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Day 5 - Magic Kingdom (again)
We decided that since we needed a day of rest, we would go to the pool and do Magic Kingdom to see SpectroMagic again.

The pool at Coronado Springs was very relaxing. I needed a day to just "chill." We ate lunch by the pool, took a nap and then were very well rested...rested enough to possibly get a good seat for "Wishes."

All in all it was a good day - after all, it was our actual anniversary....9 years (who wouldda thunk it?)

Day 6 - Illuminations
Today was another day at Epcot. We woke fairly early for being on vacation and went to breakfast. After a relaxing breakfast, we headed towards Epcot. It was blistering hot that day. Now, keep in mind that Chicago weather is very unpredictable in itself. One minute it can be 20 below zero and one minute it can be close to 100 degrees. So Im used to hot weather...and yes, even humid weather. It was just our luck, though, that according to the meteorologists on local television, Florida (particularly Orland0) was having one of its hottest summers. The temperature was about 94 degrees with heat indexes in the 100's. HOT HOT HOT! Needless to say, the heat was slowing us down a bit.

After a bit of roaming around Epcot, we had enough, decided to go back to our room to relax a bit and then come back later - for Illuminations! We are so glad we did. We were rested and were able to wait around (longer than most who had been at Epcot all day) for a great place to watch the show. We found an out of the way group of table with umbrellas close to the water near Morocco. There we sat, had something cool to drink, met a nice family and watched the show. It was spectacular.

More....

Day 3 - The Parks
We decided that since we were already up, we would go to Magic Kingdom and watch the opening. John had never seen the actual opening with Mickey Mouse and a lucky family, so I thought it would be a great experience for him.

After the opening, we stopped by Town Hall and told a Cast Member that it was our anniversary and she asked how many years and we told her....9 She said that we were newlyweds and gave us "Just Married" buttons. We wore them all day.

We got the Pirates of the Caribbean early and was able to ride without waiting very long. In fact, we got to most rides early and was able to get in without a long wait. We went to Tomorrowland and went on one of my favorite rides - Carousel of Tomorrow. I love looking at all the vintage stuff and remembering the same things my grandparents had growing up.

Right before the 3 o'clock parade, we decided to go back to the resort to rest before dinner. As we were leaving, one of the security guards was walking towards and all of a sudden started making an announcement. We stopped to see what it was all about. The security guard said "Attention everyone...I would like to make an announcement....lets give a big round of applause for our newlyweds...." and then he came to us! We were shocked! It was quite funny as everyone around us started applauding. Then a Cast Member came up to us and asked our names and gave us a certificate for a free ice cream or popcorn at any kiosk in Magic Kingdom during our stay. It was such a nice surprise!!

After resting for a bit, we had some dinner at the resort and headed back toward Magic Kingdom to see "Wishes." We got there in time to see the Spectro Magic Parade but since it was so crowded, we didnt stay for "Wishes." We decided to do that another night.

Day 4 - Moving Day and more
Today was moving day! When we awoke, we found a message on our phone saying that they had a king room available and would we like it. We would have to vacate our room by 11 am but couldnt get into our new room until after 3 pm. So we packed our luggage, brought it down to the Front Desk and they held our luggage. So off to Epcot we went.

We headed towards Soarin' and were able to get on the ride sooner than expected...as always it was wonderful! I love that ride!! Then it was off to Test Track. I had always wanted to go on that one, but we always had the little ones with us and didnt want to wait in line with them. We knew that if our oldest son was there, he would be beside himself...hes a car freak!

More later....

We're back - - -

and here is our trip report....
Day 1 - The Surprise!
We woke up to the "lovely" tune of children playing downstairs and trying to wake up the older kids. So we decided, we might as well get out of bed. We trotted downstairs, made breakfast and I proceeded to nudge John and tell him that we needed to pack, after all, we were spending our honeymoon week at the hotel where we got married .

We went upstairs to pack (I had already packed the
"surprises") and about an hour later, we were back downstairs, loading the items in the car and making sure the kids knew how to reach us in an emergency, etc.

We drove to the hotel, checked in and went to our room. Since it was around lunchtime, we went to the bar to have some lunch. I took with me my LARGE purse (great for hiding surprises and airline tickets) and sat with John to have lunch. I didnt really want to wait for dinner to spring my surprise to after John went to the bathroom, I had the first surprise on his chair when he returned. When John sat down, he opened the book, read its contents and looked at me with the expression "what did you do?" He was truly shocked and kept repeating, "What did you do?" I couldnt help but giggle. It was HARD keeping that secret for so long!

I then proceeded to hand him over the confirmation for our airline tickets - proving to him once and for all, that we were indeed going to Disney! He asked me if Tracy had anything to do with this since he knows shes a Disney specialist - but of course, she was my partner in crime, as was Sydney (our oldest daughter). Who better to conspire with??

Lunch was over and we went to the pool to sit in the hot tub to relax. It felt so good, not having to worry about which kid was where in the pool....aaah...relaxation.

We went upstairs to shower and get ready for dinner at the restaurant where we first taste-tested our food for our wedding. It was yummy! They didnt have the exact items we had for our reception dinner, after all, that was 9 years ago and Chicken Wellington isnt something you find on a menu these days. But we improvised....

After dinner, we relaxed and made sure that John hadnt forgotten anything for our trip, now that he knew where we were going. Thankfully, he didnt as we were having the same weather here as Florida was having. Everything was set. I proceeded to the Business Center to print out our boarding passes for our flight the next day. Off to bed....

Day 2 - The Flight
We got to the airport after relaxing a bit at the hotel. Our plane didnt leave until 7 pm so we caught a bite to eat at the airport. Our flight was uneventful and the flight attendant even placed us in the Exit aisle so that we would have more legroom....

Magical Express was great. We waited a total of 5 minutes for our bus to Coronado Springs.

We got to Coronado Springs about midnight and proceeded to check in. I know we had requested a King Room, but as of the late time, they didnt have any available, but were able to put us on a waiting list for the next available room. We were put in Building 9B with 2 full size beds. Let me tell ya, those are small beds, especially when you are used to a larger one. So needless to say we didnt sleep very well. But we were determined to have a good time - after all, this was our anniversary week - and I was exhausted. So off to bed we went.

Second Honeymoon

We're off on a 2nd honeymoon - without the kids - - to....

DISNEY WORLD!!!

Did you think it would be anywhere else!? Come on - seriously folks - our family is obsessed...er....passionate...about all things Disney.

See you when we return!

Even more FREE-dom

More FREE-dom

Arent these great!?

Feeling All Nostalgic

Enjoy---some selections of "Free to Be You and Me"

Blast From The Past

When you feel all nostalgic and need a blast from the past, what do you do???? Why, you watch HR Pufnstuf, of course.... So here, for YOUR viewing pleasure.....is......HR Pufnstuf!!! Enjoy!!

Some funnies...

NUDITY

I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat, "Mom! That lady isn't wearing a seat belt!

HONESTY
My son Zachary, 4, came screaming out of the bathroom to tell me he'd dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. So I fished it out and threw it in the garbage. Zachary stood there thinking for a moment, then ran to my bathroom and came out with my toothbrush. He held it up and said with a charming little smile, "We better throw this one out too then, 'cause it fell in the toilet a few days ago.

OPINIONS
On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a Note from his mother. The note read, "The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents."

KETCHUP
A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup to come out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. "It's the minister, Mommy," the child said to her mother. Then he added, "Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle."

MORE NUDITY
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, "What's the matter haven't you ever seen a little boy before?"

ELDERLY
While working for an organization that delivers lunches to the elderly, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. The various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs, unfailingly intrigued her. One day I found her staring at a
pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, "The tooth fairy will never believe this!"

DRESS-UP
A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, "Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit." "And why not, darling?" "You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning."

SCHOOL
A little girl had just finished her first week of school. "I'm just wasting my time," she said to her mother. "I can't read, I can't write and they won't let me talk!"


BIBLE
A little boy opened the big family bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. "Mama, look what I found", the boy called out." What have you got there, dear?" With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear.”

For Jennifer

Happy 4th of July!

May all your BBQs be tasty.

May all your pools be heated.

May all your wishes come true on this, the birthday of our nation.

HAPPY
FOURTH
of JULY!

Happy Almost....4th of July!!

Ahhh...the great outdoors!

My dear sweet daughter is now camping at Apple Canyon Lake with her friend Kat and Kat's parents.

We just talked and found out that not only does Sydney have a driver's license but she now has a fishing license. She proudly told me that she "caught" enough seaweed to make sushi! Ahh...this mother is so proud. Who needs medical school when you can have a career in sushi fishing....? Oy!

Seriously though...she is having a wonderful time although a bit homesick. I teased her and asked her what she was going to do once she got to her dorm and actually had to live there? She told me that she was glad she had her cell phone....oh the bills!?

Well, more later and hopefully Sydney wont come home with more things she has caught other than seaweed - like a cold? 'Til then....ciao!

Oh the pain.....

We are off to the orthodontist to get Sydney's braces tightened......

Wish her luck!

Going to the zoo - zoo - zoo, how about you - you - you!?

Yesterday we spent the day at the zoo.

When we arrived, we went to see and pet the stingrays at Stingray Bay. The kids had so much fun sticking their hands into the tank and waiting for the stingrays to come near. Dad thought that their skin was slimy. We all had a blast just watching the stingrays so close to us.

Next we got our tickets for the dolphin show. Since we had so much time til then, we had lunch. It was really hot outside so we opted to sit inside.

FINALLY it was time for the dolphin show. The dolphins were their normal selves - playful. We watched them play with the ball and splash everyone (except us!). Soon the show was over and we decided to go see the bears.

At Bear Grotto, we saw Hudson, the new polar bear and his mother. We saw Hudson taking his afternoon nap and basically ignoring us. We also saw brown bears and many areas where the bears were sleeping.

After the bears, we decided to take a break and have some ice cream - specifically Dippin' Dots. Michael had chocolate, Adam had rainbow sherbert and Sofia and Sydney shared rainbow sherbert and of course, the grown ups had chocolate. After we rested a few minutes, we ventured to see the penguins.

The sky was beginning to get dark and so we decided to start for home. No sooner had we made the decision that it started raining. We "camped out" under a tent near the entrance/exit until the sky cleared and the rain let up a bit.

We finally made it to the car and it was an uneventful trip home. All in all, it was a great day!

Congratulations Class of 2007

The date was June 3, 2007. The place is Bolingbrook High School. The event - - the LONG awaited graduation of Joel and Sydney.

Joel looked handsome in his suit and tie (he cleans up well) and Sydney looked beautiful in her dress...although you cant see it since they are both wearing their robes.

If you notice, Sydney's tassel looks different from Joel's. That is because Sydney is part of the National Honor Society and she wears a gold tassel and a gold braid on her robe. Joel wears the standard black and red tassel with his medal of honor.

We got to the school (little ones in tow) an hour before the ceremony was to begin. It was sunny for a bit. That is when the heavens opened up and it rained really hard. We all went into the field house to stay dry until it stopped raining. Which it did a few minutes later.

Forty five minutes later while sitting on the bleachers, we heard the Principal announce "Joel Hershyl Spellman" and "Sydney Adar Spellman" and up they went to get their diplomas.

John and I are so proud of both of them!

Bad Hair Day

We woke up this morning and noticed a very large spot on the back of Sofia's head where hair was cut...cut SHORT! It seems that Prince Adam and Princes Sofia decided to play "Beauty Shop" and Adam discovered a new style. He took 6" of Sofia's hair off with one large snip.

Of course, I had to even out the hair so Sofia has a new haircut - a page boy cut that looks adorable on her. Yes I miss her waist length hair, but it will grow....

And how was YOUR day???

Thoughts on my youngest children...

On the left is my oldest son, Michael - he is now 8 years old. He wanted to be Bear in the Big Blue House for Halloween...how could we say no? Anyway...hes 8 years old now and will begin his Bar Mitzvah training soon - or rather he will start formal Hebrew school soon. I cant believe how big he has grown. From the scared little 3 year old to now, he has become a very important part of our family. When we talk to him about where he came from he tells us that it doesnt matter at all, that he is our son and that it is more important than anything! What a heartbreaker huh??? He melts my heart with his wisdom....wise beyond his years.

Then there is Adam on the right. He is just 5 years old. He wanted to dress up like a bird. Funny, he is so much like that bird - - he soars! When we got them over 4 years ago, I read the hospital discharge reports from his doctor. His prognosis was "guarded, at best". Look at him! Hes a thriving sweet little boy. Yes, there are things we wish he can do - like express anger, but that will come in time. For now we thank G-d all the time that he is not only alive but is with us, away from the home that damaged him so badly. He has a long way to go - and with the help of G-d, our family and most of all our therapist, we know he will do well. He just will have to do it more slowly than most.

Lastly, our beautiful little girl, Sofia - dressing up as baby Princess Dot from Ants. She is our beautiful little princess. In Ants, the baby princess wanted to fly but her wings were developed yet and all she could was follow along. Sofia is so much like that ant. She wants to be like her big brothers and sister. She follows them around and wants to act like they do and some days I DO wonder who is older....lol She acts so grown up, even at the tender age of 4!

These children are ours - heart, soul and legally. There is no one that can change that. Even if some people think they can.....

College Bound!

As of today's date, our oldest daughter is college bound. She was accepted to Loyola University Chicago, Grand Valley State in Grand Rapids, Michigan and University of Illinois - Urbana. She has chosen U of I for its wonderful pre-med program. So come August, we will be taking her down there (along with her best friend - who was also accepted) to begin her journey as not only an adult, but a journey towards becoming a doctor. Who knows...maybe she will be the next Madam Curie or Jonas Salk??? We are very proud of her.