Disneyland 2012

I went to Disneyland!!!

*Most of the pictures I'll have from this trip are going to be coming from either my sister or from PhotoPass, and I won't have either for at least a couple weeks, maybe more.  I have a few of my own photos though, and I'll share those now, but there just aren't very many.

One week ago, I was sitting in an airplane, headed for Anaheim.  Everything went super smoothly.  I arrived, caught my shuttle, and checked into our hotel.  I was "piggybacking" on my sister's work trip, and they put us up in the Grand Californian, Disney's nicest Disneyland resort hotel!  It was beautiful!

I didn't waste any time, as soon as I was checked in, I headed straight to the parks.  I spent most of my time just getting familiar with California Adventure since I haven't been to Disneyland Resort since it had been added.  I caught a couple shows and met Dug, the dog from Up!  Dug is one of my favorite characters, even though Up is not one of my favorite movies.  I just love him, though!  When he finally arrived, I told him, "Dug, I have been waiting here for 35 minutes just to meet you... because I love you!"  (You have to have seen the movie to understand.)

I also checked out Carsland!!  It was so exciting to see this brand new land!  It looks just like the movie and when you walk down Route 66 it feels like you are right there in Radiator Springs!  I took these pictures on my own while I waited to meet up with everyone, then I took the next set when we were all together and went to see it all lit up at night.

I've been trying to decide what was my favorite part about Carsland, and I think it has to be the Carsland Racers ride, which was a BLAST!  I'm getting a little out of order with my pics here, but this is the picture from when Debi and I rode it together Saturday morning.

Okay, back to Thursday afternoon.  I had some friends from high school who happened to be at Disneyland at the same time, so we met up and spent a good hour or so together.  It was so great to see them again!  They had been high school sweethearts and now they are a family!  I'm so happy for them and I'm so glad I got a chance to catch up with all that has been going on in their lives.  Their oldest was with them and she was ADORABLE!!!  She told me all about all of the rides she had been on and which were her favorites - she is a thrill seeker!  One of her favorites was Tower of Terror!!!  Before we parted ways, we took this pic...

Then it was time to meet up with my sister!  Yay!  We were so excited to be at Disneyland together!!!  Her work had arranged for us to watch World of Color from the VIP section, so we headed back into California Adventure to get ready for that.  Super cool fact: VIPs get free Glow with the Show Ears!!

World of Color was AMAZING!!!  I didn't even bother trying to record it or photograph it because 1) I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do it justice, and 2) I wanted to ENJOY it!  It was absolutely incredible and I cannot wait to take my family back to see it!  I just know they will all love it!!

The parks closed after World of Color ended, so we headed back to the hotel to relax in the hot tub and meet up with more of our group.  We spent the rest of our weekend with Debi's co-worker/friend, Megan and her sister Jenna.  They were SO MUCH FUN!

Jenna and I were on our own while our sisters had to work on Friday, and we got along together so well that we decided to enjoy Disneyland together until they were done working.  Jenna is awesome!  She absolutely loves Disneyland and knows a ton about it, which was a lot of fun for me!  We rode on a bunch of rides and talked a lot.  It was really great getting to know her; we became fast friends. :)

Even though we rode a bunch of rides, none of them were rides that took photos, so I don't have much by way of that to show you.  But here are pictures of Disneyland decked out of Halloween Time...

And here are photos that I took of Sleeping Beauty Castle - I can't wait to bring Rori here!!

Once the sisters were done working, we met up with them and got ready for Mickey's Halloween Party!

We were all dressed as "Minnie" and were looking forward to taking lots of pictures with our boy Mickey!  I have a lot of photos on our PhotoPass account and will be able to share them later, but for now, I can show you this picture that was taken with someone else's camera.  Even though it was mostly just the four of us hanging out, there were some other girls from Debi's work that also dressed as Minnie and they were with us when we took this picture.

Mickey throws an AMAZING party!  We rode a couple rides, watched the Halloween parade, got a great spot for the Halloween fireworks, and Trick-or-Treated!

Debi had been nervous about the rides.  Let's be honest, she was being a fraidy cat.  But we convinced her to just try one... and why we picked Space Mountain as the one she should try is beyond me because that combined most of her fears into one! But for whatever CRAZY reason, we decided to give it a go, and...

... SHE LOVED IT!!!  After that, she was game for all the rides!  (Except for spinning ones that get us sick, but we were all in agreement on that.)

We did ride one or two other rides that night, but once the fireworks were over, we noticed that the Trick-or-Treating trails were nearly empty so we took advantage of the short lines to fill our bags with candy.  It was the first time I had been trick-or-treating (for myself) in over 20 years!!!  And it was SO FUN!  We totally felt like kids again!

The next day we were tired and sore from our late night playing, but that didn't stop us from hitting the parks again!  We started in California Adventure.  We rode Carsland Racers (Pic posted above), Toy Story Mania, Goofy's Fly School, Soarin', and the Grizzly River Run.  It was all so much fun!  Then we hopped over to Disneyland, where, to be honest, it is all a blur.  We went on Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, and Splash Mountain.  I'm pretty sure we went on more but I just can't remember.  We also stopped to watch the parade, the normal fireworks, and Fantasmic!  It felt good to stop and sit for awhile and when they were over, we were ready to hit some more rides before the park closed.

The other girls were going to be back in the parks on Sunday, but I had a flight taking me home, so this was my last night.  One of the best parts of that day happened at the very end.  We had already ridden Splash Mountain, and we were wet and kind of cold, but before we left, we wanted to ride it one more time.  This time we decided to pose on our way down the drop.  I think our photo turned out awesome, what do you think?

It was the perfect way to end my trip!

Disneyland is a magical place.  No matter if it is your first time, or one hundred and first; no matter if you are young or just young at heart, Disney has the power to bring out the kid in each and every person who walks through those gates.  I had such a great time on this trip!  I loved spending it with my sister and I loved making new friends.

I can't wait to go back!!!

Up Early

The *real* reason why I'm up so early (I woke up around 4:30, laid in bed until 5:30, then finally submitted and got up) is because someone (not mentioning names, but I am married to him) set his alarm for 4:30 so he could get up and go to the gym before work.  To give him credit, he did do this the last two days successfully.  Today... well, it is after 6am and he is still in bed.  :S

But let's just pretend that the reason is because I'm about to check-in for my flight!

What flight?  Oh yeah, I haven't been blogging.  So now I have to catch you up a little...

My sister works for Visit California and one of the cool perks to her job is that a couple times a year they have board meetings at various tourist locations throughout California.  This month's meeting... at Disneyland!  The poor, poor girl has to go to Disneyland for work.  They are paying for it, and they are paying her to be there.  Tough job, right?!?

Yeah, so in order to support her during such a trying and mundane business trip, I booked a flight to meet her there.  (I'm so thoughtful, aren't I?!?)  Her work is paying for our first night, they are putting her/us in the Grand Californian!!  They also comped us our park tickets - sweet!  We elected to stay longer than the business trip and are paying for our final two nights, but will be switching over to a motel more in our budget for those. ;)

I feel just slightly guilty for leaving my family behind and going to Disney by myself.  But since I'm getting such a great deal, and it's all a tax write-off for me, not to mention that I really should be going somewhat regularly for work anyways (hehehe), I am pretty sure I'll be over that guilt as soon as I get there.  ;)  Besides, this is good sisterly bonding time!!  I have to introduce her to my boyfriend!  (She has never met him before!!)

So, that is why I'm up!  At least, that is why I'm not grumpy to be up, which is the absolute truth. ;)

Storybrooke!!!

My cousin, Sami, posted a blog post about the trip she and Cadi took last week to watch filming for their favorite show, Once Upon a Time.  Read about the whole adventure, including how they met their favorite actors here.  It was such a great trip! :)

Canada Bound

Acadia is taking her first-ever road trip without a "parent-like adult".  She and my cousin are driving up to Canada, even as we speak!  They are huge fans of the ABC show, Once Upon a Time and found out that the show is filmed near Vancouver, BC.  Since that is only a 5-6 hour drive from here, they quickly devised a plan to go see some filming and hopefully meet some of their favorite actors.

To prepare, they got together a week ago and had a Once Upon a Time marathon.  They watched all 22 (hour long) episodes in 26 hours!  They also made a sign...

... and a t-shirt (I don't have a photo of it though).

They are both very excited!  And I am excited for them!  I hope they have a super fun time and get to meet the actors!  I especially hope they have a safe trip and return home in one piece!

A weekend in Sacramento.

I flew out to Sacramento last Friday so I could be there that weekend with my family as my brother attended the temple in preparation to serve his mission later this year. I don't usually get to make a trip home by myself but it just worked out that way this time.  It was a great visit, though short, and I'm so glad I was able to go!

Saturday was a beautiful day!  It was sunny, warm, and gorgeous.  But it was also beautiful in other ways, too.  In addition to being there with Ben, each of our family members took a family name through the temple with us.  Then, after having a quick lunch, we all went back in and spent a few more hours, performing many ordinances, going from start to finish.  It was such a great experience!

At the end of the day, I counted all of the ordinances that we had just completed from our own family history files and found that together, we had performed 106 ordinances!  What a great day!!!

On Sunday, we gathered at my great-aunt and uncle's home for dinner.  It was during the eclipse and we were able to enjoy it together.  It was super cool - none of us had experienced anything like it before!  We started out with the piece of paper that had a hole punched in it, but quickly noticed that we could see the eclipse through ANY object that had an opening for sun to come through.  We used our hands, saw the eclipse through shadows of tree branches, etc.  It was just really neat!

Here are my aunt and uncle.  My uncle's health has been rocky lately, but we are so glad that he is doing better now.  Still, if you ask him how he's doing, he loves to put his arm up to his head and say, "I haven't been well."  He is such a character!

It was such a quick visit but also such a great one!  I had a wonderful time with family and loved every moment of it.  I also loved coming back home to my own family, especially when I found that they had kept up with the housework and even did some laundry.  Awesome!  :)

Ben's Mission Call

My youngest brother turned 19 a few months ago and has been preparing to serve a full-time mission for our church.  About a week and a half ago, the call came - contained in an envelope sent to his home.

We set a time to have as many as could gather to come together.  We joined them through Skype and were excited to hear...

Elder, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are called to labor in the 

Korea Daejeon mission.

!!!

We are all so excited for him!!!  He will be reporting to the MTC in August and has a lot to do before then.  Including, making a very special trip to the temple to make sacred covenants and receive ordinances.  I am going down to be there with him and the rest of the family this weekend as he does this.  And I'm going to be able to bring along several family names so we can do work for our ancestors, too.  I'm very excited!

We are looking forward to supporting Ben as he serves the Lord and are so proud of him! :)

Peek-a-boo

I keep playing a disappearing act.  Then just when you think I'll never post again, I pop back up... and lately, only to disappear again the minute you turn your back.

Don't know why.  Busy.  But I'm always busy.  And I'm less busy now than I used to be... but then, I didn't always post very frequently then, either.

I have more photos that I need to upload and will post on.  I have a couple videos, too.

But first, I'll update on stuff that I don't have photos/videos for since that will be quicker.

• Rori took gymnastics for a little over a year but then told me she wanted to try dance classes instead.  So, this week she'll be taking her first dance class.  It is a ballet/jazz class, which I think she'll love.  She is SO EXCITED!!!  She already picked out what to wear today and wanted to sleep in it last night.  I reminded her that she still had to go to school in the morning first, so she'd have to put on school clothes when she woke up.  In the end, she decided to sleep in pjs.  Good choice.  ;)
• Ryan had been serving in our church as the ward executive secretary for a little over a year and was recently released from that calling and instead called to serve as a Sunday School teacher for the 16-17 year olds.  I think it's cool that we both use the same manual.  I team teach with someone, but on the weeks I do teach, we'll be mostly using the same material.  I'm sure we'll be able to have some good discussions as we each prepare. :)
• We recently booked our flights for a visit back East.  It has been awhile since we've been back for a visit and we are very excited to be going!  We plan to take a trip up to Acadia National Park while we're there and since we love it there so much we know it will be awesome.  We'll be able to celebrate Cadi's birthday and Father's Day in Massachusetts with Ryan's dad, and that will be really cool, too.
• The weather around here has been weird.  We had a very mild winter, too mild, actually.  Now we keep switching off from absolutely gorgeous days and totally crummy days.  I'm just waiting for it to make up it's mind so I can do some gardening.  I've got tons of bulbs coming up that I had planted last fall, so that's been fun to watch.  I need to decide what else I want to plant now and what I want in my vegetable garden this year. 

I'm hoping to upload the photos and videos soon, and when I do, I will be sure to post them!

"A dream is a wish your heart makes..." ~Cinderella

This is what I should be doing today...

But I find that all I'm actually doing is daydreaming about this...

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." ~Walt Disney

A Day in SLC, With Friends

We usually go to Idaho for a weekend before Christmas to see our friends and have our annual Christmas party.  But this year, circumstances were unique and instead we went for a few days during the week after Christmas. 

I always get anxious about this trip.  It is long, over mountain passes, in the winter.  Our biggest car problems have occurred while we make this annual trip.  But this year, the roads were competely clear the entire way there and back!  Good for us, bad for the region.  The mountains just aren't getting enough snow this year. :S  But during our drives, I was very grateful for clear roads. ;)

I don't have very many photos of our time actually in Idaho.  We did a lot of hanging out and the kids played together.  I do have these photos from when the guys took some of the older kids back into the hills to do some shooting.  Acadia LOVED it!

But even though I don't have many pics from Idaho, I do have lots of pictures from the day we all spent down in SLC...

We began at the Joseph Smith Building and watched the new Joseph Smith movie.  Then we went to the church office building and went all the way to the top to get a bird's eye view of SLC and Temple Square.

After that, we journeyed over to the Conference Center for a tour of the building, including the roof.

We wanted to be down on Temple Square for the lights once it was dark, so we headed over and visited the North Visitor's Center first.

By the time we finished that, it was just dark enough for the lights to come on... it was beautiful!  We started right outside the visitor center where they have a huge nativity scene displayed and had the scriptures of the Savior's birth played over a speaker with beautiful music accompanying it.  Then we walked along the grounds, looking at all of the beautiful lights.  The weather was very cooperative and even though it was cool, it was not freezing and we were able to take our time to enjoy it.

Finally, our stomachs told us it was time to go.  We loaded into the cars (right after I got to have an "orchestrated chance meeting" with a very good friend that I haven't seen in a few years :D) and headed towards home, with the intent on stopping for dinner along the way.  That is what happened, but not without a little excitement.

It seems that along with our tradition of getting together every holiday season, we also need to have car drama.  I admit, I was SO GLAD it wasn't us this time!  But I felt really bad for our friends who's car's power steering completely gave out, leaving them stranded.  Stranded, but not alone.  The guys made a quick run to a store to do a quick fix right there in the parking lot, which allowed everyone to travel home in safety after dinner, then they spent the next morning giving it a more permanent fix.  If you've got to break down, they picked the right friends to break down with. ;)

Next year, we'll most likely be back to our usual routine of spending just a weekend together right before Christmas, but it was fun to try something a little different a new this time.  :)

The post that was roughly 10 years in the making...

Last October, Ryan and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary.  For the last 9, we have lived here.  I don't remember the last time that Ryan and I "ran away" together.  I know it was before we moved here.  In Massachusetts, we were fortunate enough to have Ryan's parents who loved to have Acadia over for sleepovers, and we did take advantage of that at times.  Since moving here, we have had family vacations, but no romantic getaways.  Until a couple of weeks ago.

My wise aunt put a bug in my ear.  She and my uncle "run away" at least once a year for their anniversary.  Of course, their kids are all grown and can be left on their own for a couple of days, but she even offered to watch ours for us.  I found an incredible deal on a very romantic beach getaway package and booked ourselves a trip!  It turns out that it was during the school week, so instead of having my aunt watch my girls, my very good friend did instead.  It actually worked out perfectly!

So, a few days before Ryan's birthday, he and I drove to the coast to enjoy some alone time for 2 nights/3 days - JUST US.  We had a wonderful visit!  The room was perfect, complete with a fireplace, kitchenette, 2 person jacuzzi tub, king-size pillow top bed, flat screen TV, oh yeah, and an incredible view!  We were beach front, with a CUTE private patio that led right to the beach.  It was just amazing! 

We took walks on the beach everyday and even though it was cool, it was always beautiful.  Hello, it's the beach!

The waves were incredible!  And we had fun following them toward the sea, then running back as they chased us towards land!

On our first morning, we woke up to a rainbow over the ocean!  I had never seen that before!  Then the sun came out and we just couldn't resist another beautiful walk on the beach.

As we walked, we came across a pipefish that had been washed up on shore.  It was still alive, so Ryan picked it up and carefully put him back in the waves as they were rushing back toward us. 

The sunset that night was incredible!!!

Our last day at the beach was so bright and sunny!  The perfect way to end the perfect romantic getaway...

Be Thankful

We made our normal drive down to Sacramento for Thanksgiving this year.  The weather was great and the timing good, so we stopped in Reno for the weekend before ending up in Sac for the rest of the week.

One of the stops we made along the way down to Sacramento, was at John's Incredible Pizza to meet up with Heather and her kids for lunch.  It was a lot of fun!

The fun didn't stop once we were in Sacramento.  We stayed with Ryan's mom for the first couple of days and while we were with them, we visited the zoo...

The weather was SO NICE!  We took a walk down by the river and enjoyed a beautiful fall afternoon...

We spent the last couple of days at my sister's house and that is where we had our delicious Thanksgiving meal. 

Our visit for the holiday is always too short but we had a really nice visit and loved being with family for Thanksgiving! 

A Month of Thanksgiving Day 28

Well, I knew posting would be sparse during our visit home for Thanksgiving, but it ended up being non existent!  We had a great visit though and THAT is what I'm thankful for now.

I am thankful that the car did run great, the weather was perfect for traveling, the kids didn't get carsick, and we arrived home in enough time for me to finish planning my Sunday School lesson (and for Ryan to clean the gutters while Cadi raked the backyard).  I'm also glad we were able to visit and see so many of our family and friends, though we never have enough time to see everyone.  I'm thankful for those who opened their homes to us, fed us, put up with us, etc.  I am thankful for Thanksgiving dinner because it was so incredibly delicious!  I am thankful for Forced Family Fun day (what we began calling the day after T-day because it is usually the one day that my family can all get together, and whether or not we all want to do whatever we're doing, we do it because we can do it together... sometimes other days are called Forced Family Fun days, too, but this is the original).  I am thankful that Ryan's parents were able to join my family for Thanksgiving again so we didn't have to go back and forth in order to see both.

Now that I'm home, I'm thankful that it is officially the Christmas season!  I am thankful that we have begun decorating.  (4 trees up, 3 to go!)  I am thankful for the music, smells, sights, and sounds of the holidays.  I love this time of year! :)

A Month of Thanksgiving Day 19

I am grateful for a good, reliabe car.  And I will be even more thankful when our good, reliable car delivers us safely to Reno later today.  At that time, I will also be grateful to be out of the good, reliable car.  ;) 

Posting may not be daily for the next little bit. :)

A Month of Thanksgiving Day 18

I am thankfful for trips back home.  We are on the eve of our annual Thanksgiving visit to California and I'm so thankful that we are able to go.  With minimal effort, we can travel hundreds of miles to visit with our family, and even though it will be a long drive, it will be done in a day and within our budget, which is something that wouldn't have been so simple a few decades ago. 

It is sometimes very hard to live so far from family, but being able to have visits like this makes it easier. :)

Discovery Cove - Snorkeling

For the rest of our day at Discovery Cove, we just went snorkeling on their reef and swam with fish and rays.  It was pretty cool.  But first, we had to teach Rori how to snorkel!

She eventually got the hang of it but chose to just hold her breath for most of the time.  I think the idea of breathing while having your face in the water was just a little too weird for her.  She did use it sometimes though, and she had fun seeing all of the fish and rays.  Most of the time she stayed with Ryan, even though she was wearing TWO flotation devices. lol  Sometimes they swam next to each other, with her hand on his arm, and sometimes she rode on his back as he swam. 

Swimming in the reef was awesome!  There were several different kinds of rays and tons of fish.  Some of the rays were HUGE!  And we had an underwater camera/camcorder, so we took lots of pics and even got some video...

In addition to the rays and fish that they had in the coral reef, there were areas that had other, more dangerous animals.  We were able to swim right up to windows that had sharks, lionfish, eels, and barracuda just on the other side.  I didn't get any pics of the barracuda, but here are the others...

*shudder* The eels creep me out!!!

Here is a video of the sharks from underwater...



Even just standing in the shallow water gave you some cool experiences.  The rays swam right up to the edge of the water and you could just bend down and touch them.

The day was beautiful and the morning was perfect!  Later in the afternoon, though, the storm clouds began to roll in and pretty soon, we were in a downpour.  Since we were already getting plenty wet in the water, a lot of us, especially the girls, really didn't care!  Rori just wanted to keep swimming and playing with the fish!  I was getting tired and found a covered chair so I could lay back and rest for a few minutes. 

When the girls were finally ready for a break from swimming, we decided to eat our late lunch.  (We were so  glad we had waited and stayed in the water during the lunch rush!)  We kept hoping the rain would let up, and when it didn't, we still thought about going back in the water, but in the end, we decided to call it a day. But even with the rain, we were having a fun time!

Our day at Discovery Cove was amazing!  We had a great time, even when it rained. ;)  And even though we might not be able to go to Discovery Cove the next time we go to Florida, we definitely hope to go back eventually!