Princess Half Marathon Weekend

Friday morning began the Princess Half Marathon Weekend. The 5K started at 6:15 that morning. Mama, Nathan, Cindy, and Abby were all participating in the 5K and they had to be on a bus by 5am but they decided to be safe and go earlier. The busses didn't run between 5 and 7, so I had to catch the bus with them. The party started as soon as we got off the bus. There was music and people that were way too excited at 5 o'clock in the morning. I hung out with them for a while and then went and found a seat when they went to their corrals. Sitting there and waiting for the race to even start was awful for me. I'm not a morning person to begin with, and I was surrounded by crying children who clearly didn't want to be awake either. Within two minutes of sitting there I made a promise to myself that I would never wake my children up for a race. Haha. It was fun to watch people cross the finish line. I think the first male runner finished in 18:40 and the first female finished in around 20 minutes! After what I like to refer to as "the serious runners" had crossed the finish line, we were about thirty minutes into the race. I was looking at my phone and smelled something far too familiar. Without even looking up, I knew what it was: voban. Voban is what we use as custodial to clean code v's. I have never seen so many in one place. It was awful. Here are some pictures from the 5K to clear that nauseous feeling you have now. ;)

Even though it was early, I enjoyed watching the sunrise over Epcot.

Mary Poppins and Bert

After the race was over, we went back to the room for them to shower. They both fell asleep, so I decided to sleep for about thirty minutes. Then the three of us, along with Cindy and Abby, went to the parks. Later in the afternoon we met up with Krista and Maddy at Magic Kingdom. Logan met us that night after he got off work. We headed out before the fireworks, since we had to be up early again. 

The 10K was Saturday and it started at 5am. We had to be on a bus by 3:30. Two super early mornings in a row are rough! My running friends from home, Jennifer, Natalie, Dawn, Ashleigh, Caron, Erin, and Stacey had come down Thursday night for the run. I was excited to see them Saturday morning. I've missed running with them. The corrals were huge and the first minute of the race we were walking. It took us a really long time to get spread out and to set a pace. Stacey and I were always running buddies back home. We run about the same speed and she is motivates me to keep going. I was very afraid that I wouldn't be able to keep up with her since I hadn't trained, but somehow I was able to! We crossed the finish line together and I was very proud of our time (despite the fact that the half marathon winner's time was the same as ours)!

Before!

After crossing the finish line!

This picture makes me laugh!

After we finished we grabbed some breakfast at Chick-fil-a and then went to Magic Kingdom for a few hours before it got too crowded.

What we ran for: DOLE WHIPS!

Big Thunder Mountain!

After a few hours they went back to their hotel to shower and sleep for a little while. I went back to the room for a very quick shower (didn't even wash my hair; gross, I know) and then Mama, me, and Nathan went to Animal Kingdom. Jack and Colby had come down for the weekend with Krista and Maddy and they were both working Saturday. Unfortunately we barely missed getting to ride the safari with Colby, so we headed to Hollywood Studios to ride Great Movie Ride. That was the first time I had ridden it since Jack went back to school. I was so excited to see him and, of course, we had to take a picture!

Blessed by this friendship!

Random picture of Nathan and I at Animal Kingdom

After that, we met Krista, Maddy, and Logan as well as Cindy and Abby and rode a few things. Krista and Maddy decided to stay there, and the rest of us went to Epcot. There we met up with an old friend, Bill Murray. He was the drama teacher at the high school when I was in middle school, and he directed several plays that Nathan and I participated in. My freshman year of high school he moved, and he has moved again. Now he lives in Florida and had come to Disney for the day. It was nice to catch up with him!

After that, we had a dining reservation at Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club Resort. Unfortunately Logan had to work so he couldn't join us. It is a seafood buffet and is so good, especially the desserts! We ate until we were stuffed!

You can walk to Epcot from the Beach Club, so we walked back through the park. Nathan had been wanting to swim at the Polynesian, so he and Mama went over there. Cindy and Abby went to Magic Kingdom. My friend, Yetziel, was working at Epcot that night so I talked to him for a little while and then went back to Magic Kingdom to meet Cindy and Abby, as well as my running friends. I was able to hang out with them for a little while, but after a few hours I had to leave. I was exhausted! 

The next morning we got up and I took Mama, Nathan, Cindy, and Abby to the airport. Nathan and Mama flew back with them on their plane. I came home and slept for a little while and then had to go to work.

Although it was an exhausting week and weekend with little sleep, I really enjoyed spending time with everyone! People from home visiting is what keeps me going. I can't wait for more people to visit!

My time here is running out and, whether I want to or not, it's time for me to make some big decisions about my future. My prayer is that I will be able to follow God's plan for my life. Thank you for continuing to support, encourage, and pray for me!

Here are a few pictures I forgot to include in the first blog!

Gotta have the snowman picture

Fun with Family and Friends

I have been able to spend so much time with friends and family the past few weeks and I have loved it! On Valentine's Day some friends from church, Ted and Heather, brought their girls Mackenna, Karson, and Bristol down for a few days before their cruise and I got to meet up with them several times. They are so sweet and it's always fun to hang out with them when they visit!

That Sunday, more friends from church came. Kelly and Ashleigh brought their girls, Cohen and Kate. I have worked with both of them in Sunday School, Children's Choir, etc., so I was really excited to see them. I met them as soon as they checked in to pick up some bags they brought down for Mama and Nathan.

The day after that, Monday, was a day of adventure for Mama and Nathan. Since it was just the two of them, they decided that it would be cheaper for them to fly down instead of driving. Nathan had never flown before and Mama had only flown in a small plane, so it was a new experience. Nathan was a little nervous but I knew he would love it. Mama, on the other hand, had me a little worried. She is absolutely terrified of heights, so I told her she definitely didn't need a window seat. We all know how high-strung she is, so I also told her that she needed to take a pill before she flew. Haha. The great thing about flying from GSP to Orlando is that it's only an hour flight. When I picked them up from the airport she looked better than I had expected her too, but her nerves were still a little shot. After we checked in and ate supper, we went to Magic Kingdom and met up with Ashleigh and Kelly. We loved spending time with them and especially enjoyed seeing the girls watch the parade. One funny moment from the night happened when we went to ride Big Thunder Mountain. Cohen had been dying to ride it and Mama told Kelly and Ashleigh that she would watch Kate while we rode. I think Kelly felt a little bad, but I assured him that Mama didn't mind and would enjoy playing with Kate. She is getting to the Grandma stage, but sadly for her she won't have any grandchildren for a while! Haha. While we were waiting to ride, we got a picture from Mama...it pretty much speaks for itself...

Selfie! Haha

We definitely got a good laugh out of that one! Haha we were so glad to spend time with them all week!

Cohen said she didn't even have to walk on the moving sidewalk. Haha

I had to work Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. On Wednesday more friends came! We picked Cindy and Abby up from the airport. I had some dining coupons, so Thursday morning we used one of them. We had breakfast at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian Resort, and it was yummy! It is a character buffet, so we stuffed our faces and enjoyed the characters. It had been at least five years (probably longer) since we had done character dining so we enjoyed that. 

After our breakfast, we went to our Princess Half Marathon Weekend Expo at Wide World of Sports. We picked up our packets and did a little shopping. This was the first expo I had ever been to and it was a bit overwhelming, but I enjoyed looking at everything. They had a wall with all of our names printed on it, which was pretty neat! 

After that I had to leave to go to my class that I'm taking through Disney. After class I met them at the parks. However we headed back to the room pretty quickly because we had to be up super early Friday morning for the beginning of the race weekend, which I will talk about in my next blog!

Six Months Down

It's hard to believe that I've been living here in Orlando for almost six months now. I'm still adjusting to my new work location and making new friends, but I still love it. 

A few weekends ago Sydney, a friend from home, came to visit. Logan, another friend from home, had just moved down here so we all got to spend time together. They surprised me at work Friday night by coming to see me and bringing me a treat. Then Saturday we spent the morning in the park together before I went to work. We had so much fun!

With all the new CP's arriving, we have had several welcome events. These are always filled with dancing, characters, and free food! I went with Alicia and Yetziel. This particular event was olympic/Hercules-themed and we were interviewed for the housing channel event highlight. We had lots of fun!

The next day Yetziel and I were both off so we decided to go to the parks. It had been a while since I had just spent a day playing in the parks, and it was so nice to relax and remember why I came here to start with. We went to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom and had a blast, despite the fact that it rained all day!

Yetziel loved waiting an hour for Toy Story Mania!

Gaston informing me that I was showing all three signs of falling in love with him!

I met up with a coworker that night and dined with Beast for the first time

Last week on my "Friday" (which was actually Wednesday) I had a morning shift from 9 to 5:30, so I got an early start to my weekend. Logan and I decided to go to Magic Kingdom. There's no better way to start your weekend than with a few of your favorite rides and Wishes!

Celebrating the weekend with a Mickey cake pop, of course!

Logan and I have been friends for a long time, and it's so nice to have someone from home here again! Especially someone who loves the parks as much as I do!

As always, I miss everyone at home so much but I still love it here. It makes me a little sad to see everyone posting pictures of snow, but I just spent an hour laying out by the pool which is as good as playing in the snow...and warmer! I'm excited to see my family next week as well as several friends from home. I'm also very excited to run in the 10K here at Disney next weekend with friends! Thank you for your continued prayers and support!