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Curls and Stitches

I bought the greatest hair tool today, a deep waver.  It worked better on the blonde - maybe because I sprayed more heat protection spray in it?

I did their hair around 2:00 this afternoon and as of bedtime, the hair was still curly!  I think I've found a winner.  I did buy a "mini" version of the deep waver, I thought it would work better with their hair.  I also read on some reviews that the larger ones get really heavy.  I think the larger one would have been quicker, as more hair could have fit in the plate.  However, the larger was twice the money and I wasn't willing to pay for something I wasn't sure would work.

In other news, the kids were playing outside this evening.  #2 was acting crazy, as usual; and in an attempt to escape his older brother (who supposedly wasn't chasing him), he decided to hide in the car....well, he opened the car door on his eye and busted it right open.  After sitting three hours in the ER, we came home stitched up and ready to go.

Last of the vacation pics, I promise

There was a nice jazz pianist at the counter service restaurant we ate at.  It was nice to sit in the shade and listen to his tunes.  While the boys talked to him and requested some songs, the girls and I went and stood in a 15 minute line for some princesses.  We didn't know who we were going to get.  Anna was hoping to see Aurora the previous 5 days, and when we turned the corner when it was our turn guess who it was.  Aurora!  Why this is her favorite Disney princess, I'll never know.

That evening, there were absolutely no lines for Buzz Lightyear, so we rode it about 3 times. Derek got the highest score possible and grabbed the camera to prove to everyone that he has what he takes to be a galactic space ranger.

You also know you've ridden Buzz Lightyear too much when you're more interested in posing for the picture at the end than playing the game.

It turns out that the line for the Tomorrowland Speedway finally dies down around 10:45pm. The kids kept begging to ride it and Derek and I refused to stand in line for it. As one blogger put, he would rather spend 2 hours in line at the DMV than 20 minutes in the Speedway line. I truly think that is the hottest spot in all of Disney.

And finally, some pictures from outside the Haunted Mansion.  Some change were made to the ride since our last visit to Disney, and we loved it even more!

Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios - The favorite park of four of us, including me.

There were a couple of green army men in Pixar Place, the only two characters in any park without lines to meet them.  He signed his autograph "Green Army Man", which the kids thought was funny.  I wonder what they expected?

Molly got picked to announce to the queue when they could enter into the backlot tour. 

A few of us, the only ones we had visible contact of, on the BEST RIDE EVER .... Toy Story Mania.  The park opened at 9:00 and we made our way straight there.  At 9:05, the wait time was already 50 minutes.  By lunch, they were already out of fastpasses.  Seriously. 

We ended up finding a few more characters with very little wait time.  Lucky for me, the kids didn't really care too much about meeting characters so we only met the ones with little wait time.  There was one the girls wanted to meet pretty bad, and that was Rapunzel.  However, when they found out they would have to stand for 1 hour (no joke) they quickly changed their minds.

Mary Poppins said they were very well behaved kids, and she would know, right?

We went back to Mr. Incredible, only because Frozone was there.

Everyone told me that Rockin' Roller Coaster was the best roller coaster, and they were right.  Anna was exactly the right size.  Even though Molly pitched a fit about other rides, she rode it with us and ended up liking it.  She even got brave enough and rode Tower of Terror.  There was only one who chickened out and refused to ride it.   

The absolute best time Derek and I had was at a drawing class at the animation studio.  I think I missed my calling as an animator.  In fact, I'm thinking of enrolling in art college and moving the family to Burbank to join the Disney staff with my mad drawing skills.  Okay, not really, but it was FUN.

More Disney

Magic Kingdom

The day finally arrived where we went to the big one - Magic Kingdom.  My Dad had given each kid spending money to buy souvenirs.  The little one on the far right bought Minnie ears the very first day.  She rarely wore them, but she insisted on bringing them with us everywhere.  That's why Nate is wearing them.   And yes, and they were left behind on a ride on day 4.

We saw the evil stepmother and Cinderella's stepsisters at the back of the castle.  Anna really, really wanted her picture made with them and their autograph, but they were on their way for a break.

The Fairy Godmother came out to take their place.  While she happily signed Ann's book, she got on to the boys for sitting on the fence in the background and let them know that benches were for sitting on.  After meeting her, I have officially decided that Fairy Godmother is my least favorite Disney character.  Even lower than Stitch.

While the youngest in the family is a thrill seeker, riding everything she could, the 7 and 8 year old weren't so sure about some rides.  After seeing the 52 foot plunge on Splash Mountain, they refused to get on.  But being the good parents that Derek and I are, we made them.  It was a mistake.  As you can see on the picture they took of us, the redhead was scared to death.  Some of the quotes from her during the ride - the happy part through Br'er Rabbit's world - were "Just kill me now", "Why?", "I'm going to die", etc, etc.

Everyone else loved Splash Mountain so much, that they turned around and went right back on the ride.  I wasn't going to torture my girl any longer, so she and I went to meet Jessie.  When we were about 5 people away, Jessie had to go inside for a few minutes to "check on Bullet".  When she came back out guess who was with her!  Woody!  The two of them together were by far the best character interaction we experienced.  As sooon as Jessie saw Molly's red hair, she stopped in her tracks and pointed at Molly's hair, then pointed to her own red yarn braid; then she kissed the top of her head a few times.

As Jessie and Molly were posing for a picture, Woody stepped in front of them as I snapped.  Then Molly poked her sweet head out from behind me, and Jessie followed - making my favorite shot of all.

Remember me saying in a earlier post that the little one didn't like to take breaks from rides to take in a show?  Well she really, really didn't like taking time to listen to animatronic presidents.  Here she is in the Hall of Presidents lobby.  She did end up liking it, as we all did.

We broke up into 3 groups on the Mad Teacups.  Those who wanted to spin as fast as they could, those that wanted to spin a little bit, and then Derek and Molly - who didn't want to spin at all.

They did end up spinning, though, and had a grand time.  She was bummed when it ended.  How could you like this ride and be freaked out by Splash Mountain??  I'll never know.

And finally, one of our all time favorite kiddie rides - The Magic Carpets.  The boys like it to try to get their carpets in line with the spitting camels. 

Worst part about Magic Kingdom - Thunder Mountain was closed for renovations.  The big crane and construction workers extending Fantasyland kind of took away some of the "magic".

Disney World Vacation

Schooooool's out .... for summer. Da da da da da da da da.  We left straight away for the most expensive happiest place on Earth.

I found the greatest website that gave us some useful tips, as well as a crowd calendar to tell me which park to go to on which day.  Since we didn't have to wait any longer than 20 minutes for a ride anyway, I'd say Josh at EasyWDW was right on.  Thanks, Josh!

Let me also say that this was our girls' first trip to Disney and the first trip that my youngest son would remember.  They were beside themselves excited.

Day 1 - Animal Kingdom

Our first time at Animal Kingdom and we loved it.  It might have been a bad idea to run to Expedition Everest first, purely because the girls had never been on a roller coaster before .... much less one that goes BACKWARDS!  While the baby girl loved it and rode it three times, the redheaded one hated it and almost didn't want to ride anything the rest of the day.

We were lucky enough to get the first four seats of Everest, and my man snapped this picture where the track ends, due to the Yeti breaking it.  You then go (pretty fast) backwards into the mountain before escaping the Yeti.  I couldn't believe how much the backwards took my stomach.  I happily stayed back with Red while the others went to ride it a few more times before the crowd hit.

Wet family after the Kali River Rapids.  The one ride out of all four parks in which I refused to ride.  I hate, I repeat HATE getting soaked and walking around in wet draws and shoes the rest of the day.

Our "bug glasses" before It's Tough to be a Bug, one of my favorite attractions at Animal Kingdom.

Another great thing about Animal Kingdom was the line to meet characters wasn't as long as the other parts.  In no time at all, we were able to meet Goofy, Donald, and the mouse himself, Mickey.

The little one loved rides so much, that she was mad anytime we wanted to catch a show.  Here we are at a really cool bird show.  I included this picture not only to show her pout, but to also show one of the last times I ever wore my treasured Maui Jim sunglasses.  Yes, I left them on a ride.  I had them for close to a decade and I will miss them dearly.

Day 2 - EPCOT

I thought that since I'd grown up a little, that I would enjoy Epcot.  Nope, still the most boring park, in my opinion.  I didn't even take many pictures.  Oh, and the redhead that hated all other thrill rides LOVED Mission: Space, a flight simulator that had you crash landing on Mars.  Funny how all the simulator rides made me nauseous and those are the ones she loved the most.

The best part of Epcot was playing with the interactive games inside the big golf ball.  Lest favorite (of mine) was Soarin'.

Trying a Healthier Lifestyle

In an effort to eat and live healthier, we've joined a CSA.  If you curious about what a CSA is or if there is one available near you, visit this site.  This week I got some farm fresh eggs, beets, snap peas, lettuce, and also got to try my first ever goat's milk!  The one I joined is just $15 a week, and I think that's a deal, esp since my farmer delivers to my door.

I know I said I'm trying to eat healthier, but old habits die hard.  The first week of our delivery, farmer Paul walked into my kitchen with bottles of Coke on my counter.  He is the kind of live off the earth kind of guy, and I felt a kind of crazy guilt having a soda in front of him.  Silly, I know - as he probably didn't think anything of it.  Maybe.

I also found a magazine that I love, called Clean Eating.  You know some magazines that seem mostly ads and not a lot of info?  This is not one of those.  I've found great recipes and inspiration the issues I've bought. 

When browsing through Amazon the other day, I found the Clean Eating has put out two cookbooks with great recipes from past issues.  I ordered one, but haven't tried anything yet - but let me tell you the dishes look delicious.  Check it out:


I've also been working out to Jillian Michaels videos.  I started doing 30 Day Shred everyday for a 12 or so days, then I switched it up and added some more of hers, including Jillian Michaels: No More Trouble Zones and Jillian Michaels Extreme Shed & Shred Let me tell you, she's kicking my butt.  She must know what she's doing because after only 3 weeks, I've already lost 1 1/2 off my waist.  A lot of reviewers complain about her yapping and rudeness, but I find that she's just what I need to whip my big butt into shape.  If you're looking for a great workout at a good price, I think the 30 Day Shred is a great place to start.

Dirty Girl Mud Run and More

I have wanted to do a mud run ever since I first heard of them, which is weird, since a) I don't like to run, b) I have no strength at all do the the obstacles, and c) I don't like to get dirty.

When the opportunity to do the Dirty Girl mud run came, I jumped at the chance.  Luckily, there were some other girls in my group who didn't run so I had someone to walk with me.

Here we are pre race, all squeaky clean.

This was the last mud pit ...and the one where I got crazy muddy from someone (Hunter) throwing mud all over me.

They had a station where you could donate your muddy shoes, and some of us gladly threw ours in the pile.

Here I am, after the race, in all my muddy glory.  It was fun, but next time I think I would rather do a mud run with Derek.  He motivates me like no one can and I think I could have made it over the walls and cargo nets better with him cheering me on (and pushing my big butt over).

I made it home to see my older two off to a dance/awards night for band and chorus at the school.  Can you believe it's the end of the school year already?

Above is my 7th grader who plays trumpet, and who tucked in his shirt long enough for a picture.  Below is the 8th grader who plays trombone, and who also won an award tonight for best trombone; and who also can, surprisingly, pull off a bow tie.

Against their wishes, my man and I chaperoned the event.  It only took washing my hair 5 times to get the mud out and make myself halfway presentable.