Many reasons to be THANKFUL! Oh, look the baby is crying Nov '12 (THROWBACK FRIDAY!)

[francis6306]

luvin the updates. Love your DD's ariel dress.

Thank you!

Haha Cortlyn's poses with the cars characters are adorable. Such a little diva! Especially with the Flo car!!!

I KNOW, RIGHT?!?!? Sigh… she did that pose all on her own! I'm in trouble, don't cha think??

 

[mickeystoontown]

I don't know why in the world you made that baby wear a jacket. What's wrong with you woman? Isn't it weird how certain things can make them cry like that?

After looking at your breakfast food pics, I have to admit that it just looks so-so. Nothing that looks gross but just kinda plain. But, the character interaction and the parade looks great!

 

[francis6306]

I don't know why in the world you made that baby wear a jacket. What's wrong with you woman? Isn't it weird how certain things can make them cry like that?

After looking at your breakfast food pics, I have to admit that it just looks so-so. Nothing that looks gross but just kinda plain. But, the character interaction and the parade looks great!

Yeah, the character interaction was probably the best of all of our experiences! But the food was lacking. I'm willing to give lunch and dinner a shot, because I really did enjoy the atmosphere and characters!

I know… what kind of crazy person am I??? I should just her freeze- because then she'd be totally happy and not cry, right? I don't know if you saw on FB, but I cleaned out the playroom and their bedroom today (good and DEEP!) and rearranged some furniture and Cortlyn had an EPIC meltdown about how she HATED the dresser in its new spot. I have a feeling it's going to be a tough few years through puberty!

 

[jenseib]

Yeah, the character interaction was probably the best of all of our experiences! But the food was lacking. I'm willing to give lunch and dinner a shot, because I really did enjoy the atmosphere and characters!

I know… what kind of crazy person am I??? I should just her freeze- because then she'd be totally happy and not cry, right? I don't know if you saw on FB, but I cleaned out the playroom and their bedroom today (good and DEEP!) and rearranged some furniture and Cortlyn had an EPIC meltdown about how she HATED the dresser in its new spot. I have a feeling it's going to be a tough few years through puberty!

I used to be that way too. My Mom would move my furniture around and I would cry and cry. Now I love moving furniture, but really don't have the room to do so. Claire also loves to do it.

 

[francis6306]

I used to be that way too. My Mom would move my furniture around and I would cry and cry. Now I love moving furniture, but really don't have the room to do so. Claire also loves to do it.

I think it's just that she #1 didn't get a say- she's one of those that you have to make her think it's her idea. #2 she was over tired!

 

[francis6306]

OMG, every time I feel like I MIGHT have gotten the hang of this new photobucket, they change something. Now there are pages, so you can't just scroll down to view all your pictures AND you can't just click and highlight the codes? That makes me even MORE crazy. I miss just clicking on the link and it automatically "copy" for you. Now, I have to highlight and copy??? PHOTOBUCKET- YOU STINK!!!!!! (and I know if I actually open the picture, I can do the "highlight and copy" but I like to view all the thumbnails (helps me plan my story!)

So, this is it… our last night at Disney World. It's so sad…

We made our way back to EPCOT, so that we could enjoy our exotic dinner at…





Restaurant Marrakesh!

We were excited to try this meal! We weren't sure if we would like the food- but we enjoy trying new things! I was surprised at how crowded the area was when we checked in! We looked over the menu and I got a little worried… would there be ANYTHING I liked?!!? But we had committed to this meal and I wanted to see what Cortlyn thought about the Belly Dancer!

Finally, we had some seats in the waiting area… but I stayed on the floor…

We sat down on the upper lefthand side of the restaurant close to the stairs. MAN do they have these tables in tight!!!

I LOVED the music that was being played while we ate. I think it was fun to have them playing traditional instruments and singing!

They quickly brought us some yummy bread! Man… the bakers at WDW are just amazing. I haven't had any bread I could refuse yet! (do you see some little hands trying to get a piece of that bread!heehee!)

This is the butter pats that they brought us! They were nearly frozen they were SOOO cold! The bread was warm, but it took a while to melt the butter for the bread!

Our waiter was great. He was wonderful at helping us pick our meals. I was trying to decide between the Chicken Kabobs and something else, but he told me to go with the the Kabobs. He was right! It was delicious and the only problem was I wanted MORE food! I actually had 3 kabobs, but I must have taken one off my plate before the picture…

(From Allears.net: Chicken Kebabs - brochettes of chicken breast, olive salad and dried fruit sweet couscous)
The olive salad was gross- but I don't like olives, so you can't really trust my opinion there. The rice had cranberries and dates I think. It was really sweet- almost dessert sweet.

Corey got the Lambshank. He said the flavor was great, but it was a bit fattier than he was expecting.

I'm not seeing the right description for his meal- it doesn't seem to match anything on allears.

Cortlyn wanted a burger. Ketchup and pickles only please!

While we were eating, we saw the belly dancer come out and do her dance. Cortlyn was amazed. Then, they said the kids could come and dance- well, you know Cortlyn was all over that!! I think she was the best one on the floor…


Whenever we watch Aladdin now, Cortlyn likes to belly dance and has asked several times for those "little finger things" like the belly dancer had.

For dessert, Corey and I both ordered the Baklava. Now, it SAYS it's an assortment, but we could not tell a difference in the flavors really… seemed more like a shape and MAYBE a slight difference in the texture. Now, they were WONDERFUL, but it wasn't like we had 3 completely different pieces of baklava, you know?

We enjoyed our meal! I would totally do it again! Those kabobs were the BOMB! After we left, we looked around the shops and I wanted to buy this, but my kids wouldn't let me. They just laughed??

We started walking back up towards future world and I remembered we needed to try the Beverly! Corey said it wasn't "that bad" but he knew I was looking for a reaction. He's a punk like that sometimes.

We decided to go back to the Seas and check in with Nemo! I just have to say… I HATE how long this queue is when there is nobody in line! zig-zag-zig! But I'm glad I have had such quick lines at the Nemo ride for sure!

We thoroughly enjoyed the ride and then we came out and played with the fishies!

So, after this, I think we had a slight meltdown from someone, because I have NO pictures after this time. I know I was hoping that we'd get to see IllumiNations, but it wasn't going to happen for us this trip. We went back to the hotel, and I'm sure I started packing up.

 

[francis6306]

I remembered what cause the meltdown and who it was!!!!!!

We had gone to the Turtle Talk with Crush and Cortlyn was so excited to see it. Cortlyn was up front and she was all smiles. Then… Crush asked her name. And she started hiding and CRYING. I couldn't understand WHY she was acting like that- sooo unlike her. Anyway, after a few minutes, it was clear that she wasn't calming down, soooo… we made the decision to just leave. Clearly, she was over tired and needed to get to sleep and QUICKLY! I hated to leave, because I knew Catie would enjoy the Turtle Talk, but Cortlyn couldn't handle it.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Restraunt Marrakesh looks interesting. I checked out the menu when I was researching for our Dec trip, but I didnt think the family would care for it much. Glad you enjoyed your meal though

 

[francis6306]

Restraunt Marrakesh looks interesting. I checked out the menu when I was researching for our Dec trip, but I didnt think the family would care for it much. Glad you enjoyed your meal though

We knew it would be a risk, but since they had "normal" things on the kids menu, we went with it. Just seeing my sweet girl belly dance was worth it to me! Now, I will say, the food is VERY different. If we had more time, we may have just tried a CS meal there to see if we liked it first… but that wasn't an option for us. I would go again though!

 

[emmysmommy]

Cortlyn was adorable with the belly dancer. She really did a great job imitating the moves. I love that she wants those finger things!

We at at Marrakesh this last trip as well and I had the same thing as you. I tried to like the cous cous but I would rather have had some rice. I would definitely return but maybe sub a different side. Oh, and I LOVED the olive salad - olive lover here! The head piece is so you, I don't know why the girls nixed that idea!

Oh those turtles that ask kids their names!!! Ha ha! So sorry for the abrupt departure but what can you do.

 

[francis6306]

Cortlyn was adorable with the belly dancer. She really did a great job imitating the moves. I love that she wants those finger things!

We at at Marrakesh this last trip as well and I had the same thing as you. I tried to like the cous cous but I would rather have had some rice. I would definitely return but maybe sub a different side. Oh, and I LOVED the olive salad - olive lover here! The head piece is so you, I don't know why the girls nixed that idea!

Oh those turtles that ask kids their names!!! Ha ha! So sorry for the abrupt departure but what can you do.

Look at us! I knew I liked you! Ordering the same meal! haha And I was so bummed about the headpiece. I have this one outfit that it would have looked great with!

 

[francis6306]

I needed to finish this up! Sorry, it's taken so long!! Life has just been a LITTLE crazy! I actually ended up going to GA this week for a little bit and I found something that MIGHT just be interesting to you wonderful people…

Love of Disney started VERY early for me!!

I'll be back with the FINAL installment soon!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics! Your kids are so cute!

I also love the older ones

 

[jenseib]

Too Cute

 

[francis6306]

The last day was just travel… travel back to the coldest, yuckiest, grossest… okay, maybe it's not that bad, but it WAS MUCH colder and not nearly as magical!

I had packed up everything the next before. And by packed up, I mean I threw EVERYTHING into the suitcases! I decided that since I had the credit with Airtran, we would check all three suitcases- even the little one. Why keep up with something on the way home? If it got lost on the way home, we'd be fine. (I had carried some of our clothes in the carryon the first time- just in case!!! You just never know!)

Corey and I were grumpy- you know, nothing really important, but just grumpy that we were leaving and grumpy that it was SO early! Ugh! I have learned my lesson! Early flight TO Orlando and late flight HOME! Our flight was late morning, but we had to be at the ME at 7. I managed to forget the paper for the ME in the room and the driver wasn't happy with us because of that. Corey RAN back to our room (thank goodness the keys are keepsakes and still worked!) and grabbed the paper while I waited with the girls and luggage. We weren't the only ones that didn't have the paper though- thank GOODNESS! We had another family that was dealing with something. Not sure what, but we were all waiting on the curb and the driver wasn't all that understanding. I get it- you don't want to be behind all day… I'm sorry!

Finally, we get on the bus and I realize that this bus is a "new" bus with seat belts. Cortlyn thought she was so big with a regular seatbelt to wear (She's still in a 3 point harness at home. I take car safety very seriously!). It actually was nice to have those straps. Catie seemed to understand that the straps on the seat meant she needed to chill out and just ride. Haha. We got to MCO and it was a totally different vibe than Indy had been, but it was the weekend after a Holiday. It was VERY crowded and people didn't seem as nice. Anyway, I told Corey to go get CFA and I'd meet him at the security gates with the girls. W

I know… I know… Mommy doesn't want to leave either!

Clearly, Corey and I had a breakdown in communication here. I thought it was pretty clear that I wanted to get breakfast to eat on the other side of the security gates, but he thought he was suppose to get all of our meals- including drinks. Um, no. We can't take those drinks through security. And you know, he didn't get the regular drink or even a large one for us to share. He got BOTH of us large Dr. Pepper's and the girls each had a "chug" of milk. Luckily, I could put milk in the sippies (which actually already had water in them) for the girls, but I had to gulp down my Dr. P. Corey just wasn't thinking. He thought we'd eat before we went through. And my thought is well, why did I tell you I'd meet you at the gate?!?! Venus and Mars, huh?

We went over to the security gate and BOY this took so much longer than Indy!!! There were so many people!!! We finally got through, but the TSA people were just annoyed I think. We made it to our gate and we waited there for a while. There was some delays- which of course, I don't remember now what was going on… but we did get in a little later than we should have. Catie was SO tired that she fell asleep as soon as I gave her the paci when we sat down on the plane. She slept on and off most of the flight home. When we got to Indy, and stepped off the plan into the hallway to to the gate, BOY did we feel like we had stepped into the Arctic! It was soooo cold! I think there was even a dusting of snow.

So, that's our trip! We had a GREAT time and we'd totally go at Thanksgiving Break again in a heartbeat! I hope that we are able to start really planning our next trip soon! Spring Break is looking more and more like a possibility, but I won't be able to start pricing it out or anything until the summer! Plus, we won't know the exact dates until EIU announces them anyway!

 

[francis6306]

Great pics! Your kids are so cute!

I also love the older ones

Thank you! I think they are pretty cute myself!

Too Cute

Thanks! I was amazed at how much Pooh had changed! Pluto seems about the same though!

 

[jenseib]

I hate going home too. The mood totally changes and when I am with Skip, he annoys me more as he can't wait to get home, while I want to linger and stay. He is like running to get to the house and then out to the barn. STUPID!

 

[francis6306]

I hate going home too. The mood totally changes and when I am with Skip, he annoys me more as he can't wait to get home, while I want to linger and stay. He is like running to get to the house and then out to the barn. STUPID!

Yeah, thankfully Corey isn't trying to bust out to go "work" but it's just all together a crabby day for sure!

 

[emmysmommy]

I LOVED your throw-back photos!! Adorable. It made me think of how time sure flies and how I hope my kids have happy memories of times in the parks and such. (And then I had to go there to think... My parents had 3 grandchildren at my age! You get the picture.)

The Mars and Venus thing was so funny - sorry! That's so my husband and me!

I packed our ME voucher in my checked bag once but the bus driver was nice and said no problem. At least the room key still worked.

Wishing you and your family a blessed weekend!

 

[francis6306]

I LOVED your throw-back photos!! Adorable. It made me think of how time sure flies and how I hope my kids have happy memories of times in the parks and such. (And then I had to go there to think... My parents had 3 grandchildren at my age! You get the picture.)

The Mars and Venus thing was so funny - sorry! That's so my husband and me!

I packed our ME voucher in my checked bag once but the bus driver was nice and said no problem. At least the room key still worked.

Wishing you and your family a blessed weekend!

I figured I might as well be honest about our trip! Men and Women just communicate differently! And being tired and crabby only makes it worse!!! But I love him more than anything, so that's all that matters right?

I wish we had a driver that was so understanding! I mean, shouldn't he have a list as well?!?