Monday, October 28, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
3v3 Tourney
Played at Creekside yesterday. This was Kate's first with a team of her making (Dylan and Bekah). They were Team 22 for Amanda and played fantastically well. Probably ended up something like 15-1 and showed great growth in their ability to talk, use space, and make good decisions with the ball.
Drew played in it for the first time ever. His team had to play in the older age group, including going against Kate's team. Wins were scarce, but they got great competition and showed some great improvements over the course of the day. They tied at least one match and Drew had some really nice goals/plays. It's really impressive when you consider the average team was 2-3 years older. His teammates were Emmie, Laura, Ever, and a random girl that needed another team.
Drew played in it for the first time ever. His team had to play in the older age group, including going against Kate's team. Wins were scarce, but they got great competition and showed some great improvements over the course of the day. They tied at least one match and Drew had some really nice goals/plays. It's really impressive when you consider the average team was 2-3 years older. His teammates were Emmie, Laura, Ever, and a random girl that needed another team.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Phelan/Niemann Vacationfest 2013 in retrospect - Day 8
Otherwise known as getaway day. The Niemanns took off early for Tampa to see David's family for a day prior to turning around and driving home on Sunday.
We stayed around longer. We spent time exploring the entirety of the resort grounds which are pretty immense. Ate beignets for breakfast. The powdered sugar led to the exact level of clean eating you can imagine with three kids under 10.
After that, we checked out and headed to Downtown Disney. Drew and dad spent a bundle of hours at Disneyquest. About 95% of our time there was spent on two games. - NBA Jam and pop a shot. The hundreds of other video games and activities held little interest, but the two main basketball games were all Drew wanted. And, me too. It was a blast.
Kate, Ben, and Sherri went to the mini-golf course and Kate even got a hole in one. They then went to the shopping half of downtown Disney and started honing in on souvenirs. We all ate lunch together at Wolfgang Pucks.
After that, it was off to Goofy's Candy Company to get giant rice krispie treat Mickey heads covered in more sugary goodness than should be allowed, buy final souvenirs (lot of potato head paraphenalia, toy cars, balls, etc). Then, time for the long drive home since every kid had soccer the next morning.
The drive was pleasant and uneventful which is all you want out of a 7 hour car trip. Normal stops for the necessities with all of the kids falling asleep by Macon. Got home around midnight to some fun Reagan fanfare.
Final steps - 15,847.
We stayed around longer. We spent time exploring the entirety of the resort grounds which are pretty immense. Ate beignets for breakfast. The powdered sugar led to the exact level of clean eating you can imagine with three kids under 10.
After that, we checked out and headed to Downtown Disney. Drew and dad spent a bundle of hours at Disneyquest. About 95% of our time there was spent on two games. - NBA Jam and pop a shot. The hundreds of other video games and activities held little interest, but the two main basketball games were all Drew wanted. And, me too. It was a blast.
Kate, Ben, and Sherri went to the mini-golf course and Kate even got a hole in one. They then went to the shopping half of downtown Disney and started honing in on souvenirs. We all ate lunch together at Wolfgang Pucks.
After that, it was off to Goofy's Candy Company to get giant rice krispie treat Mickey heads covered in more sugary goodness than should be allowed, buy final souvenirs (lot of potato head paraphenalia, toy cars, balls, etc). Then, time for the long drive home since every kid had soccer the next morning.
The drive was pleasant and uneventful which is all you want out of a 7 hour car trip. Normal stops for the necessities with all of the kids falling asleep by Macon. Got home around midnight to some fun Reagan fanfare.
Final steps - 15,847.
Phelan/Niemann Vacationfest 2013 in retrospect - Day 7
The last park day. Epcot, here we come.
This was laid out early as more of a "Parents drive the direction we go, not the kids". So, we hit all the needed rides, but we spent a ton of time in the World Showcase exploring, etc. We had each kid pick a spot in each country where they wanted their picture taken which was fun. All sorts of funny and interesting poses and spots.
The kids got stamps/signatures from each country which was fun. Did some hidden Mickey searching as well.
To be honest, I think I remember this day the least. There wasn't a ton of new stuff, just a lot of hanging out.
Split families for dinner. We hit O'Hana which is our favorite and it was just as awesome as expected.
Total steps - 26,300. It really says something when nearly 15 miles of walking qualifies as a light day.
This was laid out early as more of a "Parents drive the direction we go, not the kids". So, we hit all the needed rides, but we spent a ton of time in the World Showcase exploring, etc. We had each kid pick a spot in each country where they wanted their picture taken which was fun. All sorts of funny and interesting poses and spots.
The kids got stamps/signatures from each country which was fun. Did some hidden Mickey searching as well.
To be honest, I think I remember this day the least. There wasn't a ton of new stuff, just a lot of hanging out.
Split families for dinner. We hit O'Hana which is our favorite and it was just as awesome as expected.
Total steps - 26,300. It really says something when nearly 15 miles of walking qualifies as a light day.
Phelan/Niemann Vacationfest 2013 in retrospect - Day 6
Hollywood Studios.
During the day, this day was generally summarized as the one day of the vacation that fought us a bit. Why? 1. We spent most of the day in a misty rain. This isn't really bad since rain doesn't slow us down, but Hollywood Studios is the toughest to navigate in general and rain clogs up our pathways with weaker people seeking shelter.
2. Our timing was a bit off in getting to things. We got hemmed in at one thing and arrived late to the stunt show. We were probably 10 minutes later than hoped for to Indiana Jones and missed a chance to volunteer (which the kids were hugely hoping for).
3. Toy Story Mania was busier than ever (probably due to rain), so the ability to pile fastpasses on top of each other was minimized.
4. The Jedi training was abbreviated. All the kids got to train, but when it came time to fight Darth Vader, Drew and Kate had their fights. But, a light and brief mist (those words even overstate it) started, the people on stage called it off, and that left about 5 kids including Andrew and Ben hanging without a fight. Ben didn't care, felt bad for Andrew though. They did get their pic with Darth, just not the same though.
5. The bakery with awesome snacks was continually closed. It was always open whenever we jetted past it going from ride to ride. But, the two times we wanted to stop and grab something, it was closed.
So, don't get me wrong. We had a fun day, it was just a bigger struggle than the other days.
We did find a good lunch spot at the Backlot Express.
Ben did not enjoy Tower of Terror. Drew was able to squeak into the Rock N Roller Coaster and loved it.
We ate dinner at Whispering Canyons (first time ever). It was good, not great. The kids had fun delivering ketchup to other tables.
Total steps - 25,331. Smaller park, more shows, less walking.
During the day, this day was generally summarized as the one day of the vacation that fought us a bit. Why? 1. We spent most of the day in a misty rain. This isn't really bad since rain doesn't slow us down, but Hollywood Studios is the toughest to navigate in general and rain clogs up our pathways with weaker people seeking shelter.
2. Our timing was a bit off in getting to things. We got hemmed in at one thing and arrived late to the stunt show. We were probably 10 minutes later than hoped for to Indiana Jones and missed a chance to volunteer (which the kids were hugely hoping for).
3. Toy Story Mania was busier than ever (probably due to rain), so the ability to pile fastpasses on top of each other was minimized.
4. The Jedi training was abbreviated. All the kids got to train, but when it came time to fight Darth Vader, Drew and Kate had their fights. But, a light and brief mist (those words even overstate it) started, the people on stage called it off, and that left about 5 kids including Andrew and Ben hanging without a fight. Ben didn't care, felt bad for Andrew though. They did get their pic with Darth, just not the same though.
5. The bakery with awesome snacks was continually closed. It was always open whenever we jetted past it going from ride to ride. But, the two times we wanted to stop and grab something, it was closed.
So, don't get me wrong. We had a fun day, it was just a bigger struggle than the other days.
We did find a good lunch spot at the Backlot Express.
Ben did not enjoy Tower of Terror. Drew was able to squeak into the Rock N Roller Coaster and loved it.
We ate dinner at Whispering Canyons (first time ever). It was good, not great. The kids had fun delivering ketchup to other tables.
Total steps - 25,331. Smaller park, more shows, less walking.
Phelan/Niemann Vacationfest 2013 in retrospect - Day 5
Day 5, and back to the Magic Kingdom for a second day. The weather was great again. We spent a little less time hitting the big rides (though we rode them plenty due to our fast walking and efficient navigation), and hit a lot of the secondary rides that we missed on day 1.
The kids really enjoyed It's a Small World. This had nothing to do with the ride itself, it was more due to the rain poncho floating in the water ahead of our boat and whether we would catch up to it and run over it. Hey, whatever makes things fun.
Ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's. This place is actually really good. It's hard to say a place that has hundreds of people eating there is overlooked, but the food is good, plentiful, and is pretty healthy fuel to make it through the day.
The Phelan/Niemann group spent most of the afternoon split up to hit the various highlights each family was aiming for. Our group did the sorceror's quest some more. Ben fell into a deep sleep at the Hall of Presidents. Vegas couldn't have put high enough odds on that happening.
Ate dinner at Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends. There was much picture taking, child marching, and food eating. The park was closed by the time we got done. The Disney Halloween fest thing was going on, so we got to leave the park somewhat gawking at the weird (and often inappropriate) costumes people were wearing.
Total steps - 33,415.
The kids really enjoyed It's a Small World. This had nothing to do with the ride itself, it was more due to the rain poncho floating in the water ahead of our boat and whether we would catch up to it and run over it. Hey, whatever makes things fun.
Ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's. This place is actually really good. It's hard to say a place that has hundreds of people eating there is overlooked, but the food is good, plentiful, and is pretty healthy fuel to make it through the day.
The Phelan/Niemann group spent most of the afternoon split up to hit the various highlights each family was aiming for. Our group did the sorceror's quest some more. Ben fell into a deep sleep at the Hall of Presidents. Vegas couldn't have put high enough odds on that happening.
Ate dinner at Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends. There was much picture taking, child marching, and food eating. The park was closed by the time we got done. The Disney Halloween fest thing was going on, so we got to leave the park somewhat gawking at the weird (and often inappropriate) costumes people were wearing.
Total steps - 33,415.
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