The Happiest Vacation On Earth...and we have t-shirts to prove it!

We had a great family vacation to DisneyWorld.  Although most of you have probably already heard about our great time in Orlando, I decided to post my pictures as well.

Nicholas and I left Thursday evening and arrived in Orlando late that night; we rented a car and drove to the resort where everyone was waiting for us.  We got to sleep on a pull-out bed, which was far more comfortable than anyone was anticipating (either that or we were just really tired the whole time...which is also likely!)

The next morning we headed out bright and early to the park.  All 11 of us spent the day together- running from ride to ride and grabbing snacks here and there.  It was a fun day and we were all worn out by the end of the day.  We left just before the fireworks to head home.  

The next day we slept in a bit and then headed to the pool at the resort.  We swam awhile and then got cleaned up around lunchtime to head to the park again.  This time we were ready to hit our favorite rides one more time and do the few things we hadn't had time for the day before.  We sat on the curb a long time to save a great place for the electrical parade that evening and made sure we grabbed a souvinier pin before we left (Nicholas and I both collect pins).  We stayed for the fireworks show and had a great spot right at the base of the castle.  

The next morning we all packed up, ready to head home.  Isabelle, Amy, & Ben happened to be on our flight and so after eating Panera with the family we ventured to the airport.  We returned our rental car and checked in; Isabelle learned that her giant Mickey balloon would not be allowed on the plane and so, since we happened to have brought a large suitcase that was nowhere close to being full, we put her balloon in our checked bag.

The flight was fairly uneventful- I was exhausted and slept through most of the extra time at the gate fixing some part of the plane as well as our flight.  Once in Houston, we rushed Isabelle, Amy, & Ben to their next flight and then sought out to collect our bag and find the shuttle to the extended parking lot.  

It was a whole lot of fun and neither of us wanted to go to work on Monday...but we can still wear our t-shirts that Tara made us and dream about seeing Mickey someday again!

We realized at the end of day 2 that we hadn't taken a picture together...so here is one!
Being Mickey and Minnie at the gate...
Colleen & Max in Dumbo, with Amy, Belle, & Tara right behind them!

Belle tried out her driving skills...
Nicholas was exhausted...too much playing!
I insisted that Nicholas cut in front of some kids so I could take his picture trying to pull the sword out of the stone...he is a good sport. 
Of course I wouldn't pay for our picture on Splash Mountain, but I took a picture of the screen!  Chris, Max, & Colleen are in the front, Mom is behind them, and Nick and I are behind her...
Isabelle was crazy to get to be around Nick...he is such a good uncle!  Here they are on the beginning of Day 1- we had just parked...notice our rental car in the back there.

April in Review...

Take us out to the ballgame!  

Nicholas and I had other plans for a Friday night, however when my parents called and said they had come across some free Astros tickets and were heading to the game I hurried and called Nick and told him to not take the bus home.  We left right away and picked him up at the bus station downtown on our way to the ballpark.  It just poured on the way there (hence my wet-dog hair look) but we are lucky that the field is indoors.  

We enjoyed some peanuts and a hot dog while the Astros got beat by the...hmmm...I can't even remember who they played!  

It was great fun to do something different- plus our seats were pretty good!  Nick got to enjoy singing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" for the 7th inning stretch....a new experience for him!

The very next morning Nicholas and I headed downtown again- this time for a 5K sponsored by his company, Transwestern. 

We ended up running right by the ball field- the 

route began at the convention center, wound around the ballpark nextdoor, went over and overpass, and then turned around.  It was a fun run but really hot and humid.  

I had been training to run faster and I tried to keep up with Nick for the first mile or so.  After that he started to slip away, but I did my best to keep him within sight...until the last upward climb at about mile 2.5.  At that point I just wanted to keep up with the old man next to me!

I found Nick about 100 feet from the finish line....I figured he had finished and had walked back to cheer me on and so I ran as hard as I could across the finish line.  He trotted after me and then I learned that he had just emptied his stomach just before finishing- nuts!

The Houston heat is something that takes some getting used to and I have had my fair share of dizzy and nautious

moments!  Nicholas was very disappointed but I assured him that we will have many more opportunities!  

Even with the minor setback, we still both averaged an 8 minute 26 second average per mile and finished in just over 26 minutes!  That was a full 5 minutes faster than last August when I ran in the Salem 5K!  I ended up coming in 4th in my age category, which was a complete surprise to me

but is motivation to keep going!

The run, which was benefitting a special school for children, finished at the convention center.  One end of the building was opened up to us runners and families and had snacks and drinks, the all-important bathrooms, and multiple booths for children to play little games and win little prizes.  We made a quick stop by the Transwestern booth and picked up a punch-balloon before we headed home.

The next week Amy and Belle came over for a few days to play...we had fun going shopping and doing lots of playing.  Isabelle was anxious to go on her morning jog with us and we each took turns running with her.  One morning during my turn to jog with her we ran to see "Blacky" the horse.  She was insistent that we take some food to feed him and consented to an apple when we found that Grammie did not have any carrots.  We sprinkled cinnamon sugar over the apple slices and ate most of them on the way.  A horse, not Blacky (who is all brown by the way), came over to the fence and we did get to feed him a few apple slices...but I think Isabelle's favorite was getting to see all of the dogs on the trail and getting a drink in the outdoor drinking fountain!

It was so fun to have them over!  Isabelle is always crazy about Nick and it is nice for both of us when he makes an effort to get home in time to see her before bed!

Now we did go to Disneyworld, but I had to play catch up before I could blog about that...give me a few days to post pictures!  In the meantime, check out Amy or Colleen's blogs :)

BTE

Date: Saturday June 6, 2009
Venue: House of Blues Houston
Event: Better Than Ezra in concert

And we have 2 tickets :)

Happy Birthday to us!!!

I'm rather excited about this as I've been trying to see Better Than Ezra live for many years now, but things never quite worked out for me. They played several times at Park City while I went to school at BYU, but I was out of town that weekend, already had tickets for something else, etc, etc, etc.

So, when I saw a month ago that they were playing a free concert at The Canyons again, I was a little disappointed. But my fabulous wife got online and checked their tour schedule and found out that they'd be here in Houston June 6! Perfect for a celebration of 1 year being engaged, and both our June Birthdays!

The tickets came the other day in the mail.
We're going to BTE.
I'm excited.