Disney continued

Day 2: Epcot

There were only four rides at this park, but a handful of shows and lots of places to eat. This park showcases eleven different countries that are all one world. It was neat seeing all of the different buildings from the different countries and you could also try many different kinds of food!! We also met up with a couple characters. The best ride there was the test track. You are in a car which takes you through all the tests a new car goes through before being released to the public. You went through extreme heat, cold, speed bumps, crash test, anti-lock brakes and of course speed!! It was awesome!! We also saw "Reflections", which is a firework show. It was pretty cool!! Another exhausting day, but many more too come. The next day is Hollywood Studios.

p.s. we dont have a ton of pics on our cameras for me to post because we used a photo pass where Disney's photographers would take our pics and put them on a disc for us and we dont have the disc yet!!

Disney continued

Happy 18th Birthday Mallory!!(August 3) Today we went to Magic Kingdom!! Since today is Mal's b-day, she gets in for free, however we already purchased the tickets so she opted for a $75 gift card to spend at any Disney park!! She also got to wear a birthday pin so everyone knew whe was celebrating today. She got all kinds of free stuff and a million happy birthdays!! We started the day off by eating breakfast at the Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Aunt Buffy and the kids also came to eat.



After breakfast, we were off to the rides!!

You cant help but become a little kid when you hit Main Street and see the castle!!We stayed at the park til 11ish and saw every parade, character and rode every ride there!! Our feet hurt and we were exhauted. Time for us to go back to the resort and get some sleep before Epcot the next day.

Disney vacation

Nick, Mallory and Shelby Matson set out on our adventure to Disney World on July 31. We first stopped by the visit Grandma and Grandpa Frazier in Palatka, Florida and
then hit the outlet mall!! That nght we stayed at my Aunt Buffy's condo on the beach at ste. augustine. The next morning we woke up, threw on our suits and off we went to the beach. I could live on the beach easily!! I love it!! That night we went to the Outback Steakhouse, which is a family tradition for my mothers side, with Aunt Buffy, uncle Steve and Gabi and Izzi. Since we were in ste. augustine, we decided to go into downtown and check out the little shops. We took a horse and buggy ride through downtown and listened to the history of the oldest city in the U.S.
The next day we headed to Orlando to visit Mickey and his friends!! When we arrived we checked in and had a gift basket waiting for us. Thanks MOM and DAD!! Check out the hats!!


We then headed to Downtown Disney where the girls (Gabi and Izzi) were to be made into princesses at the bibbidy, bobbidy, boutique. You get to pick your princess, the hair, and the makeup and then get your pics taken for a pretty penny of course. Gabi did wonderful and sat there like a perfect little angel, Izzi on the other hand was a monster. I dont have any pics of Izzi because she did not like the process. Here are some pics of Gabi though!!





After Downtown Disney, we went back to our resort, The Caribbean Beach Resort, and swam.

Roadtrip to Paula Deen

On Sunday, mom, Mary(Nick's mom), Christy (Nick's sister), and I all jumped in the car and roadtripped to Savannah, GA to visit Paula Deen's restaurant. For those of you that do not know who Paula Deen is, she is a cook on the food network that is famous for using lots of butter and always says "Hey Ya'll". We drove all day and night (10 plus hours) on Sunday and arrived in Savannah at 2:00 AM Monday morning. We got up the next day and hit historic downtown. We did a bit of shopping that morning, but mostly ate!! We stopped at every candy store they had (there was about 5) and had free samples and then bought some to go. Pralines and salt water taffy were the big hits!! We then decided to go on a tour of the historic downtown by horse and buggy. We learned about the history of Savannah and got to see the historic buildings that were still standing from years ago. We were upset though because the bench from "Forest Gump" was removed and put in a museum so we were unable to sit on it to take pics. Mom and I had a whole page in our scrapbook that we envisioned with the bench that we could not do because someone decided to mke money. Crappy!! Anyway, I did take a pic of where the bench wold have been if it was still there today. It is called Chippewa Square!! That night we ate a The Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant). Everything was amazing, especially the banana pudding and pecan pie made with real whipped cream. After stuffing ourselves like pigs, we shopped at her store and bought some souvenirs and cookbooks to made the memorable event. We then decided to do a haunted pub crawl. Savannah is known for their paranormal activity so I wanted to see what it was all about. We walked the entire historic district and stopped at 5 different haunted bars and listened to ghost stories for 3 hours. It was a lot of fun!! Mom and I kept takin pics to see if we could get a paranormal in our pic. I got something that was not normal, but dont know what. Mary and Christy said it was a street light, however there was no street lights around!! Freaky!! The next day we went to the beach at Tibbey Island. I could have stayed there all day, but we had other things to do. We went back into historic downtown and again stopped at the candy store and then boarded a boat for a dolphin excursion. We got to see a handful of dolphins in their natural habitat following a shrimping boat, eating the leftovers. They did a couple jumps for us, however they were too fast to get many good pics. That evening we made one last trip around downtown and then went back to the hotel to get rested before having to drive the entire next day to get back home. The trip was short, but it was a lot of fun.

4th of july

Nick is the operations manager for three campgrounds in IL and MO. So for the 4th we went to one of them, HoneyBend Resort in Litchfield, IL so he could supervise the activities. We played tug-of-war, and slip and slide or rather we laughed our butts off watching the campers do these activities. After all the fun and games, we went out to eat at a cute little historical cafe on the historical Route 66 called Ariston Cafe. It was pretty good. After stuffing ourselves full of good food and of course dessert, we went back to the campground for some fireworks. The show did not last long, but they were pretty good. The next day, nick and I went to visit Gail and Dave Johnson at their new home in Springfield, IL. I graduated with both of them from Maryville and Gail was my roommate in college for 3 years and was an usherette in my wedding last year. Needless to say we have a long history together. I did not get to attend their wedding in June because we had another family wedding the same day so Nick and I decided to go and see the new house and catch up since it has been awhile. It was so good to see them and their house is adorable!! After catching up with Gail and Dave, we drove back home. We were going to go and watch some fireworks at the mall, but instead we walked the neighborhood and saw everyone else's firework show.

Happy birthday and Fathers Day Dad

Happy Birthday and fathers day, DAD!! My father turned 47 on June 19!! Nick and I got him a headlight to wear on his head because he ducked taped a flashlight to his head many years ago and we still remember that and give him hell for it. He loved his gift!! We took a pic but I unfortunately do not have it, so mom you need to send it too me so I can post it because it is hilarious. For fathers day all of us kids bought the whole family cards tix. We go in September!!

off to college

So I know that I am really behind on all of my blogs, so I am catching up today!! Mallory, my lil sis, graduated in May and is off to pursue a career as an RN at SIUE. I still remember the first day that I met her. She came home on my eighth b-day and she was the best gift a big sis could ever get!! Cant believe she is old enough to be starting college in the fall, but the best part is that she will be only 45 minutes away so I can check up on her!! Good luck Mal!