Wendi & Chad

In the mist of all my Disney memories, I wanted to stop and send a congratulations to Wendi & Chad on their recent engagement.

Disney World Favorites

Nana and Grandma's Disney Pictures

I wanted to share the pictures that Mom and Betty took while we were in Disney World. They have a lot of very good pictures, here is Betty's link. Here is Mom's link. Enjoy!

Disney Day 6 - Christmas Day

If anyone has ever been to Disney, you know how tired you are after a few days. So, Kevin and I decided that we would just rest on Christmas Day. We slept as late as Meaghan would let us, got up, enjoyed the rest of our presents from Santa and did nothing the rest of the day. Justin and Meaghan went to the game room and played some, but that was it. Everyone else went to one of the parks, Hollywood Studios I think. This trip I had a hard time with my ankle and when it gets that swollen (like a softball) the best thing to do is stay off of it for a while and that is what I did. Here is a link to the Disney Day 6 photos. There are not many. BTW - Meaghan and Papa had fun making the gingerbread house, but it tasted NASTY!

Disney Day 5 - Christmas Eve

Magic Kingdom

This day we sort of went different ways. Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Papa, Bobby, Billie and Rob went to Downtown Disney and the rest of us went back to Magic Kingdom. We arrived prior to rope drop and were the first ones in line for the opening. I took more pictures of a near empty park. It was great! We took Jacob back to Fantasyland and rode the all the rides again. When Mickey’s ToonTown Fair opened we made the mad dash to the Judge’s Tent to get in the Disney Fairies line. As you walk into the area it gives you the feeling that you are shrinking down to pickie size in order to meet Tinkerbell. The fairies were great and Meaghan was so excited to meet Tink! After we got in the Princess line and meet Cinderella, Belle and Aurora. We ate lunch and took a break at our resort. That night we ate dinner with Chef Mickey at the Contemporary Resort and then went back to Magic Kingdom for more rides and to watch Spectomagic and Wishes. Another wonderful day! Here is the link to Disney Day 5 pictures. Up next Christmas Day!

Disney Day 4

Hollywood Studios

Those of you that know me really well know that when it comes to roller coasters or scary rides I am a complete baby! However on this trip I managed to overcome some of my issues and pushed myself beyond my comfort zone. I already mentioned that in Animal Kingdom that I rode Everest twice, well I out did that in Hollywood Studios. Today I rode Tower of Terror – not once by three times! I loved it! I even rode Rockin Roller Coaster. I was proud of myself. Lights, Motor Action was good and we rode the new ride Toy Story Mania which was awesome! We watched the early Fantasmic and then walked to the Streets of America and looked at the Osborne Spectacle of Lights. We all were in awe with this. It was beautiful and then when it started snowing we enjoyed it even more. The music would play and the lights would “dance” to the beat. But I think the snow was what so cool – snow in Florida! Anyway here is a link to Disney Day 4 pictures. Back to Magic Kingdom tomorrow. BTW - the picture of Jacob was during Lights, Motors, Action; can you tell he liked it?

Disney Day 3

Epcot! I am not a huge Epcot fan, but we had fun and lots of laughter. One of the funniest was in the Coca-cola Cool store. I took everybody in there and told nobody about Beverly! Billie took a drink and spit it out; Bubba drank it but made the worst face. The best was Jacob! Here is the two picture I took of him tasting Beverly. Overall it was a good day, but Jacob summed it up by saying, “I got three words for Epcot – totally boring”! Out of the mouths of babes. Here is a link to Disney Day 2 pictures. Hollywood Studios is up next.

Disney Day 2

Magic Kingdom! We got up early and arrived before rope drop and headed to Dumbo! We enjoyed so many rides it was unreal. I took some pictures of an almost empty Fantasyland. We rode Dumbo, Peter Pan, It’s A Small World, Snow White, Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Philharmagic and had lunch at Peco Bill’s. After we secured some more fast passes and left for a break. When we returned we watched the Christmas Parade and had a wonderful dinner a Goofy’s Liberty Tree Tavern. This was the best! The chef took great care with Jacob and Aunt Billie’s allergies and the waiter was awesome. I think that Minnie Mouse had a crush on Justin! It was great fun. After dinner we rode some more rides with our fastpasses and we called it a night. Here is a link to Disney Day 2 pictures. Epcot is up next.

Meaghan and Tinkerbell

Disney Updates

Yes, I know that I said I would update daily, but there is no time. I have been able to load daily on flickr and promise I will update soon. Until then I can honestly say that this has been one of the best trips so far! Here is a link to my sets in flickr so you can look at them until I can update. Tomorrow is our last full day and we will be going back to Magic Kingdom! Yeah! I am already dreaming of the next trip!

Disney Day 1

Our first official day here in Disney was Saturday. We got up early and checked into our resort. We had breakfast in Animal Kingdom at Tusker House with Donald Duck. We saw Donald, Daisy, Mickey, Goofy and Pluto. What a great start to a much deserved trip. We had a great time playing in Animal Kingdom and I even rode Expedition Everest! Yes, you read this correctly! Not only did I ride it once, but twice back-to-back. Nana rode it with us also. Papa said that she would only ride once and then come back and wait for us with him. Well, she fooled him!! We rode so many rides and had lots of laughs and a completely fun filled day. Day two we went to my favorite, Magic Kingdom - more on that later. Here is a link to day one's pictures.

Disney World

I have not had a chance to put some updates on here yet. I will do that when we come back for our daily break today. Until then, here is a link to my Flickr page so you can enjoy some of our Christmas here at Disney!

luvdisney4

Till later...

Thanksgiving

As Christmas approaches I thought that I would reflect some on Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Nana and Meaghan prepared a great dinner with all the traditional foods. Grandma, Grandpa, Paula, Bubba, Drew and Jacob came and ate with us and helped fill the house with laughter! Jacob tried for the first time ever, real butterbeans! He looked up at me and said "Aunt Michelle, these don't taste like my Grandma's". His Grandma only cooks canned butterbeans and Nana only does dry! It was in true Jacob humor! We also let Papa in on our secret and he took it better than we all thought he would. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house when I got through with my little speech. But it was so worth waiting - he could never keep it a secret. And since then has almost let it slip several times. More on that secret later. Anyway - I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and now we are looking for a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As Thanksgiving approaches my thoughts are on my family. I am so thankful that we are together, healthy and happy. Although storms and winds still blow, we have remained optimistic and level headed. I thank God everyday for them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Michelle

We thank you...

So many things have happened in the past couple of months, some good, some heartbreaking. I can honestly say that Kevin and I are at a point in our lives that we NEVER thought we would be. There has been a lot of eye opening things that have showed us some peoples true colors. We have decided that in going forward in our lives, we will do some things different.

Those who have just called to say "How are you"? Or just offered a small word of encouragement or the whisper of a prayer, we thank you! The ones that stood beside us while the storm raged, we thank you! The ones who never used harsh words (like the ones that did, not even knowing what they were talking about), or made comments behind our backs. The ones who understand and continue to waiver the storm by our sides, we thank you! I don't have to call you by name you know who you are.

Meaghan, Summer & Natalie

Last night was interesting here in our little cul-de-sac! Meaghan and Summer went over to Natalie's to swim for a while and the three of them put their heads together to figure out how Natalie and Summer could get out of going to daycare. So here they come wanting to spend the night with us! Well, that was surprising - Natalie has never spent the night away from home, so I said sure and told Nancy we would try! Try, well she did her best! I had to call the Trammell's at 12:30 and she went home. Then Meaghan was wide awake; Summer was snoring her little head off the entire time. Natalie came back this morning about 8:30 and I took them to the movies. They have had lunch and we are going to Natalie's to go swimming. The joys of having a neighbor with a in-ground pool!!! I will post some photos later.

Our Wedding Day - July 8, 1988

Michelle & Kevin

Kevin and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary in three weeks! It is hard to believe that we have been married for that long. I met him in 1984! We dated for 3 ½ years before we got married and then waited four years before we had Justin. I honestly can not remember a time that he was not in my life. He likes to joke and say he has had me longer than my parents did. He is truly an honest, loving, kindhearted man. He would do anything for anyone and would walk 100 miles out of his way to keep from hurting anyone’s feelings. Even though we have wonderful friends and a loving family; as long as we have each other we are blessed. So let’s see – when I am with Kevin “It feels like home to me”, and whether he wants to “come away with me”, or just “sittin’ on the dock of the bay”, or at “home” I know that I can always just “drift away” with him by my side.

Summer Dreamin'

I am having some withdrawals! Can anyone guess?

Paine Primary Benefit Car Show

We had the pleasure of attending a benefit car show for our friend Mandi's school. The money that was raised will go towards building a "Special Needs Playground". We had a fun day that was filled with awesome music, wonderful food and special friends to share it with.

Memorial Day

I am a slacker, I will admit it! I just have not had time to post, however, I will try harder to take the time to update.

Memorial Day this year we went to Nana's house again and this time they (Kevin, my Dad, Bubba and Justin) roofed the house. Roger tried, but just really could not do much. We took Daisy for the first time and she loved the water. She rode on the boat and kept going back to the dock waiting to go again. We enjoyed a nice long weekend with our families. We were overjoyed when Bailey came via the water to see us. He was there with some friends and he showed them how to get to Nana & Papa's house! Nana was so thrilled! Anyway here is one update and even a few pictures! Enjoy!

Updates

I know it has been forever since I took some time and posted. It just seems everytime I thought I might have time - something happens! So this morning I decided to just stop the laundry (it never goes away anyway) and just post.

After Christmas our family went to Gatlinburg for several days and while we were there we went to Dollywood.

That was great fun. I even rode the roller coasters. Stacy has the picture from the ride, I will post it when I get it from her. We also visited a wax museum in Gatlinburg and took several funny pictures. We love going to Gatlinburg and look forward to going every year. But coming home to reality always stinks. It takes several weeks to decorate for Christmas at our house and then the clean up takes sometimes just as long!

Justin celebrated his 16th birthday on February 6th. We had cake in the Nana and Papa's hotel room at the Sheratan during the World of Wheels. He has since gotten his license and has been driving to school. He is not suppose to be old enough to be making these kind of life changes yet! The first time he drove off by himself I stood at the front door, (hidden, of course) watching. The next thing he will be graduating. BTW - Kevin came in first in his class and Roger won his class! I have not loaded those pictures yet. I will post them as soon as I get them on my laptop. Enjoy all of the pictures. BTW - I like to hear your comments.