Disney World Adventures

Last year Mom turned to Anthony and me and said, "Would you guys rather go to Costa Rica, or Disney World?" so last February, it was off to Costa Rica for 10 days of adventure in the "wild". Mom's compromise was to hit up Disney World THIS February.

So on February 3rd, we arrived in Orlando to explore the "wilds" of Disney mania.

Our airport experience was definitely interesting. Our instructions were to go to the B-side of the terminal and find the Disney transport center. Once we figured out the terminal in question wasn't the area we were currently in (which wasn't what our Disney map told us), it was onto the train and into the main terminal. We were good little sheep and followed the crowds (baahing the whole way) all the way down to the parking garage. Hm. No Disney inside, no buses outside. Back into the airport, up a floor and back outside. Buses! Hooray! Standing in line for one of the many MANY Disney buses lined up, the driver tells us we have to go back inside to check in with Disney. Back inside we trudge. All six of us. Dragging our luggage. And feet. Finally, the Disney resort check-in is discovered! (Is that a Mickey glove on that guy's hand? He must use it to lure all the innocent children over..) We follow the perceived "lines" towards the awaiting buses..only to hit a dead end before we reach the magical doors leading outside. The *ahem* "friendly" Disney workers shove us back behind the ropes, order us to wait, and refuse to answer any questions we may have. We finally make it onto the bus, and it's onto the "Magical World of Disney".

Now, for those of you who have never had the pleasure of navigating through a Disney park, let me clarify. Wilds is NOT an understatement. People are EVERYWHERE. Children running away from their parents, parents screaming at their children to "get back here or we're not going to see Mickey!" while dragging a stroller and their other child behind them to fetch the run-away, people posing in the middle of the street (or sidewalk) for a nice Kodak moment, and tourists. Lots and lots of tourists. You can usually spot them from a mile away. Their the ones who are roaming around the park decked out in Disney from head to toe. We even saw one guy (had to have been at least 50) walking around in a LEATHER Disney jacket.

Despite all the mayhem, we had a really good time. We stayed at the Disney Polynesian Resort, and had easy access to all the Kingdoms while we were there. Not to mention food. Lots and lots of food! Checking into the hotel was torture. Dinner was served right above our heads, and the luscious smell of cooked pork wafted into our nostrils.

We headed right into the Magic Kingdom once we were settled (after stuffing ourselves with pork of course!).

And now for the pictures!

Our arrival at the Magic Kingdom

Mom actually went on all the rides this year!

We tried soda from countries around the world. China and Mozembique were the best.

Mom and Dad starring in their own video game.

Eating dinner in Japan just before Cirque du Soleil.
The boys spent an afternoon driving race cars.Our last day there we headed to Blizzard Beach.

We saw Giraffes while on safari in the Animal Kingdom.

The incredible wall of swords.

Had fun playing with Segways in Epcot.

Froze while waiting for the Tower of Terror (which Mom went on).

Look at the size of those Koi fish!

Me and the old man in Italy.

Mom and Dad in Epcot.

Brady's pretty good at amusing himself.

Just doing my thing.

Waiting in line for the much dreaded Expedition Everest.

Checking out the Zebras before dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Wandering through the streets of New York. Or was that San Francisco?

Christmas and such

I have been waiting to give everyone an update on our lives for a while now. Seems like everytime I get a chance to sit down at the computer something else comes up and I decide to wait, just a teeny bit longer. Next thing I know it's been a month!

Well, we had a very good Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with Anthony's family and our good friend Ross. Linda brought home a bingo set, so we all played bingo for extra prizes. And for the first time in my life I won! Until then bingo and I had an ongoing feud. Why? I'm not completely sure. But I wound up with a case of Dr. Pepper (the perfect prize for me)...which Anthony promptly lost out the bed of the pickup on the drive home. Oh well.

Christmas morning Anthony and I spent together. As usual, we spoiled our animals with treats and toys...turns out cat toys are apparently husband toys as well. We got the kitties a laser pointer so they could get some exercise in the winter months. Anthony's hand has been attached ever since. In his words, it's the best Christmas present he got this year. Not really sure how I feel about that. Haha! I had a wonderful morning watching the cats go crazy over the lazer pointer and enjoying my grandma's fudge while watching A Christmas Story.

Later that night we headed to my parents house for our traditional Woods/Hicks get together. Now that Jessica and I are both married it has transformed into the Woods/Hicks/Lemons/Dixon party. Still just as fun though! My mom likes to come up with a fun dinner idea every Christmas, so this year we had a Mexican buffet; fajitas, tacos, salad, rice...pretty much any Mexican food we could think up. Dinner was followed with Mom's holiday Jello dessert (anyone who hasn't had it is missing out) and many rounds of MarioKart on the Wii.

It was a wonderful Christmas Day to be sure.

On to the updates...
Anthony is still working for his dad and at the scooter shop. Business has slowed down significantly at both places however, so Anthony took up soccer to keep preoccupied. He started playing with a couple of friends this summer and decided to join the indoor league once winter hit. Unfortunately the indoor season isn't very long, but he had a great time playing while he did. We're both eager for the outdoor season to start so he can stop complaining of boredom at home. ;)

As for me, I've had a few major changes happen in the last little bit. First, I no longer work at Great Harvest. It's been an adjustment, but looking at things from a distance, I now realize that I was quite miserable...at least for the last little while. Thankfully it only took me a week to find a new job, and I am really enjoying it. I'm now a secretary/office manager for Open Spaces Property Management. The job really is much more suited to my personality. My bosses just expanded their business and are in the process of setting up the Idaho Falls office. So I got to come in here and set things up/organize things so they would make sense to me. Not to mention I'm beginning to thoroughly enjoy real estate; took me by complete surprise!
The second change for me was that we had to put my family's cat, Stripes, down the Monday before Thanksgiving. I did and am still having an extremely hard time adjusting to the fact that when I visit my parents he won't be there anymore. However, he was 16 years old and was having an incredibly difficult time surviving day to day. It's hard to accept that it's time to put a loved one out of their misery, but it really was the kindest thing we could do for him.
Well, after a streak of bad Mondays, good news finally paid a visit to the Hicks/Lemons household. I was accepted to a top notch photography school! The acceptance brings with it the most drastic change Anthony and I have experienced so far. The school is in Turners Falls, Massachusetts. So, come late August/early September...East Coast, here we come! We've both had a hard time wrapping our minds around the concept that we ACTUALLY will be moving. Before everything was hypothetical. Now we HAVE to figure out how to pack up all our belongings and drive them, plus two cats and a dog, clear across the country. I'm beyond excited though. We'll be living about three hours from both New York and Boston, so we've got some road trips planned already. Obviously, it's still a long ways off, but we've started planning already.

A Week in Denver

It's been over a year since Anthony and I had the fortune to take a trip just the two of us, so when my best friend Jordan invited us to Denver we jumped at the opportunity. Normally we're only able to visit for about three days (one day to drive, one day to play, one day to drive back), so this time I forced Anthony to take time off so we could go for a week. How else were we going to see New Found Glory and International Superheroes of Hardcore play twice?

Poor Jordan had school and work the whole time we were there, so most afternoons we were on our own. The first day we were lumps...and I loved every minute of it. I haven't been able to just sit and stare at walls in FOREVER. In the rest of our downtime we spent a great deal of time at the malls, eating loads of food, going to amazing shows, having actual dates....basically enjoying our lives. One thing we got to do that we've never done before is visit the Denver Aquarium. Jordan is always raving about the place, it's right up my alley and Anthony's never been to one before, so spending an afternoon there was a no-brainer.












We also went to Estes Park one day to visit the Stanley Hotel. (For those of you who are out of the loop, it's one of the most haunted spots in America..also where "The Shining" was filmed & the inspiration for Steven King's novel.) Anthony and I have been wanting to go to this hotel for YEARS, and it was definitely the highlight of our trip. On the way there, Jordan warned us that it was a private hotel & that we may have to sneak onto the grounds in order to see anything. Karma was smiling upon us however, and the hotel was having two weddings and an open house so there was no security what-so-ever and we were able to explore the inside of the hotel. The hotel itself is absolutely breath taking, but every so often the hairs on your neck will stand straight up & you feel as if you are intruding. It was the most bizzare feeling. The next time we visit will be to stay the night inside the hotel.

Sun Valley

At the end of August (whichever holiday that may be) Anthony and I joined my family, Jerri and the Jones for the annual car auction in Sun Valley. Most years Garth and Nancy manage to come back with at least one car, and the last few years dad has come home with Corvettes. Anthony and I needed a break from small town life and figured it was a win win situation. So everyone piled into the trailer-pulling 'Burban and bounded off to a weekend full of exhaust and classic cars.

Turns out it was a good weekend to go.

Garth and Nancy did in fact buy a car...a 1958 Chevy Impala (the boat if you will), Anthony and I found our dream car (Audi Quattro wagon) and best of all, we "bumped" into Bruce Willis. As fate would have it, old Brucy bought the 'Vette both dad and Garth had their hearts set on. But when a movie star walks up to a car, looks for a second then says to the auctioneer "I'll take it", there's no competing with that. Despite Nancy's best efforts, Bruce would not trade the Corvette for the Impala. So late Sunday afternoon the gang gathered our things, squished into the boat for the ride to the parking lot...and scratched our heads as to how this monster of a car was going to fit into the car trailer.








Oh yes..did I mention a VW Thing is my ultimate dream car?? (Yes Pa, it's so ugly it's cute.)

A General Update

Anthony and I have been incredibly busy for the last three weeks. From August 9 on we've been going non-stop, but we've been grateful for the distractions.

The weekend of August 9, Anthony was in Pocatello for another auto-x. The day of practice runs brought a surprise for Anthony. His race tires wore through the day before the race, which meant he had to run his street tires for the weekend. Street tires aren't as sticky as race tires, so cornering is much more tricky.
While Anthony was racing I was in town getting ready for a fashion show. Earlier in the week I was getting my hair done & one of the stylists asked me if I wanted to be in a fashion show that Saturday. Why not? So I spent all Saturday practicing my runway walk & being pampered. It was so much fun! I don't care that it was a small town thing, it was such an experience! Despite my schepticism, Anthony left the races early to come watch the show. My stylist put my hair into a frohock for my second outfit, and the crowd was so shocked I could hardly keep from laughing!


The following week was full of preparations for our friends' wedding. Kate and Sam decided to get married at my parent's cabin in Irwin, ID & I was their "wedding planner". In reality, Kate did most of the planning herself. I was just backup for anything that might have been overlooked. We headed to the cabin Friday night & Saturday was all about the wedding. Sam plowed down weeds so they would have an isle to walk down, Anthony chopped wood and helped move around furniture, and Kate & I gave the house a hardcore cleaning plus set everything up. The wedding was absolutely beautiful! I ran around making sure everyone was happy while taking pictures & Anthony manned the grill and entertained all the Great Harvest girls.


In our "downtime" we've been kept busy with work. Anthony's now the mechanic at our friends' scooter shop (Scoot 'N Powersports). It's a perfect job for him since he's always playing with his car or our scooters at home. There seems to be a new scooter rolling in every other day, so he's preoccupied all the time now. He's also taken up soccer in the last few weeks, so he spends a few nights a week with that.
As for me, I'm now a baker at Great Harvest. Baking's essentially a promotion at the store; given only to the few people they deem responsible & capable enough. So I work mornings all the time now, and three to four days a week I'm up at 2:30 in the morning. It sounds a bit off, but I absolutely love it. Most days I'm done with work by 11 a.m. so I head home for a power nap and then have the rest of the day to do whatever I want. During Christmas I'll head in around 10 at night and stay at the store until 8 or 9 the following morning. From what I hear, Christmas is the baker's favorite time of year and I can't wait to see how things will work out!