Cinder Ella

Thunder Paws, as I affectionately call her, has also earned the title Lightning Claws. She sprints up the stairs and hurls herself at my office chair which she climbs. Even if I am in another room I can hear the thunder of her paws and the shredding of fabric. Once on top of the chair she proceeds to chase her tail, fall slightly and have to climb back up. She is waiting for the right time to pounce on her tail. While in spaz mode she is quite fierce. As you can see my chair has seen better days. At first there was no stuffing coming out, now I've resorted to pieces of duct tape to help keep the chair alive. Although somewhat hideous, it does not deter her from doing what she loves.
I can no longer say that she doesn't like people food. In the past she would sniff what I had and walk away, uninterested. Luke had a glass of milk out for a bit (it was getting warm) and she wandered over and helped herself. It was like kitty heaven. There was no point in stopping her since he wasn't about to drink it after she stuck her tongue in it. We let her have a few laps and took it away. She was a happy kitty.

Day 7 Disney

Last park day at Disney and we leave tomorrow (great news is that for the first time I did not cry leaving Disney or watching the fireworks... well, maybe a tear). I love Magic Kingdom so it was back to my personal favorite and another spin on Dumbo the Flying Elephant... the nineth wonder of the world!
The park was somewhat crowded, but nothing compared to the other day when we went. We went on some favorites and enjoyed the atmosphere. I took mom and dad over to Tom Sawyer island... it's not much but it was something different. We all agreed that the caves were dark and disorienting. Dad had a fun time making the barrel bridge wiggle while mom tried to walk across. Funny thing is that kids seem to get across just fine, it's the grown-ups that have a hard time. Here we are taking a break and enjoying the warm sunshine on the water. We didn't go on too many attractions and opted to enjoy the atmosphere. We watched the Main Street Philharmonic, the Dapper Dans and took in the many sights and smells of Main Street, USA.We headed over to Mickey's Toon Town since we hadn't been there since our first visit in 2002. Looking back it was a good idea since it has since been closed and the space will be used by the Fantasyland expansion project. I thought a lot of the details in the town were cuter. Mom took the time to point out that it was kind of in need of "fixing" when we were there. I didn't pay much attention to the fact it was closing, but now the "icky" factor makes sense.

BEST PART OF THE DAY: We were not allowed to take pictures on the Laugh Floor, but mom got picked by one of the Monsters to participate in the show. First word out of her mouth when the spot light hit her was a curse. Monster's mouth drops open. She ended up having to play "telepathetic" with the monster and send him signals of the number she was "thinking," as a guy wearing a football jersey had the number showing.
We went back later in the day to watch another comedy show and Papa Bear kept hoping she'd get picked again. She didn't, but a woman who had run the marathon was hilarious. She started to laugh so hard then managed to utter, "good thing I went to the bathroom before coming in here."

Of course we had a friendly competition on the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. I earned another perfect score on the trip and here I am with momma making a face at the end. I have the title "Galactic Hero." We enjoyed the flag retreat ceremony and fireworks. Papa Bear kept talking about the electric water pageant. Even though it was damp/chilly out we went over and watched it from the Polynesian beach. This is how he chose to stay warm for the show:
We had a wonderful vacation and I am so happy that my parents were able to come with me. Maybe one of these year's we will convince Jen to come with us. I've got March 15th on my calendar so I can register for the 2012 edition of Goofy.

Day 6 Disney

MARATHON MONDAY!
That's right folks, Disney gave all marathon participants a free day at the park on Monday... you just had to bring your photo id and medal as proof of finishing and you got a free park pass (well, they activated the one given to you at the expo). So I remembered to bring my medal, but my photo id is back at the hotel. Timmy remembers his id, but forgets his medal. Fortunately the guy at the counter didn't care and let me use a hotel room key for id and then Timmy went to the counter with my medal to activate his pass. It all worked out and the nice man at the counter was from Rochester, NY.

We went to EPCOT for the day and encountered rain. We were prepared and looked amazing in our ponchos. At least we were dry.

Day 5 Disney

After running the marathon and my parents not having a lot of sleep from watching the Jets win we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios since it was the only night that we would be able to catch Fantasmic! The park has this wonderful old Hollywood feel from the 1950's that I love. There is quite a bit of Disney history in this park with getting to watch artists sketch and walk through, self guided tours about the history of Disney followed by the short movie One Man's Dream. I had my picture taken with Lots-o from Toy Story 3... he didn't smell like strawberries though. In fact, he didn't have a smell at all. I know, I am rockin' crocs and socks. All I can say is that my ankles were non existent from the combination of all the park walking plus marathon and a half... my toes were quite cold and obviously I wasn't about to stuff my swollen feet back into my sneakers. Here is me with a piece of beautiful artwork from one of the gallery stores at the park. Isn't Dumbo just the cutest ever?Papa Bear and I went on the Rock-n-Roller Coaster. I love this attraction and the California Screamin' one in Disneyland. We opted to go in the single rider line, since it is often faster and we didn't care if we rode together. I have never been in a line that slow. We waited just as long as the people in the "group" line. Oh well. Papa Bear went on the Tower of Terror, which I prefer to call the I'm going to Die ride. I really think it will kill me and having been on it twice I don't care to take the drop anymore. While he enjoyed the elevator plunge I enjoyed the park bench in the sunshine. One of mom's favorite parts of this park. Actually, her favorite part of any park is a Coca-Cola display. More of the fun Disney humor for you. It was a fun day at the park, although we were definitely exhausted. Unfortunately we did not get to go on Toy Story Mania, there were no fastpasses left for the day and the wait time was 90 minutes. I can do a lot in a park in 90 minutes other than wait in line for a 5 minute ride. Oh well, another time. We will be at the opening of EPCOT tomorrow.

Day 4 Disney

Well, after the half marathon we went to Animal Kingdom since the park closes at 5 and I could go to bed early. No napping for anyone at Disney. Of course there aren't many attractions at Animal Kingdom, but that doesn't matter because Papa Bear happily provided entertainment. The line for It's Tough to be a Bug is full of unique carvings and Papa Bear took it upon himself to pick the chimps nose. I enjoyed a Mickey Bar while watching the Jammin' Jungle Parade. We went back to the hotel for dinner and resting. I fell asleep but my parents are troopers and stayed up to watch the Jets win a playoff game late into the night only to have to get up at 3am to do the whole race day thing again. They are super dedicated.

Day 3 Disney

Breakfast at Cape May Cafe followed by a trip to the race expo for me to pick up my race info. Breakfast was fantastic as usual. Who doesn't love an all you can eat buffet? Here are the fun Mickey Waffles. Goofy stopped by our table for a visit. Of course, Timmy and I posed with him. Timmy ran his first Goofy race last year just so he could say he was Goofy. The thing about the Goofy race is that people sign up and run, then they go and sign up for it again so they can see if they can do better... or in my case take more photos with characters you don't have yet. I may never qualify for Boston, but I'm pretty sure that I am having more fun than most running. Disney with Papa Bear is full of more laughs than usual. Papa Bear is full of puns and quick thinking. When Donald Duck was on his way over to visit he took his napkin and threw it at Donald while warning, "DUCK!" Donald came over and threw the napkin at my dad. When he started to waddle away Papa Bear asked if he was chicken. Donald turned around and started to take sugar packets off our table and playfully toss them Papa Bear. The character greeter had Donald shake hands and be friends. Mom is our official trip photographer, but she did let us take a few photos of her with the characters. I love how she tries to copy the character pose or makes a silly face. Here she is with her Minnie Mouse hand. After being completely stuffed from breakfast we headed over to the expo to get my race stuff. Checking in at the Goofy booth they held up my bib number and cheered--because I am Perfectly Goofy and they like to celebrate the accomplishment. I guess not that many people are in the category of Crazy. A little bit of a bummer was no wristband this year. My new hoodie. The one I bought a few years ago is quite faded and very loved. It was time for a new one, thanks to Jen and Bob for the gift card to Disney for Christmas (I LOVE your gift).
The expo was crowded, as usual when you have that many people running plus their families. I did manage to get a Geico Pez dispenser and an awesome picture with the Gecko.
We relaxed for a bit at the hotel and headed to Downtown Disney via boat to shop and get dinner. It was a great day.

Day 2 Disney

Magic Kingdom, my favorite park. We woke up to the sounds of thunder and rain. It might continue to rain, but the thunder would pass. By the time we ate breakfast and arrived at the park it was just cloudy out. I liked it already because clouds meant people were sleeping in or waiting for it to get nicer to go to the park. There was hardly anyone there, just the way I like it. In true Disney fashion they put on the show to open the park.

We took the fire engine down Main Street to the Castle. Although you may be able to get there faster by walking how often do you get to ride in a fire truck? Plus everyone looks at you like you are special. Anyone can take a ride on the Main Street vehicles, but few actually know that you can.
Fantasyland, how I love you. My favorite attraction Dumbo lives here. While there may be other attractions more thrilling, Dumbo has stolen my heart and is just so cute. How could you not love him? They are in the process of a major Fantasyland expansion so I took my camera for a high flyin' adventure aboard my very own pachyderm, Dumbo. Here is a look behind the fence of what is happening so far. Dumbo will be doubling his flying capacity and will be given his own circus tent. The one you see is the Toon Town Fair Judges Tent where you can meet Mickey Mouse. The line was so short I got to fly twice with about 5 minutes between flights. I would have liked to go a few more times, but there was more to do.
Bathrooms at Disney are entertaining. Each one seems to have a theme. Here is my mom outside the Fantasyland bathroom:
We had lunch at Tony's Town Square, a restaurant from the movie Lady and the Tramp. I enjoyed the chicken parm.

Let me be very clear. I do not like parades unless they are Disney parades. Disney parades last 15-25 minutes and are packed with music, entertainment and are just fun in general. If it lasts several hours it is not a parade, it is just one too many fire trucks and garbage trucks. Let's be honest, if you've seen one fire truck you've seen them all. We caught 3 parades. The first was "Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it." It was more of a block party dance. The 3 o'clock parade (with Dumbo) and the Main Street Electrical Parade. No pictures of the Main Street Electrical Parade, I just wanted to enjoy that one since it is my favorite parade of all time.

Of course we saw many fun, interesting things and of course people. Here are two pieces of fun from the attraction lines at Disney. If you don't get it, try reading it out loud.

The day ended with the Wishes fireworks spectacular. We spent 13 hours at the park and would have spent more if it had been open later. Oh well. There is something truly magical about the Magic Kingdom.