ROME & GREEK ISLES CRUISE

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DAY 1: EPCOT...

 

We decided to start this vacation a day early and spend the day at Epcot in Disney World.  Andy and I have decided to go back in the spring for a week, and when we priced everything out it ended up being more cost effective to upgrade our Disneyland Season Passes to the Premier Pass.

We are official DISNEY CRAZY!

We started the day in Future World and then headed back to the World Showcase for the afternoon.  Julia had not been the future world in a very long time and was experiencing many of the attractions for the first time.  I LOVE LOVE going with first timers!!

As we headed back to the World Showcase we OF COURSE had to stop to share a pastry in Norway.   They are too good to pass up!

 

 

We then made sure that we caught the show in the American Pavilion, which I had never seen before.  

It was great! I left feeling like the 4th of July!

What a great feeling!!

 

We then had to hurry, so we could make our dinner reservations at 'Ohana.  It is our favorite restaurant on Disney World property, and always try to stop there on our way through Florida.  Since Andy told them we were celebrating our 10th anniversary, they ran out of Anniversary buttons and gave us Just Engaged buttons.
 
 They also gave us a table with the view of the fireworks and brought the table lei's and gave us cupcakes with candles in them.  It was really fun!!

WE'LL SEE YOU SOON!

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FLORIDA: FAMILY AND DISNEY

For the first week of December, Andy and I took a trip to Florida. We have wanted to visit Matt and his family for a while, as well as bump Andy up to Gold Medallion status on Delta (he was so close.) Our trip was December 2-6, and was SUPER FUN!! We arrived on Thursday night, and immediately went to the temple for Matt and Crystal's ward Temple Night. I mean IMMEDIATELY, (I changed in the airport bathroom!) After the temple we went to Matt's house and his kids were super excited to see us... or they just didn't want to go to bed. I am pretty sure the latter is true. Matt and Andy went to go grab some pizza for dinner and I caught up a little with the kids.

Kaily: You're Aunt Ashley?
Ashley: Yup, that's me.
Kaily: Oh... There is another aunt Ashley who looks like a boy.... she has short hair....
Ashley: I'm the only aunt Ashley that I know of... Do I look like a boy?
Kaily: No... there is another one, who has short black hair and looks like a boy. BUT talks like a girl and she is a girl, just looks like a boy... NOT YOU!! :)

It was hillarious, those kids had me laughing constantly!! On Friday, Matt had a member of his ward pick us up and get us in to Disney World for FREE!! Him and his wife both work at the park and their families are not able to visit as much as they would like, so they have some extra passes, they also expire in December, so they decided it would be fine for us to use them. THANKS SO MUCH!! We started at the Animal Kingdom, and then when we were finished, Crystal came and picked us up, then we hung out for a while and then all went back out to Epcot. It was a super fun night!!

ANIMAL KINGDOM

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Since we had been to Disney World last, The Animal Kingdom changed a lot!! They've even added a new roller coaster; Expedition Everest. It was super fun, but we both ended up being a little quesy after. We're getting too old for this stuff!! ;) After that we just walked around a little making sure to explore all the areas... including Rafiki's Discovery Island (which was mostly for kids) and Camp Minnie Mickey, (which is also just for kids to meet the characters.) It was really fun. When we were over going on Dinosaur! Andy decided he wanted a turkey leg. Halfway through it, he remembered he didn't like rotisserie turkey legs!! When we had seen everything we wanted to in Animal Kingdom we called Matt to see what they were up to. They were almost finished with the day's activities and errands so we had them come pick us up so we could all grab some dinner together and then head over to Epcot.

EPCOT

After running to the craft store with Crystal, Quin and Kaily, we had to wait a little bit for Matt to finish up with work and then we were off to Epcot! The first thing we did at Epcot is run over to the land (because it closed first.) We road the boat ride, and looked around. Matt had been promising the kids lollipops for a while, so when he saw them at a shop he bought them all one. They LOVED them. I was able to get a picture of all of them showing me their lollipops. It was too cute! Then off to the Living seas. Wow has it changed!! Instead of the elevators, now they have a finding Nemo ride that is SUPER cute!! After that we checked the lines for a few of the other rides in the front of Epcot, but the lines were super long. We also were getting hungry for a snack so started walking back to the World Showcase. Boat rides in Mexico and Norway, sweet treats from the bakery in Norway and a leisure walk through all the countries on our way to find a seat for the fireworks. What a great night. The nighttime presentation was fun, and still the same as I remember. What a day!!

The next day, Andy and I woke up late and it was POURING!! We just hung out at the hotel for a while and then decided that we would bear the weather and trek the 100 yards over to Pizza Hut for their lunch buffet. When we were finished we contemplated trying to find Matt and Crystal's house on foot, but then looked outside and it was pouring EVEN HARDER! So long for that idea. Matt came and got us when he finished work, and we picked up the babysitter and went out to dinner were able to go and have a nice double date. What a fun night.

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

The next morning we woke up fairly early and headed off to Disney's Hollywood Studios. (The have recently changed the name.) First we stopped by Wal-Mart and picked up some ponchos because it was still raining. When we arrived we headed straight on over to Tower of Terror, and then Rockin Roller Coaster. The kids and I found a Discovery Kids station where they were able to decorate paper CD's with stickers. They were having so much fun, that the Disney employee at the station let them do 2 each. They had a lot of fun. After that, we tried to go on Toy Story Mania, but the line was WAY too long and ended up going on The Great Movie Ride instead. Then it was time for the new car show. It was super fun to see all the great car stunts and how they do it all.

EPCOT (Again)

After the car show we decided that Kaily and Random both needed to go home for naps, so Crystal took the kids home and Andy, Matt, Quin and I were dropped off at the back door of Epcot. We all took turns finding food that we liked and ate. Then walked up to the front to look at some of the rides we had missed the night before, but the lines were still really long. Our final ride at Epcot was Spaceship Earth, Reimagined, and I really like how they have changed it. Off to Magic Kingdom!!

MAGIC KINGDOM

Andy and I took off to the Magic Kingdom while Matt and Quin waited for Crystal and the kids, and then we all met up in a little while. Andy and I kept with our Disney tradition of going to Buzz Lightyear first thing when we enter the park, and then rode The People Mover and a couple more. Matt, Crystal and the kids finally got there, and were lifesavers with coats for everyone. It was COLD!! We went to Monster's Inc. The Laugh Floor, which was really funny!! Then wandered around a little more, going on anything that looked appealing. Much to Quin's dismay, we did not go on Space Mountain. :(



It was a super fun trip and it was really great to see Matt, Crystal and the kids!! We had been MISSING them!!

Thanks guys for everything, and making it such a fun trip!!

TRIP TO AUSTRALIA!! (WEEK 1)

Andy and I spent the first 2 weeks of November in Australia. On our way there we were able to have a layover in Utah and see our beautiful niece blessed. It all was really great!!

DAY 1, 1 NOV 2009 - Beautiful Hadlie's blessing!! She is such a sweet and beautiful child, I am so glad we were able to stop by before our adventure to be part of this special day in her life. CONGRATS HADLIE!!



DAY 2, 2 NOV 2009 - We spent the morning in Utah waiting for our flight, so I was able to go see Carol, and Andy went to see some old buddies at work. Our journey to Australia was finally underway that evening. HOORAY!!


DAY 3, 4 NOV 2009 - Australia is a day behind ours so somewhere over the Pacific we lost a day. Not to worry, we will make it up on the way home!!
When we arrived in Sydney, we checked into our hotel, and went to explore the city. We found a yummy pizza place for lunch and then took a Sydney Harbour Cruise. We learned A TON about Sydney, as well as the water around Sydney; i.e. You should only go swimming in a designated swimming area with a shark net, as well as you should not swim at dusk or dawn, when it is raining or just after rain, and the number one rule of swimming is... Make sure someone else is further out than you... or the sharks will eat you!! :) It was really interesting! That night a few of us grabbed some dinner at Tony Roma's and then headed to bed after an exhausting 36 hours.


DAY 4, 5 NOV 2009 - On the second day in Sydney we decided that we wanted to hike UP AND OVER the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is also known as the bridge over troubled water. It was raining a little so as we went in for briefing of the bridge climb, we were instructed that we could not have anything on under the special suits they give us, except our unders, and we had to MAKE SURE we did not have ANYTHING else. It was seeming a little intense. We put on our special jumpsuits, and the rain pants. After that they started loading us up with equipment... our harness with the cable attachment, (so we can't fall off the bridge,) a raincoat and fleece jacket (in their separate pouches,) glasses holders, gloves and hats that attached to our jumpsuits, a handkerchief that specially attaches to your wrist, and a walkie-talkie so you can communicate with your guide. After we were geared up we were ready to go!! It was REALLY fun!! I am so glad we were able to do it!

Later that day, we took a tour of the Sydney Opera House. It was really amazing to learn all about how the plans for the Opera House came about, and all the struggles and difficulties the engineers had to overcome to make the plans a reality.


DAY 5, 6 NOV 2009 - We travelled to Cairns, (pronounced Cans.) After arriving in Cairns, we checked into our hotel and it started to RAIN, and I mean mad crazy RAIN!! We came to the decision that going out in the rain probably was not the greatest idea, so we ate in the Casino, and then got some rest for our early morning ahead of us.


DAY 6, 7 NOV 2009 - Out to sea!! The next day, we scheduled a tour out on the great barrier reef. If you were certified to SCUBA dive, then you could take 3 dives, and if you were not, then you could snorkel while the divers were out. We got up early and walked to the boat, once on the boat we had a 1 1/2 hour boat ride to the Great Barrier Reef. Because it had been so rainy and windy, the boat ride was a little torturous, but we survived it. :)

The captain decided that because of the weather, he wanted to take us to a place called "The Fish Bowl." It was beautiful!! There were so many fish, and so many different types of coral and anemones. I had been out snorkeling for quite a while, and decided to head back to the boat. All of a sudden I looked up, and there was a shark coming at me!! I was the ONLY one in our group, and possibly on the entire boat that did NOT want to see a shark and I SAW IT!! In our snorkel briefing they showed us signs that we could use if we saw something cool, so I looked around to tell SOMEONE... ANYONE that there was a shark, but no one was looking. I decided that was it, I just needed to get back on the boat. It was pretty exciting!! After lunch we went to another reef called "The Canyons." I had fell asleep on the boat, so I completely missed that one. Andy told me it was cool, but not as good as the fish bowl.

After we got back to land, we were able to clean up then go out for dinner. Since we were all exhausted, we decided that we would find something less expensive and close by. The decision finally came down to Rattle & Hum, a bar/pub/pizza place, that ended up being pretty good, it also ended up being our go to place for a quick bite.



DAY 7, 8 NOV 2009 - On the 8th, a taxi picked us up and drove us to the entrance of the Sky Rail. It was an enclosed ski lift type thing that would take you up and over the mountain into the little mountain village of Kuranda. It was really fun. Along the way it had a few nature trails that you could get off the lift and walk around in the forested mountains. When you were finished exploring you would get back on the lift and continue your journey on.

When we got to Kuranda, we went decided that we would go to a place called Koala Encounters. It was like a small zoo, but they also had kangaroos and wallabees you could pet and feed, and koala bears you could hold and take pictures with (for a small fee.) It was really neat to see the crocadiles, kangaroos and koala bears.

After the Koala Bear Encounters we went off looking through the shops and then looking for a place to eat. The food prices up in Kuranda were not nearly as much as down in Cairns, so I was looking for something yummy and cheap!! We found a burger place and decided to grab lunch there. I got a veggie burger and it was one of the best meals I had on the trip, not to mention, one of the cheapest. YUMMY.

For the ride home we bought tickets for the Scenic Railroad that would take you all the way back into Cairns. It was a beautiful ride!! We saw a couple waterfalls, beautiful valley vistas, steep drop offs, and even a few stray hikers.On our walk home, Chuck, Jolynn, Mary, Andy and I wanted to try some Indian Cuisine, but the Indian resturaunt that we first went to was closed. So we were going to go to a different one, but then we walked by an Asian place that looked better. We decided it was close to our hotel, so we would go and then meet up in an hour. Jolynn ended up just staying at the hotel and taking it easy, but the other four of us went to the Banana Leaf. It ended up being REALLY good.