Tay Tay and The Ren's Visit

Last weekend my sister and niece were in town for the Disney Half Marathon. Truth be told, my sister just wanted the Donald medal and I'm pretty sure that's the only reason they ran it.

I volunteered for the race and was able to hand out medals. I have to tell you this was one of the coolest experiences. I was able to see the elite runners cross (and medal some of them) and I watched the last person cross the finish line.The entire morning was a blur and filled with a sea of runners. I also had a bunch of friends running the race and was able to medal quite a few of them.

What I didn't expect was to see my niece cross the finish line as early as she did. When she came up to me I had to throw my arms around her. The girl crushed it and came in around 3:07 which is like 20 minutes off of her last time. I am so proud of her and cannot wait to see how well she does next month at Glass Slipper.

Not too long after Lorren crossed, my sister crossed and of course she had to yell, "Ammmmannnndaaaaa, where arrrreeee youuuuu???" And yes, my sister is that short and yes, I am that tall.

I am so proud of both of those girls and seriously cannot fully express how amazing it was to medal them. If you ever have an opportunity to volunteer at a race, do it. It's the most gratifying experience.

After the race, I picked up the kiddos and we headed over to Animal Kingdom Lodge to spend some time with Tay Tay and Lorren. The kiddos were beyond excited to see them and could not wait to head out to dinner with some of Tay Tay's friends at Teppan Edo.

This was the second time the kids have been here and they really like the place. Jill had plain noodles because she's Jill and Aaron noshed on pretty much everything.

After dinner we hung out in the parks and then headed back for our sleepover. The kiddos (Lorren included) loved standing on the balcony and looking at all of the animals. They were staying near one of the main housing units for the animals, so we were always able to see animals. There are also a few viewing areas on the way to the room and we managed to walk past during feeding times so we were able to see a lot of animals at once.

On Sunday morning we had breakfast at Boma which was so scrumptious. Seriously, if you have a chance head over there and have breakfast. After that we went over to Splitsville to bowl. It was a first visit for all of us and it will definitely not be the last. It was so much fun! The lanes put the bumpers up whenever the kids would bowl and they came down when the adults were bowling. I mean, I kind of wish the bumpers were up the whole time, I think we would have had better scores.

The weekend was short, but it was so much fun. I cannot wait for the girls to be back in just under a month.

I have a lot more to post, we have definitely been busy. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are having a lovely start to the week.

What My Family Ate for Dinner - Week 3

This was a crazy week for us. I ran over the weekend and have been prepping for a conference all week, so we needed a bunch of simple recipes that were still fairly healthy.

In case you haven't checked in with Southern Fried Fat Guy, Scott is still doing extremely well with his weight loss!

Here's what we ate:

Sunday, February 23: Teppan Eddo

No, it's not the name of a dish, it's the name of a restaurant in EPCOT. It's a hibachi style restaurant that serves super delicious Japanese food. We were there celebrating Cathy's birthday.

Scott and I both had the chicken and shrimp, Aaron had shrimp (yeah) and Jillian had chicken. Everyone even ate with chopsticks. Well, Jill didn't, but Aaron did. He did an amazing job and didn't ask for his fork once!



Monday, February 24: Dirty Rice with Smoked Turkey Sausage

This was a request from Aaron. Sometimes something really simple is the best meal you can have. All I did was make some Zatarains Dirty Rice mix and add some Jennie-O Smoked Turkey Sausage. Add a veggie on the side and your meal is complete!

Tuesday, February 25: Quinoa Chicken Chili

This is a favorite for Scott and I. One serving is only 214 calories and is packed with protein. My favorite part? All you have to do is put it in the crock pot and walk away. So simple!

Wednesday, February 26: Ground Turkey Tacos

This was another Aaron request. I usually make my tacos with ground turkey instead of beef. Sometimes I use meatless crumbles (like Quorn) or I shred chicken. This is another easy weeknight meal that you can pack with veggies (lettuce, tomato, salsa, etc.).


Thursday, February 27: Pepperoni Chicken

O.M.G. This was SO delicious! I found this recipe on one of my favorite sites, SkinnyMom and cannot wait to make it again! Each serving is 211 calories. We paired it with some steamed broccoli and it was perfect!

Friday, February 28: Turkey Burger Casserole

I know, we eat a LOT of this. Aaron gobbled this up, again (think 3 servings).

This is an old photo, not from last night, but we have started taking the tomatoes out. Only Scott eats them. I just add more zucchini to the recipe and then some on the side.





Saturday, March 1: Leftovers

Not exciting, I know.

I hope you enjoy all of these yummy recipes!