Jedi Training Academy

EVAN FOUGHT DARTH VADER!!!!!! 

Evan was in the 1:30pm Jedi Training Class on Monday, September 19 at Hollywood Studios. The Jedi Training is for kids 4-12, so he was one of the youngest in his class. They gave them a robe to wear and a light saber to fight with. They taught the kids a short fight sequence and then all of a sudden, Darth Vader and two Storm Troopers appeared. One by one, they all were able to renounce the Dark Side by individually fighting Darth Vader (who was HUGE!). Evan did really well, as he has LOTS of experience using a lightsaber. I think he was a little intimidated by how big and real Darth Vader was. He did great though, no tears, no sign of fear at all. He received a Jedi Training Certificate as well and is now Padawan Evan!

Monday Funday!

This year I decided to enroll Evan in school only 3 days a week, as opposed to 5 like most pre-Kindergarteners. The reasons are plentiful for this decision, but one of the more important ones is that I want to take advantage of the wonderful opportunity I have to spend time with my kids while they are not in school every day for the rest of their lives HAVING FUN! And from this, Monday Funday was created!! We pick a different amusement park we have passes to and spend the better part of Monday there, having a great time. The first week we went to Magic Kindgom, met up with our friends Ms. Jen, Reese & Reagan and had a wonderful time in Fantasyland. This week, it was Hollywood Studios, just the 3 of us. Evan really wanted to do Jedi Training, so to HS we headed. The kids and I especially enjoyed the Buzz Lightyear ride which we had never been on, and the Disney Junior show which now has Jake & the Neverland Pirates as part of it. Claire loved this show the most, she danced along the whole time. Evan sang the songs as loud as he could, and he was thrilled to see Claire have such a good time.

So, with 2 weeks down, the score is

Monday Funday: 2

Boring Mondays: 0

Vintners Inn

 Our second story room

And the last post is about the wonderful hotel we stayed at in Sonoma. It was called the Vintner's Inn and was so quaint and comfortable. Joe & I had a fireplace in our room and we took full advantage, having at least 1 fire in there a day. What a luxury coming from Florida! We had a fantastic trip, but were definitely ready to get back to the kids. We sure missed them. Thanks again to Peggy, we couldn't have done it without you :)!

Napa

 Tasting at Frank Family Vineyard, where we were told it takes BILLIONS to start your own vineyard. So much for the dream!

 Rutherford

 Rubicon-Francis Ford Coppola's Vineyard (Bryan dubbed it Nordstroms, I think it was more like Neiman Marcus)

 Peju, where we actually loved the Merlot

Our last day of wine tasting was in Napa. We hired a driver to drive us around in our rented minivan for the day. It was a lot cheaper, but our driver Ron was not nearly as fun as DJ. We found Napa to be a bit over the top in terms of cost, snobbery and opulence. But the wine was still fantastic, and we enjoyed our day. That day we went to Frank Family Vineyard, Rutherford, Rubicon, Plumpjack and Peju. I liked Frank Family & Peju and could have done without the other ones. We finished our wine tasting with a wonderful dinner at Mustard. This was my 2nd favorite meal, but my favorite ambiance!

Sonoma

 At St. Francis, where we began tasting at 11am

 Laura, Mary & I

 In Wellington's barrels

On our first full day of wine tasting, we explored Sonoma Valley. We hired a tour company, Terrific Tours, to take and show us around the different vineyards. Our driver's name was DJ and he was very cool, handlebar mustache and all! This was my favorite day of wine tasting. We went to: St. Francis, Wellington, Sunflower Cafe for lunch, Hawkes and all of our favorite venue, Larson Family Winery. That night we ate dinner at our hotel, at John Ash & Co. The places were more casual, the wine was fantastic and the meals that day the BEST (lamb burger for lunch, diver scallops and pork belly for dinner).