Saturday, January 1, 2011

2 January 2011 - Epcot/New Years

The day after Christmas was a Sunday, so we took a much needed and welcome break from theme parks to attend church. We slept in as late as we wanted, then found a ward that started at 1 p.m. It was a nice ward and we enjoyed our time, then after church we drove over to the Orlando temple. If you look at the pose I'm striking, you can tell that it was quite cold out on Sunday.Monday was our last theme park day and we went to Epcot Center. The weather continued to be very cold -- there was ice on the windshield that morning. Still the sun was out and it was a beautiful day.
Madeline had to wait in line, but got to meet Princess Aurora (a.k.a Sleeping Beauty).
They had a Finding Nemo ride and aquarium. Here is Aunt Jen with the girls in front of the attraction.
The girls were eaten by Bruce the shark. It was tragic.
Epcot has two parts. One is mostly rides and attractions, while the other is called World Showcase. This part features replica-style villages from all over the world. In Germany, we ate bratwurst and sauerkraut (well, some of us ate sauerkraut), and in the United States we ate funnel cakes. In China, we went to an acrobat show. They were pretty incredible.
This girl balanced and juggled stuff with her feet, including this table.
On Tuesday, we went shopping a little bit in Downtown Disney and then it was time to say goodbye. I drove Grandma and Aunt Jennifer to the airport, then picked up Joanne and the kids and we were on our way. We stopped in Savannah, GA for a short visit, then stayed in a hotel in South Carolina for the night. The next day we drove to Virginia and spent some time with Joanne's cousin Jeremy and his family. This is Madeline with Kora getting a back massage.
After 11 days on the road, the girls (and us too) were ready to be home, so on Thursday we drove back to Washington. Everything was in order here, and we were very grateful for that. There wasn't even any snow! There was a present under our tree from the North's in Vernal, so the girls unwrapped that and found a karaoke machine. They are regular superstars already.
All in all, it was a whirlwind, lotsa fun, crazy Christmas break for our family. We're glad to be home now, looking forward to a happy and adventurous 2011. We wish you all a very happy new year.