WaltDisney World 2008

So after we all were settled in at the condo we started to plan out our time at the parks. Saturday morning everyone slept in. I snuck out for a workout before the boys woke up and then we all got ready for the park. We usually spend the first day at Magic Kingdom and this trip was no different. Alex dropped Anna, me, and the boys off at the transfer station and we hopped on the Monorail to make our way into the park.

D, Ethan, & Aidan on the Monorail

The boys were really excited once we stepped foot on the Monorail. Aidan recognized the castle for quite a ways away and vocalized it he could see it so everyone in our cabin could hear.

The Castle

We asked the boys which ride they would like to do first and of course their response was "Buzz Lightyear". We didn't want to wait in line so we grabbed Fast Passes and then took a ride on the people mover to burn some time. Buzz Light year was fun and the boys were ready to move onto the next adventure. We strolled through Toon Town and picked up Fast Passes for Winnie the Pooh.

It was time for a snack and Anna and I agreed it was time for our favorite, Dole Pineapple soft serve swirls and Dole Pineapple Floats. Ethan enjoyed his Mickey Mouse shaped chocolate dipped ice cream and Aidan devoured a tub of popcorn.

After a snack we were all refuelled and walked over to the Jungle Boat Cruise. Aidan got a special badge to measure how long we stood in line. He thought it was pretty interesting.

Aidan with his badge

Alex picked us up later in the evening and we went out for some dinner. The kids were worn out but everyone ate their dinner :)

Day Two: Epcot

On day two we got ready and made our way to the futuristic and diverse Epcot.

Aidan & Auntie D on the way to Epcot

Auntie D & Ethan on the Way to Epcot

The "Golf Ball"according to Ethan & Aidan

As soon as we arrived at Epcot we made our way to The Land to grab our Fast Passes for Soarin' that afternoon. Next it was off to The Nemo ride. It started raining pretty hard, well torrential downpour is a more accurate description. We ran from the Nemo Ride back to The Land and got lunch and then rode Living with the Land or vice versa, I can't remember. We also rode on Ellen's Energy Universe, a 37 minute ride in hopes that Aidan would take a short nap. He stayed awake the entire ride, and I ended up taking a little snooze. It was still sprinkling but we walked over to The World Showcase. We stopped in Germany so I could get a pretzel. My pretzel wasn't as delicious as I remembered from last year, but we all shared it so it wasn't a complete waste.

Aidan helped me burn a lot of the extra calories I was consuming because he always wanted to be carried. The little guy was also constantly trying to drink all of the water out of my Camelback.

We also rode the Norwegian Boat ride. We walked through the rest of the World Showcase and headed back to The Land to ride Soarin. On our way I stopped at the giant Christmas tree and had Anna take a photo of me with the boys.

We walked right onto Soarin. It was Aidan's first time on the ride and we were all anxious about how he was going to react. The lights went out and we went up and his face lit up. He loved it. We ate dinner that night in Downtown Disney at Portabellow. I had a delicious salad and the most wonderful Portabello and Polenta dish. After dinner Anna and I shopped at the World of Disney while Alex and the boys played at Lego Land. We had dessert at the Ghirardelli Ice Cream shop. Anna and the boys shared the most delicious Peppermint Bark Sundae. I had a scoop of Espresso n' cream, and Alex had a banana split.

Ethan enjoying part of the Peppermint Bark Sundae

Mmmmmm

The next day we visited Disney's Hollywood Studios. Ethan wanted to see "Fire Cars" which is really called something like: Lights, Actions, Motor something or other. But before we could go and see Fire Cars we got to meet up with the Power Rangers.

We had a fun day at The Studios. Anna and I got to ride Aerosmith's Rockin' Rollercoaster. We headed back to the condo for a little re-coup time and then went back to The Magic Kingdom. We all got to ride in the front of the Monorail, and the boys couldn't have been more excited.
The next park on the list was Animal Kingdom. It was COLD that day. I was bummed because right before we left I threw my only pair of long pants into the washer. I tried to stay warm, but most of the day I had goosebumps. Anna, Ethan, Aidan, and I first watched the Finding Nemo Musical. We saw this show last year, but it was still amazing. We filled the day at Animal Kingdom. The boys got to play in the Dino Land play area. Ethan played a carnival game, and we all rode on one of the dinosaur rides.
We also rode on the Safari ride, visited Rafiki's affection station where I ran into the same goat I posted a photo of last year. I couldn't believe s/he was still there with the same funny smile. After a cold day at Animal Kingdom we took the boys home for a bit so we could all bundle up. We headed back to Epcot later that night for dinner in China, and to watch the fireworks. While we were there we rode on Test Track and Finding Nemo again. On our way over we stopped at the Boardwalk hotel to look at the large gingerbread house they have in the lobby.

Aidan sneaking around the gingerbread house

The next day we headed back to Hollywood Studios so Ethan could have another shot at attending Jedi Training School. Unfortunately no such luck. Poor kid wanted to fight Darth Vader so bad. D & Aidan in front of the Muppet Fountain

We did ride the new Toy Story Ride: Midway Mania. It was a great ride.

Inside Midway Mania

Anna, Aidan, and Alex

We also got to watch the Osbourne Family's Dancing Lights which were AMAZING.



These are a couple of photos that I can't remember the exact timeline of them. I think it was on the second to the last night we were there. We rode the Goofy Rollercoaster in ToonTown. Aidan was thinking about getting on the ride, but just as we sat down he was having no part in that rollercoaster. Ethan and I enjoyed the ride though.

One night we ate dinner at the Wilderness Lodge's Whispering Canyon Restaurant. Aidan was antsy and so the waiter gave him a job, and he was really serious about sweeping the floor.


It was a great trip. I loved spending time with Anna, Alex, Ethan and Aidan. I can't wait to visit them again soon.

Made My Way to Florida

With my belly still full from a fabulous Thanksgiving, I got out of bed on Friday and got to the airport with plenty of time to grab a cup of coffee and chill out before I started my marathon plane ride to Orlando. My flight was loooooooong! We stopped in Salt Lake then Denver, and then made our final stretch into Orlando. The pilot must have had a couple of Red Bulls because we were early on each of the legs.
Once I landed and picked up my bag, I met up with Anna about 15 minutes later. We made our way to the rental car place then picked up our park tickets. Finally we made it to the condo. Holy cow, this place it nice. I was stoked to see a fitness center and to find out the pool is heated to a balmy 84 degrees (the kids won't want to get out). Anna and I grabbed some food then took a cat nap until we had to go and pick up the rest of our crew: Alex, Ethan, and Aidan. The boys were wound up when we picked them up but the response I got from them when they saw me was priceless. Aidan ran at me with arms outstretched and latched onto me with a death grip. We didn't get to bed until after midnight, whew.
This morning I was up before everyone else and decided to get in a short workout before we make our way through the rest of the day. Right now we are just feeding kids and getting started for the day. I think we will hit the Magic Kingdom today. I can't wait!
More to come on the Holley-McCallister 2008 Florida Adventure

Thanksgiving~~Griswald Style

Thanksgiving was a blast this year. I started baking and prepping on Monday because I knew I would have a busy week with getting ready to leave for Florida. I made Red Velvet & Chocolate Whoopie Cakes, a Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle, and Stuffed Mushrooms. Beck (with the help of Mike) checked everything out. She isn't usually allowed to even put her nose on the table if there is food on it, but for the sake of a funny photo I let it slide.


We spent Thanksgiving with the rest of the Orphaned Griswalds. We had a great time catching up with people that we haven't seen in a long time. There was approximately 30 or more people that attended this year. Everyone pitches in by making something for the meal and bringing logistical items. I can't tell you how much I love having this fun group of people to spend time with.

Rodney and Mike B.

Ian & Mike
Ian, Barb, Alex, & Mike

Wayne stealing my dessert

Walker holding tight at the dessert tableSusann, Mark, Sarai, Ian, & KathyThe inside table with part of the groupOlivia enjoying Thanksgiving DinnerIlene with Mr.Kitty, Ian, me, & AlexSusann & TimKathy, Michelle, Paige, Linda, Mark, Barb, & Denise

The food as always was incredible. Alex made this lovely cheesecake.

The spread

The spread continues

And continues

We had a great time and were so stuffed! We love having Thanksgiving with the Griswalds. A BIG THANK YOU goes out to Susie F. for organizing the event and to Tim D. for opening his house to all of us.

Collars, toys, chili, pie and more......

It has been a long time since I last posted, I have been a busy lady. Since all but one of my nursing courses are over I have a lot more free time that allows me to do some of the things I really love to do. After the cupcake marathon I went on a sewing marathon. Mike needed a new blanket for the station so I got to work on a quilt for him. I didn't get a chance to take a photo of it, but it turned out well and he says it keeps him nice and warm. While I was at the fabric store (three times in three days) I found some fun fabric and made a couple of dog collars. I made one for Nikkia (Steph's dog) and one for each of my dogs.
The collar pictured above is Beck's. She needed something feminine (people always call her a boy) but something that shows what a bad a** she can be.

The one above is for Cassius'. I don't know that the cards have any real meaning for him. There weren't a lot of masculine options at the fabric store and most of the fire fighter prints were too big to be seen on a collar.

After finishing the collars I got to work on a new jacket for Beck. She, unlike Cassius, doesn't need to wear one that often but it is nice when we are traveling during the winter or when she goes back country skiing with us. I don't know if the photo is all that detailed but the pattern on the fabric is more skulls and crossbones. She looks pretty tough I have to admit.

The dogs also got a couple of new toys a couple last weekend. Cassius got a new stuffie, which he never wants to put down, so he sleeps with it and hauls it with him everywhere.

Beck got a new Nylabone that she takes a lot of her frustrations out on as well as a sack of new tennis balls. This next photo is just cute. They actually do like each other. I didn't stop with sewing.....I have been baking and cooking up a storm. Once a rotation Mike has to cook for his crew. I usually end up preparing something for them, not because he doesn't want to cook for them, but because I am always too excited about being able to cook for more than the two of us. This rotation I made up a crock pot full of chili. And you can't have chili without cornbread, so there were cornbread muffins with creamed corn mixed in.To finish it off I used a recipe from Cooking Light for an Old Fashioned Honey Oatmeal Cake. This cake is super easy and ultra delicious.

When the door to the station opened two of the guys shouted, "The Food Lady is here" which had me in stitches.

On Wednesday one of my co-workers asked me if I would be willing to make a pie for her to enter in a pie auction for her church. She is going on a medical mission to Guatemala in a couple of months and the group is raising money to buy all of their supplies for the trip. I couldn't just make one because I had a chance to make pie, and it was for a great cause. I used some of the peaches from our peach picking adventure this summer to make the first pie.

And of course you can't go without an apple pie.

Tomorrow I am will be planning for Thanksgiving. This year at the Orphan's Thanksgiving I am responsible for two desserts and an appetizer. I know for sure what one of the desserts will be, but I am still working on the second one. I also have to decide on what kind of appetizer I want to bring. I have an idea, but need to work out the logistics of it all. Thanksgiving pre-game action photos to come. Oh, and I just have to say how excited I am for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the National Dog Show that follows. Not only will I be cooking/baking on Thursday but I will have good TV to watch while I am working.

Cupcake Marathon

Thursday was my first real day off in 10 weeks. Three out of my four nursing classes ended on Tuesday so I had no studying to do for the first time in some time. Mike was at work so I had the entire house to myself, well the dogs were there. I let myself sleep in a little, took the dogs for a run, hit the gym later in the morning, and then decided to begin the cupcake baking marathon. I used one new recipe, coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and one old recipe, chocolate cupcakes with chocolate butter cream frosting. I ended up with 48 cupcakes, yikes. I took one mixed dozen to Mike and his crew at the station, 4 to my friend Sarah and her husband Steve, 24 to work for one of the nurse's birthday and I think I ended up with 4 at home and I ate one after all of my hard work. I should have taken a photo of the finished product, but I didn't get chance.

MMMmmmm frosting

As I was cleaning up my frosting supplies I saw Beck looking cute over in the corner of the room and I called her over to help me clean up. I let her work on an entire beater by herself because Cassius always pushes his way in forcing her out of the way.

After she finished her beater I brought out a second one and then called in the boy for reinforcement. ooo, just a little taste

Oh hey, that stuff is good

They double teamed the second beater.

We love to help

A Birthday Celebration with a Famous Chef

I have to admit; this post is about five days late. Last Saturday we celebrated Mark’s birthday. Mark is a dear friend of ours. Beck often stays with Mark and his two dogs, Bosco and Petey, when Mike and I are out of town. I had told Mark that I wanted to do something for him to celebrate his birthday, which was Monday November 3rd. I had been perusing the latest copy of “Everyday with Rachael Ray” and saw a really cool recipe that had a funny story behind it. The name of the article was called “Italian Lessons” and was about Anna Boiardi, who is the granddaughter of a famous chef that most children are familiar with: Chef Boyardee. Now don’t jump to any conclusions, I wasn’t about to have a dinner party serving food that resembles “Beefaroni”. The recipe was for a basic Basil Tomato Sauce and Cheesy Meatballs served over freshly made pasta. I did want to make fresh pasta, but for the sake of time, I bought fresh pasta. The story included other recipes for a complete meal, but I wanted to pick and choose for the party. The recipe was FABULOUS. The pasta dish was so good, and the leftovers were especially good, Italian food always tastes better the next day. I highly recommend picking of November’s issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray to read the article and get the recipe.

For dessert I made a double layer chocolate cake and served it with vanilla bean ice cream. I used one of my favorite recipes from, http://www.foodnetwork.com/. I have used this recipe, A Chocolate Cake That’s Got is All, a couple of times and it may be a little extra work, but it is well worth the result.
Brushy (Mike), Marissa, Jonathan, Chase (Deb & Tony’s son), Mike, and I had a wonderful evening celebrating Mark’s birthday.

Cassius had a lot of fun playing with Chase that evening as well. He kept a close eye on him, as he does with any young person that visits us. I woke up in the middle of the night to find Cassius snuggled up with Chase, and he wasn’t happy when I made him the dog bed in our room.