More Disney

Tuesday we went to Sea World. It was even better than I remember from years ago. They actually have two really good roller coasters there now too. The lines weren't bad at all and we got to ride a few times.

We watched a sea lion and a whale show. Sadly, the dolphin show was full by the time we got to it. The whale show was amazing, even though the trainers aren't allowed to be in the water with them anymore since the girl was killed last year. The whale that killed her was going to be back in the show for the first time the day after we were there.






We ate lunch at Shark's Underwater Grill. We were literally eating beside of a huge tank of sharks. It was so cool!


Tuesday night we had dinner at Ohana at Disney's Polynesian Resort.


I had heard about this place from so many people and it did not disappoint! It is an all you can eat Polynesian cuisine. They start with salad that has some kind of citrus dressing on it. It was so delicious, I could have been happy with just that. Then for appetizers they bring out lo mein, chicken wings and these won-ton/dumpling like things that will make you want to smack somebody. Then the chefs bring around skewers of chicken, shrimp, pork and steak all cooked over a fire pit and you just tell them how much you want at a time.


It was some of the best food I have ever had! This is Paul after eating enough for the entire week. Haha!


Wednesday we went back to the Magic Kingdom for most of the day.




Then back to Epcot for the afternoon and dinner.

This is kind of a big deal

I've got to give a shout out to my good friend Katelyn Marks. I have mentioned in several posts that she is a local performer and has amazing talent. I feel it is necessary to brag on what she's been up to lately.

Here is Katelyn with Little Big Town.


Her band opened up for them at a concert two weekends ago. We were on our way to Disney and were super bummed we had to miss it. Katelyn just happened to have had an emergency appendectomy just a little over 24 hours before that. All of my friends told me she performed better than ever. A few weeks before that she opened a show for Steel Magnolia, another well known country band.

This week she got to meet and hang out with this guy.


If you're not a country music fan then what is wrong with you you probably don't have a clue who this is. This would be Zac Brown himself, from Zac Brown Band, one of country music's biggest bands. Her and our dear friend and hair stylist, Meredith, got to go to their rehearsal on Tuesday night before kicking off their tour here in Winston-Salem last night.

I just have a feeling about Katelyn. She is definitely getting her foot in the door by meeting and opening for some really awesome people. She has the talent, no doubt about it. I guess we'll just wait and see what God has planned for her. In the mean time, I am happy to have her here because it will really be exhausting to follow her world tour one day ;)

Disney World...the first couple of days

We drove to Jacksonville on Friday night so we wouldn't waste all of Saturday driving. We got up early and drove the rest of way on Saturday and got there around noon. As soon as we got to the resort we checked in, ate lunch and headed straight to Magic Kingdom. We didn't even take our suitcases to our rooms!



Mickey Mouse was the first character we saw. He was at the Hall of Presidents and was quite dressed for the occasion.


Mickey giving Gram a kiss on the cheek. Who doesn't love Gram?!


We had several hours to ride rides and enjoy the park before our first dinner. We were on the dining plan, which I highly recommend for anyone going, so Paul already had all of our dinners planned out. The first night we ate at the Crystal Palace, which is right across from the castle. Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore were all there. And the food was DELICIOUS!!





Sunday we went to Animal Kingdom. There was so much to see and do there! We had planned to go back for another afternoon but never had enough time.




Since we had 8 people in our party, we were able to do some "grand gatherings", which were probably the best part of our trip. Grand gatherings were very private since there were only a certain number of groups that could get a reservation. Sunday night we had a grand gathering safari celebration. We got to stay after the park closed and go on a safari. Of course it didn't quite seem like a real African safari, but it was pretty amazing! After the safari we had an amazing African meal while listening to African music. You can imagine I was in heaven!!



Timon and Rafiki from the Lion King were there after dinner for pictures and autographs.


Monday it rained all day but we didn't let that stop us.


We spent the day at Epcot. We hit the jackpot with the characters as soon as we got there.







More Disney posts to come!

Dinner and a movie

Friday night we went to dinner and a movie with our friends Katelyn and Derek.



Burke Street Pizza has garlic knots that will make you want to smack somebody. Not the healthiest of meals, but everything is ok in moderation, right? Then we went to see Red Riding Hood. We hardly ever go to the movies but we had a buy one get one free thanks to Groupon. Thankfully we only wasted $9 instead of $18. It was not a movie that will be on our "gotta have this on dvd" list. I thought Amanda Seyfried did ok, but overall the acting and the story line were so cheesy. There were several times during the movie when we couldn't help but bust out laughing, and not because it was supposed to be funny. Burke Street Pizza-highly recommended, Red Riding Hood-not so much!


Y'all have a good week!

T-9 days...

Excited is such an understatement...

Tuesday already?

I am being completely sarcastic in saying that I can't believe it's already Tuesday. Since I am constantly counting down to Disney World, the weeks have been creeping by. I brought my ipod to work last week and David Crowder with some Journey, Chicago and Bruce Springsteen just seem to really make the day go by faster. Why didn't I think about this 117 days ago? 117 is the number of days we've been in school this year, which means we only have 63 days left! Oh, and speaking of Journey, I saw them in concert several years ago. It will definitely go down as one of the best concerts I have ever been to. And speaking of Disney, we will be hittin the road in just 17 days!

Happy Tuesday, y'all!

Distracted

This is all I can think about lately...


And this


And of course this little guy too...