**COMPLETED 4/30**Life Is Way Too Short to Take It Slow - October 2013 TR

[princess_momma]

Feeding stingrays is definitely a weird feeling! I've done it in Sea World. What freaked me out is the people who couldn't pay attention to the guides or signs that say how to feed them correctly. No they'd dangle the food over the water and then all the stingrays would be trying to leap out! Some people....

I love Florida too. It's great isn't it?

I can't see any of your pictures because I guess work blocks whatever site you used to upload them. Bummer. But I saw most of them on facebook so it's all good!

I'm choosing to believe you named the turtle Hank after the New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Nickname - Hank. If I support the Broncos you support the Rangers - deal?

Yeah, some people seem to just think that those people are demonstrating because they have nothing better to do. SILLY. There are reasons they show us proper ways.

Florida is so great. I will always love it!

BOOO I'm sorry you can't see all my pictures! I do have a lot more than I showed on FB too so I hope you can see them at some point. Do you know which sites you can and can't see? I can try to make it better going forward.

Lol I suppose I can support the Rangers, as long as they aren't playing the Av's! We're off to a great start!!

Haha, as soon as I read Hank, I thought our Hank!?! But I know Garret is an Avs fan so it couldn't be true!
It sounds like your day was fun! I love your white top-- super cute. Landon looks so happy and full of wonder at the ocean, like he had a blast!

Lol you guys and your Hank!! You can pretend that's the Hank we named him after. Who knows, maybe that is who the original turtle was named after?!

I love that top too...it was actually handed down from a friend so I have no idea where it's even from! Landon turned into such a beach bum while we were there...he had so much fun, I wish we had one that we could take him to all the time!

I'm here girlfriend! Looks like it's gonna be a fun one!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

HOORAYYYYYYY!!! I'm so glad that you are here! It will be so fun!!!

 

[princess_momma]

So after we had all relaxed, we decided to take the dogs for a walk. I took a TON of pictures because the walk was soooooo picturesque. Like seriously...I think I agree with Opa when he says he lives in paradise.

Landon loved Penelope so much. It was adorable.

How pretty is that? It was pretty warm on our walk, so as soon as we got to the water, the dogs jumped in to cool off!

That’s an osprey! Love those guys. We continued our walk along the water. I can’t even imagine living in such a beautiful place!

We made our way back home and discussed dinner. And of course, took more pictures because I love pictures!

Landon wanted his picture of him and Penelope snuggling with their stuffed animals! HA! Goofball. Then he needed a normal one too, of course.

Then one with Opa, as well!

Once we had enough pictures, we finally went to dinner. We went to this lovely little sports bar called Bru’s. Named after Bob Brudzinski, the former Ohio State University college star who went on to play for the Rams and Dolphins in the NFL. He apparently became business partners with the guy who supposedly brought Buffalo Wings to Florida, when he moved from Buffalo, NY to Florida.

This place was pretty good. We watched some Thursday Night Football and some baseball and just enjoyed it all. It was prime rib night, so we enjoyed some of those! It was a nice relaxing night, which was perfect because we had to get up early the next day for our last full day with Opa!

 

[princess_momma]

Also, please join me in wishing Landon a happy birthday!! My little man turns 5 today and we are loving life! So far today, we have had a Wreck-It Ralph soundtrack dance party, eaten mac & cheese at Panera (his choice- yum!), and are now watching Monsters University!!

Can't believe how time has flown!! LOVE MY LITTLE MAN SO MUCH!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LANDON BEAR!!

 

[princess_momma]

So we woke up early that Friday. You’ll have to just take my word for it because I didn’t record the time!

I had thought that I was getting eaten alive by mosquitos or “no-see-um’s”, as they say in Florida, this trip. But this morning I started noticing and it was really just my left foot. I seriously I had SIX bites on my left foot. Maybe 3 total for the rest of my body. It was insanely uncomfortable...but oh well!

We first stopped by the Publix to get some sandwiches from the deli! I grabbed an Italian, Garret and Opa got Ultimates and Landon got half a turkey one.

Then we were ready for our day! It was a gorgeous day, perfect for our activity of choice--boating!

Landon was so nervous on this dock, because it was moving kind of a lot. Then he was scared when we finally got on the boat too. It was so cute...he just didn’t know what to expect!

He wanted us to hold him tight in the beginning, but eventually he warmed up to it! Of course, I was a good Mommy and lathered him up in sunscreen but of course, somehow in the end, I guess it got runny somehow? It ended up in his eyes. So the beginning of our great boat trip were MISERABLE for him. He really couldn’t even open his eyes, as displayed in the next pic.

He was really excited when Opa let him drive the boat!

Then, for what seemed like 45 minutes but may have only been 20-30...it rained. A lot. We were pretty freezing being wet and so miserable. It wasn’t starting off great...sunscreen in Landon’s eyes, now we were all wet and cold and honestly, it wasn’t even fun at that point. BUT IT GOT BETTER!

As soon as the rain stopped, the sun came out and we dried off and even got hot. Then it was a perfect day for boating, yet again! THANK GOODNESS.

So we were boating through the Jupiter Inlet. I don’t know if anyone is too familiar with that area, but it’s where a bunch of celebrities live, such as Alan Jackson, Celine Dion, Tiger Woods, and Michael Jordan. I took a bunch of pictures of some of the houses because they are GORGEOUS and right on the water and looked so perfect. I think this first one is Alan Jackson’s, but I could be wrong and it could be just a house I thought was pretty.

I know for sure these pictures are from Tiger’s place. It’s like he doesn’t want people taking pictures of his home or something! LOL!

Opa thought he saw a dolphin at one point, but after the initial spotting no one saw it again so who knows? The craziest thing was that it appeared to be some sort of jellyfish mating season. I don’t know that they were actually mating but there were literally thousands. You couldn’t look in the water without seeing at least a dozen. Opa said it wasn’t usually like this, which is why we speculated it was some special time for them. None of us had ever even seen a jelly in the wild, so it was kind of cool! We definitely didn’t want to jump in the water after that! At one point, a piece of jellyfish even came in under the boat door! It was so weird looking. I’m sure it would’ve been an interesting texture but none of us wanted to take the chance touching it. It was the top smooth part, that Marlin and Dory bounce on, but Opa claims even that part can get you. Who knows?

We just continued down the inlet. We even got to see a big yacht go through and cause the bridge to go up! Pretty cool!

That is obviously a lighthouse. Lighthouses make for such a pretty picture I think! I’ve never been in one, but I do love them!

I really just love being out on a boat...so relaxing!

We eventually got to what would’ve been the ocean...but you need some pretty sturdy boats to go out in those kind of waters! So we turned around from there and started heading back the way we came. At some point we ate our DELICIOUS sandwiches. I was a big fan!

By now, Landon was super comfortable on the trip and just going all over and having all sorts of fun. Opa had binoculars, which Landon loved. Except he preferred using them the Scuttle way...backwards!

Another fancy house...can I just live here please and have my own tiny little beach?

Look how happy Landon is to be on a boat!

***CONTINUED IN NEXT POST***

 

[princess_momma]

***CONTINUED FROM ABOVE POST***

Between his boat and beach loves, I started feeling even more like we lived in the wrong state! Speaking of beach love, as soon as we saw one, we pulled over to get out and have some fun! And yes, we got in the water! There didn’t seem to be any jellies in area this shallow! (Spoiler alert: we were right. No one got stung or even saw a jellyfish.)

Landon did find a coconut though!

You can see in the next picture how tiny the beach was. But we had a great time. Landon loved swimming and playing in the sand. He kept saying he was “exploring to find a fish”.

Eventually, we got on the boat to head back. Landon loved whenever another boat would pass us and we’d go over their wake. He had been so timid when we started but he really ended up loving every part of being on a boat!

Don’t we just look like we were made to live near the water?

All that sun and fun caused Landon to pass out...I can’t blame him! How relaxed does he look here? I know I sure love a good nap in the sun!

When we got back home, we all showered and cleaned up to rinse the sand off of us! We had planned to drive over to Jupiter Beach to watch the sunset but we ran a bit behind. We still went to the beach though to see the full moon! (I’m not going to lie...I was slightly crabby about this. I was just ready to get to dinner...not go to ANOTHER beach after we had just cleaned off all the sand and then be sandy for dinner. I did get over myself though and you’ll be able to see why in the next pics!)

The one directly above I thought was pretty cool looking! The clouds were blocking the moon from shining completely, but you could still see the moon beams shining like a spotlight over the ocean! It was gorgeous!

Of course, I tagged us here and put one of those pictures up on Facebook...and then crazy coincidence #1 happened! My best friend from middle and high school’s mom commented that she was there too, on the same beach looking at the same full moon! HOW CRAZY IS THAT?! I didn’t see her comment until we left the beach, but really, what are the odds of our vacation being at the same time bringing us to the exact same spot on that vacation on the exact same night?!

Like I said, though, we had a dinner to get to so we headed over to crazy coincidence #2!

We were dining tonight at a fabulous place called The Thirsty Turtle!

This place was so fun and lively. There was this guy singing live and he was AMAZING!! So what’s crazy coincidence #2? WELL...one of my dear Dis friends, Angie (Disneylove1228), saw my check in here and commented. Apparently, her and her husband had their first date here AND got engaged here! Seriously, what are the odds?! I was so happy to hear that...it made that place even more special!

Then, I also got excited because I thought of another beloved Dis-friend, Kristen (xoktenox) and how much SHE would love this place as well. It was a NY team bar! I know she is a fan of the Giants and Yankees and so I was so excited and wished she were there too.

There was a great singer who was playing most of the night. We thought he was really good. He was doing mostly covers and they were so different but so SPOT ON. We were loving it!

I started off with this delicious beverage called Turtle Tea. It had lots of rum and I love rum based drinks! I was just adoring this place, it was making me think of my Dis friends and it was so fun and lively! I always loved the dessert menu...

Because on the back...they had all their desserts turned into alcoholic beverages!

Not that I got any of those or anything, I just thought they were cool!

Opa had really talked up their wings...even though he got something else. So Garret and I both ordered the wings because we are HUGE wing fans. Garret got the highest level of heat, me the second highest. Andddddd...I was so disappointed. I really, truly hated them. Why? THERE WAS SO MUCH FRIGGEN GARLIC. OMG. Garret’s weren’t as bad as mine, but the heat from his took away from the garlic, which there was also less of. I even took my first food pic because you can literally see all the garlic.

It was overkill. But luckily, Landon wasn’t too hungry and by then, I was getting slightly buzzed so I ate most of his hot dog which was highly fulfilling at that moment in time! And honestly, the vibe and just everything about the place was so great to me, the wings were the only downside. It did not turn me off to the place at all, just something I wouldn’t order again! I’m definitely going to insist on going back though!

The real winner here was the dessert though...Coca Cola cake! We got two to share between the four of us! And it was sooo good! Here’s Landon digging in!

Let’s be honest, I was probably a bigger mess than him! It was sooo good!

Towards the end of the meal, I decided to strike up a conversation with our waitress because she had a Mickey rhinestone bobby pin in her hair! Turns out, she was SUPER Disney obsessed too and her and her boyfriend (who happened to be the singer) were driving up to Disney that night after their shift! They were headed for a weekend at the F&W festival because the singer was a huge fan of Night Ranger and they just love Disney so much! It was so fun chatting with both of them before the night was through.

And, what a great coincidence, WE WERE GOING TO DISNEY OURSELVES THE NEXT MORNING!!!!!!

 

[NancyLuvsMickey]

Happy Birthday Landon!!!

 

[jenny105]

I have no idea what picture sites work. Whichever one your using is not working lol. No worries I can look at home.

I'm loving your TR so far and you haven't even gone to Disney yet!

That's the one thing about Florida that I don't like - the freak rain storms. They seem to come out of nowhere and clear up again right away! At least it didn't ruin your boat trip. I love being on a boat - so relaxing!

I'm having trouble getting over the fact that you've never seen a jellyfish in the ocean before. I know you're from Colorado but growing up in Jersey? They're all over the place. Except you can't see them coming because our water is gross haha. If you get stung, you get stung! No avoiding it.

Can't wait til you get to Disney!

And happy birthday to Landon!

 

[klacey1]

So much to comment on!! Happy birthday, Landon!! I love how cuddly he got with Opa's doggies. Adorable!
I'm glad that your boating day, while it started off a bit rough, ended up so fun. Crazy that there were so many jelly fish!
The Thirsty Turtle sounds like exactly my kind of place-- good drinks, NY sports teams , and fun atmosphere! I love garlic, put it on everything, but looks like TOO much on those wings! Yuck!

 

[marDgreen88]

Happy late birthday Landon!!! Hope it was a great day!

Looks like yall had a ton of fun there! Hooray for Disney!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Following along! Enjoying your TR so far and can't wait to read more!

And a belated Happy Birthday for Landon!

 

[emmysmommy]

Kimmy I just read through all of the updates after your arrival to FL. The day on the water and Landon getting to enjoy so many firsts. The sting rays are fascinating aren't they? We've swam with them and fed them and I freaked out since I didn't like the way it felt when they sucked up the squid.

Happy belated birthday to Landon! I loved the photos of when he was a little guy and now. They grow so quickly!

 

[amberg93]

Joining in

Happy (now belated) birthday to Landon! It's crazy seeing the pictures of him changing so rapidly, you're right that he did grow up so much.

I touched a stingray once and got to hold it and it was so weird. They've got such a unique texture to them.

I didn't mind the turtle overkill at all Turtles are cute. What a bummer that you got like suckered into a lecture.

Glad your boating day did turn around for the best.

Eww, your wings look gross from that picture. What an overkill.

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in

 

[princess_momma]

Happy Birthday Landon!!!

Thank you!

I have no idea what picture sites work. Whichever one your using is not working lol. No worries I can look at home.

I'm loving your TR so far and you haven't even gone to Disney yet!

That's the one thing about Florida that I don't like - the freak rain storms. They seem to come out of nowhere and clear up again right away! At least it didn't ruin your boat trip. I love being on a boat - so relaxing!

I'm having trouble getting over the fact that you've never seen a jellyfish in the ocean before. I know you're from Colorado but growing up in Jersey? They're all over the place. Except you can't see them coming because our water is gross haha. If you get stung, you get stung! No avoiding it.

Can't wait til you get to Disney!

And happy birthday to Landon!

Yes...those rain storms are silly. It would never be worth even doing my hair because it'd just get ruined in those little storms!

HAHAHA yeah I have definitely only seen jellyfish in aquariums before. The good thing about Colorado is that we seem to have less dangerous things here. Like all the things that can sting you or worse in other places seem SO COMMON other places (like snakes in Florida). The bad things here are so rare I've never even seen them and never really even know people who have seen them.

Thanks!

So much to comment on!! Happy birthday, Landon!! I love how cuddly he got with Opa's doggies. Adorable!
I'm glad that your boating day, while it started off a bit rough, ended up so fun. Crazy that there were so many jelly fish!
The Thirsty Turtle sounds like exactly my kind of place-- good drinks, NY sports teams , and fun atmosphere! I love garlic, put it on everything, but looks like TOO much on those wings! Yuck!

Thank you! Landon is quite the little animal lover, it's so sweet to see him with them! You would love the Thirsty Turtle! It was a hoot and now you know not to order the wings!

Happy late birthday Landon!!! Hope it was a great day!

Looks like yall had a ton of fun there! Hooray for Disney!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Thank you! We did have a blast...but I was ready to get to Disney too!

Following along! Enjoying your TR so far and can't wait to read more!

And a belated Happy Birthday for Landon!

Thank you! So glad you are here!

Kimmy I just read through all of the updates after your arrival to FL. The day on the water and Landon getting to enjoy so many firsts. The sting rays are fascinating aren't they? We've swam with them and fed them and I freaked out since I didn't like the way it felt when they sucked up the squid.

Happy belated birthday to Landon! I loved the photos of when he was a little guy and now. They grow so quickly!

Firsts are always so fun! I loved seeing him discover the wonders we don't have at home! Sting rays are amazing...I'll pet them, but someone else can get them their snacks!

Joining in

Happy (now belated) birthday to Landon! It's crazy seeing the pictures of him changing so rapidly, you're right that he did grow up so much.

I touched a stingray once and got to hold it and it was so weird. They've got such a unique texture to them.

I didn't mind the turtle overkill at all Turtles are cute. What a bummer that you got like suckered into a lecture.

Glad your boating day did turn around for the best.

Eww, your wings look gross from that picture. What an overkill.

Hello and welcome!!

I still can't believe his five. Five years I've been a mother. That still blows my mind!

Sting rays are pretty neat! I have always loved turtles though, they are adorable. I really wouldn't mind listening to a lecture about turtles if there had been real turtles involved in any way.

joining in

Welcome! Just in time for the Disney fun!

 

[princess_momma]

The day I had been waiting for YEARS to come was finally here! It was our first Disney day!! I could hardly even contain my excitement. I needed to be there, like, yesterday. I was just raring to go!

But alas, we are human and are sometimes plagued by this thing called “hunger” that we can only treat by consuming food. So we stopped for breakfast. If you think I have any recollection of this, you would be wrong. All I could think was “GET ME TO DISNEY!”

We did hit the road right after breakfast though. And then we had to drive around 2 hours to actually get there. The drive through Orlando was a dull one. I kept checking my phone to see how much further we had to go. Once we got close, I was kind of guiding us to Pop, as Opa knew how to get us to WDW, just a little unsure of exactly where every single hotel was.

WE FINALLY PASSED THROUGH THE PRETTY GATES!!



Well actually, it appeared we were on some weird side road, so we didn’t go through the gate. We passed by Donald though.



And then I put my phone away to be happy and take in all the Disney sights. I mean, let’s be real, there are signs ALL OVER on the way to Disney and we took the entrance closest to Pop and I KNEW it would be all over a million signs. And it was. I thought that maybe the person driving might look at the signs, but apparently they were waiting for my guidance. Because we were in the right lane and the sign said “Pop Century next left!”

...um...

But before I could be sad about missing the Pop turn, I got even more sad BECAUSE WE WERE LEAVING DISNEY PROPERTY! Nooooooooooo, don’t tease me like that.

Deep breaths, Kimmy, deep breaths. It’s not that big of a deal. Just a small, small delay. No big deal.

So eventually we turned back around. So I got another sign picture. You can tell it’s a different one because Mickey and Minnie swapped sides. And we actually went under this one!



This time, we ALL watched the signs and communicated and quickly found Pop Century! WHEW! Crisis averted.



We got there and our room was ready. We were in 9433, right next to one of those beautiful Rubix cube staircases. I did all the checking in, made sure our Magic Bands were working (they were!), and got our buttons of course. I will be talking more about those buttons later, because I think they played a big part in some things.



We walked our luggage over to our room (it was our first time using the “tap to enter” method, we never even did with the cards - it had been THAT long since we were there! We were highly impressed.), threw our stuff in, and walked back over to the bus stop to head to...HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS!! I love, love, love Hollywood Studios more than most. I just connect with it. I always get EXTRA magic there and it’s always so perfect and I always have so much fun. I just love it. Hooray for Hollywood, and all that.

Just up ahead, I saw one of my dear friends...Mike Wazowski!



Based on the books he had all around him, looked like he had been studying a lot! Put the books down and go ride Tower of Terror, Mike!



We had to take some PhotoPass pictures, of course. I absolutely LOVE PhotoPass and highly doubt I will EVER not get it. Except you really do have to try to get your money’s worth, but I don’t mind doing that. So worth it to me...especially since you can get the whole family in the photo without awkwardly trying to flag down a stranger who looks like they won’t break your camera or cut off your very tall boyfriend’s head.



I was anticipating the next photo to be a magic photo with an extra scarer thrown in there...but they didn’t do it. Oh well.



After that, we walked up to the non-existent lines and held our MagicBands up to the Mickey head to finally get in the park! Hooray!! I just love when you walk into a park and finally take in the sights, the sounds, the smells! The atmosphere and energy just engulfs you in the best possible way and how can you not just smile and skip all around?

Landon saw the old fashioned truck and wanted his picture, so we headed that way.



AND THEN...some kind soul offered to include me in the picture! I just love when that happens. I’ll ask if I really want to (I’m not shy at all) but sometimes it’s just more trouble then it’s worth. So I get really excited when someone just asks me and saves me the trouble!



I also JUST noticed that the letters on the truck spell “KLondike”. That’s like foreshadowing guys. (I would be so impressed if you could guess how.) I also now realize that the picture might be too small for you guys to see it's there, so you'll have to trust me on this one.

Of course, I had to stop and get PhotoPass pictures! I think the photographer we got here was really good!











Apparently prop frames are all the rage in Disney now?

Landon was thirsty so we stopped at a kiosk where I got a TOWER OF TERROR mug, which I have been longing to get ever since I saw it in Lia’s TR and we filled it with lemonade and it was so refreshing!

We had an awkward time frame before our first FastPass+ appointment. I think it was just after 2 and our FP+ was for 3:05. We wandered over to the Animation Academy area, and of course, had just barely missed Ralph & Vanellope. The class was full. Garret was just DYING to get on something, so we decided to get on the Great Movie Ride.

Instead of going through the front, center doors, the line was snaked around outside and going through a side door. Strange. We jumped in line at precisely 2:11 and the wait was posted for 25 minutes. I was handed the VIP card...or wait time card, whichever you prefer to call it. When I get it, I prefer to call it the VIP card.



So we got inside. They had two lines going - obviously one for cowboys, one for gangsters. I always forget which one is supposed to be more “rare”. I feel like I’ve gotten them both semi-equally, but maybe not.

We were loaded onto our car at 2:33, so just under the 25 minute mark! Perfect.

They must have been REALLY busy that day. The tour guide was guiding two cars at once today. Is that normal? Or have I always just been really close to the tour guide? I really didn’t like it that way, because some of the movie scenes are really close together and so she’d be talking about a scene we couldn’t even see yet almost constantly in the beginning. I still loved it! GMR is a good one, if you ask me.

After our journey through the movies, we took a quick bathroom break and it was finally time to head to our first FP+ attraction. Any guesses on what it was?

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Great start to your first day in Disney and at DHS!

I think I've missed a turn or two at Disney and ended up on the other side I-4 a couple of times. Sometimes it's easy to miss an exit or turn because each sign has about 4-5 resorts/parks listed on it and you have to read fast!

I did notice a lot of those photo frame prop at many of the Photopass spots.

 

[marDgreen88]

YAY DISNEY!!! Hey, it's the famous sign we could both see from our Pop rooms!

Oooh, my guess is that you bought some Klondike bars. Bahaha I'm just kidding... they don't sell those at Disney! Anyways, cuuuute PP pics!

I honestly can't recall if they've been doing the two-car thing for long at GMR, but they were definitely doing it in May. Who knows?

My guess is that your first FP+ reservation is for your Tower!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[jenny105]

Could it be...Tower of Terror?? It's either that or TSM.

And yay!!! I can see your pictures now!!!

Since we're going on a cruise in May I think we may skip Disney next year. But your TR is really making me want to go back...le sigh. If only I had unlimited funds and time off.

Glad you're finally in Disney!

 

[klacey1]

The idea of people expecting you to direct them when there are clear signs cracked me up haha.
Absolutely no surprise that DHS was your first park! You got some great PP pics, but I must admit I don't really understand the frame thing. I saw it in multiple places on our last trip and it just confused me haha.
Aww man, I can't believe they didn't add Mike in your MU topiary shot! That was my favorite magic shot of the trip!
I'm thinking ToT HAS to be your first FP+ ride! The idea of the GMR with a 25 min wait is baffling!!

 

[amberg93]

I'm surprised that you did go to HS first things first, but to each their own

You did get some great pictures. Especially in front of the hat, those are awesome!

A FP+ ressie with Landon there? I'm going to go against the ToT for now and guess the one and only TSMM at the first FP+