My friend, Jamie, is still hard at work getting her new shop up and running. The Square Cupboard will have its Grand Opening July 26 where Richie Watts from Good Earth Pottery will be there to sign his pottery. So, if you are in the Hernando area....stop by! I know it will be fabulous!!

Jamie moved from the Jackson area in June, and I miss her like crazy! But, I know she will LOVE the new location and store. This is what she has always wanted. Congratulations, Jamie! Love you!

Check in on her at her blog! You can see her and her sweet hubby working hard to get things ready!

Fourth of July Weekend at the Lake

We also spent the day Friday and Saturday on Lee's boat at Pickwick Lake. Kristin and Lee are getting ready to start summer school, so we enjoyed our last weekend to be carefree. We always have such a good time on the lake!! Thanks Kristin and Lee for inviting us!

Kristin and me

Lee gave Russ a chance at the wheel!

Happy Fourth of July

We celebrated the Fourth of July with Russ' s family. We had so much fun!! We went out to Jimmy and Roan's for food, fun, and fireworks! We took lots of pictures, but they have disappeared from the memory card!! So, I borrowed a few from Russ's mom and Roan, my sister-in-law.

Russ, his dad, and brother

Jenny's children + 1 friend

Clay, Olivia, and Russ

After eating, the children put on a show for us! They sang, danced, and played the keyboard and harmonica. They are so talented!

Clay, Julie, and Grace performing "Oh My Darlin' Clementime."

Russ and I even spent the night! We stayed up past midnight talking, and we woke up to a fabulous breakfast! Thanks, Jimmy and Roan! We had a great time!

On the Road Again!

Russ and I just thought we needed another road trip! See, we haven't been on one in a while! Yeah right!! We have traveled north to Corinth, our hometown, to visit Russ's parents and family for the 4th of July.

Russ, his mom, and Farley

Russ is taking this opportunity to play with his new camera. It's very neat! Of course, he won't let me take any pictures of him...so here's some he took of me.


We are planning to go to Pickwick and ride on the boat with Lee and Kristin tomorrow. Then, tomorrow night, Russ's brother and his family are having a 4th of July get-together. It will be a fun weekend with family!

Have a safe Fourth of July!!

New Video Clip

I just added the video from the 50's Prime Time Cafe to the Hollywood Studios post. Check it out! It's so funny!!

Disney World - See Ya Real Soon!!

What a fun vacation!! It's always sad to leave such a fun trip, but I'm so glad we were able to all go together. Thank you, Mama and Daddy for all our meals and welcome gifts! We had a fabulous time! I'm so glad Russ was able to relax and have FUN!! That was a long time coming! Now, Russ and I are counting down until our next trip to Disney World. It was good to go with adults. I'm sure it will be a little different once kids come in the picture! Ha!!

Disney World Day Six - Character Breakfast

On our last full day at Disney World, we had reservations at Chef Mickey - a character breakfast. Yes, we were probably the only table with 7 adults! When I made reservations, the lady asked how many children would be traveling with us. I said, "All adults - 7." She just laughed and said, "Sounds like fun!" We had a great time, and the food was so good!!!

The guys in front of the buffet

Mickey

Goofy

Donald

Pluto

Minnie

After our character breakfast, we had planned to go to Blizzard Beach, a water park. We rode the monorail and bus back to the resort.

Waiting for the bus to take us back to the resort

We decided to watch the weather (because it was supposed to rain sometime), and we would decide what time to go. Well, every single person fell asleep! We were exhausted from such a busy week!

When everyone finally got up, it was time for lunch. So, we decided to drive over to the Boardwalk to eat at the ESPN Sports Bar. It was very exciting! The restaurant has over 90 televisions and a huge big screen. There were tv's everywhere. They even had tv's in each bathroom stall!! Apparently, there was a Euro Final soccer game on. The entire restaurant was filled with German and Spain fans. It was CRAZY! They were yelling and cheering! We sat right in the midst of them and watched the game. It was the best soccer game I've ever watched...probably because of the crowd. The food was really good too!

After lunch, we went back to the room to freshen up and wait out a storm...and headed back down to Downtown Disney. We shopped around one last time. Finally, we ate at Rainforest Cafe. It was so good! Russ has never been to one. But, this one is the best I've seen!

Disney World Day Five- Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios was our last park of the trip. I've always known it as MGM - but the name has been changed. The guys have been looking forward to this all week because they wanted to ride Tower of Terror and Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster.

First of all...Russ and I overslept, so the rest of the group went on ahead. We were about 30 minutes behind them. We went to Tower of Terror first (again, I was too scared to ride - I've ridden it before!). Kristin, Dustin, and Lee had already gotten in line, so Daddy and Russ rode together. I wish I could have seen that! While they were on the Tower of Terror, my mom and I got fast passes for the Rockin' Roller Coaster. That was SO much fun!! That tops the list as our favorite ride, I think. Yes, I did ride it - and you should see the picture!

After those two rides, we made our way to the "big hat" in the middle of the park to watch High School Musical - School's Out. It was very cute!

Dustin and I talked to Pluto while waiting on the show to start.

We also ate lunch at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. It was a fun experience. The restaurant is decorated in 50's decor, and the waitresses act like "mama" telling you to "Eat your greens!" or "Get your elbows off the table!" Dustin hid his greens under the remainder of his chicken breast...the waitress didn't even flinch. She raised the chicken and put a fork full of greens in Dustin's mouth! It was fun!

After lunch, we ran into a Star Wars parade - it was Star Wars weekend. We couldn't cross the street so we just watched. That was neat! When the parade was over, we headed over to Sunset Blvd. to watch Beauty and the Beast. It was cute, as always! After Beauty and the Beast, we rode Rockin' Roller Coaster again. Then, watched Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. Then, it was time to find a spot for the Block Party Bash! It was HOTT, and Russ and I were the only ones who would sit in the front in the sun. We got bored and took a few pics while we waited.

Notice Kristin in the background - in the shade!

The parade was SO cute!! My favorite part was the girls' outfits! I loved them!

After the parade, it was time for our reservations at the Brown Derby. By eating there, we received a voucher for special seating during the Fantasmic fireworks show. So we didn't have to wait in line.

Russ and I took a photo opportunity outside of the Brown Derby. (of course) Mama said she wouldn't want me to miss taking a picture of a single piece of grass! - sarcasm, I think

After eating a delicious meal, we finished up a few more rides and shows. It started raining - lightning too - so we weren't able to finish the Backlot Tour. Dustin, Kristin, and I had been chosen as volunteers, so we were very disappointed. We shopped around during the rain.

Russ and Lee bought a poncho from Planet Hollywood to keep dry.

When we had seen all we wanted to see, it was time to take our seats at Fantasmic. It was so nice to just walk in and have great seats without standing in line.

Mickey directing the colored water fountains - it's the best I could do!

We had a fun-filled day at Hollywood Studios. It was our last park to see. But, thankfully, we still had more planned for the week.

Hoop Dee Doo for Daddy's 56th Birthday!!!

June 27, 1952 - That is the day Daddy was born! So, in celebration...we went to the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue at Fort Wilderness Lodge, his favorite dinner show in Disney World. I have never been to Disney World when we haven't come to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. It's SO much fun!!! The first time I came with my parents, I was around 5 years old. Daddy was called on stage to play the part of an Indian during part of the show. I loved it!! That's probably part of the reason I still love to go.

Hoop Dee Doo is a "rip-roaring, rootin', tootin', down home revue." You sing and clap with the Pioneer Hall Players as you eat. It's a musical comedy that leaves you laughing and eating down home food!

As the Pioneer Hall Players were beginning their night of fun, they asked questions to the audience: "Who is celebrating an anniversary? Newlyweds? Birthdays?" Daddy was the only person in the audience with a birthday on the 27th, so he got ALL the attention! I caught part of it on video.

Then, later on in the evening, we were having a competition between the two sides of the dining hall. Our side was supposed to say "toot," and Dolly apparently heard Daddy tooting from across the room! She informed him that he had the best "toot" she'd ever heard.

After this scene, Dolly wasn't finished with Daddy. She just had to run her fingers through his hair! This was hilarious because my dad is so ticky about his hair. In fact earlier in the week, he had a bad hair day and no one told him. He scolded us saying, "If you ever let me go all day with my hair like this..." Now EVERYONE saw his bad hairdo. Ha!As if that wasn't enough!!! I was led onto stage to participate in the "big act" (you know, the one I was telling you about from when I was young...when my dad was the Indian). I was dressed up in a can-can dress and made to dance and say a bad "bear" joke. It was so funny - and embarrassing!

The guy was promising that I wouldn't have to do anything embarrassing! Yeah right!!

This is just a part of the "big act."

Our table was certainly picked on all night! It was SO much fun!! The Pioneer Hall Players do a great job of singing, dancing, and making everyone laugh! They said farewell, and we were on our way!

After Hoop Dee Doo, we went back to the Magic Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours - park was open until 2:00 am. We rode more rides with ABSOLUTELY NO lines!!! In fact, Russ and Dustin just stayed on Splash Mountain and rode it over and over. It was a fun "catch-up" day at Disney World!

Disney World Day Four - Catch Up Day

All our days so far had been jam packed, yet we still had some things we missed. So, we set aside a day to play "catch-up." I wanted to see a stage show in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom and a parade at Animal Kingdom. Kristin still had some characters she wanted to see, and the guys wanted to ride Expedition Everest, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Splash Mountain again.

Our first stop was at the Magic Kingdom. We weren't there when the park opened, but we weren't too far behind. The stage show started at 9:40, so we headed there first. It was very cute! All the characters sang - princesses too - about dreams coming true.

Waiting for the show to start

Mickey and friends

Princes and princesses

After the show, we finished up more requests at the Magic Kingdom before heading to Animal Kingdom. We were able to catch a few of the characters we missed earlier in the week.

Rafiki and the "kids"

Goofy and Daddy

The cutest outfit ever - Minnie Mouse

After seeing the characters, it was time for Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade!! This is what I wanted to see.

When the parade was over, Kristin and I wanted to see the Pocahontas show (with live animals). It was unbelievably HOT, so we had to do a little convincing. But, we made it! It was good.

We had special reservations that night for my dad's birthday, so we left Animal Kingdom a little early. We went back to the resort to shower, nap, and change. We were all exhausted!! Russ seemed to be especially tired.