Well, I suppose I'm a few days late with this post. Will anyone notice? Probably not. We made it back from our Disney World trip. It was so remarkable. We arrived in Orlando, FL, on Sunday around 4:45pm. By the time we caught our Disney bus back to the resort and got checked in it was almost 7. The girls were tired but too excited to stay in so we caught the boat to Downtown Disney where we proceeded to pay double for what our family normally eats at McDonald's. The lego store was top on Dad's list and after going and bumping into so many people we decided that other than the bins stocked full of every color, shape, and size block and the incredibly large lego figures, we could have delt without that trip.
Monday was our first park day at Disney. We had lunch reservations at Epcot so that's where we headed. It was filled with Mickey and pals, the storybook princesses and Kim Possible Missions at almost every country. The girls had great fun. Tuesday was tiring. We went to Magic Kingdom.... and apparently everyone else did too. It was so crowded with people wall to wall. We enjoyed things like Cinderella's Castle & Golden Carousel, It's a Small World ride, Mickey's Place, Minnie's House, the High School Musical Show, a sword fight between Peter Pan and Captain Hook, and more. We were in lala land. Wednesday we spent the entire day at Hollywood Studios. Of all the things we did there, the girls liked the Disney Playhouse on Stage the most followed by the after hours dance party. We reserved Thursday for Animal Kingdom, but by that day the girls were so tired of walking, they decided to stay at our resort and hang out. Since it was their trip and we were equally tired, we complied without a fight.

Something I've learned about Disney trips.... never go in the summer. The next time we go it will be during the fall or winter when the weather's significantly cooler. The heat was no where near what Texas heat has been in the past, but never the less it was still pretty hot when you couldn't find shade. This made it extremely difficult for the girls to enjoy themselves when waiting in any line. Something else I highly recommend is booking your trip through Disney. Resort guest get extended park hours on select days. These days are provided to you when you arrive at your resort. The dining plan is a must. It makes it easy to hand over your key to the world card (also your resort key) without having to worry about change and cash. Not to mention, some of the meals we had could get costly if you wanted a sit down meal. The dining plan saved our family of five money for sure.

I also say I'll blog more tomorrow, but lets face it, I'm a mom and never know when I'll have the time to do anything I desire. We'll see I suppose. Future blogs will include more on our non-homeschooling efforts as well as getting prepared for next years adventures. TTFN as my friend Tigger would say!

Yes, it is a day worthy of two posts. Now that summer has officially began in the Carty household, we are gearing up toward our summer vacation at Disney World. Billy and I are super excited because the kiddos do not know we're going yet. It has been rough making calls to confirm things and pick up last minute trip items with them hovering thinking something big is about to take place. Sugar Booger is brilliant and picks up on suspicious behavior. The force is strong in that one. I have felt like Agent 007 around here trying to get our flights verified, bags labeled, and dinner reservations made. I just got off the phone to get our flight confirmation number so I can verify what terminal it leaves out of. I see, in the corner of my eye, a handy link to check the weather to our destination and what do I see? Rain, yep rain, all 5 days we are there, there will be rain. Of course its only a 30% chance, but its everyday none the less. So here I am, in the middle of dry heat in Texas, telling my kids we have to get ready for hurricane season and go buy rain coats/ponchos for them to take on the trip. Yes, I have to pretend like there will be play time in the middle of a hurricane just so I can get rubber boots and ponchos. This is my luck I tell you. Keep watching for updates, its going to be fun.

So we've decided not to homeschool next year. It was a tough decision to make and one we didn't take lightly. We had hoped to homeschool this upcoming year, but when my soon to be kindergartner got a taste of what public school was all about she's was in it completely and ready to go. I don't have the heart to break hers. As for my official third grader, she's content with coming back since she's gotten good news that she will have her 1st grade teacher for her 3rd grade year! She's super excited about that. It was the last day of school today. The kids were happy and extremely entergetic; the teachers appeared to be equally if not more excited. All in all, I think it was a great year filled with tons of smiles and memories. It was our first year at this school with a new principle and I do believe she did a great job at managing the school. My first year as a PTO parent is completed and I think I may be returning again next year for some more fun! First order of summer business: to sleep in on Friday morning!!