We were on the road by 9 a.m. After a quick stop to get bags of ice for our cooler, we were on our way south to Alabama. We drove down to Birmingham and cut over to Atlanta on I-20. We stopped in the rain for lunch at Chik-Fil-A where my kids sang "Jingle Bells" to the delight of the other patrons. I shrugged apologetically, but one lady said "Hey, it will be here before you know it." After lunch we made our way around Atlanta and south towards Macon. Ainsley dozed some while Anastasia continued her DVD marathon. They were really great travelers! We stopped for dinner and then finally crossed into the Sunshine State, which was actually anything but. It rained and rained and rained. Lightning led the way for us as we hit the Florida Turnpike and moved closer to Orlando. We arrived at our hotel just before ten and collapsed, exhausted into our beds.
I was up early since, quite frankly, I was too excited to sleep. Isabelle had been born just before 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and Ryann and Scott knew nothing of their surprise visitors. We ate breakfast at the hotel before heading to the hospital. The girls were SO excited to meet their cousin. Ry and Scott were quite surprised to see us walk in the door! The girls held the baby and were immediately in love. It's all they've talked about since. It was wonderful practice for them to see what a newborn is like; how small she is, how she cries, how you have to be gentle with her head. They are going to be such great big sisters come September.
After having delivered two babies myself, I knew that hospital visits needed to be kept short and sweet. We stayed for about an hour and then left, promising to return after dinner. We headed over to Downtown Disney. On the way I remarked that it was torture to be so close to Disney World and not go in. With one swift manuever Jamie turned the wheel and we were headed for the Magic Kingdom. My jaw is still on the ground. We got our tickets, rode the monorail in and were at the gates before we knew what hit us!
We talked with the girls about which rides they *really* wanted to do. We got FastPasses for Buzz Lightyear and then went to Toontown. My only requirement at Magic Kingdom is to get a picture with Mickey back at his house in Toontown. It was a bit of a wait, but it was air conditioned so no one complained. I had thrown together sandwiches in the car (remember how we raided the pantry??) so we ate while we waited. After Mickey we rode Buzz Lightyear followed by the Tea Cups. I seriously thought they were going to make me throw up. I couldn't walk a straight line for hours! We rode the Carousel and then rode Dumbo. It was pretty hot so we all sat down for some much-needed ice cream. We rode Snow White and then the girls were dusted with Pixie Dust. I don't think that stuff is ever coming out of their scalps.
We had some time to kill before we could use our FastPasses at Peter Pan and Small World was closed so we wandred back to Toontown. Anastasia and Jamie rode the Barnstormer while Ainsley and I waited in line to meet some of the Princesses. She was SO talkative, until she met them face to face. Then she turned all shy on me. She could barely say her name! After another round on the carousel we took out flight with Peter Pan. We stopped for some pictures at the castle and then did our shopping on the way out of Main Street. We could see a storm approaching, but decided to wait for two monorails to go through so we could ride in the front car. It was, as always, worth the wait. We rode and chatted with the driver all the way back to the parking lot. Right as we exited our tram, the rain began falling in big drops. We scooped up the kids and ran for the van. We slammed the doors with all four of us inside and the bottom dropped out! I've never seen such a downpour. We drove through some of the worst rain I've ever seen to meet Gran and Pop for dinner.
After dinner we got to go visit with Isabelle again. This time the girls got to watch as the nurse weighed her. Anastasia was hovering over her and making sure her hat stayed on and that Ainsley didn't touch the baby's hands. She is such a little Mother Hen. We fell into bed on Sunday night but returned to the hospital bright and early yesterday morning to squeeze in one last visit. We left Orlando about 10 a.m. and made it home a few minutes before 9 last night. It was a terribly long day, but all in all it was a good trip home. Jamie checked and we drove over 1725 miles.....unreal.
It was fun to be around a newborn again and watch Ryann and Scott as they begin their new life as parents. It will be a hard few weeks ahead, but the rewards and benefits of parenthood will eventually sponge those dark nights of screaming and feedings from their minds. One day they will turn around and register Isabelle for Kindergarten and wonder where the years have gone. One day they'll get blood all over their t-shirt as they console her from a scraped knee. One day she will spin them around on the Tea Cups so hard they almost puke. The possibilities are endless. That is the beauty I was able to witness this weekend. Welcome to the world my niece, we're so glad you are here safely and we can't wait to share the years ahead with you.
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