Worth the 50-Year Wait!

I've wanted to go to Disney World my whole life! One of my (many) gifts when I turned 50 was being able to finally have my dream realized.  Garrett and Grayson joined me for the whole 6-day adventure of theme parks in Orlando.  I love fast rides and roller coasters!

DAY 1 - Visited Disney's Animal Kingdom AND Hollywood Studios

 

And yes, the giraffes were close enough to touch on our safari adventure.

 

Mount Everest was a favorite roller coaster ride!

 

Another favorite ride was the Rock'n'Roller Coaster ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios

 

We took a boat from Downtown Disney to our Port Orleans Riverside hotel which was both fun and convenient after riding shuttle buses all day.

 

DAY 2 - Magic Kingdom

Enjoyed the new 7 Dwarfs Train Ride and every other ride worth waiting in line for...

 

 

DAY 3 -  Epcot

Garrett got quite nauseous after Mission Space which spun you around in a capsule to simulate the g-force necessary for liftoft.

 

Test Track was the boys favorite ride, especially when they continued to design cars and race them.  We even took a picture with one of their designs...

Garrett felt right at home in the Mexico World Showcase area....

 

DAYS 4 & 5 - Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure

So happy John could join us for the last half of the trip and he only had to miss one day of work!

 

I loved everything about the Harry Potter areas in both parks--especially the Butterbeer!!!

 

Garrett was chosen as one of the extras in a short production.  He had some pretend rocks tumble on him.

Took the Hogwarts Express back and forth between the two parks each day.  So cool!

 

Grayson was my roller coaster pal and rode every single one of them with me in both parks!

Our evenings were spent swimming in bathtub temp. water and playing volleyball.

 

DAY 6 - Church & Kennedy Space Center

We were so happy the ward building we had chosen to attend was across the street from the beautiful Orlando Temple.  

 

Grayson caught John napping during the opening hymn...

 

Kennedy Space Center was amazing!  We spent 4 hours there and could've spent 4 more but we had to leave to catch our evening flight home.  

 

SO grateful for these 3 men in my life and the memories we created this past week!!!

5 States in 5 Days

Day 1 - Left Bountiful at 8 am and drove to Martin's Cove in Alcova, WY.  Went through the Visitor's Center and walked to Devil's Gate.  Wyoming is VERY barren and windy.

 

We drove to Casper where we were staying for the night and visited a fantastic center that had lots of interactive displays about the pioneers, native Americans and those that came across the plains for various reasons.  Two of the displays we really enjoyed involved sitting in a stagecoach and watching the scenery go by as we bumped along and then sitting on a ferry boat to get across the river.

 

 Day 2 - Headed to South Dakota and began our adventures in Keystone. 

We went to Bear Country USA and saw lots of bears and a bushel of baby cubs that were so fun to watch.   

 

John enjoyed his visit to the National Presidential Wax Museum--especially the signers of the Declaration display.  We played 18 holes at Holy Terror Mini golf.  We picked Garrett up from the Rapid City Airport that evening after he finished his BYU finals for summer term.

 

Day 3 - We loved our stay at the K Bar S Lodge which had a view of Mount Rushmore which was amazing at night when lit.   We walked the Presidential Trail at Mount Rushmore and enjoyed our time viewing the monument.

On our way out of town, John had to stop at Independence Hall for a 20-minute re-enactment of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and found the picture of the role he played in "1776"--Josiah Bartlett.

 

Drove to Sturgis and visited the Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame.  The annual motorcycle rally was the previous week so we only saw a few "hogs" on the road while we were there.

 

Glad Garrett was with us as we were on the road for 27 hours covering the territory and he's a good driver.

 

Made it to North Dakota, my last state on the western side of the USA.  I have 8 states left to hit all 50.  Made sure to eat lunch at "Eats & Treats" to make my visit legit.  Finished the day's drive to Billings, Montana.

 

Day 4 - The main reason for the trip was to celebrate the wedding of Jacob Tebbs to Kelsie Johnson in the Billings LDS Temple.  All of Jacob's siblings and spouses were there except Troy who is on a mission. 

 

Using my new selfie stick!

 

Day 5 - So... After the wedding and a nice luncheon and visiting, it was 4:30 pm and the reception wasn't until 7:00 pm.  We decided to get on the road and head home to Utah and arrived at 1:30 am so we could sleep in our own beds, attend church and enjoy Garrett and Cooper's Family Home Evening lesson Sunday evening.  Plus we had to pack for the next trip the next day!!!