Moonlight Mini Golf

Before it was dark enough to do the moonlight mini golf all the kids and some of the big kids had some fun at the driving range. It was so cute seeing the line up of them all hitting. Even more entertaining was the scaterring of them all to pick up the close balls to rehit again much to Marty's dismay! They all seemed to have fun.

Madi hitting one with Kaitlyn and Hollie in the background... Drew hitting one with Caleb in the background....
After the driving range it was time for Moonlight Mini Golf... The picture below is pretty much what you could see... a bunch of people in glow necklaces, glow in the dark balls and the glow stick lit flags on the course. So fun....

Drew ready to hit...

Madi after her first hole in one... she had 2 for the night. One on hole 13 in the first round and one on hole 9 in the second round.

We have decided the next time that the adults need to do the Moonlight Golf on their par 3 course... because that would just be entertainment at it's best for both the experienced and inexperienced! :)

Holding the Moon...

My niece and her friends decided to take pictures where it appeared that they were holding the moon. So all the cousins decided it would be fun to "hold the moon" too. It is amazing how little the full moon looks from the perspective of the pictures...

Drive In Movie...

Drive In Movie Theaters seem to be extremely hard to find nowadays. Thank goodness one opened back up in Kenosha a couple years ago. The kids as well as the adults all had a blast there. Drew had fun playing catch in the parking lot and Madi had fun hanging with all her older cousins and their friends before the movie started. We all hung out in the back of the 2 vans and 2 trucks and watched Despicable Me and The Sorcerer's Apprentice. All the little ones crashed at some point during the second movie.

Madi and Drew with all their cousins... minus one -- We missed you Zach! All the big kids... sadly it is not often we are all available for these picture moments.

Go Brew Crew!!!

One of the huge highlights of heading to Wisconsin was catching a Brewer game at Miller Park. Going to see them in Houston, though a ton of fun, was not quite the same as seeing them at home. Thanks to Marty's Uncle who gave us tickets with amazing seats we were able to see the action quite close up.
Madi and Drew giving me smiles despite how hot (and how tired) they were... Pretty close to the action one row off the third base line dugout!

Time for a rally in the ninth and boy they needed one! Despite having a lot going for them, they managed to get killed. Seems to be the curse of having us there to watch them... We will give them points for their entertainment style in the ninth... placing their go to pinch hitter and occasional outfielder in as the pitcher! He managed a three up, three down 9th throwing 51 mph pitches.

Last Day at Disney meant Toy Story Galore

We spent our last day at Hollywood Studios which has pretty much been overtaken by Toy Story Carziness. We went to see Buzz and Woody... We then saw all 4 Little Einsteins and Handy Manny... Then off to find Bolt to find out that he had been replaced by Lotso... more Toy Story.
We visited Mr. Incredible and Frozone next. Madi called him SnoCone though...
On our way to find Sully from Monster's Inc... The Power Rangers made their way in. Though Madi and Drew have no clue who the Power Rangers are -- they wanted to go to each one as they almost all posed them. We made it to see the Yellow, Blue, Green and Red Power Ranger.

Off to see Sully and then some playtime on the Honey I Shrunk The Kids Playground.
Then a quick stop to see Lightning McQueen and Mater.

While Mommy secured our spot for the Block Party Bash Parade, Daddy, Madi and Drew tracked down the Green Army Man.

They caught him just in time as he may have had to help with the Block Party. Those Green Army Men were in charge of keeping the parade going.

Here's Madi seeing how low she can go while dancing along with the parade.

Finally it was off to the long wait to ride Toy Story Midway Mania.

That is always a good way to end your day.

Another Day at Epcot

No trip to Disney would be complete without a visit to Mickey Mouse. We got to see him, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy all after one wait. Goofy was really silly he posed the kids before we took pictures.
We missed Mulan on our first day but caught her today!

With Aladdin & Jasmine...

Jasmine asked Drew for a hug and this is what he gave her.

She was a little surprised by his "distant" hug so he gave her another.(One that Uncle Ryan would be proud of!!!)

It was nearing dinner time and we decided to try the restaurant at Epcot to make life a little simpler. Madi and Drew got to see Farmer Mickey here, Pluto and Chip and Dale. Pluto, Chip and Dale were pretty funny. Pluto wanted Eskimo kisses, Dale was silly when he forgot he had already visited us and Chip kept tickling their bellies.

Before we left Epcot, we had to get a picture by the big "Epcot Ball".

Happy Birthday Madi!!!

Let me say... Madi had an awesome 6th Birthday! She has asked to go back to Disney since we were there last February and we were able to go back over her birthday... We spent the day in the Magic Kingdom and she pretty much called the shots all day.

Starting with our very first stop just inside the gate to see Daisy Duck.

We made our way over to the castle to make sure we were in time for her hair and makeup appointment... We had a little time and ran into the Fairy Godmother right outside the castle.
Then off to the Bippidi Boppidi Boutique for the princess makeover...
Almost done and getting sprinkled with Fairy Dust.

Drew was taking pictures of Madi while she was having her hair done and the photographers saw him. They made a big production to present him with this Magical Moment Certificate for being a "Royal Photographer in Training." He thought that was pretty cool as they made a drum roll and everything for him.

After her appointment it was a short walk next door to where we were having lunch inside Cinderella's Castle. Here's the birthday girl with Daddy and Drew outside the restaurant.

and with Mommy & Drew!

Before heading up to the dining hall, we met and took pictures with Cinderella... After eating lunch, Belle made her way over as well as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Ariel.

I called ahead and ordered this special cake for Madi's Birthday... It was a chocolate slipper filled with chocolate mouse sitting on a cake pillow.

It turned out really cute and she was so surprised. Needless to say she got an ice cream sundae too with her meal.

Next was off to see Pluto... He was pretty silly -- he tried sending us off and wanted to keep Madi and Drew with him. Silly Pluto!

Picture moment by the castle, squints and all...

Then the long wait to see Tinkerbell. We caught time with Iridessa and Terrence too.
We went from there to the Liberty Tree Tavern(our waitress from night one recommended this place). The food was SOOOO good, Marty and I stuffed ourself and of course, since it was Madi's birthday, they brought out a cupcake, lit a candle and sang to her.

From dinner, we went to watch the Spectromagic Parade and planted ourselves in front of the castle for the fireworks. Drew fell asleep before they started and he wasn't phased by the noise of them at all.
The fireworks show was really amazing. Madi planted herself on Daddy's shoulders and plugged her ears.

After the fireworks, we caught a few more rides and when we neared midnight, much to Madi's opposition, we left the park announcing that her birthday day was officially over! :) She fell asleep on the shuttle back to the room.
Thanks to everyone for the birthday calls that day... they sure made Madi's day! :)

Day at Epcot

This day of events included just a few things. Started with getting a fast pass for Soarin (and then actually staying at the park to use it this time) followed by World Adventures including Kim Possible Missions, getting masks stamped in each world, finding characters and eating our way around the world.

First stop in Germany was to see Snow White. Drew wasn't so sure about this yet. Next stop was for food. We ate at Nine Dragons in "China." The food was really good and they even brought Madi a birthday card written in Chinese and some ice cream for us to all share and it wasn't even her birthday... yet! :)
Madi loved the fans in China. She ended up getting one for her birthday but the pink ones were gone so she ended up with a green one.

Drew and Madi both decorated a mask... In each country, they got a special stamp on it, some countries write their name in their language on the back and each country added a new die cut to it.

We also did the Kim Possible Missions, where we were give a phone that gave us clues. The phone would make things talk to you, pop up, light up, sing, etc... It was a lot of fun!

In France, we came across Marie from Aristocats... She was so silly, she kept licking all the kids.

Madi and Drew in France after some crepes and ice cream.

In the UK, we ran into Mary Poppins...

and then Tigger and Pooh!

A quick stop for Fish and Chips there and then Bratwurst in Germany and we were off to ride Soarin. Everyone loved Soarin including Drew until the end. When they fly you over the Disney Castle in California with the fireworks going... he was not such a fan. He then gave Soarin a thumbs down rating.

Once last stop to Spaceship Earth and a quick game of Power City and we were on our way out...