Disney Travel Day & Bay Lake Tower [Day 1]

Prior to Brayden starting Kindergarten, we took a super quick/long weekend trip to Walt Disney World and had an absolute blast! Our trip included a split stay with one night at Bay Lake Tower followed by the remainder of the week at Old Key West. We spent time in all four parks, did a lot of swimming, and even visited Blizzard Beach. These recaps will include the highlights of our days at Disney!

Oddly enough, just as we were about to leave for our trip, our Florida friend Randy was in Louisiana to visit his parents. He stopped over to say hi! (We live about 12 hours apart!) 

No and I mean NO Texas road trip is complete without a stop at Buc-ee's! It was definitely the highlight of Brayden's day!

We sure do love this place! If you've never been, you should stop by sometime! It's seriously the largest and cleanest gas station/restroom stop/souvenir store I've ever seen!

Our flight departed bright and early the following morning. We stayed at a park and fly hotel the night before and were then brought to the airport the following morning. TSA pre-check was open and running which was nice (sometimes it's not open that early) and we were through the gate in no time.

Somehow, we snagged the front front row seats on Southwest and joked that we were starting our trip off on "Southwest first class"! These seats were awesome! 

Only problem is, you had to store your bags overhead for takeoff and landing as there's no where to put them at your feet. I would totally sit here again, though!

Now that Magical Express no longer obtains your bags for you, we had to do something we've never had to do in all our years of flying to MCO! Baggage claim!

It was not bad or difficult at all, though! Just something new for us! 

The line for Magical Express was incredibly short. We got right into line 3 which also had zero line and we were directed right onto our bus!

Off to Bay Lake Tower! In total, the whole airport thing took about an hour, then another 45 minutes or so for the Magical Express trip. We landed at MCO a little after 9 a.m. and were up and in our room at 11 a.m.! 

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that our room at BLT was ready!

We booked a basic deluxe studio without anything extra.

The rooms at Bay Lake Tower are very nice and I'd love to stay longer on our next trip.

I love how clean and updated these rooms feel. 

A kitchenette with all of the amenities were included in this little alcove.

The overall size of the room was great as well!

We ended up with a lake view somehow, but I wasn't complaining! :)

The artwork was so cute!

After glancing over our balcony, what I thought was a lake view actually turned out to be a split lake view/theme park view!

We dropped off our bags and headed to the Magic Kingdom (more on that later) then came back to the resort mid-afternoon to swim!

Brayden LOVED their slide!

They also had this adorable splash pad!

Behind the pool area was the cutest little beach/relaxation section complete with comfortable outdoor furniture! It looked so nice!

Even though Bay Lake Tower isn't our home resort, we loved it and would definitely consider adding on points there in the future!

It was so nice to be "home"! 

Stay tuned for a peek at our time in the Magic Kingdom! :) 

Disney 2021: Ice Storm, Traveling, and Pop Century

Our most recent February Walt Disney World vacation had an interesting start to say the least! With a ridiculous ice storm set to cross our area, we had to make a last minute decision that included several changes. In the end, my idea of adding a little extra magic to the beginning of our trip was the option that topped the rest and I wasn't even mad about it! 

Our original plans included: Flying out of Houston, TX on Wednesday (day 3 of the ice storm), staying 3 nights at Pop and 3 nights at Copper Creek, then flying back home the following Tuesday. 

We were also traveling with a few friends and had a couple of options. We reviewed all of the dates/times to possibly change our flights at the last minute and there was no way anything would work with our tight schedule. Jason worked that Sunday and we had a very small window to work with since the ice storm was set to hit that Monday.

Ultimately, our friends decided to keep their flights, drive up to Houston on Sunday evening (prior to the ice storm), stay three nights at a hotel near the airport, then chance their flight on Wednesday. We debated this option but I knew being cooped up in a hotel with a 4 year old for three days likely wouldn't be the best option. I also didn't like the idea of driving towards the ice storm because I had a feeling we would get stuck. (Not to mention the fact that I would be a nervous wreck the ENTIRE time!)

After a bit of arm twisting, I finally convinced Jason that our best option was to cancel our flights to take the flight credit for a future trip, then leave Sunday night after he got home from work and begin the drive to Florida. It's about a 12-13 hour drive without stops and I knew we could do it. The instagram poll I put out there also had an overwhelming response to drive, so that's what we decided to do!

Despite the chaos, we still took a little bit of time to celebrate Valentines Day ahead of our departure. 

A Valentines Day tradition of ours is chocolate covered strawberries. We've had these every Valentines Day since we began dating so I knew it had to happen this year, too! (circa 2006)

We packed all day Saturday and Saturday evening and on Sunday morning, Brayden and I went to church before returning home to pack some more!

I despise last minute anything, but we got it done! 

One perk to driving was the fact that we could bring our own food and not have to worry about a click-list or insta-cart once we arrived!

Thankfully, my parents were able to keep our dogs for a few days at their house. With the roads projected to be non-drivable, I was worried my dogs would be home alone for days (and they would have been if not for my parents)!

With pipes wrapped and faucets dripping, we crossed our fingers, hoped for the best, and began our drive to Florida.

Since Jason worked all day on Sunday and didn't get home until 7 p.m., we got a late start and decided to stop at a hotel in Pensacola on our way. Pensacola is half way and this plan worked out perfectly for us!

That Monday morning, we woke up and checked our cameras back at home. What's all of that white stuff? It's not supposed to be there! 

If you guys remember, just 6 months ago, we were hard hit with two hurricanes and now this ice storm. My heart went out to those living in campers while fixing up their homes. Our area had power outages and water outages and we couldn't treat our patients for an entire week. Needless to say, it sounded like a hot mess.

Back in Florida, we made it to Walt Disney World around 6 p.m. that evening. I added two nights on at Pop Century and stopped by the front desk to make sure we could keep the same room for the entire 5 nights we would be at Pop. Thankfully, someone behind the scenes had already made it happen! 

Our room was ready upon arrival and we were on the second floor which meant Brayden got to ride the elevators! He was thrilled!!

We absolutely love these renovated rooms at Pop! You also can't beat the Skyliner!

Brayden's favorite part was "his" Pluto bed!

So fun!

After getting settled, Jason and Brayden hit up the pool while I attempted to find dinner. Several friends back at home asked why I wasn't sending pictures and I felt bad about sending pictures of us in the beautiful Florida sunshine while they were freezing away at home!

For dinner, we chose the pizza combo from the Pop food court and it was delicious! It also came with a salad and breadsticks. With no dining plan, we ate on this thing for a couple of days and it was perfect!

The following day was Fat Tuesday and a "play day" for us since we weren't originally planning on being at Disney that early anyway! I love extra and unexpected relaxing days at Disney so I was all for it! 

Up next: Disney Springs and a little surprise!

Disney World Travel Day (November 2019)

Happy frosty Tuesday from the winter tundra of the south! Although it's been a hot second since we returned from our Wine & Dine Disney trip (with Disney Dream cruise), I figured it was high time to share a recap of our trip with all of you!

This trip was a combination of several of our friends and in total, there were 7 of us. We've always talked about doing a friends trip together, and I couldn't believe it was actually happening. We were the only one from our group with a kid, but it didn't matter to anyone and I loved it! 

For starters, I'm going to share our itinerary and link each post as it becomes available.

Disney Travel Day: Wine and Dine Expo & Animal Kingdom
Disney Day 2: Wine and Dine 10K & Kids Races & Hollywood Studios/Epcot
Disney Day 3: Wine and Dine Half Marathon & Magic Kingdom
Disney Day 4: Boarding the Disney Dream
Disney Day 5: Castaway Cay
Disney Day 6: Nassau
Disney Day 7: At Sea Day
Disney Day 8: Disney Springs and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Our trip began with a late start. First of all, Halloween happened to fall the night before we were flying out to Disney. Since we couldn't let Brayden miss one of the best nights of the year for a kid,  we decided to hang back around a bit longer in our home town to let him do a little trick or treating. We had a blast (so did he) and I do not regret it one bit!

We did end up getting on the road about 7 p.m. and because our flight was an early morning one, we decided to spend the night at a hotel near the airport (which was about 2 hours from our home). 

After about four hours of sleep (literally), we were at the airport, through security, and on the plane in no time. We purchased TSA precheck about a year ago and haven't regretted that decision yet. It's so easy and smooth, especially with a little one! On this trip in particular, we were told at first that the precheck line at the airport wasn't yet open (I didn't know they had a time cap?) and we would have to go through the regular security line. There were several of us with precheck, kind of milling around for a minute, and somehow (miraculously), they decided to open the precheck line a few minutes early! YAY!

The flight was smooth and we landed in Orlando without any issues. You could definitely tell it was a race weekend, though - Magical Express was crowded! Thankfully we were at the beginning of the line for Pop Century, but check out that line behind us!

Front(ish) row!

After arriving at Pop, we decided to check our bags since our room was not quite ready yet. While waiting in the bag check line, I literally received a text that our room was ready, so off we went! We were in the 50's building with perfect access to the Skyliner! So much fun!!

We dropped off our bags, then said goodbye to our friends who weren't running any of the races that weekend and headed over to the Expo. (See link for expo recap.)

After browsing the expo for a while, we decided we were hungry and made our way to Animal Kingdom to meet up with our other friends.

Lunch included a stop at Flame Tree BBQ for a little brisket mac & cheese. It was so filling and delicious!

Brayden was WORN out from all of the traveling, so he napped in the stroller while we ate. After lunch, we rode Expedition Everest (dumb, I know) then walked over to see the Festival of the Lion King!

This is one of our favorite shows at AK.

Before long, a local friend of ours joined our party and we all rode Kilimanjaro Safaris together.  (Brayden is here but he's not in the picture.)

For dinner, we hopped a bus to Disney Springs and I made a bee line to the Christmas store to check out their specialty Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend ornaments. I've seen this display for many races, so if you're running a race and want a special memento to remember it by, these make for a great souvenir! They often have the year, distance, or even the race name hand painted on them!

Dinner that evening was at Earl of Sandwich and it was oh so delicious! 

We called it an early evening because four of our six adults had the 10K to run the following morning! 

...and that's a wrap on our travel day/day one at the most magical place on earth! Stay tuned for more! :)

Goodbye 2019, Hello 2020!

Gosh, it's hard for me to believe that the year 2000 was literally 20 years ago. There's a tweet floating around out there that says something along the lines of 20 years ago being 1980 and YES, that's exactly how I feel! I graduated high school in 2000 - our 20 year reunion is this year! All I can say is HOW? Mind. Blown, literally.

Well, since we are saying goodbye to 2019 and we are already two days into the new year (I'm a slacker, sorry), I figured it was time for a recap of all the fun/interesting/crazy moments of the previous year.

Side note: I had every intention of putting up this blog post yesterday, but I spent the majority of my day taking down the Christmas decor. Oh yes, and eating black eyed peas with cabbage at my mom's house and you know what? I didn't hate it as much as I did as a kid! I'm not a bean or pea person at all, but this was a delicious one!

Ok, now on with the year...

I know I say this all the time, but I'm so very grateful (and it's true). There may have been a few rough patches in 2019, but it overall turned out to be a great year!

 

Health

Most recently, I am grateful for the status of clear lungs. I shared in one of my vlogidays videos this year about having a possible diagnosis of asthma. Thankfully, after a full PFT and Methacholine testing (along with blood work), it was determined that I do not have asthma! Yay! I have had issues with breathing for several years now, so we just have to figure out the culprit. (Getting my heart checked again is next.)

In the same category comes my hamstring. Y'all, this thing is a doozy. It feels fine one day then doesn't the next. I'm so nervous about overdoing it or tweaking it in the wrong way. I know for certain that dead lifts right now are absolutely out of the question as are running on inclines at Orangetheory. It's a funny feeling when you're halfway between an injury and an improvement. You notice every little stitch and movement. I spent several months this year with physical therapy and have had VAST improvements since July. Hopefully things will just keep looking up from here.

I'm also insanely grateful for a healthy child. Twenty nineteen brought so many new experiences, words, knowledge, and growth for Brayden. I also realized that I never posted a three and a half year update so I'll do that very soon. (I know, I'm a slacker!) Also, how is my child already three and a half?!

Travel

This year, we were so blessed to be able to take several trips and we loved each and every one of the experiences we shared!

In February, we visited Disney World with my parents and had our very first Vacation Club stay! We checked into Boulder Ridge and loved it! This trip also doubled as the Princess Half Marathon Weekend where I ran both the 10K and the Half and Jason completed the 10K. We all had a great time!

In June, we traveled to Alaska with Jason's family for a 7 night cruise out of Vancouver. This was Brayden's first cruise and I'm not kidding when I tell you that he's just as hooked as we are on cruising. For this trip, we decided to take different experiences than ones we'd taken on a previous cruise, so we went whale watching and dog sledding. By far, dog sledding was my favorite excursion of them all! Brayden loved it, too! At the end of our trip, we even had a chance to visit the Alaska Zoo which was super neat to see as the animals there aren't your typical "lower 48 zoo animals". Also, a lot of the animals they've come to take care of were either abandoned or in a hazardous situation and were rescued. I thought it was a very neat experience.

In August, my little family took a super quick 3 day trip to Walt Disney World. We already had AP's, extra DVC points, and we found super cheap flights! (Score!) We stayed at Old Key West and had a blast! I also ran the Beignet Dash and although I was in the middle of my hamstring injury, I still enjoyed the fun run!

Last but not least, in November we visited Walt Disney World again but this time with our friends. We ran the Wine & Dine Half Marathon/Two Course Challenge, rode the Skyliner a billion times per Brayden's request, took a cruise on the Disney Dream (a first for most in our party), and we took part in the first Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party of the year! It was a fabulous trip and one I didn't want to see come to an end.

Racing

This year was a interesting one as far as running goes - with several highs and several lows. After the Princess Half Marathon Weekend, I knew I wanted a better shot at higher corrals for Wine & Dine. So, I trained hard in the spring and somehow managed to PR in both the 5K and the 10K distances in the same weekend!

After all that hard work though, came an injury. Sad times. Thankfully as I mentioned before, things are now looking up!

Something good that came out of it, though? I managed to land in corral A for the Wine & Dine 10K and corral B for the Wine & Dine Half! Woohooo!

Getting Good

There's a new single by Lauren Alaina that really hits home for me every time I hear it and it brings me to tears. It's called "Getting Good" and if you haven't heard it, you need to go listen to it. Trust me on this one.

This song is an excellent reminder for me that even though things may not be just as I want them to be, my life is as it SHOULD be right now. I'm learning to live in the moment and enjoy it instead of worrying about what the future holds or even the inevitable.

This is one of the reasons that my blog has sadly fallen to the side a little this year. I love love love to blog and share with you guys, but I only have Brayden as a three year old once and I don't want to miss out on time with him. Although I love my job, working as a full time mom takes a lot of that time away from him. I also love spending time with my family, so I'm doing that as much as possible, too. Working as an oncology nurse has taught me a lot of things, but one of the most important is that time is precious and oh so short. Enjoy your loved ones as much as you can while you can.

So, my goals for this year are just a few and can be taken from the lyrics of this song:

• Learn to grow where I'm planted
• Soak up every moment 

Last but not least, although it's not a part of this song, I'm also looking forward to spiritual growth through the Fire Bible initiative that our church is participating in right now.

I hope that 2020 is a year of fresh starts, new adventures, health, and amazing opportunities for all of you!  Happy New Year!

 "Once I learn to soak up every moment, I'll realize my life's already good."