This week seemed to fly by faster than most; & doesn't it always work out that way when you're on vacation?
Let's start off with business first!
1. Friday, Jenna attended a tasting set at the gorgeous Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. This was our Bride & Groom's second tasting to finalize a few dishes & the new menu had Jenna in pure food coma. They placed 5 or 6 beef appetizers, 2 vegetarian dishes, 1 steak dinner & 3 desserts, and all was topped off with a chilled glass of sparkling champagne & great conversation. We are getting so excited for this upcoming wedding!
2. (Skipping around a few days...) Wednesday, we met with Jaimz, at Lee Forrest Design, LLC to preview one of our couple's centerpieces. We were blown away once again. Lee Forrest & his team are always right on point with what their clients are envisioning for their Big Day. We will save the details for after the wedding, but if you're still in search of a florist, Lee is your guy!
3. "WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY!" I took a few days off to celebrate Nick's recent accomplishments & what better place than Disney? Since we are in transition as a family, we tried to take a few shortcuts to save while still having the time of our lives. I decided I'd give away some of our tricks to all the Moms & Dads out there planning a trip:
- Find someone who works at Disney & ask for their tickets! Employees are given guest tickets every season. We luckily have an Aunt who works there & was willing to part with her tickets. I do know some people sell these guest tickets at a cheaper rate as well. Ask around- it'll save you a TON! {Getting into MGM for free- CHECK!}
- Ask for a discount on your rooms. We are Army so we are able to get a Military Discount. Unfortunately, we waited until last minute to book our rooms, but luckily we are FL residents & still received 40% off the rooms. Never hesitate to ask for a lower rate! They want to book the rooms just as much as you want it. They will work with you.
- Pack your own food. The rooms have refrigerators. We hit up Publix on the way to the resort & grabbed snacks, milk for Cohban, Uncrustables, cheese, pepperonis, olives (my boys' go-to snack), & of course baby food for our princess.
- As far as drinks went, Disney Resorts make you buy their reusable Souvenir Cups. They are $8.99 for one day, $10.99 for two days, $14.99 for three days, or $17.99 for the whole stay. (Or somewhere in that range.) There is a censor on these cups, & only these cups will allow the drink machine to dispense the drink. We bought only one. We had already brought a water bottle of our own that we just refilled with water during our whole stay. (I can't stand the thought of buying water bottles at $2.50 a piece when we can fill our own for free.) Then we just shared the one cup. We all drink the same stuff so why not? And of course we brought Cohban a cup to fill up with his milk that we bought at Publix.
- Dinner: oh these prices were crazy, but that's Disney for you! For Cohban's birthday we asked for Disney Gift Cards instead of toys. We much rather take a vacation as a family than pile on more toys in our playroom. So we saved those up until we found the right time to get away. We used our gift cards for the food & hotel. The first night we ordered a pizza at the hotel & split it as a family. Saved us about $15-$20. The second night, I ordered a kid's meal. It was the perfect amount of food for me, & covered all the nutrition I needed! Saved about half the price of an adult meal. Cohban had left over pizza (kid loves his pizza) & a bag of raw veggies. Lunches consisted of Uncrustables & food we bought from Publix. We saved a ton this way.
- We packed our water bottles for the park. You can refill these for free at any restaurant. We don't drink soda anyways & we needed the water since we were outside in the 80 degree weather all day.
{From the Desk of: Jenna}
4. Within a week's time & no planning in advance, I had the pleasure of catching up with two of my former managers in person and one over the phone. The two just so happened to be on business {two different companies; two different industries} in Orlando & I was thrilled when they reached out to meet up. The third just called to catch up :)
As we caught up on recent happenings, career moves, internal changes on the teams I had previously been a part of and plans for the future, I realized how grateful I am for still having these mentors in my life. God places people in our lives at very specific times for very specific reasons & although I no longer report to them, I continue to look up to each of them. They are well beyond their years and nothing short of brilliant. These guys are going places & I am thankful for their continued guidance & support. Without them, I would not be where I am today & what I took away from this past week is never ever burn bridges. Strong relationships are the key to any success so be sure to build them with those who have drive & have clearly defined their goals & their plan to reach those goals.
{only got a pic with one out of two}
{From the Desk of: Shannon}
5. The Calderon Christmas continued! Yep, many of you probably didn't know {because I left my phone charger at home & didn't have a phone to document our mini-vacay} but Bobby & I headed to South Florida on Tuesday for the JT concert in Miami on Wednesday! That is true love, my friends. A man who willingly buys concert tickets to see JT for his wife knowing he will tag along must really love his woman. Many questioned his decision & even suggested he give the second ticket to Jenna but he stood true to his plan & made the trek to go see an AMAZING performance. JT is one talented man & had us both out of our seats dancing the night away. One of our best date nights yet!
{it's hard to tell in this pic but i couldn't hide my excitement when i saw the set design. the backdrop was strikingly similar to the honeycomb pattern on our business cards!}
{I didn't realize how much I missed my iPhone until it came time to take photos. Needless to say, not happy with the quality of these but the memories will last a lifetime}
{From the Desk of: Shannon}
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