Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho! It's Off to Celebrate We Go!--LAST UPDATE!!! PG 62 ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

[Lady Lallie]

I love mega long updates!

Sounds like a great day at AK, you got a lot done.

I love Megs dress she wore to Chef Mickeys!

 

[stacikristine]

I can't believe you stayed until the park closed! How great!! Megan looks SOO pretty at Chef Mickey's! I love her little dress!

 

[praisehisname]

That was a great update! So cool that you were able to make it the whole day at AK. Seeing FOTLK and Nemo are the things I'm most looking forward to doing at AK when we go, since we've never been able to fit them in. Megan looked so cute at Chef Mickey's!

 

[MegansMom]

Wow, looks like a wonderful Ak day and a delicious dinner. Megan looks so happy

It was our best AK day ever! She was having a blast that day---we all were!

I love mega long updates!

Sounds like a great day at AK, you got a lot done.

I love Megs dress she wore to Chef Mickeys!

I definitely owed you all a mega update!!! I really can say that we got everything we wanted to do done at AK this year---we really didn't want to go do Kali so it all worked out so well for us! I love that dress too! You should see it in person---the skirt is so sweet and has multiple layers underneath! She looks so pretty in it! You probably can't tell in the pictures, but the headband matches it too! She LOVES that ensemble!

I can't believe you stayed until the park closed! How great!! Megan looks SOO pretty at Chef Mickey's! I love her little dress!

It was a great day there! We LOVE that dress, and hopefully it will still fit on our next trip! It is a great dress we found at the Disney Store here.

That was a great update! So cool that you were able to make it the whole day at AK. Seeing FOTLK and Nemo are the things I'm most looking forward to doing at AK when we go, since we've never been able to fit them in. Megan looked so cute at Chef Mickey's!

Those two shows were the highlight of the day! They were both SO good! She really did look so sweet! My only regret is that I didn't get a group shot of us! Oh well.....maybe next time!

 

[pooh'smate]

I just love all the pictures of Megs. She is looking so grown up now and you can tell by the look on her face she is truly enjoying herself. I love the dress she wore to Chef Mickey's so cute.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Love the mega updates! What a fun day!!!

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

Looks like you had a great time! We never get through much at AK before we all succomb to the I'm-too-hot-grumpiness. Last trip I think we were there for three hours, which included the Nemo show. Loved the show, but couldn't wait to find a place with more A/C! We need to go during the winter some day so that we can take our time wandering around and really take it all in.

Lucky Megan - she got to start off the day with the big guy, and end it with him, too! Chef Mickey's is one of my DH's absolute must-do things. It's a ton of fun for me, too, because we went when my parents took us as kids, too. Lots of great memories!

Looking forward to reading about Epcot!

 

[lmillercrew]

Wonderful update! Megan looks SO happy! I wonder if her face hurt from her constant smile? Looking forward to day 3!!

 

[MegansMom]

I just love all the pictures of Megs. She is looking so grown up now and you can tell by the look on her face she is truly enjoying herself. I love the dress she wore to Chef Mickey's so cute.

She has grown up TOO Fast!!!!! I want the pause button so badly!

Love the mega updates! What a fun day!!!

It was our best AK day EVER!!!! I know we did alot, but we really took our time and had a relaxing day there if that makes any sense!

Looks like you had a great time! We never get through much at AK before we all succomb to the I'm-too-hot-grumpiness. Last trip I think we were there for three hours, which included the Nemo show. Loved the show, but couldn't wait to find a place with more A/C! We need to go during the winter some day so that we can take our time wandering around and really take it all in.

Lucky Megan - she got to start off the day with the big guy, and end it with him, too! Chef Mickey's is one of my DH's absolute must-do things. It's a ton of fun for me, too, because we went when my parents took us as kids, too. Lots of great memories!

Looking forward to reading about Epcot!

We had a great time, and didn't get too overwhelmed by the heat----a plus for sure!!! We made sure we tried to rotate between inside and outside attractions----and drink LOTS of water!!! It cools you off from the inside out and makes it a little more manageable! Normally, we never make it after 2pm! I was impressed!

It was our first time at Chef Mickey's and I think we all had such a good time! I am sure we will go back for more again!

Wonderful update! Megan looks SO happy! I wonder if her face hurt from her constant smile? Looking forward to day 3!!

Crazy enough, her face looks like that 90% of the time---she is a very happy child---so I guess it is just used to it!!!



Hang Gang!!! Happy Monday! I hope you all had marvelous Thanksgivings with the ones you love!!! Our Thanksgiving celebrations started last Sunday when we hosted my family for our Thanksgiving Dinner and celebrated our Turkey Day birthdays! (We have two of them!) Both Tom and Megan were off on Wednesday, so we started decorating the outside of the house since it was not that cold. Being the great Dad that he is, Tom let Megan direct the process this year, and even though it is NOT our "best" attempt at exterior illuminations, it is sweet to us because Megan had such a hand in it!

Thursday was spent at Tom's Mom's house for Thanksgiving with his family, and we spent the day on Friday putting up the interior decorations and Christmas tree. Again, Megan headed up the ornament arranging again this year, and did a great job! I smile every time I look at the tree because it reminds me of how proud she was with each ornament that she hung.

We have also been quite busy with "Holiday Activities!" Tom has been quite the jolly elf this year, and has planned so many holiday-themed activities for the three of us to do. We started our events on Saturday the 21st by going to see the broadway production of "White Christmas"---Megan's FAVORITE Christmas movie ever! She LOVED every minute of the show---and so did we! Then on Saturday, we continued with our festivities by visiting the Cincinnati Conservatory to view the holiday display, and then headed into Downtown Cincy to see the two big train displays in Downtown and to go to the skating rink and big tree on Fountain Square. On Sunday, we headed south to the Lexington Horse Park to drive through their "Southern Lights" Christmas display and activity centers. We have had SUCH a blast, and are getting SO into the holiday spirit!!! I have pictures of all of these events---so I will upload them and share them with you!!!

Until then---have a great Monday!!!! Jen

 

[jenjolt]

Happy Monday to you to Jen!!! All of your holiday activities sound like so much fun!!!! I can't wait to see all your pics!!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hi, Jen! Happy Monday to you, too! I still need to go back and read your mega update, but I had to chime in and tell you that White Christmas is my favorite Christmas movie, too! Megan has great taste!!!

 

[pooh'smate]

I love White Christmas. I just bought the anniversary edition yesterday at Target because it was on sale and my vhs copy is worn out. Looking forward to seeing all the pictures of your holiday activities. You sure have been busy.

 

[MegansMom]

Happy Monday to you to Jen!!! All of your holiday activities sound like so much fun!!!! I can't wait to see all your pics!!

We have had a blast....and have SO many more planned!!! I will get those pictures on here so you all can see, and will give you the details of our other outings too!

Hi, Jen! Happy Monday to you, too! I still need to go back and read your mega update, but I had to chime in and tell you that White Christmas is my favorite Christmas movie, too! Megan has great taste!!!

Great Minds think alike, huh?!?!?! She LOVES that movie, and the show really did not disappoint either! It was SO much fun! She loves watching the film, and singing along with the songs, and she even tries to duplicate all the dances!!!! TOO MUCH FUN!!!!

I love White Christmas. I just bought the anniversary edition yesterday at Target because it was on sale and my vhs copy is worn out. Looking forward to seeing all the pictures of your holiday activities. You sure have been busy.

We really have been, but it has all been fun "busyness!" The cutest thing about Megs' "obsession" with White Christmas is that when she hears any Bing Crosby Christmas song now, she always goes, "Hey Mommy, that's Bob Wallace!" (His character's name from the movie!) She's too cute! So in our household, good ole' Bing will now forever be Bob Wallace!

 

[pooh'smate]

We really have been, but it has all been fun "busyness!" The cutest thing about Megs' "obsession" with White Christmas is that when she hears any Bing Crosby Christmas song now, she always goes, "Hey Mommy, that's Bob Wallace!" (His character's name from the movie!) She's too cute! So in our household, good ole' Bing will now forever be Bob Wallace!

That is funny. The White Christmas show opened here in Omaha. I wanted to go so badly but I was working the week they were here and wasn't able to go.

 

[MegansMom]

I know I should start out this update with apologies, but I think I will save those and more explanations for later, so I can just jump right into our day at EPCOT!!!

We got up at 7:45 (sleeping in, eh?) and were ready and fed and out to the bus by 8:35. It is a VERY short bus ride to EPCOT from POFQ, so we were there in no time---even made it for rope drop at 9am! YEAH!!!

We decided that we wanted to shake things up a bit from our traditional EPCOT plans---we were trying to see new things and do EPCOT completely differently than ever before. So, we headed left first instead of our traditional right, and made our way over to the Universe of Energy right after rope drop. (Tom ran and grabbed some TT FP for us as we made our way over there!)

This was a nice relaxing way to start our day---who doesn't mind a 45 minute ride?!?!?!?!? Well, I should correct that statement.....MOST of us enjoyed the entire ride----the dinosaur scenes are still a little too scary for Megs, but she just quietly tucked her head into my shoulder until I gave the "all clear" sign.

After that, we ALL decided to head to the Green version of Mission Space! I was so excited that my other two were going to be able to do this this year! WE WALKED RIGHT ON!!!! (Tom also grabbed more FP for that ride for later as we left!) They both really enjoyed it---didn't make Tom sick at all!! The cutest thing was watching Megan trying to reach past her harness to hit her buttons.......didn't quite make it, but it was sure cute to watch! She really LOVED it.....giggled through most of it!

By this point, it was time to use our TT FP, so we quickly headed over there, and it was not long before we life-size Test Track dummies.....giggling, squealing, and enjoying every minute of this ride! Megan loved it when we took off and zipped around the track outside! Since it was such a huge hit, Tom grabbed another set of FP for that ride for later too!

From there, we decided to cross over Innoventions and head straight towards the Figment ride.....again, walked right on! Megan loves this ride so much---thinks Figment is too cute, but can't STAND the skunk smell, so we pulled out a wipe from my bag, and she held it over her nose through the entire ride---giggling all the way! PHEW!!! At least we had no stinky issues! The one thing that really surprised me though was that she did not want to stay and play in the lab section like she usually does. So we headed next door to the Land Pavilion!

Tom immediately headed down to pick up FP for Soarin,' and Megan and I went to grab lunch for all of us at Sunshine Seasons.......so at least one EPCOT tradition remained!!!! That place is so good, and the choices so different, that I seriously don't ever see us choosing to eat anywhere else!!! We all ate from the Chinese station---YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!

Once we were thoroughly stuffed, we went upstairs to watch the Circle of Life movie one more time! We still enjoy that one after all these years! Megan always giggles at the characters!

Once the film was over, we realized that we still had a lot of time until our Soarin' FP, so we headed over to the Seas to hang with our Nemo friends for a bit!

We walked right onto the Nemo ride.....can you ever get tired of that one?!?!?! I love it!! Megan sang along to "In this BIG BLUE WORLD!" really loudly, but it was SO CUTE!

Then we headed over towards CRUSH!!!!

We walked around a little more to see all the "fishies," and once we were finished with that pavilion, we headed back to The Land for our flight on Soarin'!

We went back through the FP line, but it still seemed to take a little bit to actually get to the ride.....it was probably only 15 minutes, but it felt like forever!!! I wasn't sure how this ride would go---Tom and Megan were both a little uneasy with it when we all rode it on our Nov 2007 trip, but this year, was different!!!! Megan LOVED it so much!!! She did pull her feet up and sit with her legs crossed, but she loved looking at all the scenes and feeling like she was flying! We all really enjoyed it!

At that point, we decided to head back to the middle and take in Spaceship Earth!!!

Megs sat in the front with Tom, and their pictures were so funny---they both decided to make funny faces at the camera with their mouths wide open and tongues hanging out. I wish I could have gotten a good picture of it for you, but I could not. I love this ride, and I really enjoyed sitting by myself in the back--watching the two of them in the front, but also enjoying the trip through time on my own! We played around in the labs on our way out, and then decided it was time to use some more FP and then head to the World Showcase!

So with MS and TT FP in hand we went back to both!!! First the Green version of MS, and then we headed over to Megan's now beloved TT!!!! We needed to wait about 5 minutes for that ride, so Tom ran over to the Maelstrom to get FP for that ride for later, and Megan and I hung out in the shade with some snacks while we waited.

Then it was time to get in line for TT!!!! I'm not sure what she ate, but one of her snacks turned her tongue a VERY bright blue.......

She was quite impressed!!!

After another VERY fun ride on TT, we then headed over to WS!!!

Our first stop was in Mexico to take in the boat ride for the first time since its' renovation. Don't ask me why we haven't done this since its' reno---because it literally was one of Megs' favorites the first year we went---but alas, this was our first trip through with Donald and the gang! She loved it even more!!!

We then headed to Norway next and "tried" to use our Maelstrom FP. Long story short----apparently that day they were only giving out Maelstrom FP to those who had the birthday FP card. (Now, why no one asked Tom to see that when he obtained the FP I have no idea!!!!) BUT....needless to say, since we didn't have the birthday card to accompany said FP, the CM would NOT let us through the FP line!!! At that point, the line was pretty long, so we headed on to return later.

We then leisurely walked through China, the Outpost, Germany, America, and Italy.

Enjoying the trains in Germany

We also stopped to have a pretzel and a coke in Germany, but the pretzel was VERY BLAH!!!! I would not recommend it.....we actually wished we hadn't stopped!

We stopped to take in the American Adventure for the first time ever!! We were all so glad we did! We really enjoyed it!

A little bit of the inside of the theater---yes LL, I did some tricky angle work to give you a shot of the light fixtures too!

Megan decided to "model" for me while we waited for the show to start....

Visiting his "Native Land" in Italy!

(Sorry it is so blurry....Tom was playing with the camera and switched the settings on me....yeah, I don't let him handle the camera too much for that reason alone!)

Along our path at some point....

After Italy, we decided to head out to the boats to ferry our way over to the Yacht Club for dinner at the Captain's Grille. We quickly boarded and made our way over, so we ended up being 45 minutes early for our ressie, but were seated right away anyway! This restaurant is very nice, and the food good.....especially the Steak they had on special that night that Tom ordered. It was VERY good. I however, opted to go with the special Gnocchi of the night......I have a thing for Gnocchi.....I wish I would have gotten what Tom had. His was SO much better. My gnocchi were in a sauce that pretty much resembled the look and texture of water....not very appealing at all. I could hardly muster the "strength" to eat only about a quarter of it. I guess I should have sent it back, but I didn't....I just helped Tom with his asparagus and some leftover steak that he didn't have the room for! All in all though, I would recommend this restaurant again! We took the boat back to EP, decided that we really only wanted to do one more thing---Maelstrom---so we walked over to that ride, waited about 20minutes to ride it, and then when we were finished, headed out to our bus early---even before Illuminatiions. We were all so tired and worn out, that we didn't really want to mess with the crowds after that show at all! With the short bus ride, we were back "home," showered, and in bed before no time at all!!! Ahhhhh......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........


Favorite Moments of this Day:

--watching Megan trying to stretch to push the buttons! She just looked so cute, so little---made me realize that she hasn't TOTALLY grown up yet! YEAH!

--Listening to the MANY squeals coming from Megan each time we rode TT!!! I wish I could have captured them on video!

--Watching Megan ENJOY Soarin'! Our last experience was not that good, so this was a welcome relief!

--The video faces that Tom and Megan made on SE---I can still see them clearly in my head!

--Listening to the Voices of Liberty and watching American Adventure.....how moving and inspiring!!!! LOVED THEM!

 

[MegansMom]

Too often I have had to get on here and apologize for the length in between postings.......yet again, I am very sorry gang! Life has too often gotten in my way since our return home in October!! I can't say that it has all been bad "busyness" but "busyness" just the same. Know that even though life is pulling me away from the computer and DISing and you all, that I do often think about you, and feel such pangs of guilt when I haven't been the best TR writer in giving you all prompt updates. I can't promise that life will change any time soon---hey, it is the holidays---but thought I would share a few snippets of my life with you today!

There will be more coming---I am working in reverse order to show you all the holiday happenings we have been attending since the holiday season began!!!

Like I said....working backwards....so that means we start with the most recent....our adventure on this past Saturday!

We started our morning very early, by driving an hour north of us to Lebanon, Ohio to board the NORTH POLE EXPRESS!!!! This was a great time! We took a train ride---just like the movie---to the "North Pole" to see Santa! Along the way we listened to Christmas music, drank yummy hot chocolate, soft-baked Gingerbread Men, and were entertained by two of Santa's elves who juggled and performed magic tricks. Once we arrived at the North Pole, we got to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and were sent back on our merry way with a sleigh bell ornament in tow!

After our train trip, we found a neat old soda fountain/restaurant to have a little lunch in old historic Downtown Lebanon. It was a great morning and afternoon!!! We then went home for a little rest, but later that night headed out to the Cincinnati Zoo's annual Festival of Lights!

I will share those pictures and more with you later.....must run to go pick up the angel!!!

 

[If U Had Wings]

Love all the pics from your Epcot day. It sounds like it was so wonderful. You all look like your having such a great time!

 

[Trentmom]

We totally understand. This is a very busy time of year

Looks like you had a great time at Epcot.

Never heard of not being able to get a FP because it was not your birthday. That is so strange

Ride on Polar Express looks like so much fun

Megan is such a doll

 

[Charleston Princess]

What a great day at Epcot! I am always so amazed at how much you get done when you are in a park! No grass was growing under the three of you!!!

I love Megan's green coat -- she is so adorable! Riding the North Pole Express sounds like a great time!

 

[cherbear]

I LOVE the first pic of Megan looking out the window on the train. She looks so grown up! (I know, I know, that's not what you want to hear!!)

I am still waiting on those Snow White and Mike Myers pics...

Sorry I've been MIA...but I'm here now, and thankfully didn't have TOO TOO much to catch up on. There were several pages though!

I can't remember all the comments I was thinking as I read about your first few days! One thing I wanted to ask was--did you get your SE pics emailed to you?? I want to see their faces!!

You really have managed to get a lot done so far. And I love all the smiles from Megan...Keep 'em comin!!!