By 8am everyone was awake - Ava was the last one to get out of bed - and after breakfast we went over to Epcot to meet up with Derek and Nikki and Landen.
We went by way of the boat to Magic Kingdom, and then the monorail to Epcot - it was a fun way to get there, with lots of sights along the way. 
The kids were happy to see their parents at the entrance to Epcot, and we went right to Spaceship Earth. Turned out that this was Mason's favorite ride, too! Livvy, Ava, and I rode in the front of the car, with Mason and Nikki right behind us. After that, we went over to the World Showcase so the kids could play "Kim Possible".
We had been looking forward to this detective-style activity for the kids, but it turned out to be a little hard to do with three young kids. You get a "communications device" (looks like a little Nokia cell phone) which gives you clues around whatever country you're in (we were in England) and you follow the clues to find a bad guy who plans to hurt the environment in some way. We found the clues kind of hard to follow with such a long back-story accompanying each one - the kids didn't really have the patience to listen to it. Plus, by then the three of them had spent about 20 straight hours together and were starting to get a little edgy with each other.
They were all good, but it became confusing as to whose turn it was to hold the communicator. Derek turned out to be the best at listening to and understanding the clue, and he was able to get us through it, but we were all kind of relieved when it was over.
Patrick, Bren and John had waited for us on a bench in a beautiful English garden, and they waited a little longer while we took the kids into the Kidcot station for England.
We had briefly visited Canada before Kim Possible, letting the kids check out the "Kidcot" station there. Kidcot is a wonderful idea for kids, and it's something that we look forward to. Each country in World Pavilion has its own station and kids pick up a cardboard cutout (free! - last year it was a theatre mask; this year was "Duffy", a bear, the Epcot mascot) glued to a paint stick, and take it from country to country. The country's representative sits at a table, has some conversation with the child, and stamps the stick with the country's name. If it's a country with a different alphabet than ours, they write the child's name in the native language. (Last year, they also affixed a ribbon or other decoration to the mask, but for some reason not this year.)
After they get their stamp, the kids can go over to a little craft table surrounded by little chairs, where they can choose colored Sharpies out of a big bowl to color their bear. Ava made sure to divvy up her coloring such that she was able to finish it at the last country.
Gaffer got the kids some ice cream along the way, and they had a fun time running around, eating ice cream, going into the Kidcot stations - they even got to see a street show in France with two acrobats dressed as French chefs.
By early afternoon they were tired, though, and Derek and Nikki took the kids back to their resort, and Bren and John headed back. (Lindsey had left the night before, and it seemed as if some bubbles in the champagne were missing....) Gaffer and Ava and I did some more Epcot wandering, doing some more Kidcots, and had dinner in Germany again. Ava fell asleep on the way out of the park, and Gaffer looked cute with a little princess slung over his shoulder on the way back to the cabin!
On Friday morning we headed out bright and early, back to Epcot. This was going to be our Garden Festival day, and we took our time wandering through all the exhibits - the Fairy House garden, the Butterfly garden, the miniature village in Germany, the scented garden in France, the tea gardens in England.
We went back to Ft. Wilderness in the afternoon, spent some time at the pool, and that evening went to the Chip n Dale Campfire Sing-along at the campground.
We bought a little "s'more" kit and Ava had fun roasting marshmallows and dancing with Chip. She got his autograph, too. Dale was working a different part of the crowd, so Ava was disappointed that she was never able to catch up with him for his signature. She had a lot of fun with that autograph book!
Brenda and John were leaving on Saturday and they came over to Trail's End for breakfast before they took off for the airport. Ava had another pony ride while we waited for them, then it was hugs and promises to get together as soon as we got back home, and then they were gone. Derek and Nikki and the kids were also leaving that afternoon. It felt kind of lonely to know that our family was all leaving, and we wished we could have spent more time together while they were there; it was hard with all the kids and everyone's different schedules, but we were glad for the time we did spend together.
So we had the rest of the day Saturday to enjoy. I asked Ava if she wanted to go back to Magic Kingdom and was surprised by her answer: "I never want to go back there - it's my worst favorite place!" When I asked her why, she said, "Because everything's fake!" That's our little Ava - a true Capricorn - feet planted firmly on the ground, practical and logical. But I was kind of disappointed - I would have enjoyed another walk through Magic Kingdom!!
We spent the day very enjoyably at the pool, and most of Sunday there as well.
On Sunday afternoon we made our last visit back to Epcot. We walked slower than usual, knowing it was our last day. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and warm, and we soaked it in. We had dinner at an outside table at Morocco, Ava enjoying the chicken and couscous, and watched a Canadian bagpiping rock band ("Off-Kilter" - they wore kilts) for a while before drifting out of the park.
One last ride on Spaceship Earth and we were on the bus back to Ft. Wilderness, to be ready for our 4:30am transport to the airport. We were looking forward to coming home, sunburned and tired, and happy.
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