Zoo Boo

We have one of the best zoos in the country....and I'm not just bragging. We have a membership to the zoo with Mom and Dan and we go all the time. At Halloween each year they present an evening with Halloween themed activites called Zoo Boo. We were excited this year to have my brother James and his family in town for a wedding and so the Perry family joined us for Zoo Boo this year, fresh off the plane from Dallas. It was our first chilly night of the year but it was so much fun. The kids went trick or treating, enjoyed a magic show, singing pumpkins, rides and a train ride. All in a ll a great time and of course another chance to use our costumes. We definitely got our money's worth this year after Halloween party at Disney, Trunk or Treat and Zoo Boo not to mention Halloween itself!!

the girls are ready to get their zoo boo on!

drew (spiderman), anna, caroline and blake (buzz lightyear) with the panda

the cousins waiting on the train ride

enjoying the magic show with mr. nick

Harvest Parties

Both girls had their harvest parties this week on Thursday for Caroline and Friday for Anna. I am room mother in Caroline's room with another mom, Shawnelle, and luckily I was prepared and had most everything ready in advance before my one day trip for work to D.C. Of course my travel home was horrific through Atlanta (I enjoyed a luxurious one night stay in the airport after departing my airplane at 1:45 a.m.) but at least I made it home to Memphis in time for a shower and in time for the party at 11am.

helping caroline with her cookie decorating

caroline with ava...her mom is the other room-mother

happy harvest! glad i made it in time!!

Anna's class had a special snack and got to watch the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown movie. It was fun to spend some time with the class and to see how fun they are. That day was the end of Red Ribbon Week at school and the theme was "Life is not a fairytale...say no to drugs" so all the kids got to dress up like fairytale characters. With no sleep due to my trip home, we chose a king's robe and crown and she was "King of Fairytale Land"....quite creative if you ask me. Great Friday!! The girls both enjoyed not having to wear uniforms for a day!

king anna
silly at her party

i love my girl!!

Cheering in primetime!!

Elementary night at the varsity football game was Friday night. Harding was honoring seniors in the fall sports and the elementary school students were invited to be a part of all the festivities. Anna's cheer squad was invited to perform the halftime show with the older elementary cheerleaders as well as the junior varsity and varsity cheerleading squads. She was so excited about cheering in front of a crowd. The girls had some extra practices and were ready for their debut.

The girls were on the field as the varsity team came through the big tunnel. They got to meet Prowler (school mascot) before the game, cheer on the sidelines during the second quarter and of course the halftime show.

The routine was well done and received lots of cheers from the audience. Anna was definitely proud and excited. Of course once the cheering was over she joined her other friends and started sliding down the hill on cardboard boxes which is a tradition at Harding. All in all a great Friday night...Harding even pulled out a great win!!

proud mommy with anna

caroline and gary with prowler

anna and chloe ready for action!

having fun watching anna on the sidelines

after halftime....so proud!!

Cedar Hill Farms

Before fall break was over and while I was trying to keep the kids from getting bored with me while Gary was in Dallas for a long weekend of sports we took the trip to Cedar Hill Farms. It is about a 45 minute drive to the place in Hernando, MS. We first ventured there last year and were pleasantly surprised how much there was to do at the Pumpkin Patch. It was a rather warm day but at least it was sunny. We had a lot of fun and ended up spending about 3 hours there. We took a hayride, completed the corn maze, watched the pig races, played on the pirate ship, picked out pumpkins and of course ate snacks and played on the playground. Very well laid out and not too expensive. The girls had a great time and it got me in the mood for fall. Just wish it had been a little cooler. Who sweats at a pumpkin patch?? Only in the deep south!!

loading up for the hayride

as if we needed a sign to tell us that anna is TALL

caroline in the hay

the girls on the train ride

anna picking her pumpkin

ready to try the corn maze

wrapping up our trip....picking out some more pumpkins we had a GREAT time!

Final day.....sad and tired!

We awoke for our final day at DisneyWorld....the girls' hair was magically the same as the night before (due to SO much gel and spray at the boutique), but they loved it. The girls passed out when we got to the hotel which was nice and gave Gary and I a chance to completely pack everything up for our trip home. We dropped off our luggage with the concierge (checked it in with Delta for us so we were done with check-in by 8am!!) and headed to the O'Hana restaurant in our hotel for breakfast. The girls had to each get new autograph books because each had filled theirs up. We met so many characters this time that it was crazy fun!! At breakfast we met Lilo and Stitch as well as Pluto and Goofy in their hawaiian shirts. There is also a parade at breakfast that Caroline got to be the leader of with Lilo!

After breakfast we met Mom and Dan at Magic Kingdom and asked the girls to tell us what they wanted to ride. We did the barnstormer roller coaster and tried to meet Tinkerbell (90 minute wait....no way....not worth it!!!), rode several other rides and enjoyed a great lunch. Met a few new characters such as Peter Pan and Chip'n'Dale and Anna and I even were waiting to ride space mountain when the ride shut down! We were in the car strapped in and were the next to leave when they turned on all the lights and had to reset Track A. We were on Track B. After about a 15 minute wait, we were off for our final trek on a great classic ride. I remember when my older brother James and I were at Disney world in the mid 1980's and rode Space Mountain over and over again.

We were sad to have to leave the parks and head back to the hotel to catch the Magical Express to the airport but we had a fantastic time. Not too long, not too short. So thrilled to enjoy it with Mom and Dan who spend so much time with the girls. When we asked Anna what her favorite thing was she kept switching between the big roller coaster rides. When we asked Caroline what her favorite ride was she said "All the rides...all the parks....all the characters". Both girls agreed it was such a fun trip and are already asking when we can go back.....Gary and I need to save our money for the next trip starting now!!

fancy haired girls with gary on the last day

getting ready for parade with lilo

mickey was my date for breakfast!

on the barnstormer...much more mom's speed (over space and thunder mountain!)

peter pan told caroline her green dress was his favorite

saying goodbye to magic kingdom....absolute fun!!

Hollywood Studios plus more!

Tuesday we started our day at Hollywood Studios (by the way, when did it change names from MGM Studios??). We saw upon entrance that people were running as fast as they could in the direction of the Pixar Studios section of the park. I had no idea what they were doing but quickly learned that the new 4-D Toy Story ride was a very popular attraction. We obtained our fastpass to come back 4 1/2 hours later but learned that we were lucky to obtain a fastpass as they run out quickly and then the standby wait time is around 90 to 120 minutes long!! CRAZY!! We grabbed some breakfast and took in the Ariel show as well as a few other small rides. Mimi and Papa took Caroline to see the 30 minute Beauty and the Beast show while Gary and I went with Anna to do the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Gary and I love roller coasters and were so thrilled that Anna was a) tall enough to ride them and b) eager to try them out. We did not disclose prior to entering the ride that it did go upside down almost immediately upon the start of the ride. She was a little anxious but excited too. She LOVED it. I was so glad. Gary said this roller coaster made his day. We picked up Caroline and rode the Tower of Terror as a family. Such a family-friendly ride, don't you think?? Caroline was tall enough (by 1 inch!!) and since she is fearless she was willing to give it a try. Anna was a little scared but ended up admitting that it was fun. Caroline was LAUGHING outloud during the "scary" parts, so much that it made me laugh and others around us. She of course instantly wanted to ride it again. We decided to grab some lunch, let Mom and Dan take an afternoon break and we rode the Tower of Terror again plus Gary and Anna did the roller coaster. Fun day. We chose not to do all of the 'backlot' stuff that is there mainly because the girls don't even know what those movies are and we had an appointment back at the Magic Kingdom for the Bippidi Boppity Boutique and dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table.

The Boutique was happening when we got there. Due to some transportation delays from Hollywood Studios back to the hotel to pick up Caroline's Cinderella dress and Anna's dress for dinner we were a little late. Both girls had their hair and nails done. Caroline was a princess with a bun (she told me no less than 100x that she wanted a bun with a crown and was I sure the stylist knew that??) and Anna chose "Disney Diva". Glad that even though Anna is older she still enjoyed it. Both girls were so cute and all smiles at the end. We shuffled over to dinner with Cinderella and her princess friends. It was great food and a good time and very cool to eat dinner in the castle. Too bad we were not the lucky ones "randomly chosen" to spend the night in the castle. I can only imagine how exciting that would be.

The park was not open late that night but we did head over to Epcot for the nighttime fireworks shows. Mom says it is her favorite. It, like Epcot, is very different from the other parks and is very futuristic. It was cool, the girls loved it, the weather was perfect and I'm so glad we made the monorail trip over to see it. Caroline was sacked out before the fireworks even started...long day for a princess!

having fun at hollywood studios!

gary and i competing on the toy story ride....gary the arcade game guru killed me!
caroline with woody...HUGE!!
gary, anna and me on the rockin' roller coaster...

all prettied up at the bippidy boppity boutique

acting like princesses with cinderella before dinner in her castle

Disney's Animal Kingdom

We spent Monday at the Animal Kingdom theme park. I think it is a well done park but not necessarily a huge attraction. We started the day with the safari ride. We have always been told to do this ride first thing in the morning as the animals are more likely to be out and roaming around and this was definitely great advice. We saw some baby giraffes (my favorite) very close to our tram eating their breakfast but the highlight was the mommy and baby rhino that decided to come right up to our tram and cross back and forth in front of us multiple times. We enjoyed it indeed!! We spent most of the day at the park taking in the Lion King show, braving Expedition Everest plus a few dinosaur themed rides. We even did the 3-D "Bugs Life" show which has special effects in your seat. The girls enjoyed the parade to cap off the day. This park closes by 5pm each day due to the animals so we took an afternoon break and then headed back to Magic Kingdom for the night. We did meet a few characters at Animal Kingdom including Baloo from the Jungle Book as well as Pocahantas. We took in the night parade at Magic Kingdom that night after enjoying Pirates of the Caribbean and several other rides. We even convinced Mimi and Papa do to Thunder Mountain. Quite different at night but still a crowd favorite with the Zyriek family. We are really having a great time!!

baby giraffe spotted on the safari ride

all geared up for the 3-D Bugs Life movie


gary and anna on Everest...fifth row (gary's in a red shirt)

riding thunder mountain at night

caroline in her usual mode of holding her hands up on every ride...this was aladdin's magic carpet ride...to her a thrill ride. she was so fearless!!

Disney World, part 2!!

Sunday morning started with breakfast with the princesses at the Norway Castle in Epcot. Caroline was sporting her Belle dress and was thrilled to see Belle when we first walked in. All the princesses can have their picture taken with Belle upon arrival and then the family is given a picture package for free** included in the price of the character meal (which for us was free since our dining plan was free!). The other pricnesses that were there included Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella and Ariel. Mimi and Papa and joined us on our trip and this breakfast was our first time to see them. The girls were thrilled. The food was yummy and filled us up for quite a while.

We ventured around Epcot for most of the day. We all rode the Test Track, Soarin (very cool virtual reality ride that is one of Mom and Dan's favorites), Finding Nemo and Soarin some more. Good thing we were able to obtain fast passes for Soarin as the wait time creeped up rather quickly to over an hour. We met many characters in the International section of Epcot including Alice in Wonderland, Beauty & the Beast, Jasmine & Aladdin and Mulan. The kids were not so interested in the various countries other than to find the characters and have some snacks. It seemed that some patrons were mostly interested in the 15 beer sample and one of the people in line with us to meet a character said he thought he saw some people that were going to be carried out!! Quite interesting indeed.

We took an afternoon break to cool off and get ready for the Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. This is one of my most favorite things that we have done before. We ate dinner in the park at the Italian place and then got the kids changed into their costumes. Anna was especially excited about her go-go dancer outfit complete with knee high white boots and a pink wig. We enjoyed trick or treating, the parade, the shows and the fact that we could ride space mountain with no wait!! Long day, but very fun day. The kids were exhausted as we boarded the monorail. Nothing is planned for Monday which is good so we can rest up for the rest of our stay!

belle with caroline for breakfast

the girls with mimi and papa after breakfast

a very cool ride at epcot
getting buckled in for soarin'

we liked nemo!
anna with belle & the beast...he was HUGE and not a favorite of caroline's!
mulan with caroline

the girls decked out in costumes for the halloween party
waiting for the halloween fireworks

DisneyWorld!!!! - Part 1

The Zyriek family headed to DisneyWorld on Friday for fall break. The girls have known about the trip for a while and have been so excited. Anna remembers when we went 3 years ago....of course Caroline does not since she was only barely a year old. Caroline was so much looking forward to meeting all the characters and especially the princesses. Anna was very much ready for all the "big" rides. We arrived in Orlando on Friday night and ended up not getting to the hotel until after 11pm. The Magical Express dropped us off at the Polynesian Resort. We were all given a lei upon check-in and the girls promptly performed the hula in the lobby. They were nowhere ready for bedtime but we knew we had a big day ahead of us on Saturday. After unpacking and watching the girls bounce all over the room we were finally ready for sleep!!

doing the hula in the lobby @ the Polynesian!

Saturday morning started with breakfast at Chef Mickey's. We had to make a pitstop by the gift shop on the way to the monorail to pick up autograph books for the girls. I must admit this new "phenomenon" at DisneyWorld of meeting TONS of characters and getting their autographs is a lot of fun. We bought the books where the girls can insert their picture with the character beside the autograph. At breakfast we ate a good meal to start the day and met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald. Not a bad way to knock out 5 characters all before the first meal of the day is over!!

Mickey with the girls!!!

Sweet Minnie Mouse

After breakfast we made our way via monorail to the Magic Kingdom. We were so ready to see Caroline's face when she first saw Cinderella's castle. It was priceless. She wanted to immediately knock on the door of the castle and meet Cinderella. We started to ride the rides in Fantasyland such as Dumbo, Snow White, Peter Pan along with greeting several characters. It's a Small World and the Teacups were both closed for refurbishment (not too sad about the Teacup ride...I HATE IT) but sad Caroline could not ride through It's a Small World. While in the air on Dumbo we noticed a huge construction project ride next door. They are capitalizing on the princess bonanza by building new restaurants (Belle theme "Be our Guest") and rides and other atractions. Interesting to see how it will end up. The girls were having a great time so far. We grabbed some lunch and then decided to try the Thunder Railroad roller coaster. Caroline measured up to 41 inches which was 1 inch above the height requirement for the ride as well as several other "more exciting" rides. We did the roller coaster and it was great. Both girls loved it and it would soon become one of our favorites.

PRICELESS!!

The Zyrieks in front of Cinderella's castle

The heat set in after lunch and we took an hour or so break back at the hotel (thank you monorail!!) and then headed back for more fun and characters. We caught up with Tiana and Prince Naveen from The Princess and the Frog as well as the afternoon parade. We ventured over into Tomorrowland and let Anna try out Space Mountain. Of course a huge hit. We took in the Wishes fireworks...cool especially because Tinkerbell flies through the air to Cinderella's castle and the late parade. Full day indeed.

Looking forward to Sunday as we will meet up with Mom and Dan at the Princess breakfast in Epcot. Lots more to share!!