BEST vacation EVER!!! - part 3 Universal Studios

Universal Studios was by far our favorite!!! I cannot express what an awesome time we had at these two parks!!! This was our third day of vacation and our first at Universal. 

The guys were totally against matching shirts from the moment they heard that they were being made. However, in crowded places like theme parks, it was awesome to be able to easily find the rest of your group! This was camo day and if we heard the jokes "I can see your heads but not the rest of your body" or "I can't see you" once we heard them a thousand times!

Getting your picture made with a character at Universal is a breeze! You wait in line a few minutes, get one pose, chat for a second, and move on to the next fun thing! J wasn't too sure about Dora.

The animal show was great! This handsome little guy was in Men in Black. We also got to see "Marley" as well as other movie star critters! My little future vet loved every minute of it!

And then there was Harry Potter World. We are complete nerds when it comes to Harry Potter and loved EVERY. SINGLE. MINUTE. of it!!! Seriously. It was fantastic!!! Even better is that there is a Harry Potter World at both Universal parks! Universal Studios featured Diagon Alley. First stop, Number 12 Grimmauld Place!

And the night bus!

Of course we had to try Gilly Water with an added potion of peace! All three kids got wands from Olivander's Wand Shop. M chose Hermione's interactive wand (more on that in the next post), P chose Serious Black, and T chose He Who Must Not Be Named. (as the lady corrected me when I requested Voldemort-I should have known better!)

 Nana stared in a Disaster movie as the HOT NANA that featured the Rock!

More Harry Potter World with the phone booth and the Wesley's Joke Shop!

Bumblebee played a different song as each person came up to get their picture made just like the movie! P loved it!

Last but not least, my favorite, E.T.! It was with much grumbling that the kiddos joined Gene and I (they weren't given a choice) for the last ride of the day. They loved it! Everyone wanted to ride again! The best part was E. T. telling each person thank you for helping him and calling you by name!

We had 3 day tickets to the two parks. We didn't get the park to park add on, which would have allowed us to visit both parks in the same day and ride the Hogwarts Express. We had to choose which park to spend two days at and chose Islands of Adventure. Next time we will have park to park included! 

The deal of Universal was the refillable cups! You could get threee cups for $30 which could be refilled as often as every six minutes at any Coca Cola Freestyle station. You could also add up to two days of refills for $6 a day. Our family has no problem sharing drinks so this was a great deal for us!

BEST vacation EVER!!! - part 2 Magic Kingdom

Day two of the BEST vacation EVER took us to Disney's Magic Kingdom!  While fun, I'm sad to say this was by far our least favorite park. Everyone one is at this park to give their child the most "magical" experience possible. However, it seemed that many felt their child/children deserved that experience more than anyone else's and acted accordingly. Fast Passes are a must, but be sure to start booking them months in advance as passes for the major rides were unavailable. This resulted in 60-90 minutes of standing in line for each ride.

 This is Marie from the Aristocrats. We didn't stand in line - for an hour and 20 minutes - to meet Marie. We were actually in line that long to meet Minnie Mouse! However, multiple groups of adults and families, during their turn, were allowed to take numerous photos, in numerous poses, while adding and removing people from each photo. This continued until there was only one family left in front of us. Minnie left for a quick break and was replaced with Marie. Seriously?! Needless to say, my little girl (who had every intention of getting her picture made with all of the princesses) did not stand in another line to meet another character because she was worried it would happen again.

And now I'm off my soapbox and on to the fun we had!

We loved Pirates of the Caribbean and the pineapple whip in Adventureland is so yummy! 

The Jungle Cruise was very fun and our boat tour guide was hilarious! "Welcome to Disney World. Where 25 year old actors come to retire." - Jungle Cruise guide

My kids had no idea who the Swiss Family Robinson were but thought their tree house was awesome. I see watching this movie in our near future!

Here are the non-roller coaster riders waiting on those who went to ride Splash Mountain. That ride resulted in this epic photo!!!

Although M loved driving the race car at the speedway, thank goodness she won't be driving for several years!!!

The night time show was awesome! Especially the movie clips shown on the side of the castle followed by fireworks! Just be sure to not try to stop in the road or on the sidewalk near parade time. Those people are intense about keeping you moving!

We had planned to picnic again at the car but that wasn't feasible. The park is not near the parking lot (a tram AND monorail ride away) so we opted to eat in the park for lunch. While in Orlando we discovered a brick oven pizza place called Flipper's. It's amazing!

Our favorite days are coming up next- beginning with part three - Universal Studios!

Summer 2015 Bucket List

The summer of 2013 was awesome! The kids and I made a summer bucket list and had a blast checking things off. As the summer of 2014 grew nearer, I couldn't wait to begin working on making our new list! However, after breaking my foot on Memorial Day, those plans sadly came to a halt. We still managed to enjoy the summer, but the kids and I missed having a list of activities to look forward to! Although we are getting a late start due to our fabulous vacation (post coming soon)... I just completed our 2015 Summer Bucket List!!! I can't wait to get started! I'll be posting updates on our summer adventures!

For anyone who lives with someone who pees standing up

If there is anyone who lives in your house who pees standing up... Then you know exactly how I feel! No matter what their age, there is going to be pee AROUND the toilet... On the floor... On the baseboard... etc. I'm not sure how one doesn't see that they are missing the target and clean it up... But I've never had to do it, so maybe it's impossible to see from that angle. Who knows! What I do know is that it stinks and is gross!

In my quest to find frugal ways to clean, I came across a pin from a mom who, like me, was looking for a way to get rid of the "boy pee potty" smell! I decided to give it a try because let's face it: It couldn't get any worse! Here are her instructions in my words:

Mix a small amount of baking soda in a bowl with lemon juice to form a paste. Spread the paste on the grossness on the floor around the toilet. Let it sit 15 minutes. Spray lightly with vinegar and watch it bubble! (This step was cool and gross all at the same time! Ickyness that you couldn't even see started coming from underneath!) Then wipe up with paper towels.

That's it! It worked! No stinky icky ring around our toilet! (At least until the next stander has to go!)

Here are some pictures I snapped... Please don't judge the grossness!!!

Our visit to our nation's capital

Trevor, Nana, and I recently had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC with the Junior Beta Club from Beechwood. We left on a charter bus packed with parents, children, and stuff and rode the nineteen hours with a few pit stops and a snow storm thrown in! As miserable as the bus ride was, and as fast paced as the trip was, it was an amazing experience! It was very humbling to be reminded of the great sacrifices made by so many unselfish individuals in order for us to have the freedoms we often take for granted. It baffles me that our government can be located in a place where every turn is a reminder of the plans our forefathers had for this great nation and the sacrifices made, yet miss the mark so severely. I hope to go back soon with the entire family so that we, along with the kids, can experience more of our nation's history!

Free to Be Me

This past year was full of ups and downs. Times of sadness, times of joy, times of disappointment and loss of trust in others. Times of complete joy with family and true friends.  As the year came to a close, I began to think about the year and the changes I've noticed in myself.

In the past few months, I've actually begun to like the person I'm becoming. Ironically the changes began with my first tattoo. It was as if until that moment I still felt the need to please others. I was still that girl brought up in the south where you are expected to look, act, and present your family in a certain way in order to be considered acceptable. With my first ink came the freedom to break away from that and begin to be the person God created me to be, rather than the person I always felt I was supposed to be to fit in. It has also helped me to get to know people rather than judging them based on their appearance.

It saddens me to look around and see how many women are trying to live up to unrealistic expectations to be approved of by people they don't even care about. That was me. It's still a struggle. Some habits are hard to break. However, I am so much happier now that I feel free to be me! I can't wait to see what God has in store for my family and me this year!

Time to get healthy!

Weight has been a struggle for me for as long as I can remember. I eat when I'm happy. I eat when I'm sad. I eat when I'm stressed. I eat when I'm calm. I love to eat! Food is yummy and let's face it... I can cook! Unfortunately, with this love of food comes unloved extra pounds.

I have decided that it's time for a change. This time, rather than dieting to get skinny, I'm going to change the foods I eat in order to get healthy. My goal is to be fit and healthy so I can keep up with my busy family and be there for them in both mind and body. I recently began reading Trim Healthy Mama, which is a little confusing right now, but I am determined to become a healthier me and this plan seems to fit my goal plus it gives biblical encouragement! Tomorrow will be day 1. I'm going to use my blog as my accountability partner. Maybe if I tell myself that I have to give a weekly update I'll actually be able to stick with it!

So here goes! My first steps to a healthier me!