Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Disneyland Party

To celebrate Z's fourth birthday we (my mom, my grandma, my sister, Luke, Eleanor, Z and myself) went to Disneyland! It was a long, fun-filled day!  It was the perfect day to go - the weather was great, the lines for the rides were short (never longer than 20 minutes) so we were able to ride everything we wanted to and being together as an extended family was an extra special treat!

When we entered the park we got Aslynn a birthday button so that everyone would know it was her birthday.  Every Disneyland cast member who saw her, told her "Happy Birthday!"

Right inside the front gates, Princesses Aurora and Ariel gathered up Aslynn and a handful of other little princesses and together they played "Princess, Princess, Queen" (duck, duck, goose) for about fifteen minutes until we dragged Z away to go ride some rides.  It was a wonderful start to an awesome day!

 
Eleanor was often the instigator of taking pictures with characters, until it came time to actually take the picture.  Then she got scared and became very clingy to the grown up carting her around.



Since we went to Disneyland a few days before Z's actual birthday, she was sure to tell anyone who engaged in conversation with her, that it was her "pretend birthday" and that her "real birthday is in a couple days."  Such honesty!

*Random walking man, you sir, are an excellent photo bomber* 

 
Eleanor was all about riding rides until she actually got onto the ride...then she cried.  She would stop crying near the end of the ride and then cry again when she got off the ride. Every. Single. Time. Drama queen!

*"Eleanor, smile!" We were eating lunch while some of the grown ups rode Space Mountain.  Thank goodness for the "Kid Swap" passes that allowed us to ride in shifts and skip to the front of the lines.*


Aslynn was tall enough to ride Space Mountain and Splash Mountain.  This is her face after riding Space Mountain.  She wasn't a fan of either of the Mountain rides - Space Mountain especially - but she was such a trooper in being willing to try the ride in the first place.  Her favorite rides were the Teacups and It's a Small World.

 *GiGi spoiled Aslynn with face painting and a princess balloon that had a flashing light inside!*
 

A kind Disneyland cast member approached us while we were buying dinner (corn dogs, YUM!) and told us that there were Princesses waiting on the side of the castle and no one knew they were there! We were able to visit with Ariel, Cinderella and Susie, ALL BY OURSELVES for ten minutes or so. It was a rare Disney photo opportunity!



We watched the parade right before we went home; characters in the parade would either come up and talk to Aslynn as they were walking by in the parade or wave to her while they were up on top their floats and tell her "Happy Birthday." It was a very special experience.   

Happy Birthday, Z.B!
Documented for Posterity by Breanna at 1:41 PM 1 pennies for your thoughts

Monday, March 11, 2013

Adventures in Florida - A Picture Post

I had many adventures the week I was in Florida for the Goofy Challenge. The Monday and Tuesday after the race were spent seeing the sights of Florida. 
 
 
EPCOT
 
 
*I'm in the grey shirt*
 
 *Lucky Grandma got to ride around the theme parks in style in the comfort of a wheel chair.  If she ever vacated the chair, Barbie, Stefanie and I fought over it.* 
 
 

*China, France, Mexico, and Norway.*
 
 
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
 
 
 
Seuss Landing
 
*This way to McElligot's Pool*

*Yertle the Turtle*


*Truffula trees*



*I laughed through this entire ride because it was silly, spinney and jerky.*
 
 *On the caro-Seuss-el*

*If I ran the zoo*
 
 
 *Think left and think right
 Think low and think high,
Oh, the thinks you can think up
If only you try!
Bye-bye!*
 
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
 
*So excited!*
 
 *Hogsmeade*
 
 


 
*Frozen butterbeer.  A butterbeer slushie.*



 
 *We ate lunch at the Three Broomsticks.*
 


 *Hogwarts*

 *Entering the castle through the greenhouses.*
 
 *Mandrakes*
 
*Outside Dumbledore's office.*
 
*Dumbledore's office.*
 
*The Sorting Hat*
 
*The picture that was taken of us on the ride.  We just saw LOTS of GINORMOUS spiders.*
Documented for Posterity by Breanna at 1:57 PM 3 pennies for your thoughts

Friday, February 15, 2013

Goofy Race and a Half Challenge

I decided to start this year of blogging off on a selfish note and write a post all about myself.

MuahaHahaha!

*The shirt that Stefanie bought for me.*
 
This is going to be a lengthy, wordy post.  If you read it all, more power to you!  Mostly, it is for me so I can remember details.  I am not a running expert but I do LOVE to talk about running. 

*All of our shoes.  One pair for each race.*

At the beginning of January my mom and grandmother came to California to watch my kids (because Luke has been working 12-14 hour days and basically comes home only to sleep) so that I could travel to Florida with my sister in-laws, mother in-law and her mother. 

We went all the way to Florida so that my sister in-laws and I could run in two races at Disney World.  On Saturday, January 12th we ran a half marathon, 13.1 miles, and the very next day we ran a full marathon, 26.2 miles. Those 39.3 miles comprises the Goofy Race in a Half Challenge.

 *Sam joined us for the half marathon. This was before the race.*
 
*This was after.  We're showing off our new running skirts that my mother in-law bought for us.  Shortly after this picture was taken, Sam's boyfriend Brian proposed. She said yes!*
 
When we checked into our races, we noticed signs everywhere saying that there was a heat advisory for the next couple of days and that racers shouldn't expect a personal best time.  There were quite a few people puking their guts out along the course and I think it was mostly because people were pushing themselves too hard in the heat. 
 
Also, I have never seen so many people pee in the bushes in public in my life - men and women!  They weren't peeing in the theme parks of course, but along the roads when we weren't in a park.  There were lots of port-a-potties along the route, but I guess when you gotta go, you gotta go.  Barbie and I always waited until we were running though a park so we could have flush toilets. 
 

*My name on the wall of all the people running in the races of the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend.*
 

I'm not going to lie, running a marathon is HARD and running the Goofy is REALLY HARD. Barbie and Stefanie vowed never to run a marathon again and never ever to run the Goofy Challenge again. 
I say, LET'S DO IT AGAIN!
  
*Waiting in our corral to start the full marathon.  Everyone had to be in their corrals at 5 A.M.*
 
*We ran under this entrance during both races.*
 
I think it would be fun for Luke and I to go to Florida in 2015 so Luke can run the half with me and cheer me on during the full.  Now is the time for everyone to help me try to talk him into it.

I took the half marathon slow - 3:00:49.  Since it was my first full marathon, and I had done a half the day before, my personal goal was to finish in 6:15:00.  I figured that it would be a good, achievable time. Stef, Barbie and I started off with the 6:30:00 pacer.

Our pacer was a chatty, funny, race official who had a run-walk system that was guaranteed to have him and all the people who were following him, to cross the finish line at 6:30:00 (give or take a minute or two).
 
*With our THREE medals - Donald Duck Half Marathon, Mickey Mouse Marathon, and Goofy Challenge.*

Around mile nine, I left the pacer.  I was in my own focused, quiet, groove then and was ready to take off.  I took it easy until mile 13 and then picked it up.  I wanted to run the marathon in a negative split (to run the second half of the race faster than the first). I was still running until mile twenty-two. Then I started to speed walk.  I would highly recommend speed walking!  I was going at a good enough clip that I was passing runners (because let's face it, by mile 20 almost everyone just want to crash so people aren't moving all that fast). I started running again when there was about a mile left to go.  I crossed the finish line sweaty and happy at  6:11:51. 

*All my sweating caused my bright purple sports bra to bleed through my new Alice in Wonderland shirt.  Luckily the purple came out.*

I am so glad that I was able to have the racing experience.  I am even more glad that I got to share it with Barbie and Stefanie. I love them bunches!

I have a new goal to race for my in next marathon. Goals keep me going; they push me to be better! It is fun to see what I am capable of! I am so thankful to have been blessed with a healthy body that can run and change.

Documented for Posterity by Breanna at 3:09 PM 2 pennies for your thoughts
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