30 Days About Me (Somewhere I’d Love to Travel)

Oh Geez, EVERYWHERE!

But seriously there's just a few places I would love to travel:

• London, England
• Alaska
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Kauai, Hawaii (already been but REALLY want to go back!)

• Paris, France
• Christchurch, New Zealand 
• Brazil
• Salzburg, Austria

• Cairo, Egypt
• Tokyo, Japan
• Orlando, Florida (I'm always up for a DisneyWorld trip)
• Athens, Greece

• Amsterdam, The Netherlands 
• Sydney, Australia
• Morocco
• San Marino, Italy (All of Italy for that matter!)

• The Atlantis, Nassua Bahamas 
• Fredrikstad, Norway
• Las Vegas, Nevada 
• Edinburgh, Scotland

That's like 10% of the places I want to go :)

This was a fun trip around the world! Now I am all ready for a vacation. Where do you want to go?




au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

A Beachy Kind of Weekend

Last week the kids and I shoved off for Myrtle Beach, SC. Both of them have been so good and doing so well at school i thought they deserved a special night with me at the beach. They had a great time exploring the aquarium:

The next day my parents came and picked the kiddies up for some fun at their home. Thus began my girls weekend away! And what do most ladies do when they are alone with out their hubby's or kids??? They go to Alligator parks of course :)

Well OK, there may have been a few fruity cocktails and mischief mixed in as well ;) One can not go to Myrtle Beach with out a stroll on the sand... (we even found sharks teeth!)

It was a a nice weekend away. We all had fun. Now I'm back to reality, my son is home sick... so am I :( Good thing I had a little mini-vacation to break it up a bit.

What is your favorite place to go for little mini-vacations?

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Epcot Day

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know I am WAY behind on adding the rest of our family's Orlando vacation on here. Sorry life just never slows down around our house and since summer is in full swing I am on permanent "mommy, entertain us!!" mode with the kiddies.

Epcot was a lot of fun. Sure it's more educational than the other parks, but don't think it is any less fun! We had a blast.

Favorite things break down:
*my son: Test Track, Turtle Talk with Crush
*my daughter: Mexico, Mission to Mars
*my hubby: Mission to Mars, Test Track
*me: the aquarium, The Worlds

One thing we all enjoyed was a band called "Off Kilter" in the Canada land. They were awesome! Very cool Irish bag pipe music set to drums and a rockin' show.

It was another scorcher. We spent a good deal of time splashing in the many fountains around Epcot to cool off. I for sure want to come back here again. I feel like we weren't able to see even half this park has to offer. One more park to go!!!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Disney World Featuring The Magic Kingdom

On to our next installment of all things Mickey...

The most famous (and my favorite) of all the parks is The Magic Kingdom. I could easily spend the entire week at this 1 park. If you have ever been to Disneyland this is very similar. A lot of the same rides are shared between the two, the main difference is that MK is bigger and more spread out.

It was a scorching 5 million degrees Fahrenheit on the day we went. Thank goodness for breathable clothing and frozen water bottles!!

Favorite things breakdown:
*my son: Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain & Pirates of the Caribbean
*my daughter: It's a Small World, Dumbo, Peter Pan's Flight & Goofy's Barnstormer
*my mom: The enchanted Tiki Room, It's a Small World & whatever the grandkids liked
*my hubby & dad: every ride that made the kids happy
*me: Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Mickey's Philharmagic & The Tea Cups

We took a break mid-day to cool off and take a short rest back at our cabin. Armed with some new "get up and go" we were able to stay and enjoy the park till late in the evening. I am also shocked and pleased to report that both kids were happy without 1 hissy fit ALL DAY! Wow, Walt Disney sure is a magical guy ;)

We've done MK quite a few times over the years and here's what I've discovered about crowds:
* Halloween is an amazing time of year to go. Trick or Treating with your favorite Disney characters is just so cool! And there are hardly any people, you get the park pretty much to yourself.
* Christmas and Thanksgiving are decorated to the max! The crowds are moderate, but nothing too crammed to enjoy yourself.
* Mid-June is HOT!!!! The crowds are big, but they were not near as bad as I expected.

We hope to try February/early spring next time around. Hope you've enjoyed your little tour of the Magic Kingdom :)

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Disney World Featuring Fort Wilderness

I have hundreds of pictures from our fun filled family vacation, there is NO WAY i am going to be able to talk about all we did in 1 post. So I have decided to break it up for ya'll :) This first installment is all about where we stayed: Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground.

We loved it! We opted for a cabin instead of tent camping.

My daughter took pony riding lessons, my son took archery lessons with the rest of our family. We swam, explored, watched the wonderful Hoop-Dee-Doo Review, enjoyed S'mores with Chip n Dale and made amazing wonderful family memories.

We rode our bikes all over the campground, and also rented a golf cart to tootle around in. It was so nice to wake up and head to the parks via boat too! It was a wonderful place to stay especially since we had a large group. I highly recommend staying here to anyone, even those that don't like camping. It's very magical, Disney magical. 

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Vacation Time!

In a few days we are out of here! Headed south for Florida, Orlando to be exact. Gee, what's in Orlando that the entire family would enjoy??? DISNEYWORLD! This will be our 3rd trip as a family. We love it.

For the first time ever we will be going to all four parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot & Disney Studio's. I hope the kids don't run out of steam, just incase i'm packing lots of candy to give them a sugar rush when needed. One can never be too prepared :)

Also for the first time we will be staying at one of the Disney resorts. We'll be sharing a cabin at Fort Wilderness with my parents. The kids are bouncing off the walls with excitement! OK, OK, me too!

To save money we will be trying to eat as many meals in our cabin as possible. My dad will be manning the grill while my mom makes some of her amazing  creations in the kitchen. We will be lucky enough to enjoy the company of a few more family members while at the park. My Aunt, Uncle and their 2 kids will be joining us, kind of a mini family reunion.

Well, I better get back to cleaning the house and washing clothes in preparation for the big trip! Plenty of pictures and info coming soon! 

If you have any advice, tips, anything to share about the theme parks or Fort Wilderness please let me know!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Parents Gone Wild

What happens when your parents go on vacation to Kauai? They go a little nutty and send you crazy pictures of themselves of course!



As you can tell my mom and dad had a wonderful wild time living it up in Hawaii, ha ha. I am glad they were able to relax and play, we all need that sometime.

Dad... way to rock the coconuts!!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

When Bloggers Collide

I had the chance to spend some time with 2 wonderful women, who happen to also be bloggers you might now. (and if you don't know them, you should!)

*A day at the water park with Kate from Kate's Musings*

Our kids had such a great time splashing, sliding, and giggling at a cute little county water park. Can you imagine four kids ages 2, 4, 5, and 6 running around and us without our hubby's?? The day turned out to be a great success with a few margaritas thrown in for good measure :) Thank you Kate for driving down to visit and for the wonderful conversation. Let's for sure do it again.

*Myrtle Beach with Stacey from Mom Taxi*

My munchkins were so excited to meet up with their old buddies from school last year. It was wonderful to see them all so easily fall right back into being best friends. While us mommies chatted and caught up, the kids went on rides, fed fish, and laughed... a lot! Thank you Stacey for staying at the beach a bit longer, I had such a good time. Miss you already.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...





Today I am going to have a
virtual Girls Night Out!
wanna come? click below!

Cooking with Lala

The mini-munchkin sure enjoyed cooking with her grandma (affectionately called "Lala") while we were back in South Carolina. My mom loved having a cooking buddy. One evening they cooked us all Mushroom and Spinach Quiche with Potato Crust. It was SO yummy!




Do you have any fun memories cooking with your grandma or mom as a child?

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Back Home! Nature Camp Edition

Each summer my munchkins go to Nature Camp at Blackbeard's Cove Family Fun Park. They have a blast learning about insects, protecting our planet, various vegetation, and all sorts of animals. Last summer I posted about their week of learning and this time around I have more pictures!

Both kids did things I didn't know them capable of. My son went hunting for "good snakes," while my daughter actually enjoyed holding bugs! It is really amazing how spending time out in nature can help a child grow.

A wonderful woman named Nana Butterfly runs the program. Since my kids had been to this camp before it was very cute to watch them run into her arms yelling "Nana! Look how big we got this year!"

I grew up going to many summer camps... wilderness camps, Girl Scout camps, Church camps, every kind of camp! I am glad to see that my kids enjoy this as much as I did :)



Thank you all for your wonderful comments while I was on a little break. I feel fully refreshed and ready for whatever life can dish out.

Life is back in full swing around our place, especially with school starting August 3rd. (Is that not the most ridiculously early date for school to go back?!) I have a bunch more fun vacation moments to share so stay tuned!

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Lowcountry Rest

The munchkins and I are on a little vacation in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. A much needed time to relax, sip on some sweet tea and listen to Jimmy Buffett...

The history here is amazing, one could spend years and never see everything. I appreciate this part of American history so much more now that I've moved away from it...

The slower pace of life is interwoven into everything here, people even walk slower. It makes you enjoy things you would have otherwise missed going too fast...

The ocean breezes always bring a smile to my face. I love watching the shrimp boats and sailing ships coming up the waterways...

As you can see I am spending time relaxing and enjoying my family. I will be taking a little summer time break from my blog to "take it all in." I wish you all a wonderful sunny season!

*I will still be twittering, so feel free to follow along and say HI!*

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Zoos, Jobs, & Butts, OH MY!

It's been a few days since I have written, you know what that means... Things are going on! First of all Father's Day was wonderful. We took my hubby to the Phoenix Zoo for the day. I know most of you are thinking "Why take him to a kids place? Wouldn't he rather play a round of golf?" True, but I am the decision maker around here (sometimes) and Fathers Day was 99 degrees. This week will end at about 110 degrees and I wasn't about to miss the last double digit day of the summer!! The mini-munchkin had this fascination with posing with goats, check it out:

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Oh I also learned an interesting piece of information this week, my hubby hates his new job! Yeah, that has been messing with my head big time. You see, when you uproot your entire family for the prospect of a better career, life, brighter tomorrow, and it doesn't seem that has been accomplished it kind of puts a damper on your spirit. So now what? Well, we have a 2 year contract with this company and we agreed to re-evaluate the situation later. The main reason this causes me stress is because my hubbys job is very location specific so if he were to go somewhere else to do the same thing we'd have to move pretty far, most likely back east. I am an adventurous type, and LOVE new places, I just hate packing and unpacking over and over! But, I would much rather move again soon then have an unhappy, grouchy hubby.

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Weight loss update, down another 3 pounds bringing my grand total to 27 pounds lost! I am thrilled, but secretly REALLY frustrated. After all this work I am still the same pants size, yup seriously!! What is the deal with my Butt?

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Fun things are coming up! The munchkins and I will be flying back to South Carolina in 2 weeks to visit my parents and some of my girlfriends. (I can't wait to see you guys!!) I am looking forward to the lovely marsh lands, southern food, and Spanish moss. YIPPY!

I never expected to miss the south so much. Just goes to show you that this California girl can love 2 coastlines :) I hope you all have a wonderful week.

au revoir, adieu, ciao, till next time...

Saturday Q-Shot: Atlantis & VGNO

This weeks question was "If you could go anywhere you haven't been, where would you go?"

This was easy :) I KNOW where I would go, Atlantis! In all honesty I have been here, for only minutes though. While in college my parents took me on a 3 day cruise and one of our stops was Nassau, Bahamas. This gorgeous resort island was near our ships dock and I have dreamed of going there ever since.

Would you like to come with me? Wonderful! Off we go:

We arrive by private yacht to the Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island

Mythical winged horses greet us at the entrance

We check into the grand Lobby and get ready for our adventure

Play time! we get on our inner tube and ride down the Lazy River, through lifts and drops, white-water Rapids, 80-foot underground tunnel and caves.

Then it's off to the five-story Mayan Temple with a 60-ft. vertical drop that ends in a clear tunnel inside a shark-filled lagoon


Lunch Time! We'll savor a mixture of Southwestern cuisine with a Bahamian twist at the award winning Mesa Grill overlooking Paradise Beach


Then we need some fancy new clothes. Exclusive haute couture boutiques line the Crystal Court Shops

We'll take a break at this inviting beach bar and watch the sun set, while enjoying an umbrella drink of course

After a long day of enjoying this tropical paradise it's time to see our gorgeous Suite in the Royal Towers and change into our evening wear

We'll try our hand at gambling in the casino and check out more of the resorts wonderful decor

Then lets enjoy traditional fine dining in a warm and inviting club atmosphere at the Bahamian Club


We head to Aura Nightclub where DJs spin, illuminating the glass dance floor.


What a day! I had such a nice time, thanks for coming along!

Join me each week
for "Saturday Q-Shot"
with Spoiled Mommy





Today I am going to have a
virtual Girls Night Out!
wanna come? click below!


Ta Ta for now