Once again, it's has taken me longer to update than I would have liked. Though, I do not feel quite so guilty as there have been quite a few things happening on my end. I'd go into that now but I had planned an entire entry dedicated to that. Fate allowing, it should be following this entry very shortly. Okay, I am going to wrap up December in this entry because it is taking a ridiculously long time and now I'm behind on January as well. So here it goes. I left off on Wednesday December 25 so I suppose that's where I should pick back up. (Oh yes, I remembered where it was we ate on Christmas Eve, it was Golden Corral. I remember that now because I was thinking about the arcade machines they had there. Just thought I'd throw that in there while I was thinking about it.) Christmas Day was spent at Epcot and I must say that it was absolutely wonderful. This was probably my favorite of the parks. I say probably because I really enjoyed MGM Studios as well, but I'll get to that in a minute. We didn't go on a single ride at Epcot, instead we spent most of the day touring (I guess that's a good word) the World Showcase. It was fabulous! You have the opportunity to travel through eleven countries in a short amount of time. Or you could take more time as we did. This is just the sort of thing I love. I have always had an interest in other cultures and so this was like paradise for me.

We started out in Canada where we watched a movie that was filmed using Circle Vision, or 360* of cameras. In was very interesting because you are completely surrounded by the images so it almost feels as if you were really there. Next stop was the United Kingdom where I ducked into a sweets shop and found my favorite Scottish lemon drops. I almost didn't buy them but as I was going to put them back one of the cast members approached me. He happened to be Scottish and we started talking for a while. After that I couldn't resist the drops so I had to purchase them. Next up was France where I bought a Crepe au Chocolat from a vending cart. It was very rich but also very tasty. I've always loved crepes so this was a special treat. I sat with the kids while host parents snuck into a pastry shop and indulged themselves.

We stopped in Morocco next browsed through the marketplace. I found a beautiful wallet and would have bought if it hadn't smelled like animal feces. Host dad explained that certain types of leather smell like that for a while but eventually the smell wears off. Still, I don't think I would have been able to carry that around with a stench like that, even for a little while. As we were about to head on to the next country a street band started up so we stopped to watch for a bit. It was enthralling! The music was wonderful and the singer had a beautiful voice. She was also a very talented dancer and had on a gorgeous dress. I took pictures so maybe I'll have to post them.

In Japan I spent a ghastly amount of money on Japanese foods and candies. I even bought a marble soda, which I haven't had in a long time. I only got to enjoy a small portion of it though because the kids really liked it. I watched several craftsmen demonstrate their different arts while I ate for part of our group to eat lunch. We then moved on to The American Adventure, which we only perused through since we get to see it every day. We basically just stopped long enough for a restroom trip and to pick up a turkey leg. Tasty! I think I'm addicted to them now. Honestly, I don't remember much about Italy. Not really my fault though. It's due to the multilingual cursing spat I got into almost immediately after arriving. There were several other guests who were being extremely rude and verbally attacking many other guests. It just infuriated me so I had to speak up. After that, I spent almost all of Italy fuming about it.

If I hadn't satisfied my sweet tooth by this time, Germany certainly did the trick. Gummies. Black Forest. Haribo. I'm in heaven now. I ate so many that I felt like I'd burst at the seams and then all the worms could come crawling out. On top of that I had sauerkraut and bratwurst, needless to say I was sufficiently stuffed. China was spectacular, so many vivid displays. I met "Mulan" and got my picture taken with her. (She was the only character that I had my picture taken with. Actually, I did get my picture taken with Pooh as well but that was for Sara.) I love Mulan! She kicks bootius maximus! I bought a beautiful set of soupspoons complete with ladle. I plan to use them next time I cook for my friends, even if that is still a few months away.

We spent a great deal of time in the next country. You wanna know why? I tell you why, because the next country was Norway. So wonderful to be surrounded by Norge again, even it was only a mock setup. I didn't want to leave so I took my sweet time browsing the shops, eating pastries and talking with the cast members. I haven't carried on a conversation in Norsk for so long that I was fumbling over words. My speech was so rusty it was disgraceful. I suppose I really have become Americanized, no matter, I'll just have to practice speaking more often, even if it means talking to myself. I mean I already talk to myself all the time anyway, why not do it in Norsk? There was also a Viking ship play area where I kept myself thoroughly amused. Though, I'm sure I got more than a few stares, I was the only "adult" on the play area after all.

The baby was starting to get really cranky by the time we got to Mexico so we didn't spend much time there. I took the boys down for a quick trip through the marketplace where we viewed some of the art and listened to a Mariachi band for a while. Then we met back up with my host parents and headed over to Innoventions so the baby could get out of the stroller and run around a bit. I would have liked to spend a little more time there because it seemed rather interesting, at least what I got to see. I spent most of the time following the kids around, making sure they didn't hurt themselves, or others, or the displays for that matter. Afterwards we hopped on the Monorail where we enjoyed nice thirteen-mile ride. It was mainly so we could all sit down for a bit to rest our feet.

We wanted to eat at Joe's Crab Shack but it was closed for the holiday so we settled for The Crab House, which was delicious. Right off the bat my host parents told me if I worried about prices they'd throttle me. So for one night I ignore the atrocious amount of money it cost and ordered a seafood pasta and lobster tail. It was very skillfully cooked and was a pleasant break from the norm. I was but sick afterward, but that was only because I'd eaten too much. When we all had finished we headed back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

We started Thursday December 26 out with a dinner at Denny's. While it's not on the top of my dining list, I do enjoy a hot breakfast so it hit the spot. Our plans were to spend this day at MGM Studios. We arrived there fairly early and got on the tram. We would have walked if we had known that it was so close but so goes the story of life. Well in case you haven't noticed, I am obsessed with movies. Every single aspect of them enthralls me and the theme of this park is movies. It was like another piece of paradise, a most welcome sequel of the day prior. We started out with Aerosmith's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Now, you can talk any of my friends and they will tell you I am not an avid roller coaster fan, in fact I am terrified of them. I hate them with a passion, it could be somewhat due to my motion sickness, I don't know. All I know is that I have an extreme dislike for them. My friends often joke that my personal hell would consist of three things: clowns, grasshoppers, and you guessed it, roller coasters.

So I have no idea how I got talked into going on this particular coaster. Maybe it stemmed from a buried internal desire to prove to my friends that I'm not a complete pansy. I went with my host mom and she described it as "Space Mountain on crack." I was doing pretty well until we actually got up to the platform and I watched the coasters take off. It starts off and then abruptly stops, then starts again, going from zero to sixty-miles in less than three seconds. It also had over the head harnesses, which could mean only one thing: loops, which in turn meant being upside-down. I was still determined not to chicken out, we got up to the front of the line and they put us in the front car. My exterior appeared to be very calm and collected but on the inside I was screaming bloody murder.

We got strapped in and I gripped the hand bars with newly acquired strength. It was about this time that my host mom began to get a little panicky. By this time though it was too late, the ride had started, then stopped, and sent us on our trip through hell. The gravitational pull sucked us back in our seats; it literally sucked all the moisture out of my eyes and mouth. We went into a loop but I hardly noticed because I was trying to peel my brain off the back of my skull. There were several my twists and turn in the dark, and then it was over. I was a bit shaky for a minute or two afterward but otherwise I came out of it intact. Not bad for my first major roller coaster.

The insane thing was that I agreed to go on it again with my host dad as part of the parent swap. (Which is a nifty little thing that saves you a lot of time in line, very nice.) The second time, though, I was more prepared so it didn't stress me out as much. But I doubt I'll ever do anything like that again, at least not for a long time. I bought the pictures from both times to prove it to my friends so maybe I'll post them here. After that we caught a couple of shows for the kids: Playhouse Disney and Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Where the first one was center directly toward kids the second was rather interesting, very nice effects.

Next thing was The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, now that ride is just insane. There is no other way to describe. I will never go on that ride again. The concept is you're in a "possessed" elevator and it takes you up to the thirteenth floor and drops you again and again. I believe we dropped five times. And it's dark except for when you pass a window and then there's a brief flash of light. I only went because the youngest boy, five years old, wanted to go and is dad and I said we'd go if he went. We both were certain he'd freak out and change his mind. Well he didn't, at least not until we were strapped in and on our way up; by then it was too late. The one amusing thing was I got to her my host dad scream like a little girl. I would have bought the picture but they took it before any of the drops so everyone looks calm, there's no elements of fear to be seen anywhere. Instead we all got passes that say "I survived" with a picture of the tower on them. Like I said, it is just an insane ride.

We ate sandwiches at the car to save a little money and then headed back to the park. The baby fell asleep and host dad volunteered to stay with her. So I took the boys and went with host mom of the Backlot Tour. Now that was very interesting. I loved it! As I mentioned earlier, movies just captivate me and so this was a special treat. We got to see so many wonderful things, and learn a little about what goes on behind the scenes. By the time we were done with that the baby had woken up so we decided to take the kids to the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set, which is basically a giant-sized playground. We figured the running around would be good for them and this way the adults would have a chance to rest.

And now comes the part that takes the cake, steals the show, whatever you want to call it: The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. And it was just that! So Spectacular! I loved every moment of it and I took quite a few pictures. They actually turned out fairly decent too! I was worried about not being able to capture the fire. It was great to see what goes into the special effects. But the main thing is, there was fire! Fire! Fire! Beautiful fire! All those captivating, and mesmerizing, flickering flames were soooooo pretty. Yes, I was very pleased with it.

We browsed through the shops for a while and my host parents bought me a wicked t-shirt. Literally, it is wicked; it has almost every Disney movie villain ever. It's rather snazzy and is probably the only piece of Disney clothing I have ever worn willing. Our last stop for the day was The Great Movie Ride, which is comprised of quite a few replicate scenes from classic movies as well as some modern films. The scenes use both live actors and robotics to create a very real "in the movie" feeling. This was like heroin for me, being the movie addict that I am.

We went back to the hotel, put the kids to bed and packed so we could leave early the next morning. When we awoke, we grabbed a quick breakfast and loaded up the van. We were all somewhat eager to get home as we had the Christmas bounty to open still. So after a quick stop at a gas station, (where they bought lotto tickets, and I got to play my first lotto game. I won $1 but we used it to buy another ticket, which consequently didn't win anything.), we were off. The return trip was made in record time as we made very few stops. It also helped that I slept through most of it. Once we arrive home, we quickly unloaded and tore into our gifts. But I'll get into that in the next entry as this one is nearing five pages. So until then, adjo and take care!

Into valleys, into waters, Into jungles, into hell! Let us ride, let us ride home again with a story to tell. Into darkness, into danger, Into storms that rip the night! Don't give in, don't give up But give thanks for the glorious fight! You can tremble, you can fear it But keep your fighting spirit alive boys! Let the shiver of it sting you! Fling into battle, spring to your feet boys. Never hold back your step for a moment! Never doubt that your courage will grow! Hold your head even higher and into the fire we go!