Disney World 2010

In 2009 I earned an incentive trip with my Pampered Chef business. The trip was for 4 people to go to Disney World for 4 days. If there are two parents and three kids, what do you do? You can "buy in" an extra child, but some of those costs can get pricey. Or we could choose to leave a child behind and not take them, but that would have cost us even more in psychiatry bills later in life. So our other option was to take the trip for just two people. Guess what we choose????  It was a long hard decisions, but we choose to leave all the kids and just Mark and I go. By doing this they added Disney Dollars for us to spend while we were there. Very convenient when you don't rent a car and stay on property.  Food can get pretty pricey at the happiest place on earth.

Our trip started out on Saturday, June 12. The hardest part was leaving before Jessica got home from Girls Camp.  We went almost two weeks without seeing her.  Luckily she was in good hands.

We had a lay over in the Minneapolis airport. We had just enough time to grab lunch and get to our gate. We were some of the last to board and shear luck they needed two seats together for someone traveling with a child so they bumped us to first class seats but on different rows. Once we were seated my neighbor found out what happened and switched seats with Mark so we could sit together.  Look at how much room you have in first class.

There is even an arm rest between us.  We were especially glad for the upgrade since the plane sat for an hour after we pulled away from the gate.  That is the second time I've been bumped to first class in the Minneapolis airport. I think it is now my favorite airport!

The Magical Express was waiting for us at the Orlando Airport and whisked us off to Coronado Springs Resort. We got there in time to swim for a bit and have dinner. The pool by our room was just a standard pool, but after dinner we strolled around the resort and found this.

"The Dig" was the big pool with a water slide.  Very fun.

Sunday Morning we headed over to Epcot. The one park I really wanted to see more of the last time we were there 5 years ago, but had kids with us so we wizzed through all the countries.

Have no idea who the awry child is in the picture.  Didn't matter since we didn't have kids with us!

We spent the morning Soarin over California and riding the Test Track. Then we headed to the International Gateway and leisurely strolled through the countries.

Isn't he handsome!

Paris was by far one of our favorites.  Amazing bakery and beautiful sites.

To get a sit down dinner in any of the Parks you have to make dinner reservations months in advance.  We took advantage of no kids and enjoyed a dinner at Tappan Edo.

Where they cooked dinner in front of us!  After dinner we were strolling around the lake trying to find a good spot to watch the fireworks when a Cast Member stopped us and gave us reserved seating passes.  At this point we decided this was a lucky vacation.

So we strolled around a few more countries

Before getting our seats on the benches that lined the lake.  There were only about 15 people in the reserved section.  It was great.

And a perfect view for Illuminations!

Monday morning started early.  We had a group breakfast at the hotel.

Aren't Mickey Waffles cute!  And they taste good too.  Then it was off to

Magic Kingdom!  The haziness in the picture was because it was so humid.  Even my watch face fogged up in the mornings from the moisture.

For the first time EVER Disney opened Magic Kingdom two hours early JUST for Pampered Chef.  There were 6700 attendees to the trip and not all of them came to the early hour so it was great!

It was also our T-Shirt day.  It was a sea of red walking down mainstreet.  In the first two hours we were able to ride Space Mountain (15 min wait was our longest wait of the morning), Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain (twice), and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (twice).  It was amazing walking right onto all these rides with no lines.

Please note Mark's eyes were opened.  On almost all the rides that take your picture his eyes were closed!

Then the park opened to the public and the crowds poured in.  I'm sure there were a few people disappointed to find out all the Pampered Chef people were already in the park and getting our Fastpasses.  At this point Mark and I began the memory rides.  We hit the Tiki Room (which has changed and I'm not sure I like it as much), Bear Country Jamboree (because my Dad helped with designing it in Disneyland and it isn't there anymore), It's a Small World, and the train.

My all time favorite treat in the park is a frozen banana.  Total childhood memory.  I grew up about an hour from Disneyland, so we went several times a year.

By now it was really hot and crowded. So after lunch we strolled back to our room for a very nice rest.  Then returned to the park for our 8pm reservations at Tony's Town Square.  Kind of late for dinner, but we had a plan.  We requested seating to see the parade and we seated in the Atrium room.

When the parade started this was our view.  Not front row, but we had food, drinks, air conditioning and a comfortable seat.  It was awesome! And after the parade we wandered the shops until it was time for Fireworks!

Tuesday morning we headed over to Animal Kingdom.  We got there early enough to ride Everest twice without waiting too long.  I must say Everest is much better than the Matterhorn.  But going backwards did make me a little sick.

Have you noticed yet that we are shiny in all of our pictures.  It was SOOOO hot and humid.  Even the locals commented on the heat wave.  With the humidity it felt like 105 - 110 every day.

We really enjoyed the Safari in Animal Kingdom

Even though we did have to wait an hour in line.  Next time I'd fastpass it and walk a little more.

This was Mark's hot look!  Those frozen drinks tasted so good. After riding all the must have rides we called it a day and went back to our room for a rest.  We knew the night would be a long one.

Tuesday night was Pampered Chef's night at Hollywood Studios.  The park was closed to the public and we had the park all to ourselves for 4 hours.

They lined the streets with food.  Opened some of the food stands and we had NO COST.  All you could eat.  There were Ice Cream vendors on all the corners.  Popcorn and treats along with some other great food!

They welcomed us in royal fashion.

You don't see your companies logo on the side of Tower of Terror very often!  Again, no lines on the rides.  And a fireworks show just for us! A very fun night.  Made us fell really special.

Wednesday was our day to fly home.  We were really wishing we had extended our trip. Apparently Delta thought so too.  Before we left for the airport we found out our flight had been delayed at least 5 hours.  So we headed over to Downtown Disney for a little more play.

Isn't he Dashing!

But at last the fun must end.  Our flight was originally supposed to leave at 5:20pm.  We were pulling away from the gate at 10:45pm.

We left Salt Lake at 50 degrees, spent 5 days in Orlando at over 100 degrees, and returned to Salt Lake at 1am to 40 degrees (in the middle of JUNE!)  Talk about a shock to our system.  Took us a few days to recover from the lack of sleep and fun, but life has returned to normal.

Thank You Pampered Chef for an AMAZING vacation!  Can't pass up an all expense paid trip.  I highly recommend getting away with your spouse without kids.  We had a blast!

Bucket List

One of the things I have always wanted to do is to see a Cirque Du Soleil show in person.  A friend introduced me to their music about 20 years ago when they were not very well known.  I should have gone then . . . when it was cheaper!

When Pampered Chef announced that part of the incentive trip to Disney World was seeing the Cirque show I was so excited. I worked hard to make sure I earned the trip, even postponing my hernia surgery so I could do one more show to earn the trip.  Then we find out it was going to be dark the nights we were in Orlando. Pampered Chef compensated by giving us a Disney Gift Card for the trip instead, but that meant I still would not see them.

Then . . . I find out they are coming to Salt Lake City, yipee!!! So we got the tickets and made it our anniversary gift to each other this year.

Mark and I had a fun night. Of course we went out to dinner first before heading to the E-Center. They were everything I had expected.  And if you don't know what they are it is hard to explain.  But if you ever get a chance I highly recommend seeing a show!

Hello . . . Goodbye

Little did I know back in July of 1993 when I bought my one and only brand new, off the lot car that I (we) would get so much use out of it.  But 17 years and 165,000 miles later it has finally come time to part.

This beautiful dark green top of the line Camry served me well.  I bought it back when I was much younger. Back when I had a career. Back in the hey days of WordPerfect. Back when my paycheck was a lot more money than it is now. I didn't realize that replacing it would make me sad, but it did.  I realized it was the last piece of my single life that was still around. It represented my career as a Software Tester. Yes, I realize I haven't been driving it for the last 9 years. The mini van has replaced it as the car I drive. But it was still in my life, still a part of me. No, Mark was not so emotionally tied to this car.  It was just the car he got to drive after we got the mini van. It has served us well, but it has come time to move on.

Move on to this . . .

Surprise! Another Camry! This beautiful 2007 has taken the place of the 1993 Camry. Not fresh off the lot, but still a nice looking car. We were torn between this car and a Hyundai Sonota, but the Camry won out. Hard to think this will probably be the car Jessica gets to drive in a few years, yikes!

But it does my heart good to know my old Camry is still a little part of the family. Mark's nephew, Daniel, is now the proud owner. Hopefully it will be a great College car for him!

Mark's Birthday

Mark's Birthday has come and gone for another year.  Unfortunately it was very anti climatic this year.  It fell on the day after I had foot surgery.  And I was still pretty out of it.  Luckily I did a few preparations ahead of time.

The kids made cards for him.

And the day before my surgery I had prepared everything for his favorite breakfast, Crepes!  I hid them in the outside fridge hoping he wouldn't see.  But I think he did get a peek before the big day.  But the kids were great at getting everything out for his "surprise" breakfast.

To show how out of it I was we don't even have a picture of Mark on his birthday.  His favorite dessert is cheesecake, and that holds well, so it had been pre purchased from Costco and stored in the outside fridge as well.

Even though Mark had to spend the day taking care of me I hope he still had a wonderful birthday.  He is such a wonderful father, husband and friend.

I Love You!

Date Night

Catch up time -- on July 25 Secondhand Serenade came to Thanksgiving Point for a concert.  I had heard some of their music on the radio and told Mark I wanted to go.  That weekend turned out to be a very busy weekend, but I still went ahead and DRAGGED Mark to the concert.

This was the view

From here

The evening was beautiful and the weather cooperated.  They had 3 intro bands.  We laid on the grass and enjoyed the music and all the people watching.  We were definitely some of the 'older' people there.  It was very crowded up by the stage

But back on our little hill we it was great.  Mark even admitted he was glad we were there.  It is so great having a child old enough to babysit so we can actually get away just the two of us sometimes.

Kelly Clarkson

Mark has been a huge American Idol fan since the very beginning.  Since I'm gone a lot in the evenings I haven't shared his same passion for it.  But I do enjoy the show when it gets down to the final group.  So when I heard Kelly Clarkson was coming to our fair town I thought getting tickets for us to go would be a great Anniversary Gift.

Thursday, June 11 was the grand day.  It was an outdoor concert and the afternoon brought a big thunder storm just like the rest of the week, we were a bit worried, but we survived!  And we were treated to an incredible full double rainbow just as she took the stage.

We were directly in front of the stage, but had a few obstacles in our view.  We were glad they had it on the big screen too.

We felt like we were two of the oldest people there.  But we did see a few others that we knew were older to help us feel a little better.  It was definitely fun snuggling under the blanket and listen to great music.

Elders Quorum Party

Since when do Elders Quorum Parties (one of the Mens Groups in our church)

 involve finger licking good BBQ Ribs???

Mouth watering Chocolate Covered Strawberries???

And lots of people???

When my dear sweet husband is in charge!

It was lots of fun and the kids had a blast with the Volleyball and Zim Zam.

Way to go MEN!

Without Mom's Permission

Why is it that Dads and Grandpas love to do things they know the Mom does not approve of????  When we were in Santaquin visiting Mark's parents Mark decided to mow the lawn.  Neither his Mom or Dad have been feeling well so he knew it would help.  After Mark got all the straight lines in the front yard done he thought it was time to turn the wheel over.

To HER!

Have they not read all the reports of children getting hurt on these?  Of course he had to take the two younger children on a spin with him first.  But I refused to document such acts.  He kept sending the kids over to me to ask if they could ride with him.  I just said I would not grant my permission but I guess I forgot to say no they could not!

Jessica had fun mowing the pasture.  And she was very careful.

But somehow a water fight had to happen and look who was in the middle of that too!

Silly Kids!

My Sweet Husband

On May 9 we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary.  It happened that Mark's work gave him a free hotel night for all the overtime he put in a few months ago, so we planned it for our anniversary weekend.  It is amazing how cheap Park City Hotels are when it is their off season, so we planned a get away night.  It almost got derailed when Mark's mom went in the hospital the day we were leaving, but since we were going to be gone for only a night we decided to go anyways.

When we got to our room I was surprised with this

Mark had told me all day how busy and crazy things were at work.  Well part of his "busy" was running up there and making our room look beautiful.  But the balloons were an extra touch from the hotel.  When he checked in they asked why he was there and then delivered water, popcorn and balloons to our room as an extra.

We had a fun evening strolling the empty Main Street.  Half the stores were closed for a month for their "Spring Break".  Then spent Saturday morning shopping at the Outlets and stopped in Salt Lake for lunch at Cheesecake Factory before returning to the rat race.  We were glad my mom was available to watch the kids for the night.

And I'm so glad to have such a wonderful husband and grateful we are sealed for all Eternity.

My Yard is Seasonally Challenged

It is Spring and my yard is beginning to bloom all over.

I can't wait for this corner to be in full bloom

It will soon look as pretty as this corner

And I was so excited last Spring to discover this growing in my yard

I had never seen a bleeding heart bush until my mission and I fell in love with them.

Mark does not love them.  He has been known to chop them off and dig them up

But I had saved a few in our last place and I was sad to see them go.

It was a happy day to discover them growing in my new yard.

But what has confused my yard this morning is what was found in the front!

Why would a scarecrow and two Christmas Trees be in the yard in the Spring???

The Scarecrow answer the question for us with his nice note that was tucked in his pocket

It says . . . 

Dear Mark-

I hope you're happy with my new home, I know I sure am!  I've been waiting for someone to notice me for all these months and I can't tell you how pleased I am to know that it was you.  To be honest I've had my eye on you for awhile now too!  Thank you so much for caring enough about me to want a better place for me to live -- that closet was getting really boring.

I know we will be very happy together! 

-- Scarecrow

P.S. I hope you don't mind that I brought my tree friends.  I just can't imagine life without them!

If the real owners (not the kind neighbor who delivered them to our yard) would like them back, please let us know.  We will be happy to return them.  But I can understand why Mr. Scarecrow was tired of the coat closet in the church.