Endings and Beginnings

My parents moved probably during the worst possible time. They both had health challenges, the economy has been stinking, and my life here has been pulling me in many directions. But there is one thing I have learned....

God's plans hardly ever coincide with my plans....and His are always so much better than whatever I could do.

So...I am glad to say that there is closure happening in every area regarding the move.

I was relieved to finally be able to make my last trip home from PA in mid-September. I did not like leaving mom in the midst of boxes. It broke my heart not to be able to spend more time with her helping her get settled. No one likes to live in the midst of boxes!!! My family is glad to have me here for good and we were able to hunker down into some semblance of school and I am seeing things get accomplished. My life feels so much less stressful now knowing I will only need to go back if there are medical issues going on or for my dear daddy's 80th birthday.

My mother presently has only ONE box left to unpack. That, friends, is really amazing!! I left their place so cluttered with boxes and things needing attention that I was sure the unpacking process would take at least three months. If it had, my mom would have been quite frustrated. I do not take after my mother, but perhaps that is due to the number of children I have had. When they were young, I did NOT decorate. And still to this day, I am NOT Martha Stewart. I don't like living in stark surroundings and I'd like my home less cluttered than it is, but....my mom is the quintessential decorator. Ask anyone who has ever been to her home. It is not only spotless and clean, but always decorated for the season. I was pleased to return home with quite a number of candles that mom had never burned. I do love candles and we will be burning them here. But I was quite amused when she told me that when they had their welcome visit, they were gently reminded that they cannot burn any candles. They reminded her of this when they saw the number of candles she had on display. I chuckled and told her that she should have told them how OLD all of those candles were. So yes, I am sure my mother will be very pleased to have her home in order so far before Christmas and her decorating.

And finally, their home for the last 20 or so years is set to close within the next few weeks!! I am crossing my fingers, praying and hoping that nothing crazy will happen. It is amazing!! Yes, during this economy, they have a buyer. They put their house on the market in Sept I think. Their buyer could have closed in October, so this sale was fast. They were only the second serious party. The first one could not qualify for financing. I am sure that my parents will be so relieved to have this burden off of their minds. I spoke to my mother briefly about the putting the house on the market at such a bad time because someone had mentioned their concerns. Mom simply said, "I am asking God to sell it and I know he will!!" Sure enough, He has. They did compromise a little on price, but they were firm with what they would and would not do. I am so glad they won't have to go through the winter with it on the market. I haven't told her this, but one day shortly before she told me they were under contract, I felt a strong urge to pray that their house would sell that day. It was puzzling, but indeed, I prayed urgently for the sale of their house. And then she called.... Their Realtor felt they could very likely sell in the fall, but if they went past the fall without a buyer, they would not have a sale until at least the spring. I am so grateful it sold so soon and that they won't have to worry about an empty house and heating, etc. So soon, their little house will only be one of those many places we drive by and remember fondly. I know they are a little sad to say goodbye, but she told me that already, their place feels like home.

I look forward to hearing about all of the new friends that they are making. She tells me that everyone is so friendly. They all know mom and dad are new because there isn't a huge influx of people and they get familiar with the faces that they see around all the time. She's making her little house a home for her and dad. I cannot wait to see what it looks like. She is enjoying the changing colors of the beautiful tree outside their living room window. The birds sit in the branches feasting on the things growing on it.

And even though I have spent so much time up there this year, I long to go visit for fun. I want to see what she's done and hear about all that they are doing. It is so good to know that they have good people around them. It is extremely difficult being so far away. But I know their new place so well and I know they will be well cared for for years to come. Oh....and she is going to start taking some Yoga!! I am so happy that she's going to do that. I told her that I thought it would be a wonderful thing to try to help her balance. And....they take their health considerations into effect so they teach them how to compromise if an injury prevents them. Yeah for mom!!! I know it is hard to begin a new life, but I think they are adjusting well and feeling at home.

So, you see, God does know what He's doing. I thought we'd never make it to this point. There were times when I was sure dad would need more care before they got settled and that would complicate things. There were nights I fretted and so many many nights that I cried over all of it. But, I think through the difficulty of it, I have grown. And through the difficulty of it, my mom has grown as well. It is great to see her become more confident. I know she has some goals that she wanted to achieve so that if something happens with dad, she will be in a good place and I think she is accomplishing some of those things. God is amazing to take situations that we think are difficult or even impossible and to gently show us what HIS plans are. So, in my eyes, the timing just might be awful, but God knows otherwise!!

The blur of days...

Sitting here and looking back, I cannot even recall all that I have been doing anymore.

I cleared out the rest of the house with help and without help.

On Sunday, we were all too tired to get up early and decided to catch the chapel service on campus in the afternoon. It ended up being a special program of local UM youth singing songs they had learned at summer camp...the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den. We went and had a nice lunch at Cedar Grill where my daddy had his shrimp bisque. Then we returned and Ski hooked up the stereo and the computer while I worked on the albums, kitchen, and bookshelves. We had to make some calls to get the internet working, but in the end it all worked out. One thing I particularly disliked was hooking up lamps and clocks in my parents' bedroom. I was thankful for Ski's long arms because no one, but perhaps Simon could fit under that bed and it was painful to try to squeeze even part of myself under there.

The carpet guy came to clean the carpets at the house on Monday. They looked amazing after he was done. Ski and I lugged two chairs and a console stereo up the basement stairs and put them out front with free signs. It was such a relief to see a full mattress and box spring, sewing table, chair and recliner, stereo and ironing board disappear into the backs of cars and trucks. Of course, we happened to meet a rather lonely lady who talked us to death most of the day. We got the boxes flattened and ready for Tuesday and the recycling place. We separated the last items into piles for the food pantry, my brothers, myself, and the bazaar. We had a cheeseburger sub for lunch from A&M --the BEST place around for subs!!! Then we had dinner at Dutch Way since my parents had eaten already.

Tuesday, we went to recycling one last time. Then, we lugged a HUGE metal cabinet up the stairs to take to my parents' to put into their storage bin. We took that and the rest of their things back to their place. We fit the cabinet into the storage area and took some of the extra food down there. I worked some more on their apartment. Oh, and in the process of moving, I lost a screw for their very old, but very cool and highly cherished floor lamp. I had taken it off and placed it on a box next to me, but forgot to pick it back up again. Then...later that day, I vacuumed the floor before I realized I had lost the screw. Multiple trips to the hardware store were made before we FINALLY found a machine screw that would hold the glass shades properly.

Thursday night, after dinner in the dining room, I took my dad to see his good seminary friend. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that his friend was not in the section of the Health Center that was close to us, but on the far side of the building. I nearly had dad falling over before a kind nurse lent us a wheelchair. My dad and his friend are funny. One has Alzheimer's and the other has dementia. His friend calls dad every single morning during the week. In fact, sometimes he has been known to call three times in one day!!! They make a funny pair. But the two had me in stitches as they chatted about the days in seminary. They were always up to no good and being troublemakers. And oh, they love each other dearly!! I was glad I got the chance to let them visit for a little while.

Wednesday morning, we went by the house and set out all of the garbage and I tried to discover a way to get back a table that my mother had donated in haste. I found a VERY nice lady who I think was named Ruth. She told me that she would call around and find out how mom could get the table back. Her apartment was amazing!! They had redesigned it just for her since she was in a wheelchair. Her furnishings were beautiful and she had the most incredible collection of porcelain dolls. She told me that she used to make them. I am sure my girls would have loved to have seen them.

The rest of Wednesday was spent driving home. It was a long, long day and I was glad to get home, but you wouldn't have know. I went straight to bed, barely awake.

I am so glad to have my parents finally settling in. They know people there...pastor friends, people they have met through the years, and even a friend mom made when they were missionaries down in Florida. And everyone I met was so friendly!! They all know each other and know my parents are new. They invite them to things...when they are more settled and rested. They are looking out for them...helping them get adjusted. It is nice to know that they are both independent and have help a button away. They have a cool contraption that if they need help, they just push a button and someone will come. They slip papers in their mailboxes now and then "just to be sure that they are around and doing well." They have housekeeping once a month and can pay for more often if they need or want it. They have free transportation within a certain area. They have drs that come on campus. They have programs and activities galore, and even a pool!! And if one needs more care, they won't have to move too far away from each other. I knew the head administrator until he left this year. I still know the head administrator, but not as well. Everyone I knew who worked there loved their job and loved working there. If they have to be so far from me, this is the ONLY place I would have chosen. I know it so well and I know they environment and the quality of care that we always strove for.

Moving day!! Fri. and Sat, too.

Thurs at 8am, the movers came. Three guys and two trucks. We began packing wardrobes full of closet clothes and odds and ends that didn't get packed. It was lunacy. Staying out of the movers' way at the house wasn't too difficult. They finished packing the house fairly quickly. Soon we were off to the apartment.

Moving in proved to be a little more difficult. Seven people wandering around a small apartment was a bit chaotic. When a chair came in, dad found a seat and usually stayed put. That was fine with the rest of us. We unpacked wardrobes, directed traffic and boxes and I tried to unpack the kitchen in my spare time. We ended up with a living room full of boxes in the center. After all of the boxes and furniture were unloaded from the truck, the dancing began. Mom brought a little more furniture than could comfortably fit so we had to figure out what would work and what we were willing to sacrifice. During this process, the movers were VERY patient and moved a few things several times before we were finally happy. They were sweet and told us that they had seen MUCH worse and told mom that she had done a great job and not to be upset if she had brought one too many items. In the end, the move cost less than we expected AND we discovered that the cost of the move will be reimbursed!! What a blessing to mom and dad!!

We figured out some lunch and returned to work on organizing. I mainly worked on the kitchen that looked pretty good until we brought the food over. About 12pm, I fell asleep half perched on the love seat. My mother tried to wake me because she was SURE I would fall off, but I would not be stirred. I woke to an empty room and the tv set up and the coffee table on the floor. I crashed on the sofa.

Friday was filled with TONS more work. The realator had scheduled an open house for Sat. Very inconvenient... My brother had the bright idea to clear the attic of the TONS of boxes and packing material that had been stored up there. My parents, no strangers to moving, had saved all of these boxes because they knew how expensive buying moving boxes could be. J. lugged them all down, but the carpet cleaner was due that day and he was in a panic because he needed to get them all broken down and to the recycle center. Together, we filled FOUR carloads of boxes for recycling and numerous bags for trash. In the end, the carpet cleaner wouldn't do the carpets since we had left some furniture in the house. However, mom called the auction house who came and removed what they would take. J. left that night, but I stayed up late once again trying to get the house cleaned for the open house. I got back to my parents' apartment at 2am and crashed on the couch again.

Saturday, I spent most of the day at the apartment unpacking items. I unpacked my parents' car of all the things I had packed into it the night before. While I was in the parking lot loading a dolly with items, a man, about 70-80 came by and asked if he could help. He was so sweet, but I declined his assistance. I also met a lady named Gaby who thought I was moving in. While waiting for Ski to arrive, I had a nice chat with two ladies. One was related to Jacob Albright!! She had a lovely dress that I had complimented her on earlier in the day. She told me that she had made it and that she had been making her own clothes since she was 5yo. David arrived around 7pm and we went for dinner. We stopped by the house on the way home so my folks could see how it looked. We brought a few more things over and went home to bed.

In all, I don't think I sat down very much at all on Thurs, Fri or Sat. My legs hurt so bad, I could hardly get out of the car. My back hurt terribly as well. I finally got a shower on Sat morning (I was too scared to take one Fri night in an empty house late at night...). The shower helped a great deal. I hope I NEVER have back problems because I bet it is REALLY painful!!! I feel badly for those who have problems with their back. It must be a great trial.

It's Stranger on a Train

I never thought I'd say it, but I LIKE taking the train.

Downside...leaving at 2am.
The one upside of this is stopping by Amelie's for coffee and a snack. Very nice way to send someone off. :) Last time NO ONE was on the train. This time....I think everyone in town was on it and going to NY. We got there early, but missed baggage check because they boarded really early. I don't know why. So I had to lug my baggage onboard. It wasn't terribly bad...until I got to Wilmington which has a TON of stairs and I think I had to walk a mile to the elevator.

Downside...there is always a guy chatting with someone on a cellphone at 3am in hushed tones. Yes, he was polite. But it is seriously strange that people talk about....nothing....in the wee hours of the morning.

Upside....the train lulls you to sleep. Last time, I slept quite well. This time...not as well. I think I only got 1 1/2-2 hrs of sleep. Basically, the long ride from Greensboro to just before Lynchburg. I woke up about 5:30 am and waited rather impatiently for 6am so I could have breakfast.

Upside...dining car.
I really look forward to breakfast on the train. I don't see many sunrises, but it makes it more tolorable to be watching scenery and sunrise if you have to be up at such a terrible hour. Yummy coffee...and they gave me refills.

Upside...always getting a window seat. At least I have something to lean against besides my neighbor.

Downside...sitting on the east side of the train in the morning.

Upside...meeting a cool new seat-mate on my trip. We talked quite a bit. When she discovered I had six children, she practically yelled "SHUT UP!!!" and swatted my arm. She apologized later, but I just laughed... Last time, I met a lovely lady from NY and this time, I met a lovely lady from Matthews area who moved there from NYC. VERY interesting lady.

Upside....cool scenery. You travel through the mountains of VA, quaint stations, over MD waterways, past the Jefferson Memorial and you get a great view of the Capitol, and Baltimore which can be...interesting.

I finally arrived in Wilmington at noon. I met my dear friend at about 12:30. We stopped for lunch and had a great time chatting again. It has been so fun catching up on the past 20 years or so.

And finally to my parent's house about 6pm. My brother arrived a little later and we were up until the wee hours of the morning ....packing, packing, packing.... I think I fell asleep at about 3:30 when he left to find a box for some glass lamp shades. I laid down on the floor and the next thing I knew, I woke up and the room was essentially empty. I stumbled to my room at about 5:30 am or so and caught a glimpse of my dad...just getting up. I slept until I heard my mom say..."It's 8am and the movers are HERE!!!" I dashed to the bathroom and threw on some clothes and the rest of the day...was a blur. More on that tomorrow...

Disney Daze - Part Four "A kingdom (re)visited

I've thought a lot about how to write this post about our day in the Magic Kingdom. I was, for years the big Mousehead in our family. You've read in previous posts of my love for Disney parks, music, Pixar, Mickey, the monorail etc. etc. etc. The Disney fan community (heard and seen on many podcasts I listen to) and on Internet discussion boards and fourms talk about folks who "get it" when it comes to the details, hospitality and storylines that drive everything you experience in a Disney park or resort. Up until this trip, despite my personal obsession, I was the only one in my family who "got" Disney. That is no longer the case. Becky and I had many discussions over the cool little things that make living "in the Disney bubble" so enjoyable. I asked her, "so if I had told you this is what it was like, would you have believed me?" "No way", she answered.

What follows is meandering thoughts about our single day in the Magic Kingdom. I had not been there since 1982, Becky had not been there since 1975, and our kids had seen video, but had never been there at all. This will be a long post so I won't be putting up pics. I encourage anyone to visit my trip album at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=21152&id=100000350462143&l=318cb7cd02 to see pics of everything.

Everybody neat and pretty? Then on with the show...

Disney transportation- We have nothing but positive things to say about the buses, monorails, water taxis etc. at WDW. Why anyone would pay to park, drive with the looney tourists, and miss collecting transportation trading cards is beyond our understanding. We were blessed to be the first stop on the Saratoga Springs bus line. I could see when the park closed that our line for the Saratoga bus was a LOT smaller than the Allstar buses so maybe bringing a car would make sense then. But I doubt it. Buses ran every 25 minutes to all the parks. It was so easy.

We got there at 8am for extra magic hour rope drop as resort guests. We were done with everything around 3pm and had plenty of time to shop, eat, and ride a repeat. We could've rode more repeats but didn't collect any Fast passes as most lines were less than 20 minutes.

I admitted later to choking up a little when we walked under the train station and onto Main Street USA.

Our first ride, the refurbished Space Mountain, thrilled some of us and scared the bajeeberz out of some of us. I rode it twice that day (so did Lydia) but the first time I was in the first seat in the front car. It was VERY dark, and VERY fast (though I know we were only going 28mph--the visual trickery worked). The second time at the end of the day things seemed brighter in there. Becky felt like she was going to die and was mad that I made the ride sound calm to her. I didn't remember it being that intense.

Second was Buzz Lightyear where Becky got the high score for our group shooting Emporer Zurg and his minions at over 40,000. I pulled in a measily 5000 but enjoyed looking at the ride details.

In the first of many character encounters we ran into Stitch in Tomorrowland. We found out the main street bakery sold Divvies (allergy safe) carmel corn and had bought a bag for IZ. Stitch spent most of his time with us trying to steal it. Pretty funny.

Some rides like Space Mountain, Splash Mountain (my favorite this trip), Winnie the Pooh (I hate to admit) , and even the Carousel of Progress really impressed me with the Imagineered details. (My kids still think "Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" is just as irritating a song as Small World--which we would've skipped even if it hadn't been closed for refurbishment).

Other rides seemed "smaller" to me this time, like when you visit a neighborhood where you grew up and the streets seem tiny. Peter Pan (which still solicited an "oh cool" on the flight over London scene from Nathaniel my ride partner--while Becky was in another ship cracking jokes with our other kids), Pirates, and the Haunted Mansion, three CLASSIC rides, had enjoyable little details and themeing but seemed more nostalgic than thrilling to me. That kind of surprised me.

Another thing that surprised me was my wife's sudden affinity for Disney parades. While I was making every effort to get out of the sun, away from crowds, and under anything providing shade, she said she was ready to get out in the street and start dancing with the characters!! (WOW!) We ended up watching two parades from a distance. And we didn't really have any issues time-wise by enjoying a passing parade. I recommend using the Unofficial Guide touring plans as a basis for what you want to see and modify your plan as you go along. That worked GREAT for us.

We planned on eating at Cinderella's Royal Table for lunch. This was THE BEST thing I think we did the whole trip. You need to reserve it 180 days before your trip and pre-pay, but MAN is it nice!! For those of you, like my wife (and I) who were disappointed as a kid by going THROUGH and not IN the castle (whaaa???), this is your chance to go inside, meet and talk with Cindy, get your picture taken with her, and enjoy FABULOUS food and the BEST service in the Magic Kingdom IMHO. (just TRY and drink all your rootbeer or water before the wait staff is right there with another and a smile--I DARE you!!) After dining on fancy pot roast with mashed potatoes on a pastry puff and chocolate mousse for dessert and interacting with four or five of Cindy's princess friends --who were all clever pros at staying in character no matter what you said to them--we were cooled off, well fed, and refreshed for and afternoon of continued exploration!

My only "FAIL" of the trip was not realizing the weight of the steel barrelled guns at the Frontier shootin' arcade. Most of the ski-bums have never shot anything beyond a Nerf gun and most of them were frustrated when their 17 shots for a buck were up. I'm not certain all of those guns were fully functional either.

One thing I DIDN'T plan on, because I thought it was torn down for the upcoming Fantasyland expansion, was arriving off the WDW Railroad into Mickey's Toontown Fair. This is THE place to meet the Mouse himself and I was really excited to do so after figuring it was a lost cause due to current construction. Classic clips from old-school Disney cartoons play on a big screen in the queue as, group by group, you get ushered in to an unusually still and quiet photo/ interaction area. I'm guessing these cast members have seen every type of reaction possible and the photographers and handlers just stand back and let the moments happen with little or no direction. I was SO glad they hadn't closed this place down yet!

As this winds down, I need to mention one of the last, but also BEST things we experienced at the Magic Kingdom, The Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. This attraction is a comedy club theater were the "script" has live cartoon monster interaction built in. The goal is to make the audience laugh and create "energy" for Monstropolis (or as Roz says, "We MIGHT not have enough power to open the exit doors"). They must pick several people out of the crowd beforehand as they'll put peoples faces up on the big screen as part of the interaction with the performing Monsters.

During the show they have Mike Wazowski's nephew come on screen and tell jokes. He said something like, "I wanna talk to that kid there, in the yellow" Suddenly, there's a spotlight on Isaac and his smiling face is on the big screen. "Hi kid, what's your name?" "Isaac." "Hi Isaac, what grade are you in?" "Second". "OOOh, second grade, the best three years of my life" (laughter). "So Isaac, what do you want to be when you grow up" (at this point I had no clue what he would say) "A fireman" (lots of "awwwws" came from the crowd). I don't even remember the punch line any more I was so proud of him. But it gets better....

We're walking out and a guest in the crowd says, "Excuse me! Is this the little boy who wanted to be a fireman when he grew up?" "Yes this is Isaac" "Well I've been a fireman for 27 years and I want Isaac to have this.." He pulls a pin of Mickey Mouse shaking hands with a fireman off his lanyard and gives it to my son. We were all shocked at his thoughtfulness. Magic. That's what our day was like. It's cliche but it's true. Isaac wore that pin for three days straight and yesterday he asked me, "Dad could I be a drawer (artist) AND a fireman?" I said, "Buddy, you could even be a fireman that DRAWS other firemen!" I love my kids.

We ate late at chef Mickeys that evening (8:55) and had a chance to interact with the fab five in their chef outfits (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto) but the real highlight was the human chef who walked Becky all through the buffet line and told her everything that was safe for Isaac. He also made chicken fingers, salmon and allergen free cupcakes for him. The boy was stuffed!

As kind of a "preview" of our next trip, we decided to take the Magic Kingdom monorail to the Epcot monorail and try and beat the crowds by taking Epcot buses back to Saratoga since that park had already closed. That was nice. The buses were still full and I ended up carrying poor tired (75 pound) IZ from the Magic Kingdom monorail to our resort.

When you check in to Saratoga Springs (which is a Disney Vacation Club "timeshare" resort) they are supposed to say "Welcome home". We certainly felt that way while staying on property and will hopefully return for more adventure. Even Becky has become a Disney park and resort fan.

Nice work Disney. Kudos.

Watching my Son Having a Blast!!!

I'd like to interrupt the Disney blogging to share with you a glimpse of something that you might have just glossed over... One of the most incredibly special things about this trip for me was watching our almost 8yo son eat REAL restaurant food for the first time in his life!!

In his 7 plus years, the most he has had from a dining establishment has been a fruit cup, baked potato, or fries from Wendy's, (both of which make me nervous every time!!) a fruit cup from Chick-fil-a, or a bag of McDonald's apple dippers (minus the dip, of course). I think it is incredibly sad that he BEGS to go to Wendy's to eat a plain baked potato, fries, fruit cup, and sprite. I call it the carb crazies and it is NOT a meal I let him eat. If we ever have an occasion to go out, which is indeed a rare event, we bring an entire meal along for Iz. Usually, this only happens when the grandparents are around. In fact, it isn't only the food that is a problem. Once, when my parents were visiting, he developed asthmatic symptoms after the wait staff passed our table with sizzling fajitas. Ski wasn't feeling well, so he sat outside with Iz while the rest of us ate.

The simple fact of the matter is that most people do NOT get food allergies. They do not get cross-contamination. We often hear "It's perfectly safe" only to find that there is a serious issue with the food. There are only a few trusted people who cook for our son. In fact, it is only THREE women outside of myself and my daughters...and of course, Ski. These women might not be perfect, but they ask LOTS of questions which shows me they understand the seriousness of the issues. So just imagine a restaurant. Even the THOUGHT of going to a restaurant for him to eat at is out of the question. When we travel, he lives on a few select Amy's or Ian's frozen meals and we find a gas station first and then food for the rest of us.

However, there is one place --- if you have life threatening food allergies --- where they care and take the business of cooking seriously. Disney Resorts KNOW food allergies!! Ask anyone. They all know. If you're going to Disney, make reservations, tell them about your allergies, speak to the chef, and they will give you safe food. And since they are so close to a Disney property, I was told that Rainforest in Downtown Disney was also rather allergy friendly.

Without a reservation, we went to Downtown Disney Rainforest Cafe and the Chef came out and man, did she know her stuff. I think it was a good thing we showed up at a "down" time for a late lunch/early dinner. She told me what she could do and we decided on a salad with chicken and a french dressing. She had a clean grill so she was able to grill it. Not only that, she found some dried cranberries and put them in a dish on the side because she had not talked to me about them. A woman who gets it!! She knew...if those cranberries were not ok, they can't "just pick it out" because the entire salad would be ruined. My sweet boy was grinning ear to ear. He had an entire meal made just for him by someone who understood!!! Not only that, but he had THREE sit down meals and an ice cream snack all safe!!

While I was tired and didn't really want to go to Chef Mickey's and would have preferred grabbing a quick dinner in the park, I had only researched snacks so I had no idea what the boy could have for dinner. I thought MAYBE the turkey legs, but I hadn't researched so we weren't going to attempt it. So, if I go back, I will definitely look into more "quick" food. I found out last minute that you can get an entire list of foods from Disney, but we weren't sure how long it would take for them to send it to us so we went without. Next time, I'll do the footwork ahead of time.

The chef at Chef Mickey's was amazing. He walked Iz and I through the buffet and told us what was safe. He made Iz his own chicken fingers and salmon and would have brought out turkey as well, but Iz didn't want it. Too many choices!!! When the Chef told me something was safe, I'd ask a question to be sure and he'd explain what they used to do certain things. It was REALLY interesting and I certainly wish that all restaurants worked the same way. He made Iz and amazing salad so I didn't have to use contaminated salad bar lettuce and veggies. And he got a frosted cupcake for dessert. We had asked for ice cream as well, but they forgot, but Iz didn't notice because he was so full. The waitress told me that our chef was the best chef at that dining area. She totally trusts him and told me what she does to take precautions as well. I think that the next table over was a bit jealous that we were having the chef come out to talk with us. Or maybe it was that I was a bit OVERLY excited about HOW MUCH there was for him to choose from. AMAZING!!!

When we got ice cream on Main Street, I was so impressed that they just ASSUMED that we had an allergy. So impressive. And they just said...."we'll have it up for you in a minute or two." They use clean scoops and a special scooping area in the back!

Over and over I just was so pleased to see Iz enjoy so much food!! It nearly brought me to tears to see so many choices and so many people who took the time to listen to our needs. It gave him the opportunity to be just like everyone else.

I know that there are all of these cliches about dreams coming true at Disney World, but I can't help but say that it was a dream come true to be able to have fun together as a family and then eat dinner without worry or concern and just watch my son have a blast eating great food. It brought tears to my eyes!!

Disney Daze - Part Three "Pumkins into carriages"

After our hectic exit from the Lake Buena Vista Best Western (see part two), it was time to hit the Starbucks (where the kids ate cereal we brought), the Whole Foods (to stock up on frozen meals for IZ), and to an outlet we had been told about.

Our girls had been told by a friend of an outlet near Downtown Disney where they had cheap makeup that they really liked and wanted us to pick some up. This is a store that Nathaniel has chosen not to set foot in because they are most famous for their intimate apparel (and Superbowl commercials...and ridiculous catalogs). I will admit Becky and I stop by this particular chain of stores once a month as a way to "spoil" her, though any married man who thinks this store chain is just for females is nuts (we DON'T get the catalog BTW). I knew a bit about their retail prices and size availability. I now know why people spend some of their valuable vacation time to come here. The prices were INCREDIBLY CHEAP! We found out after the fact that nothing in the store was over $10. And the selection of sizes was HUGE and decently organized. Many bargains.

So after a grocery and Chickfila stop, it was time to head "inside the Disney bubble" for our stay at AllStar Music. We arrived and were greated by a SUPER nice cast member from Chicago who I'm ashamed I can't remember her name. She began checking us in, addressing each kid by name, gave us "first time visit" and "happy anniversary" buttons (20 yrs in Oct. was close enough) and a Muppet button for the volunteer service we did to get our tix. And then she disappeared.....

For about 15 minutes....

My wife had seen this play out two nights before at Best Western and I'm sure thought something like "here we go again, what IS it with my husband and making hotel reservations??!!??" She sat down on a bench trying not to panic while I waited. Now I listen to a TON of Disney travel podcasts and I KNOW you can be totally at fault for something (a dropped ice cream etc.) and Disney cast members will usually bend over backwards to "create some magic" and resolve issues. But I had no idea what was going on. Our check-in person said she just needed to verify something with her manager because our connecting rooms weren't ready yet. Hmmm...

Fifteen (long) minutes later, she returned smiling. "I have some good news for you. Since you had reserved connecting rooms to keep everyone together and we currently don't have yours ready, we're upgrading you to our Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa hotel. They're waiting for you there. Here's how you get there...." I must admit at that point I was in a daze. I knew from their website that Saratoga could fit 10 in a room and it was a "horse racing/Upstate NY" theme, which was okay but WAY out of our budget! I had to ask, "so is there a price difference I need to pay or....""Nope, you're all paid up. Everything is covered with what you paid just now for AllStar. Enjoy it and have a magical day!" (my heart was now racing like a horse)

Becky's eyes got big as I tried to stammer out what just occurred. The ride over to Saratoga (back near Downtown Disney where we came from) was filled with questions like "WHERE are we going?? How did this happen? Are you sure?" and an occasional fist pump by me! I had a sneaking suspicion Becky was going to like this.

I was right. The first indicator after checking in and getting our keys was on one of my trips unloading the van, someone said, "Dad, Mom says she wants to LIVE here!" When I got up to the room I could see why. It had two bedrooms and a living room area. One with a king sized bed, three TVs, a pullout couch bed, a kitchen, TWO bathrooms, a full-length whirpool and a huge shower, a washer and dryer....it was AWESOME!!! My wife doesn't sleep well in strange beds but said the mattress there was VERY nice. I'm still stupefied. Disney, ya done good by us!! Thank you!!!

We also had a small but very nice and fun pool near us (one of five at Saratoga) where she and I took the young ones while our older kids napped, showered and watched Phineas and Ferb (most of us became fans of them by trips end).

I'm a dreamer and I love travel books. Becky is a researcher and had been pouring over my Official and Unofficial guides and asking me lots of questions. It was really fun "talking Disney parks" with her for a change! We decided we would test out the bus system and go the Magic Kingdom, hop a monorail and go see the fireworks and Electrical Water Pageant (one of Becky's POSITIVE memories from her 70s trip to WDW) from the beaches of the Polynesian resort. We had a dinner of sandwiches and fruit in the room.

Our evening was WONDERFUL. Laying on Beach chairs, toes in the sand. Warm night breeze, lights, music, fireworks. So cool! Becky still loved it thirty-odd years later and I think she was beginning to feel like this would actually be a good vacation for her after all.

The next day was our Magic Kingdom day and we planned on being there for extra magic hours to beat the crowds at park opening. So have a good night's sleep (if you're not too excited) and we'll see you in Part Four "A Kingdom (re)visited"