April Fools Day Dinner

Posted on April 1, 2019 by samanthaandmy5

Tomorrow is one of my children’s favorite days of the year. April Fools Day provides so many funny moments and fun activities if you just look for it. Every year, I make a special dinner or dessert. My kids look forward to it, so I can’t let them down. I’m including last year’s menu and the year before if you want to start a tradition like this. The way this works is that they are given a card for each of the three courses. They must pick 3 or 4 items at the beginning of the dinner for each course with no duplicates. They could end up with a fork, a cake pop, and a glass for one course. You just have to make your best guess. I try to save plates and napkins from other holidays and use them on this day. There are so many silly things you can do! I hope you have a fun day tomorrow no matter how you choose to celebrate it!

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Pirates and Pals Voyage {Disney World}

Posted on December 11, 2017 by samanthaandmy5

We wanted to try something new on our last trip to Disney World. David just loves all things pirate, so we thought the Pirates and Pals Voyage would be a great thing to try. We were not disappointed.

It started out with an optional scavenger hunt with a prize out of the treasure chest for those who completed it. Then we moved into a room where we got to meet and get pictures with Captain Hook and Smee.

The room was loaded with desserts. We were able to eat them there and take them on the boat as well. Everything was yummy and was certainly like party food.

Later, we were separated into two groups and then we boarded the boats. Our guides were pirates as well. We sang songs and played trivia. We were then able to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the lake. We also were able to catch part of the Electric Parade on the water. When we returned to the hotel, a very special guest was waiting for us. Peter Pan was there to see how we liked our trip and to take pictures. David had the best time. The rest of us did too. I would highly recommend this excursion to anyone but especially those with little ones who love pirates.

April Fool’s Day Dinner

Posted on April 1, 2017 by samanthaandmy5

I’m planning an all new April Fool’s Day dinner for this year, but wanted to share last years for now:

My kiddos love a good prank. April Fool’s Day has been one of their favorite days as long as I can remember. We usually try to do at least one thing to make the day memorable. Last year I fooled them into thinking they were eating an undercooked lasagna, when it was actually a yummy dessert. This year, I pulled off a Crazy April Fool’s Day Dinner which was actually breakfast for dinner. It definitely takes some advance preparation and quite a bit of work (at least with as many people as we have in our family) to pull it off, but it is so fun! I’ve done a dinner menu like this before and I feel like breakfast items are a lot easier. I used the basic idea and the menu course printables from Dixie Delights. I made some changes, but the general idea came from her site.

To do this, I gave my family a menu of 16 items with funny names. They also had 4 different menu course sheets. On each sheet they had to put four items that they wanted for that course. Each item has to be picked once so that all items are ultimately chosen. They had to pick for all of their courses before I even started cooking; because I didn’t want to give them any hints with the smells in the kitchen.

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I had one more trick up my sleeve. Number 9 was the CAFD Special. It looked like an egg, but was really just whipped cream and an apricot.

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I pulled out a few Christmas plates to serve this. I also found some “Welcome to 2000” napkins that had never been opened in my party stash. We used those as the Mini Magic Carpet.

Overall, we had lots of laughs. April Fool’s Day is just another good excuse to have a little fun together.

I printed out my menu using Waltograph font from DaFont

Crazy April Fool’s Day Disney Dinner

1. Mickey Mouse 2.Gaston’s Tavern Treat

3. Dinoco Motor Oil

4. Sugar Rush Icing component

5. White Rabbit’s Tale

6. Three Little Pigs

7. Capt. Hook’s Plank

8. Mike Wazowski

9. CAFD Special

10. Pluto’s dinner

11. Merida’s hair

12. Elsa’s bad day

13. Rafiki’s staff

14. Cruella’s hair

15. Dinglehopper

16. Mini Magic Carpet

Here’s the real deal menu:

Mickey Mouse waffle
Cinnamon Roll
Syrup
Powdered Sugar
Whipped Cream
Sausage
Bacon
Egg
Apricot in whipped cream
cereal
orange juice
ice
straw
salt and pepper
fork
napkin

Disney: The Sword in the Stone

Posted on October 15, 2016 by samanthaandmy5

Photo credit:Disney wiki

The magical sword in the stone sits right in front of the carousel and very near the back of Cinderella’s castle. On my first trip to the most magical place on earth, I saw a little boy pull the sword up out of the stone one night. He had a crowd around him, and they made a proclamation about something and he was the prince for the moment. The next time I went to WDW, I tried my hand at pulling out that sword. I jokingly went over to it after my children had all given it a good try. I pulled it up and it resisted, but it came out of the stone. There was no one to make a proclamation. I had to yell at my dad to take a picture. We were all in shock. A little while later, my husband came over to see us give it another try. Again, all the children tried and it didn’t budge. I tried once more, knowing that there was no way it would happen again. To my complete and utter shock–I pulled it up again!

Now, the next time you’re in Disney World try to pull that sword out. There are a few things to know:

The sword does resist. It feels heavy as you pull it up.

It doesn’t come out all of the way.

Take a picture quickly because the sword will go back into the stone after a short while.

Try and try again. You just never know when you’ll get lucky!

Here’s the picture my dad took of me. It’s an awful one, but I’m glad I got photo proof because no one ever believes me.

Disney: Animal Kingdom

Posted on July 14, 2016 by samanthaandmy5

Taking a little detour from our Spider-Man party, I thought I’d share about one of my favorite parks: Animal Kingdom.

Animal Kingdom is a must-do when visiting Disney World in my opinion. From the animals, to the rides, to the food, it is all incredible. We love the “towns” that you pass through as you walk the park. They offer that authenticity that Disney is always able to provide. We especially enjoy the music provided by people who are actually from the regions of the world represented.

We love Expedition Everest. While I’ll admit I do not like huge and scary rides, I even thoroughly enjoy this ride, as it is just right for me on the scary scale.

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The show, Flights of Wonder (a bird show), is completely worth the time to see. You learn so much about these amazing creatures and get to see them fly and swoop. My parents are true bird lovers and this is a special stop for them to see these more exotic birds in action.

By far, the best part of all is the Kilimanjaro Safari. I could ride it over and over again. I absolutely look forward to it so much for each visit. The tour guide gives all kinds of facts about the animals that you are seeing. The animals are so close sometimes that you could reach out and touch them (but don’t).

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David called these dragons.

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I always love to see how excited my children are to see the animals. They never get tired of it either!

Meet the Disney Junior Characters

Posted on July 9, 2016 by samanthaandmy5

Of all the Disney World parks, Hollywood Studios is ranked lowest on my favorites list. I feel like there are not enough rides and that for our family, there isn’t quite enough to keep our attention for very long. On our last visit, I took the littles with me while my husband took the bigs to ride Tower of Terror ( I’ve done it once and I’m good). We decided to meet the Disney Junior characters. The lines were long, but not horribly long. I loved seeing all the little kids just eager with the anticipation of meeting these characters. It was adorable. My parents were with me, helping me wrangle the children. It was incredibly hot that day and they needed water and cold treats and cold napkins the whole time we were in line so I was so thankful they were there! 465 When it was finally our turn it was magical and memorable and they loved it.

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David was a little shy with Jake. He really liked Minnie Mouse. But he LOVED Sofia.

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There was so much laughter at that kiss. He had obviously been thinking it out since he saw her. It was priceless and I’m SO GLAD we got pictures of it.

Meeting these characters is completely worth the trip to the park. You don’t get the opportunity to meet them (with the exception of Minnie, of course) anywhere else. If your little ones are Disney Junior fans, then they will definitely enjoy this experience!!

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This site has an auction with a lot of different and really awesome stuff up for auction all to benefit the Meyers family (The Freckled Fox), if you want to check it out.

Disney: Cinderella’s Royal Table

Posted on June 29, 2016 by samanthaandmy5

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A few days before we were leaving for our Disney World trip, I heard that a company had been selling Disney dining reservations illegally and that Disney had stopped them. Because of this, there was now a chance that there were reservations available where there hadn’t been any before. I checked for dining reservations again and lo and behold, there was Cinderella’s Royal Table with several dinner slots open. We chose late reservations. We had arrived in Magic Kingdom later in the afternoon; but it was Extra Magic Hours night and the park was open until 1 a.m. We didn’t tell the children. We told them we were eating somewhere we had never eaten before. They guessed everywhere, but no one guessed inside the Castle! When we walked into the entrance of the Castle and went up to the desk for our reservation, all of the children were shocked and so excited! 278

In the foyer, they got to meet Cinderella.

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No detail is overlooked, as is usual for all things Disney.

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photo credit: disneyworld.go.com/dining/magic-kingdom/cinderella-royal-table

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It really is special eating inside the Castle.The food was good. The service was better. The experience was the BEST!

The children all get a wishing star. The girls get a wand and the boys get a special sword.

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All of the princesses come to your table. They are all so very sweet. They actually came by more than once.

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We really had a special time and loved being able to surprise the children with something they had never thought of doing.

If you get the chance to eat at Cinderella’s Royal Table, I would highly recommend it!

A Disney World Surprise: Animal Kingdom

Posted on June 27, 2016 by samanthaandmy5

When we booked our trip to Disney World, we were first planning on using points and staying at the Hilton. For weeks, I worried about fitting that many people into the room. I looked up ways to keep things organized in small spaces with so many people. My husband wasn’t too worried. That was until he looked at the room again and began to realize that there wouldn’t be any privacy for anyone. He realized that we would be listening to our girls at all hours of the night talking and facetiming friends. He called Disney to see if they had any availability the week before our trip. (I had checked online for weeks and hadn’t found any rooms available for our size party). They had two adjoining rooms available at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We kept it all a secret from the children. We kept telling them to get ready to be cramped for the next week. We told them that they needed to stay organized. When we drove up into the parking lot, they realized we were staying there. They were beyond excited.

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Animal Kingdom Lodge is truly remarkable. We loved all the African touches throughout. It was neat to see artifacts from the continent and to learn a little about some of the countries. Disney does the most fabulous job at fully immersing its guests into the theme.

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We ate at Boma one day for a late lunch. I loved the food there. The sweet potatoes were amazing.

I have to say that it is truly amazing to wake up to giraffes and zebras outside your window! Seeing the animals night and day was definitely the best part! The rooms were great as well. We had a room with bunk beds and a full bed and then a room with two queens. It was plenty of room for the seven of us.

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The only drawback to staying at this location is the transportation. We waited more than 30 minutes sometimes for a bus. The buses were also almost always full. I don’t feel safe riding on a bus while standing and holding my 2 year old or having my children pressed up against a stranger’s body. This is the only complaint I have at all about the experience.

Overall, I really enjoyed staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I’m glad we got to experience this hotel.