The Most Magical Place on Earth

Our DW2010 visit was wonderful! We had a great time - the crowds and hot weather didn't slow us down a bit! We took advantage of the magic extra hours (which are extra hours the park is open for guests staying at a WDW resort), used our fans and drank lots of water. Andrew's favorite characters were Woody and Buzz and even after standing in line for 45 to meet them, his eyes still lit up.

Disney World is really that - the world....let me explain. It was rare to hear people speaking English, and if so they had a strong accent as if they hadn't been speaking it for long. Many visitors from South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Of course I loved this multi-cultural experience and watching Andrew trying to figure out who all these people were. It was so amazing to see that no matter where we come from, who we worship, what we eat or how we dress - that mickey can make us all smile, that fireworks still are beautiful and everyone gets butterflies in their tummies on the tower of terror. (We are on the right, front row)

Many people asked, How was Andrew? How did he do on his first plane ride? How was in the heat? How was he standing in lines? The answer to all those questions - is great! He truly is a well behaved, sweet, wonderful child. Fingers and toes crossed that our future child takes after him! I love being his aunt!!! One of the cutest stories from the trip -

The first day , he had been up since 5:30 am with no nap. When we got the resort, we went straight to Epcot and didn't come back until after midnight. That is a lot of a 5 year old, and needless to say, he was tired. I was washing my face and getting ready for bed as he was starting to whine and tell me he wanted to go home. "Disney World is not fun - it's boring" I knew he was super tired and that we had to turn off the lights and get to sleep quick to avoid a major meltdown. So we did. the next morning when we woke up, before his eyes were even opened all the way and the first words out of his mouth were "Aunt Jen, I didn't mean what I said last night. Disney World is fun". It was so sweet and sincere, I teared up. Why can't we all admit our mistakes that way?

To sum up what I learned on this trip:

1. Plan a trip NOT during peak season
2. Andrew loves water parks, thrill rides and isn't scared of much
3. You are never to old to be a kid
4. Andrew is awesome, but I already knew that
5. Everyone around the world is more alike than they are different
6. My husband rocks
7. We aren't ready for kids, but when we are we will do alright
   
   

The first couple weeks of July

I LOVE SUMMER!!! What a great month July has been so far! Taylor and I spent the fourth at the beach, which despite the oil is still a great place to be! We didn't have a traditional grill out but I did manage to make a themed dessert, by using star shaped cookie cutters, when we got home. If you are a subscriber to Southern Living - this dessert was featured in the July issue. It was made with biscuits, blueberries, and whip cream (along with a few other things) - how can you go wrong?!?!

Jessica (AKA mommy in the making) and Bryan were in town last weekend and Jess and I spent much of our Saturday getting ready for Baby McDaniel, Samuel, Jackson, Zachary, etc, etc (deciding on a name is hard)by registering at Babies R Us. It was so fun to share in these special planning moments with her. I can't wait to meet the little man!



We were also lucky enough to get to go to the Jimmy Buffett concert last weekend (Thanks Andy!!!) It was a great time with friends and we even managed to get home and be at work the next morning - even if we were struggling!

This week is a big week for us, we leave Thursday morning for Disney World. We are taking my precious nephew Andrew and can't wait! Don't worry - I will share some of the magic moments!!!