Hoskins Family ...forever and ever amen: The Happiest Place on Earth!!

Friday, May 13, 2011

The Happiest Place on Earth!!

Well, when you move to Florida for a month, there are a few "must do's" when it comes to area tourism. For example, the beach is a must do, which we did, as the last post delineates. However, the must do of Florida's "must do's," especially when you have four small children, is of course the wonderful world of Walt Disney. Their theme parks have one ultimate claim to fame:
They are the Happiest Places on Earth! And after over forty hours spent at the Disney Parks in the month we were there, including a record 14 hour day at the Magic Kingdom, (we saved the Magic Kingdom for very last) I would definitely have to agree. And, since a picture is worth a thousand words, I think I will just let our pictures at the theme parks sum up this blog post. Beware though, when you're at the happiest place on earth, you tend to take a lot of pictures!

Epcot (1st time)

meeting the characters...

(Mason gave Minnie the hugest hug. It was so adorable!)

(He was pretty obsessed with the "doggie" too.)

The Animal Kingdom

on the safari...

at the Lion King show...

with Pocahontas...

watching the parade...

cooling off...

checking out the wildlife...

(ours and theirs)

Epcot (2nd time)

touring the sculptures of the international flower and garden festival...

visiting the countries...

Disney's Hollywood Studios

on the streets...

meeting the characters...

on Toy Story ride...

"Honey I Shrunk the Kids" playground...

at Fantasmic...

The Magic Kingdom

arriving at the park...

on the rides...

cooling off...

getting dressed up...

meeting the princesses (and prince)...

(Snow White didn't have time for a picture, Jasmine and Ariel weren't available, and Rapunzel, well, her line was four hours long! Yeah right! But the kids loved meeting the others--especially Tiana. Maddi was sure to tell her we had just been to New Orleans where we ate gumbo and beignets. )

at the castle:

capping off our day with fireworks and the electric parade...

And the best news is, our season passes will still be good next year when we return for another two-month rotation in the Sunshine State!

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Madison Elizabeth--10 years old. Maddi is growing into quite the little lady. She is like a mommy to her little brothers and sister--who she can now babysit for under two hours--and she is truly mom's greatest helper. She still loves dancing--she scored a part in the Bismarck Nutcracker this year. She took a year off of Gymnastics to try ice skating--which she has thoroughly enjoyed. She added violin to the list of instruments she can now play quite proficiently--her piano gets better and better every day. And she continues to do private art lessons, Spanish lessons, and Activity Day Girls. She also gets paid for writing phonics appropriate stories for Mason, spelling worksheets for Emma, and helping Spencer with his math lessons. She is a busy little girl and we love her with all of our hearts!

Spencer Hinckley 8 1/2 year old. Spencer is my tender-hearted, thoughtful, perceptive little boy. He was baptized this summer in the Susquehanna River and takes his promises to the Lord so seriously. If he is ever being naughty, I can simply remind him of his accountability before God and he is like a totally different boy on the spot! I love his sweet spirit and desire to be good. Spencer is also my careful, technical, handy little man. When Nick is not home, he is the go-to boy when it comes to fixing things and solving mechanical problems. He even shows the workers around the mechanical room when they come to work on things! He will surely work with his hands some day to earn his keep. This year, Spencer has continued playing golf, soccer, and basketball, has joined Maddi in art, Spanish, and piano lessons, and is loving his new role as a Boy Scout. He is a joy to have in our family!

EmmaLee Adelin 6 1/2 years old. Emma is our sensitive baby girl and her mother's little angel. She has grown up so much this year and is continually perfecting her position as the family peacemaker. She doesn't like to see anyone fight and won't let her cherished baby brother ever get upset. This year Emma has continued to dance--also scoring a part in the Bismarck Nutcracker, she also traded in gymnastics for a year of ice skating, and she has joined the older kids for a unique art and art history course her mommy helped develop with a local art school. She loves her activities, is becoming an excellent reader, and is ever our social butterfly. (She even talks the ears off the cleaning ladies when they're here!) Emma is counting down the days until she will get to be baptized and is now starting her early morning Book of Mormon reading time with mom. We love and cherish this sweet little girl!

Mason McKay 5 years old. Mason is the baby of our family and continues to be the glue that holds us all together. Even though he promised me that he would not grow up, he can't help but be blossoming into the most handsome, happy, brilliant little man ever. He officially started kindergarten this year (at 4), and is so bright he is already almost caught up with Emma in his reading and math. I'm not sure how to reign him in! In addition to school, he also shares his big brothers critical thinking mind. He can build the most complicated Lego sets, be a genuine help to his big brother in figuring out their X-box levels, and is better on the I-phone and I-pad than anyone else in the family! He is precocious to boot! Despite growing up to be such a smarty, he still loves snuggling up with mommy whenever he gets the chance. We are enjoying every minute of our littlest and last baby love!