Monday...park hopping CAN be fun!

Monday mornings aren't too terrible when you wake up in Mickey's playground.

And...if you take it easy and non-commando, even waiting for a bus to Epcot can be relaxing.

See? Don't they look happy?



We even had time for a little snuggle!



No, she's not mad. I think she was doing some serious park planning. I took advantage of the quiet moment and captured all those freckles.



I know, enough with the close ups, but aren't those freckles the best?

After a short bus ride over to Epcot, our first stop was to see the Voices of Liberty performing at the American Adventure attraction. If you haven't experienced this amazing a cappella group, you are missing out on some incredible talent. To hear their voices blended in harmony is a wonderful thing of beauty. Maybe it's because they sing American patriotic songs, but we always walk out of that beautiful rotunda with our hearts lifted and feeling as though everything is okay in the world. That's a little dose of positivity I think we all could use every once in awhile.

One of our favorite songs they sing is 'Skip to My Lou'. Usually, one of the lovely ladies in the group will choose a little boy out of the audience to be her new partner. Well, if you remember the lyrics of the song--

"Lost my partner what'll I dooooooo..."

It is absolutely adorable, and always brings a smile to even the grumpiest faces in the audience.

And don't call me a big meanie for calling them grumpy. I know you've seen them, too. Folks can get awfully tired and miserable after walking around World Showcase!

Anyway, this time a special little girl was chosen. And when this handsome young man sang to her, he said--

"Never find one pretty as youuuuuu..."



If I'm not mistaken, I think there was even a little blushing going on.



"Skip to my Lou my darlin'!"

I honestly have to say that the smile did not leave her face for hours.

=)

As we began to wander towards Future World, we received a phone call from one of our friends who works at the Magic Kingdom. She would be there until 8:00 or so, so we decided to head over to visit with her when she was finished. It was an Extra Magic Hours evening too...how perfect!

It would make your head spin if I even tried to explain to you how we made our way over to the Magic Kingdom. All I know is that at some point in our travels, we made a stop at the Boardwalk Candy shop to pick up some flavored jelly beans. Can you believe they make buttered popcorn, caramel corn, and Dr. Pepper flavors?



What? We needed the sugar rush!

Hopped up on candy, we finally made it to the Magic Kingdom. The first couple of hours were just a blur and not captured on film.

The horrors...I know! I must have been slacking!

While standing outside of Monsters, Inc. waiting to hear back from our friend, Allyson, I heard someone else yelling my name. I was shocked to see our friend Robin walking straight towards us! Right behind her was her husband, Del, and her brother, Bob. What an unexpected surprise! After hugs all around, we decided to head in to watch the show together.

After that it got even more crazy. Mark walked out with them while Renee and I checked on the next showtime. Somehow, the two of us ended up staying for that show and lost the rest of our party. While I was trying to call Mark to let him know where we were, I was snagged by one of the Monsters.

Yup. Right up on that big screen.

I was using my phone during the pre-show.

The epitome of a bad guest.

And Miss Renee found it the funniest thing, evah.

I hung my head in shame for the whole show, and tried to make my way outside without being noticed.

Nope. Just so you know, even covering your face with your long hair doesn't work.

We caught up with Mark, missed saying goodbye to Robin and the gang, and actually found our friend, Allyson.

Whew. Makes you tired just reading it, doesn't it?

Time for the Tea Cups!

This next photo just cracks me up. Look at her biting her lip. You'd think she was worried about being spun too fast.

She spun me senseless! While trying to make my way over to Mark, he joked that I looked like I had spent too much time over at the wine tasting area at the Food and Wine Festival-LOL!

Mark was dying (HA!) to do the Haunted Mansion, so I took Renee over to ride Dumbo. The one thing that she loves about this ride is that she is old enough to pilot her own elephant. Hey, that's a big thing for a kid!



I love the look on her face. She's either annoyed or amused by me taking so many photos of her independent moment.



Look...Mark made it out of the Mansion aliiiiiiive!



The park was just about to close so we decided to hop on the carousel for a quick spin. When Renee was a little munchkin, this was her most favorite ride of all.



All of a sudden, I heard her squeal in excitement!



It was Goofy! He (along with Mickey, Minnie, and some more of the gang) had hopped on for one last ride with their special guests.



And guess who he sat right next to?



Yup...it was quite exciting. Even Goofy was giddy!



I even managed to capture it on video. Check out Renee's reaction to it all-priceless!

We must have been quite the sight as we made our way down Main Street towards the exit. We were just grinning from ear to ear!



We hadn't won a night in Cinderella's castle, or Dream Fastpasses, or even a pair of those really cool Dream Mouse Ears. Our magical moments happened in the best way. All because we took it slow and appreciated all the little things.

Especially each other. =)