Thursday...It's really not so scary!

Thursday was going to be a take it easy day. We were attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in the evening and we wanted to have enough time to prepare ourselves for the fun. Let's face it...it takes time and patience to get costumes and makeup on.

And yes, you heard me right. I did say makeup. Renee had even talked Mark into wearing it. He's such a good Daddy!

Before we subjected Mark to his makeover though, we had plans to meet Luerne for lunch. The location of our munch fest was TooJay's, and Mark was beyond excited to eat there. It is a New York style deli sort of place, and that is right up Mark's alley. Especially since we haven't been able to find a place like that in the Atlanta area yet!

My hungry husband was not disappointed at all. How could he be with a table filled with his favorite kind of comfort food? Whitefish salad, ruebens, potato pancakes...he was a happy, happy man.

I just wonder why I didn't get any photos? Could it have been that we were too busy enjoying the company along with the delicious food? ;)

One of Luerne's friends, Lindsay, joined us towards the end of our meal. Not only was she exceptionally sweet, but she was smart, too. She was just in time to enjoy the Mounds Cake that Luerne had told us we must have for dessert.

Totally drooling in the memory of this cake...

If you enjoy a Mounds bar every once in awhile, this cake...well, it was just amazing! That's all I can say right now, because I am attempting to wipe the drool off my keyboard.

Yum.

Happy and full, we gave lots of hugs and said our goodbyes. It was time to head back to our resort and put makeup on Daddy! Woo-hoo!

I'm not kidding when I share that this was one of the highlights of Miss Renee's day.

Seriously.

I won't bore you with the details, other than the fact that Mark would not be a good candidate for permanent eyeliner.

Just sayin'.

Said in an announcer's voice...

Their transformations complete, the pirates hopped aboard their metal ship and sailed the waters of Disney property towards the Magic Kingdom.

Sounds exciting, doesn't it?

And it was exciting! Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is one of our most favorite things to do at Disney World. We have attended every year since 2004-the first year that we began to celebrate Renee's birthday at our 'Happiest Place on Earth'.

Flashback time...

That first year, Renee was Belle.



Mark and I didn't have time to get costumes, so we were very happy that they offered free face painting. I should have realized then that Mark had a thing for 'pirate-y things'.



Miss Renee figured we should all be wearing 'masks', so the girls joined in on the fun, too!



2005 brought Mark's new job at Panera. Although he was there with us to celebrate Renee's birthday, he had to head back to work in Atlanta before we were able to attend the party. Luckily for us, our good friends from New York were down at the World at the same time. Renee was very excited to introduce and share the party with her friend, Christina.



Oh, excuse me. I mean Princess Jasmine was excited!



Somehow (even though we were living between New York and Georgia at the time!) we all managed to get costumes for the party in 2006. Renee just loved this Tinkerbell costume!



And because we are all about the theming, we decided that our costumes should compliment Renee's. Mark was Peter Pan and I was Tiger Lily.



Oh, and if I had a dollar for every person who thought that Mark was Robin Hood and I was Pocahontas, I could pay for our admission tickets for the party for the next ten years. ;)

After fighting with those ill-fitting, store bought costumes, we decided on a new strategy for 2007. Grammy, our own personal seamstress, made costumes for everyone. Aurora and Prince Phillip made such a lovely pair.



And Merryweather tried to control that wand of hers-LOL!



Can you tell from the little flashback that we take this Halloween party thing quite seriously? ;)

Mom didn't let us down this year either. Our pirate costumes were gorgeous, and we were so proud to wear them. Miss Renee even got into the spirit by putting on her best pirate face. She would wear this stare each and every time a camera was pointed her way. A true actress in the making!



The Magic Kingdom was dressed in its finery, too.



Even the lamp posts were decorated!



As we walked into the park, we picked up another Pirate.



But then he needed to stop and make a phone call.



What?!! I didn't know Hook had a cell phone!

We were quickly distracted by some very fun music. Who cared if Captain Hook was on a cell phone? It was time for the 'Boo to You' parade!

This parade is incredible! First to greet us were Jasmine and Aladdin.

Wasn't Minnie just adorable?

Pooh and Piglet even brought along their own treat containers!

Awww, it's Kanga and Roo!

And look! Peter, Wendy, and the Lost Boys stopped to play games in the street.

But did they know that Hook's ship was right behind them?

Wait...wasn't he just sitting on the steps with a cell phone in his hand?

Tick...tock.

Pirates!

Barbossa came over to my Captain Jack and shook his hand. He wanted to let Jack know that he was very impressed with his Crew. ;)

Here comes Jack!

Sigh...he blew kisses at Renee and I!

It's getting a little spooky around here.

Ghosts come out to socialize.

Be careful. They'd like to hitch a ride home with you, too.

These grave diggers are one of the best parts of the parade. They are almost electrifying!

Yee-haw! Here come the handsome cowboys!

And some Country Bears!



It's good to be bad.

This ghoul was totally rockin' out!

Maleficent. Evil, yet powerful.

How nice of you to 'plop' on in, Ursula!

Pluto came along to give Goofy a hand!

Wouldn't you like to have that bag of candy?

I think Goofy is riding high on the success of his candy company, don't you?

The parade was just wonderfull!

I think it was even been better than usual. I'm sure it had something to do with the company that we were keeping that night. Along with Hook (Danny), Peter (Nick), Wendy (Christiana), and Tiger Lily (Angie) had joined us right as the parade began. We all couldn't wait to explore the park together!

Peter brought along lots and lots of pixie dust, and couldn't wait to use it.



Oh, and he really seemed to enjoy teasing Hook.

Pirates..agggrrrrrrr!

I think Peter likes red-headed pirates though.



Hook was hungry. Did you know that besides carrying a cell phone, he also loves corn dog nuggets?



Time for Hallowishes!

Pirates love to watch things exploding.

Watch out! The Villains decided to take over the castle.

Ooooh, spooky.

After Hallowishes, there were many treats to be collected. We had some serious candyholics in our group, and there wasn't any holding them back.

In between stops though, much silliness was had. When it comes to the next photo, I just don't know...

Hook looks irritated. I don't think he enjoyed being captured inside a honey pot.

Of course we flew around in Peter Pan's world. He insisted, and how could we decline such an offer?

Why, certainly. We would gladly pose for you as non-pirates walk behind us and ruin a very nice shot!

Aladdin and Jasmine were quite surprised to be visited by our heavily pixie dusted bunch.

Did I mention pixie dust?

Even the Cast Members wanted in on the action!

Although our little pirate didn't want to ride the Haunted Mansion, we decided to make our way over to that area so that we could take a few photos. To our surprise, we found this lovely southern belle bride outside. Can't you just hear her offering you some sweet tea?

She was also amazingly funny, and non-stop on the one liners. When she asked Peter why he was selling peanut butter and Wendy about her restaurants, we were on the floor! We were extremely impressed by her wit...where have they been hiding her?

She was totally over the top, and we loved it!

What can we say about Hook? Besides carrying a cell phone and eating corn dog nuggets, he's also very mysterious.

Don't tell him I said this because it might mess with his image, but he also has a great smile.



Me and me crew be claimin' me flag!



I hope you don't mind me saying so, but my husband makes quite the handsome pirate!



I just had to let him kiss me.



And that stare...I think we should all take them both very seriously.

But then she softened up, and Renee thought she should kiss Jack, too!

Shhhh, don't tell Jack.

What? All the ladies have a thing for pirates!

And no wonder. Even without facial hair, they are both pretty hot.



So I let Jack kiss me again.



And this one? She's just pretty.

And looks so grown up. Not fair...it's not even her birthday yet!



Even Peter couldn't resist her adorableness.



But just don't let Tiger Lily in there for some nose kissin'. Wendy can get pretty angry!



She might even entice Jack to tie the Indian Princess up, and try to look all kinds of innocent while it happens!



But see? They all can get along.



And they can even act silly together, too.



What a cast of characters!



And what better prop to accompany a cast photo in front of the castle? More pixie dust!



Is he on the phone...again?



I think Peter was mad about that.



Awwww, look. Maybe Smee was on the phone telling Hook he should be nicer to Peter?

Nope.

Poor Wendy. She still looks so pleased about the whole thing, but I bet she ate pixie dust for days.



As we made our way out of the park, I looked back and saw this.

Sniff, sniff. See you real soon!



Although we were so sad that it was over, it had been an amazing night.

The three little pirates made their way home...

And had very, very sweet dreams.

And so did Peter, Wendy, and Tiger Lily.



I think Hook was off somewhere eating corn dog nuggets...