Day 3-Disney World-Orlando Temple and Disney's Hollywood Studios

On Thursday morning, Debra, Don, Ellen, Michael, Kevin, Ivan, and I headed out early to the Orlando temple. It was so wonderful to be in the temple with family. I always imagine that is how it will be in heaven surrounded by people we love. We really appreciated Jennifer and Breanne watching the kids so we could go to the temple.


After feeding the kids, we headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios. We beat the older group to the park, so we decided that we would hit all the little kid things before meeting up with the rest of the family. Spencer and Elizabeth were so excited to see Playhouse Disney Live Performance. Emma danced and clapped. Devan smiled through the whole thing though he said he wasn't excited to go to a "little kid" show.

Jessie and Woody in the Parade at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The lines were a lot longer here than they had been at Epcot. We waited in line for an hour to ride the new Toy Story Mania ride. We didn't feel like we were able to see as much as we would have liked to see. We only had 20 minute waits for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was the only ride that Spencer was not tall enough to ride in all 4 parks. He's 47 inches tall and you need to be 48 inches to ride. Spencer loved the Tower of Terror though and rode it several times while we rode the coaster. Elizabeth didn't like the falling motion in Tower of Terror, but loved going upside down in the dark on the coaster.

Devan and Spencer wait in an hour long line
to ride the new Toy Story Mania ride.

Our favorite part of the park was definitely the live shows! We loved the Lights, Motors, Action!™ Stunt Show. The kids loved when they drove Herbie onto the lot and when Herbie split in two.

In the middle of the extremely loud stunt show, Elizabeth somehow fell asleep.
Kevin was kind enough to carry her out of the stadium.

Fantasmic! was an amazing way to finish the day. The kids loved seeing all the Disney characters. I was so impressed with all the special effects. It's a must see if you go to Disney World!

We got back and put the kids in bed. We were all exhausted. I couldn't sleep though. I was too excited to see my brother Chad who was bringing his fiance, Camille, that night. We stayed up late visiting. I think I survived on very little sleep this whole trip.

Day 2 Disney World-Epcot

We arrived at Don and Ellen's condo early for breakfast and excited to see all their kids, Debra, and Cameron. We were especially happy to see Kevin with whom Devan shares his birthday. Kevin had been serving a 2 year mission for our church in Ireland. On the way to their condo, Devan stated emphatically "I haven't seen him since I was 8!" For a kid, two years is really a long time! Ellen made us an incredible breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Then, a large group of us headed off to Epcot for the day.

Here's most of our group standing in line for Test Track!

Epcot was wonderful. It had fairly short lines. Our longest wait was probably 10-15 minutes. It was great. Our favorite rides were Mission: Space, Test Track, and Soarin'™.

Devan, Emma, Liz, and Spencer enjoy playing in the gift shop
at the end of the Maelstrom in "Norway".

We loved seeing all the countries. While we were there, they were having the Food and Wine Festival. They had brought in food vendors from all over the world. We were able to buy Pastel de Choclo from the Argentina booth. That was one of my favorite foods in Chile. Ivan thought the version that I make tastes better, so that made me happy!

Emma, Joy, and Spencer in trouble
at The Seas with Nemo & Friends

My favorite part of Epcot was the area on China. They had an amazing 360 degree theater that made you feel like you were right in the heart of all the places they showed. It was amazing. One of my good friends, Cindy Greenland, is living in Shanghai, so I especially enjoyed seeing the sights around where she lived in the film. The kids enjoyed meeting Mushu and Mulan there as well.

Spencer loved the China Exhibits!

Disney has a prepaid PhotoPass CD option. Pre-order your PhotoPass CD and save 20%. It costs only $99.95 through this link. You have to take advantage of the offer before you go to the park or it is 124.95 if you do it during or after your visit. We had 240 pictures taken by photographers in the park. The CD grants you a copyright release so that you can print the photos yourself. It can be purchased at three Walt Disney World locations: Camera Center at Epcot, M. Mouse Mercantile at Grand Floridian and Toontown in the Magic Kingdom. It can also be purchased at DisneyPhotoPass.com. If you purchase online you can crop photos, add borders and character enhancements, etc., before ordering the CD.

I've already ordered the CD, so once it gets here I'll post some more pictures!

Day 1 Disney World Trip

On September 30th, we drove up to Phoenix to catch our plane to Orlando. The kids were so excited. This was Spencer's first airplane trip.

Emma had gone to Aunt Kathy's wedding with me last year. Devan and Liz hadn't been on a plane since our last trip to Disney World when Devan was 3 and Liz was 1.

We go lots of places, but we usually drive to save money. Miraculously, I had been able to find airplane tickets for $125 each which included the taxes. We were anxious to meet up with Ivan's sisters- Debra and Ellen and their families who were already in Orlando. By the time, we got our rental car and arrived at the condo it was midnight. Ellen and Don had picked up our keys for us earlier and met us at the entrance to show us where to go. We were so happy to see them!

Vote Yes For Marriage!

Please watch what happened in Massachusetts to this family after Same Sex Marriage was made legal. Please vote yes for marriage this coming election. We really don't want to have the same problems here in Arizona. This Ad is for California's Proposition 8. For Arizona, it is proposition 102.

Special Thanks to our Catholic Friends for Also Taking A Stand!

I was so excited to see another church standing up for what is sacred and right! Way to go!

Great Pumpkin Analogy

It feels like Fall here in Tucson. Our low this morning was 39 degrees. We broke a record. Of course, my children got up and still threw on shorts. I had to tell them to put on warmer clothes!

Anyway, I had been thinking of my memories of pumpkins and fall harvest. Then, Hermana Jenny Boshard, one of my young women from Provo who is currently serving a mission in Spain, sent me the following analogy. I thought you would enjoy it!


¨Being a CHRISTIAN is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff ... including seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then he carves you a new smiling face and puts HIS light inside you for the whole world to see.¨

Matthew 5 :16
Let you light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.

Happy Fall!

The 'Middle Wife' by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have
two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one
I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a
few sessions with my students. It helps them get over
shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids
bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they
catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any
boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in
to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very
outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of
the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my
baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his
birthday.'

'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love,
and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke
grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella
cord.'

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and
I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder
with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying
and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand
behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house
for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is
doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies,
but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the
Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like
this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the
wall.)

'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept
in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and
spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has
her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing
away. It was too much!)

'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push,
push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting,
but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out
comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they
all said it was from Mom's play-center, (placenta) so
there must be a lot of toys inside there.'

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned
to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever
since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my
camcorder, just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes
along.