The Magic of Disney

There's something about that little mouse in red shorts, big yellow shoes and big white gloves.
In spite of the commercialism and 21st century changes, the magic of Disney lives on.
Ryan's work took us on a Disney cruise to the Bahamas! We spent Wednesday night in Orlando and set sail Thursday. We had enough time still on Thursday to walk around and try to understand the enormity of the cruise ship. We ate lunch at a buffet while waiting for our room to be ready and our luggage to arrive. One thing I will always remember: Everywhere we went the staff would say "Hello Princess" when they saw Audrey. I thought it was really sweet. It must be a job requirement because no one missed her. When we went to dinner that night, our table was set up with a high chair at the end and a cup with a lid that said 'Princess Audrey'. We had the same three servers every night including a head server, server, and assistant server. They were from India, the Phillipines, and Italy. A very small percentage of the staff were from the United States. They were all so great. That night we went to a Broadway type show called 'The Golden Mickeys.' Audrey was glued to the stage as they did tributes to some Disney classics.
On Friday morning Ryan had meetings so Audrey and I went exploring. They had a nursery for toddlers and babies if I wanted someone to watch her but I wasn't going to do that. So I took her to the playroom for kids older than her and they said she could play there as long as I stayed with her. She LOVED it!
Besides the props and playground they had tables for coloring, computers for games and learning, books for reading, dress-ups for pretending, toys for playing, and music and hoo-la-hoops for dancing. We were meeting Ryan in our room at noon so I had to drag her out.
Our first island was Nassau. We could have chosen from any number of activities to do here and we chose this resort/casino/hotel called Atlantis. It was beautiful.


Our ticket to Atlantis included a section of beach that was so beautiful, I could have only imagined it before seeing it with my eyes. This was Audrey's first time in the ocean. The water temperature was perfect. She had the best time with the waves. The only way we could get her out was to promise her that we would go swimming in a pool. We spent awhile in the pool before having to drag her out to go to an aquarium.
That night Audrey made it through one song of 'Toy Story, the Musical' before she was asleep so we left early and went to bed. Saturday morning while Ryan was in meetings Audrey and I went to the Goofy pool on one of the top decks. The first pool was less than an inch of water with little spouts that would randomly shoot water into an unsuspecting toddlers' face.
There were also two pools (Mickey's ears) that went to Audrey's waist. The third pool (Mickey's face) went to her chin. I think she liked the ears the best.

Our second island stop was the Disney owned and operated Castaway Cay.
This is what it looked like from the deck of our room.
There weren't any waves in this part of the ocean and it was pretty crowded in the water so we bought some sand toys and got really dirty. That night we wanted to watch the ship sail off for the last time so while we were waiting on the top deck Audrey and Ryan played basketball.
We also finally got a picture of the three of us together.

That night was the BYU vs. New Mexico game so while Ryan watched the score update periodically on ESPN, Audrey and I went to the last show called 'Dreams.' It was another tribute to Disney classics and how the main characters were able to make their dreams come true.
This post is already extremely long but I'd like to share three things I learned from the cruise.
1. I'll be a little kid my whole life.
-I got just as excited as Audrey when the characters came on the stage to sing the songs I've had memorized since I was little. I was also just as excited to finally swim in a warm ocean.
2. All little girls are princesses.
-Even if they prefer big wheels to baby dolls, run around like a crazy person for no good reason, and throw humiliating fits in public (all Audrey). They also melt your heart with a smile, giggle at the silliest things, and look absolutely beautiful no matter what they're wearing or doing.
3. It is a small world after all.
-And the simplest things bring us together.

Another song, another season

Before Audrey was born, Ryan and I spent a couple of summer seasons at the Scera Shell outdoor theater watching plays, concerts, and movies. It was so much fun. This year we thought we'd try it with a toddler.
We saw Footloose, Pride and Prejudice, and The King and I (all musicals).
For the concerts we had Jordin Sparks, Three Dog Night, Boyz II Men, Little River Band, and ABBA.
This year Ryan's parents and brother joined us. It saved us to have other people there to help entertain Audrey.Another thing that saved us was Dippin' Dots. Audrey really did like them in spite of the face she is making in this picture.


This is Audrey running down the aisle from Devin!


These last three pictures are from the last concert. It was September 1st and it was freezing!

First time at the Zoo

Audrey really seems to like animals and Ryan and I were sure it had been close to 20 years since either one of us had been to the zoo, so I made him take a day off during the week to go. The beginning of the day was perfect. Audrey was actually okay with sitting still in her stroller (this is usually NOT the case) and the weather was perfect. Then I had the brilliant idea of taking Audrey on the Carousel. She hadn't been on one since she was four months old but I thought she'd love it. I couldn't tell the reason why, but she hated it. She cried the whole time. After that she wasn't in the mood to go in the stroller so we let her run wild in the small animal building.
She chased this cat back and forth for awhile.
She was a little wary of the train at first but wound up liking it by the time it started moving. Ryan and I were grateful for the small breeze at this point in the day.
Our favorite part was the penguin pool. The penguins would line up on the edge of the ground, then take turns jumping in. Audrey would say "Ready, set, go" (this is one of her favorite phrases). Once they were in the water they even did some tricks for us. We thought it fitting for Audrey's souvenir to be this stuffed penguin.

Are Dads more fun?

You know how frustrating it is when someone is playing 'keep away' with you and you can't seem to get the ball? This is not the case for Audrey. She thinks it's hilarious.


I try to do things with Audrey all day. I read her books and take her shopping and we sing and dance...but she always seems to laugh and play harder when Daddy's home. They seem to have the best time with the simplest game.
To be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.
This particular game was really close to bedtime as you can see by the look on Audrey's face.
P.S. Audrey always wins.

2nd Annual Ride on the Heber Valley Railroad

Last year the tradition began. My mother-in-law Jackie, sister-in-law Ashley, niece Halle, Audrey and I rode the Heber Valley Railroad. Audrey was about six months old and had no idea what was going on. But the rest of us had a great time. The scenery is amazing, the ride is relaxing, and we get to spend time together. This year was even better.
Here are the girls ready and excited with their new train whistles.
Halfway through the ride we get about half an hour at Vivian Park to run around.

Even though she broke her leg on one months ago, Audrey loves the slide.
I think the highlight of the day for Audrey was the Dairy Keen restaurant where she couldn't take her eyes off the train that ran on a track around the walls and this train outside.

There's no stopping them now!

A few minutes before these pictures were taken, we were attempting to keep these two girls dry. Keep in mind that the sun is already going down, Audrey didn't have a change of clothes and our niece Chloe had already been through an outfit that day. So much for that!!!


At some point, you just can't help but stand back and watch!


There also comes a time to grab the camera.

Trip to Pennsylvania

Our trip to Pennsylvania was an eye opener for Ryan and me (it's hard to travel with a toddler), but looking back it was worth it to spend all that time together. Audrey seems to be learning so much lately, neither one of us want to miss it.
We started in Philadelphia. This is Audrey meeting James Madison at the Constitution Center. She had to touch all the eyes, noses, and ears (a new favorite activity) of the signers of the Constitution.
This is Audrey in the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York. Although I don't condone the fact that she picked this dandy lion, I had to take this picture. What a blessing to be in the trees where Joseph Smith spoke to our Heavenly Father and our Savior.
Our next stop was Niagara Falls. We splurged and stayed in a beautiful "falls view" room at the Marriott in Canada. It was so amazing. We spent so much time in our room just watching out the window.
Everywhere we went Audrey had to chase the birds, seagulls, pigeons, and ducks (to Audrey they are all ducks and they all say 'quack quack quack'). She would never get bored with this activity. Imagine being at Niagara Falls and spending so much time chasing seagulls!
We added two stadiums to our goal of going to every MLB stadium. We saw the Giants play the Phillies and the Pirates. When we first got in to the Pirates' stadium they had this tiny baseball park for the kids to run the bases. Audrey was so excited.
The Pirates game was the night before we flew home. After seven days of traveling, Audrey was looking pretty tired.