A Preview of Coming Attractions????

This morning - the day before my 37th birthday, no less - I woke up with huge bags under my eyes. I've woken with dark circles under them but never bags. And we're not talking about a cute little clutch either, folks. We're talking a big-ass suitcase that will cost an extra $50 because it's over the weight limit.

Is this a preview of things to come for my body? My girls parts took a dump in 2009 so what's going to fall apart, blow up, and/ or drag south this year???? I can't wait...........

The Recovery - 4 Weeks Later

I was thinking that by now, four weeks after surgery, I would be feeling fantastic, have tons of energy, no longer be bloated, and have a wonderfully calm personality. Well, four weeks later and I feel.....exactly the same. I'm getting so frustrated at this point. I know the doctor said that it takes a full 6 weeks to recover but I should at least be feeling better, shouldn't I?

My Not So Magical Adventure

I am blogging from room 220 inside Gritman Medical Center. I had my hysterectomy surgery on Tuesday and everything went really well and I felt great afterwards. I was getting pampered and on a steady dose of good drugs. It's now day three and I feel like crap. I no longer get the star treatment. Maybe it's the nurses way of weaning me off of their care and making me want to go home. Now instead of back and foot massages they're making me get up and walk around every hour. How dare they! haha!

I've certainly appreciated all of the well wishes, flowers and visits and my mom, Nate and girls have been enjoying the meals that have been brought to them. We're surrounded by love and community. As Ms. Martha Stewart says, "That's a good thing."

Recovering

4 weeks ago we were on a flight to the Happiest Place on Earth. We've all finally recovered our sleep after that amount of time. Looking back on our trip, I've likened family vacations to labor and delivery. While you're in it, it is a whirlwind of emotions, some physical pain and quite a bit of screaming and yelling but after time it's remembered as the most blessed event in a lifetime. I was hoping that going on this trip would help satiate my appetite for Disneyworld but it's actually only whetted it. We can't wait to go back and do it again!

Last Day - October 5

I was up at 7 but I let everyone sleep in so I could start getting a start on the packing. Awwwww! I put a pretty big dent in the piles and about that time the family started to stir. We had a lot of meal credits left due to Annabelle's illness so we wanted to use some of them for breakfast. We finally got moving toward Hollywood Studios around 10:30 and were hoping that would give us some time to enjoy a few of our favorite attractions before heading to Epcot for our 1:45 lunch reservation in Norway.

It was another hot day and we noticed the humidity was quite high. Nate and I were both glistening by the tme we hit the park entrance and not in the beautiful way that Edward Cullin does. We went straight toward Toy Story Mania but that had a huge wait and the Fast Passes were booked until 5 pm. We noticed we were by the Prince Caspian -Voyage to Narnia so we decided to check that out as we handn't yet. That was the lamest attraction ever. It was just a glorified movie trailer. Don't even waste your time on that one. We wanted to see the Little Mermaid show but one had just started and we didn't ant to wait for 30 minutes for the next one to begin. Our next stop was the Rock n Roller Coaster and that too had a lengthy wait so we grabbed fast passes for that but we couldn't get on it until 12:45. We headed over to the Tower of Terror and were able to enjoy that one twice in a row. There wasn't really any time to try and find something else to experience so we just sat in the shade by the R n R until we could use our passes. At this time the girls were eyeballing the temporary tattoo station so we indulged their wild fanatsies and let them get body art for our last day. We rode the rollercoaster and ralized that we had about 45 minutes to get from Hollywood Studios to Epcot. So we decided to take the fastest way possible........by boat.

We actually did arrive at Epcot at 1:40 so we ran like we did a few nights ago and made it to Akershus in Norway by 1:55. We were really sweaty and drippy by now as it had started to rain a tad. Nate found a beer stand, of course so quenched his thirst by grabbing a 20 ouncer.

A little back story on Akershus, it is a Princess Character meal, we didn't tell Nate this at all as the girls thought it would be really fun for their daddy to meet all of those beautiful princesses. Nate had no clue even though there ere little girls dressed up as Disney princesses as far as the eye could see. He even read the little banner in front of the place that said we'd e dining among royalty. It wasn't until he ordered his beer when the bartender said, "Say hi to the princesses for me." did he realize what he was in for. I didn't realize that they took our family's photo with Belle at the beginning and that picture is priceless as we are completely drenched in sweat and totally shiny. Nate got a huge kick out of the experience and the girls were thrilled to have gotten the autographs and photos of themselves with Belle, Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel. The princesses were perfect ladies and we had fun conversations with them. Cinderella asked thegirls if they had any princes and if they didn't then losing a glass slipper usually helps. Ariel asked them which sea they came from. Snow White talked in her high pitched Snow White voice. It was great. The food was alright but the atmopshere and knowing we didn't have to stand in a long line for each of the princesses was so well worth the money we didn't pay because we were on the free Disney dining plan. We definitely recommend the place for sure.

After lunch we rode Maelstrom once again. Josie loved that ride! We then walked to Soarin' to get a fast pass then on to a few attractions we didn't get to while wating for Soarin'. It started to storm a bit but the rain was evaporating before it hit the ground. We finally did Soarin' and then made our wa to World Showcase for the rest of the evening until fireworks.

Epcot has a new interactive attraction featuring Kim Possible. It is glorified geocaching and we loved it! Each girl got a mission and a 'Kimmunicator' - like a cell phone- they had to follow the prompts and do what the thing told them. Annabelle's first mission was in Mexico and she had to follow clues on her phone. They would show her a picture and she would have to find out where that was in the land. When she got there she had to point the thing at something like a picture or a sculpture and then that thing would do something special. She also did a mission in Germany and that was fun because she went to this display case of beer steins and then they sang for her. Josie had a mission in Norway and she and Nate said that one took forever. It was great fun and like geocaching it was great in that you noticed things or went into shops that you otherwise would've looked over. After our mission Josie finally found a face painting stand. She's wanted to get her face painted for days now so we let her do that despite being 2 hours away from bedtime.
We found a spot to view the fireworks near Japan and waited for the show. Again, IllumiNatins is amazin. Nate and I got goosebumps it was so good. When the show was over we slowly left the park and took everything in.

We did stop at a gift shop to by souvenirs. Nothing like waiting for the last minute to do so. This was nice as the corwds had disappated and we were able to get an actual seat on the way "home." When we arived at our resort we checked out, arranged for luggage pick up and went back to the room to shower and pack the rest of the way. Nate and Josie went swimming one last time, grabbed dinner with the last of our meal credits and we were finally in bed by 12:30 am. We slept with the bathroom light on to treat our sleep as a nap because the alarm was going off at 2:30 am.

We are now in the airport and waiting to board our plane. Thinking about our vacation we ha some tense moments but the memories will lways be happy positive and full of Disney magic. We can't wait to go back!

ATTRACTIONS
Chronicles of Narnia - It's a crummy commercial
Tower of Terror X 2
Rock n Roller Coaster
Maelstrom
Test Track
Seas with Nemo and Friends
Living with the Land
Spaceship Earth
Ellen's Energy Adventure
Spaceship Earth
Soarin - We noticed that this wa our first attraction and our last
Kim Possible
Soarin'

Typhoon Lagoon - October 4

Annabelle woke up this morning with so much energy and in much better spirits. This made us all so happy. We got ready to spend the day at Typhoon Lagoon Water Park. We knew right when we got there that we were going to love this place. It's so tropical and kitschy. We found a nice quiet shady place to drop our belongings. Our first stop was the Crush n Gusher slides that shoot you up, down and around. Then we went to the wave pool which the girls absolutely loved and spent a majority of their day there. Nate and I rather liked the lazy river. We realized that Typhoon Lagoon was one of our favorite places so far just for the fact that there was no time pressure to be at show, turn in a fast pass ticket or to be at a completely different place in the park. We could just hang out and enjoy ourselves.

The water park closed at 5 pm and we went back to the hotel to shower and get ready for our dinner reservations at Boma at 8pm. Nate and I wanted to get a caricature done of the girls before we left but the artist at our hotel was already busy doing a portrait so we were pleasantly surprised to find one at the Animal Kingdom Lodge who was just wrapping up with a customer. He was very nice and the picture turned out very cute. It's of the girls fighting which is something they have been very good at this trip. While one was posing we'd go with the other one to look at the animals. The Animal Kingdom Lodge has a huge wildlife preserve on property so you can view zebras, giraffes, flamingos and other animals up close. It's very impressive.

Boma is a buffet that serves African-type cuisine. I sampled all of it and it was very good. Annabelle, of course, only wanted the mac and cheese. She was starting to burn out from being outside in the sun all day.

Over dinner we contemplated going to the Magic Kingdom one last time as it was open until 1 am. We ha to go to a park anyway as Disney transportation doesn't go from resort to resort. We decided to go for it. We arrived there at 9:30 and couldn't believe the crowd size. It was much more busy than it had been on Thursday. We still managed to make a few rides but were perplexed as to why there was a 40 minute wait for the Peter Pan ride at 11 pm!

We finished off our evening with a Dole Whip from Aloha Isle. We decided we'd do our best to get up early to hit Hollywood Studios one last time with the afternoon spent at Epcot. Upon arrival into our "suite" the girls thought it would be fun to imitate their art and had a huge fight in our room so as of now we're all sleeping in and packing our bags INSTEAD of going to Hollywood Studios. How is it that can they can be so good one minute and the next just blow up?

It's 1:30 am now and I'm thinking of all the things that need to get done for the return trip home. We haven't even done any souvenier shopping. ACK!!!!! *frustration squiggle*

ATTRACTIONS
Everything at Typhoon Lagoon
Haunted Mansion
Hall of Presidents
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Philharmagic

INJURIES
*Sore feet from the rough ground at Typhoon Lagoon
*Sunburns from the day at the water park - apparently I should've been better at reapplying but you should've seen all the poor lobster bastards we encountered there our small burns have nothing on those red guys


WHAT I'VE LEARNED
*Lazy rivers get you away from reality and then the fighting children will bring you right back to it
* I am thankful that we stayed at the cheap resort as we were hardly in our room. However, I do think it's a great idea to tour the other ones to see what you're missing out on. They are amazing!

October 3 - Part 2

Where I left of yesterday I was in the room with Annabelle and updating the blog. After I wrapped that up I went to the food court to grab a bite to eat and then called my mom to wish her a Happy Birthday. Annabelle woke up around 3:30 and said she was feeling much better and wanted to do something. Since it was still so hot out we decided to go check out Blizzard Beach for a short time period thinking the water would cool her core temp. We raced to get swimsuits on and walked briskly to the bus stop and waited for about 10 minutes. I looked down at poor Annabelle and she looked like a zombie. "I don't feel so well," she told me in a sad little voice so we walked back to the room. She didn't even want to jump in our pool to cool off. She immediately went back to bed. I decided that I should try to nap as well when Nate and Josie arrived around 4:45. I was a little disappointed that they came back so early given that Animal Kingdom is open until 6. I would've stayed there and taken in all the shows and parades and characters. I asked them if they did any of that and they said no. They just rode rides.

Josie came home pretty cooked and wanted to go swimming which was good because I was starting to go stir crazy in our room knowing that there is a world of fun just outside our doorway. About 6:30 I decided I really wanted to go back to Epcot and watch IllumiNations. We're kind of playing our last day by ear so I wasn't sure if I'd get to see this show at all. I finally convinced Josie that she needed to come with me and at 7 pm we were on the bus to Epcot. On the bus we checked out dining in Epcot and decided to try out the Tangierine Cafe in Morocco.

When we arrived all lot of people were leaving so we were fish swimming upstream. Something that I do that drives my family nuts on this trip is that I like to walk really fast to get to where I'm going. I'll glimpse behind me and see that they are there and take off. Since I have the map and know where I'm going I just assume that they do too but.......... upon getting yelled at many times for it I guess they really don't. This really bothers Josie and has been a contributing factor in some of her attitude issues so to demonstrate my walking behavior and see if it got me riled up Josie just started speed walking and tried to lose me. Now I may have little legs but those suckers are fast when they need to be. She couldn't lose me if she was James Bond so this sent us both into fits of giggles.

When we entered Epcot we thought we'd see if we could squeeze in Soarin' but there was a long wait so scooted over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends where we hopped right into a clam shell. Time was of the essence but after the ride Josie just wanted to dilly dally in front of the dolphin tank. If I wasn't so hungry and needed to get a good spot for the fireworks I would've let her stay there as long as she wanted. I finally was able to pull her away and we took off fo World Showcase. We soon realized that Epcot in the evening is a different monster than Epcot in the daytime. There were so many new things to see! The sidewalks lit up with little LED lights in very colorful patterns. We walked by water the fountain just in time to see small scale Bellagio type water show. When we actually entered World Showcase we could tell that patrons were having their fill of the Food and Wine Festival as most of them were quite drunk and happy. Hopping along, beer and wine in hand and singing and their native language - either that or they were so far gone that they were indecipherable. We finally made it into Morocco and grabbed some dinner. I love that Josie likes to try out different cuisine. She's more adventurous than I am. She ordered the lamb and chicken platter while I just got the boring chicken. There was a ton of food: chicken, lamb, hummus, some sort of parsley- tomato salad, and couscous along with a honey nut dry pastry thingy. Very good and way too filling neither of us finished it all. Just as we sat down th band Mo'Rockin' started so we had some ethnic music to listen too. We also noted that Nate would be bummed out knowing that he missed the live band and the belly dancer.

After dinner we settled into a spot between Morocco and Japan. Josie really wanted to ride Maelstrom in Norway so I told her I'd stay and save our spot while we went. I wasn't too worried that she'd be back in time to see the show as there was 30 minutes left. Illuminations was awe-inspiring and wonderful. I even felt a little tear come to my eye as I ws observing the wonder. It is quite amazing what the Imagineers have come up with.

After the finale Josie and I took off like rockets, zig-zagging through the crowd at warp speed. We passed thousands of people, strollers, and motorized carts. The Magic Kingdom was open until 11 pm so we made a decision to go there for a few rides. We took a bus then we took the monorail and arrived a little after 10 pm and then on to Splash Mountain. That ride takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r. We were looking forward to it being done so we could ride Big Thunder Mountain before the park closed. We were nearing the exit when the cast member mumbled something about not getting our picture taken and that we could ride it again without even asking us if that was something that we wanted to do. Not too far into going around a second time the ride stopped and stalled for about 10 minutes. Great! I don't go to Disney often enough but I can't imagine that this many technical difficulties occur. Maybe they do. We finally got going again, slept during the second trip around and bolted for Big Thunder. We made it there and soon realized that we were on the last train departing.

It's one thing to be the first to arrive at the park but I find it so much more magical to be the last one to leave. Josie and I poked around the castle for awhile, sauntered our way down Main Street, bought some ice cream and found a bench at City Hall and waited for the crowds to subside. We loved it! We finally arrived back at the hotel shortly after 12 am.

ATTRACTIONS
* Maelstrom
* The Seas with Nemo and Friends
* Splash Mountain X 2
* Big Thunder Mountatin

WHAT I LEARNED
* That it's 1.5 miles from where you driver under the Magic Kingdom sign to the point where the busses drop you off in front of the park
* Disney has 304 transportation at their disposal but this time of year they are running about 88 of them

Animal Kingdom - October 3

Wanted to get out the door and into Animal Kingdom early to get on the Safari ride and Pangani Forest before the animals called it nap time. The girls struggled to get up and Annabelle didn't really want to eat anything but since we did so good a few days earlier of getting something in their tummies I made her eat some cinnamon roll again. On the bus ride to Animal Kingdom she started looking really pale and complained of a stomach ache. We kept saying she was hungry but gave her a Tums to settle her stomach.

We entered the park and as I was getting the backpack looked through I spied Nate and Annabelle over by a bush and sure enough Annabelle threw up. Shortly after that she got her color back and said she was fine so we went got fast passes for the River Rapids (the girls wanted to get their faces painted so we thoght we'd do the wet ride first) and made our way to the safari. We also wandered to Pangani Trail at which point Annabelle started clutching her stomach again. We were about to embark on the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch when Annabelle and I decided to head back to the room ut she pulled through and said she was fine. We made it the Planet watch and th girls met Pocohontas, Rafiki and Jiminy Cricket. Back on the train Annabelle didn't look so well and threw up shortly after we got off.

Nate and Josie stayed at Animal Kingdom and I am here keeping an eye on Annabelle who is sound asleep at the moment. It stinks she is not feeling well and I can't decide whether she may have a stomach bug or is suffering from a heat stroke. It is 90+ degrees here and there is a huge temperature fluctation going from the hot outside into air conditioned attractions that sometimes the body can't regulate so quickly. We'll see how she's feels in a little bit and we may hit Blizzard Beach this afternoon for an hour if she is up to it. If not we'll just chill out by the pool the rest of the day.

ATTRACTIONS
Kilamanjaro Safaris
Pangani Forest Expedition
Wildlife Express Train
Affection Section petting zoo
Conservation Station - met characters and saw a procedure done on a macaw at the vet
Kali River Rapids

WHAT I'VE LEARNED
* Cast Members smile even when you tell them that your daughter threw up all over the walkway. They just get out their pixie dust and spread it over the crime scene
* People have no problem telling you what a pussy you are for wearing a rain poncho when going on the Kali River Rapids ride. I look at them and smile at least I look like a normal person strolling through the park and they are drenched from head to toe and standing bow legged because they are so chafed from walking with wet jeans on
* Animal Kingdom is our favorite park and I could just hang out there all day and look at all of the detailing that they've put into the place.

Animal Kingdom - October 2

Slept in until 9:30! Nate and I loaded up laundry while the girls were still sawing logs. I was thinking that getting a washing machine would be a breeze but it was more like finding a parking spot at the mall on Christmas eve and the people were guarding those things just as closely too. I was little frightened in there. We were ableto score two machines fairly shorly upon arrival though. While laundry was going, Nate grabbed the girls and they swam while I watched the laundry to make sure no one would throw my wet clothes on the ground. During that time we watched a sky writer. I was hoping he was going to spell 'Surrender Dorothy' but instead he wrote 'Praise Jesus'.

We had lunch at the food court and got onto the bus for the Animal Kingdom at 1 pm. We loved it there! Our first attraction was Dinosaur and we loved it. Annabelle screamed so loud and dug her fingernails into my arms. After the ride we went on it again and again. we hung out in Dinoland until our fastpasses for Expedition Everest were ready. Chocolate Mike and Caramel Spike LOVED Dinoland and are excited to post on their blog about their adventures there.

We stayed at Animal Kingdom until 5:30 as we had dinner reservations at Port Orleans at 6:30. We really enjoyed Animal Kingdom and looked forward to spending a whole day there the following day.

We arrived at the Port Orleans resort and really wished we could've stayed there. It's a wonderful theme and so much more laid back and relaxed than the All Star resorts. It does look like it takes a lot longer to get to places though because it is so spread out. We ate at Boatwrights and had prime rib, steak medallions with squash and crawfish and Annabelle had cheese pizza (but we snuck her some steak). Dessert was Bananas Foster, Apple Pie ala mode and lemon spund cake with strawberries. We loved Boatwrights and the service was speedy and good.

Because there isn't any transportation from resort to resort we had to go to Downtown Disney to get onto a bus to go back to our resort. Port Orleans has a boat ride to DTD so we chose that option. It was a lovely relaxing ride.

DTD was a zoo! There were way more people there than at any of the theme parks we'd encountered. I felt like I was on Fremont Stree in Las Vegas for a moment and kept looking overhead to see the LED screen. The only thing that differed was the fact that there weren't any bums laying around and it smelled a whole lot better. We checked out the pin store and World of Disney - the largest Disney Store in the World and it was huge! We finally made it to Disney Quest and checked it out for a little bit. That was 5 stories of loudness. We did play a few video games but finally couldn't take the stimuli anymore and left.

We made it back to our resort at 11 pm. So much for thinking that we'd get to bed at a decent hour.

ATTRACTIONS
Expedition Everest X 2
Dinosaur X 4
Primeval Whirl
Kali River Rapids
It's Tough To Be A Bug
DisneyQuest

INJURIES
* Racked my head on Expedition Everest and it gave me a headache/ neckache for the rest of the day
* The Primeval Whirl ride stopped abrubtly and Annabelle hit her forearm on the bar which made it bruise pretty good right away

Magic Kingdom - October 1

Another early morning, this time we made Josie drink some milk and got Annabelle a cinnamon roll to prevent any pre-mature meltdowns. When we arrived at the park we made our way to Frontierland to ride Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. We took a wrong turn and ended up at the Haunted Mansion so we went there first. The girls weren't too impressed given the thrills they were used to at the Hollywood Studios. We were able to get on Splash and Big Thunder without any wait as well. The girls could've ridden just those two all day but we told them to check out then rest of the park before it got too crowded and that we'd be there until midnight so there'd be plenty of time for them to do so.

After Frontierland we wandered into Adventureland to ride Pirates and the Jungle Cruise. While wandering around there we decided to stop at the Enchanted Tiki Room where Josie thought it would be a great place to get moody. I think she likes to see just how high our blood pressure can get and just when we get to the point where steam is about to come out of our ears she starts to smile and act like nothing is wrong except now Nate and I are so angry that we sart bickering with each other. After the "Tiki Tiki Tiki Room" song and the party atmosphere hit we mellowed out again. It's so frustrating though and I think the next time I go to WDW, I'm going by myself.

Next we went to Fantasyland and got out first fastpass of the day to Peter Pan's Flight as there was a 40 minute wait for that. What's so popular about that ride? We're not sure but we really enjoyed it. Most of the other attractions in Fantasyland were pretty open so we went on those.

Next stop was Toon Town. Now we know where all the families went! It was jammed packed with children and strollers. We went to see if we could meet some princesses and fairies but the wait time was 90 minutes! Ouch! We did tour Mickey and Minnie's homes and got our pics taken with them. They were very friendly and took there time with us.

Now it was time to eat lunch at the Crystal Palace with Pooh Bear. We checked in and waited......waited.......waited......for an hour! By this time we were hot and starving. Thankfully we sat on bench and had a great view of the castle which had a show going on so we watched that. We had a good lunch and the characters were a lot of fun. Annabelle was a little disappointed that there wasn't any Boston Cream pie despite it being advertised on the menu.

After lunch we got our wristbands and hightailed it back to the room to change into Halloween attire. We also were able to sneak in a 30 minute power nap.

Arrived back at the Magic Kingdom at 7 pm just in time for the party to start. The entrance was very neat with special lighting effects and fog rolling out. I told everyone to just stand there and take it in for a moment.

All the cast members were in a party mood and the music fit the atmosphere. Since we didn't get into Tomorrowland during the morning we walked over there first. We got onto all of the attractions there with no wait time at all, then we went to the trick or treat spot and watched Goofy, Stitch and Pluto dance around at the dance party. Very fun! We soon got hungry and ate hamburgers at Cosmic Rays. Right after dinner the fireworks were ready to start. We had a great view of the front of the castle. The HallowWishes fireworks show was amazing!!! I even got a little teary eyed it was so good.

After fireworks we ran back to Splash and Thunder Mountain and again ran right onto the ride. It was so empty that when we were done they asked if we wanted to go again. We really like Splash Mountain but it is a pretty long ride so we declined the offer. We soon realized that the 'Boo to You' Halloween parade was ready to begin not far from where we were so we found a great spot in Frontierland and waited for the fun. Some spooky music started and we soon heard the clippity clopping of the Headless Horseman. The parade soon followed and we loved every bit of it. Since we were right on the street almost all of the characters on our side would wave at the girls. After the parade we walked onto several more attractions, the last one of the night being Aladdin's Magic Carpet. While the girls were on that I went to Aloha Isle and grabbed my first pineapple Dole Whip. Very tasty! We didn't see everything that was happening at the Halloween party and didn't met any characters even though there were a ton around the park. The lines were so long for them though.

After the party wrapped up and the crowds were leaving the park we sat on the benches in fron of the castle and just enjoyed the moment. Arrived back at the hotel at 1 am. We decide to call tomorrow a sleep in/ do laundry morning as there is no way we will be able to function.

ATTRACTIONS
Swiss Family Treehouse
Magic Carpets of Alladin X 2
Enchanted Tiki Room
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Splash Mountain X 2
Big Thunder Mountain X 2 - More fun in the dark
Hall of Presidents - We got in and sat down then they had technical difficulties so we had to exit
Haunted Mansion
It's A Small World - Kids didn't want to go on it but then loved it
Peter Pan's Flight
Mickey's PhilharMagic - Favorite 3D attraction
Dream Along with Mickey Stage Show
Snow White's Scary Ride
Cinderella's Carrousel
Adventure's of Winnie the Pooh X 2
Mad Tea Party
Mickey and Minnie' Country Houses
Donald's Boat water play area - Kids got soaked
Barnstormer
Tomorrowland Speedway
Astro Orbiter - for me scarier than Tower of Terror
Tomorrowland Transit Authority - nice leisurely ride through tomorrowland...it even broke down for a few minutes while we were on it
Space Ranger Spin
Monsters Inc Laugh Floor

WHAT I LEARNED
Mickey throws the best Halloween Parties!!!

INJURIES
We're doing better!

Disney Hollywood Studios - September 30

Another day up and at 'em at 6 am. My girls did NOT want to wake up but we mentioned Tower of Terror and they conceded. Our first ride of the day was Toy Story Mania - a 4D ride based on the Toy Story characters and midway games. It was fun but we weren't like the obsessives that steal all of the Fast Passes. haha! The stand by wait time for the ride the rest of the day averaged 50 minutes and all of the Fast Passes were gone by noon. So..... we only rode it once.

Our next ride was the Tower of Terror. I was not looking forward to riding this one and once we were seated I was thinking of ways to get off this ride. I worked myself into a cold sweat and was shaking profusely before we even got to the big drop. It was less of a traumatic experience than I had envisioned so I went on it twice more. I still screamed my head off though. Our other favorite ride was the Rock n Rollercoaster which we did three times as well.

The crowds were very manageable today and the weather was great. 85 and sunny, not too humid like yesterday. We were able to see most of the attractions and all in 20 minutes or less. One thing our girls (and Nate) have fallen in love with is the Disney pins. We have to stop at every store that sells pins and well, that literally is almost every store.

Overall we had a fantastic day filled with thrills and chills - the kind I get when my 12 year old daughter gives me attitude and she was filled with it again today. You know that Mother Goose poem about the little girl with the little curl...that's Josie. When she's good she's so wonderful but when she turns bad well......

ATTRACTIONS - All great
The Great Movie Ride
American Idol Experience Finale
Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
Star Tours X 2
Lights, Motors, Action
Toy Story Midway Mania
Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage
Rock n Rollercoaster X 3
Tower of Terror X 4
Block Party Bash parade

WHERE WE ATE
Lunch - Pizza Planet
Dinner - Hollywood Brown Derby - Rib Eye Steak, Salmon and Fish Fingers w/ grapefruit cake and creme brulee'

WHAT I LEARNED
* There are many modes of travel around Disney Theme Parks. The most popular being slow moving motorized carts. I shouldn't knock it though as that will be me in 20 years.
* Tomorrow we are force feeding Josie protein before she goes into low blood sugar mode. There were several times it got close to being a "knock down/ drag out". It was semi-reassuring to see several other parents with teens dealing with the same issues.
* I've heard Disney has been losing money but I thought, "Really??? How bad could it be?" until I saw a Cast Member repairing the vinyl stairs at Pizza Planet with duct tape. Yep, you read that right....DUCT TAPE!

INJURIES
* Nate's still in pain and will be even more so this time tomorrow as he is down to his last prescription painkiller
* I managed to rub a hole near my crotch yesterday so now I'm walking like I rode a bull all day and NO that is not a metaphor for something nasty. All I can say is that I bet 1 in 4 women have a serious chafing problem while at the parks

THINGS WE ARE NOT VERY GOOD AT
* I pre-paid for a photopass cd but have been very bad about actually getting photos taken of us
* We have yet to stand in line to meet any characters, we're hoping this will change tomorrow
* Getting Chocolate Mike out of our backpack. He's stuck in there again.

Tomorrow is going to be another long day as we will head to the Magic Kingdom in the am and will come back to change into our Halloween costumes and go back for Mickey's Halloween Party until midnight.

Epcot - September 29

The day started at 6 am. That's 3 am Idaho time! No wonder my eyes were so puffy this morning. Everyone woke up happy and ready to go until we got to Epcot. Josie decided to play the part of surly teen while waiting for the park to open. Argh. We forced some peanuts on her and she started to perk up. During this time Nate reaized he left his room key/ park entrance back at the hotel. He started to go back to the buses to go back to the hotel when I realized that this is Disney, there's got to be a way that we can get another key. Thankfully we could do that at guest relations which was good to know as halfway through the day Josie lost her key in the park.

Our first ride was Soarin'. We were able to get on within 5 minutes. The rest of the day was like that so we never even had to get Fastpasses as the crowds were fairly manageable. After several attractions we made our way to the World Showcase. The food and wine festival was happening so Nate kept steering himself toward the beers around the world. We ate lunch at Teppan Edo in Japan. Our chef was very entertaining and the food was great. The bill for lunch was $140! Thank goodness for the dining plan! (I'll probably praise this all week, just so you know.)

After lunch Nate wanted to go to the Sam Adams beer seminar so the girls and I wandered to Norway and Mexico. The seminar was full so Nate met up with us and the girls decided that they wanted to go to Soarin' again. So back to The Lands. During Soarin' we checked out the WDW Dining app on Josie's iTouch (I highly recommend this app) and decided to eat at the Liberty Tree back in the World Showcase. During dinner we sat outside and listened to Richard Marx put on a show. Man, he still sounds the same.

After dinner and the show we went to the boat dock to make our way to Disney Hollywood Studios to see the only showing of Fantasmic that we were able to catch. The kids (and Nate) started falling apart about then just as I was catching my second wind fom the giant cup of Diet Coke I'd just consumed. Just as we entered the park there was a big line forming for the show. I told Nate to take the girls to an attraction and I'd hold their place in line. We'd heard that lines for Rock n' Rollercoaster would be short due to everyone being at the first showing of Fantasmic. Boy, were they wrong. They had a 40 minute wait. We met each other at the show and it was wonderful.

After it was over, we made our way to the bus lines which were incredibly long. We kept bypassing people as we just assumed that they were going to a different resort and then realized they were all in line to go to ours after we cut into it. I feel really guilty about that. Back to the resort for snacks and showers and bed.

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY
I thought I was being smart by putting my phone in my bra. Not so, the thing got too hot in there, steamed up and fried.

ATTRACTIONS
Soarin' X 2
Mission Space
Turtle Talk with Crush
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Test Track - this ride quit mid-ride we were stranded in a dark tunnel for about 15 minutes. Thanks goodness we weren't outside.
Reflections of China
Maelstrom in Norway
Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico
Fantastmic - DHS
Rock n Rollercoaster - DHS

HOW THE FAMILY FAIRED
Hmmmm......not sure how to answer this. I did well, Nate came and went and the girls fought towards the end. Not so much my vision of the perfect family vacation kick off. More along the lines of the Griswolds/ Bundys.

INJURIES
Nate's back and arm that keeps going numb also some unmentionable side effects from the pain medication
Josie has some nasty infected ingrown hairs on her knee due to volleyball kneepads

We Made It - Recap of September 28

We woke up at 4 am yesterday morning with big smiles on and a ready to go attitude. The girls alarm clock consisted of me cranking up When You Wish Upon a Star on our computer. I soon realized the neighbors probably didn't enjoy the wake-up call like we did.

Everything went so smoothly yesterday: getting our boarding passes, airport security, airplanes being on time, getting our baggage, getting on Magic Express and checking into our hotel. It was all wonderful except for the fact that it took the entire day.

We knew we were in for some Disney Magic when we boarded the Magical Express bus with it's red seats and yellow stars and my personal favorite, the glittery floors of the bus. Since the bus was pretty empty we sat up front and chatted with Rick, the bus driver who provided us with a wealth of information.

Our hotel is pretty wacky with the oversized sports theme. We're in the tennis building next to the surfboard pool and our view is of a tree and the tennis court. The food court here is something else very loud and chaotic and Anita is right, the food is overpriced and not very good BUT we're here on the free dining pan so no more complaints about food from me. We also unpacked everything and totally made ourselves at home. I think I brought everything except the kitchen sink, well, scratch that I did forget to pack Josie's black underskirt for her costume. Poop!

All good things muct come to an end though as we all had a small meltdown about 12:30 am when we decided the best remedy was to just go to bed.

I'd love to post pics but the connection here via the cell phone is pretty S L O W. We're off to Epcot!

T-minus 12 hours!!!!

I'm taking a small break from packing to free up space on our camera's memory card. It's been a whirlwind around here trying to pick up last minute things from the store, clean the house, drop off Butterscotch at the kennel, check and recheck to make sure I have all of the proper tickets and documentation. The girls have been worried that I'm not as excited as I have been but the truth is I'm so bogged down in all the details right now but believe me I AM EXCITED!!!!!

If you noticed around Moscow today that lights seemed to be a little bit dimmer and it took you longer to microwave your popcorn it was probably because we were charging all of our electronics: Nintendos, camera batteries, phones and Nate's laptop.


I was still sewing costumes as of this afternoon but I'm proud to say I finished them. Annabelle models hers for me and I'm so happy that she loves it. Jeannine lent us the crown. Annabelle will definitely be more dolled up for Mickey's Halloween party.


The back

I made these Mickey luggage tags with the Mickey Cricut cartridge. All of our pertinent info is on the back of them. Thanks Remberts for the use of your suitcases!

You may have noticed that there is no clothes in my suitcase yet......BUT I do have the all important bottle of Captain Morgan, my trusty travel companions Chocolate Mike and Caramel Spike and a plethora of pharmaceuticals as one never knows if you'll get diarrhea, constipation, allergies, a cold, eczema, chafing, headaches, sunburn and/ or hot dog fingers on your 7 day vacation and one can probably guess that Disney charges an arm and a leg for these items.

We have an early morning tomorrow so I better finish packing. Woo Hoo!!!!!

T-minus 3 days!

The nerves are starting to kick in as I'm looking around at my trashed house, my unpacked luggage and my to-do list that seems to be getting larger by the minute. I have accomplished sewing the girls' Halloween costumes for Mickey's Halloween party though so that is a huge relief.

Today I am going shopping at Ross to find something for me to wear in the hot humid FL weather and then on to Wal*Mart where my shopping list is almost as long as my to-do list. I need to get this done this afternoon as Josie has a volleyball game in Clarkston and we won't be getting home until later tonight when I'll be too pooped to do anything.

A Million Words or Less: Josie Spain

Josie's 7th grade English teacher sent us parents home with homework after parent night a few weeks ago. We had to write her what we thought she should know about our child. This is what I came up with.

A Million Words or Less: Josephine Spain
By her mother, Molly Spain

There are a lot of things I can say
About my dear daughter, Josephine Rae
She’s witty and funny
And very responsible with money
Athletic and strong
But doesn’t like to read for long
She really enjoys playing her Nintendo DS
And thinks actor Taylor Lautner is the best
I’d love to say that she is gentle and caring
But more accurately, she’s assertive and daring
Not one to let the little things get her down
Enjoys not solitude but friends and family around
Loves to ride bikes, be outside and to camp
And when it comes to TV viewing she’s a champ
She can’t sit still and constantly wiggles
Has the sense of humor like a comedienne that sends us into fits of giggles
She’s very inquisitive, lots of questions she asks
I wouldn’t call her lazy but it takes her forever to complete home tasks
She’s adventurous, happy, energetic and goofy
Prefers her hair straightened not big and poufy
She’s a quick learner, past teachers have said so
Her nicknames include: J-Dog, Feenster and Dosey Doe
She loves to dine out, especially dinners of lobster and steak
Of this I am certain; she’ll never be a cheap date
The term ‘old soul’ is definitely not our little girl
As she is fairly naïve to the ways of the world
I only have one million words or less???
I can sum it up in four – Josie is the best!

What??? I Can't Live There?

One week from today we'll be en route to Orlando. I just did online check in for our resort and wanting to make sure I dotted my 'i's and crossed my 't's I read everything clearly even that pesky 'terms of agreement'. It started off very formal and typical and then got downright funny when I came across this line "Neither I nor any member of my party occupying any resort accommodation have/has any intention of making, and will never make, this resort accommodation a legal domicile or principal dwelling. My/our legal domicile is and shall forever be outside the Walt Disney World Resort." There must be a lot of visitors out there that would love to reside at WDW. I also agreed to not feed the animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Park. Phew! Now I just need to read the terms from Southwest Airlines to figure what I can and can't take on carry-on and how much my bags need to weigh.

Into the Single Digits until Vacation!

9 more days until we arrive in Orlando! Annabelle and I are getting super excited while Nate and Josie have taken the more 'we'll get excited once we get down there' approach. I can't begin to tell you how many hours I have logged into the internet researching maps, hours of operation, message boards, etc. It's like I've virtually gone to WDW 100's of times now and some days I feel like I'm suffering from Disney research fatigue. Isn't that awful to say? I know once I get down there all of the hours I have put in to looking up info will be greatly worth it.

Now I am starting to get into panic mode. I haven't even begun to pack and my list of things to get keeps growing on a daily basis. throw on top of that all of the things I've neglected since spending so much time on the computer: housework and yard work being the main items I realize that I need to stay up later and get up earlier to do all those things. It hasn't helped that all of our favorite TV shows have returned for the fall making evenings even more hard to get things done.

Aye yi yi! I shall prevail so off I go

Closer to Reality

Our tickets were awaiting us when we arrived home from Hoorah!. In 20 days we will be embarking on a magical adventure and I can hardly contain my excitement! I am getting the bug to start packing already and have started a pile of things to take: rain ponchos, mesh laundry bags for dirty clothes, packs of protein bars.....

My major project is to get the girls' Halloween cotumes made for Mickey's Halloween party. I tried to convince them to just buy them this year but we couldn't find what they wanted. So I am off to do that project right now. Yay!

Damn You Fibroids!!!!

This post has information that may contain TMI - that's "too much information" for the layman. If you'd rather not hear about cramps, periods, girl parts etc. I suggest you skip this one.

Why is that major things happen at the most inconvenient times? My girl parts the last few months have taken a turn for the worst since May. I started having gnarly periods that lasted anywhere from several weeks to an entire month giving me a small window of a break and then starting back up again. I finally went to the doctor, had an ultrasound and found out I have fibroids taking over my uterus. There are 2 alternatives that I know of right now: do nothing and live with it until I hit menopause OR get a hysterectomy. Hmmmm.......is there no door #3, no magic pill that will dissolve these alien growths taking my belly fat along with them?

Now, I don't know if it's because I now know what's happening with my body but the cramps are getting way worse and are lasting a lot longer. I've gained some weight and am bloated to the point that I look like I'm 7 months pregnant. I truly can't imagine that my summer eating habits have contributed to that appearance and weight gain at all.

The inconvenient timeing to all of this is the fact that our family vacation is right around the corner so I have opted to put off surgery until we get back. So now I get to hobble around Disneyworld getting funny looks from cast members as they load up a seemly very pregnant woman onto Space Mountain. Boy, I bet you can't wait to see the pictures of that!

Disneyworld Pre-Trip Planning: Part 1

I've read this cover to cover and have many pages "ear" -marked

It's true what they say: People spend more time planning their vacation than they do their retirement. And why is that? Because it is so much more fun! I have become Disney obsessed these last few weeks and my frenzy isn't waning. I swear Mickey ears are going to soon grow out of my head.

I first started reading the book Complete Guide to Disneyworld then that didn't statiate my appetite so went to the Disneyworld.com website. From there I was directed to a palethera of other websites, message boards and even podcasts! Who knew!


One of the message boards suggested making a countdown calendar which I promptly did. Annabelle has enjoyed making the Mickey silhouettes and exclaiming every morning "---- days to go!" 52 as of today.


This is the website I go to for the message boards. http://www.wdwinfo.com/ They are chalk full of all sorts of interesting information: both practical (bring two good pairs of walking shoes that are already broken in) to impractical (buy disposable rain ponchos for each member of the family/day and rather than try and reuse them just throw them out. Hmmm...that means that I would need to buy 28 disposable rain ponchos.)



Our Laughing Place has a great transportation wizard. Since we'll be using Disney Transportation aka DT during our stay it has been great to know beforehand how we're going to get from here to there.


All Ears is where I checked restaurant menus. When we first booked our trip and got the free dining plan we all read the restaurant guide and highlighted which places we wanted to eat. When the Disney calendar and hours posted for October I made a general itinerary of what parks we were going to and when. Soon after I went to make my advanced dining reservations aka ADRs. I was soon to be disappointed as a lot of the restaurants were already booked and this was a full 85 days before we're leaving. The character meals were especially popular and the eating times I got are quite strange. So a word to those of you who are planning on WDW trips in the future and would like to eat at the table service restaurants: Get your ADRs at least 90 days before you get there as there are some serious people who have the 90 day mark on their calendar and are up at the crack of dawn getting their reservations.

When I finally realized I wasn't going to get to eat where we wanted to I finally relaxed and just picked random places and times.


The website I check out on a daily basis because they have a great Mom's Panel, calendar of events, park hours etc. is http://www.disneyworld.com/ .

Our itinerary is as follows and is subject to change:

September 28
Arrive in Orlando @ 8:45 pm. Don't get to do any playing but hope we aren't tired enough to at least go hang out in the pool for the rest of the evening

September 29
Epcot
Lunch at Teppan Edo - When we were thinking of going to Disneyland Nate wanted to take a trip to Benihana so we were excited to see there was a restaurant like that in WDW
Go to Disney Hollywood studios around 6 pm to see Fantasmic

September 30
Disney Hollywood Studios
Early dinner at the Hollywood Brown Derby. We really wanted to go to the 50's Prime Time Cafe but it was booked

October 1
Magic Kingdom
Lunch at Crystal Palace. The only character meal we're getting this week which I'm glad as Annabelle really wanted to meet Pooh and Tigger. Josie wanted Donald Duck's Safari breakfast in the Animal Kingdom but alas, that was not to be....booked solid the entire time we're there.
We may sleep in this day or after lunch retire to our room for a few hours as we have tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I'm not saying we couldn't last the whole day in the park but am being realistic about our family's stamina.

October 2
Animal Kingdom
Dinner at Boatwrights - Port Orleans Riverside - After the Animal Kingdom closes at 5 we are going to wander over to the Port Orleans resort to have dinner. I really wanted to stay there but since it would've increased our vacation $1000 we opted to stay in the All Star Sports resort. We don't plan on spending much time in our room anyway but thought it would be fun to explore what could have been.
After dinner if we are up to it we will take a boat taxi and spend the remainder of the evening at Downtown Disney.

October 3
Morning in the Animal Kingdom - Thought 2 days would be good here as my kids love animals
Lunch at Yak and Yeti - Was hoping it would be breakfast with Donald
After lunch we'll decide if we've seen enough of Animal Kingdom and make our way over to the Magic Kingdom

October 4
Breakfast at Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Another resort I am excited to tour.
Typhoon Lagoon until 5 pm weather permitting - Excited about the Crush n Gusher and floating in the Lazy River
Back to our resort to shower and then Magic Kingdom to see Wishes and stay up until 12 am.

Ocotber 5
Epcot
Finishing our vacation where we started it
Dinner at the Coral Reef - Loved the interior of this place even though I do have a small phobia of being surrounded by aquariums. Let's hope they don't break like that scene in Jaws 3.
We'll stay until the park closes with the fireworks show IllumiNations a great ending for a great trip.

October 6
Leave early in the morning to get back home

So that's what I have planned so far and now it's getting into the finer details. I can't imagine anyone coming into a WDW vacation with just a lassiez fare attitude and no planning. I'm trying not go overboard the other way and plan our days down to the minute. I am also bracing myself for knowing that I can't see and do everything and hopefully (fingers crossed ) my family will have such a blast that we'll just HAVE to go again.

RIP Nanny

Virginia "Nanny" Smith
1914 -2009

Nanny was my adopted grandmother from my mom's previous marriage to Jerry Smith. Even though I wasn't her biological granddaughter Nanny still included me in her Christmas gift list and always remembered my birthday. She wrote letters on a weekly basis up until her stroke last year. I finally met her on her 90th birthday in 2004 and then we went on a road trip to California to see her in 2006.

Even though her death didn't come as too much of a surprise it is always sad to know that someone who was once on this earth is no longer around.

These last few weeks have been odd to say the least with all of the death whether it be close friends, relatives, strangers and even celebrities. There has been a certain heaviness in our hearts and I'm so glad it's at least summer time so the sun can shed some light on these shadows.

Here's Nanny's Obituary from Stockton CA

December 15, 1914 - June 24, 2009

Virginia W. Smith, 94, was born to Ulysses Grant and Elizabeth Nell Wright on December 15, 1914 in Hutchinson, Kansas. She passed away at Dameron Hospital after a very short illness.

She lived in Stockton for 44 years and was owner and operator for Hurley's Business Service for 50 years. She was the matriarch of the family keeping us together she was Nanny or Gran to many. Nanny didn't know what an interruption was she enjoyed every visit from Family, Friends and Clients. We were able to stop by the office or the house and stay as long as they wanted. She truly cherished people. She raised her 3 sons and 2 granddaughters while running a successful business.

She was preceded in death by her parents Ulysses and Nell Wright, husband William T. Smith, son William E. Smith and grandson Christopher Lee Smith her sisters Eulah Greene, Geraldine Railsback, Marguerite Warmbradt, brother Estel Wright. Survivors: Sons, James R. Smith & Gerald L. Smith both of Stockton, CA; Granddaughters Shannon Bushnell (Chris) Redding CA, Erin Millar-Dias (Joe) Stockton, CA, Carrie Croucher (Curt) Libby, MT, Robert Smith (Theresa) Charles Smith; Great Grandsons, Matthew, Kenneth and Bretton Millar all of Stockton CA; 9 Great Grandchildren in Stockton and Libby, MT along with all those adopted Great Grandchildren in Yuba City, and everywhere else in the world. She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins and one very special family friend Janey Ray.

In her final days she was at home and being cared for by her to loving sons. Her presence will be missed and her memory cherished.

RIP Don Knauss

Donald Roger Knauss
September 6, 1929 ~ July 1, 2009

Nate first met Don in 1992 when he went to work for him as a plumber's apprentice. He worked with Don through 1998 when Don retired. Don, being the generous man that he was, sold Don's Plumbing to Nate for an unbelievable price. Throughout the last 11 years Don would occasionally strap on his journeyman belt and come to work for Nate when we were busy and needed the help or if we needed someone to look out for things while we took a vacation. Just a few days before his passing he stopped by the new shop to see how things were going. It sad how we tend to take those around us for granted. We hope Don and his family know just how much he has touched our lives.

The following is his obituary.

Donald Roger Knauss, 79, longtime Moscow resident died Wednesday, July 1, 2009 in Coeur ’d Alene, Idaho, following a heart attack.

Don was born September 6, 1929 in Cooperstown, North Dakota to Harry and Eleanor Knauss. While still very young, his family moved to Anaconda, MT, and later to Spokane, WA where he attended West Valley High School.

He enlisted in the US Navy in 1948, serving as a Petty Officer 2nd Class aboard the USS Valley Forge during the Korean War. Following honorable discharge, he maintained life-long contact with the men of the radio division in which he served; traveling to many parts of the US with his wife, Terry, to attend annual reunions.

After his Navy days, he worked as a plumber in the Pacific Northwest earning his journeyman’s certification and later his plumbing contractor license. He partnered in D&K Plumbing and later founded Don’s Plumbing, both of Moscow. He had many stories of working on the initial construction of the ASUI Kibbie Dome, the College of Natural Resources, Latah County Jail, and many other homes and projects in the region. He was extremely generous with his time and skills and always willing to lend a hand to help those who couldn’t afford the help they needed. He especially gave generously of his time to St. Mary’s Catholic Church and School in Moscow up until recent years. Recently, he told a family member that his life had been pretty darn good, and that he wouldn’t change a lot.

He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and served as Past Exalted Ruler of the Moscow BPOE (Elks). He was a Moscow Bear Booster and immensely enjoyed attending his grandchildren’s sporting events. He was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Moscow.

He had three sons from a first marriage. He loved them dearly and was proud of them for working hard and being successful in their lives. In the early 1970’s, he moved to Moscow where he met a woman who shared his sense of humor and dedication to family and friends. He married Teresa O’Brien Helbling on September 15, 1973. Don always loved a challenge and in marrying Teresa, Don took on five more children to love and help raise. His quiet, hard-working approach gained him the love, respect and admiration of his extended Helbling and O’Brien families. He will be dearly missed.

He is survived by Teresa, his loving wife of more than thirty-five years, who still resides in Moscow and by his children, Donald, Jr. and wife Chris of Greenacres, WA and their daughters, Jennifer and Stacie; Ronald and wife Lori of Spokane; and Robert and wife Christy of Lincoln City, OR and their sons, Cameron and Cody; Bob and wife Brenda Helbling of Moscow, and their children Ryan and Nicole; Daniel and wife Gina of Viola and their daughter Katie, Timothy Helbling of Slidell, LA and children, Jocelyne, Bryant, David, and Allicia; Julie and husband Tim Taylor of Onaway, ID and their children Kelsey and Alex; and Jeanne and Dave Poxleitner of Keuterville, ID. Don is also survived his sister, Caroline and husband Pat Michielli of Greenacres, WA, daughter-in-law Carol Helbling of Slidell, LA, and great grandchildren, Caitlin, Austin, and Reagan. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Josie Quote

I noticed Josie was in the bathroom for an extended period of time. I knocked on the door and asked her what was going on.

"I have the runs," Josie stated matter of factly. " Although, when I get the runs it only happens once so it's more like I've got the run."

Dreams Really Do Come True!

The moment has arrived and we're going to Disney World!!!!! We've been talking about taking our girls when they are 9 and 12 for years now and the time has come. Thankfully, Don's Plumbing has been having a stellar year which has afforded us to not only take this vacation but to have it paid for before we even leave. Yay! At first we thought we'd be heading for Disneyland but with a great deal through Southwest Airlines we were able to get 9 days (two of those travel), airfare, hotel, Park Hopper tickets AND the dining plan for $500 less than the CA trip would've been.

I'm so so SO excited (can you tell?) and have been scouring over our Guide to Disney World on a daily basis and checking the Disney World website to see when their schedule for October comes out so I can plan our days. It's also kind of sad that I am planning our meals already. Each girl wants to do a character breakfast -Annabelle wants to dine with Pooh Bear and Josie is excited to eat breakfast with Donald Duck in the Animal Kingdom, I'm hoping to go to the Spirit of Aloha dinner and I'm sure all Nate cares about is scoring a beer or two at Epcot in Germany land.

We're counting the days, 85 to be exact, until we embark on our journey that, for me, has been 16 years in the making.

This Cracks Me Up

It's about time there was a tool that can slice through that plastic packaging that almost cuts open your hand and sends you to the ER. It kills me that this iSlice comes in the packaging that the tool is supposed to help open. Now if I only had something that can open the plastic packaging to get to my iSlice.

Molly Want A Cracker

Do you have that one item that you seem to always buy at the grocery store because you think you're running low and then you get home only to find out you already have a bunch? My item lately has been saltine crackers. I think I keep buying them because at one point I would make soup and then not have any crackers to put in it. I must have bought a box the last four times I've been shopping because I have four boxes in my pantry. So, if the world should go into a tailspin I at least have some crackers to tide us over for a spell.

What's New?

Not a whole lot....

Full Circle

About 6 weeks ago my lower back took a dump. I think it had something to do with me sleeping on my stomach all weird but for some reason I couldn't get out of that postition. I'd start out sleeping on my side but then I'd wake up on my stomach with my leg at a 90 angle. I finally couldn't take the pain anymore and went to the doctor to get the "good" meds. Several weeks after that I fell down some slippery stairs and pulled the muscles in my shoulder. This hurt like you wouldn't believe but it did keep me from sleeping on my left side, which kept me from turning over onto my stomach. Back pain gone!

Last week we had a friend of ours who also happens to be a physical therapist stop by and check out my shoulder. She said I was very inflamed and needed to baby my shoulder as much as possible. Impossible, I thought. Do you realize how much you use your shoulder muscles? More often than I thought. A few days later I came down with a nasty cold which caused me to not do a whole lot in the way of moving around. This enabled me to give my shoulder a break for a few days while I was parked on the couch. Shoulder pain....subsided.

Well, the cold has morphed into a killer cough which has sent me into fits of full bodies spasms. This morning I coughed myself into a frenzy and have since strained the muscles in my lower back. The pain has come full circle. Thank goodness I still have some of those "good" meds around. I'm going to need them.

Stuck in an elevator with A food vendor with a sense of humor

A food vendor with a sense of humor
Because at least we'd have some snacks and beverages and a good chuckle

Aren't They A Cute Couple?

A while back in Spokane, Annabelle and I lunched at the Olive Garden downtown. While waiting for a table I saw this couple. I was shocked when I noticed they were identically dressed down to the belt buckle. I had to snap a photo of them without looking conspicuous. I was hoping the husband would turn around so I could show you all their matching ensemble.

The Case of the Frozen Street Waffles

Our family encounters some strange things during our paper route. One Saturday morning Nate was approached by a man looking for directions. After recieving them the man gave Nate a pepperoni stick as a token of his appreciation.

The latest oddity has been a trail of frozen waffles along South Roosevelt Street. We discovered them and at first we thought it was a bummer that some guy lost his breakfast. Butterscotch thought they'd make a tasty snack along the route and woofed one down before we could get her to drop it. She picks up some foul things along the route, a waffle being the least disgusting of them.

Imagine our surprise when a week later in a different spot we found another waffle in the street. It was a rainy week and throughout the next five days waffle slowly disintegrated before our very eyes. Well, today along the route in yet a different spot we came upon a strawberry variety. Nate got a chuckle out of it and I then told him that this isn't the first waffle we've seen. We spent the next block coming up with theories as to who or what could be dropping waffles at random. Our first thought was that the family dog was sneaking into the freezer at night, hiding the waffle until morning and then runnning it outside. There was a hole in that theory though as the dog would've eaten it. Another thought was that aliens were conducting experiments on the morning eating habits of earthlings, they'd abduct food out of the fridge, collect their data and then toss the waffles out. That just didn't make any sense though. Our best guess as to who could be heaving these uneaten breakfast circles into the road goes something like this:

Mom: Billy! Billy! You have 5 minutes to be at school. Are you ready?
Billy: (Very sleepily and grumbling) yes...
Mom: What?!?
Billy: I said yes.
Mom; Well, have you eaten anything?
Billy: I'm not hungry.
Mom: You need to eat, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Billy: I said I'm not hungry.
Mom: You have to eat.
Billy: But, Mom
Mom: No buts about it, you're going to eat something.
Billy: But if I eat I'll be late for school.
Mom; No worries, son. I bought you some frozen waffles. I'll just pop them in the toaster and by the time you put on your backpack they'll be all ready for you to eat on your walk to school.
Billy: I don't like waffles.
Mom: You used to love them when you were 2.
Billy: But I'm 14. And 14 year olds like Toaster Strudles.
Mom: Well you're just going to have to eat waffles as I bought the variety pack at Costco.
Billy: Whatever, Mom, I just need to go so I won't be late.
Mom: Look, the waffle's done. Doesn't that smell good? C'Mon, Billy. Give me a kiss and take your waffle.
Billy: (disgusted) FINE!

On his way to school Billy looks back to see his mom peeking at him through the window, proud of herself for raising such a fine responsible young man. He gives her a wave and meets up with his buddy, Jim.

Jim: What's that, dude.
Billy: It's a waffle. My mom forced me to take it.
Jim; You're such a Momma's boy. How come you're not eating it?
Billy: Waffles are gross.
Jim: No doubt!

Billy looks back again. His mom isn't there and with the flick of the wrist he flings his waffle like a frisbee to his dog.

Jim: Nice!
Billy: It gives new meaning to the term "leggo my eggo" doesn't it?

With that the boys walked merrily to school.

Mom: Billy, how was school today? How was your breakfast?
Billy: Just great, Mom.
Mom: Oh goody! I'll just make you a waffle every morning from now on and you won't have to worry about not eating anything.
Billy: (groaning) Oh no......

Now Jim and Billy have come up with a contest to see how much further the waffle will fly every morning and Jim has since requested that his mom buy some Eggos on her next grocery trip.

5th Annual Croucher Cribbage Tournament - Libby MT

Annabelle and Grandpa Rolly

Last weekend was the annual cribbage tournament at Croucherland. Annabelle joined in the fun this time and did really well with the help of Grandpa Rolly. Nate and I both struck out.

We arrived in Libby on Saturday to help set up the affair. We, the Spokane Crouchers, Charlie and Lois, Kurt and Carrie and my mom all hang out in the Garage Mahal, eat soup, set up tables and decorations for the following days bash.

There was a huge turn out this year and the game play was speedy due to the single elimination rule change. Lots of fun was had by all - a little too much fun by my sister - and we're already looking forward to the 6th annual occasion.

My Thoughts on this Historic Day

Photo from cnn.com

We started off the day with Nate fixing us his special breakfast which we dubbed "Barack-fest." We talked with our daughters about this being a historic event given that Barack Obama has been the first black man to be our president. On a side note: I dislike the term African American even though Barack is truly an African American. I know people who have dark skin but aren't from Africa or they look African -American and then you talk to them and realize they are from France. I always get confused about it so I just say black person. It may not be politically correct but it works for me. Anyway.....

It actually feels like President Obama has already been in office forever what with all of the media hype surrounding him. My wish is he does whats right for all of America, that he listens to the people who voted for him and not just the people in Washington. My wish is that the American people don't put too much hope into the president. He's only human after all. My wish is that my liberal friends let go of their animosity for George W. Unfortunately, I have this feeling that if anything goes wrong in the next 4 years this will still be Bush's fault. My wish is that the country takes a turn for the better and that the world will view us more in a postive light. I have seen though that certain countries will still burn our Presidents' picture no matter who is elected.

So will things really change? Will people still be hopeful tomorrow? Two weeks from now? Two years from now? I've been through 4 presidential terms now and I have been disappointed every time. Now I know that I need to take matters into my own hands and not rely soley on somebody in Washington telling me how I need to feel and what I need to do to make my world a better place. If it is to be it's up to me.

Best of luck to you, President Obama!

Snow Bound

Nate has been shoveling snow for 3 1/2 hours already. The accumulation is at 10 inches since last night with no signs of it letting up anytime soon. I'm not complaining because I'm all bundled up but I can tell things are going awry outside of these four walls.

Nate has mentioned to say the F-Word only about 100 times.

10 inches! Nate is grumpy because he has about 20 projects he needs to get done and none of them involve a shovel.

My Resolutions

I resolve to post more on the blog and get pictures of our holidays up as well ....but not today.

Happy Happy 2009

Here it is: 2009. Back when I was a child the year 2000 was this mystical far off place where we rode futuristic land speeders, fought with laser beams and wore shiny metallic jump suits. I could imagine what 2009 would bring. We'd be colonized in a galaxy far far away and ride space craft shaped like vaccuum cleaner crevice tools.

Here it is: 2009. Where vintage Chuck Taylors and Vans still rule the footwear market. Girls are sporting leggings and neon colored jelly bracelets, and tie dye hasn't been out of vogue yet. Well, here in Moscow anyway.

What hasn't changed:

• We still have grass and trees
• Armageddon hasn't happened yet - there's no Terminators running around
• We still ride vehicles with four tires that still get flat
• Denim is still around
• There's still a man in the White House - not an alien ...not Darth Vadar...not Hilary

We wish you all the best in 2009.