If you know the Murphys, you know we LOVE musical theater. We all have our favorites (even Regina, who likes to pretend that she doesn’t care). We are blessed with an incredible community theatre here, and the girls have gotten to perform in several shows there. The latest was Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Jr.
Lakeland Community Theatre does an excellent job of providing great opportunities for kids in the area who are interested in theatre. Maddy started performing there when she was six. Regina and Molly have also done a few shows there. When it came time to audition for Rudolph, Maddy and Molly were all in. (The show was going to be over the weekend of Regina’s birthday, so even though it’s her favorite Christmas movie, she decided she didn’t want to have to work on her birthday, should she get cast.)
The girls were thrilled to be offered roles, and Molly was especially over the moon with her role. She was cast as Young Rudolph and would get her own little solo song. Maddy was cast as Spotted Elephant, one of the Misfit Toys. She was excited to learn that she’d get to be a puppeteer.
If you’ve been to a Theatre for Youth show, you know we don’t mess around at LCT. They are professional quality productions, not your average kiddie show. We have exceptional production teams that pour their talents and love into these shows and these kids, and the results are always outstanding.
Rudolph was adorable. The show ran for two weekends. The first weekend Molly got to be Young Rudolph and the second weekend she was an elf. Maddy was fantastic as Spotted Elephant both weekends. Molly rediscovered her love for the stage, and has decided she is now destined to be a Broadway star (she’s already gearing up for her next show – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang).
We are so thankful to have a community theatre like Lakeland Community Theatre in our little town. It is filled with talent, but even more with love. We have been lucky enough to be a part of the LCT family for many years now, and can’t wait for many more.
Well, it wasn’t actually supposed to be a sleepover, but that’s what happens when you take 8, 10, and 12 year olds to an overnight commercial shoot!
On a whim, I signed the girls up on a local casting website. I didn’t think much of it, but then availability requests started rolling. An availability request doesn’t mean you’ve booked a job, it just means you may meet the requirements they’re looking for, so if you are available for that shoot, they ask you to send certain information in. We had submitted for a few things, but never got chosen, until last year.
We were already planning a weekend away in Orlando, so when we got chosen to be a part of Disney’s 50th Anniversary commercial, we figured it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity! Patrick had no interest in it, so the girls and I carefully selected some outfits and made our trek to a parking lot outside of the parks at 8 p.m.
Before we left for the shootDriving into Disney at night!Waiting to head to the shoot!
Our night started in a parking lot, where everyone who was there for the shoot was to be seen by wardrobe, and would be taken by bus to Magic Kingdom. We were given a style guide to look at when choosing our clothes, and I’ll be honest, it was definitely not what I’d typically wear to a theme park. But, we followed the guidelines and looked very country club chic for our night at Disney (except Molly, who went full on Minnie Mouse mode…for a bit at least). The stylist was lovely and complimented our choice of outfits, so I guess we chose well!
When it was time, everyone was loaded on a bus and taken to the back entrance of Magic Kingdom. There were a lot of us! Many families, some people on their own, some friend groups, some couples. Many of them seemed like pros who had done this many times. We had no clue what to expect!
We were taken to our holding area for the night, a restaurant in Tomorrowland. Tomorrowland Terrace was our home for the evening, while they were setting up the shoots. We found a spot to put our things down and waited to be called. Before we headed out to begin the night, the costumer decided that Molly and another little girl should be dressed like princesses. So, Molly got a Belle costume, purse, and stuffed animal to hold for the night.
We weren’t allowed to take photos during the shoot. But we started on Main Street and to our surprise, we got to see the 50th anniversary fireworks show before anyone else! The first part of the night was getting our reactions. After running the show through twice, they switched to just lighting cues to mimic the show. The girls very quickly got tired of reacting to basically nothing and by about 2 am, were starting to get grumpy.
Luckily, they decided to break and serve us breakfast around this time. Molly and Maddy decided they were too tired to eat and napped, while Regina and I grabbed food for everyone. It wasn’t long before Regina was zonked out, too.
Molly asleep in full Belle costume will forever be one of my favorite photos!
The girls were able to get a couple of hours of sleep in while they took volunteers for some smaller shoots. Around 6, I woke the girls up and we headed out to Main Street again, but this time closer to the castle. We got to watch the sunrise over Cinderella’s Castle, an experience we’ll never get again. That perked the girls up a bit! Molly happily dragged her sisters along racing in front of the castle, acting like it was their first time seeing it.
For this shoot, there was a “main” family with their daughter as the lead in the commercial and the rest of us were just background actors. We had no idea what to expect in the final product, or when it would actually come out. While we were definitely questioning our decision at about 2 in the morning, overall, it was a great experience and an amazing memory to share. Not many people can say they got to spend the night in Magic Kingdom, see the 50th-anniversary fireworks before anyone else, and watch the sunrise over Cinderella’s Castle.
We found the commercial on YouTube, but it also frequently airs on tv. We’ve especially noticed it during football games. We were pleasantly surprised to see a good shot of Maddy and Regina in front of the castle (which happened during one of Molly’s many bathroom breaks). And at the very end, you can see Maddy, Regina, and me watching the castle show (I had held Molly for about 2 hours during this part of the shoot, but they apparently only used the footage of when she was in front of me standing). Molly looked the cutest of us all and didn’t even make it in!
Here’s the YouTube link to the commercial. Look closely at the still image and you can clearly see Regina, Maddy, and me!
After enjoying a morning at the hotel pool, we packed up and left Savannah to head to St. Augustine. We’ve visited there before, but again, Molly was pretty little and didn’t have a ton of memories.
Our first stop driving into town was visiting Mission Nombre De Dios and Our Lady of Le Leche Shrine. The shrine is one of my most favorite places in St. Augustine! The grounds are a beautiful place to explore, and I love sitting in the tiny chapel at the shrine. Patrick and I visited there on our babymoon when I was pregnant with Regina. I lifted up many prayers in there for baby Regina!
We love staying at the Casa Monica when we visit St. Augustine, but this time we decided to rent a house from AirBnB so we knew we’d have plenty of space. We found an adorable little cottage with two bedrooms, walking distance to downtown. So we settled into our little house, and then enjoyed dinner at the Columbia. Somehow, the girls have lived in Floriida, 35 minutes from Tampa, and we’ve never taken them to the Columbia! They all loved it!
The girls had a list of places they wanted to visit – first up was Ripley’s Believe It or Not. They LOVED it! We weren’t sure if they’d be bored or not, but they really enjoyed it. They still talk about the things they saw there. I definitely recommend it as a stop if you visit St. Augustine – it’s the perfect cheesetastic tourist trap!
We had a ghost tour booked for St. Augustine, too. After Molly opted out of the one in Savannah, we weren’t sure how she’d feel about this one. But, it was a trolley tour and when we got there to check in, she saw lots of kids younger than her, so she figured it was safe.
The Ghosts and Gravestones tour ended up being our favorite part of the trip. The trolley allows you to visit multiple locations in the city, and it’s immersive. Your trolley driver and guide are actors, taking you through the stories of each stop. This makes the stories come to life!
The girls thought it was hilarious that daddy got scared on the tour! The tour takes you through the wax museum after it has closed. You walk through to the back, where there is a pirate scene. They asked for a volunteer to help tell the story of a pirate, and chose Patrick (who definitely did NOT volunteer!). As the story is being told, a blackhooded figure who was at the back of the scene jumps out. Patrick was not expecting that and the girls thought it was so funny!
The tour also takes you to a cemetery, and the Old Jail. We’ve never visited the Old Jail, and being there after it’s closed is creepy. And then your guide leaves you with a “prisoner” and you’re put in one of the cellblocks. The stories can be a little morbid, but nothing that little ones need to avoid.
We really enjoyed this tour, although the big girls claimed it wasn’t nearly as scary as the Savannah tour. But it was a perfect family-friendly tour!
We love St. Augustine – it’s a fairly quick drive from us, and is full of history, tourist spots, and beauty. But full disclosure, don’t walk down St. George Street in the middle of the day in June – it was so hot I thought the girls were going to melt! Walking around all day in Savannah was lovely, but as soon as we got back to Florida, we were hit with the reality of our Florida summers!
The next day was our first and only full day in Savannah and we filled it to the brim! We started the day with a visit to the Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters for a dose of history. The website explains the tour like this “visitors explore the complicated relationships between the most and least powerful people in the city of Savannah in the early 19th century.” The home was beautiful, but it was definitely quite the juxtaposition seeing the beauty and grandeur of the white homeowners vs the quarters of the enslaved people (many of whom were children).
The girls took away a few fun facts, like the Marquis De Lafayette stayed there on a visit to the United States and it was the first home in America with running water!
The home is part of the Telfair Museum, so included in our admission were the other museums owned by Telfair. the girls love art, so we headed to the Jepson Center next. The girls had so much fun exploring this museum!
Jepson Center is definitely a must-do for families visiting Savannah! After the girls were done exploring, we walked to Telfair Academy. Once a mansion, it’s now a museum and home to the famous Bird Girl Statue.
After a morning filled with art, the girls wanted to head toward SCAD and recreate a picture we took from the last time we were there at the fountain in Forsyth Park. We were only there for a night about 7 years ago, but the girls played forever in Forsyth Park. Molly had no memories, but the big girls did!
Then it was time for lunch. We started heading back to our hotel. Since it had many different restaurants, we figured we’d grab lunch from one of them. But Maddy spotted a cute brewery (she knows daddy loves a good brewery!) so we decided to stop. So glad we did – the food was great, and it was a lovely spot for lunch!
The girls opted to hang in the hotel room for a bit so they’d be rested for dinner. Patrick and I decided to grab a drink at one of the spots on the river. Then, we headed to the Pirate House for dinner. This was one I read a lot about and lots of people recommended it to us, so we felt like we needed to check it out. It was cute, but I would say overpriced for the quality of food. But, the girls had fun and we can check it off and try something different next time.
It was a nice walk back to our hotel, and the big girls loved telling spooky stories and recounting things they heard on their ghost tour. Molly held my hand tightly the entire walk back 🙂
We love Halloween in the Murphy house (okay, really we just love holidays in general!). Regina begs us every year to get the decorations out earlier and earlier. This year, we decided to surprise the girls with some early Halloween fun at the happiest place on earth.
We discovered Magic Kingdom’s holiday parties a few years ago, and they are our favorite time to be in the park. We’ve done Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party a few times, but had only done the Halloween one once before. The girls were much smaller, and the night ended in us losing Regina for a few minutes (she stopped to dance while Patrick and Maddy were heading to a trick-or-treat spot and I was settling Molly in the stroller), which clearly put a damper on the end of the evening. But, we decided to try it again this year.
As you can see, the night started off a bit wet. Florida weather in September is a bit soggy! We were worried the night would be ruined, or at the very least the girls would be grumpy. But, they all happily put on their ponchos and were excited to receive their reusable trick-or-treat bags.
If you’ve never been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party, check it out! It runs on select nights starting in August. We felt August was a touch too early, so we opted for the Friday night party on September 2. It ended up being a day off from school for the girls, which gave them plenty of time to perfect their Disney-bounding costumes. Maddy went as Dopey, Regina was Mickey, Molly was the Winter Soldier, I was Captain America, and daddy was Iron Man.
The party runs from 7pm to midnight. But, you can get into the park starting at 4. We recommend getting there right at 4 so you can catch some of the things that will be closed once the party starts. Certain attractions and shows aren’t open during the party because their locations are used as trick-or-treating spots. One of Molly’s biggest wishes on this trip was to visit the Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor. Somehow, we’ve never done that on any of our visits. So that was our first stop – and a good thing, too, because we didn’t realize it was one of the locations that closed for the party.
While waiting in line, we noticed signs advertised submitting a joke via text. Molly is our resident comedian (she keeps a book full of her jokes by her bed), so she submitted one. She was so excited to have her joke make it into the end of the show! I think it probably helped that it was Disney-themed – “What did Aladdin wear on casual Friday? His blue-Genies!”
Everyone was hungry and several of the rides were closed because of the weather, so we decided to grab an early dinner. Chicken fingers all around! Dumbo was open and there was no wait, so the girls happily rode it with only one other couple on it with us.
As we were walking onto Dumbo, daddy happened to notice that the 7 Dwarves Mine Train had just reopened and was a 10-minute wait. So, we ran there next. The last time we were at Magic Kingdom, we waited nearly two hours for this ride. And none of us thought it was worth that long of a wait. So, we were hopeful this time might impress us more.
Maddy Disney-bounded as Dopey, so she was excited to try this ride again. The wait time was the shortest we’ll probably ever see it, and the majority of the wait was simply walking through the queue. This is one of the best queues to wait in, once you get to the main building. Last time, the line started in front of the Ariel ride and wrapped all the way around! We all agreed that the ride was much better this time around – probably because we weren’t all grumpy from standing in a boring line for what seemed like forever!
Next, we hit up more trick-or-treat spots and rode Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid. The girls recently watched a YouTube video about the ride glitching, so they thought it was hilarious when the ride stopped multiple times.
We of course had to ride It’s a Small World (since it was the Halloween party, we discussed which part of the ride was the most likely to have the figures come to life and kill us all… Regina has a very active imagination!), and Peter Pan’s Flight. Peter Pan was one of the longest wait times of the night, so when we saw it was at only 15 minutes, we jumped on it. I don’t think we’ve ridden this one in many years, and I had forgotten what the queue looks like. I don’t know why people wait an hour for it, but it is a great ride!
At this point, it was starting to rain again and some of the outdoor rides were closed, so we headed back to Tomorrowland for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios is one of my favorite theme park rides, but this one is also fun. Patrick always beats us all by many many thousands of points!
There were two trick-or-treat spots in Tomorrowland, one at the Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor and one at Carousel of Progress. Patrick wanted to go on that one and was bummed it wasn’t open. We opted to go on the Tomorrowland People Mover – our first time riding it! The girls loved it, other than the part inside Space Mountain (it gets a bit loud!).
Next up was Molly’s wish for the whole night – Tomorrowland Speedway. Molly was so excited it opened after a break in the rain, and I can confirm she is a crazy driver!
At this point, it was starting to get late and everyone was a bit grumpy. Mama was the only smart one who wore sandals, so everyone else had wet socks! But Reg was adamant we were going on Pirates of the Caribbean, so we trekked over to that side of the park. We were hoping for a snack on the way, but it turns out that most of the snack carts are closed during the party. So, unless you want popcorn (which we had already gotten earlier), there aren’t a ton of options for quick snacks.
Regina had researched the Halloween party before and was excited that there were going to be real people in parts of the Pirates ride. She was right! If you go, look out for the cast members throughout the ride!
It was nearing 11, and our plan was to do the 11:15 parade and end the night with the 12:00 castle show. But the first parade was canceled due to weather and people had been staked out at their parade spots for what seemed like hours, so we knew it would be a zoo. After a bit of disagreement, we ultimately decided we should go ahead and make our way out of the park. Seven hours and a grumpy 8-year-old whose feet hurt because of her wet socks seemed like our cue to end the night.
All in all, this was one of my favorite trips we’ve taken to Magic Kingdom. It’s fun exploring it with the girls at different ages. They were all able to accomplish all the things on their lists, and we got SO much candy! We didn’t even hit up half of the treat spots, but they loaded us up! On the way out, every guest was given a 50th Anniversary print – a great keepsake!
So much candy!Love this 50th anniversary print!resuable bags this year!The girls and I were in a 50th anniversary commercial, so we loved that we have this bag as a keep sake of this anniversary!
I love summer. I love having my girls home (even when they are fighting, or ignoring me, or being awful). Summer is my favorite! This summer was packed full, with Maddy in a show that I stage-managed (see our Descendants post for more on that), summer camps, and a two week theatre camp that brought our niece from Kansas City to us. But, we managed to work in a pretty great vacation.
We visited Savannah and St. Augustine – both a quick and relatively easy drive from here. First up, Savannah and one of our favorite hotels we’ve ever stayed at, JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District.
We started our time in Savannah with a quick visit to Lulu’s Chocolate Bar. we stopped there on our first trip to Savannah seven years before, and Maddy has been dreaming of the piece of pride cake she had there ever since! She was hopeful that since it was actually Pride Month, they’d have it. And she wasn’t disappointed!
Trying to recreate the photo from seven years ago!Babies!
The hotel was beautiful and in a great location! Right on the water, and a lovely walk to all the things we wanted to do. We were able to use our free suite upgrade to get a beautiful suite that had plenty of room for all 5 of us. Two floors was a plus!
The lobby was full of beautiful artwork and geodes – the girls thought it was so cool!
Even better? A fun outdoor area with a slide from the bar to the outdoor sitting area!
Patrick and I enjoyed a drink while the girls played.
We had such a fantastic time exploring Savannah. After settling into our hotel, we took a walk to dinner at Vinnie Van GoGo’s for pizza. It was recommended by a couple of people and it didn’t disappoint! The restaurant is small, and the seating was a bit snug, but the pizza was delicious!
We had planned a ghost tour for our first night, which all the girls had been excited about. But Molly got a tummy ache (sometimes Molly and dairy don’t go well together!), so she and I decided to walk back to the hotel for some snuggles while daddy and the big girls did the ghost tour.
Then after our day of exploring, Patrick and I enjoyed a nightcap in the African-themed Baobob Lounge while the girls watched a movie.
This hotel has multiple buildings, and we didn’t get to explore everything. Next time I’d love to try the Myrtle and Rose rooftop garden bar (hours weren’t conducive to our visit), and sample more of their food options. We did take some time to visit the pool on our last day before we headed to St. Augustine.
I highly recommend this hotel to anyone who plans a visit to Savannah. We loved it and it was the perfect blend of “fancy” and comfy for our family. I hope we visit again soon!
Anyone who knows the Murphy crew knows that we LOVE musical theatre in our house. The girls love being a part of productions at our local community theatre, and we are constantly belting out showtunes around our house.
One of our current obsessions is The Prom. While we haven’t seen the live production (yet!), Netflix has a movie adaptation that we all love. The songs are catchy and it’s just the right amount of camp.
If you’re not familiar with the story, The Prom is about a teenage girl named Emma who wants to take her girlfriend as her date to her high school’s prom. Rather than allow inclusivity, the PTA (led by the mom of Emma’s girlfriend, who doesn’t know her daughter is in a relationship with Emma) decides to cancel the prom for everyone. While this is happening, two Broadway stars with less than stellar reputations star in a Broadway flop. Looking to mend their reputations as selfish, out-of-touch celebrities, they look for a cause to fight for. Which brings them, along with some friends, to Emma’s Indiana town to help her fight the PTA. It’s emotional and campy and fabulous, all at the same time.
We started the night by doing our make-up and getting dressed up. The girls all got make-up for Christmas, so this was a great opportunity for them to play with it. (also, Maddy is wearing the dress I wore to my rehearsal dinner almost 18 years ago!!)
Our next item on the agenda for the evening was making corsages. I bought a variety of fake flowers, and thick hair ties to glue them to in order to make the corsages.
I let the girls choose dinner – they opted for “fancy” pizza and pasta from one of our local restaurants. We put on comfier clothes to eat and start the movie. After dinner, the girls also worked on their own prom queen tiaras (headbands, ribbon, and glue on jewels), and designing a prom dress for a Barbie.
To end the night, Molly worked on her best prom dance moves, and we sang our hearts out!
Daddy went to the lake with his buddies for the weekend in January, so the girls wanted
to have another theme day. We opted for Wreck it Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet. And I have to say, it was my favorite theme day so far!
Our day was filled with fun and lots of sugar!
So much sugar!
Our supplies for the day included lots of candy, along with Diet Coke and mentos for a fun science experiment.
The first activity of the day was making or own Sugar Rush candy racers while watching Wreck It Ralph. I moved a folding table inside so the girls had plenty of space to decorate and were still able to watch the movie.
I raided the Dollar Tree for candy and cookies for our sugar rush racers. We had a variety of options to choose from so each racer could be unique.
We even themed our lunch around Wreck It Ralph, enjoying Burger Time Burgers, Ralph’s smashed potatoes, and Tapper’s root beer.
While the girls were making their racers, I whipped up a batch of heart-shaped sugar cookies and homemade buttercream frosting so the girls could make their own You’re My Hero medals like the one Vanellope gives Ralph.
Vanellope lives in Diet Cola Springs, so we had to have a Diet Cola Springs explosion! The Amazon delivery driver happened to show up at just the right time for the show!
While we watched Ralph Breaks the Internet, the girls also designed their own net users and colored color-by-number Ralph and Vanellope pictures. But their favorite part of the day was definitely the pancake milkshakes! In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Ralph and Vanellope enter a game where you feed a cat and a bunny either a milkshake or pancakes. So, we made pancake milkshakes!
Regina chose a strawberry shake while the other two opted for vanilla. We topped them with whipped cream, Lucky Charms marshmallows, pancakes, and a marshmallow-topped straw. It was the perfect sweet treat to end our day!
On the last day of Christmas break, we decided to squeeze in one last day of fun with an Incredibles day. We hadn’t seen the movies in a while, so it was fun to see them again and talk about it.
We started our day with Mr. Incredibles waffles because who doesn’t love to start their day with that fluffy goodness? We happen to have a Mickey waffle maker, so it was perfect!
While we watched the first movie, the girls thought about what superpowers they would like to have and designed their own superheroes. Molly chose Freeze Girl with the power of ice and water. Maddy chose Creati with the power of creation – she can create an object from the mass around her (as long as that mass isn’t human or animal). And Regina chose Lava Lady, who Reg described as “cool, the best, and amazing.”
While they watched the second movie, we also made Elastigirl slime and Jack’s Num Num cookies. I used my standard chocolate chip cookie recipe for the cookies (found on the back of a bag of Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chips!) We ended the day with Frozone milkshakes. We opted for mint chocolate chip ice cream, with a pirouline cookie, candy canes, and snowflake sprinkles.
If you haven’t noticed yet, I love a theme. The girls used to let me plan elaborate parties for them (ok, really they were just too little to protest), but now that they’re older, they want to have full control over their birthdays. So, I take any chance I can get to turn a regular day into some themed fun!
So, when we had a Friday the 13th, I had to make it a family fun night! We watched Ghostbusters as a family, ate toxic sludge, spider and snake breadsticks, and bloody eyeballs.
For dinner, I made zombie eyes (meatballs with a spicy BBQ sauce), monster toes (chicken nuggets for Maddy), toxic sludge (mac and cheese dyed green), alongside spider and snake breadsticks (the same recipe we used for Rapunzel day, just shaped into these spooky creatures). For dessert, I made cherry Jell-o and dropped some eyeball sprinkles in.
Adventures with the Murphy Girls 