Actually...I took even more than that because a bunch of pics are on my phone that I still have to upload onto my computer! Yikes!
I don't want to miss any of the great memories....special family time doesn't happen every day!
I'm so behind on blogging, that I'm honestly not sure where to even start!
I think that a vacation through a mother's eye is probably a lot different than the way my kids perceive things. After all, they spend a lot more time just enjoying the moment....(I have tried to learn from them!) Of course, they don't have to worry about packing everything that everyone needs during the day, (i.e. sunscreen, Advil, snacks, changes of clothes for the littles, diapers, wipes, etc., etc.!), or worry about anyone getting lost, or pay attention to the quieter signals that it's time to go back to the hotel and give everyone a swim break and time to recharge so meltdowns can be avoided and the optimum amount of fun can be had!
So while my perfectionist self would like to chronologically go through the vaca from start to end, I'm just going to jump right in! My friend, Kim, asked me what my favorite memory was when I spoke to her shortly after our vacation ended. It didn't take more than a few seconds to come up with this:
On the Friday of our trip we spent the day in Hollywood Studios. It was a really fun day that I will share more about soon, but one of the shows we got to see will always hold a special memory. With Mike's help, we were able to get a Fast Pass to the Frozen Sing-Along Show. Frozen is pretty popular in our house among the girls...and Luke is pretty fond of it, too! The older boys opted out of the show and went looking for snacks....(shocking that hundreds of girls singing "Let It Go" held no appeal!;)
The theater was filled to the brim with Frozen fans. The show itself is narrated by the two newly appointed historians of Arendelle...who were hysterical. They told the story of Queen Elsa and there were lots of special appearances from many of the Frozen characters.
So, other than a very entertaining show, what made it special was the reactions of a few of my family members. First, there were the older girls. They were absolutely giddy sitting in their seats waiting for the show to start. Sarah begged Kate to come sit in her lap to watch the show because she wanted so much to have this Frozen experience together as sisters! They huddled together as the excitement crackled between them, (and the hundreds of other girls(and boys)), as we waited for everyone to find a seat.
Ellie and Sarah stayed huddled together and Kate climbed on Sarah's lap moments after the picture was taken...and that was her seat for the whole performance! The love they have for each other was just oozing out all over! I felt so grateful that God blessed us with these three beautiful girls and that they love each other so much! To see 3 sisters, separated by over 12 years from the oldest to the youngest, be so excited about one thing was just incredibly touching!
It was one of those 'living in the moment' times when you just watch in awe at the gifts God has blessed you with...when you soak in their faces with your eyes and their voices with your ears and you just want to absorb every little possible detail and never forget it because you know it's extra special!
Jay chose to come with us to the Frozen show....and he was very glad he did! Seeing our girls so excited to share the experience together really touched him...and although I did not get a picture, there was a tear, (or two), glistening in his eyes! Afterwards, he said he was so glad that he got to see the reaction of our girls. Hearing the reaction of the crowd amazed him, too....it was an incredible moment when the lights went down and a single note begins and an entire theater bursts into song at the same time! Simply amazing! I should have written down exactly what he said at the moment, but the gist was that seeing the way the theater full of females reacted to this one movie was beautiful and nothing that he really understands. It was visual proof of the concept of Feminine Genius...(Jay always loves to work JPII into a conversation!)
Towards the end of the show, our girls were totally into it, belting out "Let It Go" with gusto! Although the lighting was poor and I had a bad angle, I had to catch a little of it on video! I've never tried adding a video in a blog post before so hopefully it works!
Kate sang Frozen songs all.the.time for the rest of our trip! I documented one such moment!(again, hopefully it works!)
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| Note the "Anna" braids the girls are sporting! |
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| digging fun! |
Our "Frozen" experience at Disney melted our hearts with the love we have for our daughters! It was without a doubt one of our most special memories from our vacation!
