Orlando Vacation-Day Six

Animal Kingdom Day! This was our last day and the only day it rained. It felt good to cool off a bit though! Wesley felt much better and we had a really good day at the park. The Tree of Life in the middle of the park is really cool. We first went to DinoLand USA, where we saw lots of Dinosaurs and Christopher and Wesley played on the dino land playground while I went on the scary dinosaur ride back in time. Then Wesley and I flew in the flying dinosaurs (didn't know triceratops could fly!) while Christopher went on it. We then moved onto "Asia" where we met up with the Yeti on an AWESOME roller coaster (I went 3 times!). That was fun. We wanted to do the rapids ride but Wesley was too small so we went to Africa instead and went on the African Safari they have there. That was really cool because they have live animals just wandering about, but they also have a scripted adventure with poachers and the rescue of a baby elephant (not real, but fun). We then went on another train ride to Rafiki's Planet watch That is when it started to rain so we went back to the main part of the park to wait it out. We were going to leave about 3 times but kept getting stopped. We ended up going to see the Bug's Life 3-D/4-D show (very cool except for the "bugs" leaving under your seats at the end!)  and when we went to the bathrooms we got stuck where we came out and got front row seats for the afternoon parade. That turned out to be really cool because a lot of the characters came right up to us and would shake hands with Wesley and say hi. After that we decided to go back to the hotel to pack up and get ready to leave the next day. It was a great day, a great week and great vacation. Even though Christopher and I have to get used to approaching different ways of going on vacation(I am NOT a vacation nazi! I just like to fit everything in and get my money's worth!). We can't wait to go back in a few years (or sooner) and do it all again. Maybe Wesley will be 6 inches taller and able to go on all the rides by then. :) 

So, I have a ton more pictures-it's hard to choose just a few to post on here! 

Orlando Vacation-Day Four

Day four, Monday, we went to Sea World. All the Anhieser Busch theme parks offer free admission to military families once per year (one park a year). We went to Sea World to see Shamu! Wesley really liked seeing the dolphins, "bish" (fish), sharks, rays, manatees, and penguins. They had an awesome tunnel you walked through to see the sharks. Christopher and I also went on the Journey to Atlantis ride, the flume ride there. It was a lot of fun, with a big surprise at the end (no spoilers here!). Wesley cooled down in the water play area they have there. He was having a great time. I got sprayed all down my back with water by some punk kid. Turns out it didn't really matter because Christopher sat us in the fourth row for the Shamu show. Let me tell you, Shamu is a HUGE whale, and he doesn't mess around when he splashes you. We got hit three times by a wall of water off that guy's flipper. Wesley was pretty much in shock, then cried a little since he hates getting water in his face. Luckily we had the foresight to buy a towel and it was wrapped in plastic so we could dry off. That water was salty and yucky as it dried. So we went back to SOG where we washed up and had dinner and decided we were having such a good time that we would stay two extra days. We talked to the front desk, where they even extended our R&R package for us. We bought two more tickets for Disney and prepared to enjoy the extra two days of our vacation. 

Orlando Vacation-Day Three

So, day three, still beautiful and sunny. We went back to the Magic Kingdom for Space Mountain and rode some more rides again, like Pirates, then we took the train ride around the park. That afternoon we took the monorail to Epcot. We went on the ride in the big ball there. We got in our cart and there is a screen in front of you where you choose the language you want to hear the ride in. Well, I was trying to get settled in with Wesley, who decided to touch the screen and ended up choosing chinese as our language. So I had to listen to the whole ride in chinese. Then, the little guy fell asleep on the ride! Afterwards we wandered around several different countries-Mexico, Norway, China, Germany (where Christopher got lunch), Spain (where Christopher serenaded me), Morocco ( where I got lunch), France (where we had champagne) and England. We saw lots of characters there-Snow White, dopey, Alice, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, "That cat from Pinnochio", and the big guy himself, Mickey Mouse! Wesley got his ice cream cone that he begged for after seeing some girl eating one. We also went on the Nemo ride (we helped find Nemo, very cool how at the end you see the animated fish in a real fish tank!). We looked at the dolphins and fish and saw the shark exhibit there. We staying until late that night to catch the fireworks show, Illuminations. It was beautiful, Wesley LOVED the fireworks, all the colors and water show they do. He kept saying "Ooooh! cool! More again Mommy!" It was well worth waiting out the day there to see it. I can't believe Wesley lasted so long. 

In the pictures: metting the characters, Christopher reuniting with a camel (ha), Wesley and I at a fountain, Wesley and Christopher sticking their feet into the fountain in France, Wesley enjoying his ice cream cone, the three of us in Morocco (didn't know we got around so much, huh? lol)

A Dinner A'Fare

On Thursday Christopher and I went to A Dinner A'Fare in Richmond Hill. I had been twice before, but it was his first time. We had a lot of fun, we were the only two in there that morning so we had the place, and the owner to ourselves.  She offered us coffee, and then some wine (to "taste") and after we were done putting together our meals she out out a tray of veggies and breadsticks and we sat and talked about wine. Christopher has worked out some sort of wine deal with her already, lol. We are hoping to get a bunch of friends together for a night out there, we think it would be a lot of fun. I have always had a great experience there, I would recommend them to anyone. We ordered the Rustic Chicken Gratin, Bistro Steak with walnut gorgonzola butter, Jerk Pork Tenderloin with pineapple chutney, Maple Mustard Pork Chops, Greek Chicken pitas, Honey Bourbon beef brisket, crusted chicken with jalapeno corn salsa, Crispy Ranch Chicken,  and we got strawberry french toast, bacon and cheddar stuffed potatoes, green bean almandine and cream cheese stuffed chocolate cupcakes from their "side dish" fridge. Now we just have to decide what to have first!

Breakfast in Bed

Christopher made me breakfast in bed the other day. It was very nice...he knows how I hate to get up in the morning. :) I actually had just gotten up to get Wesley from his room (he was in there calling for me) when Christopher came upstairs with a tray and told me to get back in bed. I enjoyed it, it was scrambled eggs with mascarpone cheese over whole grain toast with apples and coffee. Very yummy. 

Yard work

We worked in the yard all day Tuesday since Christopher had off work. We went to Lowes, with a list of what we needed and a set budget...we came in under budget, go us. We did a lot of work in the front yard, we still have to do the back yard, but it's been pouring since Tuesday afternoon, so that has been put on hold for a while. Christopher cleaned up the garden around the front tree (with Wesley's help shoveling and digging of course!) and put new black mulch in. We added more rocks to the side garden, and more black mulch to the rest of the garden. We cleaned up all the potted plants, and Christopher got the pressure washer out and cleaned the front of the house. It looks so nice now! We just have the table and out new plant. We moved the hanging basket in front of the pole, it makes such a difference! I added some nice fall colors and plants to it. Christopher got the lawn mowed and trimmed (after having to buy a new trimmer due to the fact someone-and we really don't know who-burned out our other one. That really sucked to have to buy). It started raining that afternoon, but we were in full swing and didn't want to quit so we donned rain coats and continued, pretending we lived in England instead of Savannah. This time last summer is was so hot and dry, so I guess I shouldn't complain! We put Wesley in his Giraffe raincoat and boots but didn't want to go outside because, as he told me "Mommy, it raining outside. Get wet!". So, I give the kid a chance to play in the rain and mud and he turns it down. He did come out for a little while but insisted on NOT wearing his coat. Anyway, the yard looks nice now, and besides some weeding and watering we shouldn't have anything more to do to the garden...except add Christopher's garden gnome, whenever it gets shipped here from Iraq! 

Good southern cooking

One of my goals before leaving Savannah is to actually learn to cook some "good southern food". I am still working on the fried chicken, but I think I may have mastered the fried green tomatoes. 

We went to the farmers market on Saturday and bought 3 great looking green tomatoes. So, I sliced them dipped them in seasoned buttermilk, coated them with a cornmeal and flour mixture and threw them into our cast iron skillet, hot with oil. The were pretty good for a first try...crispy on the outside with a nice coating, and warm on the inside. We served it with chipotle ranch dressing, I would like to try to make a special dipping sauce just for the tomatoes. One step at a time! 

The whole family helped on this one too-Wesley helped me make the cornmeal mixture, I cooked and Christopher enjoyed them!