Happy 8th Birthday, Bean!

Yesterday Bean Man turned 8 years old.  He was lucky this year and his birthday happened to fall on the first day of summer vacation, which was a coincidence that definitely needed to be celebrated.  So, our family spent the afternoon at Disney and Bean set our entire itinerary.

He just finished reading the first book of the “Kingdom Keepers” series, which is an adventure series that takes place in the parks of Disney World.  The first book is set in the Magic Kingdom, so that’s where Bean wanted to go.  We rode any ride that was mentioned in his book (plus a few family favorites along the way, too!).  We had a great time together and it was such a fun kickoff to what is going to be an even more fun summer!

(It was Bean’s first time on “Thunder Mountain!”  Look at his crazy eyes!  This picture cracks me up!)

(The kids were finally big enough to sit together on rides, so Chris and I got to ride a few together!)

We stopped to see if we could get in at the (fairly) new “Be Our Guest” restaurant. We went once before when it first opened last summer, but we knew it would be tricky to just walk right in. But you gotta love that Disney magic because that’s just what we did! What we didn’t know was that it was a lot fancier than when we first went last year! This time, there was steak and lobster and something called “cauliflower smear” on the menu (not an attractive name, Disney People…). It was an unexpectedly nice dinner that came with cupcakes, so, you know… everybody wins!

(My pictures are all really dark because the room was candlelit, which is kind of disappointing because the restaurant is gorgeous! I wish you could see it better!)

The Beast made his appearance several times for pictures, too. Thankfully, my kids have never been big on character pictures, so we didn’t brave the long line for those. Instead, I took paparazzi-style pictures from our dinner table.

We capped off our day with the fireworks show at Cinderella’s castle. It’s a new show that we hear from our house every night, but hadn’t seen yet and – wow! – was it impressive! I hope when our kids look back on their childhood, they remember nights like this one. I know I will.

There aren’t enough words to describe my sweet birthday boy.  Bean has the kindest heart, the smartest brain, the most curious imagination, the brightest smile, and the sweetest disposition. To know him is truly to love him.

Happy Birthday, Bean.  You make me proud, you make me smile, you make me a better person.  Truly goodness will follow you all the days of your life, sweet boy.  

Love,

Mom