Well we are home and are finally starting to recover from the jet lag! It is really wonderful to be home and we realised just how much we appreciate everything here!!! So the last few days before we left the USA were really busy and I didn’t get to post the rest of the blogs, so better late than never….

On the 12th Jan, we went back to Animal Kingdom so the boys could go back on the Dino-soar ride again. Jamie got his new camera and they both spent all morning taking photos of all the animals and rides and just loved it! Then it got a bot cold so we decided to go home and rest for a while.

After lunch, Demi had a sleep and we decided to take the boys to movies. We went to the AMC movies just outside Pleasure Island. We were early so Ryan got to have a beer at Pleasure Island (really brings back old memories – dad can you remember the Adventure Club?)

Then we went to see Disney’s new animated movie “Bolt 3D” and it was brilliant! We really enjoyed it! The boys loved the whole experience: the huge popcorn and cokes, the huge boxes of candy, ice cream in the movie and they especially loved all the video games in the movies that we just had to try after the movie…. I thouroughly enjoyed the movie – it is a lovely story filled with comedy, adventure, danger and of course a happy ending!

That evening, Ryan & I went shopping on our own again and Ryan revisited his favourite Nike outlet store.

On the 13th of January 2009, went to Magic Kingdom in the morning. The boys got pins and spent the whole day trading pins – they loved it!  We also went on Goofey’s rollercoaster twice and back on Buzz Lightyear again… The boys weren’t really interested in anything else as they were sooooo excited about trading pins, so we had the chance to just walk around slowly (stopping to trade every now and then) and just enjoy the Magic Kingdom and all the details that make it so special!

Demi decided that she wouldn’t sleep there, so we decided to take her home – just after that it started raining so it was perfect timing… The boys came home and watched their new Star wars movie – they really are hooked on star was now and it’s really cute!

Ryan & I needed to get a few groceries so we decided to go to Walmart instead of Publix to see what it was like… it was so cool! They had so many nice things there at good prices!!! We bought the boys a Sony PSP for only $169 US (it costs double that in SA) and some second hand games for $5… we also got the boys the new Star Wars PSP game!!! They were so excited!!!!

That evening Ryan & I went for dinner at TGI Fridays – it was nice to get out and chat though the food wasn’t great.

14th Jan 2009 – our second-last day!!! We went to Hollywood studios – watched Indiana Jones and Disney playhouse again – the children just loved it! We also went to American Idol Experience and watched a finale show. Ryan ahd been asked to audition by a cast memebr and we nagged him all day but he wouldn’t but we decided to watch the show anyway. Jamie really enjoyed it and we were singing and clapping and it brought tears to my eyes to share such a special moment with my big boy…. they also loved being able to vote for who they thought was the best (though Mikey refused to admit that he voted for the loser and insisted that he had picked the winner all along…. he is too cute) It was really awesome!

We also went back to the Magic of Disney Animation and we drew MICKEY again – Jamie wasn’t too happy
with his drawing (he is a perfectionist like me) so he wanted to go back but we were out of time
so we bought him the drawing guide book and he just loves it! And of course the boys traded pins…..

In the evening we went back to Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes – the fireworks display again – the boys were so excited and just loved it! It brought tears to my eyes again…. it is just such an incredible show that you can’t help but feel inspired and grateful and touched in some way by Disney’s magic…..

Jamie said he loves Disney World and America and he has dreamt of coming here his whole life so he is very excited!!! He said it was his dream come true….. It felt so good to hear him say that…

We have all decided that we need to make new vision boards now . Ryan asked the boys what our next big holiday should be and Jamie decided that when he passes college he wants to travel the whole world (did you know that Basil’s mom travelled the whole world and she has money from every country in he world!!!)

15th Jan 09 – our last day: we packed, went to Downtown Disney so the boys could build lego (they loved building and playing outside that Lego store even though it was freezing that day) and Burger King for lunch, then back to Hollywood Studios one last time!

16th Jan 09 – we woke up early, made our way to the aiport and started the great trek home. It was a loooong flight but the children were really good and it was great to get home and see Duncs and Debs and Ben at the airport!

We really had a wonderful holiday – it was hectic and we are quite tired now but it was worth every minute of it. The growth that we have seen in our children is immense and their understanding of the world and the possibilties they have open to them has expanded and that is hugely rewarding! The children might not remember all the places we visited and all the rides we went on, but the memories of the good times we shared as a family on this holiday, will certainly last forever!!!