A Smile in my Heart–Magical Week of Friends,Fun & Freezing-10/28-COMPLETE!

[BippityBoo]

What an awesome update, Sara!! The tea sounds awesome. I love the idea of having their head down then giving you flowers...Abby would LOVE that.

I agree totally about Gasparilla Grill (spell?). When we stayed at the GF, we were in the building right next door. We ate there, but only if we could sit outside. It was a little bit annoying with all the games. Now, we did get a pizza to go from there on our last night and OH MY WORD--it was amazing! We were pretty hungry, so that may have helped, but it was great! I can't believe there was a bird in there

OH--and loved the shopping at the Grand. Can't wait to do it again in Dec

 

[mom2mek]

So glad the girls liked the Wonderland Tea Party! I felt totally comfortable leaving Miren there, too. Hope there are some cute pictures in those disposable cameras. I hear the Mad Hatter gets pretty crazy in there, so probably a good idea for your girls to have been over with Alice.

I hope so too! They said he was pretty goofy but didn't have too many details to share. They were very happy to get to sit right next to Alice for their tea though!!

What an awesome update, Sara!! The tea sounds awesome. I love the idea of having their head down then giving you flowers...Abby would LOVE that.

I agree totally about Gasparilla Grill (spell?). When we stayed at the GF, we were in the building right next door. We ate there, but only if we could sit outside. It was a little bit annoying with all the games. Now, we did get a pizza to go from there on our last night and OH MY WORD--it was amazing! We were pretty hungry, so that may have helped, but it was great! I can't believe there was a bird in there

OH--and loved the shopping at the Grand. Can't wait to do it again in Dec

Thanks Katie! The girls LOVED the tea (so much in fact, that when I asked if they could only pick ONE thing....BBB or the tea which would they pick and they picked the tea! Good to know for the future, since we were doing both this time)!

Yeah, I think they should really have the arcade in a different spot...don't quite get that! The pizza sounds good! That would be a great quick dinner in the room after swimming and before going back to a park! I'll have to remember that - wonder if other resorts do pizzas like that!!

I could spend hours in Basin alone!!

Sara

 

[vamassey1]

I'm 2 updates behind.

First the kids (old and young) looked to be really enjoying the ECV.

Good thinking to sent the boys to play games. I rely on Dennis to do this chore too.

The girls shirts are so cute, of course blue is my favorite color.

The Tea Party looked so fun. Just one more thing my girls are too old to do now. I really would like to take them to the afternoon tea. I just have to find something for Dennis to do.

I had to LOL while reading about the birds at lunch. I'm sure you kept a close eye on those birds so they didn't get too close.

The girls giving you flowers was the perfect touch and their picture with Alice and the Mad Hatter is great.

I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures they took with their cameras.

 

[Luvmepluto]

I love that the girls had flowers in their hands. I have never considered the tea party; how do I find out information on it? Again.....your girls are precious.

Birds indoors......yikes!

 

[mom2mek]

I'm 2 updates behind.

First the kids (old and young) looked to be really enjoying the ECV.

Good thinking to sent the boys to play games. I rely on Dennis to do this chore too.

The girls shirts are so cute, of course blue is my favorite color.

The Tea Party looked so fun. Just one more thing my girls are too old to do now. I really would like to take them to the afternoon tea. I just have to find something for Dennis to do.

I had to LOL while reading about the birds at lunch. I'm sure you kept a close eye on those birds so they didn't get too close.

The girls giving you flowers was the perfect touch and their picture with Alice and the Mad Hatter is great.

I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures they took with their cameras.

Thanks! The tea at the Garden View Tea Room would be great for you and your girls! Dennis can take a nap!

Ick....birds....yeah, I was watching that guy!

I love that the girls had flowers in their hands. I have never considered the tea party; how do I find out information on it? Again.....your girls are precious.

Birds indoors......yikes!

The girls really enjoyed the tea. They have a little blurb on allears about it:
A tea party (lasting one hour) for children, hosted by characters from Alice in Wonderland. Children will make and eat cupcakes, enjoy a story, and have tea (juice) with the characters, and make flower bouquets. Children who are potty trained and ages 4-10 may attend.

Monday through Friday from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Available to all guests, Cost is $40.00 ($42.60 including tax).
Reservations 90 days in advance at 407-WDW-DINE.

Here is the link http://allears.net/pl/grandadven.htm


Sara

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Sounds like the tea party was a huge success! The girls look so happy. Ah, Basin. Love that store! Sam must be allergic to something in there though because she always starts sneezing when we walk in. Ooh, Contemporary shopping, my favorite!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

The tea sounds positively fabulous! And getting to sit next to Alice......!

Birds? ICK!

Love Basin! A tad pricey for me (I'm an admitted cheapskate/penny pincher!) but I love to browse and dream!

 

[laashley]

The tea party sounds so cute! Can't wait to see the girls pics they took. You have my mind racing about maybe doing the tea party in october for the kids. Oh, and check out my siggie, I finally have a thread, so please come meet my family!

 

[mermaid764]

Great update!

The tea party sounds like an awesome experience for your girls and I can't wait to see their pics of it.

Shopping at the Grand Floridian looks amazing, especially Basin and I can't wait to see what other stores you guys checked out on your shopping adventure

 

[mom2mek]

Sounds like the tea party was a huge success! The girls look so happy. Ah, Basin. Love that store! Sam must be allergic to something in there though because she always starts sneezing when we walk in. Ooh, Contemporary shopping, my favorite!

Oh no!! I hope you don't have to skip Basin on future trips! Wonder what she could be allergic to? Maybe it's just the combination of all the different smells?

The tea sounds positively fabulous! And getting to sit next to Alice......!

Birds? ICK!

Love Basin! A tad pricey for me (I'm an admitted cheapskate/penny pincher!) but I love to browse and dream!

Silly birds. Don't they know I'm not a fan.

Yes, Basin is pricey, but the soaps aren't too bad...especially since they have cute little Mickey heads in them! They lasted quite a while too! My mom went crazy though!

The tea party sounds so cute! Can't wait to see the girls pics they took. You have my mind racing about maybe doing the tea party in october for the kids. Oh, and check out my siggie, I finally have a thread, so please come meet my family!

Ahh yes...the pictures...stay tuned for that...

My girls really loved the tea party and still talk about it. Your kids would probably love it!

I'll definitely be right over to your report!

Great update!

The tea party sounds like an awesome experience for your girls and I can't wait to see their pics of it.

Shopping at the Grand Floridian looks amazing, especially Basin and I can't wait to see what other stores you guys checked out on your shopping adventure

Well, don't get your hopes up too high about their pics....just sayin....

We did enjoy our shopping time at the GF. Beautiful place!

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

Girls Pictures From Their Disposable Cameras....

Without further adieu, here are the pictures from the girls' disposable cameras. As you will see, I guess they could benefit from a few photography classes, huh? In addition to these few pics, the rest of the cameras were filled with pictures of the back of Michael's head, and a whole bunch of pictures of their messy room back at home and various stuffed animals in their room. Sigh.


Actually, some of the ones taken in the lobby of the Poly before we left for the GF, aren't too bad. That is, once they figured out about the flash! LOL!

Ahhh....there's a flash on these things:

Now we are outside waiting for the monorail:

(Such a flattering angle...I'm so sure Mom would appreciate me putting this picture up, but I thought it showed how beautiful of a day it was)

(Poly foliage in February isn't quite as lush and tropical as in other months, but still nice)

(Here comes our ride)

(The Grand Floridian gift shop - I actually kind of like this picture - my Mom loves the Cheshire Cat, so one of the girls had to take a picture of all of them propped up there)

(Of course, I love Dumbo, so one of them had to take his picture too)

Now, on to the tea party.....check in area:

Apparently, Emily was very interested in light fixtures, tables, and art work.

(A random child we don't know)

(More table decorations)

(The flowers - I guess this was right before it was over)

And finally....the one picture with Alice and the Mad Hatter....hmmm....seems to look EXACTLY the same as the one that came with the package.

So, not exactly what I was hoping for, but the girls said they "kind of forgot" they had their cameras with them during the party. Oh well....whatayagonnado, right?

Update coming right up....


Sara

 

[mom2mek]

Day 5 - February 11, 2010
Break Day
Chapter 4 - Aloha Man and a night at Tambu

We continued around to the Contemporary on our monorail shopping trip where we got off and hit the stores. I have to say that by this point, Mom and I were actually pretty tired and we both commented on the fact that being such a beautiful day outside, we should have probably gone to a park that day. Agghhh….why do I find it so difficult to deviate from my plans sometime? MK was rated RED that day by TGM and we were headed there tomorrow, and we were going to Epcot the following day, so it just didn’t fit the overall “plan,” so we didn't, but still…we lamented on the fact that we were just as tired today, if not more, than we are on a park day.

I guess I need to have some planned things to do even on break days because I do think that, overall, break days are good to plan for in your overall vacation. It gives everyone a chance to regroup from the hustle and bustle of the parks. I think maybe during the warmer months, a day to relax by the pool, or take a boat ride or something would be nice, but this February trip was just too cold for either one of those things. (Beyond the little bit of swimming they did the day before).

Of course we had done the whole character breakfast and the girls did the tea party, but for Mom and I, it was mostly walking around and I think it’s that whole….when you are walking with purpose vs. wandering around kind of thing. I find that if I, for instance, am going shopping for something specific at the mall, I find the day to be a whole lot better and easy than if I were just going to the mall and walking around window shopping or just looking for “whatever”. I’m always so exhausted after shopping trips like that. Am I alone in this, I wonder? Obviously not, as my Mom feels the same, but I digress….

The girls, on the other hand, did NOT seem to be fading like Mom and I! Go figure! I guess the break day, after all, WAS a good thing for them!

We exited at the Contemporary and found our way down to the Fantasia Gift Shop EXTRAVAGANZA!!

(courtesy of allears)

The girls of course wanted to look at toys and pins and really wanted to get something for our crazy dog back at home. We found a few small treasures for the girls, and a stuffed Mickey Mouse for Jellybean (our Boston Terrier), along with a new dog bowl and then made our way over to the clothes section. Mom got both girls new Tinkerbell sweatshirts and Michael a Walt Disney World “classic-looking” sweatshirt along with a new raincoat for Pop Pop. Really most of the stuff was the same as what was at the Polynesian, except for a few “Poly” themed items at those gift shops, but it was still nice to be shopping somewhere different.

I gotta say though, that even though the Contemporary has always been THE nostalgic favorite Disney resort of mine, (we stayed in it when I was little and it’s the place I always thought I would want to stay at when I finally got to stay on property), after our October 2008 trip when we dined at the Poly, I felt the Poly more suited our idea of a “resort”.

After walking around the Contemporary for quite a while on this day, this was confirmed. It just doesn’t have the warmth of the Poly to us. I’m not saying I don’t want to ever stay there….the place has a freakin’ monorail running right through it for crying out loud! It’s pretty darn amazing!! LOL! It’s just not warm and inviting and relaxing like the Polynesian. Felt more like I was at a business convention and I had a hard time picturing myself walking around in my bathing suit (not that I do that, but my kids do…) or running to the lobby for a quick bite.

We felt the same way about the Grand Floridian….still beautiful, still amazing, still not for us.

So after about 45 minutes or so, we jumped back on the monorail to head back to our “home away from home”! The boys were heading back from Downtown Disney and we were going to meet up and see the “ALOHA” man (as the kids were calling him) before getting some dinner.

So, my picture-taking husband took a whopping ZERO pictures of the afternoon he had with Michael and Pop Pop. So, here is what Michael told me they did.

They played in the arcade for a while, using up the “free” arcade game card and then Pop Pop bought another one with a ton of “tokens” on it that they burned through pretty quickly. They went back to the room for a little bit and then met back up with Pop Pop to ride the bus to Downtown Disney. Pop Pop had his ECV and got a little frustrated getting on and off the bus in it (don’t know what he was expecting). I think it comes from the whole 'doesn’t want to feel old or like a burden to anyone, but still needs to use it when he is going to be walking for a while' dilemma. He gets frustrated with himself that he HAS to use one and makes a big fuss over it in an attempt to make himself look like he doesn’t really need it, ya know? Anyways, Michael said the bus was cool and lifted Pop Pop straight up and into the bus!

At DTD, they ate lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express, and do you know that Shawn cannot even remember a thing about it!!! Ugh! I thought I had that man trained, but apparently, he’s got some learning to do. I had told him that if he went down there, he should eat at either WPE or Earl and that I had heard WPE was a great value on the dining plan. To this day, I have no idea what they ate or what they really thought about it. It was food, I guess.

They did the Lego store after that where Michael raced a lego car and won! Then they hit the toy store and Michael built his own lightsaber again. Um, how many light sabers does one family need, I’d like to know??? Then they came back on the bus and arrived just prior to us.

We got back to our room to find this guy! I thought it was Stitch - what do you think?

Kind of also looks like our Boston Terrier...hmmm...

Then we hung out for a bit in the lounge in Hawaii and Mom had some punch from the lounge.

Sidenote....Although I didn’t feel “weird” to be sitting in the lounge (the CMs knew we weren’t CL but that we were with people who were), I didn’t feel it was right to take any of the food and beverage offerings. Mom did get the kids some cookies and soft drinks though but at least they were “technically” on my Mom’s reservation, so I didn’t feel too bad about it.

We hung out for a bit and then made our way back to the GCH to see the torch-lighting ceremony. I had seen this last year (and Shawn had caught it on our first night at the Poly on his way back from parking the car) but my parents and kids had never seen it.

Right upon arrival to the lobby, Katie had to use the bathroom. Perfect. By the time we got back, we had missed the very beginning of the ceremony where he blows the big conch shell. However, we were still able to get outside to the viewing area before they roped it off. Phew.

Time to get warmed up… and by that I mean....check this guy out!! It's funny because the concierge check-in desk is right out there and they had these mega heat lamps going that night since it was so chilly. At first, I thought the heat was from the guy (his torch lighting equipment, of course ), but it was just the heat lamps - man, they put out the heat!!

Click on the image to see the video...sorry for the thumping noise - don't know what that is all about!


Now, no offense to CR lovers, but when it was over, my Mom said "you won't see THAT at the Contemporary"

We made our way back inside the GCH and decided to head upstairs to get a few drinks from the Tambu Lounge. That place was HOPPING!!! Come to find out, they had cancelled the luau that night due to the cold temperatures, and were allowing people to be rescheduled at 'Ohana! I can only imagine the chaos that must cause to the existing reservations load! I would not want to be one of the CMs working that desk that night! It was MOBBED!

We stalked out the lounge until we finally found some vacant seats and then Shawn hit the bar to grab us a few Pina Colavas! Katie had carried her new toy with her and instantly sat down and started playing with it.

My parents had found their way over to the caricature artist and started watching him work. Michael joined them, and after a few minutes, I looked over and low and behold, Michael was sitting up there getting his done.

The artist was so personable, and really talked to Michael all about things he liked. When they started talking about Star Wars, boy did Michael find his match. This guy was actually Boba Fett in some kind of Star Wars convention (nerd alert....nerd alert....LOL) - so from that point forward...this man was Michael's hero! He told Michael he would do a really cool Star Wars drawing for him and quickly got to work!

The girls were very patiently waiting and watching and they both decided they wanted to do it too as soon as Michael's was finished. Grandmommy and Pop Pop obliged and Shawn and I settled into the Tambu Lounge for what was going to be quite a while!

So what did we do to pass the time....ordered up more colavas, of course!

(No, not all those empty glasses are mine....)

Katie was up next, and then Emily.

The finished products:

They were so pleased with them and had a blast doing it! The guy was very talented and had a great way with the kids.

Some time during all of this, I got a couple of text messages from Monica that they had made it home to Ohio. Yes, they left the night before after spending the evening in the MK with us, and drove straight through to Ohio - only to arrive to like 2 feet of snow and they couldn't even make it up their driveway! Yikes!

So, with caricatures in hand, drinks in belly, we headed down to Capt Cooks for some grub. We got a couple of things for the kids (grilled cheese for Emily, burger for Michael, just fries for Katie, and a couple of Adult Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for the adults to split) and went to watch the fireworks!

They were wonderful as always and afterwards we were in our beds in a matter of minutes! Tomorrow was an early morning breakfast in the park at Liberty Tree Tavern and a whole day back at the Magic Kingdom!!


Sara

 

[cdotla]

Wow - so much to comment on. I had a lot of catching up to do!

First off - what an awesome pirate transformation. Love the pictures!

And great character photos on Main Street - love the Pinnochio ones...we have never encountered him before.

Great pool and slide photos. Those bring back a lot of good memories. There is nothing like that pool, is there!

Absolutely priceless photos of your kids running to your Mom and Stepdad. And too funny about your stepdad's comment about asking for lagoon side!

Sounds like the girls had a great time at the Tea Party....can't wait to hear more!

Loved the girls Ohana shirts. Sounds like a great breakfast!

Oh...and I LOVE your cariture photos. We had meant to get those done and just completely ran out of time. Next time for sure!!!

 

[kaysmommie]

Hi Sara,
Loved your update! The kids tea party pics are too . I guess they had a good time though. I think a day off from the parks is always a good idea, especially in summer. Last trip we did a park everyday day except arrival day. But we had no choice since it was so hot out we took long pool breaks each day instead. Kaylee and I are trying to figure out what the towel animal is. She thinks its Stitch and I have no clue. LOL about Aloha man! That is what Thomas has called him since he was 2 years old . I love the caricature sketches of the kids. I need to get those done next time at Poly. Thomas loves the Star Wars one of Micheal and Kaylee loves Ballerina one of Emily of course. We did one of Kaylee at AKL but it turned out looking more like me than her. the hair is too blonde and Kaylee has more like a dark sandy blonde.

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

The girls' pictures from the cameras are cute!

I know what you mean about the whole wandering aimlessly vs wandering with a purpose - it could be that feeling of accomplishment thing.

I agree about break days, too...especially on longer trips, and definitely on summer trips!

We've never seen the aloha man but I had read about him on your TR from your trip w/ Shawn last year. I mentioned it to my cousin this summer when we were at the Poly, of course, when I saw the torches already lit and then actually thought of it. How do you find out at what time he comes out? I guess asking concierge?? I want to keep that in mind next time, for sure.

The Poly really does have a "homey" feel. Even though WL is my fave, the Poly is a close second.

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Love the pictures from the girl's cameras - LOL! Actually, some of them aren't too bad.

Sounds like a very full break day you all had. Our trips are always so short that we don't ever get a break day, but it sound like you guys had a great one. Lot's off good food and shopping, can't go wrong. Too funny that the boys didn't have any pictures for food reports for you.

Aloha Man is definitely a plus for staying at the Polynesian. I could get used to seeing him every night. We did see him once when we were on our way to 'Ohana last year and it was an incredible little show. Do you think he's the same guy who does the fire twirling at the FOTLK show? I'm sure there's more than one guy, but I wonder if they do both jobs?

Love the caricatures of the kids. We wanted to get one in June at Pop but the line was always so long. Maybe next trip. They all turned out great!

 

[mom2mek]

Wow - so much to comment on. I had a lot of catching up to do!

First off - what an awesome pirate transformation. Love the pictures!

And great character photos on Main Street - love the Pinnochio ones...we have never encountered him before.

Great pool and slide photos. Those bring back a lot of good memories. There is nothing like that pool, is there!

Absolutely priceless photos of your kids running to your Mom and Stepdad. And too funny about your stepdad's comment about asking for lagoon side!

Sounds like the girls had a great time at the Tea Party....can't wait to hear more!

Loved the girls Ohana shirts. Sounds like a great breakfast!

Oh...and I LOVE your cariture photos. We had meant to get those done and just completely ran out of time. Next time for sure!!!

Thanks for still reading, Trish! I love those caricatures too. Now I just need to get them hung up on their walls!

Hi Sara,
Loved your update! The kids tea party pics are too . I guess they had a good time though. I think a day off from the parks is always a good idea, especially in summer. Last trip we did a park everyday day except arrival day. But we had no choice since it was so hot out we took long pool breaks each day instead. Kaylee and I are trying to figure out what the towel animal is. She thinks its Stitch and I have no clue. LOL about Aloha man! That is what Thomas has called him since he was 2 years old . I love the caricature sketches of the kids. I need to get those done next time at Poly. Thomas loves the Star Wars one of Micheal and Kaylee loves Ballerina one of Emily of course. We did one of Kaylee at AKL but it turned out looking more like me than her. the hair is too blonde and Kaylee has more like a dark sandy blonde.

Thanks Nichole! I think break days are a good idea overall, but I think we adults found it not exactly as relaxing as we had hoped. Just too much wandering for Mom and I!

Aloha Man = nice!!! LOL!

The girls' pictures from the cameras are cute!

I know what you mean about the whole wandering aimlessly vs wandering with a purpose - it could be that feeling of accomplishment thing.

I agree about break days, too...especially on longer trips, and definitely on summer trips!

We've never seen the aloha man but I had read about him on your TR from your trip w/ Shawn last year. I mentioned it to my cousin this summer when we were at the Poly, of course, when I saw the torches already lit and then actually thought of it. How do you find out at what time he comes out? I guess asking concierge?? I want to keep that in mind next time, for sure.

The Poly really does have a "homey" feel. Even though WL is my fave, the Poly is a close second.

I am pretty sure that it is done at 6:00 every night regardless of the season. It starts inside, and even if they have already lit the torches around the resort, the front ones will be at 6:00 I believe. Definitely try and catch it! It's short, but really cool!

Love the pictures from the girl's cameras - LOL! Actually, some of them aren't too bad.

Sounds like a very full break day you all had. Our trips are always so short that we don't ever get a break day, but it sound like you guys had a great one. Lot's off good food and shopping, can't go wrong. Too funny that the boys didn't have any pictures for food reports for you.

Aloha Man is definitely a plus for staying at the Polynesian. I could get used to seeing him every night. We did see him once when we were on our way to 'Ohana last year and it was an incredible little show. Do you think he's the same guy who does the fire twirling at the FOTLK show? I'm sure there's more than one guy, but I wonder if they do both jobs?

Love the caricatures of the kids. We wanted to get one in June at Pop but the line was always so long. Maybe next trip. They all turned out great!

Yeah, I can imagine it's hard to take a "break" day on a shorter trip, Michelle! That's why we ended up not taking one on our October 2008 trip - only 5 days, so we didn't want to give up any of them to just "revive" ourselves!

Love Aloha Man! I don't think he does the FOTLK show though (I have seen 3 different guys at the FOTLK show - none of them were this guy), but I do believe he is in the Luau at the Poly!

You and Samantha should do a caricature together...that would be adorable!

Sara

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

The caricatures are awesome! I know 2 boys who would love an SW one of themselves!

We've only scheduled a break day once ~ and it really wasn't so! We did DTD for the day and MVMCP at night. It *looked* like a break on paper! Tom's dream trip would be a park every other day and rest in between. My retort is always, "Sure, if we go for 2 weeks!"

While I've been planning this cruise we are taking in Oct. he's been asking me to "please not overplan and run him ragged like I do at Disney"!

 

[laashley]

The girls had some good pictures in there! They just don't have the thought of I need to take pictures and instead enjoyed the tea ). Maybe I should think that way instead

It is just so hard to not try to squeeze alot in the break day. I guess we shouldn't call it a break day, just a non-park day.

Will have to check out the Aloha man in october. Love the caricatures. Saw someone doing that in the wilderness lodge as well. Might have to put that on my list...

 

[mom2mek]

The caricatures are awesome! I know 2 boys who would love an SW one of themselves!

We've only scheduled a break day once ~ and it really wasn't so! We did DTD for the day and MVMCP at night. It *looked* like a break on paper! Tom's dream trip would be a park every other day and rest in between. My retort is always, "Sure, if we go for 2 weeks!"

While I've been planning this cruise we are taking in Oct. he's been asking me to "please not overplan and run him ragged like I do at Disney"!

That's part of the reason why I like to try to plan the break days, Nicole - so I don't have to hear the "too much scheduled" whine and moan. But then on the days that aren't as scheduled, everyone is always looking at the "planner" saying "now what?" Ugh!

Ahhh....2 weeks....now wouldn't that be something?

The girls had some good pictures in there! They just don't have the thought of I need to take pictures and instead enjoyed the tea ). Maybe I should think that way instead

It is just so hard to not try to squeeze alot in the break day. I guess we shouldn't call it a break day, just a non-park day.

Will have to check out the Aloha man in october. Love the caricatures. Saw someone doing that in the wilderness lodge as well. Might have to put that on my list...

That's true Ashley! I'm always hoping to get pics of everything so I don't forget - they were just wrapped up in the fun of the moment! Of course now, with no photos, they can't really remember a whole lot of details so a couple of pics might have been nice!

I have still not mastered the break day....I'm getting better though. I think.

Definitely try and catch the torch lighting ceremony. It's at 6:00 every night and is very short, so don't kill yourself to get over there, but if you are there around that time, check it out for sure!

Sara