Friday, November 04, 2011

my partial bucket list

I've never written down a bucket list before. Oh I have things rolling through my head about what I would love to do - and I've done many of them - but just never got around to writing anything down. Until I saw this contest and decided to kick my list into gear. Once I started writing things down, I had to pare it down because there is so much I still want to do.

Now some of these are doable I just haven't done them yet. The others are ones that might require a bit of difficulty in accomplishing. But they can be accomplished.

Bucket List
  1. Take cooking classes in Italy
  2. Go to my namesake place in Spain and say "these are my people!"
  3. Ride a NASCAR around a track at 150mph
  4. Stand on the sidelines of a Dallas Cowboys football game
  5. Live in a log cabin
  6. Take photographs off automatic setting
  7. Take a road trip across the US
  8. Sit on the players bench at a hockey game
  9. Spend a couple of weeks in Orlando exploring Universal, Disney World and Sea World
  10. Swim with the dolphins
  11. Read the "Classics" that should have been read in school
  12. Read on the beaches of Hawaii
  13. Enjoy Mardi Gras in New Orleans (didn't appreciate it when I went in high school)
  14. Ride a dog sled in Alaska
  15. Take a cruise

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

We will always remember.....

On that life-changing date ten years ago I was actually home sleeping when the attacks happened. My life was so different back then. I was lucky that I had an amazing boss and was able to take off work for a year, only working two days a week from home, after my sister went back to work once she had my triplet niece and nephews.

On that Tuesday morning I was catching up on sleep at my mom's house when she came in to give me the phone from my boss's chief of staff. He was calling to tell me they were all ok at the US Capital in Washington, DC. I had no clue what he was talking about. He told me we were being attacked and to turn on the television.


(photo from www.september11news.com)


With that one statement, our lives would never be the same. I don't think anyone's life has ever been the same since that dreadful day.

After that call, my mother and I turned on the television and sat in utter silence watching it all unfold. When I saw those stunning and heartbreaking images on television I couldn't even grasp the seriousness of it all. I was in such shock.

Images of my own visit with my mom and aunt to New York city in May 1997 played through my head. We visited the World Trade Center on that trip and to this day I'm grateful we had that experience.

The main thought in my mind watching all this was to get to the kids and hold them tight. It was so hard to try and shield them from the news when all I could do was watch it on the screen and cry. I had to force myself not to watch it while they were up because at one-year old they had no idea of the horrendous act of violence we had just suffered. And I didn't want them to know of that kind of hate ever, much less at such a young age.

It's no longer possible to shield them from that kind of hatred or violence when everyday we see it on the news. But I can still hold them tight and tell them how much I love them. And I gladly do that every day I see them.

We will never forget....

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Truly the most magical place of all...Magic Kingdom

I think the Walt Disney World park I most wanted to visit was Magic Kingdom. Just because who doesn't love castles? And I couldn't wait to ride Dumbo's ears (that totally sounds wrong) and a teacup. We ended up going to Magic Kingdom over several days by taking advantage of the magical hours afforded us by staying at a Disney Resort.

Diane and I and the boys went here first while Granny Gran and Sydni spent some quality time at the hotel. Our first site of the castle was late at night and it was stunning to see Cinderella's castle lit up in different colors.

Because the lines weren't too long, we headed over to Frontierland so Diane and the boys could ride the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. They loved it and wanted to ride on Splash Mountain but we didn't want to be soaked all night long.

Then it was on to Adventureland to see the Pirates of the Carribean followed by a ride on The Magic Carpets of Alladin. I rode with Caleb and he had control over the carpet and that little boy went up and down and up and down. Then up and down again.

Then we went to one of my favorite places - Fantasyland. Now who doesn't want to go for a ride on Dumbo after seeing all those commercials with people having fun flying around with those big 'ole ears? It was so much fun! Jacob was my co-pilot and that little monkey was even more brutal with the controls than Caleb was.

We also hit up Peter Pan's Flight where Jacob said this had the potential to be a dangerous ride because we are suspended in the air riding in a hot air balloon. Then Snow White's Scary Adventure which isn't so very scary.

And who can go to Fantasyland without going on "it's a small world"?? They do such a good job with those puppets. They remind me so much of my Madame Alexander dolls so that may be why I like them so much.

When we went back with GG and Sydni, we all went together to see a performance in front of the castle. All the princesses were there and so were Robin Hood, Donald Duck and more characters!



Then we went to Tomorrowland to see Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. It was such a treat! I love me some Mike Wazowski (so much that I got a shirt of his face) and this was seriously funny. They involved the audience (Sydni and I were on the smile cam) and just made it one of the best treats of the day.



One of the rides I had been wanting to ride the most was Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. And it did not disappoint. I had to fight Sydni to let me spin us as we were shooting at people. So much fun!



The next visit it was pouring down rain. We split up and Diane and the boys went to ride some of the more adventurous rides like Space Mountain, Astro Orbiter and the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway.

The Tea Cups we saved to ride when Granny Gran and Sydni joined us at Magic Kingdom so I headed that direction with them. We couldn't wait any longer, and actually lost Diane and the boys so the three of us got in and rode our hearts out in those tea cups. I've been waiting my whole life to ride that thing so I savored every moment.

We took Sydni to ride the ones I had ridden already and knew she would enjoy. She had a ball. Then we all joined up together again for another turn in the cups and to see Stitch's Great Escape.

Without a doubt Magic Kingdom is the park we took the most advantage of but we thoroughly enjoyed them all. I'm already anticipating the next trip!



The family at Disney's Magic KingdomEnjoying a little midnight stroll around Cinderella's castle.Enjoying a rainy day at Magic Kingdom with these kids who turned 11 today!Night view of Cinderella's Castle at Disney's Magic KingdomNight view of Cinderella's Castle at Disney's Magic KingdomNight view of Cinderella's Castle at Disney's Magic Kingdom
Night view of Cinderella's Castle at Disney's Magic KingdomCinderella's Castle at Disney's Magic KingdomIt's a Small World at Disney's Magic KingdomIt's a Small World at Disney's Magic KingdomIt's a Small World at Disney's Magic KingdomIt's a Small World at Disney's Magic Kingdom
It's a Small World at Disney's Magic KingdomIt's a Small World at Disney's Magic KingdomIt's a Small World at Disney's Magic KingdomIt's a Small World at Disney's Magic KingdomIt's a Small World at Disney's Magic KingdomIt's a Small World at Disney's Magic Kingdom
It's a Small World at Disney's Magic KingdomIt's a Small World at Disney's Magic KingdomSnow White's Scary Adventures at Disney's Magic KingdomSnow White's Scary Adventures at Disney's Magic KingdomSnow White's Scary Adventures at Disney's Magic KingdomSnow White's Scary Adventures at Disney's Magic Kingdom
Disney's Magic Kingdom, a set on Flickr.

Sunday, September 04, 2011

An Epic (or Epcot) day at Walt Disney World

I wasn't really sure what to expect at Epcot. What I knew was that we had two character dinner reservations there and it was home to Mission: Space -- and having a future astronaut in the family, I knew that was definitely on our list of places to go see.

Our first stop at this park was the aforementioned Mission: Space. We started off on the mild version aka Mission Orange. We got loaded into the shuttle and set off into space. Each person gets assigned a position: engineer, flight commander, etc. So you really feel part of the mission.

Don't let the mild version fool you. It still rocked and was one heck of a ride! While Diane and the boys went for another ride on the wilder green version, Sydni, Granny Gran and I went playing around in the space zone they had set up at the exit. Definitely a place to spend some time away from the heat and rain on this day.

We then headed to our dinner with the Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. When I asked Sydni months before if she wanted to have dinner with the Princesses she was adamant that she didn't. I told her fine, we would just go without her and the boys because it was something I wanted to do. Not really meaning that I didn't think anything about it until two days before our trip when I was busily planning our itinerary. Sydni mentioned dinner with the Princesses and I was confused and said we're not seeing them because you said no. I'll leave all the drama out other than to say I frantically made a call and we were on our way to meet royalty.

We had a very late dinner but it was totally worth it. The first princess to greet us was Belle. She was so welcoming and we felt right at home.


Next we met my all-time favorite Cinderella. Which was a total surprise to us as we had been told she wouldn't be there that night. Lucky us!!

Seeing the excitement on Sydni's face as each princess came out to meet us was so rewarding. She enjoyed herself so much! Sleeping Beauty even came out and had Sydni lead the princess parade through the restaurant and the boys escorted her. Although the boys looked like they were being taken to the guillotine.


This was definitely worth the price of the meal. Oh and the food was good too! They started us off with buffet appetizers then for the main meal I had Seared Herb-Dusted Beef Tips which were scrumptious. The kids had the Swedish meatballs and they were heavenly. We were so full we couldn't even really eat the dessert but it did look delectable.

The kids were treated to another birthday celebration here. So fun!

They even got birthday cards from the princesses.

Our other character meal at Epcot was the Garden Grill with Chip 'N Dale. I love these little guys and who isn't interested in seeing what a rotating dining room looks like! That's right. The restaurant floor rotates. It is so mild that you don't feel it but over the course of the meal we went around the entire restaurant. Our characters at this restaurant were hands down the best characters out of all the restaurants we visited.


They interacted with the kids so much and just made the whole experience so much fun. In addition to Chip 'N Dale we saw Mickey Mouse and Pluto. Such sweeties.



The food was served family style which just means they bring the food put all at once and you just get what you want from the serving platters. It was simply delicious.


And of course there were Mickey ears everywhere.

The only other rides that we did here were ridden by Diane and the boys: Test Track and Soarin. They liked the test track a lot but thought Soarin was ok. Thank goodness for those magical after hours once again.

We didn't really explore the countries at Epcot and I am totally bummed that we missed both Finding Nemo rides but what we saw was awesome. Missing those is just another reason to head back to Orlando soon.

Disney's EpcotMission Space at Disney's EpcotMission Space at Disney's EpcotMission Space at Disney's EpcotAkershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney WorldAkershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World
Sydni, Jacob and Caleb with Belle at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney WorldSydni, Jacob and Caleb with Sleeping Beauty at at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney WorldCinderellaSydni, Jacob and Caleb with Cinderella at at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney WorldSydni, Jacob and Caleb with Snow White at at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney WorldJacob, Caleb and Sydni with Sleeping Beauty during royal procession at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World
Caleb being forced to march with Sleeping BeautySydni, Caleb and Jacob with Ariel at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney WorldSydni, Jacob and Caleb with their birthday cupcakes from the Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney WorldSydni, Jacob and Caleb with their birthday cupcakes from the Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney WorldBirthday cupcake from Disney Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney WorldBirthday card from Disney Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World
Birthday cupcake from Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot theme park at Walt Disney WorldSydni after dinner at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot  at Walt Disney WorldSydni with Dale at The Garden Grill in EpcotJacob with Dale at The Garden Grill in EpcotCaleb with Dale at The Garden Grill in EpcotJacob, Sydni and Caleb with Dale at The Garden Grill in Epcot

Disney's Epcot, a set on Flickr.