Rebekka & Josh

 

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone’s weekend passed by super quickly! Ryan and I enjoyed our first date of our “Year of Dates” Christmas present we got eachother…more on that to come!

Last weekend, Ryan and I had the honor of spending the weekend across the river celebrating the marriage of amazing friends Josh and Rebekka.

Let me give you a little background information. You can also read more about Bekk here. 

You see, Rebekka and I met the summer before we started University at the local watering hole in my small down. First impression wasn’t so good but somehow we exchanged numbers and our first week of University we met up for a meal! The rest was history! We spent countless hours in eachothers rooms venting, crying, laughing and sipping on Strawberry wine! I came home that Christmas from school telling my Mom all about my new friend. I even told her, “Mom, she is so going to be in my wedding one day. I can just tell. She is a forever friend”.

We clung to each other second year and this amazing girl took care of me one horrible time that I got super sick! She stayed with me all night in the emergency room! We confided in everything together. She was the sister I never had. We’d get ready to go out partying together, talking about boys, sharing clothes and having all night talk sessions!

I graduated before her but we still kept in contact and I made sure to go to our old University town to visit her as much as possible!

 

Fast forward to a couple of years ago. I was engaged and Bekk had been dating a wonderful guy for a long time. One day he approached me for my number. He was ready to pick out her engagement ring and he wanted my help to point him in the right direction of the perfect one.

Behind Bekks back we went shopping for her ring and I had to keep this secret from her for almost 2 months! It was soo hard! But Josh finally got down on one knee and she said yes!

This past summer, Bekk honored me by standing up at my wedding as one of my bridesmaids! She was there every step of the planning process way and our wedding wouldn’t have been the same without her there!

Last weekend, it was finally their turn to tie the knot! It was finally their big day and Ryan and I were over the moon excited for them!

The wedding was in a beautiful small church in her hometown just down the road from where her parents live!

Adorable flower girls.

Maid of Honor and sister of the bride.

I got goosebumps when I finally got to see the bride and her dad walk down the aisle! She made the most beautiful bride! With her dad tearing up and Bekks smile ear to ear, the groom looked at his future wife in awe as she came towards him.

Bekk had asked me to read at their wedding and I was so honored to do so! I was a little worried as I had to miss the rehearsal with the flu but it went well. Bekk and Josh signed the registry, kissed and they were finally husband and wife!

Outside the church, we waited for another glimpse of the wedding party before they headed off to take pictures! It was the most perfect (and surprisingly warm) winter day!

 

Ryan and I loaded up a bus with some of Rebekka’s relatives and headed to the reception hall! We had a blast on the way over with them! They are all so friendly and welcoming! Not that we were surprised. Both Rebekka and Joshs parents have always made us feel so at home and loved!

At a cozy and beautiful sugar bush we ate an amazing meal and toasted the bride and groom! The band was rocking and I eventually was dancing barefoot! The party was awesome!

What was the best part of their wedding? Seeing the happiness on my best friends face. Knowing that her dreams were coming true. Not only did Rebekka make a stunning bride but she is also one of the most beautiful people on the inside. She deserves all the happiness in the world, and more!

Congrats Rebekka and Josh! Wishing you both lots of love and laughter on this wonderful next step in your lives as husband and wife!

Love you!

xoxo

Disney Recap – Part 2

 

Happy Friday everyone! What a perfect way to end the week then with finishing up my Disney recaps! On Wednesday, I had left you off with our visit to the Magic Kingdom.

On the Wednesday we decided to take a little trip away from the Disney stuff. We loaded up a taxi and headed over to Universal Studios. I had been to this park a long time ago when I was very little! It has changed SO much! The main attraction I wanted to see this time around was Harry Potter! When we arrived we headed straight to the gates and I was stunned by how real it all looked! I felt like I had stepped into the movie! 

There were a couple of fun rides at Harry Potter and around the park! We went on Spiderman, Dr.Seuss rides, and I even beat Ryan at a Men In Black alien shooting game! Woo hoo!

After a busy day at Universal we headed back to our hotel early for a relaxing evening and supper.

The next morning we were up early to have a delicious buffet breakfast at our resort. We slowly ate and then around 10 took the 5 minute bus ride over to the Animal Kingdom. 

Again, I wasn’t sure if this would be a hit or miss for Ryan. It’s a smaller park with less rides because it’s more about seeing different animals. I was surprised to learn that Animal Kingdom day ended up being everyone’s favorite day!

We started out with Bugs Life 3D show and then headed over to the dinosaur section for a couple of fun rides! 

We had a quick bite to eat at the Asia section and then headed over to Africa to see all the animals! We went on the African safari which can always be a hit or miss, depending on if the animals are out or not! Luckily, they were ALL out and we had a great view of all the animals! It was amazing how close some of them were!

As we were leaving the park, a live band had just started to play so we decided to grab a cocktail at the bar next to it and enjoy the show for a bit!

We were back to our room by the early afternoon for a rest and then got ready for a delicious supper at the Rain Forest Cafe located at Downtown Disney. This was my first time at this restaurant and it was awesome!

The Friday consisted of sleeping in and spending the 27 degree and sunny day by the pool reading and relaxing! It was wonderful!

After being lazy bums all day, the four of us got ready and headed to Downtown Disney to do some shopping, play arcade games, have a fun and eat delicious supper at The House of Blues!

Hulk made out of Lego.

Ryan’s favorite, Disney Quest. 5 floors of free arcade games! He was in heaven!

Ryan got extra special treatment the whole time that we were at Disney! Since it was his very first visit they gave him this button to wear around! With it Disney people would stop and thank him for coming and ask how his trip was going. Disney employees would also stop to make sure there was nothing we needed help finding! What amazing customer service!

Unfortunately, on Saturday morning Mom and Dad boarded an early morning plane for home! Ryan and I decided when booking the trip that we would stay a couple extra days!

That Saturday morning we headed back to the pool to relax and then in the early afternoon headed to Epcot to go on a couple of extra rides that we wanted to try again. That evening, we had reservations in Mexico at a little cantina! The Coronas and chips were awesome!

That evening we watched the fireworks at Epcot! As nice as they were, there was no designated seating spots and after waiting for an hour it was only a 15 minute show. It was beautiful but if they had bleachers for people it would be even better!

The next (and last) morning, we found our check out package on our door. Was pretty sad to think that our trip was already coming to a close.

One of the neat things about our last few days at Disney was that it landed on the same days as the Disney Marathon weekend! On our last day, we decided to go to Hollywood studios (Rys favorite) and got to watch some of the runners going by as they raced through the park. It was so inspiring to see!

We were in luck that morning at Hollywood Studios! The place was dead because everyone was either running or watching the runners! We headed to our two favorite rides and walked right on! No waiting at all!

After 3-4 rides, it was time for lunch so we headed to a little pizza place that we had discovered on our first day there with Mom and Dad. The personal size pizzas were soo fresh and yummy!

We headed back to our hotel to lay by the pool again. We then cleaned up for supper and walked over to another part of our resort called Kidani Village for supper. While waiting for our table the hostess invited us to go out on their deck with supplied night vision goggles to watch the wildlife. It was awesome to see through the night vision glasses and watch the giraffes and zebras roaming around.

We had a delicious supper that night but packed it in early to our room to pack up! It was sad packing up all of our shorts and Disney souvenirs knowing that we would be back in Canada by that time the next day!

Tucker was well taken care of by friends and neighbors Josh and Amanda. He had a blast all 10 days hanging out with his buddy Scooter! Thanks guys again for looking after him for us!

Disney ended up being one of the best vacations we have every had! It was both relaxing and fun! We got to be like carefree kids! I kept telling Ryan to enjoy this trip as an adult because probably the next time we come back we will be catering the trip towards our children! Weird to think!

I am so glad that we saved and planned for this trip for so long. It was everything we had hoped for and can’t wait to go back one day!

Hope you have a great weekend!

xo

Disney Recap – Part 1

 

Happy Wednesday everyone! It is seriously FREEZING here! –30 without the wind-chill…CRAZY!

With weather like this, I can’t help but remember the beautiful weather that we had a little over 2 weeks ago when we were in Orlando, Florida. *Sigh*

Once the chaos of Christmas and New Years were over, Ryan and I began to get excited for our trip!

Finally, on January 5th, we (as well as my parents) boarded a cold plane in Ottawa and arrived in balmy Florida to start our vacation.

Why Florida you ask? Why not an all-inclusive somewhere down south? Well, as a kid I went to Disney quite a few times. I loved it! Still do! Being that my husband is like a overgrown kid, I always thought he would enjoy it too! One day when I asked him if he ever had any desire to visit Disney, he surprised me by informing me that he would love it! That was it! It’s a trip that we have been waiting for since BEFORE we even engaged!

After a very stressful plane change in Toronto, we arrived in Orlando safe and sound. After unpacking and walking around the resort for a bit, we enjoyed a delicious supper at a restaurant called Boma.

The next morning it was time to start our Disney. First up, Epcot, one of my personal favorite theme parks!

Epcot is divided into 2 sections. The first section is more a futuristic world. With rides such as Mission to Mars, Spaceship Earth, Soaring and GM Test Track.

The next part of Epcot is called the World Showcase. This part takes you to different countries from around the world. You can visit Mexico, Norway, Canada, Italy, Germany, China and many more! As you enter each country you really feel like you have stepped off a plane to different place! The people who work at each country even come from said country!

A family tradition is to stop at Germany for their buffet lunch and a giant liter mug of beer! While sipping on beer and eating your schnitzel you can enjoy the live polka band!

Ecpot is a BIG park! And by the end of the day we were too exhausted to stay for the 9 PM firework show!

On the Monday, it was off to Disney’s Hollywood Studios! This was never my favorite park but surprisingly it ended up being Ryan’s favorite! As you walk down main street you are taken into old Hollywood. You are surrounded by your favorite character’s, movies and stars everywhere you turn!

I think one of the reason Ryan enjoyed this park so much was because it had a couple of his favorite rides of the trip. 1. Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster, where you go from 0 to 60 in 2.2 seconds as you race off with your V.I.P passes via limo to one of their concerts. And 2. Toy Story- a ride where you compete with the person next to you on shooting targets with a laser gun as you turn and spin around. 

That evening we had a delicious supper at Hollywood & Vine which also gave us V.I.P seating for the show that night, Fantasmic!

We really enjoyed the water show with fireworks and Mickey saved the day from all the evil villains!

It was a busy day but we headed straight to bed to be ready for the Magic Kingdom for the next day!

The Magic Kingdom theme park is a MUST do on every Orlando visitors list! It really is one of the most magical places on earth! You can’t help but feel like a little kid again when you are there! 

We had such luck at the park that day! It was hardly busy at all! Disney has a great program for it’s guests who stay with them that allows you to use this thing called a Fastpass! If a ride’s wait time is super long (sometimes the line can be over 3 hours long!) then you just insert your card, it shoots out a little slip with a time on it (it will say something like 1:30 to 2:30) and you come back at that time, show your card and go straight to the front of the line. No waiting! It’s amazing and we organized it so well that we never had to wait for ANY rides!

The morning started off with Pirates Of The Caribbean, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted House, It’s A Small World, Peter Pan and Mickey’s Philarmagic (one of my favorites!)!

After all that excitement, we decided to grab lunch in Tomorrowland (part of Magic Kingdom) and do more rides over there! We did one of the scariest coasters, Space Mountain and then more calm rides like Buzz Lightyear, Stitch and Monster’s Inc.

We were finished all that we wanted to see in Tomorrowland so we headed to Main Street U.S.A for one of my favorite treats, a hot fudge sundae from the old time parlor. A MUST DO if you are ever at the Magic Kingdom.  

We headed to Frontier Land, where Ryan practiced his aim and mom and Dad played checkers while we waited for a parade to start!

Finally, the parade started and we got a good view of our pal Mickey and all his friends!

We then headed in to watch the Country Bears Jamboree show and then headed over to the Swiss Family Robinson tree house!

There is a new area of the Magic Kingdom called Fantasyland! It’s not complete yet but what is done is amazing! You can see Belle’s castle and a replica of her little village from the movie! You can even stop in at Gaston’s for a “brew”.

That night we had supper reservations at Liberty Tree. An old time American restaurant where everything is home home and served to your table, family style! It was one of our most favorite eating places of the whole trip!

I think the best part of being at Disney right after the holidays was that they hadn’t taken down any of their Christmas decorations yet! Lights, garland and everything festive was still up! Even the castle at the Magic Kingdom was draped in lights! 

The first few days at Disney were absolutely nothing short of Magical. It is still one of my most favorite places to visit and it was already such a joy to share that with my husband who was seeing everything for the first time! The best part? Our trip was just getting started!

To be continued…

xo