The Dodd's Take on Ireland - Day 1

We arrived to Ireland today at about 5:40am Dublin time (we are 5 hours ahead). The flight was fine, food served was Irish Stew and was delicious. All our luggage arrived safe and sound, we picked up our rental car and off I drove (it was pretty nerve racking at first but after about 15 minutes it's not too bad), Dave and David were exhausted and napped for quite a bit of the journey

But along the way we stopped for breakfast at a cafe near Shannon. Dave and David had omelettes while I opted for French toast with bananas and some amazing maple syrup. 

With stopping for breakfast and one restroom stop it took about 3hrs & 15 min to get to the rental house

After we settled in at the rental we venture out to explore Ennis where we will be staying till Friday; its a quaint little town with some cute shops, locals eateries, and very narrow streets! We visited the local grocery and picked up some necessities; tonight I cooked everyone chicken, rice, and peas (Davids favorite). After dinner we relaxed in the indoor hot tub, much needed after such a busy 24 hours.

The house is great, David I think has the best view and when he opens his window he can hear the sheep in the field next door talking to one another.

Tomorrow we will visit the a Ring of Kerry, a picturesque roadway with some stops along the way for shopping, lunch, and snapshots.

Can't wait for day 2! 

The Magic of Disney

I love introducing friends and family to the magic of Disney, today a friend told me they had a great time on our latest trip to Disney but that I have ruined him! Ruined him??? Yes, he can no longer have conversations with his family without Disney being brought into the fold. Questions like...when can we go back, what parks can we go to next time, can I get that pair of R2D2 Mickey Ears this time?  "Aren't you glad I convinced you to get the annual passes" 😜 I said. 

We've successfully completed 3 trips with the Paynes now and I'm glad to say each time we have shown them new things Disney can offers; different shows, snacks, restaurants, tours, and the Garden Festival at Epcot was a big hit!!! Can't wait to go again for our "Adults Only" weekend 

Hollywood Studios Animation class

The Mickey ears ice cream every time

My favorite Topiary 

My new favorite parade

Donald is his number one! 

An Influenster win!!!

I always feel like I won big when I'm picked for an influenster box, I get excited when I get the initial survey to see if I'm a good "candidate". Did I give them the right answers, do I fit the bill? Well I got the email that this little gem was going to be popping into my mailbox woohoo!!! Knowing I was going to have to share my thoughts with social media, I thought of different ways to try this savory spread when it hit me....homemade peanut butter cookies. Yeah I know I know, it's not "healthy" but oh my word how yummy it is! My hubs and 10 year old are now hooked on this combination. Looks like it will be a regular item on the grocery list. Looking forward to discovering what else would be a yummy pairing. Enjoy! 

I received this product complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes, my opinions are my own 

Our latest trip was a success!

I am happy to say that our latest trip to Disney was a success! I'll be honest I was quite nervous how it would all turn out considering we were going with a total of 20 family members. That's right I said 20! 

I planned for weeks; making lists, making menus, pre-cooking food, gathering needed items, making goodies for the littles, and determining what our itinerary would be. Making sure everyone had their tickets and ensuring they were linked to our my disney experience account for fast pass selection.

With some of the family members never having gone to Disney, and several not being there in years...all eyes were on me to make the most of the trip. I focused on the littles; making sure to select fast passes for experiences that would mean the most to them.  We all focused on ensuring that we all had a good time, it really was amazing to see. 

Meeting Ariel in her grotto was for sure worth a fastpass, she anxiously discussed her hair rituals with my great niece; as you can see they do share the same color hair!

Making tutu's for my Great Nieces was one of the highlights for me! Oh that Mickey!

Cousins bonding: that was what our trip was all about! 

My great nephews first lollipop,perfect way to finish off a visit to Hollywood Studios. 

My favorite fastpass selection of all...Wishes nighttime spectacular! So amazing watching those fireworks from a private grassy knoll with Tinkerbelle flying right above us, just perfect! 

Thunder Mountain Railroad here we come!

But this smiling face...this is what made all the hard work worth it, we love you Val...keep laughing, keep fighting! 

You go to Disney a lot!

You go to Disney a lot!  I hear that quite frequently from family, friends, and even the check out girl at Publix.  "You go to Disney a lot" the check out girl Cassandra at Publix said to me just yesterday as she was bagging up my 2 carts full of groceries.

This next trip coming up in just 3 short weeks is going to be epic!  Yes, epic!  Why you ask?  Because we are going with a group of 19 people (all related) and staying on 2 campsites at the Disney Fort Wilderness Resort.  Yikes! Guess who has been nominated the official "tour guide"  yup, this girl!  No pressure really, as most of these trusting family members have never been to Disney World (whew).

My approach; treat this like a weekend camping with the cub scouts.  Be organized, make lists, make an itinerary, send emails to the group (lots of emails), create a menu, and shopping list.  That grocery list included things like 6 lbs of bacon, 3 dozen eggs, 3 loaves of bread (and that's just for 1 meal)!

I will need to be focused these next couple of weeks if this trip is going to be EPIC!

Wish me luck!