Being the First in Many Floridian Adventures

For those of you who have been following, we’ve spent the past few weeks preparing for our vacation. Our drive down to Florida was pretty uneventful. Minimal hitting and screaming, and the kids behaved themselves too. Ha!

This is going to mostly be a picture blog. Prepare yourself.

Tuesday we went to the Magic Kingdom. My mom surprised the kids by driving up from Melbourne (FL, not Australia) to spend the day with us. And we all surprised Chloe with a trip to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique inside Cinderella’s Castle. Big deal here, folks. It’s a princess makeover, including whichever Disney Princess dress she wanted, a manicure and makeover, hairstyle, photo shoot, and a printed invitation with her name on it. On top of that, ALL Disney cast members who come in contact with the “Princess” refer to her as such. What little girl wouldn’t eat that up?? Chloe had been begging for months (ever since she saw the promotional video), and I kept telling her no, we couldn’t afford it, maybe next time, etc. Made her cry a few times, but it was cruelty with a purpose, I promise. She was definitely surprised. Instead of describing it all, I’m going to let the pictures tell it. Everyone asked me how she was taking it, was she thrilled, was she giddy, etc. I think mostly she just felt entitled. She was completely unsurprised with all the attention. Chloe is a girl who KNOWS she’s a princess. Disney just confirmed it to her.

Chloe meeting her Fairy Godmother

Getting her nails done

And her eyes

And her lips

I need one of these for at home

The finishing touch: Pixie Dust!

NOTHING could be better than this "First Look" face.

She knows she's a Princess

While Chloe was getting the royal treatment, Ashton was across the park in Adventureland joining the Pirate League. He’s signed onto Captain Jack Sparrow’s crew now, with a new name: David Starcastle. I’m totally okay with that. I didn’t even recognize my boy when they were done with him.

You can't tell me he's not the hottest 7 year old pirate you've ever seen.

Here are a couple of things I learned that first day:

1. Every girl, no matter her age or nationality, longs to be a Princess. I can’t even count the number of stares Chloe got, the whispered, “Oh, look at the beautiful Princess!”’s, daughters pointing her out to their mothers, wives pointing her out to their husbands. People asked to have their picture taken with her, asked for her autograph, cast members bowed and curtsied to her. It took on a spiritual aspect for me. This is the way God intended us, as woman, to feel. To be treated. Pictures and words can’t describe Chloe walking around that park like she owned it, flitting here and there, twirling and dancing. Words can’t describe the joy it gave me to see her. I wouldn’t trade that memory and experience for anything. I can’t wait to do it again for Atleigh.

She takes her royal duties very seriously.

2. Girls are JUST as fixated with pirates as they are with princesses. Now, I don’t know how wrong it is for me to say this, but my son looked HOT. He didn’t even look 7 anymore. He looked like a teenager. It made me a little sad, and not a little uncomfortable, to see him with facial hair. And it amused me (and scared me!) to see all the looks he got in the park from every girl ranging from the ages of 5 to 10. He got envious stares from the boys too. All the adventurer in him came to the forefront. If Captain Jack had appeared right then (why, oh why, didn't he??), I wouldn't have been surprised if my pirate had followed him right to the Black Pearl.

3. And finally, people should be licensed to drive a wheelchair. Those suckers are dangerous. I almost got killed. See for yourself:

 

Thus concludes the first in a series of adventures. The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, but I will be posting more pictures, so stay tuned!