Disney World: Epcot & Magic Kingdom

Epcot

There's somethin' about Disney...everybody's happy and fun (even your pesky brother or sister).

 ...and EVERYBODY goofs around

...and of course they have some characters of their own there...

This guy is Duffy, the newest Disney character.  He is Mickey Mouse's teddy bear.  I've never heard of him--I think you call it M-A-R-K-E-T   I-N-G! (to be sung to the tune of M-I-C-K-E-Y  M-O-U-S-E)

It's hard to take a serious picture when you're having so much fun!

MAGIC KINGDOM

The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was one of our favorite rides at Magic Kingdom. 

The race track was another fam favorite.  Quentin and I were in the front car and these two crazys were behind us.

WE were driving perfectly.  See...10 and 2....

We had to remind the crazys behind us that this sign says DO NOT BUMP CAR IN FRONT!

What?!  We didn't do it! 

We stopped by Minnie's house...

...and Mickey's place.

We came back that night for the evening festivities.  At night the castle is lit up and they change the color of it every few minutes.

There was an awesome fireworks show.  Sorry, not so awesome pics of it.

Disney World: Animal Kingdom

On our first full day at Disney World we went to Animal Kingdom.  We saw tons of the characters...

Went on a dig for dinosaur bones.... 

Rode a dinosaur.... 

Hey, who's this 'character'?

Oh, and we can't forget the Tree of Life--the main attraction at Animal Kingdom.  There's all kinds of animals carved into the trunk. 

Super Bowl Nachos

Last night we made our favorite party nachos to snack on while we watched the Packers win!  When I was growing up we used to make them on New Year's Eve.  They're really easy--here's the recipe. 

Sorry, this picture isn't the greatest photography or the neatest food preparation.  I was rushed - I didn't want to miss any of those super bowl commercials!

You'll need:

Tortilla Chips
Refried Beans
Velveeta Cheese, sliced
Salsa
Sour Cream
Green Olives, cut in half

Try to pick the flattest chips.  Use a knife to spread refried beans onto each chip.  Then, layer each additional ingredient in the order listed above.  Microwave for 30 seconds (may take a few more seconds, depending on how thick you sliced the cheese).  Also, you can omit the green olives.

Don't forget to sign up for my Valentine Giveaway.  It ends tonight.

Disney World: Pop Century Resort

I promised vacation pictures and we have PLENTY to share.  Here's a little history to our trip:

Almost eleven years ago now, Ryan and I went to Disney World on our honeymoon.  We had a blast!  We always said when the kids were old enough to enjoy it we'd go back.  Well, over the years we all enjoyed the scrapbook I made of our trip and the kids always had lots of questions and were so amazed.  They asked when we all got to go and Ryan said, "When Quentin is eight".  That seemed like such a long time, but this summer I reminded Ryan that Quentin turns eight in September.  So, we all started saving our money: the kids sold their chicken eggs, we had a garage sale, lemonade stand (grandpa bought at $10 glass of lemonade!), sold gourds from our garden (grandma bought them twice--she gave them the seeds and bought the finished product!), anything we could think of to save money for the 'Disney jar'.  Right before Christmas we finally had enough.  We were all so excited!  We all had a great time and we hope you enjoy our pictures.

I decided to try to break it up into several posts-probably one for each park.  This first post is all about the resort we stayed at: Pop Century.  This resort is one of the lowest price level resorts, but who cares...it's DISNEY WORLD!  Really though, it was way more awesome than anywhere we'd ever stayed and who needs to stay in the room all day anyway!


That's Ryan by the first 'P'...

The gift shop...

 There were lots of HUGE Disney characters all around the resort...

When we came back to the room the first day we found Quentin's stuffed animal in the window.  The maid had put it there and the kids thought that was hilarious!

Another day the maid left them this critter made of wash rags.

There was a retro theme at our resort and they had food to match.  This was my favorite: Tye Dye Cheesecake--it was delicious!

 Maci's favorite was the chocolate cupcakes.

More of the giant stuff.....foosball game.  (The ball shown here was as tall as Maci!)

Pool areas...

 

Pretty awesome, huh?!  More to come..

Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway. 

Introducing: Q's Views

I am introducing a new section to my blog called Q's Views.  These posts will be written by our son, Quentin.  He is eight years old and in second grade.  In school he is developing creative and detailed writing skills.  We thought it would be fun for him to write on the blog, so he can get a little extra practice.   

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Our Dog Myles

Myles is our dog. He is part German Shorthaired Pointer and part Chocolate Lab. We have had Myles a long time. Dad even had him before he met Mom!

It is my job to feed him everyday. I feed him in the evenings. I fill his water bowl and give him two scoops of his dog food. Usually he eats his feed right away while I’m still watering him.
Myles can do many tricks: come, stay, shake, lay down, roll over, run, go and sit. Shaking is the trick he does best. He also likes to race people. Myles and I race to the end of the driveway a lot. When we tell him to roll over he only rolls half way because he wants us to scratch his belly.
We have chickens at our house and we thought Myles would hurt them because he is a bird dog. One day we had an owl get into our chicken coop. Myles noticed the owl, fought him and the owl flew away. The next day some of our baby chicks got out and he left them alone. I think he’s getting to be friends with the chickens.

Valentine Giveaway

Enter to win this Valentine sprinkle set and cupcake kit!

This giveaway ends Monday (2-7-11) so hurry to get entered to win!

Here's how you can win:

1 chance: Become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment to this post.  If you already follow just leave me a comment.

1 more chance: Post a link to my giveaway on your blog. (Please leave another comment letting me know you did this, so I get you entered again.)

Good Luck!



M-I-C-K-E-Y .....

Question: Why are these two kids SO excited that they're jumping for joy?

Answer: This picture was taken the night before we left for DISNEY WORLD!!!!!

Yep, we just got back from a 6 day vacation to Disney World.

Yesterday, we left warm, sunny Florida with all of it's beautiful palm trees....

....and came back to a very cold Iowa and it's beautiful snow-covered trees!

Yes, of course we got to see Minnie!

Obviously, I took a couple more pictures....just a couple.  I'll post as soon as I get caught up on everything.  We have several fun memories to share!