missed Fantasmic every time until now! I was a little worried we were going to miss it again. First of all, we got there an hour early and barely had a seat. We'd been warned that if it rained, Fantasmic wouldn't happen. Minutes before it started, it started drizzling, which caused it to be delayed. Finally it did go ahead and start, and we all loved it! (Even with Dan taking the magic away by pointing out that it's all really a 5'2" Korean lady dressed as Mickey waving her arms around. ROFL!! It's okay, I still believe in the magic!) ;)

Trip, part 2

Pin It Days 2 and 3

We spent both of these days at the Magic Kingdom, mostly in the rain!

First, if you know my dear son at all, you'll know that the very highlight of the trip for him was meeting Buzz Lightyear! When we first got to the Magic Kingdom, we went straight for the Space Ranger Spin. We grabbed fast passes for it, and then decided to wait in line too. While we were waiting in line, Buzz came out. It was a tough choice, but we continued waiting, then waited in line to meet Buzz, then it was time to use our fast passes!



We also got to meet some dear friends! Meeting Buzz may have been the highlight of Brendan's trip, but hanging out with Becky and Dan and their precious family was the highlight of mine! :) It rained pretty much the entire rest of the day ... BUT ... totally worth it to hang out with friends in the rain! Rain comes out, lines disappear. We walked on to a bunch of rides that normally have long waits. Brendan splashed in EVERY. SINGLE. PUDDLE. and we just had a fabulous time! I really do wish I had taken more pics of them, and the kids all having fun together.


Then it was Monday. One thing we have done every Disney trip is the Breakfast O'hana at the Polynesian. It's a Lilo and Stitch character breakfast, and we love it. Here are all of us hanging out at the Polynesian getting ready to check in for breakfast. Oh - and note the hoodies. It was cold! Who would ever have imagined that we'd need hoodies in Orlando in April!


The required kids with Mickey pic.


See the pink blur with hands in the air? Next to her is her sweet sister, with dad and Brendan in front. This is pretty much how Gabbi approached every ride.


Brendan, bless his little heart, was such a trooper to ride some rides that scared him a little. He was thrilled when we walked by the Dumbo ride and thoroughly enjoyed riding it with his sisters.


Then the parade! I love Disney parades! It started raining pretty heavily during this parade, so after it was over, we joined the tons of people heading out. We planned to go back to the cabin and then let the kids swim for a while, but it was cold and yucky out. We finally loaded up and came back to the Magic Kingdom, but this was the last of my pics for the day.