September 25, 2018 – October 2, 2018
Selah June Bug turned 4 YEARS OLD!!!! I can’t believe it. We had a full week of celebration, starting with a birthday party at the library park and ending with an intense four days at Disney.
Tuesday night after work, family met out at the Tryon Branch Library for Tuscan Oven pizza and presents. The kids spent time on the playground equipment before the sun set, and then we moved them inside to check out books and color at the kids tables in the library. Selah June was super excited about her Barbie play-doh kitchen, her swimming baby, and her coloring set. We immediately had to get everything out of its box and spread it out on the kitchen table.
We then took leftover cupcakes to school for SJ’s birthday party lunch with her class. She wore the birthday cowboy hat, sat in the middle of a long table with all of her friends, picked out her mermaid cupcake first (and ate it before any of the other kids got one), and then blew out a candle after the class sang Happy Birthday.
These are some random pictures from the end of our actual birthday day. She just looked like a little bundle of attitude, and I had to capture it.
Thursday, we drove to Orlando and arrived at the Grand Floridian just in time to get some dinner and watch fireworks. It was a beautiful sunset. She was SO good in the car. I was really impressed with her. She wanted Grammy to sit with her (and that meant in the middle seat of the Pilot. They watched movies and did workbooks every single second that she was awake.
I loved playing with the filters on my phone to capture the essence of the old style of the hotel. It reminded me of the Hotel del Coronado in California.
If this picture isn’t classic Disney, I don’t know what is!!
She was really excited to get out her coloring set that she got for her birthday, so we brought it outside with us to wait for the fireworks. It was a lot to take in at one time. She kept running over to the fireworks and then running back to do some more coloring.
The first day at Disney we did Dumbo and Aladdin’s carpet ride. We did Pirates of the Caribbean and It’s a Small World. And we did Micky’s Philharmagic and Buzz Lightyear. We also saw lots of princesses. All of those were major hits. Fast Pass was the way to go! And we enjoyed lunch at Liberty Tavern. The first day was really special.
The next day we were really tired, and the whole morning just didn’t go very well. Selah June wanted the double stroller very first thing, and Grandpa had a hard time with the resulting attitude. We didn’t have anywhere reserved to eat, and that was also a problem. She thought she wanted to go on the rockets, but they were way too high and she freaked out after waiting the whole time in line. After that, it was just downhill from there. That afternoon, Jeremy spent time with her at the pool and then we went to Wilderness Lodge for dinner.
After dinner, Jeremy and SJ went back to the hotel. Mom and Dad joined me for a few more hours at Magic Kingdom to ride rollercoasters. To be more specific, Dad and I did rollercoasters. Mom tagged along and waited very patiently.
Sunday morning we went to Animal Kingdom. The safari ride was a lot of fun. She really enjoyed moving to each adult lap to see different animals on each side of the open-air vehicle. I’m always amazed at how close you get to the animals. My favorite animal this time was the rhino. Her favorite thing I think was the popcorn. And Grammy bought her a spray bottle that had a fan built into the top. She then wanted to squirt it at all of us as we walked from one ride to the next. We had a Fast Pass for Avatar, and it was absolutely amazing. I have never experienced any other thing quite like it. I really felt like I was flying. It was so cool.
After naps, we spent the evening at Disney Springs. Little Miss talked Mom and Jeremy into a little pizza kitchen. And Grammy treated her to a sleepover in her hotel room to read Rotten Ralph, play pizza kitchen, and work on a sticker mural. This is her posing for me to take a picture of her with her new Minnie Pizza Kitchen.
Though the last day at Disney wasn’t easy, it was another spectacular sunset. Jeremy went to pick up dinner at Chevy’s, and us girls stayed in the room to visit in our pjs.
It was a vacation to remember, filled with both good and bad. Disney is magical, but it is also really hard to handle — for adults and kids alike. I wouldn’t trade the memories for the world, but it might take me a while before I’m ready to face the Micky again.