disney... my favorite

Disney was amazing! We've been home for almost 2 weeks and I'm still smiling!
The weather was a little rainy, but we were able to spend every day in the park. I can't decide which park is my favorite. Magic Kingdom has the fireworks and parades (my #1 favorite thing to see), Epcot has Soarin (my favorite ride) and at Hollywood Studios I learned how to draw Mickey! For real... I did that! See my signature?

Ross and I really enjoy pin trading. We trade every year and bring home a bunch! They are awesome souvenirs! This year I collected villains. Also, we were lucky to hit the wine and food festival which is every October at Epcot. We walked around the lake and sampled beer, wine and plates of appetizers from cities from all over the world. Favorite food... empanadas from Chili. Ross loves Epcot. riding the 'Epcot ball' is his overall favorite thing to do. This year we enjoyed it 6 times! Lucky us.

And Nathan and Bri are the most amazing hosts... so generous. My favorite day (here I go again) was the day the 5 of us spent at Animal Kingdom. Afterwards, Nate and Bri took us to the rooftop of the Contemporary resort to watch the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. Breathtaking. They drove us around, shared their favorite places and made us feel right at home. I may have favorite rides and favorite foods, but hands down, Nathan and Bri are my favorite part of Disney.

girls rule, boys drool

i just got back from the annual Russell women's retreat. what a blast! every year (i think this is year 7) Russell moms, daughters, cousins, and aunts spend the weekend camping at a pa state park. no spouses. no kids. we rent 2 modern cabins (electricity and showers are important) and celebrate the coolness that makes us family. we build campfires, play games, bike, hike and craft. my favorite tradition is the pumpkin carving contest. each of us arrives with a pumpkin which we gut and cut and display around the campfire at night. there is a prize for the best pumpkin. i didn't win this year... but congratulations to lisa and ashley anyway.

this year the leaves were beautiful and the weather perfect. a hike in the woods led us to several abandoned cabins... fun to explore until i was freaked out by bats. we saw lots of little creatures running about, fortunately no snakes and nothing bigger than a groundhog. trudy joined us from MD this year (a definite highlight) and there was plenty of firewood to last late into the night.

i so look forward to this event each year. this weekend reminds me that not only are we family, but we are friends; women who get together to share, laugh and love. i am blessed.