2016: A Look Back

2016.  An interesting year to say the least!

The year started off with a trip to Europe.  We flew from JFK to Oslo, Norway; from Oslo to Paris, France; from Paris to Stockholm, Sweden; and from Stockholm back to JFK.  The entire trip was fabulous, and I completely fell in love with Oslo, something I was not expecting, but my favorite part of the trip was Disneyland Paris.  We had visited one before, in 2007, but just for the day.  This time, we spent three nights at the Disneyland Hotel and were able to really explore the parks.  It was hard to not make comparisons to the American parks, but overall, it was amazing!

While we were in Europe, Sadie had surgery to remove a very large tumor from her stomach.  It was not ideal for that to take place while we were away, and we worried constantly, but once the tumor was discovered, it was in her best interest to remove it as quickly as possible.  Thankfully, our vet is incredible, and Sadie had the good fortune to be loved back to health by the world's best Fairy Dogmother.  It is now a year later, and at 14+ years of age, she is doing very well!

At the end of January, I traveled to California for a conference with a friend and we had a great time together, despite less-than-perfect weather at Disneyland!

I returned to full-time teaching on February 1 after three months of part-time teaching.  I will never be able to express how my three teammates were (and are) everything to me.  They are remarkable teachers and unbelievable human beings.  It was a crazy busy time for me because in addition to fifth grade, I taught a graduate Literacy course during the spring semester January-May and a graduate Math Methods course during the first summer session April-June, and there were some days when I didn't know which direction was up, and they kept me afloat in every way possible.  And sane.  They kept me sane.  I love them so, so, so, so, so much.

We went to a game at our 33^rd NHL arena!  The Pittsburgh Penguins got a new arena back in 2010, so even though we saw a game in Pittsburgh when we visited all 30 NHL arenas, this one was new to us!

For spring break, we took our second Disney Cruise, this time on the Disney Magic.  Loved every second of it!  We visited Castaway Cay for the first time, which was beautiful, and ate at Palo, which was delicious.  I really cannot say enough good things about Disney Cruise Line.  We've got another cruise planned for this upcoming summer and I cannot wait!  After the cruise, we went to WDW for a few days and had a great time, even though there were a number of heavy downpours during our stay.  In the first three months of 2016, I visited Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant at Disneyland Paris, Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, and Cinderella Castle at WDW.  Not too shabby!

In May, we went to WDW for C's birthday and it was about as perfect a trip as possible.  We had a completely awesome time and attended the After Hours event where we felt we had the entire park to ourselves!

In July, we went to a Mets game at Citi Field, which was our 35^th MLB ballpark, and then in August, we a Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park, which was our 36^th MLB ballpark!  Both were very nice stadiums and the games were fun to watch!

We took a trip out the west coast at the end of July and it was wonderful!  We went to Seattle, Portland, and Crater Lake National Park; we drove along the Oregon Coast, which was breathtaking; and we even drove into California to go to Fentons – two locations on the same day!  We have so many happy memories from this trip!

We were fortunate to visit WDW for four weekends in the fall over a span of four months!  In September, we stayed at Contemporary; in October, we stayed at Caribbean Beach; in November, we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside; and in December, we stayed at Coronado Springs.  These quick weekend trips are so fun!

Over the summer, I did my second annual #100daysofdoxies/#100daysofhappy photo series – it's a fun way to capture both the mundane and hilarious moments in our day-to-day life.

Speaking of our dogs, perhaps the best thing about 2016 was that we did not have to say goodbye to any of our gals.  This might seem like a morbid thought, but in 2013, we lost Gunni, in 2014, we lost Duchess, and in 2015, we lost Chelsea.  So there was no heartbreak in 2016 and for that we are extremely grateful.

I also realized in August that I've been married for half my life!  That was an eye-opening realization because I still cannot believe we've been married as long as we have.  Time really does fly when you're having fun!

Finally, on December 31, we celebrated 22 years of marriage! Not just any marriage, but really, a ridiculously happy marriage.  I count my lucky stars every single day!

Here's to a great 2017…we've got some exciting trips planned and unknown adventures await!

Happy Tails to you!

Lovely Lyrics: Audition (The Fools Who Dream)

It is not often that I write a Lovely Lyrics post about a non-Disney song…I think I've only done so two other times.  But this song has been lodged in my brain since seeing La La Land and I have been playing it incessantly after purchasing the soundtrack as soon as we got home from the movie theater.

I absolutely love this song and its message; it reminds me so much of one of my favorite quotes:

I don't know about you, but I am trying with all my might to hold on to my spark of madness.

Audition (The Fools Who Dream)

from La La Land

My aunt used to live in Paris,

I remember she used to come home

and she would tell us these stories

about being abroad and I remember

she told us that she jumped in the river once, barefoot

She smiled, leapt, without looking

And tumbled into the Seine

The water was freezing,

She spent a month sneezing,

But said she would do it again

Here's to the ones who dream,

Foolish as they may seem,

Here's to the hearts that ache,

Here's to the mess we make

She captured a feeling

Sky with no ceiling

Sunset inside a frame

She lived in her liquor

and died with a flicker

I'll always remember the flame

Here's to the ones who dream

Foolish as they may seem

Here's to the hearts that ache

Here's to the mess we make

She told me,

A bit of madness is key

to give us new colors to see

Who knows where it will lead us?

And that's why they need us

So bring on the rebels

The ripples from pebbles

The painters, and poets, and plays

And here's to the fools who dream

Crazy as they may seem

Here's to the hearts that break

Here's to the mess we make

I trace it all back to then

Her, and the snow, and the Seine

Smiling through it

She said she'd do it,

Again

Performed by Emma Stone

Music by Justin Hurwitz

Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Happy Tails to you!

WDW December 2016

For our final trip to WDW in 2016, we chose Vanellope and Ralph from Wreck-It Ralph for our Magic Band names. This was our fourth trip in four months!  Unfortunately, this is where the streak comes to an end...several years ago, we managed to visit WDW once a month for ten months in a row, but four will have to do for this particular streak!

We flew down to Orlando on Saturday morning, picked up our rental car, and drove over to WDW to check in to our resort. We stayed at Coronado Springs, which, while not necessarily our favorite, is one we enjoy because it is beautiful resort and we love wandering around the grounds during our down time. The rooms are not as elaborately themed as many of the other resorts, but they are still lovely in their own way! The check-in area of the main building is stunning - great architecture and at holiday time, a gorgeous tree!

After dropping our backpacks off in our room, we headed over to DHS because we had a fast pass for Toy Story Mania.  On our way through the park, we stopped at Starbucks and I decided this was a good opportunity to get Jessie and Buzz written on the cups with the intention of taking a photo of the cups in front of the sign for the ride.  As I was trying to take the photo, while C so patiently held up the cups and tried to follow my ridiculous directions, one of the Green Army Men came over, took the cups from C, and posed with them for me! All without a word! It was so cute!

After TSM (of course C not only beat my score, but earned the best score in the vehicle), we walked through One Man's Dream, one of my favorite attractions, before setting out on a mission to get a carrot cake cookie from The Writer's Stop. Imagine our disappointment when we discovered that the shop had been closed down as part of the park expansion! We immediately sought out a couple of cast members to ask if they knew if the carrot cake cookie could be found anywhere else in the park, since The Writer's Stop had been the only place we knew of where it was available, and after some discussion, one cast member mentioned the "candy shop" at the front of the park as a possibility. We knew exactly where he meant, so we made a beeline for Sunset Boulevard and the Sweet Spells shop.  Much to our delight, we did find the carrot cake cookie, and when we asked the cast member about it, he said they'd been selling them there for at least the several years he'd been working there!  We had no idea, but needless to say, we are thrilled they're still available - this cookie is one of our very favorite things to eat at WDW! 

After DHS, we decided to head over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the Christmas decorations there because they always have a very impressive tree in the lobby.  As you can see, it is amazing!  After that, we went to Magic Kingdom to see the Dream Lights on Cinderella Castle before continuing along on our tour of Christmas decor at Contemporary, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian. So beautiful! We also walked past the Wedding Pavilion, which conjured up so many magical memories for us!

On Sunday, we had breakfast reservations at Whispering Canyon Cafe over at Wilderness Lodge, which meant not just delicious food, but a chance to admire more great Christmas decorations!  We also wore matching shirts that I ordered from a shop on Etsy.  This is not something we regularly do, but these were too cute to pass up!  We got lots of questions and compliments about them throughout the day, particularly from cast members, so they resulted in a lot of fun conversations!

After breakfast, we went over to Animal Kingdom to check out more Christmas decorations and wander around the park. We stopped at Starbucks to get a drink, and when I told the cast member that the names for the cups were Mufasa and Sarabi, she looked at me liked I was insane.  Now, MAYBE you don't know Sarabi's name because it is not mentioned many times in The Lion King. But MUFASA?!?  You work at WDW, in ANIMAL KINGDOM, and you don't know who Mufasa is?!?  I was NOT impressed.

After AK, we drove over to Port Orleans French Quarter.  Not only was the food court recently refurbished and we wanted to take a look at it, but we could also get beignets, so it was a win-win. I really like the new look of the food court, especially the hints to the movie The Princess and the Frog!

After POFQ, we went to Epcot for the rest of the day. We really like how the pavilions in the World Showcase are decked out for the holidays, and there are always fun snacks to try at this time of year.  We ended our time at Epcot with dinner at Via Napoli, which is always delicious, and then walked out of the back entrance of the park.

After leaving Epcot, we walked over to Beach Club, another resort that always has fabulous Christmas decor. The photos do not do it justice, but they have a spinning carousel with the four horses designed to look like Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy, and a fifth horse decorated like Pluto as a reindeer!  Not only is it completely adorable, but the entire lobby smells like chocolate because of this display!

Monday morning meant packing up and checking out before heading to MK. We had an early breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest, which meant we were able to enter the park before official opening time. As a result, I was able to get some photos with almost no one around, which was awesome! If only the crowds were this light all of the time!

After breakfast, we caught the new Muppet show in Liberty Square, which was hilarious, and then went on Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Carousel of Progress, and TTA. The sun finally came out and we had such a fun morning before heading home!

Not sure when our next trip to WDW will be, but we do have another pretty big trip coming up in a few months! Just planning and preparing for that upcoming trip has been a blast and we can't wait to go!

Happy Tails to you!