Disney

Disney World was great! We did realize that July was not the time to go...95 degrees with 45% humidity. The kids were great about it though. Their sweaty little bodies enjoyed every ride they went on and every show they saw.

The first day we went to Magic Kingdom (MK) and headed straight to Tomorrowland. The friends that we went with convinced all the big kids to go on the Astro Orbiter. I had a feeling Tatum and Keaton wouldn't like it, but they begged to go so we let them. Jarrek and I don't do spinning things so they went with our friends. Jarrek and I waited with the little ones. When they got off the ride, Kara was carrying Tatum who was hysterical and Keaton wasn't much better. Tatum swore she was about to die on the ride and Keaton was upset cause Tatum was upset. He also thought he was going to fly off the ride. Lesson learned: Hartsell children do NOT like spinning rides. It was the first day so we went all out and stayed for the parade, fireworks and the extended hours. We didnt get back to the hotel until 1:00 am. 2nd lesson learned: kids are cranky at 1:00 in the morning.

The next day we had our first character meal...Breakfast with Mickey. The kids loved seeing the characters and getting their autographs. It was a pretty hectic meal, but in the end it was worth it. After breakfast it was off to Epcot. It was HOT again and everyone (adults included) was tired and a bit fussy. We rode some rides, saw some shows and headed back to the hotel early for some much needed rest. After nap we headed to the Pirate Pool. 3rd lesson learned: nobody is pleasant after only 6 hours of sleep and alot of walking.

Animal Kingdom was our third park to visit. We started the day off with another character breakfast...Donald's Safari Breakfast. It was a little better, mostly because we had sleep. AK was awesome. The kids loved the Safari ride and even Weston liked looking at the animals. There was a parade that went through the middle of the park. It was so cool! 4th lesson learned: Hartsell children are fascinated with animals. They LOVED AK.

We headed back to MK to catch all the stuff we missed the first day and to have another character meal...Character Dinner @ Crystal Palace. We saw the Winne the Pooh characters. The kids went back and rode some the their favorite rides...Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear. The kids also rode the Haunted Mansion ride, which turned out to be kinda fun. Before we rode it they were worried it would be scary, but when it was over they thought it was kinda funny.

Next it was Epcot again. Too much to see in just one day. My favorite ride there was Soarin'. Keaton and Tatum liked the flight simulator ride. Tatum and Kayla also got to get their hair done at the Bippity Boppity Boutique for their Princess Dinner that night. While the girls went to the boutique (which was in Downtown Disney) the guys hung out at Epcot and did some male bonding. We stayed for the light show which was awesome. 5th lesson learned: Take it easy.

Our last park was Hollywood Studios. There weren't many rides, but we saw several shows which were great and inside ;-). Keaton had been talking about the Stunt show since he saw the promotional DVD Disney sent us months ago. So, of course we had to go see it and it was worth it. Tatum wanted to see the American Idol Experience. We headed back to the hotel early, had a little dinner and went swimming. It was a nice little family time.

On our last day in Disney we went to Downtown Disney to do a little shopping. It was nice to just relax a little. Keaton made a Star Wars light saber, Tatum helped me fill a giant Mr. Potato Head with Disney characters and Weston grabbed everything he could.

All in all it was a great trip! We are actually planning on going back...in about 4 years! Weston will be 5 and can really enjoy it and Tatum and Keaton will be old enough that they can go on rides by themselves.



Pictures coming!

Crazy

The past week has been crazy and it looks like it will only get worse for awhile.
First, Jarrek and Keaton headed to Louisiana to help Uncle Ted and Aunt Neha load up some of their stuff to bring to Texas. Teddy and Neha will be moving here at the end of July. Jarrek and Keaton left on Wednesday and came back on Friday. Tatum, Weston and I had a great time hanging out together. On Friday, Tatum, Weston and I headed to Brenham and Jarrek and Keaton meet us there that evening. We all hung out with Ma and Pa and Richard and Carol. We then got up on Saturday to enjoy the Chappell Hill 4th of July parade which has become our little family tradition. We have not missed a parade in 6 years! After the parade we headed back to Ma and Pa's for some hotdogs (another tradition yet to be broken) and then we loaded up and came back to CS. Everyone took a little rest and then it was off to our next function, a 4th party with some friends. This afternoon Jarrek and the big kids, along with Uncle Ted hit the road to go visit family in Kingsland. They will return on Tuesday and then we are off to Disney on Saturday. Are you tired yet? I am, but we are all having a great time.

Tonight I was folding clothes and Weston was 'helping'. He found a pair of Tatum's silky PJ pants and carried them around for the rest of the night. He would hold them up to his check, hang them around his neck, put them on his head or just drag them around. I don't know if he liked them because they were soft and cool or if they belonged to his Big Sissy that he was missing. Either way it was too cute.

What are you gonna do?

I took the boys to get their check-ups today...1 yr and 5 yr. I know, a little late. Anyway, when Keaton found out he was going to the doctor all he wanted to know was if he was going to have to get shots. Weston had no idea what was going on until the nurse tried to take his temperature. I guess all the memories came flooding back and he did NOT want to be there. Weston is in the 70% for height and 10% for weight...long and very lean. Doctor said he is good. While Weston was getting his shots, Tatum and Keaton sat with their eyes closed and their fingers in their ears. They wanted to leave the room cause, "We just cant stand to hear him cry like that".

Next was Keaton's turn. The whole time the doctor is asking me questions about Keaton, Weston was banging on the metal cart that holds the baby scale. It seemed with every question, his banging got louder. I would pick him up and then he would scream to get down. I could tell the doctor was trying not to laugh. Good thing we have been going to this same doctor since Tatum was little.
Keaton was grateful he didn't have to have shots, but he did have to get some blood work done (no problem, just typical 5yr check up stuff). We went downstairs to the lab and the whole time he just keep saying "what are they gonna do? What are they gonna do?" I didn't want to tell him so I just kinda ignored him. We got there, signed in and waited. They called us in and all 4 of us squeezed into this tiny little area. Tatum figured out real quick what was coming up and kinda panicked which lead to Keaton's panic attack. Tatum was asked to wait in the waiting room (by me and the nurse) and the hold down began. I had to hold Weston and practically sit on Keaton at the same time. It was cute though, Weston started screaming when Keaton did and he kept trying to push the nurses hands away from Keaton.

Doctor's visits are never dull in the Hartsell family.