The day after

Christmas morning, the kids unwrapped a letter from Jared that told them that the nice "man in brown" would be delivering "Rock Band 2" the next day (Dec. 26th).  The kids were thrilled!  Later that evening, Jared realized that the shipping address he had entered was at his office, which would be closed.  The morning of, he talked to "Brown" and found out that it would be delivered between 1-2:30 pm and left at the appropriate time to sit in his office and wait.  Around 4pm, he noticed "Brown" across the street at the bank, aka his former office.  He then wonders if he accidently sent it to his old address and goes online to investigate.  Sure enough, that is what he did.  He runs outside in time to see the truck drive off.  He goes across the street...no package delivered to the bank.  He jumps in his truck to try and catch "Brown" and gets stuck in a snow bank.  By the time he gets out, the truck is gone.  But wait... Jared calls "Brown".  They get ahold of the driver.  He is in Springville.  Jared goes to Springville.  Jared saves the day.  Jared gets home by 5:30pm.  Not quite how we imagined the day.  Rock Band, however is a huge hit!  We played for 5 1/2 hours.  
Next time Jared, leave the shopping to the women!

Merry Christmas!

We would like to wish a very, merry Christmas to all our friends and family (and random people who may be stalking our blog). We are so grateful for our wonderful family and friends and feel truly blessed. We are grateful for our Savior, for his life and his atoning sacrifice in our behalf. What a wonderful time to celebrate!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: 

and the government shall be upon his shoulder:

and his name shall be called Wonderful, 

Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting

Father, The Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9: 6

"Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who condescended to come into this world of misery, struggle, and pain to touch men's hearts for good, to teach the way of eternal life, and to give Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. How different, how empty our lives would be without Him. How infinite is our opportunity for exaltation made possible through His redeeming love."

President Gordon B. Hinckley

Welcome Home?!

So, just 2 days ago I am sitting in Florida and the temperature is in the high 70's. We pack our bags and leave our lovely little pre-christmas vacation and come home to THIS!!!

Can I go back now??

Disney, Day 5

Today's adventures were found at Disney's Animal Kingdom.  The Tree of Life was incredible, this photo doesn't do it justice. The whole park was incredibly beautiful. We had a lot of fun seeing all the animals and the wonderful shows.
 

The highlights of the day included two of our all time favorite rides: Aerosmith's Rockin' Rollercoaster and Everest.

And that concludes our trip to Disney World. Until next time....
***Sorry, Amaya just reminded me that Rockin' Rollercoaster was actually in Hollywood, not Animal Kingdom.  It's all such a blur to me now!  It really was one of our favorites though.  I guess the other ride enjoyed at Animal Kingdom was the "Rapids" (a water ride).

Disney, Day Four

Today we visited Disney's Hollywood Studios. This was my favorite of the Disney parks so far. There were a few less people (maybe), and the best rides so far: the roller coaster (featuring Aerosmith) is like Space Mountain times five, and the Tower of Terror is the kind of ride I would not normally go on, but Kyla shamed me into it. It was fun but I prefer solid ground under my feet and to generally stay around 1.0 G, so I was ready to check it off on my list after one run. Kyla wanted to go again. Unfortunately, we didn't make it back to that one, but we did do the Aerosmith coaster three times.

Today was also our biggest day of standing in line to get photos taken with a nonverbal person in a plastic costume, which is starting to make the Cheerful Dad feel a little "Disney-ed out." Looking forward to Animal Kingdom and the Everest ride tomorrow, but I'm fine with there not being any more Disney parks to go to after that. Actually, there are. Don't tell our kids.

Not Disney, Day 3

We took a break from the Disney-ness today and drove out to Kennedy Space Center. Very impressive place if you've never visited.

You can't appreciate the sheer size of a Saturn V rocket without standing in the room with one. It's amazing to me that 3 guys would sit on top of one of these and light the fuse, then rely on 1960s technology to bring them back home. The Space Center is one of those places that make you appreciate being an American. (And I think the kids even liked it).

Tomorrow it's on to Disney Hollywood Studios for some more fake entertainment.

Disney, Day Two

In case you thought that mid-December would be a non-crowded time to come to Magic Kingdom, I don't think any such time exists. There were certainly plenty of folks there today. Not that I'm complaining. I am the Cheerful Dad, as I keep telling everyone, and we're here to have fun and we will even if it kills us. (And we did).



I felt sorry for all the parents with their strollers, babies, and toddlers, crying, fussing, and falling asleep. We have a fun, peppy bunch of kids and it's nice when even your 8 year old likes the rides that are actually fun. The kids did Big Thunder three times and Space Mountain twice, and those were the favorites.

In contrast, here is a demonstration of what "It's a Small World" can do to your alertness level toward the end of a long day.



Fortunately, my iPod was handy, so I was able to flush the *%$# song out of my brain with the aid of some heavy metal before it became permanently inscribed in my neurons. (For those of you not aware, the song in question loops continuously from when you first get in line until you jump off the little boat and run away screaming 45 minutes later. The Disney staff who work there have to wear special earplugs to avoid seizures. And you know exactly what song I'm talking about. It is starting to stick in your head now. Flee, my friends, before it is too late).

Disney, Day One

Friday was Epcot Center day. We forgot that it might actually be cold in Orlando, and barely had enough long pants and jackets to go around, but mid-60s and breezy is still a lot nicer than what we left at home. Soarin' Over California was the consensus favorite attraction. If you've been to Epcot Center you know that they have miniature versions of a dozen or so different countries for you to check out. We found that the most fun thing was to visit the gift shops and try on all the hats.

Home late with tired kids and up early tomorrow for Magic Kingdom!

Santa's Early Visit

Much to everyone's surprise, Santa decided to stop by during church last week. The kids returned home from church to find some new luggage under the tree, and a note from Santa explaning that this year's main present for us was a "Fabulous Florida Vacation!" (you can hear the price is right guy voice, can't you).



That's right, Santa is sending us all to Disney World, December 11-17. The real world excuse is that there's a medical conference to make part of the trip a tax break. And the conference is only till noon on 2 days, so it's mostly play time even for Dad.

I hear it's going to start snowing this week, so while you're out shoveling your driveway you can call us to see how the weather is. I am generally a bit of a Disney scrooge (the kids have been to Disneyland once, too long ago to remember well), but figured if we're doing it, might as well go for it.

The kids are pretty excited, as you can see from this Toyota-inspired snapshot: