Friday Favorites

Disney Edition:

Our Favorite Restaurants

Since our family vacation to Disney World is just a mere few weeks away, I thought I'd share some our favorite spots to eat while at Disney World. Some of them are a hands down must do if you have little ones and some are just plain good places to eat. While cost is not a factor in my reviews or opinions because we have never been to Disney World not on a dinning plan. We feel this works best for us. Our entire trip including food is paid for before we even check in and although we include additional funds in our Disney budget for more snacks or an extra meal here and there, the dinning plan just makes our life and the vacation easier. And don't forget to make your reservations ahead of time, most of the restaurants book fast and waiting for over an hour for a good place to eat is not my idea of a vacation. 

Character meals are a favorite for us because it is a double duty stop. We get to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the park, eat some yummy food, and meet some favorite Disney characters. Our two favorites for these in Magic Kingdom are The Crystal Palace and Cinderella's Royal Table. We love Hollywood & Vine with Disney Jr. Pals at Hollywood Studios. Another favorite is Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot. 

The past few trips to Disney World, we have given ourselves two days in Magic Kingdom. This has the most fun for all of us and the kids can ride just about everything. Thus, we have eaten a dozen times there over the past several trips. Liberty Tree Tavern is a new favorite. It has yummy food and we will be eating there again. We have been to Tony's Town Square several times and it does not disappoint. They have a great Italian menu. 

Two favorites at Hollywood Studios is Mama's Melrose Ristorante Italiano and the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. Both have great food in an awesome atmosphere. The Yak & Yeti in Animal Kingdom is great, quiet place for some tasty Asian cuisine. We always dine there on our Animal Kingdom day. 

All the hotels especially the moderate & deluxe resorts have amazing restaurants as well. We typically always dine at our hotel's main restaurant during our stay. We have also done Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort and Cinderella's Happily Ever After Dinner at 1900 Park Fare which is at the Grand Floridian Resort. 

The food is one of my favorites at Disney World and part of the perks of being on vacation. We get to enjoy yummy meals and snacks all day long. And this mama does not have to cook the meal or clean up afterwards is a huge plus especially when on vacation :)

Menu Monday

Monday: Italian Chicken Bake

Tuesday: Chicken Salad sandwiches & soup

Wednesday: Farmer's Breakfast Casserole

Thursday: Eat Out

Friday: Pizza Biscuits (Family Movie Night)

Saturday: Eat Out

Sunday: Spaghetti & Garlic Bread

Weekend Recap

I heart long weekends! I am thankful the Army typically gets a 4 day for most holidays and that my soldier was home this year to enjoy it with. We have had a great time. We always try to make the most of these long weekends.

Wednesday morning the BN Rear D had a family fun run so we woke up early and headed onto Post to walk with daddy and his soldiers. Luckily it was only about 1.5 miles total and the boys sat in the double jogger and P walked. It was a success and lots of soldiers had their families or dogs with them. Afterwards, a bunch of us all went to breakfast together. P went back to work with Brandon and I headed home with the boys. After I laid Scott down for his morning nap, I got to work on whipping up the casseroles for the Thanksgiving meal. We spent most of the afternoon playing outside. Then we decided to head out to town to get some dinner. We ended up at the new Panera Bread and it did not disappoint. After that we went down to the Riverwalk to see all the Christmas lights. It was a great night for it and all the lights were beautiful. We let the kiddos play on the playground before heading back to the van and heading home. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was on TV that night and we all enjoyed watching it.

Thursday morning we woke up and had monkey bread for breakfast. Then I got to work on cooking the pumpkin pie. Mimi & Papa were on their way to see us from Wisconsin so we planned to wait to eat our meal till 330/4. After I laid Scott down for his morning nap, we prepared the turkey and got it into the oven. Brandon took P and Henry up to Walmart to get the newspaper so we could check out all the Black Friday ads. The weather was very nice that day so we soaked up some outside time. I finished up cooking that afternoon and we all sat down to eat around 4. It was all very yummy and we were thankful to have Mimi & Papa to share the meal with. That night after we got the kids all ready for bed and laid Scott down, Brandon & I left to venture out into town and check out some of the sales. We made a pit stop at Steak n Shake for a little snack. Then we waited in line outside of Toys R Us for almost 1.5 hours before making our way in. We found the toys we were looking for and checked out then walked over to the Target. Our goal was to score the RCA dual 7" portable DVD players that they had for $59 which was $70 off the original price. That place was a made house but thankfully they still had some of the DVD players so we grabbed one and a few other things and got in line. We waited over an hour just to check out. We stopped at Walmart before heading home but we didn't see anything there. All in all, it was kind of fun night!

Friday we had already planned to take the kiddos bowling on Post at Hooper's. They were giving away 3 free games for Black Friday. We all had lunch at Zaxby's before splitting off. Papa stayed home with Scott and Mimi came with us to bowl. It was crowded but luckily we scored a lane. The kids loved it! It was a lot of fun for all of us. That afternoon Brandon started decorating the outside of the house for Christmas. Its still coming together but it looks so pretty. Scott loved looking at the lights. We all had leftovers for dinner. Then after all the kids were ready for bed, Brandon and I went on a date to the movies. We saw Lincoln and it was very good! I definitely recommend it.

Saturday morning my dad headed back to Wisconsin. Peighton, Mimi & I went down to Nashville to do some shopping at the Opry Mills Mall while Brandon stayed home with the boys. We had a good time but after we broke for lunch the mall was getting unreasonably crowded. We did a few more stores then headed on home. That afternoon Brandon finished decorating the outside for Christmas as well as put the tree up in the house and I decorated it with ornaments. We ordered pizza for lunch and watched some football. So proud of the South Carolina Gamecocks in another victory over their rival Clemson! It was a good game!!

Sunday was a bit of a lazy day. I caught up on some laundry. We all went and had some lunch then stopped by Target to pick up a few things then headed to the museum for some play time for the kiddos. All 3 munchkins had fun and played hard! We came back home and let Scott take his afternoon nap. Brandon grilled pork chops for dinner. We had our usual nightly routine and all the kids had their baths. Nice, quiet end to a great long weekend!! But we are ready to get back to our normalness ;)

Disney Countdown

We are less than 30 days till our Disney vacation!!!

24 days till we check into the Wilderness Lodge

&

23 days till we hit the road!!!

Woohoo!! This family is ready :)

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!!!

I have much to be thankful for this year. I am blessed beyond measure. God is good!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Thanksgiving Day Menu

Cooking has already begun in this house in preparation for tomorrow's yummy feast!!! I do not always like to cook but when it comes to the holidays I love it!! I like to make as much as possible because getting to taste a little bit of everything is my favorite. All the casseroles have been made today and just to have to be "topped" tomorrow and baked. Plus, I made some sausage balls this afternoon for us to snack on tomorrow while all the food is cooking. Here is what's on the line up for Turkey day:

Turkey

Homemade Mashed Potatoes

Stuffing

Gravy

Cranberry Sauce

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Broccoli & Cheese Casserole

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Rolls

Deviled Eggs

Pumpkin Pie

Menu Monday

Monday: Crockpot Sausage Bog with Cornbread

Tuesday: Tortellini & Marinara Sauce

Wednesday: Eat Out

Thursday: Thanksgiving

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Grilled Pork Chops

Sunday: Eat Out

A Weekend in Wisconsin

This past weekend we headed out on an adventure and headed northwest towards Oak Creek, WI. My dad's job currently has him working at the Caterpillar plant in South Milwaukee. Last weekend my parents met here in Clarksville and my mom headed back with my dad. They wanted to take Henry back with him and it worked out well that the following weekend was a four day so we would be able to travel up there and pick him up. Henry had a great week at Mimi & Papa's and soaked up the one on one time he got every day! On Friday morning Brandon, Peighton, Scott and I headed out and made the journey without too much trouble and arrived about 9 hours later in Oak Creek. Henry was so happy to see us and we were to see him even P! That night we had pizza for dinner and a quiet night in the apartment. Saturday Brandon, Papa and I took Henry to the park and let him play while Scott took his morning nap and P had some bonding time with Mimi. Then we headed to the Apple Holler. It was a very neat place. They had a restaurant where we ate a yummy lunch. But they also had a petting zoo, a maze, a playground and lots more activities for the kiddos. After lunch, we let them play out there for well over an hour. It was lots of fun for all of us! That night my parents watched all 3 munchkins so Brandon and I could have a date night. We went and explored downtown Milwaukee and had an amazing dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery. Then we did lots of walking around. It was so nice to just spend some time together! We really appreciated it :) Sunday morning we woke up and checked the weather and they were calling for some snow that night. We made the decision to head on home after lunch due to the unknown with the weather forecast. My dad had to go to work for a few hours so while Scott took his morning nap Brandon & I took P and Henry back to the park until time to meet my dad for lunch. We loaded up the car, ate lunch with Mimi & Papa then headed back out on the road. It was very windy most of the drive and it rained the rest of the trip after we stopped for dinner. But luckily the kids did well and we were home by 930 that night. We had a great visit and enjoyed getting to see another part of the country :)