Boma's Jungle Juice

Ingredients:

1 part guava juice

1 part orange juice

1 part passion fruit juice

Mix everything together, stir and enjoy!

Join Krystal tomorrow at http://www.magicaldismom.com/ for another magical recipe!

Washington's Safari - Northwest Trek

Horseshoe Lake

Being on the West Coast, so far away from beloved Walt Disney World, we are always on the look out for similar experiences and learning opportunities. So, this past weekend, the kids and I joined up with my parents to go to Northwest Trek. This place is like a wildlife reserve and zoo combined with some animals in enclosed areas, and others free roaming within the reserve. There is a wonderful tram ride (think Kilimanjaro Safari) that takes visitors along the reserve to observe animals in their natural habitat, along with some of the wonderful Washington State outdoors.

Photo from Maritimeorca

Both of my children love sitting in the tram, staring intently as it winds around the property. Guests are encouraged to keep a look out for animals to point out to the rest of the group, as the driver provides information about the land and animals.

Looking at a Moose

Animal watchers

Bison herd

Up close with the bison

Elk herd

Mountain Goat

View over property 

Once the tram ride was over, we wandered the property and looked at more animals native to Washington. Most of these are in semi controlled spaces: the birds have cages around them to stay in, the rest of the animals have open space towards guests with some sort of obstacle in front to keep from having full access. For example, the cats all have deep, wide spaces of water separating them from everyone else.

Cougar

Lynx

Bear

Bear again

Wolverine

Along the tour of the animals is also a small cabin that has extra learning spots for children. They can learn to identify different animal sounds, see old wood stoves, look through binoculars, and control a TV that has a live camera feed on their red foxes.

Exploring Baker Cabin

Controlling the live feed of the red foxes

There are many more things to see than what I have listed here. If you're ever in Washington state, why not check it out? Go to  http://www.nwtrek.org/ for more info.

Jiko Macaroni and Cheese

This week I decided to prepare some Jiko's Macaroni and Cheese. I have never had it before, but the recipe sounded so good (huge cheese lover here) and like the perfect bit of comfort food my family would need with our hectic life pace. The recipe did not disappoint - it has such a unique blend of cheese flavors, and a wonderful creamy texture. I hope you all give it a try!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 quart whole milk
1 1/4 cups Quattro Fromage (4-cheese mixture of asiago, provolone, fontina, and gruyere cheeses)
2 tablespoons white wine (any will do)
2 pounds elbow macaroni (I should mention this is 2 pounds cooked macaroni, a big mistake I made)

Prepare the macaroni according to the directions on the box - I always like to boil mine with some pepper and garlic salt. While macaroni is boiling, start grating cheese for the sauce, and extra to bake on top (I grated an extra 1 1/4 cups).

Macaroni with seasonings

Cheese for topping

Combine flour and butter in a pan over low heat to form a roux. Make sure to stir continuously so the roux does not burn (even slight burning ruins the taste) until a pale brown. At the same time, bring the milk to a simmer. Once this has been done, and the roux is complete, stir the roux into the milk. Then, add in the cheese, wine, and any wanted seasonings and pour over the macaroni.

Roux ingredients

Finished roux

Milk and roux

Complete with topping and seasonings

Place the macaroni in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes to warm through, and melt the cheese topping. Plate with a favorite veggie dish and bread, and enjoy!

Comfort food dinner!

Make sure to continue our dining journey with Krystal at www.partnersbehindthemouse.com

My Role - Costuming

As many of you know, my role at WDW was in costuming. During my initial interview for the College Program, I was handed a list and asked to select my top three choices for a job. Costuming was my first choice because I loved the idea of being able to create the magic I felt in the parks. Luckily, they gave me my wish and I was able to work in the costuming department at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

I initially started working at the warehouse for cast members. It was a tiring, long job of scanning in dirty costumes (imagine sweat filled clothes from the Florida heat, or clothes with food dripped all over from Boma and Jiko), and checking out new costumes to cast members.

After a few weeks of doing that, I was able to move over to the costuming warehouse prepping character's costumes for meet and greats and the Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. This is where the magic began for me, and though I had many days where I would start work around 5 in the morning, it was worth it to me knowing that I made kids getting an autograph and picture from their favorite character possible.

Near the end of my internship, I was given the opportunity to work at the Festival of the Lion King. While there, I fully realized how magical it is to work for Disney and be surrounded by such wonderful talent every day. The work was fun and entertaining, as we had to be behind the scenes during each performance to assist different characters. There were times I felt as though I could substitute for a stilt walker and perform on my own! The best part of working there was being able to pull back the curtain and see all of the beaming faces in the audience, there's nothing more satisfying than knowing a memory was created because of your own hard work!