Raising Money for CHOC

Next month, I will be participating in the Children's Hospital of Orange County's annual Walk in the Park at Disneyland. The CHOC Walk is a 5K walk to raise funds for the medical care of children at the non-profit hospital.

CHOC is known for being one of the best places to provide healthcare to children no matter what their family's ability to pay is. I have a friend whose son is treated at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. He has a genetic mutation that causes him to have seizures and has to often be rushed there for treatment. 

Even though this fundraiser is for the Orange County location, I felt compelled to join a team and help raise funds so that more kids can receive quality care. I would love if you can help me in my fundraising efforts. My goal is to raise $100. As little as a $5 donation can make a difference. Here is the link to my fundraising page. I would truly appreciate any help you can give. I'm looking forward to the CHOC Walk on October 12th. Thanks for your support!

IllumiNations Sparkling Dessert Party in Epcot

 Hello everyone! I've been away for a while, but now I'm back! I figured I would pick up where I left off with more from my trip to Walt Disney World. 
We decided to do the IllumiNations Sparkling Dessert Party in Epcot. IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth is a fireworks show in the World Showcase Lagoon. There is a section on the edge of the lagoon near the entrance to the World Showcase that is reserved just for the party. Throw in a bunch of desserts and sparkling wine. I'm in!

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera in the hotel that afternoon, so I don't have very many pictures to show. But here are a couple I snagged from my friends. 

Above is a plate with (starting at the top center and going clockwise) baklava from Morocco, chocolate Grand Marnier pot de crème from France, shortbread cookie from the United Kingdom, and tiramisu from Italy.

Here you can see along with desserts above, there was also platters of fresh fruit. As you can tell, we didn't eat too much fruit because we were getting our fill of all the other desserts.
Not pictured, was a station with glazed donuts flambéed and served with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, almonds, and whipped cream from America. Another station had churros flambéed with Kahlua and served with coffee ice cream, chocolate sauce, almonds, and whipped cream from Mexico. There was also a cart with frozen treats sold around the parks such as the Mickey premium ice cream bars, Mickey ice cream sandwiches, and strawberry fruit bars. For the sparkling wines, there was prosecco from Italy and brut champagne from France.
I really enjoyed everything since I have a huge sweet tooth, but my favorites were the chocolate pot de creme, baklava, and the desserts with ice cream. Both the prosecco and champagne were good. I thought the prosecco was a little too sweet with all the desserts, so I enjoyed more of the brut champagne. There was also coffee, tea, hot chocolate packets, and water for non-alcoholic beverages. 
The fireworks show was pretty awesome as well. Disney always has the best fireworks. It was so nice to have an unobstructed view. When we left, we saw the large crowd of people around the lagoon and were thankful that we avoided the throng by spending extra on the party. The cost is $49 per person and you must make reservations ahead of time. The party is only offered Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. This site has pictures and video along with a review to give you a better idea of what it is like.
We had such a great time that it was one of the highlights of our trip. I would highly recommend doing this if you love desserts.