Aaah, Home

Back home at Old Key West.

We stopped at the Hospitality House to pick up our packages from the previous day's shopping at MGM to find that only 2 of the 3 gifts were there. The one child who was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his X-wing was about to be horribly disappointed. CB was the bearer of the bad news and while FM#2 was crushed, in true Storm Trooper fashion, he would shake it off and forge ahead. Besides, there was swimming to be done!

We were starving. While everyone rested back in the room, CB and I went up to the Hospitality House to grab lunch at Good's To Go - OKW's counter-service restaurant.

While waiting, I overheard a lady asking whether certain items on the menu were included in the Dining Plan. There were a lot of people using Disney's Dining Plan during our visit. Disney had a promotional offer earlier in the year -- if you booked your September/October vacation by June, everyone in your party got free dining plans. That's free food, folks.

The dining plan includes one free full-service meal, one free counter-service meal, and one free snack. Did you notice all those free's? We would've loved to take advantage of this offer, but to book a vacation that far in advance is metaphysically impossible for us.

By the time lunch was over, FM#3 was asleep and MawMaw and I were close behind. The other two were jumping up and down to go swimming so CB suited up and took them. Bless that man's energy level - and his commitment to his children.

They had a great time! They said the slide was super fast!

When they returned we headed back to EPCOT...

...where we cashed in our Fast Passes for Soarin'. By now the wait time was about an hour and a half. The Fast Pass line was about 15-20 minutes.

I 'heart' Fast Pass.

Unfortunately, halfway through the line we discovered FM#3 was not tall enough to ride. CB elected to sit out this round and wait for us. This allowed us to experience the Child Swap feature.

With Child Swap, one adult can stay with the child while the rest of your party rides. When your party returns, you swap the child, take your Child Swap Pass, and go directly to the Fast Pass line. Yes, this still requires your party to wait in line twice, but the pay-off is that you get to use the Fast Pass line PLUS the Child Swap Pass allows you to take (I think) up to three additional people with you on the ride. So when we got off the ride, CB took the older boys with him and they got to ride again!

As for the ride itself, Soarin' is so peaceful and relaxing. You sit in what closely resembles a 7-seat hang glider. Your glider then takes off, and depending on which row you're in, rotates up several (many) feet off the ground and suspends you in front of a giant movie screen. (Leave your flip-flops on the floor. They're likely to drop off during the ride.)

The story is that you're hang gliding through various locations - white water rapids, Grand Canyon, ocean, golf course, orange groves. The glider, of course, tips and pitches to simulate the actual feeling of soaring. And it all comes complete with wind, smells, and epic Disney music.

MawMaw could've stayed on Soarin' for the rest of the trip.

We then made our way to Test Track where we used those Fast Passes CB picked up earlier in the day. FM#2 was apprehensive about this one because of the speed. I really don't understand his trepedation. He rides in the car with me, after all! But we managed to get him on and he...loved...it!

Late breaking news...Young red-headed boy says Test Track is "The most awesomest ride ever!" He liked it better than Mission: SPACE and Star Wars and the stunt shows.

CB liked it, too. I enjoyed it, too. There just seems to be a lot of time devoted to storytelling. Maybe I need to ride it a few more times to get a better perspective. Once our ride vehicle exited the building and began building up speed, it was terrific! Just not long enough.

In the showroom, we enjoyed the fancy GM cars and spent way too much time in the gift shop.

Exiting Test Track we were right next door to Mission: SPACE and FM#2 wanted to take MawMaw on it. She chickened out earlier in the day because she was afraid the ride would make her motion sick. After riding it ourselves, we assured her that wasn't the case. Of course, the repeated offers to exit the ride before it actually began did freak her out a bit..."Are you sure this doesn't spin around?"

Don't worry MawMaw. Just wait 'til we get to Magic Kingdom!

But she hung in there and had a ball! What a trooper! FM#2 thought it was pretty cool that she rode it, too.

It was becoming early evening and we were slowing down. The boys played in a car wash water spray outside Test Track then we made our way over to the Imagination pavilion hoping to enjoy it, but it was closed. However, the boys played in the jumping water.

And FM#3 made a friend.

Good night. Until tomorrow...

In the name of all that rocks, let's hit it, dude!

It didn't take the kids any time at all to turn on the TV and find the cartoons. However, they discovered that, very wisely, Disney does not broadcast Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or other competitors. It's all Disney, baby!

There was also a channel that broadcast this spunky girl going from park to park riding rides, having a rip roaring, good time at Disney World. It was on a continuous loop so it played over and over and over on the same channel.

I couldn't remember the name of it so I Googled it - Top Seven channel. Most of the comments were my sentiments exactly, like this one:

The Top Seven channel features a goofy woman named Stacy giving you a quickly moving tour of theme park highlights. I love love love Stacy. She is simultaneously fun, annoying, energetic, crazy, weird, wild, and completely compelling. I'm completely addicted and watch her at least a dozen times each trip.

Strangely enough, my boys were addicted, too! The Top Seven channel was their favorite. At first it was, "I'm going to ride that!" Then it became, "We rode that!" The older two would stand right in front of the television many a morning while getting ready and wait for their favorite parts. "Hey, Mom! Watch this! Remember that?" It was such fun to watch them and Stacy is annoyingly addictive.

I couldn't get the original video to work, but this is a 9 minute montage. Take a peek...



Triple Mountain Whammy. Wham! Wham! Wham!

Enough lounging, we soon decided to load everyone back in the car and go get MawMaw's Annual Pass. Friendly Cast Members told us MGM's Guest Relations would be the best choice since the parking lot is fairly close to the entrance.

Indeed. We parked only a few rows back. Didn't even need to take the tram.

By the time we got there it was dark. We could see spotlights casting beams into the sky. This was a sight we would see every night and look upon with delightful familiarity. I think because it meant something exciting was happening somewhere.

We got the Annual Pass and headed back to the car. The boys were so excited about the next day. Their anticipation was at a particularly elevated level since the next day we were scheduled for MGM! (A few months after we left, the name was changed to Disney's Hollywood Studios.)

Exiting the parking lot, we decided to hit the grocery store for a few necessities. The closest was Goodings just outside Disney property to the east. We drove past Downtown Disney, snaked through the non-Disney hotels on Hotel Plaza Boulevard, and exited Disney property crossing over Apopka-Vineland Road into the Crossroads shopping center.

Our grocery list consisted of milk, oj, soda, cheese, cereal, bread, eggs, and butter. You know, the basics. Due to their captive audience, the prices were steep, but you pay for convenience. We paid over $5 for a half gallon of orange juice and over $3 for store brand cereal. We were aghast at the prices, but CB didn't flinch.

Although fully stocked with food, we weren't particularly keen on cooking dinner back at OKW and since we were visibly road-weary, we weren't suitably dressed for a sit-down restaurant. After circling Crossroads' offerings we settled on Taco Bell. Our order totalled $17. I chuckled and announced in my airline pilot voice that this would be our cheapest meal the entire week!

The next day would be MGM! Since Rockin' Roller Coaster was closed during our visit, CB was focused on the Tower of Terror.

"I don't know if I'm going to ride that," said FM#1.

My sentiments exactly.

Green Marble

This green marbel (aka marble) was such a great idea I just had to post on it. My CB is quite creative, is he not? The kids need exercise? Throw a green marble out in the backyard and tell them to find it.

It's actually not a bad idea, but I don't think they'll get the physical workout they need on their hands and knees, although the whining they'll do will up their respiration rate. Whining as a form of exercise.....this just might work.

I have given serious thought to the Y.....again. The trick is that by the time we're finished with school in the afternoons, so is every other child in this town, so we'd be there just in time for the after-school rush. But then again, I'm not sure what the Y offers so there may be ways around that.

Now, on to the crock pot.

Just last night I thought, "I really need to commit to crock pot meals on the nights we're out. It would be wonderful if dinner were ready right now." So great minds think alike, MathMom!

A mutual friend of ours got me thinking about crock pot meals a few years ago when her schedule was out of control crazy. Following her lead, I went to the bookstore to pour over crock pot cookbooks (say that 5 times really fast) and found that a disproportionate number of recipes require you to sear the meat before you put it in the crock pot, meaning you have to do some thawing and "cooking" and dirtying of dishes beforehand and we all know we just want to throw the frozen meat in the pot with some water or soup and leave it alone for the rest of the day, throwing in vegetables later on for nutritional effect.

Needless to say, I abandoned that plan primarily because 'crock pot' in the ancient Dutch language is "krohken potje" and it means "dump and go" and I respect the Dutch because they have contributed much to the modern world like Rembrandt and microscopes and gouda and those adorable wooden shoes.

But Life is looking like I may have to revisit this culinary option because I am not the kind of person to cook a lot of meals and stockpile them in the freezer as in Once-a-Month Cooking.

Good Taste

The making of the pralines is complete! Three batches and only the last one was a flop---and I didn't need it anyway---got all the gifts covered with two batches. Let the gift wrapping begin!

Quote of the day by FM#1: "Pralines are comfort food."

Pu-khan' or Pee'-can?

Today's the day. Can't you hear Rod Stewart singing "Tonight's the Night"? That song always creeped me out. Hey, what's the deal with us talking about the Rodster so much lately? See EuroMom's post for more.

Anyhoooo, today I will attempt to make pecan pralines. I am doing this for my husband's staff at work. No pressure, just ten boxes -- that's five batches, folks. FIVE BATCHES!!!

I figured I'd get started today so if it's a flop (HolyChow promises it's easy) I'll have the weekend to figure out something else. A couple of years ago we got them all a nice bottle of wine. I loved this option because it was one stop shopping, easy gift wrapping, and well, who doesn't love wine?

Apparently, someone on my husband's staff because they gave us a bottle of wine last year and I think it was literally The Same Wine we gave them the year before. Or maybe they thought we liked that particular wine since we gave it as a gift - in which case they'd be correct.

I'll let you know how the candy making goes. Meanwhile, if any of you have any great gift ideas that require a credit card rather than a stove stop, fess up, and save me from this chore!

It's Not Easy Being Green

Last night for dinner I made a pasta carbonara dish. I got the idea from Holly's blog except I pumped up the fat by making an alfredo sauce. Along with it I managed to tweak my sauteed haricot verts and they came out mmm, mmm, good.

Now, FM#3 takes after CeanBounter in his disgust of all things 'vegetable'. Honestly, the kid can't stand vegetables. But I made him eat the green beans. I heard someone somewhere say you had to offer something 30+ times before a child will come around. I'm up to around 20-25. Time's running out.

But I put the green beans on a fork and FM#3 willingly opened his mouth and chewed. He got the pirate face. You know, that face you get when you suck on a lemon? With the one eye that goes closed? Except these were green beans, for goodness sake! But he swallowed them.

After a while I put more on the fork and he grabbed his milk cup and started guzzling. Everytime he'd put his cup down I'd put the fork up and he'd grab the cup again. His brothers loved this show. At least I found a way to get him to drink all of his milk. Hey, that organic stuff is expensive! After a while, the milk was gone and there was no other choice than to eat the green beans. In they went.

Pirate face. Gagging. Smiling. Chewing. Gagging. Coughing.

I told him to swallow. He said, "Hold my hand."

SCORE!

Last night I had planned to make Taco Salad for dinner. One of our Canadians at church made one Sunday night for Prayer Meeting dinner and it was good, eh. I had been jones-ing for more ever since. When I told the resident men my dinner menu they were none too excited. See, the taco salad was meatless and, well, we just don't do meatless. My response was that if no one liked my idea, they could come up with one of their own. My husband said he'd stop by the grocery store on the way home and pick up a rotisserie chicken and tortillas. When he got home, sans chicken, he announced that he abandoned that plan and was instead taking us out to dinner!

Score!