Wednesday

We ate breakfast and spend the morning repacking for our cruise. It was rainy and we waited until most of the rain left as well. Then we were off to the Magic Kingdom around noon. We went to Ray's Cafe or whatever it's called in Tomorrowland. Cute alien in there, didn't even know he was there. For some reason we've never eaten there, strange but true. We had lunch and were off to conquer the Magic Kingdom.

We rode Buzz (again), saw Monster's Inc. (I want to love it, but I just don't), saw "Carousel of Progress" and I let Mom talk me out of People Mover. (ugh) We moved on to Peter Pan & Small World in Fantasyland. Then on down to Haunted Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree and a Jungle Cruise. We did a little shopping and it was time for supper.

We had reservations for Crystal Palace! We've all eaten there several times before and are already booked again for October. The food's pretty good and I'm a big Winnie the Pooh and friend's fan. (I know, I know ... it's true though!)

It was a great day. The rain really cooled the temps down thank goodness. We packed alot into our day since it wasn't even a full one. I went back and "forced" a Minnie Mouse ice cream bar down even after all the other food. Ugh! But, you HAVE to use those snack credits, right?! We all came home with ALOT of rice crispy Mickey's!!! YUMMO~ Nothing like it for breakfast at home.



For the first time ever, I leave WDW with a smile on my face. Andy kept trying to make me cry with "When you wish upon a star...." and "goodbye Mickey"... He just couldn't make me sad though, I told him Mickey and the magic were going with us! He says "oh yeah......"!!

Tuesday

Tuesday morning was spent at the pool after breakfast. We decided to wait until a little later in the day to head to EPCOT. We ended up at the park a little after noon. It was cloudy on and off, thankfully that kept the temps down a little. And Mom & Dad were able to use our tickets (that came with the package deal) and get in again without paying extra. I'd wondered about that alot and it was nice that they got to use them! (afterall, we didn't need them... he he he he)





Mom & Dad enjoyed "Nemo" for the first time, but still missed Turtle Talk! I really wanted them to see that, but we missed the show just starting and didn't want to hang around too long. We did get to see them feeding the fish in the "Nemo Like" aquariums and it was pretty neat! Then we moved onto the Land and Dad's favorite ride. (The boat ride through the green house. Dad & Andy rode it 4 times in a row while Mom & I saw the last show of "Food Rocks" before it went away, several years ago.)

*I have to share a story: It's not exactly posting public worthy, if you think about it .. ask me to tell you about the land boat ride story!*

We got fast passes for Soarin' for that evening (the line was over an hour) and were off to visit our Imaginations. I LOVE Figment! He wasn't out for a visit and that made me sad. Moving right along and into an afternoon rain shower, we decided to use our first snack credit. We went different ways to pick a snack and sit for awhile under a shelter. The rain passed and we parted ways. Mom & Dad headed to the Universe of Energy (ugh) while Andy & I went to Test Track.











We ventured into Mexico and took a boat ride. Skipped a boat ride in Norway b/c it was having issues and the line was backing up. Then moved into China to watch the movie there and walk around some. Then it was time to head to Germany and get ready for dinner @ Biergarten.





Dinner was fantastic. I enjoyed it MUCH better than the first time! I tried all sorts of new foods and loved most of it. The show was fun as usual and Mom & Dad enjoyed themselves too. We never made it to the other half of "the world". It was time for our fast passes to Soarin' and we weren't about to miss that.

Mom & Dad LOVED their first Soarin' fight!! It is for sure one of our (Andy & me) favorite things to do in all of WDW now!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!! (Thanks to the guys & girls who assured me that I wouldn't get sick that first time and told me to ride it!)

We were tired and called it a night. I couldn't believe Dad was tired enough to even skip a ride in "the golf ball" as he calls it. It was another great day!

Monday

We got up and had breakfast before heading to MGM. We were at the park by about 9:30ish and on a roll. Mom had to take the wheelchair and she wasn't thrilled about that, but it worked out just fine. We saw the "Little Mermaid" show, too cute!

We did the animation walk through thingy, including the drawing class. We drew Donald Duck and I still think he's the hardest that we've drawn so far. I would have stayed for a few more classes, but they were ready to move on. I LOVE that thing, it's my favorite!! We saw Frozone in there as well. I wanted to stay for Mr. & Mrs. Incredible, plus Remy ... I didn't get my way.

We rode "The Great Movie Ride" and then it was time for our lunch reservations. We made our way over to "Mama Melrose's" for lunch. YUMMY!! Again, we were stuffed and not a single one of us finished everything. Appetizer, meal and dessert is just ALOT of food for anyone!!! (especially at lunch, wowie!) We moved on to "Muppet 3D" and then the "Walt" walk through thingy. I LOVE that movie in there!!

We skipped "Backstage" b/c of the line being about 45 minutes. All the other lines were about 10 minutes and we just didn't want to stand out in the HOT sun that long. Rock n Roller was down for rehab and since we were stuffed from lunch, we decided Tower wasn't a good choice. We wanted Mom & Dad to see the Stunt Show, but it wasn't going on again for about 3 hours. We decided that half a day was long enough in the heat and we were outta there. It was near impossible to get out of the park, everyone was lining up for the parade. So we saw the parade (which I LOVE) and were off.

We spent the afternoon by the Goofy pool. It was a great way to wind down! Mom & Dad stayed at the pool longer and ate dinner at the resort. Andy & I got ready and were off for an evening at the Magic Kingdom. We rode Buzz (again), Jungle Cruise, Pirates and something else... I can't think now. We saw part of the electrical parade (my all time favorite part of any Disney trip, though I still miss "Spectromagic") while we ate a quick burger and then called it a night.

Fun Scenes around the Magic Kingdom!




Spot the hidden Mickey-

Awww, I love this one!

And this one...

How cute is this? The Pumpkin People (as Amber is calling them) are everywhere!

Fall decorations with temps around 89 was kinda strange. Still, I LOVE fall and the decorations!
Very very cute!!

Sunday

On Sunday Andy & I headed to breakfast about 8:00 and were just sure we could eat quickly and still make it to the opening of the Magic Kingdom if we hurried. Wrong! Eventually we'll make it, not this trip. We did get there by about 10:00 though and were so excited to see the Haunted Mansion in all it's refurbished glory. I was sooooo excited to see the park already decked out for fall & Halloween. I wish we could have done the "Not so scary party", but that'll just give me something to look forward to for next year!

We thought that it would be closed to "others" since the sneak peak was for annual pass members. Not true, it was open to everyone and we just had a quickie by pass line. It was fantastic!! The new things fit in perfectly, nothing is taken away from the "classic" ride. What is changed only adds to the experience and I give it two serious thumbs up!!

We visited with Horace and we rode Big Thunder Mountain. We bought a Brer Rabbit book and rode Buzz! I kicked Andy's rear too, might I add!!

Then we headed back to the hotel for lunch with Mom & Dad. Then it was serious pool time for the afternoon. With the big pool closed, the smaller one was packed. It was a great afternoon in the sun though.

Then we were off to Cape May Cafe @ the Beach Club and that's always fun! Andy & I LOVE that place too! It rained while we were eating and waited for it to stop so that we could walk around the Beach & Yacht club and the Boardwalk. We'd walk outside and start around the path, then it would rain again. We eventually decided to call it a night and head on back.

Saturday

We had a very easy 7 hour trip down on Saturday! Check in was easy squeezy at All Star Sports and our rooms were super close to "the fun"! We were sad that we weren't able to use the "big fun" pool that was right by our building, it was closed for a rehab. Such is life and the Goofy Baseball pool was good to us.

Our rooms were fantastic. They had already done the refurbishment to our section of the "Surfs Up" hotel and we had brand new rooms! New carpet, new paint, new furniture & new bedding. While the bedding was a little itchy, the paint & carpet a little smelly ... we really liked what they were doing with the place. It was in serious need of a rehab when we were there in May and it was due for sure!

After check in and unpacking it was time to head to Olivia's for dinner. Our very first experience with the dinning plan and HOLY MOLY! You just can't eat that much food, but boy did we try. My Dad has been saying "I almost hurt myself that first night" because he tried to eat everything! We kept saying SERIOUSLY, we can order appetizers, meals, drinks and desserts .. it's ALL FREE??? Are you SURE?? Tip included... and it's a hefty tip. Amazing, FREE~

A special shout out to Terry again for introducing us to Olivia's!! Man, that place is so darn good, cute cute place and easy to get into!! Cheesy potatoes are what I live for at that place, the key lime tart too ... wowie zowie!

And thanks to Jo too, you did good work girlfriend!

After dinner we headed back for turning in early on night one!

Mom & Dad at Old Key West, outside of Olivia's.

Who is headed back to Disney World on Saturday for 5 nights?
Who is just as excited about this trip as they were about the past 3 already this year?
Who has reservations already made for the October trip?

Who leaves next Thursday for the Disney Cruise? (again)
Who CAN NOT wait??

He he he he he......

August Reading

August ends with me reading only 9 books, that's surely down from the previous summer months. That's a grand total of 48 books worth of summer reading!! What a summer. August was busy & obviously I started seriously getting ready for school and became busy, busy, busy. I guess my reading will continue to go slowly as school stays busy, I crochet a baby blanket or two, I return to cross stitching and life marches on.

My top 3:

(because the others were all trashy romance)

3) "Up Close & Personal" - Fern Michaels. She's always a super favorite author. Typically it's romance with a little mystery or suspense thrown in here and there.

2) "Savannah Comes UnDone" - Denise Hildreth. It's one of the series I started in July. My FAVORITE author of the summer!!! I will read her three books in the Savannah series again very soon!!

P. 9 "I couldn't have been more thankful than a 75 year old Southern woman on beauty shop day"

P. 47 "I'm going to stomp you into the pavement, you little sucker!" screamed the woman who was too ladylike to say butt only moments before...."

1) "Savannah From Savannah" - Denise Hildreth. The one that starts it all. I didn't read these in order and it didn't change my life. But... I'd recommend that you start, well.. at the beginning with this one.

P. 57 "I have never passed a bookstore without going inside; it's sacrilegious"

P. 315 "Why can't some people just leave well enough alone? Attack me, talk about my clothes, make cracks about my flip flops, I don't care; but for heaven's sake, when they talk about my mamma, they leave me no option."

P. 314 "In his heart a man plans his course, but God determines his steps."

Welcome to my town!


I have a new camera (that I am SO proud of) and decided to take it out yesterday for a spin. I had a local waterfall in mind, but that didn't work out (I'll go back) so I decided to head downtown instead. So, here it is in all it's glory.

This is Dallas, Georgia. We moved here when we got married 8 years ago. It's the next door neighbor to the town we grew up in, Powder Springs. Hope you enjoy the tour!

City Hall
(one building of it anyway. The one I've actually been in
for tags, tax stuff, etc... is across the street & not
as pretty.)

The local pharmacy. There is a pharmacy similar in Powder Springs, my parents use it. (It's called Cooper's) They know you by name and even make deliveries.

A look downtown. There are a few places to eat, the old theater where things are held occasionally, several antique shops, a tattoo place and a new "girly" store with cutsie
stuff and they have parties for little girls.

Sign left from the morning's farmer's market.
Powder Springs (our neighboring town where we grew up:
where we go to church, my parents live & I work) also
has a farmer's market downtown on Thursdays mornings.

Water fountain downtown on the square.

The history of Paulding County, posted at city hall.
There you have it in all it's glory.

First Baptist Church of Dallas
(It burned a couple of years ago and has only been totally back up and running in their new building for a few months. It's beautiful and looks almost identical to the old building.)

September 1st

What better sign of fall is there than college football??


SEC football to be more specific and UGA football is the only way to go!

I am so excited and only wish that I could be there!
Instead I'll watch from home wearing my bulldog clothes,
scream "Go Dawgs" and remember
the old days of being on the sidelines for every game!

Owww, the good old days. I have my very own official copy of this cover!

Back in the day... picture day in ... 2006. Me & Hairy Dog!!





Again, from back in the day... Adam Meadows! Who I had grown up with, we lived in the same neighborhood when we were little. Went to school together through high school & @ UGA. I told him I should have him sign this photo and I could say "I knew him when..." he laughed at me. He's currently a Denver Bronco after a 2 year hiatus from the NFL.

It's that time again. Although our county and the surrounding ones started school the past two weeks, preschool had a few extra to enjoy the summer. Monday it's back to the grind stone. We start pre-planning on Monday, parent orientation is Thursday night and Friday morning is open house and I get to meet the kiddos officially.

I have had my class lists for a few weeks now and already can remember all 12 names. I am very excited and start wondering what they're like and what the year holds for us! God sent each of these little 12 people to me for a reason and I can't wait to get started.

With all that being said though, there also comes the end of summer. I LOVE summer. I love to be lazy and sleep late, I love reading oodles of books, I love the lake and camping, I love the beach and vacations, I love swimming pools and getting a tan, I love cooking out and getting together with friends and I generally love being home!!

This summer has been a little strange for me. With Mom & her foot surgery we didn't spend time at the lake like we usually do, I only went twice with Dad and that has to be a record of the least amount of times ever. Mom & I didn't get to do our annual girls beach trip and that makes me sad. We only got to go camping one time, Andy couldn't get away anymore. We went to St. Thomas which was fantastic, though Andy did work for most of the trip. It just didn't feel like our typical summer.

I've done some awesome visiting these last two weeks though. I finally got on the ball and made plans with friends and had a great two weeks. I was able to see an awesome friend and her two girlies last week. (that would be you Amy) I visited a college friend that I hadn't seen about 10 years, had a blast catching up and remembering old times and met her cutie pa tootie 3 girls. (that would be you Krisite) I had dinner with a great friend where we talked for hours. (Tanya that would be you) Then I was able to have a girls night last night and it was a darn hoot! (That would be Tanya, Misty & Tracey) I vow as usual to make time for the important & fun things in life. As much as I love sitting with my nose stuck in a book, times spent with all these girlies has been the best!

That brings me to fall. Man, I do have to say that I am ready to put these weeks of 3 digit temps in the past!! Fall is BY FAR my time of the year. I live for September & October. I love the beginning of school, brisk mornings and cool evenings, time to put on a sweatshirt in the evening with your shorts, the fair (I can't help it!), arts & craft shows, going to the mountains, yards filled with hay, scarecrows & pumpkins, pumpkin patch visits, apple festivals, pumpkin pie, college football, colorful leaves (Andy will kill me for saying anything about loving leaves in the fall since he's the one raking & picking them up), driving with windows down and the radio up, cinammon & pumpkin scented candles burning, antique stores with their fall displays, man... fall.... bring it on!!!!

Yeah, our great niece is about the cutest thing ever! We know~



Cookout and swimming a few weeks ago at Andy's brother's house. Good times of summer! Who needs a pool or toys when you have a bucket & rocks?

Ants: Hate 'em!

It's been the summer of ants for the Tanners! The summer started with a drought and everyone around here swears they come inside looking for water. In June they were in the kitchen around the back door & windows, after Gizmo's dog food and under the sink counter. I killed, sprayed, cleaned, killed, sprayed, cleaned, for days on end in the same places. They were in the basement by the back door, getting in "the girls" food inside & out and in the basement.


July rolls in and they are in the bathrooms! They're in the sink, on the mirror, the walls, the shower, around the closet, everywhere. It's usually a few here and there in the bathrooms though, not in little marching lines like before.


We go camping and they are everywhere in the camper! They were NOT there before we left when we did a BIG cleaning, but by the time we arrive at the campground ... sure enough there they are! Already in full swing inside, so odd!! They show up randomly on the floor, wall, etc... We had to go buy more ant spray and clean, clean, clean!!


We return home to the rain of summer. For the rest of July it rains, rains, rains! Guess what? No ants!! Praise the Lord!!


Then August comes bounding in without a drop of rain and temperatures in the 100's!! You better believe it, the ants are back! They're in the laundry room downstairs, in the kitchen in the cabinet over the stove and one day in the dishwasher! They're back randomly in the bathrooms.


Today, I find TONS of them already dead around the kitchen windows and floor. I am sure Andy has sprayed them in the morning, but no. Turns out they must have come in and found residue from previous sprayings and it killed them on the spot. Then I found a few in the microwave, are you kidding me???? (and no, it was clean, not a crumb was in there) They were also in my potholder drawer today, ugh!!!


At least I have the cleanest kitchen & bathrooms in town from the constant cleaning! I will, for the first time ever, welcome cooler weather and the end of ant season!

Ok, you have been waiting anxiously for long enough- LOL~ Or you didn't read my previous top 5 favorite books of July blog and are wondering what the heck I am talking about. I left you wondering what my #1 pick was, remember?

Last summer, I found Mary Kay Andrews and had a new favorite author! I read my favorite "Hissy Fit" three times! She only has a handful of books and they are HILARIOUS. She also has a line of mysteries, by another name. She's a "southern humor" author and I couldn't love her anymore. Her new blog "The Kudzu Telegraph" makes me laugh out loud!

So this summer, I found Denise Hildreth and "Savannah"!! I was wondering around the Christian section of Barnes & Noble and a book titled "Savannah by the Sea" got my attention. I took a chance although it was #3 in a series.I bought it and let it sit for a few weeks. When we headed to St. Thomas I decided it was the perfect time to read a book about a family going to the beach, plus it was paperback and you can't imagine the damage I do to books while at the pool & beach-

The books is dad gum hilarious!!! I laughed out loud more times than I have reading a book in a L O N G time!!!!! (and I laugh alot) It couldn't be any more "southern" either. It's about a 24 year old girl/lady named, of course, Savannah. She is headed on a beach trip with her parents, brother, her Mom's new fried and her own best friend. The family pets Duke & Magnolia are along for the ride as well. The craziness that happens in their adventure is awesome, the characters you fall in love with from the first chapter!

P. 47 "she doesn't just believe in corporal punishment, amber. She believes spanking should be administered with a fly swatter" (Oh my gosh, did she come to my house? My Mom use to do this!!!!!)

P. 69 "when dinner arrived, I placed the first bite of grits in my mouth. 'Hallelujah' I shouted, a little louder than I had intended."

P. 88 "It was Sunday, It was the South. And I was Jake's child therefore, I went to church."

P.99 " 'I heard she writes books about crazy people from the south' Paige threw the towel over her head, her voice muffled through the cotton. 'Well don't let her see us. She'd have enough stories to tell for years.'"

P.103 "I was ready to swim. However, the gnawing fear that I would drown if I didn't wait 30 minutes after eating had remained with me these 24 years."

P. 221 "If I didn't fear my mother building an alter there in the middle of the restaurant and anointing me with olive oil, I'd have downed a bottle of wine all by myself. It was lost on her that Catholics, Presbyterians and who knows maybe even Methodists actually had wine for communion. She thinks Jesus turned water into Welches."

P.239 "Mother's hand flew up to her face. 'Oh my Lord, have mercy, my daughter is a hoochie mamma."

P. 295 " 'Adventure I can handle, but this is certifiable.' 'I tried to tell you - I come from crazy people' "