Disney Diaries

I think this is our 3rd year of taking my sister's boys to Disney at the beginning of summer vacation. It's me, my mom, sister and the kiddos. Although, last year we brought the husbands and that was awesome too. Going in summer can be brutal, but we feel like we have a good thing going! 

Day 1 - Animal Kingdom

Our first day brought us to Animal Kingdom - the home of the boy's favorite rides. They both adore riding Expedition Everest, and so we made that our first ride of the day. We also made sure to ride both Avatar attractions and the Safari. It was such a humid hot day, and we had gotten up so early so we called it at about 2:30. We checked into the Carribean Beach resort and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the pool! 

What I Wore: Athletic Dress (with detached bottoms for easy bathroom breaks! Genius!) | Brooks Sneakers | Mickey Socks | Belt Bag | Belt Bag Charms | Body Glitter

Day 2 - EPCOT

Now for the grown ups favorite park! We loved staying at Caribbean Beach because of the Skyliner. Such a great way to get around! We spent the morning at the front of the park and did every single ride. We did purchase Lightning Lane, and I think it's worth every penny even though it's annoying to spend so much. After riding Guardians of the Galaxy (everyone's favorite!) we got caught in the rain. My sister was smart and brought ponchos - but they ended up being terrible! It was like being wrapped in Saran Wrap. My mom went into the nearest gift shop and bought us 'real' Disney ponchos and they were the bomb. 

We didn't mind wandering the rain after a margarita in Mexico anyway. And a frozen orange delightful thing in Paris...

One of my favorite Aunt things to do is to take the kids off by myself for a little while so their mom can have a break. We did this last year and it was one of my favorite memories ever - just me, Blake and the the kiddos. So, this time I took them on 2 more rides and through a gift shop while my mom and their mom got to put their feet up in England. It's just great quality time and they are on their best behavior because it feels special. 

We ended our day in Japan for dinner, which was amazing, and then we jumped on the Skyliner for 'home'. Not before stopping at a gift shop and me spending an absurd amount of money on Crocs of all things! My socks were so wet from the rain and I was just dying to get into some comfy shoes. I've never owned Crocs before - and here we are. 

What I Wore: Mickey Tee | Fabletics Shorts | Belt Bag | Adidas | Sunglasses

Watch Band | Crocs | Body Glitter

Day 3 - Hollywood Studios

I actually only took a handful of pictures this day because we were BUSY! We started the day around 9:30 and left the park probably 12 hours later. Most of our Lightning Lanes were for the later afternoon so it was a slower start with a few shows and one wait-in-line situation. I think after it was all said and done we did every single ride and almost every attraction in the park by the end of the day. The boy's other aunt came and brought them a friend so that made it nice. 

I actually made my shirt with a comfort colors cropped tee and a Grogu patch I found on Amazon. And I wore my new Crocs! Very comfy, and I was able to wear them all day in the park without much thought. My shins were really sore the next day, but so were my sister's so I can't blame it on the shoes. 

What I Wore: T-Shirt | Amazon Shorts (Highly recommend these! GREAT pockets) 

Crocs | Loungefly Backpack | Ears | Body Glitter

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You may like my other Disney posts! Or my Disney Favorites Shopping Page!

-Kristen

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Disney Diaries

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Family Photos in Apalachicola

While on vacation, we hired a local photographer to take some fresh family photos. It was fun to get dressed up! We spent about an hour walking around Apalach taking pictures with various combinations of my parents, sister's family, my brother and his wife, and of course Blake and I. 

I'm sure it was hard to wrangle all ten of us, but the photos turned out so nice! 

What I wore:

-Kristen

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Family Photos in Apalachicola

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

A Week At The Beach

Recently, my family spent a week at St. George Island during my nephew's spring break. It was an awesome week, and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. 

We stayed in a house on the bay, which was so much fun. The dock was great to hang out on, and we rented kayaks for the week so we all took turns going on adventures. The house also had a pool - so we honestly didn't even need to leave. But, of course we spent a few days at the beach on the gulf too. 

Things We Brought or Bought For the Beach:

-Kristen

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A Week At The Beach

Scenes from Blue Ridge, GA

Gosh, what a week! On Wednesday, we were faced with Hurricane Idalia. The eye of the storm went in about an hour east of us, and right in between where we live and my sister lives. We have lots of friends here and there and in the middle - so we were really anxious about the whole thing. For us, the storm was fairly insignificant. We didn't lose power and basically just experienced wind and rain. Lots of other people weren't as fortunate!  We had planned to leave for Blue Ridge on Thursday so that added to the stress of all of it! Should we stay or should we go kinda stuff. 

Well, we just tweaked our plans slightly, and were able to get away! Every year we try to do a vacation as party of 10 - which includes my parents, my siblings and their families. Normally, it's a cruise. But this year we thought we'd try something different! 

We spent the long weekend in a mountain side cabin overlooking the Toccoa River. It was so beautiful and we had such a great time.

A few highlights: 

- Tubing! (This was by far my favorite activity) 

- A ride on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway! My family rented out the caboose, and it was such a cool experience. The train takes you from Blue Ridge over the state line to Copperhill, TN. Well, actually the town is half in Georgia, and half in Tennessee. The train is all open air, but the caboose is private and climate controlled. Super comfortable and luxurious! 

- Angry Hops Brewing! My family loves breweries, and we stopped at 3 this trip. Angry Hops was by far our favorite. Just good vibes, and delicious beer. 

- A slight drop in temperature. Haha, these Floridians were very happy the weather was like 10 degrees cooler than home. 

- The first FSU game of the season! It was the icing on the cake that we got to watch the game together. FSU in the fall was a core part of my childhood, so watching with my siblings is extra special. Plus they won, which was a mood booster! 

I really didn't pick up my phone all that much on this trip, which is how I prefer it to be. But, I do always think I wish I had taken more pictures. Maybe I'll be a good blogger someday, ha!

Honestly, the very best part of the whole trip was my brother in law surprising us. The storm was so bad in their area, so he had many responsibilities at home. He wasn't sure he'd make it up there to join us. And honestly, we had kinda lost hope after a couple of days because work wasn't slowing down for him. But, I'll never forget how shocked we all were when he pulled up behind us on the road leading to our cabin. It was a great surprise! 

-Kristen

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Scenes from Blue Ridge, GA

Wednesday, September 6, 2023