We're going to Disney World

We started our trip to Disney World last weekend by getting the house all ready, I always like to come home from a trip to a clean house. Jeff mowed the lawn and even climbed up on the roof to trim the trees that were brushing our shingles. Laundry, dishes, vacuum, floors, bathrooms; the list of chores never seemed to end. We left early Monday morning with a very clean house and yard.

We left the house wit a bag of treats and each of us had a very small duffel bag for our clothes. Our car is very small and we had to fit all of us our things and Mandy's friend and her things in our little car. We picked up Cassie at about the half way point and the girls were packed pretty tightly in the back seat, especially Mandy and her very long legs. She is 5'11" and about 90% of that is her legs. But, before we got to Cassie we stopped at a gas station about 5 miles from our house to get pop, I had to make my first pit stop. I guess I had too much coffee.

We arrived at our hotel in the late afternoon. The drive was monotonous and pretty uneventful. We stayed at the Shades of Green which is a resort next to the Polynesian Resort right on the Disney property near the Magic Kingdom. In fact we walked across the street from our hotel to the Polynesian to catch the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. The thing is that you have to drive for miles through and around the Disney Property to find this hotel/resort. Once you actually find your spot it is pretty hard to leave and go elsewhere to eat. We therefore ate our meals at the resort even though there wasn't anything that Lily would eat and we paid $19 per person plus drinks. Poor Lily, they didn't have simple things like not fried or marinated meat, or fruit or veggies without a sauce, or plain rice or plain potatoes, everything was very good but not at all Lily friendly. Even though she has been allergy free for almost a year, now instead of worrying about her food allergies we are worrying about her pickiness. Well not really worrying so much as saying poor Lily as we enjoy our meal. I mean we give her food and if she choses not to eat, well that is her choice. I just have to also point out that our first night me and the older girls very much enjoyed the all you can eat buffet with crab legs, they were divine.

It was at first very awkward to sleep in a hotel room with all five of us. The room was very quiet, we could hear each other breath. We are used to sleeping with a fan running and so the quiet was very quiet. Somehow we all managed to fall asleep and make it through the night. Our room was enormous and luxurious. We were on the ground floor and our sliding glass door went out to a porch. On the porch we had a couple of chairs and a table and a view. That porch was my favorite part of the trip. Every morning I would get up first and take the first shower. After my shower I would have to walk ten minutes to get to the hotel lobby and buy my coffee. I would also pick up milk, juice, bananas for the family. Then I would come back to the room and take my coffee outside on the porch while the rest of the family took showers and ate their breakfast. I had a good hour and a half of reading with my coffee on the porch while the family got ready.

My view from the porch was amazing. There was a pond, surrounded by grass and beautifully landscaped bushes and plants. Behind the pond was a golf course which was full of slopping green grassing hills. Behind the golf course was a forest. The morning sky was as blue as can be and in the air was just the sounds of the birds saying good morning. Each morning different little animals would come and say hello. I saw a turkey, cranes, bunny rabbit, and many other birds. They would come right up to me and forage for food around my feet.

Tomorrow I will tell you about our first day, at the Magic Kingdom. I missed y'all.