removed countdown - will post more tomorrow
Monday, August 12, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
Grill and Sweetpea pictures
Hey everyone! I am back as promised with pictures of the new grill. Ian got it heated up to burn off the excess stuff on the grates before putting our turkey burgers on them. =)
There is also one with Sweetpea because she just had to get in it. =)
Hope everyone is doing well.
~hugs
There is also one with Sweetpea because she just had to get in it. =)
Hope everyone is doing well.
~hugs
Happy early birthday and christmas to us
As many of you know we had a horrible wind storm back in March or April. I can't remember when now. But our gas grill went flying. So needless to say we don't trust it anymore and don't want to take a chance with using it. So we needed a gas grill to replace it. We went out window shopping to get an idea on pricing as it's coming to summer time and we like to grill to keep the heat down in the house from the oven.
We found a really nice one we liked at WalMart. It's a charbroil infared one with three burners. It wasn't too badly priced but it would take us until July to have enough for it due to other bills needing to be paid, such as the roof repair.
Ian's parents offered to buy it for us for an early birthday/christmas present which was very nice of them. So we went back and got it. Ian spent quite a bit of time putting it together and we will be grilling our first turkey burgers on it tonight for dinner. I promise to take pictures and will post them later. =)
A big thank you to them for that!!!!
We found a really nice one we liked at WalMart. It's a charbroil infared one with three burners. It wasn't too badly priced but it would take us until July to have enough for it due to other bills needing to be paid, such as the roof repair.
Ian's parents offered to buy it for us for an early birthday/christmas present which was very nice of them. So we went back and got it. Ian spent quite a bit of time putting it together and we will be grilling our first turkey burgers on it tonight for dinner. I promise to take pictures and will post them later. =)
A big thank you to them for that!!!!
Sunday May 5th
So we woke up and the swelling had went down tremendously on the ankle. I stepped out of bed to see if I could put any weight on it and I could. I had to limp to do it and put more weight on the left side but I could walk. So we decided I could wait to get it xrayed once we got home so we didn't have to worry about cabs and the charge for urgent care vs normal dr copays.
We had a long time to go until our flight that night and when the magical express would be picking us up at 3:30. So we decided to visit a small park so we chose Animal Kingdom as I still wanted to ride Everest. I took my time and we walked very slow to help me out. We sat a lot and people watched too so that was nice. We visited a section of the park that we had never been to as well. So that was nice.
Around 1:30 we made our way to the front of the park and caught a bus back. Then had time to use our last snack credits and chill till it was time to go out for the bus back to the airport. We made it through security pretty quickly and before we knew it the time to board the plane had been called. We were in the very last row and had the row to ourselves so that was nice. The flight was fast and very uneventful although it was shuddering some. When we landed we noticed the pilot off and looking under the left wing of the plane. Then while waiting to deplane we noticed they had a mechanic out there and going under it as well. Very strange and I'm glad nothing happened on the flight and we made it home safely.
So that was out trip in a nutshell. Fast and fun with some sadness thrown in due to being a did not finish the race number. We will redeem ourselves next time and we have a 5k coming up on the cruise ship.
We had a long time to go until our flight that night and when the magical express would be picking us up at 3:30. So we decided to visit a small park so we chose Animal Kingdom as I still wanted to ride Everest. I took my time and we walked very slow to help me out. We sat a lot and people watched too so that was nice. We visited a section of the park that we had never been to as well. So that was nice.
Around 1:30 we made our way to the front of the park and caught a bus back. Then had time to use our last snack credits and chill till it was time to go out for the bus back to the airport. We made it through security pretty quickly and before we knew it the time to board the plane had been called. We were in the very last row and had the row to ourselves so that was nice. The flight was fast and very uneventful although it was shuddering some. When we landed we noticed the pilot off and looking under the left wing of the plane. Then while waiting to deplane we noticed they had a mechanic out there and going under it as well. Very strange and I'm glad nothing happened on the flight and we made it home safely.
So that was out trip in a nutshell. Fast and fun with some sadness thrown in due to being a did not finish the race number. We will redeem ourselves next time and we have a 5k coming up on the cruise ship.
Saturday May 4th - Race Day
We woke up on race day around 8 AM as we wanted to grab a quick bite to eat and then we had a bus to catch for packet pick up. As we headed out of the room we noticed it was already raining. Uh oh. Would this spell trouble for race day. If there is lightning they will postpone the race for a certain length of time and after so long it will be cancelled. That is one thing I was dreading because we likely wouldn't be able to make it back for the reschedule of it. =(
Luckily that did not happen but back to the story at hand. Ian went back to the room and grabbed our ponchos because we were unsure how long we might be in the rain for at the Wide World of Sports on the return trip. We had a yummy breakfast at the quick service at the resort. Then headed out to the bus stop and a bus came rather quickly. We were excited to see the Wide World of Sports complex as it was our first time ever needing to go over there. The cheerleader competition was going on too so that was kind of cool to see how that worked. I had watched several over the years including dance ones.
They let us in early for packet pick up since it was starting to come down pretty hard so that was nice of them. We got our packets pretty quickly and the flow they had made it easy to go through everything. They had some cool items for sale too and had a much better selection than I was expecting. Most of the time for the Everest challenge there is not really an expo but they had a nice mini one for us. =)
After we had everything situated we made our way back to the bus pick up to head back to the resort. Today was supposed to be a pool day and since there was no lightning we were like might as well go swimming since we will be wet anyway. However when we got back they had closed the pools as there was some lightning reported in the area and they don't take chances which is good. So today ended up being a read and nap day. We woke up around 5 to head down and have a nice pasta dinner to fuel up on carbs.
Then we got ready and went out for a bus around 8. The bus was filled with excitement as many were returning to a beloved race and some of us were newbies. The traffic was crazy to get into Animal Kingdom so we didnt actually get off the bus until about 9 PM. Once off we made our way over to our corral and got a nice place towards the front of it. This would prove to be a bad and good thing. We made friends with a mom and son doing it for their first time. They had just arrived the day before and were going to have park time after the race for the rest of the week. I would probably do that in the future myself. We should have arrived the day before the race and then had time at the parks after but you live and learn. LOL.
We were able to see special fireworks they had set up over at Hollywood Studios so that was cool. Then it was the magic hour of 10:00. They did the national anthem and a moment of silence for those lost in the Boston Marathon tragedy which we thought was cool. Then the first wave was off.
We had 40 more minutes to wait before our last wave would be off. We were finally at the starting line and were filled with so much excitement. We saw some of the first wave people finish the race so that was crazy fast for them. As we had our countdown we took off. We were ready to do a little bit of a jog at the start and then we were going to move our way over to the right side out of race courtesy to let those faster go by us on the left. So I turned to get a drink off our camelbak as I was thirsty and to go to a walk for our next interval. Right at that moment, my right foot stepped off the road and twisted. There was a good couple of inches that dropped off and wasn't expecting it.
When I fell my left leg slammed down to the road half on and half on the grass. Needless to say I was in extreme pain. Some nice people stopped to see if I was ok and to help me up. I stood up and could not put any pressure or weight on my right ankle so we called a medic over. They came over with a cart and wheeled me to the medical tent where we put ice on it and they assessed it. Needless to say it was swelling pretty quickly and just the DR touching it was putting me in tears. They told me I had a sprain for sure and would need to get it xrayed to make sure it wasn't so severe it would need surgery. So they pulled us from the race and told me to go back to the hotel and elevate it and alternate ice on and off for 20 mins for the night. So needless to say while I was waiting to be wheeled over for the handicap van they had for me, I was in tears. All our hard work down the drain because of a stupid accident.
Now the area on the course where I fell, the lighting was bad. The street light was out right there so I had no clue about the drop off. I told Ian next time we do it we will stay in the middle or at least not get too close to the side so we don't have this happen again. I was so upset as I was looking forward to the reward of training for something and completing it. It definitely gives me fuel to come back and finish it.
Ian was great through the whole thing as he was just as affected as I was by being pulled. He was a rockstar through it all.
Luckily that did not happen but back to the story at hand. Ian went back to the room and grabbed our ponchos because we were unsure how long we might be in the rain for at the Wide World of Sports on the return trip. We had a yummy breakfast at the quick service at the resort. Then headed out to the bus stop and a bus came rather quickly. We were excited to see the Wide World of Sports complex as it was our first time ever needing to go over there. The cheerleader competition was going on too so that was kind of cool to see how that worked. I had watched several over the years including dance ones.
They let us in early for packet pick up since it was starting to come down pretty hard so that was nice of them. We got our packets pretty quickly and the flow they had made it easy to go through everything. They had some cool items for sale too and had a much better selection than I was expecting. Most of the time for the Everest challenge there is not really an expo but they had a nice mini one for us. =)
After we had everything situated we made our way back to the bus pick up to head back to the resort. Today was supposed to be a pool day and since there was no lightning we were like might as well go swimming since we will be wet anyway. However when we got back they had closed the pools as there was some lightning reported in the area and they don't take chances which is good. So today ended up being a read and nap day. We woke up around 5 to head down and have a nice pasta dinner to fuel up on carbs.
Then we got ready and went out for a bus around 8. The bus was filled with excitement as many were returning to a beloved race and some of us were newbies. The traffic was crazy to get into Animal Kingdom so we didnt actually get off the bus until about 9 PM. Once off we made our way over to our corral and got a nice place towards the front of it. This would prove to be a bad and good thing. We made friends with a mom and son doing it for their first time. They had just arrived the day before and were going to have park time after the race for the rest of the week. I would probably do that in the future myself. We should have arrived the day before the race and then had time at the parks after but you live and learn. LOL.
We were able to see special fireworks they had set up over at Hollywood Studios so that was cool. Then it was the magic hour of 10:00. They did the national anthem and a moment of silence for those lost in the Boston Marathon tragedy which we thought was cool. Then the first wave was off.
We had 40 more minutes to wait before our last wave would be off. We were finally at the starting line and were filled with so much excitement. We saw some of the first wave people finish the race so that was crazy fast for them. As we had our countdown we took off. We were ready to do a little bit of a jog at the start and then we were going to move our way over to the right side out of race courtesy to let those faster go by us on the left. So I turned to get a drink off our camelbak as I was thirsty and to go to a walk for our next interval. Right at that moment, my right foot stepped off the road and twisted. There was a good couple of inches that dropped off and wasn't expecting it.
When I fell my left leg slammed down to the road half on and half on the grass. Needless to say I was in extreme pain. Some nice people stopped to see if I was ok and to help me up. I stood up and could not put any pressure or weight on my right ankle so we called a medic over. They came over with a cart and wheeled me to the medical tent where we put ice on it and they assessed it. Needless to say it was swelling pretty quickly and just the DR touching it was putting me in tears. They told me I had a sprain for sure and would need to get it xrayed to make sure it wasn't so severe it would need surgery. So they pulled us from the race and told me to go back to the hotel and elevate it and alternate ice on and off for 20 mins for the night. So needless to say while I was waiting to be wheeled over for the handicap van they had for me, I was in tears. All our hard work down the drain because of a stupid accident.
Now the area on the course where I fell, the lighting was bad. The street light was out right there so I had no clue about the drop off. I told Ian next time we do it we will stay in the middle or at least not get too close to the side so we don't have this happen again. I was so upset as I was looking forward to the reward of training for something and completing it. It definitely gives me fuel to come back and finish it.
Ian was great through the whole thing as he was just as affected as I was by being pulled. He was a rockstar through it all.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Friday - May 3rd
So after our fun filled day at Epcot, we went back to the resort and crashed pretty hard and fast. We had been up since 4:30 AM and went to bed the night before at like 10 and hardly slept.
We woke up Friday morning and were off to the Poly for breakfast at Kona. We had our usual order of Tonga Toast and it did not disappoint again. So freaking good! After we left there it was on to the monorail and off to fun in the Magic Kingdom. It was already sprinkling and we were armed with our ponchos from the day before. So we decided to go right towards Futureland and hit up Monsters Inc Laugh Floor first. There was no wait so why not. We were secretly hoping Ian would get picked to be "That Guy" like papa faas did but no such luck. It was changed up from the time we saw it and it was pretty funny.
After that, I had a score to redeem so we went on Buzz's ride and I was hoping to take out the evil zerg and beat Ian's score but no such luck. Oh well there is always next time. After that we were going to take a ride through space on Space Mountain but the standby time was at 80 minutes and there was no way we were waiting that long to get whipped around. So we were off to ride through a haunted mansion. This was literally a walk on and once again quite enjoyable. When we got off this the rain had cleared and it was hotter than you know what and so humid. So refreshments were in order. We got some water and made our way to wait in line for Big Thunder Mtn. Ian had never been on it and I loved it as a kid. The wait was around 40 mins so we said what the heck we had to kill time anyway before our dinner reservation at "Be our Guest". It actually ended up being closer to 30 minutes by the time we boarded so not too terrible. As we were making our way down the exit ramp, due to it being slick I tweaked my ankle but was ok and could walk it off. However that is just a sign of things to come. So from here we decided to go check on the wait time for Splash Mountain as I was ready to get a little wet as I was hot. But it was up to an hour wait. I guess everyone had that idea. Fast pass times were going to be for when our dinner was so no such luck. =( There is always next time!
So from here we decided to go see wait times for Mickey's Philharmagic show. It's something we had never done and figured it would be fun. We loved it. The 3d effects were awesome and some great music from the films. Plus it was nice and cool in that theater. After that we saw Pooh's adventure was only like 20 mins and it's something we haven't done before so why not. We actually liked it. Little kids would love it. Peter Pan had like a 40 min wait and while I was tempted it would be close to our dinner time. So we made our way around Fantasyland to Ariel's new ride. The wait was only 30 mins and it was right by the beasts's castle so figured why not. I loved this ride. It had great scenes from the movie and the animatronics were awesome. We ended up getting through the line and ride in only 20 mins. So we went to wait by the check in area for our dinner time and watched the performers interact with the kids. That always puts a smile on my face.
Plus the storm clouds were moving in so we wanted to be close in case it started pouring as we could wait under the roof of the check in area. Ian got us checked in and we were taken in pretty much right away.
We can not say enough good things about this dining experience. The castle is beautiful and we ate in the main ballroom. They even replicated the floor that Belle and the beast dance on in the movie. The details were amazing. The food was freaking outstanding. It was better than Le Cellier in our opinion and only one table service credit where Le Cellier is 2. We will definitely eat here again.
Here are some pictures from that meal.
The rose napkin on our dinner plate:
The balcony looking down on the floor where we sat:
Beautiful chandeliers
Ian's yummy French Onion soup
Yummy lemonade with a wildberry foam
Ian's porkchop with gratin mac and cheese
My yummy steak
Ian's triple choc cupcake
My yummy lemon meringue cupcake
and then towards the end the Beast walks through the dining room to thank his guests for dining
We woke up Friday morning and were off to the Poly for breakfast at Kona. We had our usual order of Tonga Toast and it did not disappoint again. So freaking good! After we left there it was on to the monorail and off to fun in the Magic Kingdom. It was already sprinkling and we were armed with our ponchos from the day before. So we decided to go right towards Futureland and hit up Monsters Inc Laugh Floor first. There was no wait so why not. We were secretly hoping Ian would get picked to be "That Guy" like papa faas did but no such luck. It was changed up from the time we saw it and it was pretty funny.
After that, I had a score to redeem so we went on Buzz's ride and I was hoping to take out the evil zerg and beat Ian's score but no such luck. Oh well there is always next time. After that we were going to take a ride through space on Space Mountain but the standby time was at 80 minutes and there was no way we were waiting that long to get whipped around. So we were off to ride through a haunted mansion. This was literally a walk on and once again quite enjoyable. When we got off this the rain had cleared and it was hotter than you know what and so humid. So refreshments were in order. We got some water and made our way to wait in line for Big Thunder Mtn. Ian had never been on it and I loved it as a kid. The wait was around 40 mins so we said what the heck we had to kill time anyway before our dinner reservation at "Be our Guest". It actually ended up being closer to 30 minutes by the time we boarded so not too terrible. As we were making our way down the exit ramp, due to it being slick I tweaked my ankle but was ok and could walk it off. However that is just a sign of things to come. So from here we decided to go check on the wait time for Splash Mountain as I was ready to get a little wet as I was hot. But it was up to an hour wait. I guess everyone had that idea. Fast pass times were going to be for when our dinner was so no such luck. =( There is always next time!
So from here we decided to go see wait times for Mickey's Philharmagic show. It's something we had never done and figured it would be fun. We loved it. The 3d effects were awesome and some great music from the films. Plus it was nice and cool in that theater. After that we saw Pooh's adventure was only like 20 mins and it's something we haven't done before so why not. We actually liked it. Little kids would love it. Peter Pan had like a 40 min wait and while I was tempted it would be close to our dinner time. So we made our way around Fantasyland to Ariel's new ride. The wait was only 30 mins and it was right by the beasts's castle so figured why not. I loved this ride. It had great scenes from the movie and the animatronics were awesome. We ended up getting through the line and ride in only 20 mins. So we went to wait by the check in area for our dinner time and watched the performers interact with the kids. That always puts a smile on my face.
Plus the storm clouds were moving in so we wanted to be close in case it started pouring as we could wait under the roof of the check in area. Ian got us checked in and we were taken in pretty much right away.
We can not say enough good things about this dining experience. The castle is beautiful and we ate in the main ballroom. They even replicated the floor that Belle and the beast dance on in the movie. The details were amazing. The food was freaking outstanding. It was better than Le Cellier in our opinion and only one table service credit where Le Cellier is 2. We will definitely eat here again.
Here are some pictures from that meal.
The rose napkin on our dinner plate:
The balcony looking down on the floor where we sat:
Beautiful chandeliers
Ian's yummy French Onion soup
Yummy lemonade with a wildberry foam
Ian's porkchop with gratin mac and cheese
My yummy steak
Ian's triple choc cupcake
My yummy lemon meringue cupcake
and then towards the end the Beast walks through the dining room to thank his guests for dining
Pictures from the trip
Sorry it's been a while since I have been back to update. Life has been crazy due to the issues that happened during the race. I guess I should back up and start with day one though.
Our flight was delayed thanks to a heavy rainstorm in Orlando itself. Our pilot arranged for a back up airport just in case we couldn't land in Orlando. So that required more fuel for us. We took off about an hour later. However that allowed the storms to get better so by the time we landed it wasn't horrible and we made it safe and sound.
We caught the magical express and managed to get a front seat which is very coveted for the picture when you go under the welcome sign. I have a few of these already so I didn't bother to take another one. Our resort, which was All Star Resorts was the first one to get dropped off at. I had completed the online check in so we walked right up to the counter and got our room. We managed to get one of the requests which was the "near transportation" and quiet. It was a quick 3 min walk to the front to catch a bus, or grab a bite to eat. While the all star sports was nice it was very overrun with cheerleaders. They were in town for a cheer competition that started on Sat and went through Sun.
Anyways, we get to our room and unpacked as we only did carry on luggage since it was a shorter trip. After unpacking we made our way to the main building to go catch a bus to Epcot. It was dreary out and we knew there was a good chance for rain. We were on a mission to find some poncho's just in case. However most of the front stores we didn't see any right away so decided instead of shopping we wanted to go on a ride so Spaceship earth it was. It's in the huge golf ball and it's so iconic and a must do for us everytime.
After our trip through time we made our way over to Ellen's Energy show/ride. We had never tried it and we wanted to try some new things this trip. Plus test track was down due to the rain and lightning. Soarin had like an hour wait and ellen's only had a 5 minute one. Hmm. Which would you choose.
So after coming out of that we were making our way to the world showcase and were just barely in Mexico and it poured down hard. I told Ian we needed to find poncho's because I didn't want to be soaked all day and we had dinner reservations for Le Cellier in Canada at 6:30. So we came upon a shop in Mexico and we heard angels singing and shine a light on the poncho's. Yay! So after putting those on we found a quick snack of pretzels and made our way around to Norway as we had to go on Maelstrom. I love the troll country. Plus it's indoor ride and wanted to get out of the downpour. We really had a good time and the rain cooled things down and it was little to no humidity which surprised me. We toured our way around looking at the beautiful flower topiary's they had out for the Flower and Garden Festival. You will see some pictures below from this.
Our flight was delayed thanks to a heavy rainstorm in Orlando itself. Our pilot arranged for a back up airport just in case we couldn't land in Orlando. So that required more fuel for us. We took off about an hour later. However that allowed the storms to get better so by the time we landed it wasn't horrible and we made it safe and sound.
We caught the magical express and managed to get a front seat which is very coveted for the picture when you go under the welcome sign. I have a few of these already so I didn't bother to take another one. Our resort, which was All Star Resorts was the first one to get dropped off at. I had completed the online check in so we walked right up to the counter and got our room. We managed to get one of the requests which was the "near transportation" and quiet. It was a quick 3 min walk to the front to catch a bus, or grab a bite to eat. While the all star sports was nice it was very overrun with cheerleaders. They were in town for a cheer competition that started on Sat and went through Sun.
Anyways, we get to our room and unpacked as we only did carry on luggage since it was a shorter trip. After unpacking we made our way to the main building to go catch a bus to Epcot. It was dreary out and we knew there was a good chance for rain. We were on a mission to find some poncho's just in case. However most of the front stores we didn't see any right away so decided instead of shopping we wanted to go on a ride so Spaceship earth it was. It's in the huge golf ball and it's so iconic and a must do for us everytime.
After our trip through time we made our way over to Ellen's Energy show/ride. We had never tried it and we wanted to try some new things this trip. Plus test track was down due to the rain and lightning. Soarin had like an hour wait and ellen's only had a 5 minute one. Hmm. Which would you choose.
So after coming out of that we were making our way to the world showcase and were just barely in Mexico and it poured down hard. I told Ian we needed to find poncho's because I didn't want to be soaked all day and we had dinner reservations for Le Cellier in Canada at 6:30. So we came upon a shop in Mexico and we heard angels singing and shine a light on the poncho's. Yay! So after putting those on we found a quick snack of pretzels and made our way around to Norway as we had to go on Maelstrom. I love the troll country. Plus it's indoor ride and wanted to get out of the downpour. We really had a good time and the rain cooled things down and it was little to no humidity which surprised me. We toured our way around looking at the beautiful flower topiary's they had out for the Flower and Garden Festival. You will see some pictures below from this.
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