liv luvs disney

My sorry tail is registered for TWO 1/2 Marathons - the Donald Jan 7 and the Princess Feb 26 ... any other Fiends are free to join me. The Donald I'm running as a fund raiser for Avon Walk for Breast Cancer through Team AllEars; The Princess I'm running as the Fort Fiend Fairy ...

I don't care if you're registered for 200 half marathons. I thought you were doing the F&W with me. I felt jilted. :rofl3:

Seriously, good luck on the races. Please take more pictures than I did.

I never noticed it before Liv, but you have the potential of rising to the rank of "Snarky Master".

There are only a few that have achieved that ranking.

I knew there was something special about you.

You are badly mistaken. I am not snarky. I am an angel. :rofl2:

Yes, a Disney FF race would be awesome! :jumpforjoy

Which one you wanna do?

I'll race ya'll to Trails End. :rofl2:

I'll beat you! :rofl2:

Forget what?

Hey, don't forget. I'm old. I forget everything.

Don't forget as of yesterday, I'm old-er!

Have y'all thought about which one y'all might do?

This TR is wonderful, so much detail,. I feel as though I am there with you!!! Lance did a great job taking all the photos.

Love them all!!!

Congrats on the marathon, it always amazes me that people do this. The only way I would run that far is if ..... Who am I kidding I would never run that far for any reason! :rofl3:

HALF marathon sister! HALF!!!!! Honestly, if you had told me a year ago I would be running somewhere besides getting my kids out of a burning building, I would have laughed too! AND I don't run; I shuffle (that's what Lance says I do), walk, shuffle. I'm a big fan of Jeff Galloway!!

You are just the cutest family!

I'm so impressed you did the race. I'm definitely in the "couldn't run if I tried" camp. Blisters or not, I think it's fantastic you did it.

Thanks Kate! Trust me...if I could do it, ANYONE can!

Just because you can't run doesn't mean you can't walk a "run". There is no way I can really run -short jogs maybe - but no running. I've walked a bunch of 5Ks - which are NOT that far. In January and February, I will be walking a 1/2 Marathon at Disney ...

:techno: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what you told me about the F&W. Then I signed up and trained and your sorry tail was nowhere to be seen! ;D

Well, I hope that you told them all yes!

Lance did a great job with all of the photos. I see that he got the Shoe Tree, River Country, and Discovery Island!

Nicely done!

TCD

He took those pics 'cause I told him to! You know the "if Mama ain't happy" saying. :rofl3: Now for the other 2100 pics he took, . Many times the kids and I just walked off and left him. The worst was when we were in RFC. I swear he took 6 pics of EVERY fish in that place. I don't drink or smoke but I gave it serious consideration that day!!

Cool! I didn't know walking them was allowed! Maybe I will "walk/run" a marathon one day afterall. ;D

Yes mam, you can walk/run or all walk if you keep a 16 minute mile pace. Most races have time restirctions and I believe that's Disney's. I saw lots of walkers only. My favorite ratio is a 3 minute run with 1 minute walk. :heartsmiley:

I still want a group of FF to do a race at Disney together! (hint-hint)

:suspense: I am still here and you are going a great job. I love to walk but just have a hard time running.

Thanks for being patient. The past 2 days have been FILLED with appointments and I'm 'bout to go gorge myself on birthday cake, but I'll be back!

Love all these. Your face is priceless. And, I'm a sucker for fun race shirts. Those are great.

Hate that you're injured, but you'll heal. You can totally do a whole. You know how to train and definitely have the commitment and strength (physical, mental and spiritual) to do a full marathon. Let yourself get better, take your time, and then go for it! (Birmingham now has two great marathons, but I'm sure there may be a few in your neighborhood too. )

Can't wait to hear about race night!

ETA - "you'll heal" is not meant to sound sarcastic at all. I just went back and re-read and wanted to make sure that you know the spirit that that was said - I really do hate that your injured but I'm sure you'll bounce back after your forced rest time. You should go for the full!

I didn't take it as you being sarcastic at all. I knew exactly what you meant. Yes, I will heal...eventually! PT continues to say no running for another week! Never realized how much I enjoyed running until I was told not to.

Love the updates! I think that Bible reading and prayer was a terrific way to start your day and prepare for your big race. My prayer life and running are simultaneous now....

"GABE STOP!!!! GABE... COME BACK HERE!!!! OH LORD HELP ME!!!" :rofl2: I am joking but I am NOT kidding!

From now on when I hear Beauty and the Beast I will picture Belle and your hair. LOL!

looking forward to more reporting...

I know exactly what you mean, Kim! When my kids were little and I tried to get up early to spend time in the Word and prayer, one (usually Gage) would be up within mere seconds after me! So yeah my prayer life consisted of many, "Lord, don't let me kill this youngin'!" Now that they are older and don't want to get up, I have a lot of quiet time in the morning, however, there are still many of the aforementioned prayers offered up! :rofl2: As far as when I was running, "Lord let me finish this!" was muttered A LOT!!!!!!

Great updates Liv!!

I think Christy told you this, but we also followed the Galloway method to do our first 1/2. And we are serious about doing another next year. So as soon as you can start training again, let's plan one! Although, I am thinking of another half...not a full. That would scare the crap out of me.

How could I forget,Dave! We're doing that half marathon with you! Did you forget? :rofl2:

Yup, that would be me! I couldn't figure out how you did that!

I don't remember you being one who asked, Holly, but by the end of the week, Lance and Gage were bragging to those who would ask about what was under the hood of our Honda. :rofl3:

Yep!! Better late than never is a good title.... I'm here! Better late than never and lovin' your report!

Awe, I like it very much when you're around LL!

:rofl2: That is all I have to say.... just... :rofl2:

I second that!

I am not kidding when I say Lance took thousands of pictures. At the end of the week we had to erase a bunch because our 8G card was full. Obviously I won't post all of them. :shh: Don't tell him. He was quite proud of himself. ;D

I'm laughing as I'm copying these pics because Lance took a pic of all 4 sides. No wonder he filled a whole memory card!

That's all for tonight. I stayed home from church to prepare for a big day tomorrow and um, I haven't done a thing to prepare for tomorrow. :laugh:

Ok, now i am caught up on two TR's. This one is great! I am looking forward to more! I esp. want to read about the race. I did run a 1K once, when i was dating a runner. That was about 25 years ago. I would love to become one of the people you hear aboout who take up running in thier 50s. That gives me a few more years to just think about it.

Now that I've done a half, I want to do a full...before I'm 40 which is just around the river bend. Unfortunately as soon as we got home I hurt my knee while running and I've been ordered total rest for several weeks. :-[

When you decide to run again, check out Jeff Galloway. I LOVE his method...incorporates walking and running. :heart:

I am so enjoying reading about your trip. You have a beautiful family! Looking forward to reading about the race. I used to be a runner and always wanted to do a Disney race..........maybe someday! Looking forward to reading more!

Heidi

Well hello, Heidi, nice to meet you! Thanks for the compliment on my family. I think they're beautiful, but I know I'm biased! (What Mama is not?)

You should totally start running again and do a Disney race. It was AWESOME...when it was over!

That is the biggest "r" I've ever seen. Made me itch just looking at it!!!

Wasn't it huge? I grew up in FL where "r" bugs seem to be ginormous. So, believe it or not, I've seen bigger! :o

After breakfast Gretchen wanted to do some shopping and exploring with her Daddy. So off they went while Gage and I stayed behind to clean up and get ready.

I can't tell you how many people asked if we hauled the camper with our van.

As soon as they got back to the camper, we headed over to the TTC to pick up our park tickets.

No she did not hit the van.

Just in time!

Before any rumors get started, let me enlighten you on the beast. The beast is what my family calls my hair when I get out of bed in the morning. Really. It can be quite interesting to say the least. I don't know who I inherited it from, but I have it. We have many, many pictures of my bed head. Lance has not been on vacation with us in so long, I guess he forgot that vacation does not exempt my hair from becoming the beast.

Of course I nervously get out of bed on our first whole day at the Fort. Later that evening, I would be running 13.1 miles with 14,000+ other people and I was not quite sure what to expect. There was no singing to arouse my family. I went out under the awning to pray, read my Bible, and start my morning coffee. Lance must have experienced sympathy pains because shortly after my rising, unbeknownst to me, he got up too!

We talked for a bit about what our day would consist of and he went back in the camper. I was getting hungry so I went in to see if he would get the griddle in the TALL cabinet so I could start breakfast. He was hiding in the bed with the camera to take a picture of the beast. (They do this all the time at home as well.)

Well that broke into laughter which got the kids up and so the beast ran to their bed to get them up.

Lance finally got around to getting the griddle for me.

Camping breakfast is the best, isn't it?

My blisters were still around, though much better, so I had Lance's shoes on to give my feet some space. The kids thought this was funny. Oh to be a kid again.

"Gage, do not take a picture of my rumpus!"

What does one do after their belly is full? They go back to bed of course!

There was a ruckus in the camp site behind us.

We never did find out exactly what all the fuss was about.

Liv-

Thanks for slowing down on this TR while I was busy at the Fort.

But, I'm back now, so let's get a move on!

J/K- Take your time.

I liked the photos of the young lady with the purple top. That is definitely something I would have snapped a photo of as well. It's hard to beat the people-watching at WDW!

TCD

You know we checked out as you checked in. I don't know what would be worse...setting up camp in the rain or taking it down. Regardless it was wet and miserable. It stinks we didn't get to see each other AGAIN!

I will go ahead and tell you that we all agreed our favorite part of this visit besides meeting so many fiends was the Haunted Carriage Ride! Thanks!!

I have just about come to the conclusion that WDW comes in second to Wal-Mart regarding people in strange clothing.

:heart: Liv, this is a great pic! You had every right to be wondering what you got yourself into. Good for you for actually going though with it.

I can't wait to hear about taming the beast, though Im quite certain it doesn't have anything to do with where my mind immediately went.

That is NOT a great pic and you and I both know it! :rofl3:

I don't think I want to know where your mind went and I'm fairly certain we are talking about 2 different things. :rofl2:

I'm really hoping the tag fairy doesn't see this post! :rofl2: :heart:

You're family thinks you're a sucker a woman who knows how to Git-R-Done. :rofl2:

That would be my luck....a tag about the stinky slinky!

Sucker....I think you got it right the first time, Kim! :rofl2:

I think my family thinks it's funny to get inopportune pics of me, but being as God has been working on my pride for some time, I'll post them anyway.

I was literally saying "Dear Lord, what have I gotten myself in to?" when Lance took this.

Getting my packet and signing my waiver to not sue Disney if I have a heart attack or am badly injured while running.

Walking over to the EXPO.

The Expo. It was here I found something to be better than sliced bread. It's called Body Glide. It is the bomb! It almost erased my blisters in a short time! I am so grateful to Leslie and another friend who told me to get it! In fact as soon as Leslie found out about my blisters, she over-nighted some to me! Now that is a fiend! She is my hero and I knew anything she recommended was worthwhile! It was!!!!!!!!!!

Goody bag pick up.

I signed up for my family to be texted as I crossed the 5k, 10k, and 15k lines so they would know when to expect me to cross the finish line. All races probably do this, but this was my first big race so I thought that was pretty cool.

Back to the Fort we go!

As soon as we got back to the camper, Gretchen was dying to go swimming and Gage wanted to play b-ball. So I took Gretchy to the pool while Gage beat up on his Daddy. :laugh:

I have to figure out to upload (download, sideload, whatever you call it) pics from my phone. This night's dinner pic is on my phone. It was just spaghetti, garlic bread and salad, but more picture worthy than a sandwich.

Next up...Lance tells me to tame the beast even on vacation. :eek:

That's ok. Pictures of sandwiches are not pood forn...they are just pictures of sandwiches. Of course, like all pood forn rules, there are exceptions. Such as sandwiches with 2 or more different kinds of cheese, or sandwiches that include any type of sauce. Or sandwiches that spent at least 2 minutes on a panini press. Or sandwiches that are made with any type of bread considered to be "artisan" bread. I also like to see pictures of sandwiches made from any kind of pulled meat, especially pork. And of course if your sandwich includes any component that has been fried it is worthy of being considered pood forn.

Heck, to be safe, in the future just take pictures of all sandwiches. :popo:

Well you're in luck because I do get a pic at EOS a little later.

:rofl2: Finding out "what you did" was worth the wait! You asked why you got the "stinky" job... maybe it was because of the check in mishap? :rofl2:

This update really had me cracking up!!! For some reason I can't imagine you using an angry tone. :heart: or making Lance take a photo of an unsuspecting woman dressed inappropriately. :heart: :rofl2:

Love it Liv!!!!!

That's the first time I've messed up our reservations yet I have to do the stinky every time. The first couple of times I had my Dad unhook it, but darn, I even do that now too. Quite frankly, I think it's a clear indication of what my family thinks of me. :rofl2:

About the photo. I'm CERTAINLY not saying that Lance and I are as pure as the driven snow, but this was kind of naughty for both of us! :rofl2:

Loving the report, but you're killing me here:

First, no pics of the race? :gaah:

And, it couldn't have been too much of a fiasco - I think I know "the rest of the story", but I sure am anxious to hear it all! :pc:

Leslie, I was so stressed about transportation to the race. It's all I could think about. It's a miracle I got there with my shoes on. But the fiasco was about something I did forget! My poor husband was a saint by the end of the evening!

Once we got situated on our concrete pad, set up began.

There's Grammy with her cane. She really is in a bad way right now, but she did a great job supervising.

How come I always get the stinky job?

I believe I've made it very clear how I feel about the "r" word, right? Well, look what Gage discovered?

I actually got close enough to look at this one. This kids said the only reason I wasn't scared of it was because it was a Disney "r." :laugh: (Little did they know!)

It didn't live long after its discovery.

After set up, we had a quick sandwich and chips. Sorry no pics, Dave. It was really not picture worthy.

I really needed to get over the ESPN WWOS for packet pick up. So we left the kids with Papa & Grammy and were on our way. I called Grammy not more than 5 minutes after we left to have her tell Gretchen something for me and they had already left! WHAT?!?!?! They wanted to miss 5:00 traffic...it was a few minutes before 3:00. Again, WHAT?!?!?!

On our ride over, we could see where they were preparing for the race.

Saw TONS of these before, during, and after the race. Even though there were literally hundreds, if not thousands, every one had a line of no less than 50 people waiting! :laugh:

I caused Lance to make a wrong turn along the way, but we did eventually make it.

I don't think you can comprehend how many porta potties where "around" unless you saw it for yourself. This picture does not do it justice!

I MADE Lance take a picture of this gal in front of us. He did NOT want to. Neither did I, that's why I made him do it. :rofl2:

That's all I have time for right now. I'll be back!

Ya, that may have been short notice.

Hey now, the phone rings/text both ways ya know!

LOVIN' IT!!!

Thanks. I'm not near the writer as others are on this board, but one good thing about doing a TR is reliving your vacation!

Liv, sorry I'm so late. Great job so far! You sure have a nice looking family.

I love the kids morning pics. :rofl2: If you remember from my Labor Day report, I too like to catch people (Doodle & Lisa) early morning. Be careful though, I have officially been paid back by Tri-B in her report.

I've had 3 bulldogs, and they are great dogs! I would love to have another one, but we knew that Mason would be a better breed for camping.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

Well better late than never, right? :rofl3:

Since we're both morning people, we may have to get together some time.

We wanted to bring Bear home with us, but it just wasn't happening.

I hope I can finish this TR...before 2012!

Unlike someone who's name begins with S, I'm not late. Been there from the start, nice job so far.

Hey, what happened to our burgers and dogs on the grill night? I maybe should have texted you BEFORE we were getting on I-4 to head home?

Loving your report!

I have always wanted an English Bulldog. Too cute.

Can't wait for more!

I have a ton of pictures of that dog! Apparently my husband thought he was cute too. He really was cute... and was very sweet. My cousin's current living arrangements don't allow for a pet. That's why my parents have him. Now that my cousin and his wife have the baby, they are wanting to find a permanent home for him. My Mom is having hip replacement surgery in December and they can't take care of him much longer. They would love to though. In fact I think it's one reason Muffy is so jealous of him. She knows my parents like Bear more than they like her! :rofl2:

I love mornings too but on my own terms. :rofl2:

Looking forward to finally meeting you! You can definitely hold me to that! :heart:

I AM GOING TO!!!!!

Other than the bike hanging from the bike rack, which was an easy fix, our 3 hour drive to Orlando from Glen St. Mary was uneventful. The weather was hot and the rest area we always stop at hadn't changed much.

A little closer to that sign

that leads to this sign

That's where the trouble began.

My Dad gave our name and there was no information that we were to check in that day! Lance calls me and says, "Honey are you sure you made our reservations?" Insulted, I angrily said, "I'm positive I made our reservations. I have the paperwork in my hand. That guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Send him to me!" To make a long story short, we did have reservations, but our check in date was the 29th, not the 30th. Now I am ditzy. I admit that, but I am meticulous with records so this was a humbling experience. I'm just glad that I was not a complete jerk before it was all straightened out. I had called the week prior to pay our balance hoping to eliminate one extra stress, but even during that whole procedure I did not recognize the discrepancy. :facepalm:

The guys wanted Lance and me to switch places for check in just in case there was another blunder. The lines were not real long but they were longer than I had ever witnessed so Lance and I switched. We got in trouble for "getting out of the car." :popo: I was now starting to rethink our decision to come. I was hoping this was not a sign of things to come. :laugh:

"Can you believe I did that?" (the mistake with our check in date)

And, "I can't believe I just got in trouble!"

Looks like Todd made the trip!

Didn't get the name of the CM that checked us in, but I think he was having a bad day...like low blood sugar or something. He was SLOW as Christmas and apparently had a hard time with my southern accent. I was not feeling the love. He even called a manager over, during our check in, and asked if he could take his lunch break.

We were there for 30 minutes! I am not lying! Lance even called to see what the "problem was this time."

Thankfully those bad memories were eased by this.

Now I understand the grumpy morning faces on your kids. If you sang that buttercup song to me I would have thrown my pillow at you! :rofl2: :heart:

Sounds like our lateness is equal. If we ever meet up we'll get there at the same time! :rofl3:

I can't help it. I LOVE mornings!

I'll hold you to that!

I don't know what Liv is talking about with this late thing. When we met for dinner a couple weeks ago, she arrived with her family exactly when she said she would.

She's a very punctual Fiend!

I know, but y'all still had to wait on us!

Wake up, wake up

The sun is up

The dew is on the buttercup

Of course I had been up for hours trying to get in touch with my runner friends and figure out what to do with the Texas-sized blisters on my feet! I had come to the conclusion I was not going to be able to run, but we were still going to the Fort!

This hug must have thrown Lance off. When we got on the interstate I looked in the rear view mirror and the red bike was just hanging. He forgot to strap it down!

Bear is sad we're leaving.

Continuously checking for those pesty little "r's"

Muffy can't stand when my Dad leaves her. She is refusing to get out of the driveway here, but Gretchen did eventually move her.

Mom and I left for Walgreen's before the rest of the crew pulled out in hopes to find something to work on my blisters. It was MUCH later than I wanted to leave, but that's to be expected when Grammy is involved. I obviously get my gift of being late from my Mom, but I tend to run 5-15 minutes late. She runs HOURS behind!

Some random pics Lance and the kids took while traveling.

The site we all love to see!

It doesn't need to compare. It will be even better. Especially when I read it in a TN accent! hehehehe.

I'll miss the Grammy stories but if you had one more person making you late your patience may have really taken a hit! :rofl2:

Without Grammy in your TR it's really lucky you ran into a rock star. I hear he's better looking in person than in his picutres.

Can't wait to hear all about your run!! I'm hoping there are lots of photos!

OK, I'm going on record right now. I AM 100% ANTI-ROACH! IMHO... that was $30.00 well spent!

You are probably right about Grammy! She rode with us the day we checked in and caused us to be late, but wait til you hear what I did!

You're not going to believe this...NO pics of the race! That was a fiasco and a half!

Oh Puleeeze!!! The first time you saw me, I was so stressed out by the events of the day (the RV flooding) that I know I looked awful!!! The second time we met up with each other, we were both soaked to the skin by all the rain! We will definitely have to take a picture the next time we see each other...and we will look gorgeous! :)

You did have a stressful first day....but you were one gorgeous stressed out lady! Oh that last day was awful. I think I'm still trying to dry out!

Roaches! Ew!! Glad you knocked 'em out dead!

You and me both!

Sorry I'm taking so long. My life is just really busy right now. Who am I kidding? I still have kids at home...it's ALWAYS busy!

Anyway, I'm thinking I should just do what I said I was going to do in the first place...post pics, no narration. It's just so hard for me not to talk.

I'll finish up with a few more pics from the day we arrived at Papa and Grammy's.

More "firsts"...not only did I get to see my cousin's baby for the first time, but I got to see him and finally meet his wife. (He's in the Marines and can't always coincide his visits with ours.

Shortly after dinner, Lance and I headed out for one last quick run/walk before the half marathon. I was already battling with some blisters from 2 weeks prior and for some reason that particular run/walk session magnified those blisters about 100 fold! However, we went to visit my Nana in the nursing home (pic is on my phone) before going to the dreaded Wal-Mart for last minute groceries and something for my blisters. By this time it was 10:00. I could hardly walk, and exhaustion had taken me over! When we got back to Papa and Grammy's and began to finish loading the camper, some unwanted bugs decided to come out and play. I can NOT tell you how badly I HATE roaches. In fact, I don't even say the word!! But, I saw 4 in the camper and was not about to sleep 1 night let alone 8 in there! So, I went back to Wal-Mart to buy some foggers and spray....$30 worth! In a 40 foot camper, I put 4 foggers out and sprayed the underneath storage. I also took everything out of the camper and washed it before loading it back the next morning. We never saw any dead ones while we were at the Fort, but we didn't see any live ones either! :yay:

I love all the family pics!

Thanks, Denise...there's more to come!

Whoo hoo! Olivia's doing a trip report! I can't wait to hear all about it.

You can't wait to hear all about it? You were there when it all happened! :rofl2: I sure wish we had gotten a picture together. 'Cept every time I saw you, you were all made up and gorgeous. I looked like something ressurected from the dead!

Man, am I late to the party or what? But better late than never, right? Loving everything so far.

Well, except you forgeting a pic of your cookies and cream shake at CkFilA! :argh:

I guess I can't lecture, seeing as how I forgot so many food pics in my last report. So, I'll lay off my kid sister this time. On with the show!

I posted the empty cup on FB while we were travelling....Empty cups don't do much, do they?

Thanks for not giving me too hard a time, bro!

OK, where's the next installment? I'm not through being entertained yet.

:camp1:

I know, I know. My weekend was CRAZY and my time during the week is so limited with the kids using the one computer for school! I'm asking for a computer for Christmas and giving the kids this one...that is IF I get a new one!

I love the report in that I can get to know everyone. The pictures make it more personal and easy to recognize everyone when at the Fort. Hoping to meet those who will be at the Fort November 27 - December 9.

I hope you get to meet lots of fiends during your trip too! I've yet to meet one I did not like!

I am much better looking in person than I am in my picture.

:rofl2: Yes, you are!

Off to a great start. I just know it's going to be great!

Sho' could go for another Lance video concert. :)

Howdy H! :clint:

Might have to have Lance sing at a FF GG sometime. I better check with him first! :rofl2:

I am a legend in my own mind.

Mine too!

Loving this trip report. My children tend to have that same grumpy face when I wake them up early. You are right family time is so precious.

Glad I'm not the only one with grumpy faced youngins!

Glad you're here!

Yay! I've been waiting for this trip report for weeks! Love seeing your family and hearing about your trip so far, and am definitely looking forward to more!

Thanks, Leslie. I hope it it continues to meet your expectations! :D You will soon find out that you were the saving grace of my run!

Liv - sorry I am late getting on board with your report. Your visit was one of the highlights of our trip. I only wish Lance could have come. Gage and Gretchen are so polite and well behaved. You and Lance are doing a great job raising them to be fine citizens. Thanks for taking the time to come out to see us. Now, back to the report!

I'm so glad to know that I did not ruin your trip! I've worried for weeks that I made a horrible impression on y'all. Lance would have liked to have met y'all as well. Looks like we are gonna have to make that happen!

:yay: Yippee!! A Liv Report! Better late than never for sure!!!!

I'm loving every bit so far.. I mean, really, you even met a Rockstar!

LOVE the grumpy face early a.m. photos. Serves them right for not getting up and making you get impatient. :rofl2:

Oh KFK, my TR will not compare to yours! Plus I have no funny Grammy stories to tell in this one.

I've always been partial to FWG, but after meeting him and his wife in person, I've discovered I'm even more partial! Sweet, sweet couple!

My family drove my test of patience to a new level during this trip. I must admit I need to stop and smell the roses more often though. I'm gonna die before I'm 50 and they are all gonna live to be 100!