From One Mom to Another: Tips on Disney, Races and Kids

 In 2018 I had a race nearly every month, some months I did two.  I did 2 half marathons, 4 trail races and added in a couple cross training activities. Running keeps me sane and from weighing 250lbs and racing makes me focus so I do it a lot.  My race calendar starts on January 1 with the 5k Resolution Run.  It is a fun local race that has been cold and snowy for the last couple years.  This year was my second full year of twice weekly Body Pump and the weight training is helping my running and body shape.  The first set of photos takes us through June.  I coached soccer for the last time this spring and Sydnee joined me in a couple races, where she ran the kids races after I finished the longer race. The highlight of the first half of the year was an amazing two and a half week vacation.  I attended the Skirt Sport Ambassador Retreat and made tons of new friends.  I ran the Skirt Sports 13er and it was beautiful, fun and amazin...

I had a friend tell me once that her son (4) didn't do strollers.  They were about to do a 3-day trip to Disneyland and this was her first trip as a parent.  I recommended she still get a stroller and here's why.  Maybe your kid doesn't use a stroller when you are doing normally daily stuff but does your kid log 10 or more miles a day normally?  Does your kiddo need a mid-day nap?  Imagine a trip to the park, what do you carry with you?  Do you want to carry that all day long?  So my friend did ended up renting a stroller and they used it.  There were times when their kid wasn't super happy about it but he was over tired and they just didn't want to carry him, so he rode.  He took one stroller nap and otherwise the stroller carried my friend's backpack/diaper bag most of the time so she didn't have to and that was ok, too.  Sydnee (5) in our garage sale stroller On the other hand, my kiddo LOVES riding in a stroller.  We h...

 Sydnee is 6 in this photo. I have been traveling with my family to Disney for more than a decade. My first trip as a parent was in 2003 when my eldest daughter was 4 and my son was 2.  I took my mom, my best friend and my sister with us to Disneyland.   At the time I was on active duty stationed in Washington, DC and my mom and sister lived in Montana so I didn't see them that often.  We had an amazing time and the Disney trips soon became a tradition.  Many of my friends ask me when is the best time to take the trip and who should go. Is Nana too old for Disney?  Should we wait until the baby is older?  Are my teens going to be bored? The short answer is MAYBE but probably not.  In today's blog I will give you pros and cons on these and some other frequently asked questions. Lets start with some basic questions you should ask yourself.  Is this going to be a once in a lifetime trip?  What is the goal of this...

When you go to Walt Disney World you can expect to spend some serious cash but not everything is super expensive.  Here is a list of 5 things that are free or low cost extras that can add magic to your trip. 1.  Water - OK, so water may seem silly but it is hot in Florida and you can get thirsty.  I always bring a water bottle with me and fill it up but you don't need one.  Any quick service restaurant (and Starbucks) will give you a free glass of ice water.  Starbucks and a couple other restaurants have big crafts of water just sitting out where you can fill your water bottle.  PRO TIP: don't love the taste of tap water?  Pack some flavored water packets or the small squirt bottles and mix your own lemonade, etc. (Bottled water is available for purchase and is about $5-7 per bottle.) 2.  Souvenirs - You can get free park maps, free celebration buttons, and stickers to take home.  My kids love collecting stickers and you can get th...

  Going to Walt Disney World with small children is delightful and magical but can also be trying.  If your kids are anything like mine there is a point in time where they just won't stand in line any more.  Most people will tell you it's time to head back to our resort for a nap or an afternoon at the pool but what if your hotel is a long drive or maybe you have older kids that don't want to go back the resort? When I travel with my full family I have kids from 3-19 and we occasionally stay off property so we don't want to spend 2 hours of our day driving back and forth.   Here are a couple thing we like to do instead of heading back to the resort.  Each park has an area where kids can just run around and burn off some energy and you can just sit, relax and post those cute character photos on Instagram.  This is a the toddler slide.  This the excavation area where the kids play in the 'sand' This is water f...

Walt Disney World offers an option to make ride reservations in advance, called Fast Pass+.  These Fast Passes+ (FP+) are available starting at 7am Florida time (Eastern time zone) 60 days in advance of your trip if you are staying on Disney property or 30 days in advance for everyone else.  Using a FP+ allows you to use a special line queue that has a wait of 15 minutes or less (most of the time).  Here is a quick step by step tutorial of how to make a FP+ reservation and a few ways you can maximize them. (Make sure you tickets are linked to your account.) Step 1:  Decide which park you want to go to each day as your primary park.  You get 3 FP+ to start and they all have to be at the same park.  (In this example we will use Magic Kingdom.) Step 2: Review dining reservations.  I write them down so I remember where and when.  Step 3: Log into the My Disney Experience App.  Here is the start screen (on iOS)....

This is an example of a Magic Shot.  We got the original and then they added the words and the ghosts. Going to Disney can be a once in a lifetime experience and you will make memories that you may want to document.  Disney offers a service called PhotoPass in their parks.  PhotoPass is a service where professional photographers take photos of you and you can purchase them.  PhotoPass also includes those fun photos of you crying in terror on rides.   This is a ride photo from Buzz Lightyear There are a several of options available when you go to purchase these photos.  1. Purchase each photo separately (unlimited downloads) 2. Purchase unlimited downloads from a single day 3. Purchase Memory Maker ($169 as of 10/18) unlimited downloads of all the photos from your entire trip for a year I recommend purchasing Memory Maker in advance (it is $30 cheaper).  It is discounted if you are military and included in some annual passes....

I didn't die on the mountain, although at the starting line I was having visions of my body being found by skiers this winter .       http://runtherut.com/ The back of the expo.     The expo before the 11k start             First turn The 11k starting line Wave 3!!     I toed the starting line of the 11k race in The Rut Mountain Runs on Sunday, September 2.  I knew it would be the most technical trail run I had ever done and the highest but I had trained, or so I thought. The Rut Mountain Runs are part of the Skyrunner USA series.  They take place at Big Sky Ski Resort just outside of Bozeman, Montana.  There are several race options including the Vk, 11k, 28k and 50k.  If you are one of those crazy ultra runner types you can combine the races as the Vk is on Friday, the 28k is on Saturday and the 11k and 50k are on Sunday.  All ...