Disney. So Much Disney.

The first half of my winter break has hardly been restful - after all, there is nothing more tiring than walking over miles of extensive Disney parks, standing in lines, and keeping an adorable 9-month-old nephew entertained and happy during a long day where he keeps missing his naps. I think I slept a full 11 hours straight when we got back because I was exhausted, and I could have slept longer... it feels so good to be back in my own bed again.

Jenna made me promise to take pictures (which I am usually very bad at) so I do have some to put on this blog, all for her benefit.

Day 1: Magic Kingdom
M.K. is the Disney World equivalent of Disneyland. Except the castle is bigger and cooler. A lot of the rides are the same, but I'm still bummed that they did not have an Indiana Jones ride. But I got some pineapple dole whip, so it's all good.

The others all indulged me and consented to eat lunch on our first day in the Beast's Castle. Basically, I just wanted the bragging rights of saying that I've been in a replica of the Beast's Ballroom. Look at that ceiling!!!! There are two other areas in the restaurant (the library and the West Wing) but I wanted to eat in the ballroom. It was probably the nosiest and least tidy because everyone wanted to eat in there and it was lunch (which is less formal than dinner - they only take reservations for dinner) but I wanted to eat there anyways. The Kelly family are real sports for indulging me.

And the castle kinda looks like it's sitting on the lamppost, but it's not. The lamppost was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Day 2: Hollywood Studios
This is kind of similar to California Adventures... but not. Yeah, not at all. The layout is completely different, and they have a rather different assortment of attractions. There's still a great backdrop to take your picture in front of, though! Side note: the humid, warm Florida air makes my hair very frizzy. I was not prepared for it!

Other highlights of the day: a live Indiana Jones show, Beauty & the Beast Onstage, the Dancing Lights during the evening (the lights on the buildings dance to the Christmas music), and eating pizza in an Italian restaurant. Yum.

Day 3: Epcot
This is it... the famous big, white ball.
And there's a whole ride inside of it! It's a pretty easy-going ride, but I liked it.

Epcot was a great experience... I fully enjoyed seeing all the different displays from different countries around the world. We had lunch in Japan (our chef made a cool Christmas design with our food), the little ride in Norway is fun, and if you go inside the big Mayan temple in Mexico there's a whole other world with a restaurant and a little ride. We ate there for dinner, and it was a pretty cool atmosphere, with the mini-temple in the background.

 ^^^ Cutest nephew ever

Side note to anyone who has not been on the orange (more intense) version of Mission Space: I would not advise going on a full stomach. Also, go in the evening so that you don't feel gross the whole day. All the spinning and G's threw my body out of whack, and I didn't feel normal again until I had a good night's sleep. I guess that's what simulated flight in a rocket does to you. There's a reason why they have a barf-bag disposal within reaching distance of each seat... and it's very claustrophobic. Try not to think about it.


Day 4: Animal Kingdom
(This was Christmas Day. It didn't feel like Christmas, really... it was the first one I've ever spent away from home!) In many ways, this part of Disney World is like a giant zoo. You can go on a safari ride and see animals such as rhinos, lions, hippos, giraffes, etc. or walk along various trails and see animals such as these:

Oops, that last one is not an animal... haha. I also got absolutely soaked on the river ride (compare it to the Grizzly River Rapids at CA Adventures). Dear Daddy, I now know how you felt when you got soaked that one time years ago. Except it's not so bad in Florida because it's warmer. But it took me half the day to dry. Also, Expedition Everest is pretty fun, especially if you're in the last seat. The Lion King show was great too, and it was fun to go eat at the Boardwalk and look at a cute little face across the table.

Fun fact: Animal Kingdom is so big that all 3 of the other parks - Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot combined - can fit inside it.

Day 5: Free-For-All
Basically, we used our last day in the parks to do anything we wanted to do again, or anything we missed the first time around. We hit up many of the fun rides (Tower of Terror, Rockin' Roller Coaster, etc) in Hollywood Studios during the morning and spent the late afternoon and evening in Epcot because I wanted to finish looking at all the different places around the world. It was all worth it because I found a fez to take a picture with and there was a whole section of merchandise dedicated to Doctor Who in England. Plus a red phone booth. I've always wanted a picture next to one of those.

I also got Gelato in Italy. Oh Italia, I will visit you (the real you) someday soon. For now, I'll just settle with taking an Italian class at BYU this semester! :D

I must say, Disney World and Disneyland are definitely entirely different parks, despite their similarites. Disney World had it's perks (more rides and attractions), but I still think California Screamin' is better than Rockin' Roller Coaster. I also like the nice, smaller size of Disneyland. It's a lot less tiring to walk through, and easier to get between the two parks. At Disney World if you want to get from one park to the next, you have to take a shuttle bus or a boat. So much walking. So much to do. So little time.

It was so much fun though. Definitely worth the frizzy hair and the tired bags under my eyes that I'm still recovering from. It's too bad my mother-in-law and other two sister-in-laws didn't come too... but we all enjoyed ourselves just the same!

"Halfsies" and Giving In

When I say "halfsies" I am referring to my half-anniversary. The 1.5 year mark of our marriage was yesterday, and so we celebrated by going to Cafe Rio for dinner tonight. This is the third year in a row that we have gone to Cafe Rio on the day before Thanksgiving. The first time we went was for our very first date, so it has become a tradition to go on the day before Thanksgiving every year... and it conveniently falls around the same time as our half anniversary, so it's a chance for double celebration.

I love that ginger-headed boy.

In other news:

I gave in today.

I stopped by Michaels with the intention of purchasing materials to make my own Advent Calendar Christmas Tree. (I'm very proud of myself! I'll share a post about it soon!) Anyways, I spent a good chunk of time strolling around the Christmas aisles, and the Christmas music they were playing in the store got stuck in my head. I am the type of stubborn person who waits until after Thanksgiving to put up my decorations and listen to Christmas music, but when I came home after shopping and started putting my advent calendar together, I just couldn't help myself! Christmas is too alluring! So I gave up (Thanksgiving is tomorrow anyways!) and turned on my Christmas music, made some hot apple cider to tide me over until we went to Cafe Rio, and started crafting.

And it was wonderful.

My Christmas decorations are going up ASAP. And I'm excited for Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws house tomorrow, where I'll get to see my cute little nephew. Oooooh, I am loving having a break from school and finally allowing myself to get into the holiday season! LOVING it!!!!!!

Oh, and my youngest sister's birthday was today, and she loves it when I mention her on this blog, so... here's a shout-out to you, Jenna! Happy Birthday!

Cupcakes & A Preggo Lady

Before you ask, no I'm not the preggo lady.

But as for my former roommate... she sure is! Her baby girl is due in August, and we're all so excited to see her! In the meantime, I figured it wouldn't hurt to take the mama-to-be out on a birthday cupcake outing. Because what preggo lady doesn't like cupcakes?

I may or may not awkwardly rub Donnie's belly each time I see her.

What can I say? It's become a tradition.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying a couple days of no-school before summer term starts up. No rest for the wicked! I'm like the Energizer Bunny, I just keep going and going...

One Year

"To love another person is to see the face of God"

While everyone was off having picnics and barbecues and going swimming, Doug and I were celebrating our first anniversary. It was a wonderful weekend, and I really needed the break from Provo and school. It was hard to come back to classes today. Especially after the VIP treatment we got at the hotel we stayed at. They gave us "welcome cookies". Yep, you read that correctly. Freshly-baked welcome cookies!

Park City is a beautiful place to get away to during May. Rolling green hills, temperatures in the high 60s/low 70s, and the cutest Main Street you could imagine.

And I basically died when I saw this painted piano mural. It just sits outside with a sign on it that says "Play me". I love these piano mural projects. I've only ever seen them in pictures, so I was excited when Doug pointed this one out.

We went over to the Olympic Park where they did the ski jump competitions during the Olympics in 2002. We got to ride the chair lifts up to the top and then take a huge zipline down to the bottom.

For the Extreme Zipline, you start at the very top of the K120 jump and go all the way down to the parking lot at the bottom. It's one of the steepest ziplines in the world, and you can reach up to 50 mph. (Want to know a secret? It's not as adrenaline-pumping as I thought it would be. My stomach didn't even drop at all! What's the point of going on an extreme zipline if you don't get those adrenaline rushes?!)

Well, I can check that off my bucket list.

Park City was beautiful. Our anniversary was wonderful and relaxing. Now I'm back in the real world, and there's only 3 weeks until the last day of spring term. Opening night for A Wrinkle in Time is on Tuesday.

I can do it!

Douglas, I love you so much! This first year has been awesome, and I look forward to the years to come. How did I ever get so lucky? Marrying you was the best decision ever. Thanks for loving and supporting me!

I went home for Christmas

So I'm finally back in Provo after spending nearly 2 weeks in Fresno, CA. And my blog was neglected in the process. But I have NO regrets about that because it was nice to not have to worry about posting this or that.

Going back home reminds me of how much I love my family. This was my first time seeing them since I got married. A new record. So... it was nice to catch up on things and relax. Poke fun at siblings and not worry about housework. The Christmas season is all about family, and I'm so glad I got to spend the holidays back home.

From depleting my grandpa's supply of Starbucks Hot Cocoa, to attending my little sister's baptism, to Christmas festivities, the whole vacation was wonderful. I am so glad I have a loving family and that they all get along with my husband so well! It was our first Christmas together as husband and wife, and his first Christmas with my family. I'd say that it all went very smoothly.

Plus... we got to go spend a day on the coast.
The beach? At Christmastime? Heck. Yes.

A little bit of salty sea air never hurts. Especially when you get to eat at Jockos Steakhouse at the end of the day. I'm not much of a steak person. Unless the steak is cooked by someone who knows what they are doing. And at Jockos, they know. I wouldn't mind having steak from that place all the time.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you're just as excited for a new year as I am!