Disney Magic! Days 1 and 2

Ok, well we have been home from our Disney Trip for over a month now, so it's high time I blog about it!  Plus, even though we haven't traveled in March, we have done a LOT locally, so I want to make sure I cover it all!

I had asked the girls their opinions on an itinerary and neither one had any preference.  We were locked into going to Magic Kingdom on Tuesday and EPCOT on Wednesday due to some dining reservations.  Also, in my opinion, there isn't much to do at either the Hollywood Studios or at the Animal Kingdom, so I decided since no one had any objections we would skip both of those.  We would alternate days at the other two parks, so Monday was EPCOT, Tuesday was Magic Kingdom, Wednesday was EPCOT, and Thursday was back to Magic Kingdom.

Day 1: EPCOT

We ate breakfast in the hotel room and then departed.  This worked out great, we arrived pretty much when the park opened--we got such close parking we didn't need to get on a tram from the parking lot.  I told Ine we would first see the giant golf ball, and she had no idea what I was talking about, but as soon as she saw it, she said, "Oh yeah!  It does look like that!"

Now unfortunately for me, my camera battery didn't charge the night before, or somehow got drained, so we made Ine the official photographer of the day with her beautiful camera, but she announced she didn't want to take too many pictures, so I had to rely on my phone.  I admire her willingness to be in an experience versus photographing it.  Sometimes I think I miss out on things because I'm too busy taking pictures of them happening versus participating in them.

After we grabbed some day time photos of the golf ball, we decided it would be our first ride of the day, and I think it was a great choice.  The ride is called "Spaceship Earth" and it is all about the history of communications in the world.  You ride in a little cart, two to a seat, so Leah and Ine rode in one, and I was told (by Leah) to sit behind them.  She felt like a big deal sitting with her big sister.  "Let's do it again!" quickly rang in our ears, so we rode it twice, before moving on.

Ine on her first Disney Ride: Spaceship Earth

Afterwards, we went to Mission Space!  This is a space simulation ride.  It simulates as if you are going up in the space shuttle--the force and everything.  There is a lot of warning that you might feel sick or something might happen.  Both girls were nervous so we decided to opt for the tamer of the two simulations, and I think that was the right call.  It was crazy enough that we got to yell, but not so bad we couldn't do what we were supposed to do, which was push buttons and pretend to be the flight crew. 

I can't remember the exact sequence of events for the rest of the day, but here are some highlights:

We found Club Cool.  This is an area that Coke has set up where you can try different sodas from all around the world.  The clear winner was pineapple Fanta from Thailand.  Whenever we got hot or thirsty, we headed back to Club Cool and drank till we were full.

We also enjoyed lunch at the Coral Reef Restaurant outside the Finding Nemo ride.  I gave each girl the option of choosing a restaurant or two for our one fancy meal each day.  This was Ine's EPCOT choice.  The restaurant is built around a coral reef and you can look across the room and see fish swimming by.  Unfortunately, it is a seafood restaurant, and Ine said she couldn't eat fish with all those fish swimming around her, so she ordered chicken.  I found this hilarious. I ate lobster myself.  Heck, when you're at Disney, you should do those kinds of things!

The view from our table

Interestingly, our waiter was from Belgium, although we didn't talk to him about it.  We enjoyed the Finding Nemo ride through the aquarium, and the Tank Talk with Crush, which is kind of a comedy show interactive thing to teach you about sea turtles. 

We also enjoyed a Journey into Imagination which was much better when I was a kid and has now been replaced with an Eric Idle thing that is fine, but not as imaginative or fun as the original.  We enjoyed the little imagination lab afterwards.  We made our own Figments and danced around on magical squares on the floor that played music.

One of the fun things at EPCOT now is that they have an EPCOT Character Encounter Spot, where you can meet Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy.  Before we went to Disney, I gave Ine an autograph book that she could have all the characters sign, and she skipped pages so she could add pictures later.  So it was really great that we could meet so many and get so many autographs for her!

Anyway, the line was only 10 minutes long, which seemed like a great deal, so we hopped on that while we could!  The girls had an awesome time, and we even got a family photo with Mickey Mouse.

The big hit of that particular experience was Goofy.  He is genuinely goofy!  He wrapped his arms around the girls to sign their autograph books.  He also gave great big bear hugs and laughed a lot.

He elicited a lot of giggles from both girls!  Minnie Mouse, of course, was pure class, what a lady!

We weren't able to get into the rides at The Land pavilion that day, as it was just way too crowded.  We had fast passes for our second day, however, so we just decided to be patient and make do! 

Everyone was very helpful, we were able to adjust FastPasses and if we got lost, people were there to give us directions and whatnot, it was just great!  We also happened to run into Chip and Dale!

As the day wore on, we went over to the World Pavillion to check that out.  The World Pavillion is a bunch of little countries set up in a row.  You can visit each country and learn about them, they each have a restaurant where you can try regional foods, and you can get your passport stamped--I bought a passport on the way in.  At the entrance, we found Duffy the Disney Bear, who is apparently Mickey's personal teddy bear and got an autograph and pictures with him as well.

It was getting late already, and we were all getting pretty tired.  We went over to Mexico and rode the Rio del Tiempo ride, I think it's called?  It's a boat ride through Mexican culture and history and is a really lovely ride.  "Let's do it again!" was again requested, so we did it again.  As we left, we happened upon Donald Duck!  So we stopped for photos and autographs with him.

From there, we stopped over at Norway to see the new Frozen ride that replaced the Maelstrom (BOO!), but it was closed for refurbishment, so we decided to head out for the day.  We went back to the hotel, and Leah and Ine decided to go for a swim in the big "flower pool" as Leah called it.  We brought our cups with us to get drinks, and as the sun set and the temperatures cooled off, the swimming came to an end, we got drinks, and went back to our room to eat a quick dinner and sleep.

Day Two: Magic Kingdom

Probably most people equate the Magic Kingdom with DisneyWorld--you see Cinderella's Castle and think of Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World and all that stuff, and you want to be there in the action!  We again arrived pretty early, but we took the tram into the park, even though we could have walked it.  We got through security and the admissions gate and were totally bummed to see a giant crane attached to the castle, which is being refurbished!

Ine was bummed, and I didn't blame her, so was I!  And from conversations I had with other people, so were quite a few visitors.  Since work wasn't being done during the day, it seemed like maybe they could have at least moved the crane away during the day for people to get good pictures, but I guess not.

Anyway, one of the things I was determined to do was to get the girls on Splash Mountain.  Last time Leah and I were at Disney, we weren't able to go on it, as it was closed.  So I thought we should go on it first.  Unfortunately, they both caught sight of the plunge.  Ine spent the entire 10 minutes we walked through line informing me, "I don't want to do this.  I feel as if I am being forced into doing this.  I do not like this." And I was about doubled over laughing.  My attitude was, "We are doing it anyway".  It is a really beautiful ride, the story of Brer Rabbit and company and the American South, and the plunge is only a few seconds out of an otherwise lovely experience.  Of course, when we got on, we got put in the front car of the ride, and Ine was like "NO WAY AM I RIDING IN THE FRONT!" so I let her sit in the back and Leah and I sat in the front.  Then during the entire ride, all I could hear was "Is this it?  I would be ok if I just knew when we are going to drop down.  Is this it?  Is this it?  I just want to know."  And Leah was all scared.  I just shook my head till the pay off, when the Disney Company snapped this lovely picture of all of us on the plunge.  It makes me laugh so hard. You can barely see Leah, who was attempting to crawl into my overalls, and Ine does not look happy.  Even I don't look that thrilled, but I was having a blast!

When we finally got to the end of the thing and got off, Ine said, "I'm glad I did that, it was pretty good."  Leah declared "I am never going on that again!"  I tried to take pictures of them both--Ine was grinning ear to ear, but Leah turned her back on me and refused to smile.  It was absolutely HILARIOUS.

Soaked, but smiling, and proud of herself for bravery!

So right next door was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and we hopped on board that to go for a ride.  This is a pretty tame little roller coaster designed as a runaway train through the mountains.  I snapped a selfie as we took off.  Leah was not happy to be there.

We actually had fun on the railroad, but Leah was officially done at that point, and Ine announced she was absolutely NOT going on Space Mountain, even though she didn't mind the other two.  I was bummed, I wanted to go on it, but I had to respect their feelings.  Still, I asked them at least once an hour if they had changed their minds yet.  The answer was always a mutual NO WAY.

Pirates of the Caribbean was closed for the day, but there were plenty of rides to be enjoyed.  We went to It's a Small World and Ine pointed out the Dutch in the display of languages.  We rode on Winnie the Pooh, went to Mickey's Philharmagic, enjoyed Buzz Lightyear, the People Mover, and more.  It was a very busy day full of rides, but other than that we had a great time, there isn't much to say and we didn't take pictures, just enjoyed them.  In the late morning, the heavens opened, and it began to pour.  Everyone immediately ran and bought Disney ponchos, but my girls and I stayed strong.  I noted that the Carousel of Progress was just beginning a new rotation, so we hopped in there for a 20 minute break from the rain and afterwards had to make an emergency potty run for Leah.  Then it was time for Ine's meal choice at the Magic Kingdom, which was the Crystal Palace.  Again, we dashed through the rain, and headed over.

The Crystal Palace is one of my favorite dining experiences at Disney. It is an all-you-can-eat buffet (which isn't that big a deal for me any more!) and while you are eating, a bunch of characters from Winnie the Pooh come to your table for pictures and autographs.  The girls had a great time with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore, and the food was really delicious!

It was a really lovely time and a nice break from all the moisture and walking around we had been doing as well!

After lunch, we decided to split up.  I put Ine in charge of Leah and I decided to go stand on line for 2 hours to wait to meet Anna and Elsa.  The line for them, at the absolute minimum we saw was 2 hours.I knew there was no way that Leah was going to stand for it, and Ine didn't want to wait either, so I decided I would go stand in line and they could go do some rides.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize I was in the Rapunzel and Cinderella line!  AUGH!  So I wound up begging for mercy on some people in the Anna and Elsa line, and they didn't speak English, so they let me through.  I wound up letting a pile of people ahead of me, texted Ine to tell her to come on and bring Leah quick, and we only waited about an hour instead of 2 to get in and see the most popular and famous princesses Disney has ever created.

I much preferred Anna to Elsa--the woman who is Elsa really was pretty cold, personality wise, while Anna was much more warm, friendly, and spunky.  But Leah dressed as Elsa was in absolute 7th heaven, and it was well worth the stress of being in the wrong line and having to jump lines.

The Haunted Mansion--all tolled, we rode it 4 times over 2 days

Cinderella's Glass Slipper

There is a tribute to Rapunzel set up in Fantasyland, and as it's my favorite Disney movie, I was thrilled to see lanterns from Tangled, as well as her frying pan and Flynn's satchel if you look carefully :-)

Afterwards, we just kept riding rides and we had one final character encounter with Tinkerbell, which was superfun.  In fact, she might be my most favorite character encounter of the trip!  We were at the park till almost 10 o'clock, watched the fireworks, enjoyed Peter Pan after an hour's wait (Disney really needs to do something about that ride, but until then, there is fun to be had in the new interactive portions of the line where your shadow can move around and make pictures for you, you can ring shadowy bells, play with Tinkerbell, and more).  We were all quite tired when we returned to the hotel--I don't think Leah even stayed awake past the park gates and I fell asleep pretty quickly after our return to the hotel.

So those are our first two days at the park.  I thought I'd cram them all into one, but I think it's too much.  This is already a long post.  I'll try to finish up in a day or two about our second visits to each park--it was an absolute blast!

Road Trip! Part 1

Leah has been after me for a couple of years about going to DisneyWorld.  We went in 2013 when she was just 3 years old, and we had a great time, but obviously she doesn't remember it very much.  So back last summer, she started asking and I said I would take her 'when I could', but I logged onto the Disney site and purchased a trip as her Christmas gift.  When we found out Ine was coming, I contacted her parents and asked if they would contribute the cost of Ine's admissions to the parks and they agreed.  So we had a plan.  You may remember that on Christmas morning, the girls had a scavenger hunt and discovered at the end of it that we were going to Disney, and there has been excitement about the trip ever since. 

I rearranged the trip to accommodate Ine's swim team schedule because we were originally due to go at the end of January, and so now even though Leah would miss some school, we were planning to go for Ine's winter break.  Now, for some reason, I booked the trip for us to arrive at Disney on Monday, February 23, but as the winter wore on, I decided "NO WAY!" and called Disney.  They happily, for a relatively small fee, gave us an extra day in the hotel and at the parks, so we revised our travel plans to leave on Saturday the 21st and arrive on the 22nd.  I told the girls I would wake them up when I got up, but ultimately I let them sleep till around 5AM before rousting them out of bed.  There was a snowstorm due on the 21st, and I was surely going to leave before that. 

We were on the road by 6AM, and had absolutely beautiful travel conditions.  There was no traffic and no bad weather the entire way for the first leg of the trip.  The plan was to drive into Florida the first night, but to stop on the way in Savannah GA for lunch and a trip to the beach at Tybee Island.  I also decided that this trip we would stop at every state border to get a picture of Ine with the welcome signs, as I was disappointed not to have done that with Penny--we got to so many states while she was here, something like 14 and I didn't get welcome signs.  They're a fun bit of Americana.  So our first stops on the trip were to the welcome signs in North and South Carolina.

When we got out in South Carolina, it was still cool (maybe 40*F), but it was much warmer than it had been, and we were happy not to see snow any more!

Because of our detour into Savannah, we wound up not getting a picture of the Welcome to Georgia sign until the way back, so you'll have to wait.  We pulled into Savannah around 1:00, which was what I was expecting.  My decision was to take the girls to the Pirate House restaurant for lunch.  The Pirate House is the first place I ate in Savannah when my parents drove us to Florida, and it is a neat place.  It is rumored to be the oldest house in the state of Georgia, dating back to 1734 and has been serving food to travelers since 1753.  You can read more about it here.  They give the kids a pirate hat menu, which Ine was kind of sad she didn't get one, so I wound up getting her one on the way out. 

Ine enjoyed a pimento cheese burger, and we ate happily before departing.  I was able to show Ine some of Savannah's famous ironwork and the Spanish moss in the trees before heading out.

Our next stop was Tybee Island.  I am a beach girl--Ine is tired of hearing this already.  But I am my best self at the beach.  The minute my feet touch the sand, it is like all my troubles melt away and I can just relax and enjoy myself.  Since driving is hard work, I wanted to stop at the Tybee beach for a few hours.  Ine's sister Lise collects lighthouses and there is a beautiful lighthouse on Tybee, so I also thought it would be fun for Ine to see that. 

So the lighthouse was our first stop.  We didn't climb it, Leah had fallen asleep in the car and was quiet for a little while, so we just pulled into the parking lot, took some pictures and left. 

Now, usually when I am in Savannah, I have tour guides in the form of my friends the Wellses, who will get me where I need to go.  Unfortunately (for me), last year they left Savannah and moved to Louisville KY, so I was on my own.  I wound up plugging "Tybee Beach" into Google Maps and although it didn't give me a satisfactory answer, it showed me an area with water, so we decided to follow its sage wisdom.  As we were driving around, following it, we found a beach access ramp and some parking and decided to take a chance.  We parked, paid for the parking, woke Leah up, and headed to the beach.

It was a lovely day, maybe 70*F, and the minute we got down there, my cares disappeared.  We started collecting seashells immediately, and Leah soon amassed a collection of several hundred.  Leah and I walked down and stuck our feet in the Atlantic (I can assure you, it is FREEZING in February), and then she just started running, chasing seagulls, and having a grand time.  Ine was beachcombing and drawing pictures in the sand, and eventually Leah caught up with her and the two of them began running around and having fun.

We stayed there for the two hours our parking permitted and until it started to get quite cool as the sun went down.  We brought home tons of shells and sand, which we wrapped up in our towels and placed gingerly in the back of the car.  We were about 90 minutes from Florida at that point, so we started driving. 

Leah was agitated that I hadn't made hotel reservations for the first night.  I took a "wait and see" attitude and decided to drive till I got tired and I knew we would find a place.  But as we got back in the car, Ine started to feel a bit carsick.  She said she had eaten too many onions at lunch and she was feeling really unwell, so ultimately we decided to stop in Brunswick GA, about 40 miles from the Florida border.  We got a room at one of the worst hotels I've ever stayed in, the Econolodge, after getting lost trying to find the stupid place and driving in circles.  I kept Leah entertained by running to get ice, which took some doing as the ice machine on our floor was broken.  The bathtub was broken, so I was too afraid to take a shower, but ultimately I was so tired, I fell asleep with no trouble at all. 

The next morning, we went down to breakfast at the continental freebie they offered.  There was a waffle maker, which was difficult to know how to use, but we ultimately figured it out.  There was fruit, cereal, pastries, and juice, so everyone was able to eat up and enjoy themselves.Then we hit the road, ready to see the Sunshine State!  It only took us about 30 minutes to cross the border, and we made the obligatory stop for pictures.

The room wasn't going to be ready for us till 3:00 at the Disney Resort, but that was OK because I had some plans first.  The first snag we hit was that the Daytona 500 was on that day.  So we got stuck in traffic in Daytona for quite some time.  But because we were so early, I didn't actually mind.  We got through that and pressed on into Orlando.  It was lunchtime when we got there and my initial decision was to take Ine to Waffle House, since that is the great American road food--fast, cheap, and unique.  However, there was a heck of a line at Waffle House.  Now, my second favorite place to eat on road trips south is Steak N Shake, and happily, there was one nearby and they were able to seat us immediately. The girls loved it and we were happy to have a great lunch!

After lunch, it was time to go to Walmart.  I needed a new bathing suit, and we also needed to stock up on food for our trip.  The food at Disney is extremely expensive and I am on a budget like anyone else, so I decided we would brown bag two meals per day and eat one nice meal per day at the park.  Like all my other plans, this didn't really pan out, but it was worth a shot.  So we picked up snacks, sandwich fixings, fruit, water, juice, and breakfast goodies.  It was still only 2:00, but I figured I would drive slowly and we would get to the resort at 3:00.  We were supposed to get a text when the room was ready since we had Magic Bands and wouldn't need to go through the check in at the front desk, but we arrived at the resort at only 2:30.  I decided to take a chance and see if they'd let us in early.  Happily, they did!  We were staying at Disney's Pop Century Resort and honestly it could not have been nicer.  The people were so friendly and kind, and when we checked in, the guy gave Ine her "First Visit" button to celebrate.  We got our room information and I was very happy to note we were put in the 80's building since I'm a child of the 80's.  It took two trips, but we hauled everything up to the room and Leah took charge of putting all the food in the mini fridge.  By which I mean to say she commanded Ine on what to do.

Afterwards, we put on bathing suits and headed to the pool!!!  It was beautiful weather, although it was late afternoon and starting to cool off, so we only swam for about an hour, but it was a perfect way to end the driving.

After swimming, we changed back into regular clothes and decided to do some exploring before dinner.  The resort is amazing, all kinds of fun things to see!  Each area is a different decade and decorated just beautifully.  It was so fun to see. 

It may be the 'budget' end of Disney's resorts, but I really don't think they skimp any on what they do.

We finally went into the main building and had dinner.  There was a large food court with lots of options and we got refillable mugs for the duration of our visit.  The girls opted for pizza and I got a meatball sandwich, I think. 

Afterwards, it was getting late and we had a big day hitting EPCOT the next day, so I decided to put Leah to bed.  I told Ine she could go and wander the resort and explore on her own for a bit if she wanted to, and she decided she would.  Leah and I watched The Rescuers and then she fell asleep almost immediately.  Ine came back with tales of finding a rabbit out on the trail and having enjoyed a walk.  We fell asleep pretty quickly ourselves, and were ready for our first day the next morning. 

Non-Disney February

Of course, the big news in February is that we went to Disney World.  But we did a lot of other stuff too!  I wish I could remember it all.  Haha

February 1 was SuperBowl Sunday.  I regretted not having a party so Ine could really experience the SuperBowl the American way, but my sister and my friend Andy came over and we put the game on.

The game was between my team, the Patriots, and my sister and Andy's team, the Seahawks.  None of us is totally into football, so we mainly ate, pretended to watch the game, Judy tried to explain American football to Ine, and we watched the ads.  The ads were not very good this year.  Really underwhelming.  At halftime, we enjoyed the Katy Perry spectacle, which made Leah and my niece new Katy Perry fans, which is fun since my sister only listens to music from the 1940's.  I look forward to Dot and I torturing her for years to come.  Then they left, and we took a vote and decided to switch over to Downton Abbey.

We watched Downton for an hour and put the game back on.  It was the final moments of the game and it looked like Seattle was going to squeak it out, but at the last minute, well, we all know what happened...  So Ine got to see one of the craziest SuperBowl finishes there ever was.  You can tell in the below picture that she is so impressed by this entire thing.

The following weekend, there was a lot going on, and Ine had to make some tough choices.  She had not finished her last swim meet in a way that made her very happy, and her last swim meet of the season was scheduled on the same day as a mandatory AFS mid-stay orientation.  When she told her coach that she couldn't go to the swim meet, her coach was really disappointed, and Ine was too, since she really wanted to finish strong.  She asked me what to do.  I told her that she should call the AFS people and see what she could work out.  She was VERY nervous to do this, but I felt it was important that she solve her own problems, and a few minutes later, she came downstairs with a big smile on her face, and happily told me she had been excused from orientation to go swim.

Unfortunately I had to miss her swim meet because it was my nephew's 5th birthday!  So we went up for his party and then hopped in the car and drove back to F'burg like crazy hoping to see Ine swim.  As we were driving, she hadn't swum yet, but she was getting ready to, and ultimately we missed it.  That made me sad.  But we made it in time to see the end of season festivities and get some pictures.

I was really pleased for her that she got to participate and that it meant so much to her.  I think making the choice to do something on the community side versus the AFS side indicates a level of assimilation that is very important.  And I'm sad swim season is over, I had a lot of fun attending the meets.

The following week was busy for me, personally, as I had applied for a job, interviewed, and was accepted, but as a condition, I had to go to traffic school.  I had also started my school semester, and my mom got married on February 14th, and I was catering and caking.  So it was a crazy week.  On Valentine's morning, we woke up and got moving for the wedding.  I got both Ine and Leah chocolate hearts and a card and told them both how much I loved them and was glad they were here.  Then we had to quit the niceties and get to the clubhouse for the wedding.

The first challenge was getting the cake over to the place from my house.  I had Ine holding it on the way.  It was hard on the wrists, but she didn't drop the cake, which was pretty amazing, because even though the top layers were small, they were heavy.

Everyone was assigned a task for the wedding, and Ine's job was to be the photographer.  She has a lovely camera and enjoys taking pictures, and since the rest of us were cooking, moving furniture, running sound equipment, shooting video, and corralling children, we passed off photography on Ine. My mom later said that the pictures moved her to tears, so I think she did a great job!

 Here we all are at the wedding, my sister Judy, Ine, and me.  Ine is wearing a dress she described to me as being "three colors that aren't really colors". I like this picture.  Ine doesn't really feel like my daughter, she feels more like a sister to me, and my sister feels like Ine is her sister too, so this is more a representation of us with our new little sister than anything else :-)  Also you might remember back in January (I think) I said that Ine and I made the floral arrangements.  You can see them behind us.  So it was a great day, and fun to share an American wedding (atypical, but nice) with Ine!

In the US when it snows, the first thing
everyone does is buy bread.

That being said, it was soon time for the stupid snow season to start.  Here in Virginia, there is a LOT of freaking out when so much as a single snow flake flies, and sure enough, school started shutting down for days at a time.  Sometimes for rain, sometimes for snow, sometimes for the anticipation of weather.  You couldn't tell.  You just knew the girls wouldn't have school.  To give Ine's school credit, she had school more than Leah did.  But every day there was either a delay or a cancellation.  At first it was OK because Ine had homework to do and we could enjoy the novelty of the situation.  But after a point, it was ridiculous.  One of the snow days was bright and sunny and beautiful.  I asked Ine what she'd like to do, and her answer was basically, "Anything out of the house."  haha  I agreed!  So we got in the car and started driving, but then I suddenly just decided we should go up to DC and do a Smithsonian day.  So I asked Ine and Leah, "Would you rather see dinosaurs and jewels, dresses and shoes, or art?"  I suspect Ine was still rather traumatized from the Philadelphia trip's art museum visit because she said quickly and firmly "Not art."  So eventually we decided on dinosaurs and headed to the National Museum of Natural History.  We splurged on lunch and then discovered that the dinosaur exhibit is under renovation.  I was so bummed, I really wanted to see those dinosaurs!  So we talked to a lady at the information desk and she recommended a portion of the dinosaur exhibit upstairs near the insects.  We stopped in first at the butterfly exhibit.

Ine is not a great fan of insects, but butterflies are pretty tame, and she and Leah enjoyed seeing them.  They both held some sort of moth larva as well--that sucker was HUGE!

I do not like moths, but I like butterflies, so I focused my attention on them.  It made me happy.  I also touched the moth larva.  It had weird feet.  I was happy to give it to Ine.

After we left there, we found ourselves in a room where there were all kinds of insects.  I held a Madagascar hissing cockroach, but that was where Ine drew the line.  We also saw a 70-something bad a** woman of a volunteer holding a tarantula.  As Ine was fleeing that scene, she found a case containing a bird eating spider.  That grossed us both out, so we beat feet out of there and went into an adjacent room where we finally saw some fossils and dinosaur stuff.  YAY!  We got to watch some scientists sifting through dirt to find fossils and they waved to the girls, which was fun.  Afterwards, we went to see the Hope Diamond and gems.

When we'd had our fill of natural history, we headed over to the National Museum of American History and looked at the first ladies' gowns and some presidential stuff.  I got a few pictures of Ine and Leah with the gowns and one of Ine pretending to be president.

She looks very presidential, doesn't she?

On the way back, we stopped off at the Metro Cafe for a mid-afternoon snack.  We watched the ice skaters and Leah wanted to give it another try, but Ine and I both said no. haha  it hadn't gone well the first time, we weren't doing it again!

After that, Ine had a couple of more days of school and then we left for Florida!  I wished I had known they'd have the whole week before our trip off, I'd have planned something else somewhere warm for that week, but ultimately, we had fun together and that's all that matters.  Stay tuned for the details of our Disney adventure!