Weekends

I can only speak for myself, but I love a 4 day weekend.  Unfortunately they do not happen often enough.  The last few weekends have flown by in the blink of an eye.  My oldest nephew who graduates in just a little more than a week it was his prom.  I ran up to DeFuniak and shot some pictures of him.  Yes, he is really adorable.  

Alex, Ashley and Ali

Ashley and Ali

Alex and Ali

Ashley

Ashley

Alex, Dusti and Lester

my gorgeous girl

There are a few from that photo shoot.  They turned out well.

Moving into this weekend, we celebrated Memorial Day with family and friends.  We went to our favorite place Grayton Beach.  

Beautiful Day

I hope you have your share of four day weekends.  And, remember sometimes you need a mental health day.  And, if it can be a Friday all the better.  XOXOXO

Hanging in VIP

Now that I finally finished my Disney trip, I can move on to all those things I had going on that kept me from finishing up.

I love my job, I am very busy and South Walton is certainly my passion.  Lately we have had the pleasure to of being able to participate in fabulous events.  And, over Mother’s Day weekend we had had the opportunity to be a VIP at the ANNIKA & Friends Celebrity Golf Tournament dinner.  Celebrities abounded at this dinner.  Here are a few photos from that night.

Program, White Wine and Remains of Raspberry Champagne

Such a nice guy.  Robbie Gould, Chicago Bears placekicker and I am smiling because I would have never guessed I am 4 years older than him!  LOL

Me and Robbie Gould

 

This is Kevin and his girlfriend Gerri Willis from Fox Business News.  She asked him if her dress was okay and he told her she wore it well! 

Kevin and Gerri Willis

Check out 49er's Running back Ricky Watters.  We always say Kevin is a big (broad shoulders) guy but you see from this picture that Ricky is a big guy.

Kevin and Ricky Watters.

Me & Ricky Watters!

And the coolest part was meeting Alfonso Ribero, from Fresh Prince.  When they announced his name they played Tom Jones "It's not Unusual" and he did the dance.  It was cool.  He was very nice, but like all people you see on TV, I too thought he would be taller. 

Yep, me and Carleton!

It was totally cool meeting Anthony.  And, holy crap, he is tall.  In the picture below I am wearing 5 inch platforms and he still towers over me.  Now mind you I am only five foot six, so I am not super tall anyway.  He was so nice! 

Me & Anthony Munoz

I also have a few with Alice Cooper (yes, I will admit I had no clue WHO he was...) and Tony from Dancing with the Stars.  They are on other friends phones and or cameras and I still don't have them!  Last I will close out with a picture of Kevin and I.  Yes, I met all the stars but to paraphrase GREASE! "He's still the one that I want!"

Ending the night with my LOVE!!!

 This night was a lot of fun.  The food and drinks were great and the company was totally cool!

xoxoxoxo

Last day at Disney

Our last day, Day 7 we are going to the Parks, we make our way to the Magic Kingdom.  See I have to make good on a promise.  As many times as we have been to the World, I have NEVER rode Splash Mountain or the Kali River Rapids.  Okay I will admit it.  My hair is curly and the thought of getting wet in public on purpose is not my cup of tea. But Ali is dying to ride it and loves it so I promised if she rode the Tower of Terror, I would check out Brer Rabbits house.  The day was somewhat rainy any way so why not??

In line

Umm... MAY??

You WILL get wet!

We WERE WET!!!!!!

 We also managed to catch a good showing of Mickey's Philharmagic.  Another show I love.  One last turn on Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion the Hall of Presidents and It's a Small World.  Make our way to the front and grab a Hot Dog at Casey's and do some shopping. 

By now the rain has officially made its way to us and now my hair is huge.  We head back to the room and get cleaned up and make our way to Epcot.

Being a Disney Visa Reward Card holder one of the perks is getting a free picture over at Innoventions.  We did that and played the Piggy Bank game.

All of us!

Did I mention the rain is here.  It just keeps raining, we make it through to World Showcase and play a while in Canada and the UK waiting on early ADR at the Rose and Crown.  We love the British Invasion.  Well we all actually love all things British!  Finally it is dinner time and we have an amazing meal.  The rest of the evening we take our time and go in and out of all the pavilions, just taking our time.  We know its our last day and as much as we love the place we do miss our family.

The ROYAL Family!!!

 As we are going through Japan Ali gets somewhat home sick and asks to call her MeMe and PawPaw.  She gets them on the phone and feels better.  Then she has to call her Mam and her Pa.  After talking to all 4 of them she finally feels better.

All in all it was one of the best trips we have ever made to the World.  As usual now that we have been back a while we are ready to go back.  Ali is planning her a trip down during the Halloween Party or the Christmas Party.  LOL, she just wants to go back.  I know everyone does not love the Mouse as much as we do, but for us right now it's the Perfect vacation.   Hope you enjoyed your time you spent with us at our favorite place. :)

XOXOXOXOXO

Day 6: Disney Style!

I know I have been absent for a bit, but the world has taken a crazy turn and I have been a long for the ride.  Back to the fun (and boy am I missing it right now), yesterday we made our goodbyes to Aunt Cassi, Uncle Travis and Eli so now we are completely on our own.  The morning of Day 6 was an easy morning.  We knew we were going to Hollywood Studios, but since we were there the day before, we managed a nice leisurely morning.  Amp, pop tart and juice in hand we made our way to the front of the resort and boarded a bus to Hollywood Studios.

Ali-B posing!

We have four things on our plate: Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster, Twilight Zone’s Towerof Terror , Star Tours in 3D and MuppetVision 3D.  Making our way in, we grab a fast pass for Rockin’ Roller Coaster and head to the line for Tower of Terror.

Tower of Terror BABY!

Okay now is when I admit I am sorta terrified.  I have not been on this ride in 12 years and although I know what to expect in a way, it’s not making things better.  Ali however, is just plain scared.  She has never been on this ride and I have bribed- promised her a t-shirt when she gets off.  The theming is great and I forgot how cool the cool the hotel is.  Ali suggested they dust!  She got a little nervous as they brought us in.  As they strapped us in and moved the car, she decided she wanted off.  I told her to hold my hand and she would be fine.  In the end, it scared the spit out of both of us and when Kevin suggested riding it again, we both agreed to WAIT!  It was fun, but once a trip is enough for us.  And, Ali laughed and said once every 12 years suits her!  She ended up with a really cute t-shirt with the Tower of Terror and Mickey, Donald and Goofy on it.

It was time for our fast passes and it was 0-60mph holding on for dear life with Steven Tyler screaming in my ear!  It was great!!  We love that ride.  From there we made our way to Star Tours 3D.  We have not been on this ride since the refurb and we we are really excited! 

IN 3-D

 Muppet Vision was next and Ali thought it was fun as always.  I just love Kermit the Frog, so I was happy about that.  We played some more in the Streets of America and then we mad our way back to Animal Kingdom. 

Property of Miss Piggy: Moi Stuff Hands off Vermin Breathe!

At Animal Kingdom we had one plan Festival of The Lion King.  If you have not had an opportunity to see this show.  You are totally missing out.  It is the best show in all of Walt Disney World, hands down.  We see it every single time we are there and we love it even more.  We did Dinosaur again.  Then we made our way to the Primeval Whirl, it did not have a line so after 3 times I refused to go back in time again. 

The day was getting later and we were a little tired and had every intention of going to the Magic Kingdom, but in the end we decided to hang out at the Resort.  The were playing Enchanted and Ali and I love that movie, so we took a blanket and sat on the lawn and enjoyed a peaceful night full of popcorn, ice cream and Disney. 

 

 

On the lawn at Pop Century!

Disney Day 5!

If you want to ride Toy Story Mania in a timely manner, you know you have to make rope drop at Hollywood Studios.  We didn't quite make it, but it was still respectable wait of 25 minutes.  Which is great, as you can see by lunch the wait time was 85 minutes and as much as like Buzz, Woody and the Gang, I don't like them enough for that wait. 

Later in the day it was 85 minutes...

The line has a great theme.  Everything is HUGE! You are now toy size and are experiencing everything from a toys level.  Fun huh.  Oh and there is a giant talking Mr. Potato Head. 

Mr. Potato Head masquerading as the Evil Dr. Pork Chop

From there we made our way to enjoy a few street performers and wait for our 11am lunch scheduled for Sci Fi Dine In Theater.  We enjoyed it a lot.

Inside at the Sci Fi Dine In Theater

Upon entering the Park!

I was not at my best so we headed back to our hotel and found the quickest route to Target for a few much needed supplies.  Meds in hand a nap was in order.  After that we made our way back to the Magic Kingdom and decided we needed to see the head Mouse.  A short wait later, Ali and I gave Mickey and Minnie lots of hugs.

The MICE!!!!

On to Tomorrowland, Space Mountain was pretty much walk on with only a 10 minute wait and we got a fast pass for it before we entered the line.  Once around the Mountain in the dark, we made our way to the People Mover.  The best view of all of Tomorrowland.  Quick ride on Stitch's Great Escape and it was time to ride Space Mountain again.  But first we grabbed a fast pass for Buzz LightYear.  Again around the mountain in the dark, which we absolutely love.  I wanted to get another fast pass for Space Mountain but the family declined saying 2 times in a row was enough for anyone.  Not time for Buzz yet, we joined Walt on the Carousel of Progress.  Yes, we are that family who sings along.  "It is a great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day!"  Still with a little time to kill, we find ourselves waiting for to be entertained on the Laugh Floor by none other than Mike Wazoski himself.  Laughing like loons we made our way to Buzz Light Space Ranger Spin and walked right on.  It's always a competition between us and somehow I always win.  Boo... this time Kevin won, but like I said I was not feeling well!  :)
By now the parade is in full force and we made our way into FantasyLand.  We were lucky enough to walk on Peter Pan (unheard of), Snow Whites Scary Adventures, Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World and The Mad Tea Party!  Crazy right!

On the tea cups! 

On a whole even though I was not feeling my best we really enjoyed our day!  We were a little sad though we knew it was the last day for Uncle Travis, Aunt Cassi and Eli.  We know they had a good time and we enjoyed sharing our time at Disney with them. 

Next up more Hollywood Studios!

More... Disney Fun

Animal Kingdom holds much allure for this Royal family.  We also think it gets a bad rep.  To us it is more than a half day park or just a zoo.  We enjoy it immensely.  Entering it, we had one goal: Expedition Everest.  Now, for those of you unaware The Diva agreed to ride Expedition Everest and Tower or Terror.  Such a huge accomplishment for a fraidy cat like her!  Walking up we pleased to see it had a 20 minute wait.  Not having rode it previously, we were all interested to see the theming of the wait line.  It did not disappoint and neither did the ride.  It is such a great coaster!  Check it out here to see what you are missing.

The Royal Family at the Animal Kingdom!

From there we made our way to the Tree of Life and took in the 4D show: It’s Tough To Be Bug. Another show Ali has a bit of an issue with.  She says Hopper (the giant Grasshopper) is VERY Scary!  Now is he, I don’t really think so, but I am not 10 years old anymore either.   Asking Ali what she wanted to do next she of course says, Dinosaur!  Checking the Undercover Tourist iPhone app we see that it has only a 10 minute wait.  Lucky for us, that is basically the walk in and the pre-show.  I have to say, Dinosaur will never be in my top ten.  I don’t dislike it and I ride it every time because the Diva loves it but if I never rode it again, that would be okay too.  It’s just really bumpy and bouncy and I always feel like I am going to be jarred right out the jeep.

All of us!

Cheesin for the camera with her bug eyes.

Notice it says ALI...

Pretty much our experience at Animal Kingdom for those hours, with the temperature cooling off and knowing we wanted to spend the evening in Magic Kingdom we made our way to the bus stop and off we went to enjoy Magic Kingdom for the night.  Did we do anything new while we were there, NO.  But we enjoyed every moment we could. 

Notice the turkey leg on her shirt.
Thanks Uncle Travis & Aunt Cassi.

By day four we are now in a grove and funny enough we are Animal Kingdom bound as a group.  We make our way into the park and start our trek to the back of the park.  Africa is our destination and the safari ride is what we plan to enjoy.  Now, for everyone in the know, it’s common knowledge that The Safari Ride is always better in the morning.  However, that means the line tends to be long.  We did not let that deter us.  Ali and Eli played while and talked while the adults laughed at the kids and talked and just generally made the best of a 35 minute wait.  The animals were out playing and it was a great ride to see them.  Ali and Eli enjoyed themselves immensely. 

The Whole Motley Crew!

Remember we are great lovers of the choo-choo on this trip and no Animal Kingdom day would be complete without a choo-choo ride to Conservation Station.  Ali loves everything about Conservation Station.  She thinks those people are the most amazing people and have the best jobs.  Not only do they get to work at Disney every day, they also get to make a difference in the lives of animals.  Yes, I have a budding animal conservationist on my hands.  We spent quite a bit of time there and she enjoyed it all.  On our way out we made our way through the petting zoo.  Why petting a sheep is so great I am not sure, but she says they feel “really cool.”

Petting Zoo

Up next on our list is a stop at Flights of Wonder.  We do enjoy the bird show and if you have not had an opportunity to watch it, you should make time if you can. Beyond that each family went our own way to have a little family alone time and we made our way thru the Asian trek with a couple of the stops for pictures along the way. Like I said we love to see the Animals.

Animal Kingdom love!

The evening we make our way to Epcot after a quick change of clothes.  If you notice I am not one to be hot or cold.  I would rather take a few minutes to change my clothes than be uncomfortable.  We let Ali lead the way and ended up playing in the various countries in the World Showcase.  Ali wanted ice cream and well Kevin I decided grey goose slushes were a great idea for dinner.

Viva la France!

Ali and I were also able to meet Duffy Bear. Duffy Bear is one of Ali's favorites.  She was very excited to meet him and have her picture made with him.  I snuck in there as well.

Duffy the Disney Bear!

We also were able to find a sweet Baby Duffy Bear for Ali's baby cousin Campbell.  

Ali and Campbell's Baby Duffy

Last thing I made asked my family to do was have a picture on the bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background.  I love that picture.  They tolerate it.

Epcot LOVE

Well that is all for now.  On deck is Hollywood Studios... Tower of Terror, Muppet Vision and Star Tours in 3D!

xoxoxo