Such a memorable Mother’s Day! Of course, last year was also fairly memorable in quarantine. That’s one we won’t soon forget. But this year was quite different than having to stay home. Pete was away working, so I thought it’d be fun to pop over to Disney World for a day with Nathy and the kids. We left on Saturday as soon as the kids finished soccer, which gave us lots of time to play in the pool that evening.
We stayed at Wilderness Lodge, one of our favorite Disney resorts. Now that we live in Florida, we enjoy it even more because it feels like being in the North Woods.
Sunday morning we slept in a touch before hopping on the bus for Animal Kingdom.
It was a gorgeous day! Right away, we jumped on Kali River Rapids, a ride we only do on hot days because of the high chance of getting wet. After Kali River, we stopped for treats. We each have our favorite: Ella has a Mickey sandwich, I have a fruit popsicle, and Sam goes for a frozen lemonade every time. Not sure how I don’t have a photo of that considering how much he loves them! He sits back in his stroller, pulls the top over himself, and fully enjoys his treat.
After treats, we wandered through Dinoland, U.S.A. We’ve not had the best experience here in the past, but we wanted to explore the game area, which we had never done. (Our bad experience was when we tried the Dinosaur ride a few months ago. It was way too dark for the kids, and we had to take a little emotional break afterward. We won’t ever do that one again!) This visit did a little to redeem our Dinoland experience when Ella won an adorable little dino while playing a game.
From Dinoland, we headed to Pandora. This is Ella’s favorite part of all of Disney World! She really likes the Avatar movie, and this entire area feels just like being in the movie. The two rides are pretty amazing, too. Fight of Passage is one of our absolute favorites at Disney World.
After lunch in Pandora, we wandered to Africa for a ride on the Kilimanjaro Safari.
It’s not quite the safaris we experienced while living in Kenya, but we still have a great time seeing the giraffes and elephants. We were once gifted a private behind-the-scenes safari ride at Animal Kingdom, which was an amazing way to learn a lot of what is done with the animals at Animal Kingdom. They do a beautiful job of taking care of the animals living there and are always doing research on how to improve life for the animals in captivity and those living freely around the world.
On our way out of the park, Ella insisted we stop at Creature Comforts (Animal Kingdom’s Starbucks). She wanted to surprise me and whispered our names for the cups to the barista.
Queen Angela and Princess Ella. She was absolutely giddy when they handed us our cups, so we thought it appropriate to pose with our drinks in front of the Tree of Life.
By the end of the afternoon, we were tired and hot, which made for a quite ride home.
It was such a special treat to spend the day at Animal Kingdom on Mother’s Day! Disney really is one of my very favorite places. We had annual passes before Covid and flew down when we were able, but since our move, we’ve been able to pop over for a day when it fits the schedule. I still get just as excited every time I visit!
We haven’t told Sam, but we’ll be back at the parks to celebrate his birthday this weekend. I’m so looking forward to making it all about him and doing all of his favorite things – lots of frozen lemonade and Toy Story. I’ll be posting on Instagram while we’re there, so find us at @ang_m_olsen to follow Sam’s celebration!
In other news…
In February, Pete was able to change to a more relaxed work schedule, which has been wonderful for all of us. He’s home more than ever before, has started cooking again, we’ve been able to work out together, and we all get one-on-one time with him. It’s wonderful!! With that, I’ve felt like this is my time to explore a return to teaching. It’s been twelve years since I’ve been in a traditional classroom teaching role, but I know I was made to teach, so it feels like it’s all still in me. Last week, I applied for a few middle school English positions and one for high school. Our local school district is quite competitive. I’ve put a lot of time in so I can be as prepared as possible if I get a call for an interview. Will you please pray for us as I go through the application process? I want to be open to whatever it is God has for me, and I want to do everything I can to be faithful to that. I’m so excited for the possibility of being in a classroom again!
Thank you for sharing your day. I felt like I was there! Praying for your interviews… which will come. -Papa.
Oh I hope you are called to a school and find a great match! On another note, if Sam is ever ready to move from stroller to wheelchair, we have found the Costco “transfer chairs” the best option for my brother Johnny. They are lightweight, and can easily fit a backpack on the back. We never go to Disney (or anywhere really) without it.