We woke up feeling hopeless about the house and we even discussed not moving at all. If our favorite house wouldn't allow pets, maybe it wasnt meant to be.
Then, I got a call from our Realtor, Amy Reed, and she said the landlord would allow our kittens! She was so sweet to call first thing in the morning, it wasn't even 9AM yet. She just needed some photos of our fuzzy little pals to follow protocol! Of course our iPhones were loaded with pics of our kittens!!
I sent this picture of Merlin, he's our Tuxedo cat! We love his crazy eyebrows, it just makes him look more like the Disney version of Merlin :)
And this is a cute photo I shot of Mim smiling while she was sleeping. She does that a lot, she's a very happy kitten! I think it also looks like she's doing the "Buddy Christ" pose :D
I wasn't sure if the landlord would be freaked out by black cats so I also put a note in my email that in the Japanese culture, black cats get rid of bad luck.
Hallelujah, our prayers were answered and we wouldn't need to see anymore houses! We were so excited because we were 99.99% sure our application would be approved. We had recently worked very hard to clean up our credit issues from when I was unemployed for 10 months in 2008. Fate had once again stepped in to see us through. This was our house and we knew it!
Feeling like we were on top of the world, we went over to Sassagoula and had breakfast. I had beignets and they were so delicious that I didn't get to take a picture! Then we waited for Amy in the lobby and I made a wish in the fountain. Hmm guess what I wished for? ;)
Amy arrived right on time and we went to the outside tables at Sassagoula to handle the rental application paperwork. Easy peasy! She had already told me what I needed to bring: copies of our drivers licenses, last 2 paystubs, and proof that I would not be changing jobs since I work from home (I used a copy of my offer letter). We had everything in order and the application would be approved in 3 - 5 days! We really didn't have any concern there. We parted ways and thanked Amy for all her hard work, she had really helped us and we appreciated it. I had actually tried to work with a few other Realtors but they didn't seem keen on email. Amy was the only one who responded to my email within 1 hour and she sent me listings the very next day. She also worked with me on the bazillion questions I sent her about every single property I was interested in! I highly recommend her!
Jason and I went back to the hotel room to rest and talk things over. We had a LOT to do now! He called friends and family members while I updated social media. The response was overwhelming! People were so happy for us and welcoming us to Florida. I cried big crocodile tears like Alice in Wonderland as I responded to everyone!! Jason got me tissues :) It finally hit me, this was real and I was living the dream!
We decided to go to Magic Kingdom. It was a really nice day and we drove with the top down! We parked at the Transportation and Ticket Center and walked to the Polynesian. Jason had never been there and I hadn't been there since my first trip to WDW in 1988!
We took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom and we got to see what was going on with construction over at the Grand Floridian. Needless to say, we were very glad to have gotten married before the construction vehicles were there! I took a few pics from across the lagoon, at least you can't see the construction too much from here. The construction is on the left of the resort in between the resort and the Wedding Pavilion.
Then, we went to play Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. My Mom and I had picked up 2 packs of cards already but I forgot where we were supposed to go so we picked up another pack with a new key card. It's a cute game but it took too long because there were lines at every portal. It was also confusing as to what to do. Most of the time, the cards didnt work. We tried waving them and holding them out straight, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. One guest told us that the cards were being sold on eBay! I checked my eBay app and sure enough, the full deck was going for upwards of $200! Overall, we were a bit disappointed with it :( I think it would be better at night when there are less children. One kid actually started pushing Jason while he was trying to play, it was nuts! Also from a gaming perspective, the game is just too easy for us. We were hoping for a challenge but basically any card you use will get the job done. I believe there are harder modes but you have to make it through the easy ones first? I would like to give it another shot when the park isn't so busy.
This was really the first trip where we had no agenda in the parks. We walked around aimlessly since we would be Florida residents soon! We caught the Main Street Philharmonic in Liberty Square and Jason actually ran to see them, he loves them so much! That is a magical memory for me, seeing my husband run to watch them :) He also took some video, enjoy!
I was hungry so we went over to Pecos Bill's. I had never eaten there and I got the taco salad. YUM!!
We were pretty tired from all the emotional excitement plus I had forgotten sunscreen so we decided to head back to the hotel. We caught the Main Street Philharmonic again on Main Street :)
On the way out, I wanted to see if Mickey was in talking mode. We hadn't seen his new home at the Town Square Theater and luckily there was no line! I was glad to see a nod to Scrooge McDuck in there :)
While we were waiting, Jason noticed a crunching noise. It was coming from the rabbit in the hat, presumably eating carrots!
I love the Rehearsal Schedule - Let's All Be There On Time!
Mickey was not in talking mode but I didn't care. I am always happy to see Mickey and Minnie!!
We rested up at the hotel and then made our way to EPCOT in our neato convertible :) We had plans later that evening to have a celebratory dinner at Teppan Edo with the Petermann family of
TheRelocatedTourist.com!
As we made our way to World Showcase, we had a chance to see some of the topiaries being unveiled for the Flower and Garden Festival.
But first we needed alcohol! We started in Canada where Jason had a beer and I had an apple ice wine. Oh my it was good!! We sat near the waterfall and talked about all the good things that were coming our way! It was a Zip-a-dee-doo-dah Day!
As we left Canada, a nice older couple stopped us to ask about O Canada. We ended up talking to them for almost 20 mins! We told them we were newlyweds and they said they were celebrating their 54th Wedding Anniversary. Of course we had to ask them for advice! I hope Jason and I are that happy in 54 years. They even took a picture of us and I gave them one of my business cards so they could send us the picture! I call exchanging addresses "old school Facebook" ;) A few weeks later, we got a card from them in the mail and they sent us a book called The Secret of Family Happiness. I love Disney people, they are so thoughtful!
We continued drinking our way around the world until we reached Japan where my Mom was waiting for us. We didn't wait long before the Petermann family arrived as well. While we waited for our table, we talked about everything from our move to gaming :) We quickly found that we were all kindred spirits!
When our table was ready, we climbed up the steep staircase to Teppan Edo. Jason and I had taken bridal portraits in there but we had never eaten there. It was the first time eating there for everyone in our party!
We had an absolute blast. The Petermann's hadn't really had sushi before so I got us some California rolls for an appetizer.
Proof that Amy tried her first sushi!
The chef came out and she was wonderful! She was very energetic and funny. We told her about our relocation and she was genuinely happy for us! The food was as amazing as the company :) I shot some video on my iPhone (sorry next time I will hold it sideways) of the very talented chef! Watching these makes my mouth water!!
At the end of dinner, we started talking more about our move and I burst into happy tears right at the table! If you didn't know already, I'm a crier :D After dinner we all watched Illuminations together. I couldn't help the tears there either. The line "We go on, through the joy and through the tears" really resonated with me. Jason and I have been through so much together. I still can't believe what we have achieved together in the last 3 years (and 6 years overall). We were literally broke with 18 cents in our checking account at one point. But, we worked together to fix our financial woes and now here we are! I am a lucky girl indeed.
We walked out with the Petermanns and I felt very blessed indeed to have found such wonderful new friends. I cannot wait to see them again when we move in just a few short weeks!!
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