Disney Birthday

 The boys are having a great time at Disney!  Everything went smoothly with our trip -- we didn't have to wait long for the bus to the resort, a check-in specialist met us at the door so that we didn't have to stand in line to check in (and our room was ready right away), and another family who was leaving gave us a bag of bottled water and bananas that they didn't need.

Of course the boys wanted to try out the pool right away, so we had some lunch and then went for a swim.  They loved it!

Then we went over to Epcot, where they were having the Flower and Garden festival (including topiaries of Disney characters, and most importantly for the boys, some temporary playgrounds!)  We also rode Spaceship Earth, which Mike and Matthew really enjoyed.

On the way out we had amazingly delicious lemon scones from one of the F & G festival booths. Yum!

Yesterday morning we went to the Magic Kingdom.  It was very hot and the boys were a bit tired, so it felt a bit like we were dragging them around (although Mike got to go on Space Mountain and the boys enjoyed the Astro Orbiter rockets -- and of course we took a ride on the PeopleMover!)  We had a well-timed lunch (indoors just as the torrential rains fell) and then did a couple more things (Buzz Lightyear and Monsters Inc Laugh Floor) before heading back to the hotel to recharge.

Even though they didn't nap, the boys instantly perked up as soon as we were back in the room , and played for a while while the parents rested (hilariously, they were playing a game about "recharging batteries")!  We headed back to the parks around suppertime, since the forecast was for rain all afternoon today.  It was great!  We went on Haunted Mansion (which Mattie had been asking for ever since Mike told him it was like a Scooby Doo episode), Pirates of the Carribbean (Mattie's favorite), Magic Carpets (James's favorite), Thunder Mountain (only Mike), and wrapped up with the fireworks, which both boys loved.