Downtown Disney

The first thing that we did after checking into the hotel was to take the bus to Downtown Disney to get the souvenir necessities- like mouse ears, Christmas ornaments, and pins for the kids' lanyards. Owen and Olivia had also received money from Poppy and Nana to spend at Disney, and it was burning a hole in their pockets. Even though they would like to have blown it all on the first day, we made them hold on to some of it in case they saw something they really wanted later in the week. The kids loved the Downtown Disney area because there was so much to see and do. Some of their favorite things were spotting the Disney statues, looking at the Lego dragon, and trying on the different hats in the stores. I enjoyed just walking around and looking in all of the different shops. Even Brian, who is usually a staunch opponent of any form of shopping, had a good time. One thing that we saw was a lady performing as a "living statue". She was cool, so I had to get my picture made with her. After shopping for a couple of hours, it was time to eat. We had reservations at The House of Blues, and the food was phenomenal. After dinner, Papa Charlie treated everyone to ice cream at Haagen-Dazs. Yum.

The kids had some money left over on the last day of vacation, so we took them back to Downtown Disney to finish it off. Olivia ended up with three princess dolls (one from Granny Mel), a playset, and two vinylmation figurines. Owen chose two playsets, four vinylmation figurines, and two Star Wars Disney dolls. Granny Mel also got Owen a Mr. Potato Head set. This was a really cool gift. The deal was, you picked a giant hollow potato head and stuffed it with different pieces. There was a fixed price, so you could get as much as you could stuff into your potato head. Brian saw this as a challenge that could not be passed up and he set out to have the most well-stuffed potato head ever. I was amazed at how much he was able to put in that thing. Even the sales ladies were amazed, and they stopped what they were doing to come over and check out Brian's stuffing ability. I thought this was a unique gift because a lot of the potato head pieces were Disney-specific (like Tinkerbell hair, mouse ears, and Donald Duck lips).

Spanning the Decades at Disney

This past week was spring break, and we went to Disney for a much-needed vacation. Knowing that Disney is a BEAST, I planned our vacation out to a T. I read all of the former blog posts from you guys who have been to Disney lately (thanks guys) and I did all sorts of research. My plan was perfect. And then...to quote the song from Winnie the Pooh... "the rain rain rain came down down down". We're not just talking light sprinkle- we're talking thunderstorms and tornado warnings. Oh, well. We still had a great vacation despite less than perfect weather conditions. The next few posts will give a full report of our trip. It may take me awhile to get them all done because I'm waiting on my Photopass CD to get here before I post pictures from inside the parks. That being said, here we go... The resort that we stayed at was Disney's Pop Century Resort. The resort was themed based on pop culture icons from the 1950s-1990s. Each individual set of buildings had a designated "decade". The buildings were decorated with large sculptures of Disney pop culture icons and sayings from the different decades. Whenever you walked through a certain "decade" area, you'd here music from that decade played on speakers. We were in the 1950s area, so we heard lots of doo-whop and early rock-n-roll during our stay. The Disney sculptures that were in our area were from the movie Lady and the Tramp. Our room was right beside Lady and faced the "Bowling Pool" (which was shaped like a huge bowling pin). Due to the weather, though, we were only able to enjoy the pool on one afternoon.

The big sculptures were a hit with the kids, and we visited some of the other "decade" buildings to check out their pop icons. It wasn't just the music and the decorations that made this resort so cool, though. The theming even extended into the menu of the resort dining hall where the featured desert was tie-dyed cheesecake. Brian and I had to have a slice of that! There were also certain times during the day where all of the cast members in the main building would break out into a designated dance from a bygone era. One night, for example, we were eating in the resort cafeteria when a voice came over the loudspeaker saying that it was six o'clock and that all guests were invited to join the cast members in doing The Hustle. I had no clue how to do "The Hustle", but I grabbed the kids and we ran out to the middle of the make-shift dance floor and learned. Well, most of us learned- Owen seemed to just spin in circles more than anything. Once the song was over, the kids received a button that read"I Had a Poppin Good Time Doing The Hustle". Another morning, we were waiting on the bus, and the same voice came over the loudspeaker and invited us to do The Twist. It's true that the resort was tacky in places and the overall theme was a bit kitschy; but for our kids, it was perfect.

Swamp Run '11

This morning, we all participated in the annual Okefenokee Swamp Run. Unlike the last two years, the race was actually held at the Okefenokee Swamp Park instead of at Laura Walker Park this year. I must say, I missed Laura Walker. The 10K trail this year was extremely tough. I had more difficulty with this race then I did with the Gate River 15K- and that race ended with a bridge! The problem was that four of the six miles were run on a dirt road, and the dirt was not packed down. It was like trying to run through the thick, loose sand that you find at the beach (not the kind close to the water). All of the runners had trouble with the course. I ended up with a time of 55:42, which is exactly a minute slower than last year. I'm lucky that I didn't lose more than a minute because I was really struggling. Even though I disliked the course, there were some positives about having the race at the swamp park. One perk was that all runners got free admission into the park. So while I was out stomping through the sand, Brian took the kids to look at the gators. This kept them occupied until it was their turn to race.

Once my race was complete, it was time for the 1-mile to begin. Like last year, Brian ran with Olivia and I ran with Owen. The kids did great this year. Other parents with small children had to pick their kids up and carry them, but Brian and I didn't do that. If the kids get tired, we try to teach them to slow the pace or walk because that's what they'll have to do in a couple of years when they're running alone. Olivia did really well and finished right around the 15 minute mark. Owen finished at about 17:30. The big news, though, is that for the first time in three years we didn't finish last. Don't get me wrong- we were very close to the end, but we weren't last. Yay- progress! Both kids received finisher medals for completing the race. They are really building a nice little collection of these.

Even though I hadn't run as well as I would have liked, I ended up placing second in my age division. The medals this year were really cute. So, I'm happy to report another successful year at the Swamp Run. I look forward to next year, and cross my fingers that they will change the course.

Owen 3rd Birthday Party

Three years ago, my precious Owen came into the world. From day one, he was such a sweet and easy-going boy. He somehow managed to totally evade the "terrible two's". (Olivia's terrible 2's was probably enough to make up for it, though). Owen has really been a blessing to our family. We celebrated Owen's birthday this weekend with a Mickey Mouse-themed party. We were so happy to have many of our family members attend. We kept the party really low-key, and it turned out nice. We all gathered, ate pizza, had cake and ice cream, opened gifts, and then let the kids play outside. My Aunt Connie and Uncle Mike were visiting from Delaware, so they got to come. It was especially nice to have them there. When it came time to open gifts, Owen did the cutest thing. Someone would tell him who the gift was from and then he would carry the gift to that person and let them help him open it. I don't know where he got the idea to do this, but it was sweet. Owen got so many nice things- including a Wizard of Oz pop-up book from Aunt Sherrie (which both he and Olivia LOVE), a Buzz Lightyear toy and pillowcase, much-needed swim attire and new shirts, and lots of fun toys. His gift from Brian and I was a hot-wheels set and some cars to go with it. We weren't sure how well he'd like the cars, but I'm pleased to say that they were a hit. After opening gifts, we all went outside and let the kids play. Brian blew up the bouncy house, and we moved the playhouse to the front yard. There were also bikes, scooters, and sports equipment. One of the highlights for everyone was watching Ava smack the tee-ball around. That girl is a natural- and she gets bonus points for hitting every member of the Dowling family with the ball. Thank goodness it was only a tee-ball. Below are some random pictures from the party.

Gate River Run 2011

For the second year in a row, Anna, Krystial, and I ran the Gate River Run 15K- the national 15K Championship. A 15K is equivalent to 9.3 miles. This race is AWESOME, and it is the highlight of my spring running season. I was a seeded runner this year, but I was not able to start with my group. The traffic was terrible and we barely made it to the starting line at all. I guess that's what happens when the field of 15K runners is almost 17,000 (not counting 5K runners and spectators). Due to the late arrival, I had to start near the back of the pack and I spent the first couple of miles weaving in and out of walkers and slower runners. Even though the start was shaky, I still did pretty well. I didn't even have much trouble with the bridge at mile 9 this year. I'm glad I did the Sidney Lanier run a couple of weekends ago. Next to it, the bridges on the Gate River Run look like kiddy toys. I ended up with a time of 1:28:18. That's more than 3 minutes faster than I finished last year. This time put me in the top third of women in my age division and in the top half of all runners who actually finished the race. I will also qualify to be seeded in the "orange" section next year- which is better than the "black" section that I was seeded in this year. Who knows- maybe next year I'll actually show up in time to take advantage of the seed. Above is a picture of the starting line. Can you see me? I'm the little speck in the back of the photo. Below are pictures of me, Anna, and Krystial after the race. For some reason, we just couldn't all be in the same place at the same time for a group picture this year.

98 and Counting

Today we celebrated my Granny Moore's 98th birthday. To be clear, this is my great-grandmother (Owen and Olivia's great-great-grandma). Each year, there is a big party at Granny's house and tons of people come to eat and to wish Granny another year of health and happiness. The well-wishes must be working, because Granny is doing very well. She still lives at home and gets around fairly well. I only hope that I'm doing this well when I'm 98 (crossing fingers). Although the birthday party is an annual thing, we don't always take pictures. We did this year, though, and so I have posted a few. There is one with Granny Moore and her four children (Granny Buie is the oldest), and there is another of Granny and all of the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren that were in attendance. Of course some couldn't make it to the party, but the ones who did sure enjoyed themselves.

Pierce County Fund Run

This morning, the kids and I participated in the first annual Pierce County Rec Dept. Fund Run. The kids did the one mile run and then Gigi and Papa watched them while I did the 5K. I am so proud of how well they ran. Both kids went the whole way by themselves, and they did actually run most of the time. Of course we weren't very fast and we ended up dead last- but it was a lot of fun. The kids both received medals at the finish line.

The 5K began in City Park. As a side not- I run four to five times a week in Blackshear, and City Park is part of the training course that I've created for myself. When the race began, I discovered that the entire course looked familiar- the race was run on my personal training course. Talk about me having an advantage! I ended up with a new personal best time of 25.30, and finished second in my age group. Next weekend is the Gate River Run- the national 15K championship. It was good to have my last race before "the big one" be on familiar turf.