My Wish!

I got my wish by being in Magic Kingdom for New Years Eve. By 10:00 pm Main Street was closed except for you to leave! They were even escorting guests out of the park through cast member only areas!

We watched the fireworks in Frontierland which was empty! I made my annual midnight call to my mom which she always takes! We then proceeded out the front.

We needed to make two stops so I took Nicole and Jim took Jess. Once we exited the park, the front gate was PACKED! I was glad I only had Nicole. We new the monorail was not going to be an option so we had planned on walking back to the Polynesian.

However, as we made our way to the paths, the boat launch was working so we got on line. Jim and Jess were ahead on line but of course my morals got in the way and we did not cut the line. Two boats later we were headed to the Polynesian and in bed by 1:00 am!

Cinderella's Royal Table

Because we knew the park would be at capacity, my idea to eat at the California Grill in the Contemporary was shifted to New Years Day. We ate with Cinderella and her friends! It was a fun meal with wands, swords and magical deserts!

Magic Kingdom - New Years Eve

One of the reasons we picked this week to go on vacation in Disney World was because I have always wanted to be in the Magic Kingdom on New Years Eve. I got my wish along with 74, 996 other guests (okay maybe not their wish but they were there!).

We started the day eating at Crystal Palace. Nicole even got an autograph book for autographs! We went on our favorites only once for most especially considering Space Mountain broke down! It was a magical day!

Best Friend

One of my favorite memories was having my picture taken with Jess and Towmater! I love Towmater because he is what a friend should be. I hope I am that kind of friend to my friends and eventually my daughters when they are older!

Disney's Hollywood Studios

We love this park because of the rides-Rockin' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror and of course, Toy Storymania! We fell in love with Toy Story in Disneyland and could not wait to ride it here. Of course, with the larger crowds, we needed to wait 15 minutes for a FastPass and by 10:00 am all of the FastPasses were gone so only one trip for us!

We skipped Tower of Terror much to the delight of Jessica and myself and could only ride Rockin once which was not going over well in our house! We usually ride this at least three times a visit! Except for the main rides, other lines were quick!

We did get to enjoy the Osbourne Family Lights and had dinner at the famed Brown Derby!

A Star is Born

Jim has always wanted to be in the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular at Disney's Hollywood Studios. However, Nicole never lets him volunteer. She would throw a crying fit if he raised his hand and would force it down. However, this year she let him go! So Jim is in the stripped turban on the far right hand side of the picture in Cairo. The above shot is the souvenir for being in the show. We did ask Nicole why she would not let him go and she said she was afraid he would not comeback! Very sweet but she has seen the show at least 10 times and know they come back!

Hook and Loop

Jess and Nicole got to be a part of a show which taught about the wonders of velcro aka hook and loop. They were contestants in building a block tower cover with hooks and loops.

Jim was a part of the show too. He had to diaper babies and carry them on his apron! Very funny!

Nicole's Take on EPCOT

Do you think she could sell this as stock material? Not bad for a little point and shoot picture!

EPCOT

We spent almost two full days in EPCOT. The bonus at EPCOT during the holiday season is that they tell stories in all the countries about how they celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa or New Years Day. We enjoyed listening to all the stories. We also got to eat in two favorite countries - Canada and Japan. Jess of course stayed true to her French and had French ice cream every chance she could.

With the additional crowds, FastPasses were gone for Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space by 2:00 pm. The queue for the ride in Mexico featuring the Three Callberos was all through out the attraction. Spaceship Earth which was update posted a 30 minute wait time. We all enjoyed the new features in Spaceship Earth but a lot of the original still remains.

One highlight in EPCOT was seeing my friend Laura who now works for Disney. She invited us to a taping of a video in America. My friends Gary and Pam were there too, and we even got to be in the video! Okay, we held a sound screen so that when Angela Bassett recorded the video you could not here the air conditioner! We did get to meet her and her husband, Courtney Vance. She was very sweet. We then got to listen to them read the Candlelight Processional. I was not sure I was going to enjoy the show again because I had experienced it last year. However, the show takes on a different feel depending on who is reading it. I think I enjoyed it more. Jim really loved it and would gladly go again!

I think EPCOT was my favorite park during the holidays!

Hello Polynesian!

We were very lucky to spend the week between Christmas and New Years at Walt Disney World. This was my reward for working with the www.disneyworldmoms.com for the year. We stayed at the Polynesian which was a new experience for us. We loved being on the monorail and our room was near the main building and pool though we only swam New Years Day.

We took Magical Express, another first, and arrive around noon to our hotel. We were greeted with leis as is the tradition in the Hawaiian islands.

We quickly unpacked and headed to EPCOT for the start of our vacation. We even got stuck on the monorail for about fifteen minutes and overlooked Spaceship Earth with its winding line another first!

Christmas Day 3

Since we could not go to PA with our family, they came to us on Saturday. My parents, sister and nephew all drove up to see us.

Jessica really wanted a fur hat and Grandmommy came through. She proceeded to scooter on her new wheels with her hat.

We played Wii and ate pot roast along with Jim's mom. We are very lucky that the parents live 90 miles away or we would never have a babysitter as they would all be vacationing together!

I think my dad was surprised I could cook!

Christmas Day

So just so you do not think I am not like the typical American mom who only makes gifts, we did splurge and get the girls the iPod Nanochromatic for Christmas.

While we thought they would be handy on our trip flying Delta, the girls played with their DS instead.

However, they were dancing with them the whole day!

Since Jim was working, we spent the day in New York. We ate Chinese with him at the hospital. While we were feeling sorry that we could not be in PA with the rest of our family, we discovered a series of 911 quilts in the atrium of the hospital where we ate dinner. One of the quilts was about a friend of Nicole's dad who died in 911. I will never be so grateful to eat dinner in the hospital again.

Christmas Day

This year Jim and I made the girls a present. These are known as Linus Blankets. They were orginally made for children in hospitals to have something of their own while they were getting better. Nicole received one from her friend Emma but she wanted another. Here are the instructions to make a no-sew polar fleece blanket (we used 2 yards of fabric)

Christmas with the Choisez's

Since we have family in two different states, Christmas is celebrated over a long period of time. Christmas Eve is celebrated in New York. Since Jim's family comes from Germany and Switzerland, we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with them at his brother's Ken's house.

Since we both had to work, the girls went to their cousin's house, Brendan and Kelsey, to visit and get ready. They headed to four o'clock mass at their parish which I attended as well. Only problem, they were downstairs and I was up.

We met at Ken's about 5 and waited for the rest of the family to arrive. The kids opened their gifts before dinner starting with the youngest, Kelsey. We ate and then waited for Jim to arrive around 8.

That is when the fun began. The adults do a "Gift Card Exchange". Everyone buys a gift card and wraps it. Then we draw numbers to pick the order we choose our gift. From there, a lot of stealing and plotting begins but everyone has a good time.

From there, it was off to home to place cookies and hot chocolate out for Santa. I still had to wrap Jim's gifts but it was a fun evening!

The Last Two Months

So what have the Choisezs been up to:

Nicole ran for Vice President of Student Council and lost. We had a Sarah Palin party for her and her friend Emma who ran against her. She also turned 10 which means no one in the house is in single digits. She still has not decided on how to celebrate her birthday with her friends.

Jessica continues to help out the freshman class at FPM. She started and completed her science project on hydroponics. She grew bamboo in four mediums: soil, water, legos and cloth. She also had her first horse jumping competition. She did really well with a fifth place and two sixth place ribbons. She loves her horse, Humble Pie, and now wants a horse along with a dog.

Jim is trying to get back into running. He is working many hours of overtime and enjoys the work. While he will be working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, he says it is okay because he is saving lives.

I have been very busy. I went to West Point for three days for work, was home a day and then went to Disney to help with the new Disney Moms Panel winners. Only 17 days to ask me a question. I have become addicted to social media and regularly update Facebook and Twitter. Now I need to get them to work in tandem on the iPhone which is my favorite treat ever.

We are all ready to go on our first vacation over Christmas-yup we are going to Disney!

Crispy Sugar Treats

I saw a recipe on the Food Network to make healthy treats. The recipe was by Ellie Kreiger, and it is simple enough so we tried it tonight.

You take a package of wonton or egg roll wrappers, 2 tablespoons of canola oil and powder sugar.

You heat your oven to 375. You cut the wrappers into triangles and dip them in the canola oil until coated. You then bake until light brown - about 5 minutes in our oven. When cool, you sprinkle with powder sugar and they store for up to four days. These are great snacks for under 100 calories.

Jessica's Present

Jessica recently started taking riding lessons. She goes to Lakewood Stables every Saturday for her lessons with Taylor. She rides a horse called Humble Pie. She is very good at trotting and is learning to jump.

Grandmommy and Grandpoppy gave her money for her birthday to buy a riding helmet. You may ask why she chose pink. The reason is one you cannot see in the picture. The sides of the helmet have silver horses.

15 Years

Okay so I am not as technically savy as my children but here is a picture of Jim and I on our wedding day. We had a great day and dashed off to Disney, the first of many trips there, the next day.

I remember missing my Grumpy but knew he was with me that day.

Now, we have Jess and Nicole and though it has not always been easy, we still laugh a lot.

We share are anniversary with two other sets of friend:

Patti and Ed -Happy 25th!

Neha and Ash - Happy 3rd!

Student Council Representative

Nicole was elected as Student Council representative for her fifth grade class. As a fifth grader, she can go on and run for Vice President of the entire Student Council.

I wish she was 25 years older because she would make an excellent President.

Congrats!

Happy Birthday Jessica!

On Sunday, Jessica turned 12! She celebrated the day with homemade french toast and bacon for breakfast. She had a scavenger hunt to find her presents-new digital camera and case. She went to King Umbertos for dinner. Finally, she celebrated with a Carvel cake. Her best friend, Kaitlyn, decorated her locker for her. It seemed weird not to have to bake anything to send to school. She is still deciding on a party but at least this year I have some notice.