10 Years......

If I could go back in time, I never would have imagined that in 2010 I would be celebrating 10 years of marriage. It's been an amazing 10 years. We've had our ups and downs as every couple does. But I never imagined I would be more in love with my husband now.


We decided that we wanted to take an anniversary trip for 10 years! The kids are old enough to leave for a week and not cause too much stress. So after looking at several places and the budget, we decided on Disneyland!!!


We went during Fall Break. At first I didn't think we would survive a whole week just the two of us. But from the beg of the trip, you could just feel the relaxation we both felt. All we had to worry about was finding our way to the rental car place and getting to the hotel. And after navigating LA, I think we would do just fine on The Amazing Race.


Our first night we saw Fantasmic. What an amazing show, just so much fun and great creativity from Disney. Even Tony said that was his favorite


Everyday brought another surprise and more fun. On our very first day we took a tour A Walk In Walt's Footsteps. It was a lot of fun and we learned so much about the history of the man who created it all. We got to see the lobby of Club 33 which was really neat. I'm glad we did the tour, something we never would have done with the kids. They would have been bored to death.


I got over my fear of the unknown with rides. I got on almost every ride that I didn't last time. And I found some I loved and some I will never go on again. I think the best one is the Matterhorn and the second time we rode it was the best. We were stuffed from dinner and somehow squeezed into the same seat and laughed the whole way down.


The Halloween event night was fun. We got a ton of candy and hit every candy station in the park. The fireworks show and parade were fun. The Halloween tour we did was fun. Best part was getting on rides right away. I skipped many of them only because I couldn't do some of those again lol.


Fantasyland is still my favorite. Peter Pan and Tea Cups are my favorite. And my husband who doesn't like spinning in circles was a big sport and got on and helped spin us faster than I've ever gone.


California Adventure was fun as well. Soaring over California is still a favorite. But River Run we got on several times. The very first time I got soaked from head to toe. The times after that wasn't so bad. Toy Story is always worth the wait!! It's just a fun ride, but hoping there is a fastpass for it one day.


We also hit Universal Studios. The shows were fun and it was neat to see the special effects they do. The Studio Tour was really neat. So many things to see, the King Kong 3D was super neat. Also seeing the set of DH was so cool. I didn't get all the photos I wanted, but that's ok. The rides in the park was what I was super afraid of. The Simpsons ride was super cool, one I could have ridden more than twice. It was a bit scary that I lost my phone on it the first time. Thankfully, someone turned it in. We also hit The Mummy ride which took my breathe away the first time. I did not expect it to go shooting out so fast! But it was super short, unline Space Mountain. We did that ride time and time again and was my favorite by the end. Jurassic Park was last. It was a super neat ride, everything they did to create it. But the drop at the end is one vertical drop. But I did it and survived! lol


We finished off the week with dinner at Wine Country. The food was good and we enjoyed a bottle of Magicale. It was fun and something we wouldn't have done otherwise. We also got tickets to see World of Color. It was really neat to see the amazing effects they do. And so very glad we didn't have to stand in the super long lines that everyone else did.


There isn't one thing that made the week amazing. It was the time for just the two of us with no distractions. It was just a wonderful gift and well worth 10 wonderful years of marriage!!

Emotions

This time of year starts to invoke many emotions in people. I feel like Veteran's Day is the kickoff to the season of gratitude, honor, family, being thankful and then giving way to the holiday season. Veteran's Day was first started as Armistice Day proclaimed by President Wilson in 1919 - a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice Day." Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Whichever way you look at it, and whichever way your dedication and passion for your country comes from, I feel President Eisenhower said it best during the first Veteran's Day proclamation:

"In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.

It's everyone coming together no matter what label you have, and paying your respect to the men and women, past and present who have giving everything to protect us and provide us with a free nation.

That feeling of price and honor seems to carry forward to Thanksgiving where many people focus on family, traditions and being thankful for all that they have been blessed with. And then going further and blessing other people.

This is where I wish that more people would carry this with them all year round. What a better world we would live in if we spent more time helping other people and spending less time focused on ourselves.

I'm not without fault and human like everyone else. I find myself "too busy" to do more of what really would have a lasting effect of values and traditions that will be handed down from my own children. This is a year that I want change in my own heart to really see every person.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy