Thirteen

That's right folks...  Ryan and I are the proud parents of a Teenager.  How does this happen?  Seriously, it seems like it was just yesterday my sister was mad at me for not calling her on her birthday until 10pm, when she so graciously said, "There'd better be a baby or I'm never talking to you again."  Fortunately for me, she got her Birthday Buddy Wish.

Ben asked if he could plan out his whole Birthday Weekend, and since it all sounded very fun to us, we went along with it.  He really enjoyed getting to be In Charge.... Little Sister wasn't too thrilled, but trust me, she was taking notes for November.

Our weekend started off on Friday, with breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts.  When he was telling us his big plan, he said, "I'll get a bagel with cream cheese and an iced coffee, and I don't really care what you get".  Sigh.  You'll be happy to know that, Asperger's or not, we had a little discussion on a better way to express such information. 

Since the kids and Ryan were off school Friday (State Fair Day) we headed over to Disney.  We started at Epcot.  Every time we go to Epcot, we HAVE to start with SpaceShip Earth.  Ben didn't disappoint us... Then we went to the Coca Cola sampling shop.  We can thank the Warren Boys for introducing us to this "delight".  Ben tried really hard to get us to try "Beverly", which is apparently really gross.  Nice.

After a fun afternoon at Epcot, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom to take the boat to the Fort Wilderness Campground for dinner... you know, in usual McGregor fashion.  Creatures of Habit. 

The Grand Floridian Resort.

The Contemporary Resort with Bay Lake Towers on our way back to the Magic Kingdom where we spent the evening.  A cold front was moving in, hence the dark clouds...

Ben was actually pretty happy to get his picture with his little sister.

We all thought the castle looked pretty cool with the storm clouds behind it.

We skirted around the castle once the fireworks were over and most of the people had left.  I guess we've never paid attention to the impressive light show that follows about half and hour later... they put all the pictures the photographers took throughout the day of people in the park, up on the castle.  It is really impressive.  They also change the look of the castle over and over, all set to music.  Very cool.

They say they get every picture up there, and these mosaics were pretty cool...

This cracked us up, since it looked like they blew up the castle at the end.  

... of course, the castle is fine:)

After getting on all our favorite rides, we headed to our hotel for the night.  I have to say, we were all VERY tired... 

Next morning we slept late:)  My kids NEVER sleep in, so I was really impressed they didn't get up until 9am.   We took our time getting going, ran an errand or 2, then got some lunch.  Ben's pick, of course... Taco Bell.  We rarely go since The Girls are NOT fans of TB.

Carlita decided taco's weren't so bad after all.

We moved on to Hollywood Studios.  Ben was kind enough to pick The Great Movie Ride for his Mama.  

Waiting in line for the Toy Story Ride... always worth the wait, and the line is entertaining at least!

We told the boys we were going to beat them, and we put on our Game Faces.  Of course, we didn't win.  Apparently, the Boys spend way more time practicing video games than we do.  

The Sweet Spells shop where we got candy apples.  Because they are healthy and good for you.

We were all pretty thankful when Ben got tired and just wanted to head for home.  He picked to order a pizza and then we watched a movie.  A nice ending to a busy time away!

The next day was The Actual Birthday.  After church, we met up with The Family at TGI Friday's for a yummy lunch.  

Uncle Steve and Carly.

See, he looks like his Mama.  Acts like his Dad, though:)

My parents... my dad is recovering nicely from his shoulder surgery!

Uncle Rodney came, too!

And Rochel and her little tribe.  Her little "We-don't-look-at-camera's" Tribe.

They kept us entertained while we were waiting for lunch... I always think it's funny when they eat apples for some reason.  And read menus.

Oh.  He's looking now.  And showing off his poor ear.  He suffered an attack from a mosquito.  Poor baby.

Rochel made the cookies for our dessert. Always delicious.

This picture just made me laugh, so I had to post... plus, Eli's eyelashes look awesome!  He'll be 13 before we know it, too!!!  Sorry, Rochel.  I bet you didn't want to hear that.

Ben enjoyed the Friday's girls singing to him!  Mostly because they brought ice cream!

Happy Birthday to our very cool son!  I'm so glad you are they way you are.  I wouldn't trade it for anything!!  Love you BEN!!!