Weekend Memories

1. She talked again about getting the dog, and then her father and I talked about getting the dog. I guess I have some thinking to do.

2. I was taking an arty photo and then he walked in front of me and made the picture even better.

3. Their eyes were just wide with all the sights as our boat sailed down the canal and the song kept repeating, "It's a small world after all."

4. I was remembering Disney when my girls were younger, strolling through the streets avoiding all the feet and bodies, determined to get to where they wanted to go only to arrive there and find them both asleep in the stroller.

5. Our first day together at Disney ended with a ferry ride that gave us a beautiful breeze to cool us all off.

Hats of Epcot and its countries

Mexico - I always stop in Mexico for a frozen margarita. This time we actually looked at the map and discovered there was another attraction. Across the way from my eatery is a building that takes you into a re-creation of the market streets in Mexico at night. There was also a boat ride and a candle-lit restaurant, but the market place was awesome.

This hat was too small.

This hat was too small and too blue.

This hat was better, but not quite right.

But this hat? This hat was awesome.

***

Norway - We ventured into this country because it too had a boat ride. We had been on this before and it isn't anything spectacular, but the movie after the ride is worth taking a look. Plus it is in air-conditioning and those who drink too many margaritas in Mexico can catch a quick cat nap.

This hat was too girly.

This hat was too manly.

***

China - This is an interesting country in the World Show Case with a lot to explore. It is also one of the countries in the new Kim Possible Game with lots of hidden places. We watched the 180-degree movie on China and shopped a bit, but alas, no hats.

Epcot - Each time we visit Epcot we find something new to explore. This trip we went into the flight simulator that took us to Mars. Epcot is definitely an all-day park visit and it still has, in my opinion, the best closing show of all the parks. While it isn't a country, it still has its own hats.

This hat was too bulky.

This hat was too small

This hat was too big.

This hat was too silly.

***

And this last hat?

This hat was just PERFECT!

The animals of Animal Kingdom

While in the Animal Kingdom we took a two-week safari, which unfortunately had to be cut short due to elephant poachers, but we did get to see quite a few animals up close and personal.

The giraffes were all over the area as we drove through the terrain. This little one was trying to camouflage herself, but our guide was an expert and pointed her out.

This elephant wasn't hiding from the heat like most of the other elephants so I was able to get a fairly decent photo.

This ostrich was close enough that I could have petted her, but we weren't supposed to reach our hands out of the jeep so I didn't. Instead, I took her picture and she was quite happy to pose for it.

These two rhinos were relaxing in the shade far off from the rest of their group who were bathing in the watering hole.

After the safari, we strolled through the area and observed this meerkat who was posing for our group. He was a hoot. He just scampered on to the rock and would turn and pose, turn and pose while everyone snapped his picture. He was my kind of guy!

For a moment Sharon and I thought our brothers had joined us here in Animal Kingdom (both are named Russell). This guy was a tad scary as we were only divided by a deep trench. He sat for awhile staring at all of us, then made a noise, shook his body, and loped off on all fours.

This little gal lived in the same area as the meerkat, but allowed him to get all the attention while she stayed back enjoying a little green for lunch.

Our Disney photo re-creation

Picture #1 - Standing in line for over thirty minutes with four children waiting to get our photo with Tigger made us forgo the re-creation of our first photo. As I said, you can't just approach a character on the street for a photo anymore. If you want to meet the character, stand in line folks! We opted to let the handler take all of us in the picture and we invited Pooh to join us. (Tom too was photographing)

Picture #2 - We didn't see the chipmunks until after we were leaving the park and the line was too long, so we asked Goofy to be our substitute and he obliged.

Picture #3 - We didn't get to Epcot and we didn't find the place where Sharon was run over originally. Instead, I caught her at this moment.

Picture #4 - I never caught Sharon and Tom together in our unit, but I did catch these two....

Disney's Labor Day Weekend

We are staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, a piece of property that Walt Disney didn't get a chance to buy during his secret purchases, making it the only property on Disney not owned by Disney. Or so the Wyndham people keep telling me.

It is a newer Wyndham property and they are still working on it currently building a new tower for Presidential Reserve members like myself.

Despite my being at Bonnet Creek in May and also having listened to a spiel five weeks ago in Wisconsin, I was scheduled for a breakfast to listen to the exciting happenings in Bonnet Creek. We all trooped up to the main building at 11:00 AM to eat and collect the $75 visa card they were willing to fork over for me to attend. Breakfast turned out to be a choice of juices, coffee, and assorted packaged bars or bagels. There were also some apples, but they had been picked over pretty well. So much for the big breakfast, I had been promised.

Our representative surveyed the scene and sent everyone else back to the unit stocked up on packaged junk so that she could talk to just Tom and me. Two hours later we left armed with a contract that would "lower that maintenance fee" my mother pays for her property in the Dells, our visa cards worth $75, and two headaches. Nice people, but they have to understand that purchasing more property will not be happening in the next few years. We can't even use what we have!

We got to the Magic Kingdom at about 2:00 PM. The heat index was sky high and the sun was just beating down turning everything fire hot. You didn't dare touch anything that was in the sun or you would scald yourself.

John and I are people who sweat up north in the winter and from the moment we stepped out of the car, between the two of us, we could have filled a couple of 25-meter pools.

Disney always decorates for the season or for an occasion. The Magic Kingdom was decorated for Halloween with oranges, browns, and yellows everywhere along Main Street. There were pumpkins with all sorts of different faces. And of course, Mickey Pumpkins.

We arrived just in time to see the end of the musical show on the castle stage. Ben's eyes were wide open at all the familiar characters dancing and prancing and chattering on stage. Disney certainly knows how to put on a show and when the fireworks went off at the end even I got a little teary-eyed at the magic of it all.

We rode plenty of rides. Saw plenty of characters. Took plenty of pictures so we can go back years from now and remember it like it was yesterday.

 

We had a great day despite the heat. We got some showers that cooled off everything and the sun went behind clouds after 5:00 PM and made for a nice evening. The park was crowded, but not overly so and we managed to slurp down some delicious frozen lemonades.

Not a bad way to spend the holiday weekend.

Can we really recreate the magic?

Because it is a three day weekend and because I'm working hard to use these Wyndham points that my mother has purchased for the family, we are heading to Orlando tomorrow. We are staying in a two-bedroom deluxe at Bonnet Creek located on Disney property. The same place we stayed back in May.

I invited my friend Sharon and her husband, John, and their two children because they live 40 minutes from Disney, because we haven't seen them in AGES, because their youngest is now crawling and walking when the last time we saw him he was practically just born, and because we were planning on seeing them this weekend anyway so why not have all of us vacationing together away from our homes.

Tonight Sharon and I were talking on the phone planning things for the trip when I mentioned a trip we had once taken to Disney together. She assumed I was talking about our trip with our children a year ago, but I reminded her that before kids, once long ago, she and Tom and I had gone off to Disney for the weekend. I told her that I thought we should do exactly what we did last time, take the same pictures, and compare them.

That, of course, got me digging through the photo boxes:

This was our first picture at Disney. Tom took it. This was way before Tigger got frisky and had to spend a few nights in jail. In fact, if I remember correctly Sharon and I might have gotten a bit frisky with the old striped animal ourselves. Maybe that whole thing was what started his decline.....

On Main street with one of the chipmunks. This was back in the day when the animals would just wander the street and children (or Sharon) could just run up and throw their arms around their favorite. Nowadays you have to stand in line and touching is at a minimum.

One of my favorite photos although I forget where this was...somewhere in Epcot, I believe. We were touring some exhibit and immediately Sharon was on the ground posing for this photo. This is the kind of stuff the two of us did when we were together. I made Darcy do something like this while on vacation this past month. I told her to act like Aunt Sharon. I'll have to show her this picture.

This was in our hotel room. We shared a room back then because we were poor and because we shared everything. Tom can't wait to recreate this picture. (Actually, he and John are hoping that we don't act a thing like we did back then, but the two of us? Not promising anything!)

8 month resolution check 2009

Let's see how I'm doing....(scale 1-10 with 10 being the ultimate score)

1. To work on being patient and to not react hysterically like my forefathers. New motto: "Let it go". I was certainly challenged in this area in the last few weeks, but with the help of my husband, I got back on track. Unfortunately, I had some bad moments. Score: I'm going to have to say this one was a 4.
2. To get back on my exercise track, lose 15 pounds, and live comfortably with my body however it may turn out. I got right on the old exercise wagon as soon as the kids went back to school. No weight loss, but I'm back in the gym. Because of my poor July, I'll have to work that into the score. Score: 4
3. To get to the beach at least twice a month. I got to the beach in the last part of July and made the goal in August. Was off by one day, I believe. Score: 9
4. To get birthday cards and gifts out on time. Now, this isn't an official resolution, but one I added on to my blog, and one I've done well on now once again. I wonder why I couldn't do this well when it was an official resolution? Score: 10

Total points: 27 out of possible 40.

I thought this score would be lower than the last one, but I went up. No zeros this time. Gonna have to really work hard now that I only have four months left in the year. Jeez, can you believe that? Only four more months till 2010!

Mentally getting into shape

Kelly took off of work today to have what the working people call a "mental health day". We were going to go see a movie, but the one movie we both agreed on was farther then we wanted to go so we opted to spend the day watching rented movies, coloring our hair, and eating.

When she arrived at my house with lunch I was on the phone with my sister-in-law in Indiana. She moaned and whined about missing out on all the fun so we just decided to send our private jet up there to pick her up so that she could spend the day with us as well. Because the three of us certainly do know how to have fun!

While we ate lunch we watched our first movie, "Sunshine Cleaning". Susan sat with Kelly on the big couch. Susan had already had her lunch.....

but she was happy to partake in the movie candy that we bought.

During the second movie, "He's Just Not That Into You" we began coloring each others' hair. This picture is Kelly and Susan beginning to put the color on my hair.

After the color had time to set Susan helped me rinse it out.

Then she posed with us for the finished product. We, of course, did not style our hair because we were in the middle of the movie. Susan had already seen the movie so for a while there she was outside sunning on a raft.

All good things come to an end and Susan and Kelly had to head home. This is Kelly saying good-bye before Susan went back to Indiana. We all left feeling much more alert and rested mentally. That is what spending quality time with good friends is all about.