Disney

Sean and I just got back from a week trip in Disney World with his family. 10 adults, and 4 children all under the age of 5. We had a lot of fun, but are glad to be back and able to sleep in our own bed. We stayed at the Polynesian Resort which was very convenient getting to and from the different parks. It would be an extremely long blog if I explained everything we did, therefore I've attached some of my photos from the week. If you want to see the entire album let me know and I'll e-mail it to you.

Taking the Magical Express from the airport to the Polynesian with my future nieces Anna and Lucy

Anna showcasing her lei that we got on arrival to the Polynesian

After Checking in we all met at the Magic Kingdom. Sean and Anna stand in front of Cinderella's castle for a photo

Larry, Celeste and Ella take a ride on the Carousel

Inside Cinderella's Castle the kids pose with Cinderella

While waiting for them to call us for dinner Sean and I pose with the older girls

At dinner all kids were given a toy, Alex shows his sword, and you also can see the lip stick mark left by Cinderella's kiss

Tuesday Morning we headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios

Then Tuesday night Sean and I went to downtown Disney to visit the lego store

and also the Cirque de Soleil store

While walking back I found some very tall friends

Wednesday we went to Animal Kingdom. The kiddos waiting for the bus, too cute not to take a photo of.

Celeste and the kids pose with the Jungle Book guys

During the Safari ride we got to see a lot of different live animals up close. This giraffe walked right next to the jeep...

...and this rhino walked in front of us

There was a musical re-enactment of Finding Nemo. A nice chance to relax and the show was pretty good.

Lucy just chillin'

These guys loved meeting the characters

This was right before we went on the white water rafting ride where all of us were soaked. A nice sibling photo, minus one.

Wednesday night out to dinner at Chef Mickey's

Alex kissing Minnie's nose, while looking extremely masculine in his Minnie Mouse ears headband

I had to throw this photo of Scott and Anna in to show how much she "loved" meeting the characters

Thursday was Epcot. Anna and Alex smile in front of one of the rides

The Epcot ball

Lucy doing her "UT....OH" currently her only word

Sean and Anna pretend to be astronauts

At lunch we celebrated the three December Birthdays. Alana, Ella and Lucy. (Anna filled in for Lucy)

After lunch Ella and I went on a clam mobile ride. You can see her wearing her effective napkin visor made by herself.

Sean and I enjoying the nice 70 degree weather

Another long day for Lucy. We all thought it was cute how she had her fingers wrapped through the holes in her blanket.

Thursday night half the group went out with the younger kids for dinner, while we let Ella hang back with "the adults." We can't believe how big she's getting. She's going to make a great flowergirl in less than 6 months.

Friday morning before heading to Magic Kingdom Anna poses for us.

Finally Sean got a chance to play with his youngest Goddaughter, without her screaming and asking for one of the girls to hold her...not a big fan of guys at this stage, but she gave in to her Uncle Sean by the end of the trip.

Ella and I ventured over to Tom Sawyer Island while the others went on Thunder Mountain. She had done it earlier in the day and had no desire to go on it again.

Sean and Ella wait under Splash mountain, waiting to see if we can see Tara and Larry

Sean and I had to pose with these awful Mickey Bride and Groom hats that soooo many people wore around Disney.

Friday afternoon they had a big parade past Cinderella's castle. We took a break early and got a prime spot on the curb.

Alex and Sean play around while waiting for the parade.

Magic Kingdom at Night

Sean and I pose with our Flowergirl one more time

Saturday morning, we went back to Magic Kingdom for a few hours before going to the airport. Ella poses right below the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.

Saturday the park was so crazy. Maybe because it was a Saturday but probably because they were filming for the Regis and Kelly Christmas show along with a live show with Miley Cyrus. We didn't realize that this was going to happen and although it was neat to see a few celebrities, it was pretty crazy manuvering around all the people. They say this is the slow season, if this is the truth, I can't imagine going during the prime season.

We had a great time visiting with Sean's family, and especially seeing how excited the little ones were with the characters and some of the rides. It will however be nice just to relax at home and not be surrounded by so many people.

Football

Sean and I went to our annual Giants/Redskin game at FedEx field where the Redskins play. It was cold and rainy but we still had fun. We went with Sean's brother-in-law Scott and Sean's good friend Joe. We also met up with John, Sean's cousin and tailgated before the game.

Setting up the carbombs

Sean and I trying to stay dry and keep warm

Hamburger, cheese, onion ring, bacon, cheese...delicious!

John and I

We ran out of rolls so John had a double

Sean and Joe enjoy the game

Staying warm

I did it again...

Another cold morning. This time there was frost on the ground and ice on the car windows. Did that stop me from running? If you answered yes you don't know me very well. I didn't make Sean run with me this morning, he did however come and take pictures for me. The race, Blue Talon Bistro Turkey Trot, had a really good turn out with 525 5K runners. There was also a walking category and a kids fun run that when totaled with the runners included 685 individuals. Not too bad for a Thanksgiving morning run. There was no pressure for me this morning, even though there was a large turnout, not all of my normal running buddies were present, in fact I probably only knew a handful of people. I went out faster than normal thinking lets just try and keep it under 23 minutes again. I didn't expect to have a spectacular time, considering it wasn't a fast flat course like Governor's Land on Saturday. Once I started running my legs felt good and I just continued to push it. There were a few girls I kept running back and forth with. I didn't want them to beat me so I kept with them. I ended up with an official time of 22:25.27, over 12 seconds faster than Saturday's race! I had no idea that I would PR once again in the same week. I obviously couldn't be more thrilled. I ended up placing 3rd in my age group out of 35, 7th in the female category out of 267 and 71st overall out of the 525 runners. The prizes were Turkey Trot portable coffee mugs. Now it's time to relax, take a little cat nap on the couch and then spend some time with our wonderful neighbors that have been kind enough to invite us over for a Thanksgiving meal. Can't wait.The race begins (33 degrees)

A little before mile 1

Less than 1/10 of a mile to go