We did Disney...

We had two meet and greet goals before going to Disney... 

Phineas and Ferb (Cammon's request) and Snow White (Cortlynn's request).

 Hollywood Studios....

Magic Kingdom...

 We got ears...

 Met up with Mickey... and the folks..

 and went under the sea to find Ariel... she has her own grotto...

 We also decided that 4 days at parks was a lot... 

we ended at Animal Kingdom and barely had enough energy to see it all...

 so we spent out last day at the resort pools....

 good-bye Florida... 

see ya real soon!

Without words...

Last weekend I had a wonderful opportunity to sing in a choir with direction by Craig Jessop.  It is always fun to dust off my old choral folder and learn new and challenging music and an awesome director makes that so much easier.  Growing up in the Latter-day Saints community I knew that Craig Jessop and I shared a few things in common, we both love music and we both are LDS.  The choir consisted of about 86 members, only 9 of us were LDS and the others were of different faiths in the community.  It is always refreshing to me to have positive interfaith events with other churches.  What I found so surprising through this event though is the level that the majority of the members of the choir (who are not of the same religion as Craig Jessop) held Craig at - they worshiped him!  

Not exaggerating.

Many have followed him around the world, toured with him, traveled to other states for master classes; I was shocked at the dedication they had for him.  I have had many opportunities to sing with well known directors, and have been in numerous choirs and ensembles but I have yet to think of a time that there was such love and such devotion for a director.  

As I was telling all of this to a friend and I may have used the word "weird", she put it into a different perspective.  We, as members of the Latter-day Saints have had many opportunities to see Craig direct, hear his music and we know who he is as he was the director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for so many years.  We know the spirit that can come from the right kind of music and from the right direction.  Perhaps what the other members of the choir are so attracted to about Craig is the spirit that he brings out in the music; they might not be able to recognize what exactly it is but they know that Craig embodies something very powerful that they want to be apart of.

As I reflected over what she said and from what I witnessed from the choir members and just the whole  experience it was evident what a strong testament of the gospel I had just participated in.  Without using any specific words, Craig Jessop was able to extend his testimony and have it penetrate the hearts of all of these people in the choir and in the audience.  Without any words, the spirit spoke to all of these people; that is why I love music and why I now love Craig Jessop. 

If in fact you are looking for me in the above picture, you will not find me.  This was right before the concert was to start and I was in need of a restroom break and apparently someone decided to take pictures at that moment.  Epic fail for me!

Ready, set, go...

A friend of mine asked me to complete a local sprint triathlon with her over three months ago in Smithfield, VA; I accepted the challenge and began the rough training to get ready for this event.  Although, I've experienced running races before; a triathlon is completely different - focusing on three separate events to be completed together one after another.  After getting there by 8:30 in the morning, our wave didn't even start until noon giving us the opportunity to watch the more experienced and much more competitive participants start and finish their events in less then 45 minutes!  My friend and I finished our race within a minute of each other at around one hour and 33 minutes.  I got home and couldn't wait to sign up for the next one and my final thought of the day was to get a new bike because I got smoked in the cycling!

   

Happy Birthday to ME... (a day early)

The LT did it again... brought me home the most amazing cake.    

It was adorable and yummy.

Notice the Disney theme... we are SOOOO excited! 

My day in numbers...

 

6 - the time I woke up this morning
2 - the hours it took to change my first flat tire (all by myself) with the help of the owners manual
2.5 - the hours spent waiting for my flat tire to be fixed; in a tire shop with two young kids
20 - the minutes that it actually took to fix the flat tire
45 - the minutes eating in the most fancy Wendy's I've ever seen (it had a fireplace)
10 - minutes spent cleaning a friends carpet after my son got sick on it
30 - minutes spent looking at places that we may be living in 18 months (tropical islands on the list)
1 - the hour I suffered through spinning class to get my body ready for the sprint tri I registered for
3 - the books read at bedtime
2 - the number of children I snuggled, cheeks I kissed and hugs I gave
8 - the hours I hope to sleep
5 - the hours I WILL probably sleep... good night

 

Hats Grandma Sarah in Hawaii made for the kids. 

Cammon's was long and and Cortlynn's was ... well, kinda big! 

I laugh so hard every time I see her in this hat...

doesn't she look like Dumb Donald from Fat Albert!

 

 

 

 

 

OK

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon listening and crying with a friend who is going to be getting a divorce.  As the kids were running in and out of the living room, screaming and shouting oblivious to what was going on, the room seemed so quiet and still.  I knew what was ahead for this friend, that's why she was there.  The one thing that I hate sharing about myself, my divorce, is the one thing that has led many friends to my couch for crying sessions.

Each time I listen to a new divorce story, what led to it, the obvious signs of what "should have been seen", and the fear of what is to become; it takes me back to my divorce and my story gets told again, but it still doesn't make it any easier.  My friend yesterday wanted me to tell her what to do and she wanted reassurance that everything was going to be fine.  I didn't have any answers for her, I didn't know what she should do, but I did tell her that I knew she would be OK.  She asked me if my divorce was one of the best things that I ever did in my life.  I could not answer but I do know that because of my divorce I discovered who I really was and what I was capable of on my own.  I had to learn to stand tall and not be ashamed of some of the smudges in my past and that life moves on even after tragedy.


My friend will move on with life, she will discover that she is much stronger then she ever thought, and she will look back someday and wonder how she ever got through it all.

Soon I'll leave Virginia and think about all these wonderful people I have met here, where they went or which direction they led their life in. All of this coming and going of people and places reminds me that all of this is so temporary.  The misery and joy of life is not forever; it's such a small piece to the much bigger picture.

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.  You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror.  I can take the next thing that comes along.'

Eleanor Roosevelt

Our week... review...

The weather has been slightly cool and calm... perfect for playing at our beach... problems are forgotten and everyone is happy when we are here... it's my favorite place...

 The playground at the mall, another favorite place, provided some indoor playtime when the weather got chillier...

 We all started back at our coop this week... this guy has been asking about it all month... 

And it finally snowed... this is our local community center where I just finished swimming... the community centers are wonderful here with workout facilities and pools and classes... I was the only one in the pool today (I wonder why)...

Cort takes after her dad and doesn't believe in wearing coats or hats or really anything warm when it is cold...

Cam eating the snow... he did the same thing the next day... so apparently the snow here is quite yummy...

And after getting chilled outside we snuggled and read some of our favorite books before bed...