What do Mike Huckabee, an ambulance ride, an animal shelter, Esquire magazine, and the birthday blues all have in common? Well, they've all been a part of why I haven't been blogging lately.
First, I was totally plagued by the low down, no good birthday blues. Sad, yeah, I know. They even started just before my birthday! Truth be told, I'm not so sure they've been completely shaken. Maybe I'm just too tired and busy to tell.
On the Wednesday after my birthday, in a feeble attempt to conquer the birthday blues, Hoot and I took a trip to the local animal shelter. You know, the dog pound. The canine clink. We took several dogs out into the yard, and then we met her. Luna. Oh, sweet baby bag of fur! It was love at first site. We paid our fee, loaded her up, and took her home. We went into the back yard, she found a hole in the fence (that was ridiculously tiny) and promptly ran away. Yep. Three times on the first day. Now, we go out on a leash, even in the backyard. But, it is still love and I will take pictures and blog later. I promise.
Exactly one week later, I managed to have a tiny accident. I nicked my ankle with a knife. I was busy. Washer going. Sink full of dishes. The end of breakfast still on the table. Morning number seven of an eight straight day work streak. I decided on a jammy day and parked Hoot in front of the Curious George movie so I could catch up. Knife slipped. No time. Slapped on a band aid and kept going. About an hour later, I sat down at the computer to pay bills online. Got up about 20 minutes later and found a giant pool of blood under the desk. I had nicked one of those lovely varicose veins I have left over from my pregnancy. When I pulled off the band aid, blood shot across the room with pulsing regularity. Hm, look like a fool and dial 911? Look like an idiot and bleed to death for not getting help? Wow. Hoot enjoyed his ambulance ride immensely. DH freaked out when he got home and saw the bloodbath. Seriously, slasher movies don't show this kind of carnage. Blood loss was the entire reason the EMTs and firemen talked me into the ER.
Low point of my month: standing outside the ER in my pajamas waiting for my mother, who said she was 5 minutes away.
Even lower point of the month: realizing she was about 20 minutes away.
Under the barrel, about two feet: finishing the crappy job DH did cleaning up the bloody footprints through out the entire house.
During the last few months, but especially this month, I have been preparing for the Mike Huckabee signing that happened yesterday at my store. Last week, as if we weren't already in a tizzy, we received a call from the home office. Esquire was coming to do the photo shoot of the book tour. He already did the interview, but they picked our store to feature for the pics. So, look for me in the February issue! (Honestly, I kind of hope I'm not there. Not exactly at my peak right now, you know!) Did this take an already crazy event and kick it up a notch? You bet your sweet ### it did! Did we pull it off flawlessly? You bet your sweet ### we did! I really enjoyed it. He was wonderful to work with, and his team is awesome. Ditto for the Esquire team. It was a ton of fun!
So, I'm tuckered out from it all and baking for Thanksgiving. I really wanted to not do anything big this year, but Tee's hubby, Bullet, is coming with her and I haven't seen him in forever. So, I did the Christmas Coconut Cake for him. Yes, it's a pain in the hiney. But, I had a little fiasco with my birthday cake, so it was good to make a great come back! Plus, Hoot and I got to take a hammer to a coconut on the back porch. Really, I needed the fun.
Tomorrow, after DH comes home from work, we're off to my parent's house. I hope every one has a great Thanksgiving. If you need me, I'll be at The Antler Inn in Cuero tomorrow night!
Yeah, I'm sure it's a four star kind of place...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Day Five: How many hills can there be at Animal Kingdom, or straw hat wearing fat lady pushes same in wheelchair!
After our delightful brunch, we headed over to Animal Kingdom. We love Animal Kingdom, but it is the largest park. Tee was doing well with her foot, but she would definitely need a scooter here. Alas, when we arrived at the rental counter, all of the scooters were gone. We put our cell number on a waiting list and hoped. In the mean time, we convinced her to hop into a wheelchair.
I must confess that I was a little apprehensive about pushing her. I had memories of Tee pushing my other sister in a wheelchair to the parking lot on our 1994 visit. They were not pretty memories. However, the chair moved easily and she wasn't tough to push at all. In fact, Hoot had developed a nasty little habit of putting his feet down to stop his stroller and she was much easier to push than him. Of course, as soon as we were off, I leaned down and whispered in her ear that if she put her feet down to jolt us to a stop like Hoot, I would pull her out of the chair and whip her *** right there in public. She laughed and demonstrated that she couldn't even touch the ground without leaning off the front of the chair.
We headed back to Hirambe to pick up our fast passes for Kilimanjaro Safaris. We had a small wait, so DH took Hoot through the Pangani Exploration Trail. While they were gone, I wheeled Tee over next to Tusker House to sit in the shade while I found us some refreshments. While I was gone, Brian, Tee's hubby, called her and laughed because even though he was back home from Africa, the rest of his traveling party had arrived in the real Hirambe that morning. When I returned with our iced coffees, the drummers came out and we enjoyed a great show. They had several dancers that were coercing guests out to dance with them and we watched an old man really get down! It was a great show and in no time at all, the boys were back from seeing the animals.
Kilimanjaro Safaris is one of our favorites at WDW. The trucks have a real driver because the animals, or at least the safe ones, roam on their own around the Safari. Never before had I seen such a demonstration of this.
We were in the truck and moving along quite nicely enjoying the animals and the sights. We came around a corner and saw a herd of giraffes on the move. We were very excited because one of the babies was out and about with them. The truck in front of us had stopped to let the giraffes meander down the road. Then, the baby had a change of heart, stopped, and just stood in the road. We waited patiently for about five minutes, but still the baby stood there. At this point he was maybe fifty yards in front of us. After almost ten minutes, a green pickup came driving down the road and stopped near the baby. I think something was said to the giraffe by a handler, and the baby began to back up off of the road. Then, the pickup turned around and went off a ways in the distance to watch. As soon as the ride truck in front of us started to inch forward, the baby went back to his original spot in the road. This caused a lot of laughing among the guests.
Once again, the green pickup drove down and the driver appeared to speak to the animal. The giraffe backed away, the truck left, the ride truck began to inch forward, and the baby returned to the road! We all thought it was terribly delightful! The next time the green pickup returned, the driver positioned herself between the ride trucks and the baby giraffe. As we were passing by them, the baby was beginning to inch around the back side of the pickup. I suspect she was trying to get back into the road.
After our Safari, we moved on to Asia. DH had mentioned riding Expedition Everest, but he never got around to it. We also considered Kali River Rapids, but the line was about 45 minutes long. (Yes, I know that's not really that long, but we are off season people.) The boys went off in search of tigers and bats, while I parked Tee beneath an umbrella for a photo or two.
Ha! She couldn't even complain! After all, I had been pushing her all afternoon! However, one doesn't really know what she'll think about it being posted online! HA!
After Asia, we dined at the Flametree BBQ, where Hoot had fowl issues. He refused to stop feeding the ducks that were gathered around our dining area. Eating with ducks underfoot is even more annoying that eating with bad mannered dogs under foot. I still don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure he fed chicken to the ducks! Did my son make these poor innocent ducks into cannibals?
Dinoland USA was our next destination, but we were feeling pretty tired. Hoot kept sneezing and was a little on the surly side. The boys took a few spins on Triceratops Spin (Dumbo, but from the Cretaceous Period) while Tee and I enjoyed poking around the delightfully cheesy shop there. Honestly, I love Dinoland. It throws you back to the wonderful world of roadside tourism in the fifties.
DH really wanted to take Hoot on his first ride of Dinosaur, but I was concerned that the storyline might be a little too much for him. Just because he is physically big enough to ride a specific ride, it doesn't mean he could emotionally handle the ride. We did decide against it, though. And, we decided to throw in the towel. Hoot was sneezing, we were bushed, and there was laundry waiting back at the Pop Century.
As we left Animal Kingdom, we detoured outside of the World to pick up some cold medicine for Hoot. No sense in a runny nose making him miserable on his birthday. So, we stopped at Walgreen's, where I spent way too much time trying to figure out the new guidelines for kid's cold medicines. I eventually settled on an allergy medicine and we gave him a dose as soon as we got back to the room.
Can I just say how much I like laundry at WDW? You get to leave the boys behind in the room. The laundry rooms are always very clean. Oh, the resorts all have bars! Sadly, it was too dark to read by the pool as I waited, so I just kind of zoned. It's a nice little midweek mom break.
When I got back to the room, I was a little upset to find Hoot still awake. We had plans to be at Magic Kingdom at 7:45 for morning extra magic hours so that we could have Fantasyland under our belts before the birthday lunch. I put him in bed and laid down with him a bit, but he wasn't falling asleep. The DH kept going on and on about how the medicine wasn't doing anything and how Hoot was going to be miserable on his birthday. (I was thinking "I'm miserable now with all that bitching!") But, Hoot was obviously still awake and leaking. Eventually, at around 11:30 pm, I got dressed and went down to the gift shop to find a different cold medicine. On my way down, I stopped and told Tee what was going on. I promised I'd let her know if she needed to drive me back to a drugstore.
I bought Hoot some Tylenol Cold, but the label did not state that it was safe for him. However, I knew that I had used it before and that at home, I had a half full bottle in the medicine cabinet. I made sure the ingredients wouldn't conflict (that is most of the problems with children's cold medicines) with the allergy medication we had given him hours before. On the way back to the room, I talked with Tee and we agreed that we would not be able to have an early morning. We would plan our arrival just before our early lunch reservations. Then, I tip toed back into our room.
And, you know what? Hoot was sound asleep!
Up Next: Day Six: The Birthday! Don't Feed the Bears!
I must confess that I was a little apprehensive about pushing her. I had memories of Tee pushing my other sister in a wheelchair to the parking lot on our 1994 visit. They were not pretty memories. However, the chair moved easily and she wasn't tough to push at all. In fact, Hoot had developed a nasty little habit of putting his feet down to stop his stroller and she was much easier to push than him. Of course, as soon as we were off, I leaned down and whispered in her ear that if she put her feet down to jolt us to a stop like Hoot, I would pull her out of the chair and whip her *** right there in public. She laughed and demonstrated that she couldn't even touch the ground without leaning off the front of the chair.
We headed back to Hirambe to pick up our fast passes for Kilimanjaro Safaris. We had a small wait, so DH took Hoot through the Pangani Exploration Trail. While they were gone, I wheeled Tee over next to Tusker House to sit in the shade while I found us some refreshments. While I was gone, Brian, Tee's hubby, called her and laughed because even though he was back home from Africa, the rest of his traveling party had arrived in the real Hirambe that morning. When I returned with our iced coffees, the drummers came out and we enjoyed a great show. They had several dancers that were coercing guests out to dance with them and we watched an old man really get down! It was a great show and in no time at all, the boys were back from seeing the animals.
Kilimanjaro Safaris is one of our favorites at WDW. The trucks have a real driver because the animals, or at least the safe ones, roam on their own around the Safari. Never before had I seen such a demonstration of this.
We were in the truck and moving along quite nicely enjoying the animals and the sights. We came around a corner and saw a herd of giraffes on the move. We were very excited because one of the babies was out and about with them. The truck in front of us had stopped to let the giraffes meander down the road. Then, the baby had a change of heart, stopped, and just stood in the road. We waited patiently for about five minutes, but still the baby stood there. At this point he was maybe fifty yards in front of us. After almost ten minutes, a green pickup came driving down the road and stopped near the baby. I think something was said to the giraffe by a handler, and the baby began to back up off of the road. Then, the pickup turned around and went off a ways in the distance to watch. As soon as the ride truck in front of us started to inch forward, the baby went back to his original spot in the road. This caused a lot of laughing among the guests.
Once again, the green pickup drove down and the driver appeared to speak to the animal. The giraffe backed away, the truck left, the ride truck began to inch forward, and the baby returned to the road! We all thought it was terribly delightful! The next time the green pickup returned, the driver positioned herself between the ride trucks and the baby giraffe. As we were passing by them, the baby was beginning to inch around the back side of the pickup. I suspect she was trying to get back into the road.
After our Safari, we moved on to Asia. DH had mentioned riding Expedition Everest, but he never got around to it. We also considered Kali River Rapids, but the line was about 45 minutes long. (Yes, I know that's not really that long, but we are off season people.) The boys went off in search of tigers and bats, while I parked Tee beneath an umbrella for a photo or two.
Ha! She couldn't even complain! After all, I had been pushing her all afternoon! However, one doesn't really know what she'll think about it being posted online! HA!
After Asia, we dined at the Flametree BBQ, where Hoot had fowl issues. He refused to stop feeding the ducks that were gathered around our dining area. Eating with ducks underfoot is even more annoying that eating with bad mannered dogs under foot. I still don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure he fed chicken to the ducks! Did my son make these poor innocent ducks into cannibals?
Dinoland USA was our next destination, but we were feeling pretty tired. Hoot kept sneezing and was a little on the surly side. The boys took a few spins on Triceratops Spin (Dumbo, but from the Cretaceous Period) while Tee and I enjoyed poking around the delightfully cheesy shop there. Honestly, I love Dinoland. It throws you back to the wonderful world of roadside tourism in the fifties.
DH really wanted to take Hoot on his first ride of Dinosaur, but I was concerned that the storyline might be a little too much for him. Just because he is physically big enough to ride a specific ride, it doesn't mean he could emotionally handle the ride. We did decide against it, though. And, we decided to throw in the towel. Hoot was sneezing, we were bushed, and there was laundry waiting back at the Pop Century.
As we left Animal Kingdom, we detoured outside of the World to pick up some cold medicine for Hoot. No sense in a runny nose making him miserable on his birthday. So, we stopped at Walgreen's, where I spent way too much time trying to figure out the new guidelines for kid's cold medicines. I eventually settled on an allergy medicine and we gave him a dose as soon as we got back to the room.
Can I just say how much I like laundry at WDW? You get to leave the boys behind in the room. The laundry rooms are always very clean. Oh, the resorts all have bars! Sadly, it was too dark to read by the pool as I waited, so I just kind of zoned. It's a nice little midweek mom break.
When I got back to the room, I was a little upset to find Hoot still awake. We had plans to be at Magic Kingdom at 7:45 for morning extra magic hours so that we could have Fantasyland under our belts before the birthday lunch. I put him in bed and laid down with him a bit, but he wasn't falling asleep. The DH kept going on and on about how the medicine wasn't doing anything and how Hoot was going to be miserable on his birthday. (I was thinking "I'm miserable now with all that bitching!") But, Hoot was obviously still awake and leaking. Eventually, at around 11:30 pm, I got dressed and went down to the gift shop to find a different cold medicine. On my way down, I stopped and told Tee what was going on. I promised I'd let her know if she needed to drive me back to a drugstore.
I bought Hoot some Tylenol Cold, but the label did not state that it was safe for him. However, I knew that I had used it before and that at home, I had a half full bottle in the medicine cabinet. I made sure the ingredients wouldn't conflict (that is most of the problems with children's cold medicines) with the allergy medication we had given him hours before. On the way back to the room, I talked with Tee and we agreed that we would not be able to have an early morning. We would plan our arrival just before our early lunch reservations. Then, I tip toed back into our room.
And, you know what? Hoot was sound asleep!
Up Next: Day Six: The Birthday! Don't Feed the Bears!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Day Five: Ohana means trouble!
After our late night at MNSSHP, we planned a bit of a sleep in for Wednesday. Our park for the day was Animal Kingdom, and we had extra magic evening hours there, so we scored a great breakfast, er make that brunch, ressie's for Ohana at the Polynesian Resort. This was my first time to set foot at the Poly, having never gotten any closer than the monorail, so I was very excited. See, the Poly is my lotto resort. It's were we will stay when we win the lotto. Well, until we sign the Vacation Club papers, anyway!
We parked easily and strolled into the front doors around 11 am for our 11:20 ressies. The walkway was beautiful and plenty of people were stopping to take their pictures near the waterfall. We bypassed photos and headed upstairs to Ohana to check in at the restaurant's podium. They checked us in and gave us all pink and white leis. They were much prettier than the crappy plastic ones we wore the night before at the Halloween Party. Then, they took our pictures in front of tiki masks, and Hoot thought they were fantastic. Then, DH took Hoot and strolled into one of the gift shops while we waited for our table. In this shop, a small Etch-a-Sketch was purchased.
Finally seated, our server brought us a basket of breakfast bread, which was kind of like a Cinnamon roll meets pineapple upside down cake, and some of their special juice blend containing mango and papaya and whatever. I think I was the only one who really liked the juice. He explained how everything was served family style and that it was all you can eat. Blissfully, he also brought us some coffee. Later, he brought out a giant skillet with scrambled eggs (they add half and half, and it is truly sinful) large sausages Hoot kept calling hot dogs, fried potatoes with caramelized onions and scallions, and the obligatory Mickey shaped waffles. It was all very good.
Hoot is not a stranger to character meals. He knows how it works and he kept one eye glued to Stitch as he made his way closer. When it got to be his turn, he was quivering with delight.
As Stitch came up to the table, Hoot held out his new toy to show him.
So, Stitch being Stitch, he immediately snatched it!
Which lead to a lovely, enchanting moment when Stitch, seeing our waiter approaching, decided to give it back to Hoot. 
After we explained to Stitch that Hoot was a troublemaker just like him, he showed us how to keep him under wraps!
Somehow, the idea of a "stinky dog" had gotten stuck in Hoot's head, so he said something to Pluto about it and Pluto went mad sniffing the boy over!
Mickey came by shortly after Pluto, and was a big hit as always.
Instead of the new toy, Hoot showed Mickey one of his new toy buses, that are designed to look just like the buses used at WDW. They played around, and something, I still don't know for sure, just cracked them up!
After Mickey finished playing around with Hoot, he took an extra minute to pose with DH. It's a shame that fun loving attitude didn't last the entire trip. I've been a good DW and editing out the petty nasty stuff. However, you can always look back at the prior post of him giving off nasty vibes at my Granny's house!
We never did get to see the pictures that were taken when we came into the restaurant. We asked one of the photo people about them, and they muttered something about phoning in, told us they'd be right back, and then didn't. We eventually gave up and left. After all, we had a date with some wildlife over at Animal Kingdom!
Here's an observation that I made while basking at the Poly. They have two ply toilet paper in the lobby. Let me tell you, they don't have two ply over at the Pop! We kept laughing and ranking resorts. Someday, I wanna stay at a two ply!
We parked easily and strolled into the front doors around 11 am for our 11:20 ressies. The walkway was beautiful and plenty of people were stopping to take their pictures near the waterfall. We bypassed photos and headed upstairs to Ohana to check in at the restaurant's podium. They checked us in and gave us all pink and white leis. They were much prettier than the crappy plastic ones we wore the night before at the Halloween Party. Then, they took our pictures in front of tiki masks, and Hoot thought they were fantastic. Then, DH took Hoot and strolled into one of the gift shops while we waited for our table. In this shop, a small Etch-a-Sketch was purchased.
Finally seated, our server brought us a basket of breakfast bread, which was kind of like a Cinnamon roll meets pineapple upside down cake, and some of their special juice blend containing mango and papaya and whatever. I think I was the only one who really liked the juice. He explained how everything was served family style and that it was all you can eat. Blissfully, he also brought us some coffee. Later, he brought out a giant skillet with scrambled eggs (they add half and half, and it is truly sinful) large sausages Hoot kept calling hot dogs, fried potatoes with caramelized onions and scallions, and the obligatory Mickey shaped waffles. It was all very good.
Hoot is not a stranger to character meals. He knows how it works and he kept one eye glued to Stitch as he made his way closer. When it got to be his turn, he was quivering with delight.
As Stitch came up to the table, Hoot held out his new toy to show him.
So, Stitch being Stitch, he immediately snatched it!
Which lead to a lovely, enchanting moment when Stitch, seeing our waiter approaching, decided to give it back to Hoot. 
After we explained to Stitch that Hoot was a troublemaker just like him, he showed us how to keep him under wraps!
Our next visitor to the table was Lilo. Hoot suddenly became very shy and quiet. He wouldn't get up to give her a hug, in fact, he wouldn't get close to her at all. He finally got brave enough to show her his new toy. She seemed quite taken by it.
Right after Lilo left, there was a parade around the restaurant. They played Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride from the movie soundtrack and passed out morroccas to all the kids to shake as they marched. I took Hoot on this parade, and it was a lot of fun. However, shy Hoot was still there! Man, I gotta get this kid into some preschool!
Right after Lilo left, there was a parade around the restaurant. They played Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride from the movie soundtrack and passed out morroccas to all the kids to shake as they marched. I took Hoot on this parade, and it was a lot of fun. However, shy Hoot was still there! Man, I gotta get this kid into some preschool!Back at the table, Pluto came around to play. We offered him sausages, but our waiter had told us to make sure we didn't feed the dog any table scraps. Sorry Pluto!
Somehow, the idea of a "stinky dog" had gotten stuck in Hoot's head, so he said something to Pluto about it and Pluto went mad sniffing the boy over!
Mickey came by shortly after Pluto, and was a big hit as always.
Instead of the new toy, Hoot showed Mickey one of his new toy buses, that are designed to look just like the buses used at WDW. They played around, and something, I still don't know for sure, just cracked them up!
After Mickey finished playing around with Hoot, he took an extra minute to pose with DH. It's a shame that fun loving attitude didn't last the entire trip. I've been a good DW and editing out the petty nasty stuff. However, you can always look back at the prior post of him giving off nasty vibes at my Granny's house!
We never did get to see the pictures that were taken when we came into the restaurant. We asked one of the photo people about them, and they muttered something about phoning in, told us they'd be right back, and then didn't. We eventually gave up and left. After all, we had a date with some wildlife over at Animal Kingdom!
Here's an observation that I made while basking at the Poly. They have two ply toilet paper in the lobby. Let me tell you, they don't have two ply over at the Pop! We kept laughing and ranking resorts. Someday, I wanna stay at a two ply!
Up Next: Day Five: How many hills can there be at Animal Kingdom, or Straw hat wearing fat lady pushes same in wheelchair!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Day Four: MNSSHP, a giant black horse, and a smoking crocodile!
Totally dazzled by fireworks, we continued through Fantasyland for a fitting trip through the Haunted Mansion. It's our second time through since the big rehab last year, and we do love it so! Doombuggies totally rock!
One of our biggest disappointments last year was that we missed the parade. This year, we made our way to the route early for the second parade. We were hanging out around the Liberty Tree Tavern and Christmas shop, when we spotted one of our favorite costumed groups of the evening. They had fantastical costumes from Peter Pan. The little girl, a toddler, was Tinkerbell, Grandma was Mr. Smee, Dad was Captain Hook, and Mom was Tic-Toc Crocodile. Now, when I say she was a crocodile, I mean it. A full out plush costume complete with long tail and a snout that stuck out almost two feet in front of her face. It was amazing. But, what made my night about their costumes was that when we passed them, they had stopped for a smoke break. It's just not every night you see a smoking crocodile. I did stop and ask them if I could take their picture, and they said yes, but sadly the flash didn't fire. We were in too big of a hurry to try and fix it, but I can assure you it was awesome. I think the crocodile was relieved. When she had said yes to having her picture taken, she had said "Only if this doesn't end up online." Of course I lied to her. If that shot had come out, I would've posted that baby in a heartbeat!
Tee was sitting in the roped off area for the handicapped guests. Now, she may have a tag in the car, but she wasn't on a scooter or in a wheelchair. So, the Cast Member had asked her to move if anyone else needed the area. We went ahead and moved to an extremely sweet spot near the Liberty Bell replica. We were right on the corner where the rope line makes a small row right at the bend in the street. We didn't have to wait long either.
At most WDW parades, the Cast Members try to keep you behind the ropes, but a little late maneuvering is usually allowed. Not at Mickey's Boo to You Parade. Nope. You stay put and there's a dang good reason. About 10 minutes before the parade begins, there is a huge surprise, even if you've waited years to see it, and you know it's coming, it's still a huge surprise. The Headless Horseman gallops down the street on one super huge black horse! You can see a picture of him here, about halfway down the page. It was amazing. The rider can't really see, so the horse is totally trained to run the route. He came barreling right at us, then he had to take that turn and we were literally closer than four feet from him. Honestly, if I didn't know what was going to happen, I probably would've peed myself. After he was gone, you could see the prints from his horseshoes on the pavement and they were way bigger than a dinner plate.
One of my favorite moments of the parade was during the Pinocchio segment. Honest John and Gideon were out and about walking around. (You may remember them from the story, Honest John, the fox, and Gideon, the cat, convince Pinocchio to ditch school.) Tee was watching the parade advance to her left, when Honest John came up behind her on her right and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and he offered her his hand. As she reached for it, he pulled it back. He managed to psych her out three times in a row. I was howling!
My other favorite moment was the dancing gravediggers from the Haunted Mansion. The danced along with their shovels, and would strike the ground in unison. The metal hitting the street would give off huge sparks. Then, they would drag the shovels and give off even more sparks. Oh, how I do love villains and spooks!
Of course, when Goofy came by at the end and they filled your trick or treat bag, that was pretty awesome too! We didn't do as much trick or treating as we could, but there's still a fair amount of candy in the bag on top of the fridge.
One of our biggest disappointments last year was that we missed the parade. This year, we made our way to the route early for the second parade. We were hanging out around the Liberty Tree Tavern and Christmas shop, when we spotted one of our favorite costumed groups of the evening. They had fantastical costumes from Peter Pan. The little girl, a toddler, was Tinkerbell, Grandma was Mr. Smee, Dad was Captain Hook, and Mom was Tic-Toc Crocodile. Now, when I say she was a crocodile, I mean it. A full out plush costume complete with long tail and a snout that stuck out almost two feet in front of her face. It was amazing. But, what made my night about their costumes was that when we passed them, they had stopped for a smoke break. It's just not every night you see a smoking crocodile. I did stop and ask them if I could take their picture, and they said yes, but sadly the flash didn't fire. We were in too big of a hurry to try and fix it, but I can assure you it was awesome. I think the crocodile was relieved. When she had said yes to having her picture taken, she had said "Only if this doesn't end up online." Of course I lied to her. If that shot had come out, I would've posted that baby in a heartbeat!
Tee was sitting in the roped off area for the handicapped guests. Now, she may have a tag in the car, but she wasn't on a scooter or in a wheelchair. So, the Cast Member had asked her to move if anyone else needed the area. We went ahead and moved to an extremely sweet spot near the Liberty Bell replica. We were right on the corner where the rope line makes a small row right at the bend in the street. We didn't have to wait long either.
At most WDW parades, the Cast Members try to keep you behind the ropes, but a little late maneuvering is usually allowed. Not at Mickey's Boo to You Parade. Nope. You stay put and there's a dang good reason. About 10 minutes before the parade begins, there is a huge surprise, even if you've waited years to see it, and you know it's coming, it's still a huge surprise. The Headless Horseman gallops down the street on one super huge black horse! You can see a picture of him here, about halfway down the page. It was amazing. The rider can't really see, so the horse is totally trained to run the route. He came barreling right at us, then he had to take that turn and we were literally closer than four feet from him. Honestly, if I didn't know what was going to happen, I probably would've peed myself. After he was gone, you could see the prints from his horseshoes on the pavement and they were way bigger than a dinner plate.
One of my favorite moments of the parade was during the Pinocchio segment. Honest John and Gideon were out and about walking around. (You may remember them from the story, Honest John, the fox, and Gideon, the cat, convince Pinocchio to ditch school.) Tee was watching the parade advance to her left, when Honest John came up behind her on her right and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and he offered her his hand. As she reached for it, he pulled it back. He managed to psych her out three times in a row. I was howling!
My other favorite moment was the dancing gravediggers from the Haunted Mansion. The danced along with their shovels, and would strike the ground in unison. The metal hitting the street would give off huge sparks. Then, they would drag the shovels and give off even more sparks. Oh, how I do love villains and spooks!
Of course, when Goofy came by at the end and they filled your trick or treat bag, that was pretty awesome too! We didn't do as much trick or treating as we could, but there's still a fair amount of candy in the bag on top of the fridge.
Before we knew it, we were all bushed and heading out of the park. It was a fantastic night and Hoot wasn't the only one whining that it was over! But, here is a list of the most memorable costume sightings from the evening:
- A poor little boy in a vinyl Buzz Lightyear costume. It was hot and I'm sure he was roasting in his own juices.
- The aforementioned party from Peter Pan.
- A super tall and skinny couple that pulled off Jack Skellington and Sally incredibly well.
- A woman in a Queen of Hearts outfit on her scooter which was made up like a throne.
- A herd of Dorothy's in identical, perfectly made dresses, complete with aprons, and when you got close to them you could tell that half of them were men.
For next year, I think I am going to make all of us Wal-Mart type vests with the Buy N Large logos from Wall-e. However, Tee did say that if I made her a Queen of Hearts dress, she would wear it... Hm, I may have to rethink that!
Up Next: Day Five: Ohana means trouble!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The gas is back on!
$1910. That's just the plumber's bill. It doesn't count the fresh food I didn't get to cook, or the eating out bill, or the gas that pumped out of that line before the gas company shut it off. However, I did get my gas back on. Ack! I'll have to blog about it later, after I've figured out the true cost of the entire incident.
The plumber is here!
The plumber is here! The plumber is here! Cross everything you've got! Here's hoping for hot water, hot food, and warm dry clothes! Oh, and a little easier than thought on the checkbook would be great too!
Day Four: Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
We donned our Hawaiian shirts, put Hoot in his Stitch belly shirt and headed off to the Magic Kingdom early for our date at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP). Like silly theme park lemmings, when we got off the monorail, we proceeded to the nearest turnstiles for admission. Our tickets didn't work, and after a moments panic, a lovely Cast Member pointed to a large sign that pointed to the other side to use party tickets. We picked up our trick or treat bags and park maps and stopped for the obligatory potty break before heading down Main Street.
We found a Photopass photographer, and had a series of shots taken in front of the castle. Sadly, Tee's lei had already started to come unraveled, but we made her keep it for the photos. I liked this one after we added the real Stitch to our shot.
As we were headed to Tomorrowland for our first date with Buzz Lightyear and Evil Emporer Zurg, we saw another Photopass photographer set off to the side of the castle and stopped for another round. I love the "shy Hoot" photo the most.
Once we were done, it was off to ride Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This is my favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom, so I'm awfully glad that Hoot has made it his favorite as well! We rode twice and had a blast. Then, we took the gamble, which paid off, to give Hoot his first experience with Stitch's Great Escape. We also posed for a picture with Pleakley and I got my favorite picture of Tee during the entire trip. I didn't realize how much our shirts' motif matches his here. I also didn't realize that Tee and Pleakley were the same height!
We had a quick bite to eat at Cosmic Ray's and some trick or treating in Tomorrowland, we headed off to Fantasyland. 
The boys took a spin on the Tea Cups, then we began to work our way systematically through all the attractions there. As we were getting into the queu line for Winnie the Pooh, Tee turned to me and said, "I wonder if we'll get to see Snow White out with all her boys this year?" And, wouldn't you know it, here they came! All seven of them, mostly in step and marching right behind Snow White herself. Their own little parade! We didn't get a good picture, but it was one of the big highlights for us. You never see them out like this, and we only saw them do it last year at the big soggy MNSSHP after the rain began to clear out.
When we got to Cinderella's Carousel, the horse between mine and Hoot's was very low to the ground and we were able to coax Tee into getting on board instead of sitting in the old people chairs. It was a blast, with all the horses racing neck and neck! Just as we were beginning to slow down, I jokingly told Tee she had better pray that her horse ended up low to the ground. Like a well timed curse, her horse ended up as high as it would go! I just laughed and laughed. DH tried to get her to let him help her down, but seriously, this horse was high! We told him we'd just take another spin around, but he didn't believe us and the boys got off! I couldn't believe it! He didn't let Hoot ride the carousel again! What a big meanie!
However, on that second, girls only ride, I learned a little Tee trivia. It seems that once, when she was about 7 or 8 years old, at Six Flags Over Texas, the ride operators had to stop the carousel and make her get off! Why, you may ask? Because she was standing on the saddle, holding on to the pole with one hand, and throwing kisses with the other! (Have I ever mentioned that she wanted to be Calamity Jane when we were kids?) I howled with laughter at this little tidbit! Sadly, or luckily, either way, our horses landed low to the ground after our second ride, and it was off to the second half of Fantasyland for us.
Now, I have seen more than my share of fireworks over the years. I grew up with Tee working for Six Flags. I worked at Astroworld and Stone Mountain Park. I've been to Disney World ten times. I can honestly say I have never, ever seen a show quite like this one. I was dazzled.
We started out sitting, but the fireworks were also coming in from behind us. I snatched Hoot up and darted to the middle of Fantasyland, out to the side of Dumbo and the carousel. The entire show was happening right around us, and even right above us! I wouldn't have been surprised if my neck had hurt the next morning! It was truly amazing. When the finale was blasting right overhead, it was so bright Fantasyland was honestly lit up like broad daylight. Talk about some serious fireworks! I think this was my favorite part of the whole trip. Hoot and I totally immersed in fireworks!
Up Next: Day Four: MNSSHP, a giant black horse, and a smoking crocodile!
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