Walt Disney World - Day 1

 Thanks to Hubby's brother, Uncle B, and his wife, Aunt E, today we began an epic Walt Disney World vacation with extended family - 21 members, to be exact...

We kicked it off in EPCOT...

where, thanks to the careful direction of Aunt E, we were able to make our very first "rope drop" and headed straight for our first ride, Test Track...

located in the World Discovery section of the park...

We were also able to ride Mission: SPACE within this section of the park, as well...

After grabbing a snack...

we headed over to the World Celebration section of the park where we were able to ride Spaceship Earth, a favorite from our last visit to EPCOT over 12 years ago!

We enjoyed walking through most of the country pavilions located in the World Showcase section, ate both lunch and dinner there, and rode several popular rides thanks to the very detailed organization and superior planning of Aunt E...

*organizing by park area/country pavilion, not necessarily in the order we rode/ate, because that's how my brain best works*

Mexico - strolled through...

Norway - Frozen Ever After ride...

China - dinner at Nine Dragons Restaurant...

{the Lychee Blossom drink was sooo good}

Germany - lunch at Biergarten Restaurant...

Italy, American Adventure, Japan, Morocco - strolled through...

France - Remy's Ratatouille Adventure ride...

United Kingdom, Canada - strolled through...

Back in the American Adventure area, we also enjoyed the holiday special, Candlelight Processional...

narrated by Lisa Ling...

Lastly, within the World Nature section of the park, we rode both Living with the Land...

and Soarin' Over California, and visited SeaBase...

to enjoy the Turtle Talk with Crush attraction, as well...

After an exhuasting day...

we headed back to the hotel to get some much-needed rest!

Much more to come!

{Girls Trip} - Christmas 2023 - Nutcracker Ballet in West Palm Beach, FL

Wow, what an evening, as we celebrated Year 9 of our annual girls' trip to see the Nutcracker! I am so thankful for these girls and the tradition we have, but even more so for the memories we've been given because of it...

After five years in Atlanta at the historic Fox Theatre (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019) and then three Covid+ years at The Greenbrier (2020, 2021 & 2022), I decided to take our show on the road, or take to the road to see our show! Since we were already planning to be in Florida for a trip with extended family, I decided to give Miami City Ballet's production a try and catch it in beautiful West Palm Beach.

The girls and I rolled in just in time for dinner at the Restoration Hardware Rooftop Restaurant (M and I ate at the one in New York City earlier this year)...

From there, we headed over to the Kravis Center for the show!

I so look forward to this special time with my girls each December...

From the show, we headed over to the Holiday in Paradise display...

to catch a glimpse of Sandi, the world's only 35 foot, 700 ton sand tree...

and take a ride on the ferris wheel, too!

Wonder where we'll end up next year?!?!? Until then...

{ON A MISSION (TRIP)} La Romana, Dominican Republic - 2023

 Our sweet B left early Sunday morning to head out on a mission trip with our church...

After traveling by bus to Charlotte, and then flying from Charlotte to Miami to Punta Cana, they arrived safely at their destination, in La Romana, that evening.

B and the team spent 5 days contributing in a variety of ways from building a multi-family home...

to serving at VBS...

to distributing manna packs...

They were even able to make time for a morning at the beach...

What an incredible and life-changing experience for our B!