Christmas Eve!

Hard to believe, but here we are once again. We planned to go to our church today, then to Kerry's folks tomorrow, followed by my folks on Sunday. Mother Nature decided otherwise. With a possible winter storm coming to Raleigh (White Christmas!!!!), we decided we'll visit K's folks today and head to PA tomorrow. Lots of free Sheetz capuccino enroute!

It Was a Hockeeeee Night In Raleigh...

Went to the Canes game last night with a friend I used to work with at the State. Did some frigid tailgating--quite windy, but the warm Bojangles chicken kept me semi-warm. Game was pretty good, except for a terrible call--they called Cole for a boarding 5 minute major. And then Montreal scored twice, winning. Grrrr...Now we have the All Star Game coming, and then Rod Brind'Amour night where they will retire #17!

Got My Car!

Yesterday I traded in the Focus for a 2010 Kia Forte. Love it already, although Kerry and I both struggled with the different shift pattern. Will be on to report more later, but if you use the NC State Employee's Credit Union--you HAVE to take advantage of their car buying program. EASY PEASY!

Still Snowing in Raleigh...

Been mostly rain today, but as you can see by my EVO, it is beginning to turn back to snow. School cancelled tomorrow. New car delayed until Saturday...

Merry Cyber-mas...

Yup, that's the tree at work. We decided we had all those software cds we did nothing with, so let's put them on our tree!

Not Too Bad...

But enough to keep us out of school and keep me from having my new car delivered. Yes, finally found my Kia Forte. A silver 2010 LX. I went through the State Employee's Credit Union--what a treat. You give them what you want, they find it, negotiate, present you with the offer, and bring it TO YOU! Wow. What customer service. Look for pics this weekend!

You Know What This Means...

This was Capital Blvd two days ago in anticipation of this morning's snow and ice.

Magic Kingdom, Day 4

Ok, so today there really were Magic Early Hours. We got in at 8, or at least into Fantasyland. We did Dumbo again (and Froze!), Tea Cups, Cinderella's Carousel, and Winnie the Pooh. It was definitely pretty cool that morning. We moved down to do another turn on It's a Small World, then we wanted to head to my favorite thing, the Haunted Mansion. Very neat.

We went back and hit some things we did not, like Swiss Family Robinson's treehouse. Twice. Then we tried to hit a bunch more things we had not, like Tomorrowland Speedway, another ride on Space Mountain for me, and just some hanging out, some pics in front of the Castle.

And then it was time to head back to the hotel to catch the bus back to the airport. We definitely did everything we wanted. We stopped for some food at the airport, looked through the Disney, Universal (where you can buy HP wands!), and Sea World stores, then went to our gate. We all sacked out on the floor, waiting for our DELAYED plane. Finally got on and got home with a plane full of girls soccer players. Fun. Myra fell asleep on me on the way home, and we got right on our shuttle to our car.

A FUN trip. Lucy asked when we would go again, and Kerry gave the best response ever, 'The next time you're here will be with your family.' Great! While definitely enjoying ourselves, we are not meant for the Disney thing. We did it once, had fun, but I do not think any of us could do it annually like many do. We did it, check it off, and let's move on...

Day 3: Magic Kingdom

While it was a cool, gray day (NO RAIN!), as a friend said, even a rainy day in Disney is better than a workday at home. So we thought (ok, I thought) early hours were today, so we got there a little after 8. Guess what, early hours were not until the next day. But, we got to wait at the gate for 45 minutes. That was fun (not!).

After Mickey arrived on the train, off we went--Lucy and I went right to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We were FIRST in line, so we went to the FRONT! It was fine, but not what I expected. We met Myra and Kerry and headed to some other rides. No one was back in Adventureland, so we got quick rides on Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin, and then we headed for the Haunted Mansion. We ALL liked the Haunted Mansion. Fun!

We worked out way back through, grabbing rides on Dumbo, Tea Cups, and a lunch at Cosmic Rays. Lucy and I got on Space Mountain. That ride was much wilder than I though. Lucy got right on front again, and that's head blurry head! (-: We did a few more rides, but then decided to head home and rest before coming back for the parade. See those pics in the next post.

Trip to Epcot

Day two featured our Princess lunch at Epcot. It was going to be a hot one--close to 90! When we arrived, we went to some of the things in future world. One of the first was the Nemo attraction. A fun ride through (in a clam), then a great interactive auditorium-style attraction with Crush the turtle. Fun!

I decided I wanted a spin on Test Track. Pretty neat. You are a 'crash dummy' going through an indoor trial of antilock breaks (not working the first time!), elements tests, and then the big finale--revving up, breaking through the wall, and out on the outdoor track. Pretty fun!

We wanted to go searching for the princesses, so we headed to the bridge to France. It did not open until 9, so we needed to wait a little, recharge with water, and of course, snacks. When it did, we began our day of princesses. We saw Belle (in her blue dress) and then Marie of the Aristocats. That was fun as Marie bowed to the girls (in their princess dresses), then fluffed up her hair for pictures. We waited in line for Aladdin and Jasmine, but then the girls did not want to see them. We crossed back to go looking for Alice. Daddy's favorite part! We began to see how the princesses really get into character. More snacks followed, especially the girls chasing some weird little birds!

We continued our search of the princesses, meeting Mulan, Snow White, and finally it was time for our lunch at Norway--Akershus Princess Dining. A decent lunch, and then we met Belle in her yellow dress, Cinderella, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. Wow! What fun!

After that, about 2ish, the girls were definitely slowing down. Time for a rest back at the resort. But we did try Maelstrom, a Norse ride on a boat (pretty good too!) and Spaceship Earth, inside the big silver ball. The heat wore us all out, so we went back to the hotel. We got to the pool playground after some rest, ready for the next day back at Magic Kingdom.

Yummy Disney Bars!

Great news! The Mickey ice cream bars were gluten free. And extra yummy, as you can tell by Myra...

Disney Day One

Felt like we did everything in one day. After the early plane trip, we boarded the Disney Magical Express to our hotel. We actually were able to check in to our hotel early, so we dropped things off and headed to the bus for Magic Kingdom. Upon arrival, we ran into a parade right away. Girls were pretty intimidated right away, so we decided to stop for lunch. Pecos Bill for some Mexican was just what the doctor ordered. Gluten free cheeseburgers, yogurt, and gf cookies for the girls. Taco salad for me. After we started around on some rides, It's a Small World, Carousel, Tea Cups, and our Disney Ice Cream. A few more things, then we headed back to the hotel. A trip to our hotel pool was next. A water slide for Chris, and some swimming for the girls. Then we decided to head over to Downtown Disney for some shopping. Picked up our Christmas ornament, as we do every time we travel. Bed came next, in anticipation of the big day at Epcot--princess lunch! More to come...

We're Baaaaack!

Ok, been back for a couple days now, but it has taken this long to recoup. One more day, then back to the grind. Look for a full recap soon, but we had an AWESOME time!