Epcot

Today we all met up at Epcot.  Wyatt was super excited to be going back to Epcot since there are a lot of fun rides he really likes there and of course one of Wyatt's favorite bear friends, Duffy, is always at Epcot waiting to give Wyatt a big hug!!

 

When we arrived at the park we found the picture from our honeymoon that is on a plaque right outside of Epcot from almost 6 years ago.  Then we stopped to take a little picture in front of the cool golf ball:

 Daddy checking out the car of the future which was apparently loaded with tons and tons of ice cold coke. 

 The monorail crossing just before the Epcot golf ball:

Wyatt waiting in line to see Duffy decided to write a song about him:

Wyatt gets a big hug from Duffy and gives a big smile:

 And since Duffy is a part of the family:

 About to get on Maelstrom:

 We had some extra table service dining credits to use up so we decided to have a nice lunch in Mexico. 

 Wyatt decided to take a nice picture of Daddy and Mommy enjoying our romantic lunch.  He is getting to be a really good photographer.

 Afterward we went on the Mexico ride. Wyatt loves the Mexico ride because everywhere he turns there is a crazy Donald Duck.

 Sk8er BoyEE!!

 Wyatt showing his love for Figment:

 Ready for his favorite ride, Spaceship Earth, I guess the love of history is in the genes!

 And perhaps the acting is in the genes as well, is this not the perfect tortured pose.  Someone call Shakespere, we found him a new star.

That night we had a late night dinner at Chef Mickey's.  This is the neat parade where the kids
 all twirl their napkins around and cheer on all of the characters as they march around:

 Wyatt and William with Goofy:

 Wyatt gives Goofy a low five:

 Wyatt and Minnie Mouse:

A Full Day & A Date with the Boys

 

Today we headed down to Downtown Disney for the House of Blues Gospel Sunday Brunch.  We did this in February and loved it so much we had to share it with the whole family. 

 

 

 Wyatt getting his praise on:

 Last time we were all in Disney Nonna really wanted to go up in the balloon and see the view all around and since we had just been blessed we thought why not give it a try. 

 So up we all went:

 Wyatt wasn't afraid at all:

 It was really neat to see all the area around Disney.  You could see all four parks from up there:

 The balloon on the water:

 And from the ground (this was acutally the ride right after us)

First we headed to the Magic Kingdom but soon we agreed to head back to Coronado Springs and go for a swim.

 Daddy and Wyatt going down the water slide:

 A big splash:

 A very wet wet Bubs after we all went swimming:

 The Dig site:

 Wyatt insisting he gets to be the button pusher in the elevator.

 Uncle John, Aunt Maggie, Nonna, and Grandaddy headed to Victoria and Alberts (the best restaurant in all of Disney) and we got to have a special night with the boys.  Since we hadn't been to Epcot yet we thought we would go and see what we could do around there.

We started out with Turtle Talk with Crush.  We have gone a number of times and Wyatt has never expressed an interest in talking to the turtle but this time he displayed the old phrase "When in Rome".   A little backstory before you play this, Crush was curious what it was that the humans ate.  So he picks on a human child and asks him what his favorite food was and the child responded "fish" and everyone roars with laughter while Crush looks at the child with his mouth agape (being an under the sea creature I don't think Crush took too kindly to finding out that kid loved fish).  Then he moved on and asked if any kids had a question for him.  OF course Wyatt raises his hand and he catches Crush's eye.  Crush asks Wyatt, "What is your question for me little dude" and Wyatt responds:

 

A Dory moment indeed.  It was hilarious and poor Wyatt didn't know what to say.  The boys joked about that the rest of the evening.

One of the rides Wyatt was finally tall enough to get on was Soarin.  We saw that there was a 50 minute wait and somehow we thought that it would be no problem at all to wait in the line.  Well, two kids can get into a lot more trouble than one.  The boys were chasing each other, and having a blast with each other.  Then they were swinging from the bars and a little girl saw and grabbed the chain in front of her (which happened to be magnetic) and the chain broke and she slammed to the floor-whoops but not our problem.  Then the boys would take turns licking each other on the face like Stitch did in the movie. 

Man were we happy when we reached our boarding call:

After that we were getting hungry so we all agreed to go to the boardwalk and see what we could get for dinner:

While waiting for pizza we had fun taking pictures of all sorts of things:



 And doing neat poses

 William staged this pose, look at those models:

 I thought it would be cool to go back to the Beach Club and go to the Ice cream shop there and get what they call a kitchen sink (a 16 scoop ice cream served in a kitchen sink).  William told me he ate a lot on the trip and was pretty sure he had already gained 100 pounds.  That was a good reminder because I am pretty sure I gained one hundred pounds as well.  So we walked over to the bridge and then the fireworks from Epcot started going off so we put the boys on our shoulders and watched the show.

 By the end of the night these two little guys had really tuckered each other out and I promised William that if I couldn't get him an ice cream I would give him the money for one.  Looks like I owe William some $.

More Disney Days to come!

Party for the Senses

Party for the Senses, Food So Great It Deserves Its Own Posts

 

Those who know me know that I am a major foodie.  I love art that I can eat and as you may also know my hunger tends to be somewhat insatiable.  This year the adults got to partake in a very special meal called "Party for the Senses" that is a part of Epcot's Annual Food and Wine Festival.  

 It was all decked out with gorgeous colorful glowing chandeliers and tons of booths offering original food creations and delicious wines/bears.

 I must say it was fitting that our plate be an artist's pallate because everything was so great and really creative.  I swore to myself that I would try every tasting plate in the brochure and I just about did that.  I kept track with a pen and the menu to make sure.

 You can tell from this picture that I am just fat and happy.  It was a great evening and very romantic!

John and Maggie had been to the Party for the Senses before so they were our resident experts on what to do and how to get things.  I loved the event so much and I am super grateful for all they did so we could all attend.

 As if surrounding me with unlimited amazing amounts of delicious food wasn't enough they had La Nouba perform samples from the show.  It was so cool to watch (although I must admit once a Pooh Bear always a Pooh Bear so I was concentrating a little more on my tummy).

So enough with my jibber jabber, let's get down to the nitty gritty, the food.  These are just some of the highlights dishes.  There was also an international cheese bar which had the most creamy cheeses I have ever tasted.  I swear if I hadn't been warned that there was going to be a ton of delicious entrees to try I would have moved my chair to the cheese bar and kept eating until it was empty.

 Hands down the winner, a butternut squash stuffed ravioli topped with delicious candied pecans! Oh I want to be eating it even as I speak.  I may have to try to replicate this meal very soon, also a very good vegetarian option.

 This duck was cooked beautifully:

 Lobster tail is always a plus and with arugala, GET OUT!

 Buffalo Sausage and quail egg.  So I have had a very big obsession with quail eggs ever since I read this whole thing about it being favored by the Tudor family at meals.  I love quail eggs hardboiled because the yolk is beautifully creamy and it has little blue speckles all over it so it is also very pretty.  This was a neat combo because the Buffalo sausage had a sweet meets spicy flavor and the quail egg was this beautiful creamy dream (sorry I drank a lot of wine, beer, & etcs. that night so this may be a little embellished).  It mixed really well together but each bite standed alone very well.

 I believe this is the pork belly.  There is no meat more dear to me than pork!  And pork belly is the top of all pork dishes as far as I am concerned.  I love how that beautiful layer of fat just seals in all of the delicious flavors and how soft it feels in your mouth.  Everytime I have eaten pork belly it has always been such a soft sweet meat. 

 And on to dessert

This dessert was amazing.  I loved the salty carmel corn mixed with the cold ice cream in the center. Oh so good

 I thought this had the best presentation:

 And come on how can you not love a good gooey chocolate mplten cake!

By the end of the night I had sensory overload and was just a huge mess.  I was so happy I kept thanking everyone I saw for everything.  I knew it was time to head home when a lady gave us our bags to put the complimentry wine glasses in and I had this overwhelming urge to throw my arms around her and hug her.  I had an inner struggle that kept saying "I really just want to hold her" and the other side arguing "ok you just had way too much wine, whatever you do do not hug her"  Lucky for her I resisted the urge. 

Now I think would be an appropriate time to say that I am thinking this needs to be an annual thing, so watch out lady because you never know when I'll be back!