Weekend Recap…

So…did y’all have a good weekend?? What’d ya do?

Jason and I went to Six Flags on Saturday morning and then to the Rockies game that evening.  That was a full day let me tell ya!!   Lots of fun though.

We watched the Belmont Stakes while at ESPN Zone for lunch.  Sad to see Smarty Jones lose that race though.   Everyone in the restaurant was cheering for him! Don’t think that Smarty really cared though…ya know.

The Rockies won against the Giants that evening 11-2…it was cool!!

We went and saw Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban…very cool btw!!  I especially like the fact that they had the characters grow with the actors…very cool indeed!

Well…that’s about it for me.  I’m busy working this week, we have our annual meeting this Thursday and Friday…so I’ll be in meetings for 2 days!   Oh well…at least I get a free dinner out of it Thursday night eh?

 

WDW Part III

WARNING: Lots of pics to download

First of all…I would like to say that I forgot a pic on my last post…and I can’t believe that I did ‘cuz it’s so adorable! 

See??   Anyway…now onto the continuation of our WDW adventure!!

Let’s see…oh yes, here we were…

Friday, May 21st

I left off with the U.K., after that came France…

the French waterfront

Les Chefs de France (very expensive restaurant with a reputation for wonderful cuisine)

fountain at Morocco

restaurant in Morocco

then Japan…

Japanese waterfront

Japanese restaurant

this water garden was just outside the restaurant

next door to Japan was the good ‘ole USA

in the USA there was The American Adventure…which was a combined film and animatronics stage show telling the history of the USA through the eyes of Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain…it was very cool and very moving at times  

there were many artifacts inside this building…including a replica of The Declaration of Independence

fountain in Italy

Italian waterfront

Imaginum statue – this was not an actual statue, but a lady dressed to look like a statue

she was quite the entertainer…and a bit of a clepto!  

I have more pics of Italy as well…but not with me here at work…I’ll post them later

shop in Germany

look who was sneaking off while in Germany

the Snow White garden and fountain…along with restaurants in the back…good brauts btw

a restaurant in Norway

Norwegian musicians

Norwegian waterfall

Cantina de San Angel in Mexico – people were drinking frozen margaritas everywhere…but I’m not one to do that when it’s 93° F outside

an Aztec temple…there was a film inside, but we didn’t got in…we were on our way back around to meet Eeyore…priorities ya know

After visiting the World Showcase…we walked around the park a bit and decided to go into a few educational venues that were there…including

this had a Finding Nemo theme to it…Caleb would’ve loved it

After a long day at Epcot, all I wanted to do was go back to the apartment and put aloe all over my sunburned body!!   So guess what? We did just that.

Saturday, May 22nd

We had planned on going to Universal Studios on Saturday, however…due to the fact that Eric and Kippie didn’t get up in time (they aren’t morning people) ..more Kippie than Eric, we were unable to arrive there early…and would’ve had to wait in line for a loooonnnnggg time just to purchase tickets and then another loooonnnggg line for admission and then yet another loooonnngg line to ride the new ride Revenge of the Mummy..so, with me being sunburned pretty bad…Jason and I decided that it would be best for me not to stand outside in the sun that long. 

We had a backup plan though…so we went with that!  We decided to go see Shrek 2 and then go shopping at Downtown Disney…so that’s what we did…and I’m glad.

After seeing the movie, I wasn’t feeling very well…due to the sunburn…but Jason had Eric and I stop in front of McDonald’s to take this photo

Eric and I under the golden arches

About ten minutes after this photo was taken…I found myself in a bathroom…very ill.  The good thing is, after about a half an hour…I felt better.

So we continued shopping…and shopping…and I got all of the things that I’d planned on…and much more!!  We went to a shop called “Pooh’s Corner” and let me tell you…I was in Eeyore heaven!!!   It was incredible!!  I spent a good bit of money there I must say…does that shock you?  

We went swimming that evening at the pool in Eric’s complex…and let me just say that this pool was the longest winding pool I’d ever seen at an apartment complex ever!  It was very nice!   The water felt great on my sunburn too.

Sunday, May 23rd

Well…this was our last day in Orlando.  Kippie had to work this day and left early in the morning…after a very short goodbye.

I spent most of the morning with Eric while Jason packed and such.  We joked around and talked about old times and music and such…it was fun.   Jason took this picture of Eric and me just before we left for the airport.

It was hard to say goodbye…I think that he actually had a more difficult time doing so than I did…that was until it finally hit me while walking through the airport to board the plane. 

All in all though…it was a great vacation and I’m so glad that I got to spend it with my two best friends!!  I love going on trips with Jason…but to have Eric there as well…well, it just made it extra special.

WDW Trip Part II

WARNING: a lot of pics to download

Tuesday, May 18th

We awoke early so that Eric would be able to drop us off at the park before going into work.  So, we decided that we’d go to Disney – MGM Studios first!!  Unfortunately…yours truly forget the damn camera that day so I didn’t get any pics.  I know…very bad.

However, we did see some cool stuff and rode two of the best rides in all of WDW that day!! First thing we did was ride Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster…and let me tell ya, that will definitely wake you up!!!   After that, we went on Tower of Terror…which was awesome!!!  These two rides are a MUST when visiting WDW!

We also go to see the parade of characters while we were there and saw many of our favorite Disney characters, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Ariel, Aladdin & Jasmine, Chip & Dale, Cinderella, Snow White, and many more.  It was very cool!! But…I can’t show any pics because …(say it with me)…I forgot the damn camera. *sigh*

Well…after a loooonnnnnggg day at the park (Eric picked us up around 7pm and we’d been there since it opened at 9am)…we went home and sat on our butts…drank margaritas and watched American Idol..ahhh….vacation!

 

Wednesday, May 19th

I remembered the camera on this day!

Kippie decided that she was going to take the day off and go with us to Magic Kingdom…so we left the house around Noon.  We needed the time to rest up a bit.

Anyway, we rode a lot of water rides at Magic Kingdom…and I got the wettest for some reason…even on rides that you are supposedly not even supposed to get wet on…I did.

Well…here are the lovely pics I took at Magic Kingdom!!

Cinderella’s Castle looking up Main Street

A close-up of Cinderella’s Castle (one of my favorite pics)

Harper’s Mill in Frontierland (next to Tom Sawyer’s adventures and such)

River Boat…in Frontierland

This bird walked right up to me!!

And this crane posed for a pic

The Haunted Mansion (very cool btw)

Jason & I at the garden in front of Main Street & Cinderella’s Castle

We didn’t see hardly any characters while at Magic Kingdom…probably because it rained a bit while we were there that day…but, hey…I was already wet so it didn’t matter much to me!

The only bad thing about this park was that there are so many cool rides that you can’t take pics of…like the inside of The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean etc.  That bummed me out ‘cuz the pics would’ve been awesome.

 

Thursday, May 20th

We actually stayed in at the appartment on this day. Why you ask?? Because my abdomen was hurting a bit from two days of non-stop walking…and so were our feet!  We were tired…so we decided to take a day and rest…so we did just that.

Friday, May 21st

We decided to go to Epcot on this day…so Eric dropped us off in the morning before work.  He tried to get this day off so that he could go with us…but couldn’t.   So…we went on our own…and it was good.

Epcot was fun…but didn’t have too many rides that I thought were spectacular.  Mission Space was very cool…but I suggest riding Test Track before Mission Space…or you’ll be a bit disappointed with Test Track.

Anyway, my favorite part of Epcot was the World Showcase!!  Many countries have a small portion of the park dedicated to that particular country…restaurants, shops…Disney characters…you name it!! Very cool!!  I even got to meet my favorite donkey and his friends…which was the bestest part of the whole trip!!!

Although…I got sunburned very bad while walking around this part of Epcot…not much shade throughout and it was very hot that day! But we had a blast none-the-less.   Lots of pics from this one…so here ya go!!

we were first greeted by a few familiar faces

including Mickey & Minnie

the Lion King garden in front of the main fountain

main fountain

Beauty & the Beast Garden across from the main fountain

the entrance to the World Showcase

Me in front of the dancing hippo garden (the hippo rotated)

Jason in front of the other Fantasia garden

O’Canada

I love this pic of Jason at the UK waterfront!!

restaurant & such in the UK

napping ducks in the UK..hehe

main street in UK

a shop in the UK

the best donkey in the UK

and the bestest friends

Well…I have a lot more pics…but I have to get some work done!

…to be continued

A Few Words…

Before I continue on with the WDW recap…I wanted to say thank you all for your concern.  We are doing much better, but I wouldn’t wish that illness upon my worst enemy!! It’s awful…keeps you down for several days…in fact, I’m still not completely over it all.  Anyway, thanks again!

Also…I wanted to share a couple of things with you that I feel are extremely important!

“Autism Awareness Resolution”

On May 5, the House of Representatives passed House Resolution (H. Res.) 605, a resolution recognizing the importance of increasing awareness of autism, supporting programs for increased research and improved treatment of autism, and improving training and support for individuals with autism and those who care for individuals with autism.  

As reported previously, the House Resolution was introduced by Congressman Tierney (MA) with the support of over two dozen fellow Congressmen, including Chris Smith, co-chair of the Congressional Autism Caucus and Dave Weldon, M.D. (FL).  In the Senate, a counterpart measure was introduced by Senator Hagel (R-NE) in March. 

To view the resolution as passed by the House, click here and do a search for H.Res. 605, or go to http://thomas.loc.gov and do a search for H.Res 605.

Society Re-Launches “Autism Course” on ASA Web Site

ASA has re-launched our “Autism Course” for those new to autism or for anyone who wants to freshen up on the basics. The course recently transferred the course, which was previously housed on a separate Web site, to our own Web site. The transfer will enable ASA to more easily update the content as well as monitor feedback from users so that we can tweak the course as needed.  The ASA Autism Course, which can be linked to from our “Autism Info” page, provides an overview of autism, the range of treatment options, treatment assistance, transition to adulthood, as well as a myriad of resources helpful to families and professionals providing support to someone with autism. To access, the course, click here, or go to www.autism-society.org/course.

 

I felt that y’all needed to know that information.

Now…for Part II of WDW!!