the very best part of our trip

By far the very best moment from our trip was the time we spent in these rocking chairs on Tom Sawyer Island at the magic kingdom. We were aware the whole time we were in Florida how we likely will never experience Disney this way again. Like sitting in rocking chairs for an hour and watching the park pass by. Pretty sure no children would ever stand for this.

When we sat in these chairs we started talking about the porch we want to put on our own house. We started talking about projects we want to tackle this spring and summer. We rocked slowly and got excited about our own lives back home. It was unrushed and sweet.

the magic of disney

It's another cold one out there. So how about a day at Disney? I think I'll just keep posting pictures and stories all day long so we can take a little virtual trip together and escape this cold. And this way we'll pump these posts out in a day.

Not having our kids on this trip meant we really soaked up the details this time around. And Disney is in the details. Like how every railing is custom made to fit the feel of the ride. The cement has imprints to fit the ride and the music, smells, signage and architecture all work to make you feel like you've entered another world. It's really amazing.

     

We spent Monday night going from resort to resort by bus and by monorail. There is no cost for the transportation once you're inside the park. And even though we weren't staying at a resort in the park, we could still visit the resorts. 

They are amazing. Each one feels like a little theme park unto itself. Monday night we visited Port Orleans, The Grand Floridian, Polynesian and the Contemporary and Wednesday while at Epcot, we took a boat to The BoardWalk, The Beach Club, The Yacht Club and The Dolphin resorts. I can't recommend this enough. You can eat at the resort restaurants, visit the shops, walk all over each property and go sleep at your cheaper hotel each night. :)

And for the record: The Polynesian (hawaiian feel and sadly, no pictures) was my very favorite, the Grand Floridian felt way above our income bracket, the Contemporary was cool and very trendy/retro (they must update the lobby every year to keep it contemporary!) The BoardWalk, Beach Club and Yacht Club were beautiful and it was fun to walk on the boardwalk with cute shops and food carts. The Dolphin is enormous and full of funny memories when we stayed there when I was in middle school. (Dad had a pastor's conference there! It was our fanciest pastor's family vacation ever.)

time to play

My friend Linda is fighting stage four cancer. When I first talked to her about it she kept telling me how much fun she and her husband Brian have been having in this season of life, just as they discovered her cancer. She cared devotedly for her parents as they fought their own illnesses and now with an empty nest she said she and Brian were having so much fun together. They started taking long bike rides and found adventures. Linda was most bummed about the cancer because she's loving this season of playtime with her husband.

Rory and I play well. We dream even better, which I think is our form of play. Or more accurately, Rory dreams, I get excited and on board, Rory executes and I document. It's our best rhythm. But with little kids, life gets a little trickier. So when Linda was telling me about how much fun she's having with Brian I felt inspired to add some more playtime into my own marriage.

It was during the first polar vortex that we booked our plane tickets ($380 for both of us!) and planned this trip to Disney World without our kids. The plan was to play.

So that's what we did. We played and we people watched. And we ate and we talked. And to keep this blog totally real, we fought. But even that ended okay, because some fears were verbalized and then put to rest.

Rory is a way better (and very serious) Buzz Lightyear than I am (note that final score above), which made me glad to be his wife. In case we ever need to fight aliens by laser tag.

the sun and the moon

I'm about to start blogging about our trip to Disney. Rory and I left last Monday and had three awesome and full days together. Lots to share.

I'll start here with the first picture of many I took while flying to Florida. I've written about this once before, but I had forgotten this sweet truth: Even when the clouds are out, there is still a blue sky, sunny day above them. (and that white fleck in the blue? that's the moon!)

Our airplane busted through a dark and dreary Monday morning, right up into a glorious day. I was stunned. I had forgotten there is always blue sky shining. The clouds just cover it up some days.

It was a good reminder for me, and applicable to our lives in all sorts of awesome ways.

tropical pets for a cold winter

We added two animals to the grovestead. I am so glad for these two...they keep my home feeling warm and tropical even when it is cold and freezing outside.

Elsie loves the goldfish in her My First Words book. She points to them on each page and says proudly, "shhhh" So we thought we needed to get some fish of our own. When I had my niece, Mara, for an overnight I decided getting fish would be a "fun aunt" thing to do. And it was!

We named the orange and white one Scoobydoowhop from our favorite song lately from a favorite CD Slugs and Bugs. The orange one is named Jimmy. Long story, but Elmo's goldfish is named Dorothy, we have friends, Jim and Dorothy and when I suggested we named them Jim and Dorothy, Ivar started calling the other fish Jimmy. Jimmy stuck.

So meet Scoobydoowhop and Jimmy. A very happy addition to our home.