Dancing with Daffodils

Wednesday we went back to EPCOT to do the World Showcase. We went right to Norway to do the Frozen ride and didn't have any wait, then we did Test Track with a fast pass. Then we went back and started in Mexico to make our way around the world. My mother-in-law bought the kids passports so in each country we would find the station where they could get their passport stamped and talk to someone from that country. It was fun to talk to all the people and ask them questions. Our usual question was what they missed most from home and at least 80 percent of them said the food. So in each country we looked around, did the attraction, stamped our passports and got a treat to try. In Mexico we got churros, served with a dulce de leche dip that was amazing. We all enjoyed the boat ride, trying on sombreros and seeing Donald Duck. Next was Norway. We all loved the Frozen ride and got what was called a school cake that was a cream-filled pastry that had a unique flavor. I think Josh told me...

So we finished watching our last few movies in the car but we did it. We watched every animated Disney movie in order of release before our trip. (If I'm honest, we did leave out Chicken Little, Home on the Range, Atlantis, and Nightmare Before Christmas on purpose and Wreck it Ralph and Emperor's New Groove on accident).  But my kids knew every character they saw and understood every ride and I really think the Disney education made our experience more fun. I feel like I've told so many people about out trip already but here is a quick summary. Friday we drove the 13 hours with just one stop! My kids are awesome travelers and we made good time which was great because we were excited to get to the Wilson's house. It was so fun to see them and catch up. I really miss them and it was super fun to spend time with them again. Saturday we spent the morning with the Wilsons then left about lunch time to head to our hotel. We met up with my in-laws and since our room wasn...

Our trip is coming soon and we made a lot of progress on our Disney movies, but we still have nine to go. I don't know that we are going to finish because it is tough with school schedules to all be together, but hopefully we'll make it. 27. Toy Story--a big hit in our family. It really is so clever and creative. So much of what Disney had done up to this point was to re-tell a classic story but Toy Story is so unique and the story and characters are incredibly original. I still find Sid a bit creepy but we all loved it and can't wait to ride Toy Story Mania! 28. Hunchback of Notre Dame--This was a tougher movie to watch with the kids and I knew it would be because it is not a kids movie. It is so adult in theme and I was a bit nervous to watch it with them. However, they ended up liking it more than I thought they would. I did skip the hell-fire song but the other music is so good and we did talk about the importance of being kind to others. This movie is well done but...

So, I wrote this story out a week ago and went to go post it, had some internet issues and suddenly it was gone. I was very sad and have had a hard time writing it again because once I write something, the story is out of my head and it is hard to recreate. But here is my attempt, although it is not as good as the original. Three weeks ago in church we had a strange and unique experience. It was fast and testimony meeting, which means the meeting is open to any member of the congregation who would like to get up and share a short and heartfelt testimony of Jesus Christ and his gospel. Sometimes people get up and ramble on about trips or life experiences and what they've shared doesn't much resemble a testimony, but that doesn't really happen in our ward. Our ward is amazing and I love them so much and always feel strengthened after a testimony meeting. So it was quiet for just a moment before people started going up to share and all of a sudden this woman in the back lo...

Summer is over and I have been really sad about it. I love so much about summer and while I enjoy fall too, it is hard for me to give up all of the relaxed family time that summer affords us. I have been dreading my daughter's first day of middle school for at least a year, maybe longer. It means getting up super early (which I seriously dislike doing) and I was worried about the bad language, the fights, the innocence lost, mean girls, etc. Last year our schedule was pretty simple with all three kids at the same school. This year I have three kids in three different schools and I suppose I was pretty stressed about being able to keep up and feel like a good mom, despite being stretched in so many directions. The first day of school was long and exhausting and I'm not even the one who had to go! But I got up at 6am with one kid, 7am with another and then 8am with the last one. Then I had one very lonely and sad kid left home with me. It was physically and emotionally exhausti...

I am a big chicken and really don't like to do things where I could get hurt. I don't mind heights as long as I feel secure but a lot of activities that seem thrilling to other people only seem crazy to me. The one exception for me has been parasailing. I have wanted to do it for a long time because it was the perfect  thrill to safety ratio for me. I love the water and the idea of flying up behind a boat sounded exciting and fun. When Josh and I went to Bermuda on a cruise four years ago, he had planned to take me for my birthday and I was very excited about it. I should mention I am also terrified of sharks, even though I absolutely love the ocean, but around Bermuda there are very few sharks because of all the coral so parasailing around the beautiful island with pink sand and no sharks sounded amazing. Unfortunately, there was terrible weather while we were there, thanks to some hurricane, and I didn't get to go. For my birthday this year, Josh tried again and my pr...