All in Vacations
Back in March, Melody and I went to the beach with my best friend Emily and her daughter Lydia. We stayed at TOPS'L Beach and Racquet Resort. It is located in Miramar Beach, FL. I have stayed here many times over the last 7-8 years. Brad's parents used to actually own a condo there, so we traveled there often during those years. Brad proposed to me there, and we got married there too. It has a truly special place in our hearts for sure.
Back in March, both Brad and my best friend's husband, Justin, were out of town for work purposes (separate trips however). Both of our husbands travel for work but they have never traveled at the same time. So we decided we should just go on a girls trip together while the boys were away.
Emily and I went to the beach with just our girls back in March. Both of our husbands were out of town the same week (super rare for them to both be gone at the exact same time). Well as a treat for our girls, I decided to make them each a small happy (I made a slightly larger one a while back). I didn't want to do anything super big for two reasons. One we only were going to have so much room in the car, ha! Two since we would only really be going to the beach one day, there wasn't much point to buy a whole lot of things to take. Check out all the fun things I added to this one!
In early March, we went to Memphis to visit Brad's family. His dad was turning 60, and his mom was surprising him with a birthday party that weekend with family. While there, we visited the Memphis Zoo. I don't recall ever visiting here before. As a kid we went to the Birmingham Zoo, but I never remember the Memphis Zoo. And this was an obvious first visit for Melody. My brother in law and sister in law have season passes, so they were extremely familiar with the zoo and what Melody would be interested in. So because of this, we followed their lead, and I didn't do any research before hand. As an avid Disney planner, this was difficult for me, but I knew I could trust them and their guidance!
When mom and I went to Disney back in January, we opted to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter. We had Annual Passes so we had a little extra money to spend on this trip since we were not buying tickets. So we decided to stay moderate in the end. With the construction at Caribbean Beach Resort and Coronado Springs, those were not an option. I have already stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, and the cabins at Fort Wilderness do not appeal to me. So that left Port Orleans French Quarter (POFQ). I have actually always wanted to stay here, so it worked out. And we were able to get a discount using our AP.
My mom and I stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter when we went to Disney in January. While we spent a majority of our time visiting and eating in the parks, we did visit the food court at our hotel a few times. The formal name is Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory, but I will be referring to it as Sassagoula or the food court, ha!
My mom and I visited Beaches and Cream for the very first time on our trip in January. Brad and I visited the to-go counter back in December and bought a milkshake and an ice cream cone. Because of this visit in December, I came home and found dinner reservations for mom and me. The food smelled and looked delicious from our brief walk inside. So I really wanted to give this restaurant a try. I planned it on the day we were already visiting Epcot so that we could just walk over. It worked out perfectly because we were able to take a bus from the Beach Club to Disney Springs for some shopping. Check out our pictures and review below:
When mom and I went to Disney in January, one of the new places we tried was Yak and Yeti Food Cafe. It is located in Animal Kingdom near Kali River Rapids. We rarely spend a whole lot of time in Animal Kingdom. Because of that, we rarely eat at any quick service or table service restaurants. And if we do, it is usually the same place...Pizzafari. Because we wanted to do Flight of Passage, we went on the time and day I could get a Fastpass for it. So we ended up being at Animal Kingdom at dinner. Yak and Yeti has always been a restaurant I wanted to try, but I wasn't sure we would have time for table service. So we opted for the quick service version. Check out my review below!
My mom and I just returned from our annual trip to Disney World to celebrate my birthday. This was the last of my birthday celebrations for the year, so it was a great one to end on! I already wrote all about the planning that was involved, so now I want to fill you in on how the trip actually went! Below is day four - Monday, January 29th!
My mom and I just returned from our annual trip to Disney World to celebrate my birthday. This was the last of my birthday celebrations for the year, so it was a great one to end on! I already wrote all about the planning that was involved, so now I want to fill you in on how the trip actually went! Below is day three - Sunday, January 28th!
My mom and I just returned from our annual trip to Disney World to celebrate my birthday. This was the last of my birthday celebrations for the year, so it was a great one to end on! I already wrote all about the planning that was involved, so now I want to fill you in on how the trip actually went! Below is day two - Saturday, January 27th!
My mom and I just returned from our annual trip to Disney World to celebrate my birthday. This was the last of my birthday celebrations for the year, so it was a great one to end on! I already wrote all about the planning that was involved, so now I want to fill you in on how the trip actually went! Below is day one - Friday, January 26th!
It is that time of year again when mom and I go on our annual girls' trip. We bought a Disney World Annual Pass last year, so it only made sense to do Disney again. All of the cold weather at home almost makes me wish we did a cruise, but it really didn't make much sense. Plus, I am not sure I can be away from Melody quite that long yet. Below is all of the planning that went into this year's trip!
As you have probably read, we went to Disney World back in December. I wanted to do one last post that included all of the things I wrote about in regards to this particular trip. Check them out below.
Packing for Disney can be quite a challenge. The challenge becomes even more difficult when a baby/toddler is involved. I had to make quite a few lists in addition to my usual travel checklist. I wanted to share some of the packing tips/tricks/advice I have. I am certain my advice isn't perfect, but I know every little bit helps!
In preparation for Disney, I made both Melody and Lydia happys. I give Lydia hers at our Disney Party, but I gave Melody hers the day before we left for Disney. It was actually the last thing we did for our Disney countdown.
For our trip to Disney in December, I made all of us different shirts to wear on certain days of our trip. For one day, we each one wanted to do different family shirts. In addition, we made the girls shirts to wear on another day. Check them out below.
In preparation for our Disney trip last December, we had another Disney party. As you may recall, we did a Disney party in the past for a trip we went on with Emily and Justin to Disney. We wanted to do something fun to get everyone excited about our upcoming trip. Since it was near the holidays, our focus wasn't entirely on the trip. So I wanted one day where we spent a little time thinking about Disney!
On our trip to Disney in December, we decided to stay at the Yacht Club. We originally booked the Beach Club, and we even considered The Boardwalk at one point. We eventually changed our reservation so that we could stay at the Yacht Club. Our reasoning was for the discount. I did some research and found that with an Annual Passholder discount, it would be a larger discount at Yacht Club vs Beach Club. Our main goal was to simply stay connected to Epcot, so we were entirely ok with this change. Luckily, it did pay off in the end, and we were able to score a great discount!
For our trip to Disney in December, I made Emily and Justin a countdown. We had a Disney Party to get hyped up for our trip, and I gave them this as sort of a "favor". I wanted something semi simple but still super cute.
