The Rest of Orlando

Sunday we met up with Devin's cousin McKay and his family. We went to church with them and spent the afternoon with them. Unfortunately we didn't get a picture with them!!

Monday, Devin went to his conference and I slept in, lounged by the pool and read my book, paddle boarded around the gorgeous lake we were staying on, went for a run, took a nap, and had the most relaxing day I've had in years. It was amazing.

I loved this reminder on my board as I paddled around the lake that had alligators living in it. You Only Live Once!!

I couldn't get over how gorgeous the scenery was, spanish moss swaying in the lime green mangroves, Lily pads spread over the lake (with alligators underneath probably! EEk!).  

Tuesday I dropped Devin and his colleagues off at their conference, then spent all morning inside the Orlando Temple. I took family names of women that were so prepared and excited to be in the temple with me. It was one of the most spiritual experiences in the temple I've ever had and so happy the veil was thinned enough for me to feel their presence. 

That night I picked up the boys and went to Giordano's- best chicago style pizza.

Devin, Mike Simpson, Milan, Mario 

Wednesday Devin presented at his conference and I got to come and see. I am so proud of him, he did so well (from what I understood... which wasn't much). I read the body language in the room, and people understood what he was saying, and Devin seemed confident in his presentation.

After lunch we went out on a stroll on the boardwalk with these clowns. It's so funny to see how intelligent these men are inside, then they come outside and were at varying degrees of social incompetence.  For example the guy on the right and the guy next to Devin were trying to figure out why they can't get a date, and they turned it into a big complex equation giving different values for looks, work ethic, net worth, and overall self confidence. I did my public duty to tell them through my fits of disbelief and laughter that "this whole conversation is why you can't get a date." You're welcome public.

Later that evening we boarded our plane, happier, less sleep deprived, and more in love than ever. Thanks for letting me crash the work trip Mr. Rappleye! 

Potterworld! {aka Universal Studios}

The next morning started bright and early again. We took a very short moment to take in the sunrise from the balcony of our hotel room then we were off to Potterworld.

We got stuck in Suessland waiting for Potterworld to open.

We made it to Hogwarts!

We rode the Forbidden Journey first which pretty sweet. We were attached the end of a mechanical arm that swung around with 3D screens and props all around us. We flew with Harry Potter all around Hogwarts trying to evade a dragon.

The ride made Joslyn sick so we took some time to tour the castle after the ride.

Dumbledore's Office

The portrait of the fat lady.

Joslyn explored Hogsmeade while I rode the Dragon's Challenge rollercoaster. I giggled my head off next to a complete stranger the whole ride. It was that great. Joslyn took a stab at it later in the day.

Honeydukes was done really well and made our mouths water. We had to remind ourselves that it wasn't magical candy. J.K. Rowling was in every detail in the making of this whole place to make sure Universal got it right. It's obviously evident.

Zonko's joke shop had some really fun wands that turned to piggmy puffs, exploding fireworks, and the works.

We both shared a frozen butterbeer at 3 broomsticks. Absolutely delicious.

When we were done exploring Hogsmeade, we headed over to platform 9 and 3/4 we took the Hogswart express over to Diagonalley

Weasley's Joke shop. Hilarious that the muggles worked so hard to make it look and feel magical. 

The dragon escaped from Gringotts!

We went in to open an account inside Gringotts. Weird, I thought goblins were supposed to be cunning and ugly.

...but, got tied up with Harry Potter, Voldemort and others as they stole the Horcrux from Bellatrix's vault.

Stan Shunpike helped us aboard the night bus as soon as we stuck our wands out.

We took a turn at Grimmauld Place but didn't have the secret magic password to get in, darn it.

In Universal Studios, we actually didn't take too many pictures. The rides were explosive and crazy fun- it has 7 of the top 20 roller coasters in the US. 

Oh gosh, this ride called Dudley Does Right- is like Splash mountain, except the story line is crappier, and the splash is longer and way better! We were completely drenched! 

The Hulk is probably the most intense ride. Feet dangling, faster than fast, loopty loops, twists while already going upside down. Man, if the line wasn't so long, we would've gone for round 2 (then lost our lunch in the bushes).  We called it a day early evening. What a great weekend!

Disneyworld!

For Joslyn's birthday, I took her with me to my conference in Orlando and left the kids behind. Thanks again to all the aunts, uncles and grandparents who made it possible for us leave our kids behind with peace of mind. 

We went a couple days early so that we could go to the parks. I was amazed at the research that Joslyn put into the trip. She read the unofficial guide to Disneyworld, learned all the traffic patterns, and had the perfect plan for Disney world. First ones on Buzz Lightyear's ride. We totally took it to Zurg!

Then we raced over to space mountain and got on with no wait. Somewhere in space mountain, we turned into kids again and the rest of the day was magical!

We hopped from ride to ride in a seemingly illogical manner, but we always went in with a short or no line and came out to see the line building. It felt like we just ahead of an approaching tornado.

Kids again.

"Don't put me in that brier patch!" Cool poncho.

Taking the plunge on splash mountain... the guy in front finally put his camcorder away.

Dopey waiting for a ride on the seven dwarves' mine train. 

That was the only ride that we had to wait for because it needed some repair when Disneyworld opened so we couldn't do it first thing. But the queue was pretty cool with great theming and fun activities.

Out in front of the Dwarves' cottage.   

She's no King Aurther, but I'd still have her any day

Thanks to Joslyn's great planning, we had hit every ride that we wanted by noon. So, we went to the hotel for lunch and nap.

We came back in the evening for some extra fun. The park was extra magical at twilight

We took a riverboat cruise that reminded us of the riverfront in downtown Wilmington. The boat had plenty of places to do cool tricks.

We went on a treasure hunt to help Capt. Jack Sparrow find his booty.

We rode splash mountain again and got front seat.

This time we were ready for the picture.

Because we had already rode everything that we wanted, we took it easy in the evening and enjoyed the magic.

The last thing we did was storytime with Belle. It was pretty cool and I definitely want our kids to experience it. I got to be a knight and was gunning for an Oscar. I was marching with high knees and let out a shriek so terrifying that startled everyone in the audience.

Disney certainly is magical. I don't know how they do it, but they made me believe. We really felt like kids again. It was double bonus and ironic not having any kids and sharing the magic with Joslyn.

Happy Birthday, Joslyn!

We are so lucky to have Joslyn as a mom and a wife. My favorite thing about her is that she is always working at something. She once asked me if I disliked something about her. I honestly could not think of anything because she is always ahead of the game. I attribute it to how close she is to the spirit. She will seek out the spirit to learn of her shortcomings and how to work on them.

She has been patient with me as I have chosen a career path that was much less than ideal for her. While we were engaged, she said to me: "Hurry up and graduate so we can play!" Now 7 years later, I'm still in school. Sorry. She has been so supportive, though. as I moved from one degree to another.

She is the best and we're grateful for a day celebrate her!

She got good weather for her birhtday and spent the day at the park with friends and family.