WDW...day (yawn) FIVE!

Did I say we needed a nap? 
Yeah, well, have another cuppa coffee, because there is NO napping at Disney World!  Not even for the tired and pregnant among us. 

 

On day five, we needed to be at the WDW Animal Kingdom when it opened at 9am.  We had another surprise up our sleeves for the kids, and it turns out, one of our kids had a suprise for us!

 

We hustled to the back of the park to get to the Safari ride before the crowds did.  They say pregnant women shouldn't ride, but I'd researched it and found that most moms-to-be had no problems.  And it worked out just fine - the ride wasn't at all bumpy and I was comfortable the whole time.

 

 

Our ride!

 

 

Up first, the black rhino.  He was so cool!

 

 

Another crane for Melissa!

 

 

This pelican was awesome, I swear he was posing, and preening at his reflection.

 

 

The alligators must have had full bellies, because they were all smiling for the camera.

 

I'm not sure what this is...but he was so sweet, chilling out in the morning sun.
 

 

More than any of the other animals, I came to see some giraffes.
I'd heard that first thing in the morning was their most active time. 
And active they were!  This one crossed the road right in front of us!

 

 

 

They were getting their own breakfast at the buffet.

 

 

 

 

This tree almost looks fake, but it was REAL.  Amazing!  As were the elephants surrounding it.

 

 

This mama and her baby were so sweet!

 

 

We passed by some lovely flamingoes. 
Their island was in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head...that's Disney for ya!

 

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The kids were so excited to see some cheetahs.  They were chillin' though - no need to break land speed records on our account.

 

 

Jack really liked these rocks and asked me to make sure to get a picture.

Marc kept yelling that there was a lion "right there!"

but I couldn't see her.

 

 

Can you?

 

 

 

  Here's her boyfriend...

 

 

We saw an ostrich, and these were her eggs - at least 10 inches long apiece!

 

The safari was over too soon, but there was a suprise waiting for us at the end...
NANNIE AND GRAY!!

I wish I had a picture of this magical, moment, but it was not meant to be.
Months of planning, plus half a dozen phone calls that morning between Marc and Gray, and we still couldn't manage to figure out exactly who was where, when! 

In the end, we just kind of ran into each other!
The kids were totally excited to see them, and kept looking behind things
to see who else we might be hiding!

How insanely lucky are these kiddos (and their parents!)
to have all FOUR grandparents come to join them on their first ever Disney adventure?
Lucky, LUCKY ducks we are.

We had some time to kill before breakfast, so we walked through this exibit...

We got to look at skulls...
 

bugs...
 

 

 

 

birds...

 

 

keep out signs...

 

fish...
 

more birds...
(we were told these blue ones were very rare to see out in the open)
 

more fish...
Oh WAIT!!!  It's a HIPPO!!
(this is totally what happened in my estrogen-addled brain at this moment as I was trying to figure out why they would have another fish pond when we'd just seen one....doh!)
 

Mr. H was so chill that he didn't even mind that birds were using him above water as a perch,
while fish were nibbling on him below the water.
 

Just one big happy, symbiotic family.
 

By the time we got to the end, we'd practically forgotten that the gorillas were the reason we'd come in in the first place!
 

They were simply AMAZING.
 

Just so darn HUMANlike.
The way they stared at you?  Like they totally knew you.
 

 

So majestic.  We were all enthralled.
 

 

 

 Then we were off to...could it be?

Yes, ANOTHER character breakfast!!!

 

 

 

 

 At this point, Molly was an expert autograph-seeker.

She had her pen and book ready before we'd all even sat down.

 

 

And it was a good thing too, because the Tusker House was teeming with characters this morning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast was pretty tasty too.
Molly and Ben were impressed with my assembly skillz.
 

Then the craziest thing happened!
(ready for a "Jack Story"?)

Jack had made a big deal at all the Disney restaurants of not being treated like a little kid.  He was 10 years old, eating on an adult dining plan, and made a point of telling servers that he'd like his drinks in a glass cup, please.  None of that lid-with-a-straw stuff for him.

But about halfway through breakfast at the Tusker House,
Jack went to take a sip out of his glass cup,
and it slipped.  Not far - he'd only lifted it about an inch off the table.
But when the glass hit the table, it SHATTERED.
Glass shards went everywhere, like a massive explosion.
And one of them caught his thumb and gashed right through it.

Oh, Jack.
Our sensitive child.
The one who FEELS everything more DEEPLY than the rest of us.
The one who can't tolerate even a moment's discomfort.
The one who is now bleeding profusely across the table from me.

Before he could see the cut, I grabbed my napkin and grabbed his thumb HARD.
That sucker needed some pressure on it or we were going to have blood everywhere,
because this was no small prick.

First the staff came.
Then they called the EMTs
Who decided that the injury warranted transport
by ambulance
to the local hospital.

So Jack and I got to enjoy our first ambulance ride together,
sneaking out of the park through some back alley
enduring an x-ray,
irrigation of the wound,
the pressure to stitch,
and the eventual choice to use glue instead
(I know my son, and there was no way they were getting a needle and thread into him without a 12 point restraint and some heavy duty sedatives.  The Dermabond was a gamble, but it was one that at least wouldn't leave emotional scars that needed decades of therapy...for me!)

While we were sojourning at the lovely Celebration Hospital,
Daddy, Molly, Ben, Nannie and Grey had a blast over at the Animal Kingdom.
 

 

 

 Miraculously, we managed to pull ourselves together by the end of the day
and head out for a fancy schmancy dinner at Fulton's Crab House.
 

 

 Someone didn't care how fancy-pants it was, she was not giving up her peacock facepaint!
Not even if Mommy brought us matching dresses so we could take pictures!

 

Ah, the things we do for love.
 

 

 

 

 

Ben was 100% EXHAUSTED.
That may have fueled his persistence.
He INSISTED that he was going to have lobster and crabs for dinner.

And by golly, that kid ate every last MORSEL of his crab legs,,
and at least half of my lobster.
 

 

He was thoroughly pleased with himself,
even moreso when he realized he and Gray ate the same thing.
 

Having two grandmothers on hand is a surefire easy way to keep the kids entertained.
Molly and Nannie played about 25 rounds of tic-tac-toe.
(Molly won 95% of these - I'm thinking the table may have been rigged)
 

 

 

Before we knew it, it was 9pm and there were fireworks to be seen!

From the top deck of the ship, er, restaurant, we could see BOTH Epcot and the Magic Kingdom's shows simultaneously.

FABULOUS!
 

 

And when we came back down, there was an extra special dessert waiting
for Mommy.  (Daddy was so sweet to think of it!)
 

What a wonderful celebration...of FAMILY!
 

Our coach was about to turn back into a pumpkin, but we decided to push on
and pick up a few gifts at the Lego store while we were in Downtown Disney.
 

 

OF course we had to play a little while we were there.

 

 

 

Of course, we eventually pushed the envelope too far, and a meltdown was imminent.
Luckily, about four seconds into our cab ride home, Mr. Meltdown passed out cold.
Poor, sweet thing!  He was such a good boy at dinner, but he needed some rest!
 

One of our favorite things about the Polynesian was the turn-down service.
Each night, we'd come back to find our room all gussied up,
with chocolates galore and all our stuffed animals posed to welcome us back.


 

 

Such fun!

Even though they only lasted long enough to take the picture,

before we heave-hoed them off the bed and fell, face first, drooling,

into a catatonic coma until the sun came up.