THE NEWTON'S

Angela had a birthday!!  I can't believe she's 9!!   We had a little family party on her birthday and then she got a big party with friends on friday! :)  She brings a special spark to our family.  :) I enjoy making the kids birthday cakes, but this week proved to be a time crunch and I asked someone I knew who does fabulous cakes to do Angela's for her party... it was beautiful! With a summer birthday we have had many years of small parties- where all her friends are out of town.  It was so fun this year to be able to have a big party with lots of friends!! :)

On Tuesday we made the trek from Disney to another magical place- Universal Studios!   We spent Tuesday at universal studios riding lots of the fun high intensity rides.  We also grabbed some food to eat- I've never seen donuts this big before!  The next day we headed out early and straight in Islands of adventure to Hogsmead! They did such a great job bringing the movie to life! :)  No trip could be complete without butterbeer! The frozen was the majority favorite, but we tried both! :) Alyssa and Angela were chosen from the group to "find" their wands...   Such a fun experience!  We could see glimpses of the new part that wasn't open yet- I'm thinking we'll have to make another trip out sometime to experience it! :)  We had such a great time, and the trip flew by! Before we knew it- we were saying goodby to the parks and headed back home!

Monday we spent at Epcot- creativity and imagination, space, technology, and culture all wrapped up into one park.   The kids love all the interactive exhibits post rides, and I even caught Alyssa and Angela with a sisterly hug going on.  :)  Alex's friend just happened to be at Disney with his family so for two days while we overlapped trips- he and his friend were able to take off on their own and hang out and do their own thing.   We spent most of the day at Epcot- and then headed over to DisneyQuest- a video game/indoor amusement park.   The kids had a blast!   

We got to the park for the opening, and almost made it through to closing at 1am (we left about 12:30).  We did take a break in the afternoon to go check into our second hotel and settle in and grab a bite of dinner.   The magic kingdom is the magical park- fairy tales and wonder.    The seven dwarfs train ride- we went to first- and managed to get into the line fast enough to not have an hour + wait like everyone else later in the day had.   It's so fun now that the whole family can ride most of the rides together.    And the parade....   So much fantasy and I love the costumes- so much fun to see!  Angela was very happy with her souvenir of choice....it's hot this week!!    It's just my magical park- I love it lit up late at night.  :)