Disneyland... Because We "Had" To...

Anyone who knows me is fully aware that Disneyland is pretty much my favorite place to be (second only to The Temple and my husband's arms), and so it was no enormous challenge for us when we realized our 2-Day Park Hopper Tickets were about to expire and we HAD to go to Disneyland. Yes, I know what you are probably thinking, "that must have taken some serious arm twisting". Alas, it took nearly none! :P

Originally we were planning on going the weekend before, but Luke's sweet, amazing parents graciously offered to let us stay with them this past weekend at their Newport Beach timeshare (again, no arm twisting needed here), which was only a 20 minute drive from Disneyland. 

And so... to Disneyland we went! 

These days between me working, Luke's heavy class load, his lab hours, studying for the GRE, prepping for his upcoming Grad School application process and our callings (Luke doing Boy Scouts & me in Primary), we take every opportunity we can to steal away together! We always joke that we think we saw more of each other back when we were dating! We know that our "busyness" is a blessing and we are certainly grateful for all the blessings the Lord continues to bestow upon us! But needless to say, our trip was wonderful but far too short! 

Luke and I are really into pin trading at the park so we grabbed a hold of our pin lanyards and hit the streets (of Disneyland that is)... we got some GREAT trades: I got 3 new "Foods of Disney" pins and Luke is well on his way to collecting the full set of "Hidden Mickey Coffin Villain" pins! Unfortunately, Luke is still feeling the sting of what he refers to as a "pin hustle". He saw a pin he wanted and went in for the trade, but the girl with the pin he had his eye on made her play and before he knew it, he'd traded his pin, well worth actual monetary value, for a pin that was worth no more than a nickel and some sentimental value... but it did get him one pin closer to the whole set he wanted! No amount of consoling him worked, he knew he'd been hustled! Ha ha! 

Oh the hard knock life of pin trading at Disneyland! :)

Two Churros, one Monte Cristo, one Dole Whip float and a delicious Corn Dog later we were filled to our brim with Disneyland joys! What can we say... we go for the magic, but we stay for the food! 

To add to the joy I "Disneybounded". This is a new and AWESOME (might I add) movement of fellow Disney-fans who dress inspired by their favorite Disney Characters during their trips to Disneyland! It really helped add a new layer of fun and excitement in the weeks coming up to our trip as I scoured my closet for different pieces that I could put together to make a "bound". At first I thought I'd have nothing... but as the weeks went by it turned into a matter of "narrowing it down to just two"! 

Here's what I chose:

It was so much fun not only dressing up, but catching a glimpse of fellow bounders throughout the park! Definitely a tradition I intend to keep for upcoming trips! :)

As our trip came to a close we got to spend the morning with Greg and Sally (Luke's parents) at the condo before saying our goodbye's to Sunny California and heading back to even sunnier Vegas and the hustle and bustle of our blessed "busy" life...

Our Honeymoon

We're home from our honeymoon and as happy as can be! We started our honeymoon off right too with a trip to Disneyworld that really set the mood for magic-- and it really was! I'm a tried and true lover of DisneyLAND, so I knew it was going to take a lot of convincing to have me even consider DisneyWORLD as magical... but some short comings aside (Fantasyland was only so so, there is only one churro stand in the ENTIRE park and no Monte Cristo's) it really was magical afterall. 

The Caribbean was a DREAM... crystal clear waters, beaches with the whitest sand I've ever seen and our dive through the reefs of St. Thomas and around an amazing sunken ship was phenomenal! The water was an unbelievable 80 degrees-- it felt like bath water! We were shocked when the other divers around us put on wet suits (ha ha- weirdos)! :P

The Royal Caribbean ship we were on didn't sink, lose power or even catch fire-- at this point in cruise ship history I'd say THAT was a success all in itself, but the entertainment, food and service didn't hurt! We ate some of the best food ever (duck confit on top of a bed of arugula with mandrin oranges and asparagus and lobster and crab cakes-- YUM)! The shows on this ship were wonderful-- they had a magician that completely blew our minds and left us stary eyed the rest of the evening! And believe it or not there was an ice skating show! You heard right-- it was GREAT, but the best part was that we, ourselves, ice skated whilst on the ship-- that's right, we ice skated right in the middle of the ocean in the Caribbean! 

Here's the pictures from our dive... we had SUCH a great time!! :) 

Back on the boat... we got a wonderful surprise... we just LOVED the towel animals!!

Ice skating ON a ship!

We tried everything... ice skating, karaoke, rock climbing, surfing... everything the boat had to offer!

After 11 of the most FUN filled days of our lives, we had to say goodbye to the Caribbean and head back to reality. Oddly enough, as much as we enjoyed our AMAZING honeymoon we're happy to be home and starting on the next adventure life has in store for us...