The Newest Additions to the Mays Family

Meet Forrest...

...and Lucy.

Kelly & I adopted these 2 kittens from One by One today, via an adoption weekend at our local PetSmart. This wasn't planned in any way; we both kind of mentioned how we'd like animals at some point and today it happened. We both think kittens are crazy cute; Kelly always has a nice, loud "awww" when she sees a picture of one on TV, in a magazine, or on a web site. Forrest & Lucy certainly cause her to do that now.

Forrest is a black male, born on March 23rd, 2010.  Lucy is a tabby female, born at some point in April. I am just going to pretend it's the 7th; no real reason. They were not from the same litter. In fact, they weren't even born in the same state (neither originated in PA)! However, they came to be cage/home sharers together at a young age, approximately 4-6 weeks after each were born. They are best friends and, were it no for being spayed or neutered, would probably be a couple. They are inseparable! They were adopted by a nice woman by the name of Sherri at One by One. She was happy to see them come to a safe and warm home, but she was definitely sad to see them leaver her foster care.

So, welcome to the family, Forrest & Lucy!

Wedding & Reception

Yeah, the whole day rocked.

More pictures here.

Thanks to all of our family, friends, and those involved that made the wedding day extra special. We couldn't have asked for a more wonderful setting or time with so many great people!

After Thanksgiving Round-Up

Well things have been quite busy recently. Kelly and I made the trek from West Lafayette, IN to Eighty Four, PA on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. The following day I made the last leg of my journey to be with my family and friends in Sinking Spring, PA. Thanksgiving was busy as usual and soon enough I was making the return trip. After watching my high school win the PIAA District III AAAA football championship, I left the stadium in Hershey, PA bound for Eighty Four to pick up Kelly. On Sunday we made the 7 hour drive back to Purdue University. It was a nice little reprieve (Kelly hadn't been to her house since January) and a great preview of things to come for the Christmas break.

I've done more than traveling over the last 10 days however. Recently a lot of things I preordered and paid for months ago started shipping. Among them were The Real Ghostbusters Complete Collection on DVD from Time Life and the Airborne Trooper and Galactic Marine mini-busts from Gentle Giant.

Image from The Real Ghostbusters.

While I was home I was able to hit up Target and Toys R Us with Brent for some Star Wars goodies. I picked up the Shield Generator Assault battle pack and the Clone Trooper Officer (Yellow, Commander) figure from The Legacy Collection and the Toys R Us exclusive Clone Wars bust-ups, mentioned in the previous post (w00t! Christmas gifts!).

While I was home I was able to organize, sort, and store some of my collection. I can actually walk in my room now! There's still a slight mess but that should be fixed over Christmas. Some extra figures I had lying around I decided to open and create a diorama with one of my opened Republic Gunships. I didn't get to snap any pictures but the Gunship (with nose art from The Clone Wars collection) has 4 TCW Clone Pilots ("Odd Ball") flying the ship and manning the guns plus Captain Rex giving orders to 3 501st Legion Troopers (Wal-Mart exclusive) and 2 regular Clone Troopers. It looks pretty sweet!

In developing life stories, some big news was dropped on our family and friends recently. Kelly and I have decided to move to Sinking Spring, PA (my original hometown) once Kelly finishes her atmospheric science master's degree at Purdue! I will be working for my father with a future goal of succeeding him as owner & president of the sandwich shop. I'll be his apprentice for the next 10 or so years until he wants to partially retire.

My family and friends couldn't be happier; they are REALLY excited for us to return! And we can't wait...

A Wonderful Week

Well I am back from my favorite place (and the happiest place) in the world. It sucks. Wish I was still there. Oh well back to work.

It really was a great week. I was with Kelly, my family, the Behrenshausen's, and the Yost's. Most of the time the "kids" stuck together - Kelly, Brent, Corinne, and me. I use "kids" because we are all at least 20 years old. Anyway, I did everything I wanted to in all the parks. We actually got on Rock 'N' Roller Coaster 5 times and Space Mountain 4 times! I would have liked to do Thunder Mountain and maybe Splash Mountain again but I did them once. Dinners weren't as good as I had hoped. We tried some new places this time. I can't say I'd go rushing back to all of them. The first night (Sunday, May 11th) was Cinderella's Enchanted Table in Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom. This was the second best meal of the new places we tried. The beef was great and we got a group picture taken. I'd go back there but it isn't a "we must do this every trip" kind of place. Monday was Hollywood & Vine at Hollywood Studios. It is a buffet (which we did a lot of). Meh. Nothing stood out. The pork was great, though. Tuesday was Cape May Cafe, which is a buffet in the Beach Club Resort. Same ol', same ol'; we do it every time we go. Most people enjoy it because it is all-you-can-eat seafood. Since I don't like seafood I could care less. We won't be doing it the next time we go, not because it was bad, just for a change of pace. Wednesday was our third straight buffet. We tried Boma at the Animal kingdom Lodge. My cousin raved about it but I didn't find it above and beyond anything else (especially since we replaced Le Cellier with it). I wouldn't rush to go back. Thursday was Raglan Road. This was the best of the new places. The Shepherd's Pie was delicious and the bread and dipping sauce was top notch. Very good. I'd definitely go back. Friday was Teppan Edo, the Japanese restaurant in EPCOT. This is my second favorite place to eat in Disney World behind only Shula's Steakhouse in the Dolphin Hotel. The food is always amazing and the experience doesn't get old.

Enough with food. On with the souvenirs! Of course everything I bought was Star Wars related. I believe everything I purchased is only available in the Disney Parks. First up is the Starspeeder 3000.


The Starspeeder 3000 is the "vehicle" used in the Star Tours ride. It takes you through your journey past the Endor moon. This particular toy is electronic and speaks a few lines when your navigator, R2-D2, is depressed.

Up next is the first wave of Disney/Star Wars crossover figures.

Aren't they beautiful? I wasn't going to get the complete set but I just liked them so much. I normally focus solely on troopers (as you probably know) but if I find a set or line I like I may complete it. The Disney lines qualify (as do the McQuarrie concepts). Sorry about the blurry pictures!

Mickey Mouse as Luke Skywalker

Minnie Mouse as Princess Leia

Donald Duck as Han Solo

Goofy as Darth Vader

Stitch as the Emperor

Of course the day after I leave wave 2 is released. Head on over to Endor Express to see some images of Mickey Mouse as Anakin Skywalker, Minnie Mouse as Queen Amidala, Goofy as Jar Jar Binks, Donald Duck as Darth Maul, and Stitch as Yoda. Plus they have images of the Star Wars Weekends box set (R2-D2, C-3PO, RX-24 a.k.a. Captain Rex, WEG-1618 and, DL-X2) as well as the first ever Muppets/Star Wars cross over PVC figures (Kermit as Luke Skywalker, Miss Piggy as Princess Leia, Beaker as C-3PO, Fozzie as Chewbacca, Rizzo as Yoda, and Gonzo as Darth Vader). Wish they would have been out a few days sooner!!!

Up next are two pins I purchased while on vacation. Pin trading has become a staple of Disney areas and we met a gentleman who told us that over the last 75+ years (Disney pins began in the early 1930s) there have been over 60,000 official Disney related pins. WOW. Talk about a massive collection! One of the coolest lines of Disney pins is the A Piece of Disney History editions. This is the third year of the collection and the pin for May 2008 was Star Tours!


The pins in this collection actually contain a piece of something from the ride. In the case of Star Tours it is a part of Captain Rex! You can see the pieces in the bubble to the left of the Starspeeder 3000. The pins in the A Piece of Disney History series are limited editions and once they are gone they are gone.

The second pin I snatched was a simple clone trooper. But it looked cool!


One of the other Disney exclusives are the Racers. These are basically matchbox cars in the form of a race car but designed as a park ride or, in the case of Star Wars, helmets from the saga. There are currently 10 in the collection and wave two just hit in the past month. Part of the first wave was the Stromtrooper racer.

One of my surprise finds was the Collector Packs of mini characters. Series 4 is the Star Wars wave and includes 18 Disney/Star Wars figures. The figures come blind packed, with three figures per pack. The packs run $5. Yikes! It took A LOT of packs to complete a set. I actually was two away from completing the set when a wonderful Disney cast member at the Once Upon a Toy store in Downtown Disney said I could trade some of my duplicates for ones I needed. Thankfully the shoe box she brought out from under the counter had the two I needed: Starspeeder 3000 and Yoda. I picked those up and an additional Starspeeder for Brent. Below are a few pictures of the mini figures...






A complete set includes: Boba Fett, C-3PO, Chewbacca, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Ewok, Jabba the Hutt, Jar Jar Binks, Jedi Mickey, Mickey Mouse as Luke Skywalker, Millennium Falcon, Minnie Mouse as Princess Leia, R2-D2, Rex, Star Tours Starspeeder 3000, Stormtrooper, Yoda, X-wing fighter. If you want to try and complete a set it will take between 8-12 packs...and some luck!

Below are a few pictures of a majority of the loot from Disney.




I also bought this sweet shirt (which I am wearing now). TK 421, why aren't you at your post?


And I picked these up for me and Kelly. Pretty sweet, yes? I love the reflective glow.


So that's all I've got for now. Disney 2008 was a blast. I hope to update my Star Wars collection images, the Star Tours Expose, and add all of the Disney 2008 photos this week. As always, stay tuned!

The Weekend Has Come and Gone

Well the weekend that I had been looking forward to for over 6 weeks has arrived and passed. It was a lot of fun but I wish I had another day, mostly because everything felt rushed. I didn't get much time to relax and just sit with my family and friends. Adding that extra day would have smoothed things out. I have already built that extra day into my next trip home (first weekend in August - Macungie Toy Show and Fantasy Football Draft).

With that said, everything was great. The NFL draft was all I could hope for (read my recap here), as was the exchange with Brent and the Franklin Institute trip (more on each of those in the next few hours). Pictures and posts will be coming at a rapid pace over the next day or so.

My Star Wars collection experience was a bit overwhelming. I underestimated both the amount of stuff I had and the amount of time I needed to document and organize everything. Unfortunately all of the documentation was not accomplished so there will be some pictures missing :-(

UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY TODAY! I will post progress reports to let you know when sections and pictures are available. Stay tuned.

The Home Stretch

I have been waiting for this week for a long time. Since March 14th to be precise. On that day I purchased my airline tickets to travel back to Sinking Spring, PA on Friday, April 25th. As much as I hate to leave Kelly, I am very excited for this homecoming of sorts. Here's why:

1. Family - I will get to some so members of my family for the first time since late December/early January. I left the Reading, PA area on January 2nd for the journey back to Indiana and have not been back since. I saw my parents and sister, as well as my aunt, uncle, and cousin at THON at the end of February but no one else since the Christmas break. I am excited to see my grandparents and the rest of my family this coming weekend.
2. Friends - This goes along the same line as family. I have not seen any of them since the Christmas break either. I will most likely see all of them this weekend and we are doing some things that are mentioned below.
3. Star Wars - As my main collection page says, I got back into collecting last August at the "Toy Show" during Das Awkscht Fescht in Macungie, PA. I dug out and dusted off my old collection over Thanksgiving and Christmas and have been adding to it over the last few months (which I have mentioned here numerous times). Well I will finally get to put everything together and organize the collection in my room this coming weekend. It will be a long and sometimes tedious process (a lot of photos need to be taken) but well worth it in the end. Expect a lot of updates next Tuesday and Wednesday.
4. Star Wars Exchange - I have somewhat become Brent Behrenshausen's distributor of Star Wars items. We joined forces to purchase a set of each of the first three waves of 2008 Thirtieth Anniversary Collection. This guarantees that we will have the figures we want from each wave without having to hunt them down in stores or pay egregious prices on the secondary market. I have seen waves one and two in stores but not wave three (the newest Saga Legends). Since I have a weekly toy run to Target and Wal-Mart (bi-weekly to Toys R Us) I have picked up some other figures for Brent as well. The trading and purchasing will happen Saturday morning. I'm glad to be giving these items to Brent as well as getting some money back. Lord knows I need it ;-)
5. NFL Draft - This is my favorite event of the NFL year. Yes, more than the Super Bowl (what can I say, I haven't been around when the Dolphins last played in one). The draft brings hope to all franchises, especially the one at top. That just so happens to be the Dolphins this year. They are drafting first overall for the first time since the 1960's. It could take another 40 years for it to happen again. I am going to bask in the glow since the focus of the NFL world is on Miami. And when they do something shocking and/or surprising I will be even more happy. My dad and I are having friends and family over for a little draft get-together. Corinne (my sister) will be cooking some appetizers and desserts while we order or make some pizza for dinner. I extended the invite to all owners in my fantasy football league (defending champion, holler). The draft starts Saturday at 3pm. It's gonna be crazy!
6. Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination - Bryan, Brent, Greg, Corinne, and I will be traveling to Philadelphia on Sunday morning to go to the Franklin Institute. Currently there is a traveling Star Wars exhibit there. It appears to be quite a masterpiece. It is a collection of items from the Lucas archives that contains actual props and replicas from all six movies. This is an expanded version of an exhibit that was on display at the Smithsonian in the late 1990s. I was at the Air & Space Museum either a few days before the exhibit opened or a few days after the exhibit closed. I could see into the area where it was displayed but that was it. I am extremely excited to see it in all of its glory. And now it has the prequel stuff! Plus, the day we are going the 501st Legion is trooping so you know what that means...pictures with troopers!!!

So that is an overview of my weekend. Any and all time that is available I will be working in my room on my collection. I have a lot to organize, store, and document for the site here. I have to create an updated checklist of what I have now and what I still need.

The weekend will be here before long. I should be in Sinking Spring around 11pm Friday. So excited!