Run, Princess, Run!

So February 21, I ran my first half marathon (yes, 13.1 miles) and of course, living the #disneylife , it had to be the Disney Princess Half Marathon.

 We attended the Fit For a Princess Runners Expo the day before. I had to pick up my packet (running bib, shirt and associated information) and of course I had to look around. Anything and everything a runner could ever want was there. I was in running heaven! That being said, I really want a pair of the New Balance official run Disney shoes.

Picking up the packet (and of course
necklace and pin I had purchased)
Made things VERY real!!

At the Expo, there was an area sponsored by Children's Miracle network (well, the whole race was) and my girls got to make me signs.

When reserving my hotel room that night, I must have accidentally checked the "noisiest room in the whole dang hotel" box. so.much.noise. Sure, I was keyed up for the race, worried I would miss my alarm and so on. But I seriously have never been in a noisier room than that weekend. Tour buses outside running their diesel engines all night. The room next to me flushing the toilet every 10 minutes (I timed it), random bangs, squeaks, groans and grunts form the building. It's a miracle I made it even 3 miles, never mind 13!!

So, here it is 3 am (yes, 3 am!) and I am awake (well, not hard when you never slept) dressed, and ready to earn my legs! I headed down to the lobby, and caught the bus to Epcot where the race would begin with 100's of other runners.







Finally at Epcot, we all head across the parking lots to the staging area (not even the starting corrals yet!). Almost 18,000 of us running. Did you know that Epcot has the single largest expanse of rolled asphalt in the United States? I do. I have walked it all. And I mean all-those lots out front are not even the half of it!

At this point, from hotel room to staging area we have already walked. A lot. And now we have the final 20 minute walk to our starting corrals. I figure by the end of the day (before we even hit Animal Kingdom) I had already done 15 miles. 

I must say, Disney has probably ruined me (well, maybe spoiled is a better word) for other races for ever. Yes, they cost a lot just to register, but in true Disney fashion, we were their guests! I have run 5k's (3.1 miles) that were harder on me than this 13.1 miles! Always something to look at, do, photo op. I have to admit, I didn't want to stop for pictures with characters-I was a little worried the "balloon ladies" would make their appearance. The infamous "balloon ladies" (you know the balloon vendors like at Magic Kingdom with those huge bouquets of balloons?) are rumored to be following the last of the runners-if you get passed by them, you get picked up and taken out of the race. I am happy to report that I never even saw a hint of them!! I highly recommend any RunDisney event-I am dying for my next already!!

I think this shot is my favorite. I was almost halfway through at this point.

 Following are some selfies I took during the run.

The front of the castle

We ran up World Drive and through the parking lot gates.

 And we got to run through all sorts of backstage areas! I definitely slowed my pace to check out my surroundings!

EVERY single time we see or meet Anna and Elsa, they are THE SAME girls.

My finish time was nothing to write home about. But I finished and I felt good! I plan on next year or the year after to do the Glass Slipper Challenge. That is both the 10k on Saturday and the Half Marathon on the Sunday for a total of 19.3 miles.

And of course, we did do a few parks that weekend. Very limited for me-I was extremely sore after and trying to take it easy before. We met up with my cousin Austin, his wife Carrie and their kids at Animal Kingdom and got to hang out with them for a bit. First time since I met my husband over 10 years ago that Austin actually met him.

While I was finishing the race, Craig took the girls into Epcot. They got to meet Baymax-which of course I do not have any pictures of since I was not there. They had a nice morning there while I headed back to our hotel for breakfast, a shower and recovery.

#yearofdisney

#disneylife

Weekend with my LO

I had planned a trip to Disney for MLK weekend. I knew it would be busy, but I do not have many chances to get away during the week. Sofia had not had a mommy and me trip to any of the parks. And since big sis had been making bad choices, it ended up just the 2 of us. Yes-I am that mom who will actually take away a trip to Disney if the circumstances warrant it. (BTW-it worked! No "attitude" issues from big sis since!!) We had a very good time! It was the coldest weekend of the year (I think-don't quote me on that). So we bundled up! We spent the Sunday at Animal Kingdom, after an uneventful drive. This is worth noting because it would have been eventful, to say the least, if Evelyn had been with us too.

The closest Sofia would get-it is loud and dark and simulates thunderstorms.

Sofia enjoys any fish tanks. These fish are in the aviary on the Pangani Forest Trail.

We got to get up close with a hippo!

Dino Dig Site in Dinoland USA. A new favorite for both of my girls!

And of course what is a Disney trip without character greetings!

When first meeting Rafiki, Sofia just hugged him, and hugged him and hugged him. And Rafiki hugged back. Again-character experiences are AMAZING!  I proceeded to have a conversation with Rafiki (hand signals and a little interpreting from his cast members) about how he would love to babysit Sofia, so long as I paid him in bananas. Of course Disney doesn't give him enough bananas ;-)  Sofia cannot wait to go back and introduce her sister to Rafiki.
Minnie and Mickey offered to babysit too. I just may take them up on it.

Monkey love!

The never-ending hug

Lion Guard is a new favorite at our house.

Selfies!!

 

Here you can see the (seemingly eternal!) construction at Animal Kingdom. This will be the seating for the new night show.

The one eye-Sofia's newest face. I am pretty sure she is trying to wink. Either way-it cracks me up! We stayed at a hotel on "hotel row". Actually Hotel Plaza Blvd in the Disney Springs area. It wasn't bad, but it sure wasn't Disney!

                                                                                                                                                                                        

I had made breakfast reservations at Be Our Guest. And OMG! This is the earliest I have ever been at the parks and OH-EM-GEE! PERFECT castle pictures!!!!!!
If you want the perfect pics in front of Cinderella castle, book an early morning reservation (before park opening). Reservations can be made at Be Our Guest, Cinderella's Royal Table or Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
Get there extra early for your reservation-you still have to get there from "almost" Magic Kingdom (aka the parking lot) and there is an extra check in step. Don't expect to walk up and say "we want to eat, let us in". This is strictly reservation only.

The mosaic (heck-all the detail) at Be Our Guest is just phenomenal! And below-not from the breakfast, but this is the best picture I had gotten yet at Story Time with Belle.

Enjoying breakfast

Here is the one eye again

Finally riding the train!

My favorite picture of the day

#yearofdisney

#disneylife

Christmas at Disney

Soooooo..better late than never right? Here it is February and I am just posting our Christmas trip to Disney. Shame on me! Well, no excuses, except life happens! I am behind the eight ball-and hope to get out before next week when I run the Princess Half Marathon! #imonlyhalfcrazy

Being a teacher in Florida, I get the perk of a free "Study Pass" each year to Sea World. My girls both are free also (check out the pre-school pass for Sea World!) and with my husbands yearly admission, we got his dad's for half price. Can't pass that up! Our first day in Orlando this trip was spent at Sea World.

Yes, you can walk over this aquarium at the exit of the Atlantis ride.

 The aquariums at Sea World are, well, World Class! I will honestly take them over the aquariums at The Seas at Epcot any day. They are bright, vibrant and so full of life!

A favorite picture of Sofia checking out the penguins.

 The coats are necessary inside the penguin exhibit. They keep it, unsurprisingly, cold enough to snow. It was a huge shock to the system this summer when it was over 100 outside. This day, the coats were necessary outdoors as well-it DOES get cold in Florida!

 We watched One Ocean-aka the Killer Whale show. My girls are fascinated! In fact, Evelyn insists she will work at Sea World one day training and taking care of the dolphins!

 The rides here are perfect for the little ones- Sofi and Evie could even do some by themselves (much to our relief!).

"Act surprised, like Santa just left these", I said...

Each year, Sea World transforms their Arctic experience into The Polar Express. This is worth the trip by itself! I am guessing that is opens with the wild "train ride" in place of their Arctic helicopters (I say guessing because I get extremely motion sick and have not tried this out). You start out in the boy's room-Christmas smells and all . As you progress down the hallway, it "becomes" the North Pole. You can smell the Pine trees and hear that "silver bells" that skips over and over. What trip to the North Pole would be complete without a giant (yes-tallest I have ever seen!) Santa. My girls did not want to wait to see him, the line was quite long!

We were given the opportunity to use a friend of the family's time share near Disney Springs off World Center Dr. It was great! We got completely spoiled. It was so nice to be able to do breakfast and dinner at "home" and give the girls a chance to play.

Hidden Mickey!

 We spent the Monday before Christmas at Epcot exploring "Holidays Around the World" Evelyn was especially excited since we had just learned about many of them in school.

We finally got to meet Jasmine and Aladdin

La Befana is and Italian retelling of the birth of Jesus. Busy Befana, as she is known, is a witch (a kindly one) who is approached by 3 well dressed men following a bright star. They tell her of the coming of Christ as an infant and invite her to go with. She declines, and later decides maybe she should have gone with them. The star has since disappeared, so she hops on her broom and flies around, visiting children and leaving goodies for them, just in case they may be the blessed child.

The Lion Dancer

Evelyn enjoying some international cuisine

We spent our Tuesday exploring many of the Deluxe Resorts around Magic Kingdom and Epcot. If you have the time-do this!!! The resorts are beautiful and amazing and the food is always good! This time, we parked at Wilderness Lodge, took the boat to Contemporary, the monorail to Polynesian then Grand Floridian, back to Contemporary, then the boat again to Wilderness Lodge. We then drove to Disney's Boardwalk.

 Wilderness Lodge

 At Contemporary Resort. Yes, that Frozen display is all edible!

 Grand Floridian-still my favorite!

 When at Boardwalk, we took the pathway to Swan and Dolphin to explore a bit.

We got to meet Minnie and Mickey at Boardwalk

We rented one of the Surrey Bikes at Boardwalk.
This is a favorite the girls still talk about-of course
they were not the ones peddling!

 And what is a trip to Walt Disney World without a stop at Magic Kingdom! We were able to catch the Christmas Parade.  I just love how each float smells like Christmas somehow!

 And we finally met Marie! She nuzzled each of the girls before posing for the picture!

 Sofia got her first haircut at Magic Kingdom! My brave little one sat in the barber chair at Harmony Barber Shop and had a few inches trimmed. Yes, she got to keep the ears (I will put them away as a keepsake) and Evelyn got her first big girl cut there also. AND-most surprisingly-it cost just a bit more than a haircut in a salon.
Complete with Pixie Dust!! (which, fyi, I am still finding in their car seats)

The finished product