A Fun Weekend, More Epcot and a Quiet Weekend

Thomas was out of town from December 4-8. It was very disappointing for him to miss out on prime holiday happenings. The week was busy! The girls and I went to Hollywood Studios on Wednesday after school/work. It was a good night, we rode lots of rides, got dinner and holiday treats, enjoyed the lights and finally saw Fantasmic (didn't love it).

I did love the lights.

The biggest thing that happened was Anna got stung by a wasp at school on Tuesday. She was swollen and a little sore on Wednesday. Then, really sore and swollen on Thursday and Friday. She ended up missing two days of school and didn't get back full range of motion until Sunday!

This was either Friday or Saturday

Sad picture to send to Thomas

Last Saturday, to celebrate Thomas being home, we had a super fun family day. We started with Fort Christmas. Jack drove. He is a good driver, but can be a little overconfident. I told the kids when they started driving that my biggest rule was they needed to take any correction we gave them without argument. I think Jack is a little bit in the "I already know this" phase and was getting annoyed at my directions. Anyway, it wasn't a big deal, but did cause some mild frustration for both of us.

The houses at Fort Christmas had decorations and we enjoyed walking around. The Fort was also open. I think it was the first time in years that we have gone with everything open. It was a beautiful day to be outside. 

From there, we went to lunch at Steak-n-Shake. Another Wilson December tradition! It was very good and we had no complaints. I think their shakes are the best! Then, we went shopping. Bath and Body Works was having their annual $4.95 sale and we spent over $100! $5 adds up with 5 people adding things to the basket. Luke was the only one who didn't pick out anything; he did did get some things at Five Below. We also went to Target. We came home for a couple of hours and then went out to dinner at Tijuana Flats. It was a full, fun, expensive day :)

We had another Wednesday afternoon/evening at Epcot. We went to Norway and watched holiday storytellers who told us about the Barn Santa. They were excellent story tellers and we loved it. Then, we grabbed dinner at Connections. I wanted to eat solely festival food, but was outvoted. The plan was to eat dinner at Connections and then snack around the world, but we ended up riding rides and never made it back into the World Showcase. We did get a few more cookies to start a new cookie stroll. The spiced hot chocolate is my favorite. We also liked the sugar m&m cookie and the Linzer cookie. The peppermint pinwheel would probably be my fourth, with the snickerdoodle and gingerbread coming in last (writing to remember for next year).

We did Soarin, Living with the Land (love that holiday overlay!), Figment, Spaceship Earth, Test Track and Guardians. On Guardians, we got our final song! Thomas and I have now heard all 6 songs. It took us 10 rides, which is better than a lot of people (according to the Facebook page). 

Thursday was the high school band's Christmas concert. Kara, Thomas and I went. Anna had a headache, so she opted out, and Luke just didn't want to go and was thrilled when Anna let him stay with her. They missed out because the concert was really good!

Thomas and I were off on Friday and went back to Epcot. Maybe we have a problem??? We listened to another storyteller (Hanukah), watched the Voices of Liberty singers (amazing!), saw the show in America, and strolled through the shops. We also got food. Specifically, I wanted another cheese fondue. We also got a turkey plate and Thomas got to try the peanut stew, they were out last time. It was super spicy, but he liked it. The only ride we did was Frozen. We left around 1:30 and were home in time to meet the kids when they got home from school.

The forecast called for a stormy weekend, so we decided to have a weekend (mostly) at home. Saturday morning, Thomas and Luke went running. Luke did 1.5 miles, Thomas did 6.3, he said he wanted to make sure he could still run a 10k. Should there ever be an emergency and someone is needed to fill a spot in a 10k, he will be prepared! Anna and I went for a walk. It was drizzly out, but nice to be outside. Then, Thomas and I went to Target to, hopefully, finish our Christmas shopping. 

We came home and had a fun afternoon at home while it rained outside. Thomas and I wrapped presents. Thomas, Anna and I played Ticket to Ride. Then, Kara joined in for Scattergories. In what can only be described as a December miracle--I won both games! Thomas and I ended the night with a Hallmark movie. It was a pretty amazing day!