Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

A FEW REMINDERS - If you are a Newbie, go to my sidebar and click on Newbie Information. I know I keep repeating this, and the Oldies are getting tired of it, but I'm averaging at least one or two Newbies a week, and I want them to get with the program!

Also, Belinda's Project 365 is up and running. You'll never know how simple, ordinary and boring your life is until you take a picture every day for a month (much less a year). The phrase "I've got to get out more," keeps coming up again and again and again!

Josh's Birth Day Story will begin Monday. He will turn 16 Sunday and so next week will be a baby picture bonanza of my Josh. He's more than a little thrilled at the prospect, I'm sure (Code for DREADING IT MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE). Actually, he is a little worried about "naked baby pictures," as well he should be. I have hundreds of them. I knew they would come in handy during the teenage years, and just the threat of making one or two of them poster-sized and putting them on the side of the big gold van and driving past the school several times a day was one of my best parenting tools with Austin... and it's working pretty well with Josh, too.

Some people call it blackmail... I like to call it genius!

A Simple Life's one-year anniversary is coming up October 16, and you all know what that means... CONTEST! There will be more details regarding the CONTEST next week.

Weekend Happenings

Stop me now if you've heard this before... We're going to some football games this weekend. Oh, so you have heard this before. Sorry. This is our life.

Mikie is going to watch the high school game Friday night and Josh will be dressed out on the sidelines. I'll be with Roxie attending another function.

Saturday will find us once again going in different directions. Grandmother, Katie, Zac, Roxie and I are heading to Jacksonville to watch JSU's first home game (and try to spot Austin in the band one more time). After the game, Austin will pack up dirty laundry and head home while Roxie and I hopefully get to visit my niece, Brandi, and my great-nephew, Matthew, for a few minutes before we, too, head home.

Mike and Josh will be leaving Saturday morning to travel to Tennessee for the Auburn game Saturday night. This is a huge accomplishment for Josh. He hasn't gone out of town with only one parent overnight in over four years. He hasn't been able to because of his illness. The fact he is looking forward to it is something we weren't sure we'd ever see.

He and Mike will be coming in Sunday morning for his family birthday party Sunday afternoon.

Three teenagers and two drivers... If you look at me for five minutes straight, you can see me age right in front of your very eyes. It's my newest trick... That, and sitting in the corner drooling.

Man, it is getting harder and harder to get the Faulkner Five together on the weekends with Austin home, but we are coming together to watch Amazing Race Sunday night. I'M DECLARING IT!

All in all, a busy weekend, but full of wonderful possibilities and adventures with family and friends. Check in Monday to see how it all turns out!

TV Review

Survivor - So far, no one we picked at the beginning of the season has been kicked off the island... but it's just a matter of time. I'm still thinking Roxie's pick (the doctor) could go all the way, but the rest of us aren't very good at the "first impression" pick. I hate to say it, but I'm liking the villain more and more. He may have the best chance at the $1,000,000... even though as an oil company owner, I doubt he needs the cash. It was a pretty good show, but a little predictable. I didn't think the challenge was very difficult. I mean, I could never have made it, but I think it's pretty safe to say the only real "surviving" I'm ever going to do is when we are camping and they close the bathrooms for 15 minutes for cleaning. Talk about harrowing!

Amazing Race - Wow! In the first show alone, two teams were kicked off. It's hard to pick a winner right now. I LOVE the two male friends (one of whom has Asperger's Syndrome). Their relationship is wonderful to see, and I would love for them to win. But then you have the Harlem Globetrotter duo. Their attitude is wonderful. They are having a good time and they definitely know how to work a crowd. Very likable. There are other interesting teams. I'll have to wait another week or two to see who I think will win it all!

Again, this is all Roxie talks about. She just knows she could win this race. And as I've said before... "The day I let a camera follow any member of my family around 24/7 will be the end of my life as the 'perfect mother.'" I have a fake persona I've carefully maintained over the years, and I have no intention of letting a silly race ruin it! (Even though I'm pretty sure she'd win the $1,000,000.)

Disney Week - Part Five

NOTE - I've skipped three days of narrative from our trip. The following is the description of our last day at "The Happiest Place on Earth."

We awoke knowing it was our last day at Disney. We had a plan, but we were still saddened to think of leaving within a few hours. Mike and Austin were ready to try Rocking Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror. On the other hand, Roxie and I were bound and determined to meet Cinderella even though I had been unable to get reservations for Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast. I had read if you arrived early (7:30 to 7:45 a.m.), Cinderella would take a few minutes and visit with the peasants in the lobby. When we arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 7:40, I was relieved to notice we were in a very small crowd. When we were let in the main gates, we quickly made our way to the castle where a maidservant informed us Cinderella no longer visited with people before breakfast. She had stopped doing it only weeks before. Roxie handled the disappointment a lot better than I did!!!

Joshua, on the other hand, wanted to ride Astro Orbiter one last time. It was his only request. We got next to the rope at Tommorowland and waited. I had read several accounts about the "lowering of the rope." You have to be ready to run to your attraction as soon as the Disney employees drop the rope. I turned and saw hundreds and hundreds of people behind us. I picked Roxie up. Three more minutes... I turned again and grabbed Joshua's shirt collar in my hand. The rope dropped. We were off. We ran as if our lives depended on it. Faster and faster, people breathing down our necks, shrieking children, sweat pouring down my back, my arm feeling as though it would fall off from the weight of carrying Roxie. We could see the sign!!! We were almost there. And then...

We waited. The person in charge of the ride would not let us get on until at least three more people came to ride Astro Orbiter. We waited five minutes and finally a man and his son walked up. They let us ride, not once, but three times in a row before anyone else even wandered over to the attraction. I later learned that everyone had run to Alien Encounter and Space Mountain. Astro Orbiter is not considered a major ride. At least not to anyone but Joshua.

We also enjoyed another spin on Buzz before we headed back to the hotel to finish packing. Austin and Mike were not far behind, and they had enjoyed Rocking Rollercoaster immensely. The Tower of Terror turned out to be something they felt they had to ride to show their manhood, so they were proud, but not especially excited about ever riding it again.

It was time to go. We were all very quiet as we drove out of the park. However, the fun wasn't over quite yet. We went to the World's Largest McDonald's to eat lunch, and the kids were appropriately impressed. We spent a little time playing video games before we began our long, but uneventful, trip back home. We talked endlessly about our favorite things during our time in the van, and I think we each had an unforgettable adventure.

Austin will always remember Disney for the thrill rides, the humor and the Luau. Josh was most impressed with the shows and the character breakfasts. Mike said he was just happy watching his family having so much fun day after day. As for me and Roxie, we experienced the magic of Disney. It is amazing to see things through your children's eyes. Watching the boys, I saw them trying things they would never have imagined possible days earlier (whether it was different foods or terrifying rides). They were so courageous. Watching Mikie, I was amazed at how relaxed he was concerning the spending of money. (We didn't go over budget, but we didn't come in under budget either.) Watching Roxie, I was a four year-old girl again who just wanted to look at Cinderella's Castle for hours and hours, and dance with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and meet Winnie the Pooh. I can't imagine we'll have an experience similar to Disney ever again.

As Tigger would so eloquently say, "It was TIGGERIFIC!!!!"

Book

The book I would recommend today is the Unofficial Guide to Disney World 2010 by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa. They update the book each year to add new rides, attractions, etc.

This is an easy book to read for your first trip. Each ride in each park is rated by age groups. This is wonderful when you are mapping out your day and you can know what to skip because of their star rating system. There are maps for every park and itineraries telling you exactly which attractions to go to first, which rides to skip, which attractions can wait until right before the park closes, etc., etc.

There is a section that gives you tip after tip after tip of how to make the most of your Disney experience. There is also a "Reader Review" section in the back of the book filled with letters (good and bad) from people who have been to Disney. They talk about anything and everything from transportation to restaurants to prices to best parks and why, etc., etc. (Take this section with a grain of salt. What is one man's worst nightmare might be your favorite thing in the park.)

The beginning of the book gives you all the information you would need to know for your stay in your park. For example, our van had to be serviced at Disney as soon as we pulled in. Because of the book, we knew a valet would follow Mike to the garage and then bring Mike back to the hotel. We received an estimate within a day, and were very surprised to find out it was affordable. (Yes, it could have been repaired a little cheaper at home, but it was still within reason.)

The book also gave us the number of the pharmacy which was not on Disney property, but delivered prescription drugs to the hotels on Disney property twice a day. Yes, there was a delivery charge, but it was not too high, and it was beyond wonderful to walk in and have our medications waiting for us at the front desk.

It's a good planning book. It's a good reference tool. It's something you need to read before you leave home, and it's a book that needs to be packed in your suitcase to refer to while you are staying at Disney.

I've loaned it to many, many different families, and because it is easy to read and understand (and you can pick the section you are most interested in and go to that part of the book in a matter of seconds), it is my pick as the ultimate Disney Guide Book.

Have a fantastic fall weekend. Don't miss one minute of October and November's beauty. I wait for these two months ALL year long, and they are gone in an instant. Fix a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate and sit on the deck, or on the porch, or in the driveway. Wherever there are leaves fluttering down around you and the air is crisp and cool, it's a good place. Have your daily quiet time in the beautiful outdoors. Have fun with your family and friends this weekend. Don't forget... next week is Josh's Birth Day Story. It's not quite as long (or dramatic) as Roxie's, but it is his story and it MUST BE TOLD!

We'll be starting new fall traditions, dates, books, recipes and parties. Please check back often.

Take care, and I'll talk to you Monday.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda