Day 4: EPCOT

For our final day at Disney World this past August, we spent a half day at EPCOT. Luckily, we were able to book our fast passes back to back, which enabled us to go from ride to ride without any difficulty.

We woke up bright and early and had a breakfast of leftover pastries in our room!

It was all delicious, even on day 2!

After breakfast, we dropped our luggage off at baggage claim, then hopped a bus to Epcot. Magical Express was set to pick us up around 1:30 p.m., so we had plans to stay at Epcot until around noon.

We visited the Spaceship Earth first, followed by The Seas with Nemo and Friends. After a little Journey Into Imagination with Figment, we decided to visit the DVC lounge at the top of the Imagination Pavilion. We still had a good 45 minutes before it was time for our next fast pass (at Frozen), so we decided this was the best way to pass a little time!

It was definitely a nice way to recharge our devices and get out of the summer Florida heat, too!

While there, a cast member came around with a cart to deliver snacks. This has been hit or miss for us in the past, but it was nice to have this time around!

After cooling off for a bit, we stopped for a quick potty break where Brayden had his first "wall" photo taken! I definitely giggled at this a bit!

Frozen had been down, but it was reopening just as we walked up! Another bonus: this meant zero line for us!!

Brayden loved this ride, too because he loves Olaf!

Before leaving the park, we decided to stop for a snack of a cronut! These are currently available at the Electric Umbrella but I'm not sure for how long!

Also for anyone who's curious, this was our first Disney trip to travel with our Summer Infant 3Dlite + stroller and we LOVED it! It's basically a heavy duty umbrella stroller with all the perks. I seriously recommend this one!

Although we were sad to say goodbye, it was time to leave Epcot and make our way back to Old Key West for Magical Express! We did have a small bit of a wait for our resort bus which left us wishing we had taken a Lyft, but we made it without any problem.

Thankfully, we had about a 10 minute wait for Magical Express which gave us just enough time to snag our luggage! While Jason was off doing that, Brayden and I did a little exploring, where we discovered a color table! Fun times!

...and with that, our magical, quick, extended weekend trip had come to a close! We loved being able to visit and spend time with just our little family. It was such a special time for all three of us!

Oh yes, and last quick note - these are delicious...and by delicious, I mean freaking good! Needless to say, the bag didn't last long at my house!

Thanks so much for following along! Our next magical adventure will be just ahead! We are visiting Walt Disney World for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon, boarding the Disney Dream for a 4 night cruise, then returning to Walt Disney World for the very first Christmas party of 2019! As an added bonus, we get to do all of that with our friends! I'm SO excited and cannot wait!

Have a magical day!

4 on the 4th and Festivities!

Over the years, a "staple" race for me has been our hometown 4th of July race. I've missed a year or two here and there due to injury or being out of town but for the most part, I've run this race every year. Despite my new hamstring injury this year, I still decided to do this race with a plan of "taking it slow". Besides, I had a Triple Crown medal at stake here and after having run the Athletes Corner 3 miler back in March and the Contraband Days 5 miler in May, I knew I HAD to do it, even if that meant walking the entire thing.

Somehow, a race recap from the Contraband Days 5 miler (from May) never made its way here, but during that race, I ran/walked the entire thing with a few friends due to our Relay for Life event the night before. Going into the 4 miler, I knew if I could just get to mile 3 by run/walking with my friends again, I would make it...and make it I did!

 

It was a hot one (as always) for the race, but the sun was hiding behind a cloud most of the time which made it bearable.

My dad was so generous to come out and watch Brayden while we ran. He used to come out to cheer me on by himself but now, he has a buddy to visit with!

Jason was working nights, so he sadly missed the entire day. Whomp whomp. 

This course took us down the lake, out and back. They also had PLENTY of water stops and gatorade, too!

The miles seemed to fly by for me as we chatted and before I knew it, we were almost finished. About .2 miles from the finish line, we passed Brayden and my dad. Brayden started crying because he wanted me, so we ran the remainder of the race together. He LOVES going for a run with mom! Sweet boy!

(Side note, I wouldn't have minded running this race with him but I'm super glad I didn't. After taking his stroller, I could really feel my hamstring pulling for just those last 0.2 miles.)

Triple Crown!

They've offered this option for the past several years and I've only done the full set twice so far. I'm glad they change the medal from year to year, too!

Kona Ice was out there for a frozen treat after the race. I wasn't going to get one, but when I saw "Lavender Lemonade" on the list, I knew I had to try it! The flavor of this one was amazing and reminded me of a Violet Lemonade from the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT. I love having little tastes of Disney at home!

After breakfast and showers, we headed over to my friend Kim's house for a lunch time BBQ! All of the food was delicious!

That evening, my community hosted its first ever "Red, White, & Boom" event, complete with fireworks. We had SO much fun! My parents came with us to enjoy the evening and we had a great time!

There were food trucks from vendors in our community which was fun as well as jump houses for the kids.

Side note, when I saw these matching shirts at Kohls in the spring, I knew I had to have them!

Brayden LOVED "driving" the firetruck and playing on the slide. He also really enjoyed the fireworks!

At last count, I heard over 4400 people were in attendance which is huge for my small-ish community. We usually go to the larger event located in the nearby town for the 4th, but wanted to support our community on its first year and I'm so glad we did! We were also home by 9:30 since we didn't have near as much traffic to fight. Score!

My friend Kim was there too and we had fun hanging out with them! In all, it was a great day!! Happy birthday, America!

What did you do for the 4th?

2.5 Year Toddler Update

I might be a month behind on this one, but better late than never, right?!

Last month, Brayden turned 2 1/2 years old and has grown, developed, and changed so much in just 6 short months! I'm not going to lie, I'm super sad that his baby features (chubby cheeks and thighs) are slowly fading away.

Clothing: Mostly 2T and some 3T
Diapers: Size 5 - working on learning to use the potty has been an interesting time!
Shoes: Size 7 and some 8's
Weight: 34 pounds (estimated)
Height: 36 inches (estimated)

In his last update, I mentioned that he hit a "word explosion" right before turning 2. Since then, those words have turned into more words which turned into phrases and he hasn't looked back for a single second. His current favorite phrase is to say "I want _____"! It's also hilarious to hear how he mispronounces things. Take orange pumpkin for example - "ooo-range pun-kin". I just love it!

His favorite place ever is the park. He also still LOVES the splash pad! Anywhere water is, that's where Brayden wants to be. We keep a pair of boots at both my house and my mom's house so he can splash in the puddles after it rains.

Like the rest of the country, he’s super obsessed with the “baby shark” song and it’s so cute to see the look on his face when the song starts. We’ve listened to it at least a million times!

He also LOVES his momma which of course melts my heart. I've heard before that there's just something about the bond between a little boy and his mom and "they" were right!

As far as food goes, Brayden loves it, especially "ice cream" aka frozen yogurt. Other favorites of his include pizza, spaghetti, tacos, waffles, chicken nuggets, cereal, chips, refried beans, french fries, fruit, and of course, candy (which is totally limited). He's not always open to trying something new, but once you convince him to take a bite, he will usually want more.

Favorite TV shows include Puppy Dog Pals and Mickey Mouse, but he now asks for Little Einsteins by name as well as "Paw Dogs" which is also known as Paw Patrol.

Landmarks are something he's picked up on as well. For example, he knows when we've made the turn to go to the park, my mom and dad's house, the frozen yogurt place, school/church, etc. 

Over the summer, we had all kinds of exciting adventures like swim lessons...

...seeing the 2017 World Series trophy on its tour...

...feeding the giraffes at the San Antonio Zoo...

...an Astros game...

...and Sea World in San Antonio!

Brayden travels really well in the car and we love going on new adventures and exploring new areas!

He LOVES animals of any kind, especially dogs! My dogs still aren't super agreeable to allowing him to touch, but we can convince them every once in a while with a little snack or treat!

Just like any boy, Brayden loves playing in the dirt. I ended up purchasing a giant plastic container that I keep topsoil in for him to play with. He loves using his shovel and bucket to repurpose the dirt (aka put it all over the backyard)! Another new fascination as of late has been dinosaurs. Being a boy mom sure is interesting!

Since moving up to the two year old class at school (where we also added an extra day), I've seen a huge change in the information Brayden absorbs. He knows his numbers of 0-10 and even surprised me the other day by counting to 10! He also knows his colors very well. We are currently working on letters and shapes, too! He's come a long way in just 6 months and I love seeing the new things he says and does every day!

Personality wise, Brayden is still a pretty chill, happy, and sweet kid although he has his moments/days just like most toddlers. He's easily redirectable when he's upset by reminding him to use his words and asking what he wants. We are loving and cherishing this time with this sweet kid we've been blessed with!

Thanks for following along in our journey! Stay tuned for his next update at 3 years old! :)

San Antonio Weekend

This past weekend, my little family and I took a long weekend trip to New Braunfels, Texas to visit my brother for his birthday.

We left home on Friday afternoon and stayed in Texas until Monday, so our weekend was extended by a day which was nice!

Our fist stop upon arriving in New Braunfels was at In-n-Out Burger. We couldn't pass it up!

Since we were there for Brian's birthday, we celebrated that evening with cake and presents!

This boy LOVES cookie cake - it's his favorite.

On Saturday morning, we spent time shopping at the outlet malls in San Marcos. This area was HUGE and grew packed with people not long after I took this photo. Thankfully they had a Disney Store, so we were able to enjoy that! Oh yes, and a Banana Republic. That one ranks high on my list of favorite stores.

Saturday was my brother's actual birthday and he wanted to celebrate with a little Mexican food at Uncle Julio's in Austin. To be honest, we actually went to this restaurant because we heard so much about their chocolate pinata...

Jason and I split an order of fajitas and they were delicious! The tortillas were thick and homemade and just so so good.

After dinner, we ordered the famous chocolate pinata for dessert.

Y'all.

Oh my goodness this thing was amazing!

Once he busted into it, churros, strawberries, pineapples, and blackberries fell out. The dipping sauces were raspberry, chocolate, some kind of caramel concoction, and whipped cream!

The five of us devoured this thing - let's just say there wasn't much left by the time we were done!

On Sunday morning, Brian asked if I wanted to go for a run and I couldn't pass that up, especially after eating so much chocolate the evening before.

We saw a ton of deer along the way. It was so peaceful and serene!

We completed 2.5 miles, then cleaned up for our trip to Sea World! This was my first time to visit Sea World in San Antonio, although I have visited the one in San Diego and Orlando in the past. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this park was completely different from the others which was really nice.

Brayden loved seeing all of the marine animals!

We also enjoyed riding the roller coasters, too!

This park was so much fun and had so many things for kids to do. Feeding the ducks and flamingos was another favorite.

The kids area was themed after Sesame Street and included a giant splash pad.

Of course we couldn't pass up a ride on the carousel!

Brayden would have stayed in this area for hours had we let him!

We literally spent all day at Sea World. We had such a fun time and I do hope to visit again soon.

On Monday morning, I decided to get my first Orangetheory workout in for the week. I knew the week back home would be busy and wasn't sure when I would be able to get two workouts in, so Monday morning it was!

Visiting a different studio was interesting and fun at the same time. It was neat to see the similarities and differences between this one and my home gym. The coach for this class was amazing and I loved her!

After leaving Orangetheory, I happened to see a Hallmark. If you've been a blog follower for a while, you know I love Hallmark ornaments at Christmas and our store closed down a few years ago. Since the ornaments were out, I could NOT let this opportunity pass me by!

Another favorite of mine that we no longer have is McAlister's. Imagine my delight to see one in New Braunfels. As I'm sure you've guessed by now, McAlister's is what we had for lunch on Monday!

After lunch, we drove home and somehow managed to drive straight through without any stops. In all, it was a great weekend! We had so much fun visiting with my brother and his wife and exploring their new area. We can't wait to visit again!