Greetings from where the magic happens. Another year is marked by our visit to see Mickey Mouse himself. The triplets, in particular Gigi, have been saying, "I'm going there. That's my castle" anytime a commercial with Cinderella's castle came on the TV. For any parent reading this, I don't need to tell you how great it is to see your childhood relived through your children's eyes. It's better this way if you ask me. But the trip was not so selfless. The older kiddos and I had been signed up for races here this week since the summer of last year. Golden and Eva for their first 10K Princess Run and me for both the 10K and the Princess 1/2 Marathon which also made me eligable for a third medal for completing the Princess Challenge. I did something similar to this with Jerry Sullivan on the inaugural year of the Goofy Challenge in 2003. We ran a 1/2 marathon one day followed by a full marathon the next and received a third medal for our trouble. This should again prove that I will do just about anything for a Tshirt or/and a medal. But Disney never disappoints either. They entertain you from Mile 0 to the Finish Line. And as much as people complain about the cost, I find it one of the few things in Disney that is actually worth what you pay for.
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| The 2015 Harris Disney Crew |
From the picture above you will notice two things; Eva is dressed in her best princess running outfit and both kiddos are pretty proud of themselves. I couldn't have been more proud of them for never complaining when I woke them up at 4AM to go to the race, for making them run the whole race, and for posing for pictures after the race when all they wanted to do was get changed to go to the parks. But if you could just look at this picture closely I think you can see just a bit more self assurance and confidence in these two that was not there a day earlier. This race solidified what I always try to drill into them: There is nothing you can not accomplish you set your mind to because you are always stronger than you think.
Highlights from running with them on the 10K. I thoroughly enjoyed embarrassing them with my AMAZING dance moves while we waited in the corrals. Honestly, I was on fire. People everywhere were staring and pointing cuz this girl had it going on! I couldn't help myself because they were playing all my jams ( I am saying this in my best embarrassing parent voice) During the race it was fun to see how fast these kids were. They were passing everyone. We passed Tinkerbell, Ironman and even a few hundred Elsa's. I loved running ahead and catching their expressions as the passed the finish line. They were trying so hard not to look amazed. It is a mother's dream to see two of her own be so darn amazing.
Speaking of amazing, did I mention we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We were celebrating our 15 year anniversary and thought we would live a little. It was pretty fun. Here are just a few pictures of our views every day. The kids got to where night vision glasses and go on nighttime animal safaris, roast marshmallows, but they missed watching movies under the stars. We simply had too much to do.
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| Even picking up our bibs was cool. Just look how excited we all are |
In the picture below you may notice that I look like a princess bag lady. There is a simple explanation for this. I had to carry all of the gear my kid took off and I stopped and picked up clothes and earmuffs along the way that people discarded as the weather got warmer during the run. I do this for two reasons; I can't pass up a great deal and some of this stuff, including those Elsa and Anna earmuffs were too adorable to leave there and I knew Gigi was gonna love them. Please don't judge me. And if you do just know that this is a trick that I learned from the great runner, Jerry Sullivan who roadside shops like he means business. I used gloves and a wool cap the next morning and had no guilt when I tossed them aside because they were free.
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| The finish of a great race. My jacket is packed with clothes. |
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I also had my 10K medal which I just realized I didn't photograph.
But it wasn't all fun and games here at Disney. As my family will tell you, I mean business when I vacation. We had a full schedule of fun to accomplish and everyone needed to put on their roller-skates or die. Okay this may be a slight exaggeration but I do like to see and do it all and am happy to say that I have a wonderfully understanding husband who just rolls with it after all these years. Despite all my plans, these goofs still manage to sneak in just a bit of fun here and there.
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| Exhibit A: Just when I look away Mike buys this hat. "A Must" he called it. |
My kids loved meeting the characters. Not just the little ones either. We met Daisy, Piglet, Pooh, Tigger, Mickey, and Sophia to name a few. Everyone had a favorite. I'll let you guess who loved who.
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| A bit blurry but again Mike snuck in a little fun. I thought they'd arrest us right here. |
When Eva was young we took her to get her hair done at Bippity Boppity Boutique. Here, inside Cinderella's Castle, you will find a flurry of women combing, spraying and pinning hair as they talk to the children with sweet little voices as if they have swallowed a bottle of Xanax. They break into song sometimes too and call all the girls "princess" and all the boys "knight." Creepy as it sounds, it's a must. Just look at the final product. Not the hair and crazy make up but the smile on Gigi's face. Carlos also got the royal treatment by having his hair shellacked then sprinkled with glitter as he read a decree making him an official Mickey knight and received his sword and shield. The only one who had issues was Beau ( Is this really a surprise?) She sat quietly and requested her crown and dress while in the chair. Let them put her hair up and sing to her. But as we left and the ladies walked us to the door waving and saying "Goodbye Princess Beau" in that sing song Disney voice, they were struck dumb as Beau yelled at the top of her lungs , pulled off her crown and bobby pins and cried so hard that snot ran down her face and gown. I was only sad I didn't take a picture of the women's faces as we had to physically carry Beau out of the Castle to complete her melt down away from incoming traffic.
Did I mention Nico was amazing. No! Because he is always amazing. But he seemed to love his trip to Disney as much as I enjoyed photographing him.
Lastly, we met up with the Michigan cousins who were escaping the snow, whatever that means. It was nice to see them and nice to see them take up just where they left off. Gigi enjoyed having a new minion named Aiden and refers to him as, "My Aiden." She had him carry her around the pool and did I mention he is barely an inch taller than her.
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| I did not take this picture that cut Ethan's head in half. |
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| I love Carlos' tshirt |
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| The grands |
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| Gigi and her Aiden |
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| Siblings |
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Nana and Arell
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Until we meet again Disney.....
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