Mission Select: Hotel Room

So, last Saturday 1/31, we left for our family's latest mission. Mission select: Hotel Room according to Jake. (It's a Rescue Heroes thing). They name their missions with Mission Select: XYZ. Well, Jake picked "Hotel Room" because, you see, I could book 3 nights at the local Best Western and my kids would think we took them on a really nice vacation as long as it had an indoor pool. They LOVE staying in hotel rooms. Mommy, on the other hand, does NOT. I always find myself wondering if there is a hotel in the US that is clean to my standards. I'm starting to think not. I used to wonder if there was a hotel on the planet that was clean to my standards and then I travelled to China and stayed in 3 different 5 star hotels. They most definitely WERE. They were wonderful. Particularly the one in Chongqing that we stayed in for about 10 days. It was fabulous. I've never had anything in the US compare to that cleanliness. There is always mold and mildew stains in the shower and various other icky things. Anyway, my children do not seem to notice and love hotel rooms. We travel a LOT so that is good. If they hated them we'd be in trouble.

So, we landed in Florida on Saturday the 31st and it was nice. Cool but nice. However, it got progressively colder as the days went on and the warmth did not return until the day before we left. The Orlando area experienced their coldest weather of the past 50 years. Nice. Figures. Oh well. We weren't at home. We just bundled up, spent $8 on a cheap pair of Mickey gloves that immediately got a hole in them, and kept on going. I'd have to say that Thursday was nearly unbearable in the morning though. It was about 30 degrees with colder windchills. Not Disney World type of weather. The kids did get to swim twice (outside). Once the day after we arrived when it was about 62 degrees and then the last day when it was about 65 degrees. My little fish, Jake, got cold and bailed on the swimming on the last day after about an hour.

The day we arrived we just hung out and got some dinner and explored the Boardwalk. We've stayed there before so we knew what it had to offer but we had fun walking around. The first full day we headed out to Magic Kingdom, then Animal Kingdom, then Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM), then Epcot, then Magic Kingdom for the last 2 days. Lydia's favorite rides were the "Happy House" (her name for Small World), the tea cups, and seeing Mickey and Minnie's houses. Jake's favorite rides were the Buzz Lightyear ride, the Peter Pan ride, the Winnie the Pooh ride, the Indy cars, and Goofy's Barnstormer. Niether one of the kids really got into seeing the characters much. Lydia was too shy and Jake was all about the rides this time.

We had a trial of soy at Hollywood Studios that didn't work out very well for Jake. The chef assured us that the mac and cheese on the buffet didn't have any corn in it but had a "little bit" of soy oil. We went with it and Jake ate it only to find himself sick later that day. So frustrating, but hey, now we know that we cannot allow soy. We may try some things with soy lecithin like chocolate chips in chocolate chip cookies but obviously he cannot tolerate soy oil. The food thing was hard. Thankfully he is a good fruits and veggies eater.

We had some really magic moments with the kids this trip. Lydia seemed to mature so much with far less tantrums and crying than she has done in recent months. Jake seemed to just come alive with all the 1:1 attention from Craig and I. We had lots of wonderful experience sharing moments, great conversation, TONS of experience sharing language. He was relaxed. He only argued when he was in need of a nap. It was just delightful. One episode in particular that I remember was when Jake rode Test Track at Epcot with Craig twice and told him he wanted to ride it with me too. So, I went on it with Jake. I love Test Track and have been on it at least 10 times in my life, but I have NEVER experienced it in 40 degree winds. Wowza! That gives it a new spin! INTENSE. Anyway, as we were jogging up the line (there was no wait) Jake said, "Mom, are you going to freak out?" I said, "I don't know, I'm a little nervous" (not really but I was doing that for his benefit.) He said, "Mom, don't be nervous. I'm here with you and I'll hold your hand." And he did. Another episode I remember was the Peter Pan ride. You "fly" along on pirate ships as if you are looking down on London and Neverland from the sky. I rode it several times with Jake and I would act really scared of the pirates and captain hook and the crocodile. After we had been on it several times Jake said, "Mom, don't say 'ahhhh' when you see the crocodile. He isn't going to eat US, he is going to eat Captain Hook. You don't need to worry." Awwwww. His referencing was awesome, his helpfulness was out of this world. He was such a delight and really engaged well with excellent emotion sharing. He tolerated a lot of variation and uncertainty very well. When he first discovered that he had to do some school work on vacation he was a bit bummed but recovered nicely and went on to do about an hour of school work a day with me. He really was a big help on this trip. We needed him to push the stroller sometimes. We needed him to pull one of the small suitcases b/c we couldn't manage it all. (We had to take 2 extra suitcases of food and cooking stuff for him). He really was a valuable contribution to our family this trip. Not that he isn't all the time. But, his help was not only wanted but needed and he felt that sense of importance and competence.

Lydia was at an interesting age for WDW. We took Jake when he was 3 1/2 but he was an only child and didn't realize that the "big kid" rides existed. Lydia did, however, b/c Jake got to ride some of them. So, she wasn't big enough to ride on the "big kid" rides but wasn't sure about the characters either. So, the autograph book wouldn't have been her thing either. We have decided that we will go again when she is about 5 years old and really do the Princess thing up big. I will take her to the Bippity Boppity Boutique and to eat in Cinderella's Castle. Then, we might take a Disney break for a while and try something like Mexico or Europe or maybe a return trip to China. She did take a really good pic with Princess Mulan that I am going to blow up and frame for her room. That is cool. Mulan said she is from just outside Beijing and asked what part of China Lydia was from. (Chongqing).

Seeing our dear friends, Marc and Sara and their 3 kiddos from St. Cloud, MN was wonderful. We haven't seen them in 1 1/2 years although Sara and I talk on the phone at least once a week. Their children are Jon (almost 11), Annika (6) and Kelse (2). Lydia had a fun time bouncing between Annika and Kelse depending on if she felt like playing like a big girl or a little girl. Jake and Jon were buddies and have always loved playing together. It was so good to visit with Sara in person rather than on the fly on the phone. Marc and Sara have been dear friends of ours for 15+ years. They were both in our wedding and we have missed having them in KC. They moved to St. Cloud about 10 years ago. As we were saying our goodbyes yesterday Jake began crying quitely because he was going to miss Jon. That was absolutely sad and wonderful all at the same time. To cry (and try to fight back your tears) b/c you are going to miss your friend. Do kids on the autism spectrum do that???? Wow. Jake's tears made Sara and I feel his pain and then we began crying and hugging one another. We vowed as we always do to not let the time lapse so long this time. However, life gets going and between the two of us we have 5 children with different needs, activities, lives, etc. It is hard. But, thankfully we have cell phones with free long distance. I think this summer will call for a weekend getaway to St. Cloud though. It just can NOT go on this long between visits.It was a wonderful trip. One that we will remember as a family forever. As we were landing in Kansas City one of our flight attendants (a male) sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and it was beautiful. What a perfect ending to a perfect trip. We're back at home now drowning in laundry, with minimal food on our shelves, but we have our memories and our wonderful children who right now are glued to Playhouse Disney on TV and are dressed up as Tinkerbell and Peter Pan.

Ahoy!