Favorite Disney Moments

Recently on my favorite podcast (The Disney Exchange), they discussed their favorite memories from each of the Disney parks. It's been a while since I wrote anything Disney related, so I thought I'd take their lead and do so today! It was hard to pick a favorite from each park with so many memories we've made throughout the years, but I narrowed it down to four! 

So, here we go!

Animal Kingdom

Our honeymoon was seriously one of the best Disney trips ever! (It's hard to believe that was 10 years ago already!)

Everywhere we went, we were congratulated because we wore our Disney bride and groom hats. On our way to see the Lion King, a cast member pulled us to the side and told us that she was taking us through a secret entrance. It was almost show time and the front row for the elephant section was still empty. Can you guess where she sat us? Yep, the front row! We were SO excited, we couldn't hardly believe it!! 

As an added bonus, the "leader" of the elephant section chose me to be the one who showed the audience how to make an elephant noise. Well, Jason still makes fun of me to this day because instead of a trumpet sound, it came out more like a "woooooooooo". We still crack up about it to this day!

Hollywood Studios

This magical memory doesn't come from inside of the park, rather the outside. If you've read the story of my journey, then you know where my running obsession began. This photo was taken in 2010 while running the Walt Disney World full marathon. The year before, a friend of mine and I stood right outside this very spot to cheer on our friends who were running the marathon that year. This happened to be mile 24 and I was amazed at the fact that runners were SMILING. Well, I decided I could do that too, so I began training. Needless to say, every time I see this spot outside of Hollywood Studios, I smile! 

Magic Kingdom

Taking it back to runDisney, my Magic Kingdom moment happens every time I run down Main Street USA. This is seriously one of the most amazing feelings in the world. Spectators are out there to cheer runners on, runners are excited, the castle is lit up at the end of the street, and I mean...it's Main Street, need I say more?

EPCOT

My hands down absolute favorite and most magical memory EVER comes from Epcot. Remember that honeymoon I mentioned earlier? Well, our bride and groom ears gained a little attention as we were preparing to see the Voices of Liberty in the American Pavilion.

The sweet cast member (who happens to have a navy blue CM tag and I can't remember his name) took us next door to the restaurant and got us two Mickey rice crispy treats. After that, he gave us a magical moments certificate and had us "call" Mickey and Minnie on the phone line to hear them wish us a happy life together.

He still wasn't done.

After the phone call, he put us in the front, middle section of the circle inside the rotunda. We were like "OMG is this really happening to us"? Honestly, we thought we were just being given a front row seat to hear the Voices of Liberty....no....

After the Voices of Liberty greeted everyone with a song, their "ringleader" then mentioned US by name and dedicated and sang "When You Wish Upon A Star" to US! We seriously spent the rest of the afternoon in shock and couldn't believe that just happened to us! We've been able to thank the "ringleader" on subsequent trips and she's so incredibly sweet. Seriously to this day, that memory is one of my favorite Disney moments ever.

Walt Disney World

Last but not least, I have to mention our most recent trip in February with my parents and Brayden. Sharing the magic with Brayden for the first time while doing so with the ones who planted the love of Disney inside of my heart (my parents) was an incredible experience all around!

Do you have a favorite or magical Disney moment? Share it in the comments below!

Weekend Recap - Birthdays, Family Time, & Yummy Food!

Although this past weekend had a lot going on, I didn't plan much of it and just decided to go with the flow and see what happened! It was so much fun!

For starters, my sinus episode did not get better, it got worse and by Saturday morning, I couldn't breathe through my nose. A little sudafed helped somewhat, but needless to say, I decided not to run at all. I am feeling a little better this morning but I have a doctor appointment this afternoon after work, so we shall see what he has to say.

On Friday afternoon, I took Brayden in for another haircut. His hair grows so dang fast and he had his 18 month pictures scheduled for the following day!

My dad's birthday is this week, so we celebrated with my brother and his wife on Friday night.

I had to laugh at Brayden's fortune!

Happy birthday, Poppy!

Brayden's fall pictures/18 month pictures took place on Saturday morning. He was in a super happy mood and did SO well! We also took the pictures at an antique store that's owned by Jason's uncle & his wife.  The old cars and props were perfect for the images...I can't wait to see how they turned out!

This cracked me up - he was supposed to be taking his Saturday afternoon nap, so when I heard the sounds of his baby piano on the monitor, I knew something was up! Apparently he decided that his toys were way more fun than a nap.

Once he fell asleep, I left him in Jason's care and headed to a local build-your-own salad place for lunch with my sister in law. It was such a gorgeous day, we sat outside to eat!

After lunch, we walked next door for coffee at PJ's and sat outside again! It really was a lovely afternoon!

Jason's grandfather and sister will be celebrating birthdays this upcoming week too, so we had dinner with them at a local Seafood restaurant on Saturday night! I had the shrimp and crab gumbo and it was SO good!

Happy birthday, grandpa!

Sunday was very low key, with a trip to church, lunch after, and taking care of a few odds and ends around the house that evening. Breakfast began with Mickey waffles and coffee, and I reminded myself that it wouldn't be much longer before I was eating Mickey waffles every day for breakfast! YES!

On Sunday evening, I had the opportunity to record a podcast with Relay for Life! I recently served on a 5K work group initiative where we created a Relay 5K packet on how to put a 5K together from start to finish, so they had me on to discuss our work. I was honored they asked if I would be on their podcast!

The rest of the weekend was spent getting things together for our upcoming vacay. I can't wait!!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Happy Monday!