The last few weeks have been really busy for me! My family (minus our new addition, Phil, who is in medical school and couldn't get away) took a trip to Orlando to celebrate my sister Jamie's high school graduation and spend some time with our grandparents. This was actually our third time to go as a family to Disney World and we had a blast! I decided to drive down to Galveston before we left so that Lorin and I could fly to Orlando together and so I could see the Scott's new apartment. We went to the beach that night and had a lot of fun! Their apt. is really cute - Lor has done a great job decorating! Here's a pic of the happy newly-weds and their home:
We got to Orlando on the fourth of July and met my grandparents, who were already there. Then Mom, Dad, Jamie and Madie flew in later that day. One of Madie's friends was actually able to get our family all free four-day passes to the Disney parks, so that is where we spent the majority of our time. We went to the Magic Kingdom the first day we were there. Jamie and Madie really didn't remember much about this park, besides Cinderella's castle, so it was fun to take them around and tell them all our stories from before.
On Monday my sisters and I spent the day at
Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure. This was such a fun day! We rode really great rides all day and just had a lot of fun being together! One of the best rides there is called Spiderman. It is a 3D ride where you follow Spiderman around as he defeats villians. It's really interactive with water, heat and other special effects which make you feel like you are right there. We rode it twice, a sure sign that we all loved it. The next day we were excited about going to Hollywood Studios, which was MGM last time we were there, because there were some fun shows and good rides. We enjoyed seeing The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast come alive, and of course we all sang along! My sisters and I also really enjoyed Tower of Terror! The day we spent here it rained a lot, but we still had a good time. We ended the day at Epcot with my grandparents and Uncle Woody where we saw a great fireworks show! This day was also when my dad said one of our favorite quotes from the week. He really wanted to go in the big ball at Epcot and ride the ride inside. Well, we had already done that and we all had "pruny toes" from spending the whole day getting drenched and weren't really up for it, so we told him no. Then he went to talk to his mom, who said she would be glad to take him, and so he quickly returned to our table and proceeded to tell us "My mom will take me!" We all died laughing! It was so funny for our dad, who will be 50 later this year, to tell us that his mom was going to take him on a ride since we wouldn't. Haha, I love my dad! 
My favorite day of the trip was when we went to the newest Disney Park, Animal Kingdom. I wasn't really expecting a lot, but it was such an amazing place! We started off the day having lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, which is always fun. Then we went to see the Lion King Live - which was in a word, AWESOME! I love musicals to begin with and the Lion King is a classic, but I had no idea how amazing this would be. It is very high energy and has amazing special effects! There are acrobats, fire-eaters, people that fly through the air, not to mention the awesome singers and dancers. My dad said I turned into a 5-year old while I was watching it, but I just couldn't get enough! Then we went on an african safari, rode a great roller coaster in the rain, and saw Finding Nemo the Musical which was also spectacular! The costumes in this show were awesome and it was so neat to see how they made the fish come alive. All around - this was a great place!
Ok, this is getting pretty long, so I will try to wrap things up. The next day we went to Cocoa Beach and I think this was the first time for us to swim in the Atlantic Ocean. Boy was it salty! :) We had a great day as a family - chasing waves and laughing together. More than anything during this week, I relished spending time with my family. For the last few years we have been blessed to just be in two locations - Lorin and I in Brownwood and everyone else in Canyon. This year we are dividing into 4 locations and it is going to get increasingly harder to all get together. Lorin is now in Galveston with Phil, Jamie is starting her freshman year at DBU in Dallas, I'm here in Brownwood and Mom, Dad and Madie are holding up the fort in Canyon. Even though we are all still in the same state, we are all pretty far away from one another. I love my family so much and this week was a such a blessing to spend quality time together. My sisters have grown into amazing people and I am so proud of each of them! I look forward to the next time we are all together - hopefully it will be sooner than we all realize!
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