Lots going on!

It has been over a week since I posted anything and the only excuse I have is that I am still jet lagged and tired from the DW trip and hopefully this weekend, I can recoup! We had such a great trip. The flight there was pretty uneventful except for when we were getting ready to board, they made an announcement and said that there would be a slight delay because we didn't have a flight attendant. WHAT???? You have got to be kidding me. We were delayed about an hour until they "found" one and then were on our way. When we arrived in Orlando, the weather was gross! It was raining and very cloudy. We were afraid that this weather was the precursor to what the rest of the trip would be like. We got to the room, ate dinner, walked around, played in the arcade and waited on luggage. The Disney Magical Express takes care of everything so we didn't claim our bags at the airport. They pick them up and bring them to your room. We checked in at 7:50pm and at 10:30, we still didn't have luggage. I wanted to shower, take my contacts out and go to bed. Arden wanted to swim, Mike hadn't slept at all the night before because he worked, then got up went to class and we left for the airport, so he was passed out on the bed and could have cared less about anything and Mom was like me and getting a little worried. I called the front desk and they said, "It can take up to 3 hours, so just be patient, they will get here." Around 11:00 I headed down stairs to talk to someone in person. I spoke to a young lady who informed me that it can take up to 8 hours to get luggage. When those words came from her mouth, I think my head spun around! I said 8 hours? So you are telling me it could be 4:00am the next day before I get luggage? I don't think so. She corrected herself and said oh well, yes I guess it is 3 hours but we don't really have any control over that. I said,
"well, then I need you to get me someone who is in control." By this time, I was not happy because I was tired and not in the mood to deal with this. The Magical Express had not been very magical and the only magic I had seen was the "disappearing luggage act" and I was NOT impressed! By this time it was 11:30-11:45, I spoke to a very helpful young lady who knew what to do and who to talk to and she got me the answers I was looking for. Withing 30 minutes, the luggage had arrived and I was happy again! When I got to the room, Mike was still oblivious to what had happened and mom was going through our bags. So around 12:30 we were finally able to get some sleep!

The next day we slept in til around 9:00 and headed to the Magic Kingdom around 10:00. The weather was perfect and we were ready to take it all in! There were no lines for any of the rides, so we were able to do everything we wanted. The only time we actually had to wait in a line was for character pix and autographs. We worked out a system so we all would not have to stand in line and wait. Mom or Mike would go wait in line while Arden and I rode, then she would be able to get the pix and move on. It was great!!! We had dinner at Cinderella's Castle that night, so we left the MK around 3:00 to clean up and be back at MK around 5:00 so we could be there in time for dinner. It was the most amazing thing we did while there. Arden dressed up in her Cinderella dress and got her pix made with the "real" Cinderella. The meal was prepared by 5 star chefs. We had steak, potatoes, steamed asparagus and tea. Then for desert a chocolate cake that was to die for. The mice and Fairy Godmother came and danced and visited with all of the patrons but paid very special attention to the little "Princesses". It was wonderful! While we were eating it rained but when we left the castle, it had stopped! Perfect timing! It was about 7:15, so we still had almost 2 hours until the park closed and we didn't slow down. We rode everything and anything we could. We had been so lucky and hadn't been rained on all day. But as we were leaving the park, it began to pour and we got soaked. None of us cared because the park was closing and we were on our way to a warm hotel room!

The rest of the trip was great. On Friday morning we went to Animal Kingdom and then to MGM. On Saturday, we had breakfast at the Grand Floridian with Mary Poppins, Alice In Wonderland, Mad Hatter, Tigger, and Pooh. Then we took the monorail over to Epcot and stayed until around 3:00, then went back to the MK for the rest of the day. On Sunday, we had to leave :(. The Magical Express took us back to the airport. We had about an hour before we were supposed to take off and the sky began to look ugly. I told Mike after we boarded that we needed to get off the runway ASAP because it was going to storm. Weeeeelllllll, needless to say, we sat on the runway for 2 hours before taking off because it did indeed storm! Arden was the most understanding of us all. She never fussed one time about the delay! She was perfect! We finally landed in Nasvhille about 3:30, which was 3 hours later than scheduled, but we were home safe and sound, and that is what really mattered!

At Epcot

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!!!!!!!!!!

And more...

A few more from today.

Animal Kingdom and MGM

Today we ventured out to Animal Kingdom and saw a couple of great shows. The Nemo and Lion King Musical were awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got a few more pix and autographs and then came back to the room to nap for about an hour and then headed to MGM. We finished the night there with the Fantasmic show and it rocked!!!!! Words can't do it justice but it is a must see if you ever come to DW. Tomorrow it's breakfast at the Grand Floridian with Mary Poppins (I think) and some others. I will post more tomorrow night. Arden and Mike are at the pool now and mom and I are resting and watching TV! I am EXHAUSTED!

More...

More pictures...

Dedicated Daddy waiting in line for autographs while she and Mim rode the teacups.

Where do I begin?

Today has been "magical" in every sense of the word. Arden has been treated like a true Princess everywhere we went today. Because this trip was to celebrate her Bday, they gave her a Happy Birthday pin to wear around the park. So, every single park employee has greeted us with a "Happy Birthday Arden". It is amazing! We started our day about 10:00 after "sleeping in" a little because we were awakened this morning about 430 with mom banging on the bathroom door. I thought she was sleep walking, but then she said that she was locked out of the bathroom. Not good!!!!! We called the front desk and a maintenance man came to our room about 15 minutes later and told us the door was broken. Ya think??? When I got out of the shower the entire knob fell off in my hand. No big deal. We can live without a door knob! Anyway there is too much to post right now, but here are a few pic of the things we did today. Until tomorrow...




This is Miss Julie whom fixed Pal Mickey for us. He wasn't feeling well, and she did a little "surgery" free of charge!

Today is the day!!!

In about 3 hours Mike, Arden, Mom and I will be whisk(I love that word;it makes me feel like royalty) away to Disney World!!! Arden has been anxiously awaiting this day for over 6 months. I will be blogging daily while we are there, so all of my blogger friends can experience the magic as well. Well, gotta go finish packing! Lots to do and not alot of time! I gotta say thanks to "Auntie" for taking care of Foxy and to Uncle Danny who will be house sitting and feeding the fish. Roxy is going to stay at the Doggy Hilton with Miss Phyllis. Thanks guys for all your help! Until next time...

P.S. For those of you who are concerned about the frogs, they only have to be fed once a week, so they will be fine. ;)

Happy Birthday to my Princess!

Wow! I can't belive that my baby is 5 today. I remember going to the hospital and praying that they would just "get her out". For those of you that remember, I was as big as a house and miserable!!!! But all of that was soon replaced with a beautifu little girl with a head full of black hair. Arden, you have brought more joy, love, laughter and happiness to my life than words can ever express. I thank God that I have been blessed to have such a happy and healthy little girl. Your smile literally lights up a room and makes anyone around you smile too! You will never know how much you are loved.

Let it Bead...

My daughter is Miss Crafty. She adores crafting of any kind and is obsessed with the craft section at Wal-Mart. She began Art lessons at Chole's last week and has asked me everyday if it was the day for art. She LOVES Mrs. Brandie. Her birthday is Wednesday and she always starts receiving gifts early because my in-laws live in PA. So today when we got home, there was a huge package on the table with lots of goodies inside. But the thing that she loved the most was the beading kit. But it is not your typical kit, it is paper clip jewelry. I was so amazed at all the cute things inside this book. However, it is a little more difficult that it looks so I am going to have to read a bit more before I master that skill.


But this got her craft juices flowing and she said that she wanted to make a necklace, earrings and bracelet, so we go to Wal-Mart and buy one bag of beads, some string and the clasps. Then we got to work. Now keep in mind I have NEVER BEADED IN MY LIFE!!!!! I was clueless as what to do, but I just winged it and acted like I knew exactly what was going on. I can't make Arden think that I am not with it, right???? So a couple of hours later and what seemed like a few thousand beads in the kitchen floor, here is our finished product. She is very proud of her creation and I have to say, so am I. I made the necklace with the shell pendant just for fun!! I hope I made Tabetha proud. More important than the necklaces, are the memories we made while doing these. It was sooo much fun!

Happy Grandparents Day!!

Our parents and grandparents mold us, and influence who and what we become in life. They hold families together and make you realize how lucky you are to have the things you have. Mine have lived lives that radiate spirit, love of God, love of family and an undying compassion that can never be duplicated. I thank them for everything they have given me throughout my life and hope that I can be the person that they have been. Thank you Mom, Mim, Papa Bob, Granny Ma, Papa, Papa Kennith, Papa Don, and Granny Annie. We love you all very much and hope that you had a wonderful day.

Family, Fun and Football Time in Tennessee!!!!!

Yesterday Mike, Terry, Paula, Salem and I took off around noon and headed to Knoxville. It was so much fun and I am so glad that we all go to spend the day together. The first half of the game wasn't so great, but Phil must have given them a good "talkin to" because when they came back out, they played football! This trip was special because Salem had never been to a game, so he was in awe of the whole thing. Our seats were perfect; we sat in the shade and were on the lower level. And we couldn't have asked for better weather. When the sun went down and it finally cooled off, it was fabulous!! Thanks guys for a great day!! Love you! Oh, and for those of you who don't follow football, we did win! The final score was 39-19!