Memorial Day Weekend 2008

Man, what a weekend! I don’t even know where to begin. I think b/c so much happened I will break it up by day and then bulletize all of my thoughts relating to that day/event.

Thursday…
-Star flew in town
-I went to the dentist because I had to get prepped for a crown. It was supposed to be sore, but it didn’t really get that sore. Took a few Advil when I felt some soreness coming on, but it wasn’t all that bad. Have a temporary in my mouth now…will have to go back for the real thing in 2 weeks…
-Met up with Star at my house that evening…she met the kids. Kids were a little skeptical of her at first because she was in ‘their house’. By Monday, they were cool with her.
-Star used ingredients that we had in our house to make the best glazed chicken EVER. Made me wonder why I couldn’t do the same…but I quickly got over that when I realized it’s because I HAVE TWO 16 MONTH OLDS!!!
-TJ is afraid of his shadow. He starts crying at the sight of it. I decided that he needed to see that it was harmless so I kneeled down so I could pat his shadow and say “Hi Terrence!!!”. So now when he sees his shadow and I say “Hi Terrence!” he kneels down and pats his shadow, too!!! Killing two birds with one stone…he will hopefully get over the fear of his shadow AND it might be a good segway into realizing that is name is really Terrence, Jr. and not T.J.

Friday…
-Day at Disney!!
-My friend/soror who works there let us in so we got a FREE day at Disney!
-We were true Industrial Engineers (Star was an honorary IE for the day). We used FastPass to the best of its ability so that we utilized every minute of the day. Got there around 2pm, left around 11pm. Never waited for than 10 minutes in a line.
-Rode Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride – very relaxing, got spit on by the camel. Star realized on our LAST time around that she could control the up/down motion of our magic carpet to avoid the camel. That was about 3 sprays too late…
-Rode Pirates of Caribbean – fun. Harmless. I refused to switch seats with Star so she ended up on an outer seat and, thus, got a little wet. Sorry Star!
-Got rained on a little bit…took cover in a merchandise store…bought ponchos.
-Rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – so much fun. We kind of forgot that Star had hip surgery 10-ish years ago. Kind of a little jerky for her…especially because she's like 4’11 and 10 pounds so the bar did not hold her down in the seat adequately. I literally held her down in the car while we twisted/turned. I am such a good friend.
-Rode Barnstormer (the roller coaster for any kid over 35” tall) – We are still trying to figure out how a kid that is 35” tall can survive this “roller coaster”. We were more scared than the 4 year olds that got off the ride.
-Rode the train around Magic Kingdom – harmless. Saw some disgusting mildew-y water…
-Rode Buzz Lightyear – I don’t know how Star beat me so bad. I want a rematch.
-Went to the candy store on MainStreet where I got a candy apple (which probably wasn’t smart with my temporary crown! But I got through it.) Star bought her favorite Disney candy bar…was so satisfied that we took a picture of her with the cast member that worked in the candy store. She was so adorable and so nice!
-Rode the bus to the BoardWalk so we could catch the ferry boat to the Studios. Saw some bad kids, listened to a “not-so-disney” cast member who was our ferry boat guide. Still trying to figure out how she made it through auditions to get this position.
-Saw Fantasmic! The BEST Disney show ever. It hasn’t changed since it started 10-ish years ago and after seeing it about 20 times, it is still as good as it was the first time I saw it! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!
-Went home…it rained REALLY bad on the way home. Gotta love Rain-X. Star and I had great conversation as always!!

Saturday …
-Stayed at home with the kids while Terry went to Jacksonville to visit some friends. Went to the mall and got back JUST as the ‘cloud of death’ completely opened up. It stormed really bad, but it was fine since we were safely inside with the kids. Sooo glad we passed up going to Target or else we would have been in trouble!!

Sunday…
-Went to church. The kids stayed in the church nursery for the first time. Olivia was completely unphased. Found a friend and toys immediately. TJ was not so happy. When we went back after service he was less than amused and started crying as soon as he saw me. Good indication of how daycare will be if they ever go…
-Went to a BBQ at some friends’ house. BBQ was GREAT. They did have a new dog, which I was not amused with…I was appreciative that they put it away and gave me details about what they did to ensure that the place was clean enough for me and the kids. They also had an adequate supply of handsoap and Germ-X to satisfy me. The kids were great.
-Made some REALLY good brownies w/ Walnuts.
-Went to Wal-mart to pick up a few things in preparation for the beach. I really dislike Wal-mart. Target is definitely my store of choice. Mainly because when they see that there are 20 people in each of the 3 registers that are open (out of 30), they seem to care less. Unlike Target…Target will call more cashiers/open more registers if they see more than like 4 people in line. Such a stark contrast.

Monday…
-Went to the beach! It was the kids’ first trip. They were so adorable. You could tell they were REALLY confused at what they saw..seeing as how the sight of the ocean is equally as amazing to an adult! They were in their little swimsuits/trunks with their pail and shovels. Olivia did not want to leave the water. TJ was also interested in the waves, mostly because it made for good mud to go in his pail. It was such a beautiful day! Can’t believe it took us 16 months to go to the beach that is literally 20 minutes from our doorstep…
-Took Star to the airport for her 8:00 flight.

Thanks to Sarah I have a cool slideshow of our Disney and Beach trips...