Ohana.

“Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind... Or forgotten.” – Lilo & Stitch

Today is special, it's Leap Day. And because it's an odd day that happens every four years, I felt it was an appropriate time to blog again. We have been absent for a few weeks due to the passing of a family member, my father. He passed away unexpectedly and too soon as I felt he still had more to offer. My dad was a generous person who loved to live life, share his experience and wisdom with those around him. He’d hope you'd learn and take from it what you needed to become an adult and to grow and become an honest respectable independent person.  

Looking back through the years one never really realize how time flies and slips before your eyes. Since childhood, we had spent many summers taking family vacations traveling as a family, and as an adult, we had spent many Sundays over breakfast catching up on the week’s events. If I learned anything from my pop, besides his catch phrase “use your mind”, for me today, Lilo & Stitch’s “Ohana” sums it up.

Here is Sock Monkey with the pair at Kona Café at the Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World. If anyone is every interested in having an amazing breakfast, this is one spot you have to visit. Had my dad ever came with me to WDW, we would've definitely had a Sunday breakfast here. I'd recommend the Tonga Toast, a must try for French toast lovers and bananas lovers. Let’s just say it’s Sock Monkey approved.

It only takes a moment.

Just the other day we were wondering when Wall-E would be playing on TV again. And the Tiki gods heard our request. Wall-E is airing right now on the Disney Channel. It’s a heartfelt movie that doesn’t need much talking to express what’s going on. Action speaks louder than words. Sock Monkey loves Wall-E and joined the gang of robots at the Once Upon a Toy store while at the Marketplace in Downtown Disney. Cause it only takes a moment, to be loved a whole life long.

Million dollar smile.

Sock Monkey is hanging with his pal Buzz Lightyear at the Once Upon a Toy store at the Marketplace in Downtown Disney Orlando. Look at that million dollar smile... and I don’t mean Buzz’s. Okay, maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves. J

A blessing.

Each time we visit Epcot, we make a stop at Norway for some tasty pastry or snack from the Kringla Bakeri Og Cafe. We have always enjoyed the authenticity of all things Disney, and in this photo of Sock Monkey, he’s in front of a Jotul stove manufactured by a Norwegian company that’s been around since 1853. There is writing on the stove, and from my research, it is a Norwegian blessing for a stove.

Eg grev ned min eld, sent om kveld,  naar dagen er slut. Gud gje min eld, nlder slokna ut.

The translation into English means:

“I build my fire late in the evening when the day is through. God ensure my fire never burns out.”

Yummy greens.

Continuing our festivities of the Lunar New Year, we feature pak choi or bok choy. A healthy serving of Chinese cabbage is a great veggie sidedish for any meal. Sock Monkey likes to eat his fair share of this green whenever he gets a chance to chomp on it. These are growing fresh at the Land Pavilion in Epcot. Maybe we’ll start a garden come spring.

Ball of zen.

Sock Monkey spent a peaceful minute embracing the greens and scenes surrounding him at the Japan Pavilion in Epcot. This is one of the few moments where we truly relaxed, enjoyed ourselves, and captured a lovely moment in time. What Disney memory will you create?