Disney World- Day 3

Day 3 of Disney was full of fun and exhaustion!  Literally- Exhaustion!  I'll explain more about that later:)! 
We started the day off by getting up early to make the early hours at Epcot.  We got packed up and headed out on the monorail.  Kenny felt the need to make fun of me and my fanny pack though and obviously felt the need to document it as well, as shown in the picture below.


On our way to the first park- Epcot!

 The kids loved the monorail- they had alot of fun riding them and were really excited when we got to ride the "Tron" themed one.

Waiting at the Monorail Station

Once we got to Epcot (and after hearing the men complain, yet again, about the amount of things us girls pack) we headed to the fun rides.  None of us felt the desire to see the "countries" part of Epcot, so we hit the rides immediately and stuck with them!

Maddie & Samantha in front of what all the kids called the "Big Golf Ball".

Leaving Epcot with our troop.

Our kids were able to ride alot with all the swapping we were able to do because of the babies! We started with riding the newer ride called Soarin' which was amazing and ended up being a huge favorite out of all the rides! The babies loved the Nemo ride, and the Talkin' with Crush was hilarious! We also got to ride Test Track and Mission:SPACE.  Not to mention the ice cream!

Cole and Parker, looking at the sea creatures while waiting for Talking with Crush.

Maddie & Rusty
.

After Epcot we headed (as quick as we could!) over to the Magic Kingdom to our lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table inside the castle.  We were in a bit of a rush to make our reservations because of a mix up with the monorail system, so we had to rush the kids into Magic Kingdom, but I don't think that they really cared- they were just excited to be there.

The back side to Cinderella's Castle (and entrance to Cinderella's Royal Table Restaurant).

We bee-lined for the back of the castle where the restaurant was and made it just in time! 

At this point, Cole was starting to act really tired.  He kept asking if we could go back to the hotel because he was tired.  He felt pretty hot so we gave him some Tylenol and a ton of water, and then we let him relax in the stroller for awhile.  We went in to eat, and he was still wanting to just lay down on the bench and sleep (which he finally did toward the end of our meal). 

Inside of Cinderella's Castle

Inside of Cinderella's Castle

Armor inside of Cinderella's Castle


Once inside the castle the kids got to meet Cinderella and have their pictures taken with her.  Then we got to walk up the winding staircase to our table.  It was in a beautiful large room with a huge window overlooking the Magic Kingdom.  When we got in there we saw all the other princesses walking around to each table.  Our waiter was wonderful- he started off by wishing Katie a Happy Birthday (this was her Birthday dinner!) 

Maddie, Katie, & Cinderella



Inside of Cinderella's Castle in the restaurant

The kids each received a Wishing Star, and the girls got magic wands and the boys got swords!  Cole felt well enough for a few minutes to have a sword fight with Parker at the next table.  The food was incredible!  Very good, even though Cole didn't eat anything, but we did get him to drink his Sprite.

Maddie, Katie & Cole eating at Cinderella's Royal Table



My favorite princess there was Ariel!  She almost had me in tears at one point.  She noticed how quiet and sad looking Cole was and took him aside and whispered all sorts of adorable things to him!  He perked up a little and was smiling and I was so impressed that she didn't care that he might be sick (we had told her that he wasn't feeling to well) and she still gave him a hug and made sure he felt special!  I LOVE her!!! She was so great!  She even continued to play with my kids when she was done with our table by making faces at them when they were getting their pictures taken with other princesses!  She was the BEST!

Ariel, aka the Little Mermaid, with Katie, Cole, & Maddie

Snow White actually had a high-pitched voice like in the movie.  It sounded so funny!

Snow White and the kids

 Princess Arora told the girls that they all matched perfectly that day!

Princess Arora (Sleeping Beauty) with Katie & Maddie

Belle asked Cole what his favorite ride was that he has been on so far, and Cole told her test track.  She said, "Beast loves that ride, when he's wet he rides it, and it's like a big hairdryer for him!"  Cole thought that was pretty funny!

Belle, Katie, Cole, & Maddie

That was the best lunch I think I've ever had!  It was so much fun for us and the kids (even with Cole sick). 
After lunch we decided to take the kids back to the hotel and let them rest a little and go swimming.  It was a great idea because we were able to get out of the hottest part of the day.  It was also good for Cole to get out of the heat.  We went back to the hotel, and of course Cole perked up just enough to talk me into letting him go swimming with the rest of the kids.  In hindsight I should have made him take a nap with Logan and I, but I gave in because I wanted to let him have as much fun as he could.  Plus I figured if the doctors we were traveling with thought it was ok;) than I'm sure it was fine! They figured he just got overheated.  The best thing when your kid is feeling ill is knowing your surrounded with people who can take care of him:)!!! 

Maddie & Katie waiting outside Cinderella's Castle



Maddie, Mary Poppins, & Katie

After swimming and naps we were ready to go again!  We headed off to the Magic Kingdom again, and started off with a stop to the hat store first!  We had to get our ears!  Maddie choose the traditional mouse ears with a colorful twist, Katie picked out a cute pink Disney ball cap, and Cole picked out the Pluto hat with ears!  SO very cute!  I tried to get Logan something, but he did not like the idea of wearing a hat.  After that we were headed down Main Street toward the rides!

All of us in front of Cinderella's Castle

Cole was excited to get going again, he was a little drugged up for the rest of the day, and still tired and hot, but he hung in there the best he could!

Cole in his Pluto hat

Cinderella's Castle

We all had a good laugh when someone tried to sell us balloons for $10 EACH!  Really, we might as well attach a ten dollar bill to a balloon and watch it fly away!  :)

Looking down Main Street toward the entrance in the Magic Kingdom.

We walked through Cinderella's Castle this time because their were no performers out front.  The kids liked that.

Walking by Cinderella's Castle

Main Street

The first ride we went on was 'It's a Small World'.  I was warning the kids that it was a boring ride, but was surprised to see it was different than I remembered.  Not nearly as long, and actually quite cute!  The kids liked it, and it was perfect for Logan, who was staring in awe the entire time!

Outside of 'it's a small world' ride- our first Magic Kingdom ride!



Katie & Parker

We were pretty lucky this entire trip.  Before we left Kenny was warning the kids that we would be standing in line for at least an hour for every ride.  I thought he was being a little extreme, but I still expected to wait about 30 mins for the rides, and longer for the popular ones.  Lindsey and I were good about getting fast passes and baby swap tickets when we could, and I had an app on my phone that let me know the wait times of every ride.  With all that we were lucky enough to get on alot of rides almost immediately.  Most of the time we would go on a few 5 minute wait time rides and then use a fast pass.  The kids also got to go on rides multiple times because we could get baby swap tickets.  So they would ride with the moms first then go with the dads.  It worked great!  I don't remember ever waiting in line longer than 20 minutes, and even then we only did that once or twice.

Maddie, heading into our first ride!

Maddie, waiting to go on the ride.

Katie, waiting in line for It's a Small World.

Waiting in line for our first ride.

Cole, ready to ride!

Logan- The first ride was his favorite!

Katie & Parker- she was making it look a little more exciting than it really is:)

Maddie & Samantha- It's a Small World ride

Cole, with a little fever, but still smiling!

Logan- trying to see everything.

It's a Small World

After riding It's a Small World we headed to the Haunted Mansion.  The kids were all excited to go on that one after see pictures and videos on it.  Katie went with me, and out of all our kids she gets the most frightened.  We started the ride and before we even settled into our seat her head was in my lap and her hands were on her ears!  I think after hearing the first part she was just too scared to open her eyes or hear anything.  It was a little bit of a bummer, and I kept trying to tell her that it wasn't that bad, but she wouldn't listen to me.  We did eventually go on it again on Sunday, and after talking to the other kids about what it was like she was brave enough to go again and actually keep her head up and watch everything during the ride.  She actually liked it after that:) !

Fantasyland

We then went to Splash Mountain!  This one is a super fun ride!  We were again lucky enough to have some guy give Chase a bunch of fast passes that he wasn't going to use!  So we headed straight to Splash Mt. to use them!  The kids and the moms went on first while the dads and the babies waited for the next round.

Logan and his best-buddy Rusty!

Playing outside Splash Mt.



No, we did not plan the shirts:)



Katie & Logan

Katie, Rusty & Logan playing in the Splash Mt. play area.

After Splash Mountain the kids were all hungry and their was a cute place right next to the ride so we stopped there.  It was called Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe, and it had HUGE hamburgers!  It also had really yummy taco salads!  We found some seats outside which were perfect because to our surprise the Electrical Parade was going by right when we finished and out tables were right next to the street! 

Kenny & Maddie eating at Pecos Bill Tale Tall Inn and Cafe.

The parade was fun, and a perfect way for the little ones (aka Logan & Rusty) to finish their night.  They loved the parade and all the lights and dancers.

Watching the Electrical Parade.

Tinkerbell!

Logan loved the parade!

Katie & Parker watching the parade.

After the parade Lindsey and I decided to take the younger kids back to the hotel and put them to bed, and I also decided to take Cole since he was starting to fade pretty quickly.  Since we were leaving at 10 we made it right when they were letting off the fireworks!  The dads stayed with Maddie, Katie, & Parker to go on more rides until they dropped or 1:00am, whichever came first!  (They dropped first, because they got back around midnight.)  They were able to go on a ton of rides though- Big Thunder Mt., Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mt., Peter Pan's Flight, Splash Mt., Prince Charming's Carrousel, and they had pretzels!  They told us all about it the next morning!

Katie on Prince Charming's Regal Carrousel

Maddie & Katie on Pirates of the Caribbean

Maddie riding Prince Charming's Regal Carrousel



Kenny, Katie, & Maddie in front of Cinderella's Castle



Disney World Vacation- Day 2

Disney World Day 2 started off around 8am when we checked out of our hotel, and headed for our first 'Disney Destination', Downtown Disney!

Of course, my mistake was seeing online where it said the entrances opened at 8:30, but not seeing where it said most of the stores opened at 9:30 & 10:00.  We arrived at 8:30am to an empty shopping area and no stores opened!  It was kind of nice because we could walk around and see what was there without the crowds in our way.  It was also a great photo opportunity:)!



Maddie, Katie, & Cole at Downtown Disney

  One of the boys favorite store was the Lego store.  The nearest Lego store for us is up in Raleigh, so the boys have actually never been to one.  Cole was in heaven!  He was so surprised they had a store with nothing but Lego's!  He picked out a Star Wars Lego set, and Logan picked out a Pooh Bear Lego set (naturally).  They also had amazing Lego sculptures all around the inside and outside of the store, including a sea monster in the lagoon!


Katie outside of the Lego store in Downtown Disney.

 Next to the Lego store is the World of Disney store, which had every Disney item you could imagine.  We were able to find some really cute things for the kids, along with the autograph books (which are a necessity in Disney World).  My favorite part of the store is on the outside.  Right above where the kids are standing in the picture below is a huge Stitch character.  As we were walking past it Cole yelled out, "Stitch is trying to spit on us!"  We, of course, look at him like he's lost it, and say "What?"  Cole points up to the huge Stitch face and says, "He's spitting!"  Just then we see him spit (water) all over the ground just a few yards from us.  Cole was right- there it was!  After discovering this the kids had a bunch of fun trying to get spit on by Stitch! 


Outside of the World of Disney store (the largest Disney store in the world).  We tried to get Logan in the picture, but he freaked out at the skeleton.

 We walked all around Downtown Disney and went into a few shops, are first one being Goofy's Candy Co.  The kids found some cotton candy there, which makes for an excellent breakfast at 9 in the morning!


Logan kept yelling, "Pooh Bear, Pooh Bear!"

 After exploring Downtown Disney we headed for the Ride Makerz store to make Cole a car!  He'd been talking about it for months once we found out they had this store.  He was so excited to build his own remote control car from scratch.  He got to pick out everything for his car, which ended up becoming a yellow "monster corvette".



Cole and Kenny making Cole's car at Ride Makerz in Downtown Disney.

 


Putting the wheels on with Dad.





All done with his very own creation!

 After making the car we finally joined our "vacation buddies" the Grames Family for lunch at the most amazing restaurant in Downtown Disney- T-REX A Prehistoric Family Adventure!
We made reservations months in advance and it was completely worth it!  The restaurant was full of huge moving dinosaurs, real fish, and rock decorations.  We ate in the Ice Cave, which normally glowed blue and purple, except in the instance of a metier shower when in glowed red and got really loud with all the animals making noise.  The room changed colors and the animals actually felt real too.  It was great!  The kids all loved it except Logan.  He actually hid under the table the entire time.  I tried to take him around the restaurant and show him everything and tell him how the animals were "nice", but it didn't help.  It was a little loud and with all the moving animals it freaked him out too much.  But luckily for him under the table was nice and cozy with plenty of room for him to eat:)!  It was a great experience though, and they had amazing food!



Lunch at T-REX restaurant in Downtown Disney





Katie & Maddie during lunch




Lunch with the Grames at T-REX




Pictures with the Dinosaurs, you can see the glowing blue Ice Cave behind where we sat.

 After eating lunch we headed to our hotel in Disney World, the Polynesian, to check in!  It only took us about an hour to get all settled in, and unpacked in our cool room.  We were lucky that we got to check-in early, and Lindsey and I ran ahead to set up our rooms with the Disney Bags (Disney bag filled with a stuffed Disney character, Disney p.j.s, Disney towel. Disney fan, Disney socks) we had got for the kids ahead of time.  The husbands brought the kids to the rooms and they were all excited to see the cool stuff they got.  We settled into our adjoined rooms and got ready to go swimming in the pool. 

The hotel had an amazing pool with a volcano and a huge water slide that went through the volcano and out the bottom.  It also had a big water fall that went into the pool.  It was a blast and the kids just kept going down the slide over and over again. (As did the adults!)  We swam for quite awhile, and then Lindsey and I went to check to see if we could get reservations at the Ohana Restaurant at the resort.  We had tried to get reservations months before, but it had already been booked because it's one of the most popular restaurants there.  We were hoping they had a few spots available for walk-ins, and we were right!  We had the husbands take the kids to the rooms and get dressed and then we got right in at dinner time.  It was worth the extra effort!  The restaurant had amazing food, it was served family-style buffet, where they bring a bunch of different items to your table where you share with everyone.  It was all Polynesian style food, and really yummy!

The best part of the dinner was when the party hostess came over and asked Kenny and Chase to help her with the limbo!  She told them she wouldn't force them to wear the coconut bras (although we were all hoping she would) but they did need to wear the grass skirts!  They were great sports with everything she needed them to do!  And as a reward she brought us cupcakes and a ton of lei's for everyone!


The performers of our dinner show!




Chase & Kenny- real men wear skirts:
)






Kenny & Chase holding up the limbo pole

 

After dinner we headed back to the room, but the kids all still wanted to go swimming. The babies seemed tired, so Lindsey and I stayed back to put them to bed, and the dads took the kids swimming again. We were about to put the babies down when we saw these cute little ducklings walking right out our door on the grass. We went outside with the boys and found a whole ton of cute animals! There were ducklings with their mommy, little bunnies, and lizards. All over the place you could see these animals, and we continued to see them through our entire vacation! They just walked around the resort like they owned the place, and the kids could get really close to them! Logan loved it! It was like he had his own private zoo right outside. You would have thought we were staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge:)!



Logan- chasing the ducklings





Logan- now chasing the bunny:)

 Later that night after the babies had gone to bed, we heard music coming from the lagoon and went out to watch the Electric Water Pageant on the Seven Seas Lagoon.  Then the kids watched a little of the movie they were showing on the beach and finally we went to a beautiful grassy hill near our rooms to watch the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom.  We popped the kids popcorn and got them cookies and settled in to watch the fireworks!  Then we went to bed to get some sleep for Day 3!

Disney World Vacation- Day 1

First let me start our vacation blog by explaining what we were going to do on Day 1 (which was our travel day). Our original plan was to get up early (6:30) and leave for Disney World.  We were going to drive down which would take us somewhere between 8-10 hours depending on the kids and the traffic.  Once down there we would check into our first hotel, and then head to Downtown Disney for a fun dinner at Planet Hollywood and little bit of shopping.  Then head to bed to get ready for day 2. 
Well, that's the plan.  Or at least, WAS the plan!

Now, here's what really happened on day 1:

We woke up around 6:30, which was hard since I was up until 1:30am packing.  I had packed most of it earlier in the week, but had some last minute stuff to pack that took a little longer than planned.  Kenny also wanted to get most of the van packed up so we could leave early the next day.

Once up, we got ready, go the kids ready, finished getting everything (according to Kenny it was everything we've ever owned) into the van, and by 8:15am we were off!  The ride started off smooth, and the kids were all settled in.  We figured it would probably take us around 9 hours to get there, and 3 hours into our trip we had almost made it to Savannah, Georgia.  Almost- is the key word there.  We were driving along just fine when all of a sudden our 'Check Engine Soon' light came on and started blinking.  I checked the manual, and of course it said that if the light is ever blinking to pull over and have the engine serviced.  Well, by the time I stopped reading the manual a loud clunking sound started coming from the engine and everything was going crazy.  Luckily was just happened to be by an exit, and we took that and turned into a Home Depot right off the exit.  Once in the parking lot Kenny decided he'd had enough with our van (that's a whole other story that I share on another post) and it was time to buy a new car.  After laughing a little at the timing of it all I completely agreed.  So as I researched the nearest car dealership Kenny spotted a soldier and went to ask him if he knew where we could go.  As fate would have it, the soldier had recently bought 2 new vehicles at a Chevy Dealership down the road.  So, we headed off in the direction of the dealership with the soldier following us in case something happened, and we were able to make it there without breaking "completely" down.
Once at the dealership everything worked out really well, the dealer was great, everyone helped make the kids comfortable, tried really hard to speed things alot since they all knew we were on our way to Disney World.  We were very fortunate to find the perfect vehicle for us.  They had just happened to get a brand new suburban in that morning (it still had the stickers all over it, and only 5 miles).  It was black and had all the little extras we had wanted in a car.  It took a little over 6 hours to get all the paperwork done, unpack the van, repack the suburban, and finalize everything.  By 5:30/6:00 ish we were finally headed on our way to Disney World again!  And this time we were riding in STYLE!

The kids were alot more comfortable, and they were all loving the new tv system compared to our old one!  After our 6 hour delay we figured we would be lucky to make it to Orlando before midnight.  Our kids were great though!  They were amazing sitting around in a dealership all day and then stuck in a car for the rest of the part.  They even allowed us to keep driving on instead of stopping for dinner somewhere.  We powered through and made it to our hotel in Downtown Disney at 10:30pm!  Just in time to see a few fireworks as we pulled in!  It was great!  Most likely the most expensive vacation we will ever go on (if you include the new car)! 

A crazy start to an even more crazy vacation, but one we won't forget!

New Car- Old Car

When someone says that they are going to own a car until it dies, it rarely happens.  Mostly because they give up too early.  Not the case for our lovely van!

Here are the details:

We owned a van, a burgundy 2003 Chevrolet Venture.
We bought it in 2004 when it only had 7,000 miles on it. 
We got a great deal on it, and it was a great car for us.
Never had alot of problems, got great gas mileage for a van.
Had a ton of room, sat up to 8 people and room in back.
And...up to a year ago we had never had any problems with it. (That is 'mechanically' speaking.)
Cosmetically, however, is another story!

Here's what slowly happened to our car in the last 5 years. (Wow, what a coincidence, our boy is 6, which means he's been mobile for the last 5 YEARS!)

1) Our cd player didn't work- due to a couple pennies and dimes having been stuck in the cd slot. (Hmmm...wonder who did that?!?)

2) The knob for the rear temperature control was broken off.  (Again- hmmmm...very suspicious.)

3) The passenger side visor hangs from the ceiling with 2 safety pins.  (Now, this one I know who broke it.  A small boy who thought he could hang on the visor.)

4) The dash board had red melted crayon, which would not come off for nothing!

5) The end cover for the front cup holders had been ripped off.

6) The right automatic sliding door was officially broke, and would no longer open automatically. (And very hard manually too.)

7) Their was a dent in the back.  Not quite sure where that one came from.)

And Finally:

8) One the passenger side door their was the name...(drum roll please)...COLE!  Carved into the side! :)

Well, after owning that car, until it literally DIED, we finally are the proud owners of a brand new 2011 Chevrolet Suburban!

If you want the story of our transition to the new car, just got to the Disney World- Day 1 blog.  It's a great story:)!

Now, I drive a beautiful black, shiny, new car!  It's wonderful!  When we drove it off the lot it had 5 miles on it.  It has a tv, leather seats, no stains, nothing broken, and all the doors work!!! 

Now, my only goal is to keep boy #2 AWAY FROM IT!

Easter 2011

April Fool's Day

Here it is again- one of my favorite days of the year.  I cherish this day- mostly because Kenny tends to pull pranks ALL OF THE TIME.  And this is the one day that I save up for all year long!  This is the day that I can mess with Kenny and he can't get mad:)!

I've been planning these pranks for days, weeks, and even months in advance.  I even kept a list on my phone so I wouldn't forget any.

The first thing:  (This one had to be carefully orchestrated last night.)  I changed his ringtone to the hit Justin Bieber song 'Baby'.  I choose this one because I knew of Kenny's "deep devotion" for the Biebster.  I'm hoping that he can't figure out how to change his ringtone immediately and is forced to suffer with it all day.

Second:  I know where he parks at the hospital everyday:)  So, (and I came up with this one almost a year ago) I went up to the hospital yesterday, found his car, and moved it about 20 spaces farther away to the last parking spot available!  Far enough for him not to notice it, but still within his vision.  It was perfect!  And luckily for me he just happened to call me when he was walking out to his car like he normally does!  The conversation went something like this:

Kenny:  Hey- I just got off, I'm headed out to my car right now and I'm gonna stop at the gym before I come home.

Me:  Oh- ok.  (Trying to sound very bored and normal.)

Kenny:  What time do you need me home so you can leave?

Me:  Well, the movie doesn't start until 5:20, so you have plenty of time to workout.

Kenny:  Ok, well... I will... um... I...I'm... I just need to find my car...um...let me call you back.

Me:  Ok.  (Doing an amazing job at acting normal, might I say!)

I hang up the phone and about 5 minutes (yes, 5 minutes) later he calls back.

Kenny:  What'd ya do with my car?!?

Me: (Innocently) What?

Kenny:  Where's my car?!?

Me: (Heavy sarcasm) Uh, probably where you parked it!

Kenny:  Seriously Missy, I'm wearin shorts right now, I'm freezing my butt off!

Me:  Well, that sucks for you.

Kenny:  Come on, where'd you put my car?

Me:  I didn't touch your car.

Kenny:  Missy, I'm freezin and holdin a bunch of papers!

Me:  I don't know how to help you with that.

This proceeded to go on for a few more minutes where Kenny complained of being cold and holding papers and I continued to deny knowing about his car.  It was quite entertaining:)  He finally got me to laugh with his talking about wearing shorts and freezing his butt off while holding a bunch of papers and the wind and everything- it was pretty funny!  I couldn't hold out much longer.

Kenny: Where's it at?

Me:  Look back about 20 spaces.

Kenny: (click)

He He He:)  LOL

He tried to call me back a minute later and asked why his car wasn't starting and why the front tire was flat, it didn't work. (Well, not entirely.)

The Third and finally one:  Kenny hates Hugh Jackman.  I think he's a catch!  We have this long running thing about him (with a few friends involved as well) so I knew I needed to use this to my advantage.  I printed off a whole bunch of Hugh Jackman pictures, cut his head out, and taped them over every picture of Kenny in our house.  :)  The best part is he has only found the ones in our bedroom so far.  He has no idea that they are all over!

I LOVE April Fools Day!

Maddie's Surprise Birthday Party

Maddie's birthday party was one of the best ones we've had!  We made it a complete surprise, and you could see it on her face!  Here's the story:

I had a friend mention the surprise birthday party idea a few months before Maddie's birthday.  I hadn't yet decided what to do for her birthday, but I knew I wanted to do something big because she was turning 10.  Once I heard it I knew that was what I wanted to do, but the tricky part would be inviting people.  I knew some of the friends that she would want to be there, but as for her friends in her class at school I had no idea.  About a month before the party I started casually asking her about her friends at school.  Things like, who are your friends, do they live in this neighborhood, and what are their last names.  It was hard to be sneaky about it, but I think that by spacing out the questions it was less obvious.  After I got enough information on the kids I would try to google their last name to try to find out where they lived.  That only worked once since most of them had last names like Smith.  Very disappointing!  I was able to give out a couple at an awards ceremony for their class, and that helped, but the rest were hard.  For one girl, I knew the neighborhood she lived in and what car they had, so I actually drove around the neighborhood until I found out where they lived.  ( I know- a little on the border of being a stalker!) Eventually I gave the rest to a friend who works at the school and she passed them on for me:)!  I was just glad to have been able to do it without Maddie finding out.  One of the best parts was that Maddie's teacher was great about it and helped by telling all the girls that it was a surprise birthday party and that they weren't suppose to talk about it to Maddie or in front of her.  It was so perfect!  I thought for sure that their would be someone to tell Maddie, but no one did!  I made sure to not tell Katie or Cole for fear that they would let it slip.  I asked Katie (as we were decorating for the party) if she knew, and she said she didn't know.  Katie said that one night one of their friends came over and started talking about a party, but they all thought she was talking about a party for their American girl dolls:)! 

So, on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, Kenny told Maddie he would take her out to go Christmas shopping.  She was excited and they left on their way.  He took her shoe shopping:)!  I honestly love how Kenny will play along with all my crazy ideas!  Well, while they were out shopping Katie, Cole, and myself started getting the house ready for the party!  Luckily all the girls showed up early just like I had asked and we got everything ready.  Maddie has wanted to have a Movie Party for the last few years with some special decorations from Oriental Trading Company, so I had ordered all of the decorations to go with and planned a movie to watch and everything.  Kenny called me and let me know that they were pulling onto our street, and we turned the lights off, hid behind the furniture, and yelled surprise as she walked through the door!  The look on her face was priceless!  She was completely shocked!  It was great!  The girls had so much fun talking and playing and watching the movie!  They had pizza and I had bought all the movie theater sized candy as well as pop and popcorn!  A few of the girls were able to stay the night for the sleepover, and I'm pretty sure they stayed up later than I have in a long time:)!