The holidays came and we began talking about how we really had no plan. I don't think I knew where we were staying until the week of Christmas when my dad asked me. My dad and his wife Liz live in West Palm Beach. They were planning to come and join us. It was when he began asking me questions that I realized I had no clue what was going on.
So, we got the logistics sorted out. Sort of. The week before we went Seth realized that this marathon was no joke. Not just because it's a marathon of course, but because it's big. LOTS of people go to it. Some super crazy people even run the half on Saturday and the full on Sunday. It's called the Goofy challenge. Goofy indeed. It occurred to Seth that taking Evie might be a logistical nightmare. As you know if you read the previous post, we did not take her.
I have to say for being so loosely planned this was one of the best trips I have taken. Here's why:
1) Gobs of Lila time.
2) Really good quality time with my dad and Liz. Not just for Lila, but for me too.
3) Even with no nap every day, riding buses everywhere, and sensory overload to the max Lila was in awe the entire time. It was priceless.
4) I got to really be a spectator and see how well Seth would do without me. I always knew I held him back in Vancouver and I'm so glad he did this without me (sounds weird, but I have always had remorseful feelings about it).
5) It's Disney for goodness sake!!!
Here's a bit of a rundown via pictures:
Just before the character breakfast at the Polynesian Hotel.
She was so excited that she touched Pluto's nose!
She's not having any fun at all. I promise.
Lila and Liz. This was the beginning of the Animal Kingdom day (Friday). Seth didn't go to this with us because he had marathon meetings and the expo to go to.
Just hanging out!
This is either right before or right after a hippo swam slowly past us in front of the window under water. It was SO cool.
This is on the train that pretty much just rides around the outskirts of the Animal Kingdom. Nothing fancy but Lila kept wanting to ride it!
Brushing some sheep at the petting zoo area.
At the start of the African Safari ride...Poppy made sure she didn't get scared. The new Donald Duck doll helped as well.
A little resemblance here I think :-)
This is the start of the day at the Magic Kingdom. Not sure what this face is about. I just think the picture is funny.
This is right before It's a Small World. I think this ride was her favorite!
The beginning of a day full of pointing.
Riding Aladdin's magic carpet ride.
I'm not really having any fun either.
Funny story. Seth and dad took a break so Liz, Lila, and I got in line to meet Tinkerbell. About twenty minutes in Liz realized we were actually in line to meet Ariel (who Lila has no clue about). Twenty or thirty minutes after that she had her thirty seconds with Tinkerbell. TOTALLY worth it.
It's hard being a kid that gets pushed around in a stroller all day.
This was during the parade where she really got to see everyone she knew. She was either waving, pointing, or staring. This was the best twenty minutes of the whole weekend.
Another parade before the big dance party...
...serious dance moves in the street!
* I need to interject here how the last day of our trip went. It was actually a pretty amusing comedy of errors. Let's back up. Seth had to get up at 2am to eat "breakfast" and then be at the bus at 3:30 am (I think). Anyway, let's just say it was out of control early. He and Lila passed out around 7:30 pm so I spent my night off trying to figure out how to track Seth during the marathon. I read online that 10.5 miles was at the castle at the Magic Kingdom and spectators didn't need a ticket. Perfect! We would get to see daddy running and Lila would get to hang out at the castle one last time. I set everything up so that I would get a text every five miles (isn't technology CRAZY??) and woke up at 6:30 am to get there on time. Lila was not to excited about this plan. AND, I made the massive mistake of telling her we were going to the castle again. NUMBER ONE RULE OF PARENTHOOD: Do NOT tell your child something really fantastic is going to happen if you aren't 110% sure it will.
The buses at our hotel were running very late so we got off the bus at the Magic Kingdom right about the time Seth was running through the castle. So I asked where the next spectator spot was. The helpful Disney employee looked me up and down (with my angry two year old in her $20 POS stroller) and said, "if you hustle you can get to the Polynesian Resort over there and just past it is the 12 mile stop". Hustle we did! At this point I was simply too proud to give up. I wanted to surprise Seth and maybe give him some extra momentum. I chose not to tell Lila about missing the castle at this point. It was about an hour later that it dawned on her. She handled it as best she could given the circumstances.
As I'm hustling I realize lots of other people were making their way in the same direction. It was crowded to say the least and I couldn't see a thing. What's the point of doing all of this hustling if I don't see him? I made the executive decision to cut through some pretty tall grass along the road, book it around the barriers, and join a "cheer crowd" that I'm pretty sure you had to pay to belong to. Lila and I had so much grass on our pants and the stroller probably needs to be thrown out. BUT, we saw him!!! I think he was really surprised. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture because we were hugging and cheering and enjoying the moment. That's how worth it this was!
Then there was the trick of finding our way back to a bus that would take us to the finish line at Epcot. And guess what? Everyone else needed that as well. I had two hours though. So I got some coffee and hopped on a tram. Well, Disney likes to switch things up when a big event is happening. Signs that say some form of transportation will get you where you want to go nine times out of ten are false. You can imagine how excited Lila was to get off the tram that didn't end up taking us to Epcot only to see a gigantic line for the bus. Enter a much overdue meltdown. I got this brilliant idea to take a bus back to the hotel and then get a new bus from there to Epcot instead of waiting an hour in line where I was (which ironically was the transportation station). The problem with this plan was that the buses weren't running to the hotels. Somehow, with my screaming child I convinced a bus driver to take me to the hotel that he would pass as he took random people to another park. So in twenty minutes I was at Epcot due to either my screaming child or my sweaty, frantic, almost in tears condition.
We grabbed some food and hung out waiting for Seth to reach the finish. Lila pushed the stroller around long enough for the grass to completely fall off. We saw him cross and it was all worth it! SO PROUD OF YOU SETHY POO!
This is our lazy day at the resort after the marathon. Our little sassy girl has been walking around with her hands on her hips these days. Oh and today she put on her Snow White "dress up" and told Carson and I she was Snow White. No like, when I called her Lila she said "no mommy...I'm SNOW WHITE!!!". Carson promptly pointed at the actual picture of Snow White on the costume and said, "no, that's Snow White!".
And last but not least, this is how we actually know she had a good time.
Alright, sorry this was so long. It really was such an enjoyable trip. I missed Evie so much, but the time with Lila was much needed for all of us. Good times!
I love all of those pictures!!!! So glad you all had a great time and hooray for Seth!!
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