Christmas Letter 2022

Greetings from Watts family! We hope you are well and enjoying the holiday season. 

Adam turned 14 in January and continues to enjoy playing video games and hanging out with the other boys in the neighborhood. He recently joined a Dungeons & Dragons group at the local library and looks forward to the meetings. 

Patrick’s big news this year was his new position at Lifeway. After being hired in 2006 to head up marketing, sales, and events for Lifeway Worship, he has spent the past few years on the resources team, primarily working with digital products. In April, he moved to the IT department to be a Software Development Manager for the Product Domain. He and the developers he supervises are responsible for making sure that all of the information about Lifeway’s products is accurate and dependable, and to provide governance and management over the quality of the product data wherever it goes, whether that be to Lifeway’s website, Amazon, Walmart, or any of the other outlets that sell Lifeway products.

Our busy spring continued in May when Adam wrapped up middle school. After spending his seventh grade year at home in distance learning, we were especially proud that he finished eighth grade so well and even earned a spot on the honor roll. 

In June, the Watts boys went coast to coast! Patrick and Adam went to California to visit Disneyland, Legoland, and Huntington Beach, and to attend the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. Adam was a first-time messenger!

They came back home for a couple of days before heading to Miami to participate in the Youth Choir Tour/Mission Trip. The group sang and served at several locations including the Miami Rescue Mission and Bayside Marketplace. They also sang the national anthem at a Miami Marlins game. They managed to squeeze in some Florida fun, too - snorkeling at Key Largo and spending a day at Universal Orlando.

Adam started high school in August, where he has adjusted well despite a few challenges. We’ve all had to adapt to new routines, teachers, and classes. He’s had some busy fall weekends going to TN Maker Fest, Brick Fest, and Pigeon Forge for the youth group fall retreat.

Lydia is able to participate in Sunday School and women’s Bible study at church via Zoom. Though chronic pain and autoimmune disease limits what she can do, she still enjoys cheering on the Vols and Predators from home. 

We love to hear from our friends and family! Connect with us on Facebook or come by for a visit if you are in the area. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed new year.

- Patrick, Lydia, and Adam

Fun in the Smokies

Pictures

This year, Patrick's grandparents will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. They decided that instead of a party, they would like for us all to get together for a few days. So, we rented a cabin in Gatlinburg, and fifteen of us - our family, Patrick's brother and his family, Patrick's sister and her husband, Patrick's parents, his aunt and uncle, and Pop and Polly (the grandparents) all gathered for some laid-back fun in the Smokies. The cabin had seven bedrooms and a game room, which was a big hit with the cousins, ages 3, 4, and 7, and plenty of room for adults to talk and work a jigsaw puzzle. Monday was spent exploring Gatlinburg and resting at the chalet, and on Tuesday, one group went to Dollywood, while another group went outlet shopping and out for lunch. It was a great time to visit and enjoy being together!

Click here for pictures!

trip tidbits

Rather than bore you with a travelogue of our trip to Glorieta, here are some of my observations/tidbits from the week:

• Yet again, the Sit 'n Stroll proves it is completely awesome. I don't think we could have made our connections if we had to wait for a gate-checked stroller. We used it instead of a high chair in the dining hall.
  
• The Kia Forte is not a bad little car.
• Staybridge Suites is fantastic.
• DirectTV on Frontier is awesome, especially when traveling with a toddler. They also let us pre-board. Too bad they are going bankrupt.
  
• New Mexico is still a long way from Nashville, but it is still incredibly beautiful.
  
• Altitude sickness is the worst on the fourth day. Either that, or I quit drinking as much water later in the week.
• The Flying Star Cafe is a great family-friendly place to eat in Santa Fe. We ate there twice.
  
• Adam is a pretty good little traveler.
• If the Glorieta Conference Center folks knew how much Adam ate, they would have charged us for his meals.
• I still didn't see if there is actually anything to the town of Glorieta. The roads are not paved, and we didn't have a four-wheel drive.
• There is a Trader Joe's in Santa Fe!
• Fernando Ortega is great performer in addition to being a really nice guy.
• I take a fast internet connection for granted.
• If you have a choice, I would advise against waking an 18-month-old at 4:30 am to catch a 6:00 am flight.
  

God blessed texas

We have just returned from our pilgrimage to the Lone Star State to see family and friends. Patrick's brother John and his family came from Idaho, his sister Allison was able to come from Atlanta for the holiday weekend, and his grandparents (Pop and Polly) flew in from Ohio for the week. We all converged on Patrick's parents' house in Grapevine for a family reunion of sorts.

Sunday, July 5 - We returned from Ridgecrest (NC) on the 3rd and had the 4th at home to rest, do laundry, and repack. We left for the airport on schedule (amazingly) at 6:30 am on Sunday. We wanted a non-stop flight on Southwest, and so we chose to fly into Austin and drive to Dallas. Also, we wanted to see friends in Austin (more about that later). Austin's airport is much easier to navigate than DFW, especially with a 17-month-old. We were able to quickly claim our bags and get our rental van. (Patrick scored a Toyota Sienna - thanks Priceline!). We met up with the Youngs and the Batemans at Chuy's - one of our favorite TX restaurants (coming soon to the Nashville area).

We continued our trek north only to discover that I-35 had slowed to a crawl due to the holiday weekend. We stopped to show Adam the bears in Waco, but they had the holiday weekend off. After our three-hour drive became a five-hour trip with a grumpy toddler, Mommy needed some Target therapy. I dropped the boys off at the grandparents' house and went to the Super Target for the week's provisions. After a quick bite to eat at the house, we checked into our room at the FedEx terminal, I mean, the Hawthorn Suites. Our room was great, with a full kitchen, separate room for Adam, and a bathtub the size of a Volkswagen. The only bad thing was that the FedEx trucks honk before they start backing up, but it got to be comical by the end of the week.

Monday, July 6 - The whole clan converged on the Watts' house Monday morning before heading out to the Ft. Worth Zoo with Allison's friend Laura and her three-year-old, Noah. If you are keeping score, that is 14 people. Adam had fun in the aviary, but seemed disappointed when the birds flew away when he tried to pet them. Patrick's cousin Lynne met us at the zoo for lunch (bringing us to 15 people).

After lunch, Adam needed a nap, so we headed back to the hotel. Monday evening, the Patrick cousins and Aunt Linda came over to the house for dinner. We arrived late due to Adam's nap.

Tuesday, July 7 - On Tuesday, we mainly hung around the house and played with the kids. We celebrated Reganne's birthday (a couple weeks late). That evening, we went over to Farmer's Branch to see our friends, the Finks, and their new house. They fixed us a great meal with vegetables from their garden!

Wednesday, July 8 - The cousins got to play together more on Wednesday morning before it was time for the Idaho Watts to head back home. We had a relaxing afternoon while Adam napped at the house, and we did some laundry. Patrick and I even had a little date at the Super Target Starbucks. After dinner, we drove to Arlington to see the Death Star, I mean, the new Cowboys Stadium. Impressive.

Thursday, July 9 - We had a little more time with the grandparents and great-grandparents Wednesday morning before piling in the van again to head back to Austin. We stopped in Ft. Worth to have lunch with our friend, Lyn. He gave us a tour of BNSF headquarters where he works. It was way cooler than I expected. He also treated us to lunch to Rosa's Cafe. The tortillas were life-changing.

Thankfully, Adam took a good nap on the way to Austin and watched lots of Signing Time while he was awake. By the end of the week, he started requesting Signing Time (using sign language) whenever he saw the van. When we arrived in Austin at 5:30 pm, the van thermometer read 105 degrees.

We got settled into our room at the Holiday Inn Express Pflugerville and ordered a delicious pizza from Austin's Pizza. We had no desire to go back out in the heat. Adam had fun exploring yet another hotel room.

Friday, July 10 - We had a lazy morning before going over to the meet the Bateman girls for a swimming play date. We had a blast, and Sarah even got me to go down the "dark slide." We met Giles for lunch at Mighty Fine Burgers, another fine Austin eating establishment. Adam shared his grilled cheese with Lucy. They were quite adorable.

After nap on Friday, we went to Ikea for shopping, dinner, and some quality family time with Swedish furniture.

Saturday, July 11 - We crossed one more Austin restaurant off the list before leaving on Saturday - Kerbey Lane Cafe. The Batemans met us for brunch there, and Lucy and Adam shared food once again. We had a delicious meal, and too soon had to say goodbye to the Batemans and head for the airport. Time with good friends is always too short.

I decided Adam needed another box of goldfish to make the trip home, and so we stopped at Fry's Electronics. Made sense to us. Adam was great on the flight, and did amazingly well considering he didn't have a nap all day.

We had a great time in Texas, but are glad to be home for a little while before our next trip!

my recent adventures

I have been a very busy boy lately. Last week, I came down with my first cold. I didn't feel very bad, but I DO NOT like it when people wipe my nose. Mama took me to see the doctor because we were going to Texas that day. I smiled at the doctor, and she said it was okay for us to fly on the airplane go see Grandpa Dave and Grandma Pat.

Later that day, Mama and I got in my van and picked Daddy up at his work. Mama and Daddy call the van "Van Halen." They think that's funny, but I don't get it. We went to the place where we get on the green bus. Mama put me in my airplane car seat, and we got on the green bus. It goes fast!

When we got to the airport, Daddy got something that goes on feet, but he put it on my head! Everybody who saw me thought it was funny. We were almost ready to get on the airplane when the man said we would have to wait because of someone named Ike. I never got to meet this Ike person, but he must be really important because a lot of people were talking about him and waiting because of him. We waited for a while, and then the loud man said it was time to get on the airplane and we had to hurry.

The airplane landed in a place called Houston, and more people got on the airplane with us. Those people were talking about the Ike person too and how they didn't want to see him. He must not be very nice. We had to wait for our turn to leave the Houston place, but I was tired and all this was taking too long.

The airplane landed again, and but we weren't at Grandma Pat and Grandpa Dave's house. We had to get on another bus and get in another car before we could see them. I fell asleep, and when I woke up, Grandma Pat and Grandpa Dave were there! I was so happy to see them!

The next day, I went to Grandma Pat's work place. I smiled at the nice people there. After that, we went back to Grandma Pat and Grandpa Dave's house and had supper.

On Saturday, it was time to meet some relatives. Mama said they were "cousins" and that their last name is the same as my middle name! I liked them a lot. Mama and Daddy went to a place where they saw some people my Daddy knew a long, long time ago. I stayed with Grandpa Dave and Grandma Pat and went back to their house.

On Sunday, it was time to ride on the airplane again. I wanted to stay awake, but I was just too tired. I was glad to sleep in my bed that night.

The next day, my ears felt funny. My daddy fed me my dinner, but it all came back up! On Tuesday, Mama decided we should go back to the doctor place. I saw Dr. Freeman this time, and I smiled at her too. She put the big black thing in my ears and said they were "infected," which must mean they hurt because they did. The doctor gave Mama a piece of paper, and I wanted to eat it, but she wouldn't let me. She said it wouldn't work that way. We went to the drugstore place, and Mama got me a toy that lights up and spins! We went home and she gave me some pink stuff that makes ears feel better. Right now, I'm tired so I think I'll snooze in the swing for a while.

2007 Christmas Letter

If you only have three seconds to read our Christmas letter:

• We're having a baby boy in February!
• Thanks for being our friends!

If you only have one minute to read our Christmas letter:

• We're having a baby boy in February!
• Patrick had three business trips to Orlando this year, so we bought annual passes and went to Disney World six times.
• Patrick's still at LifeWay, and he's expecting too... a little later than Lydia.
• Lydia loved working all year at DaVita, but she's now made the transition to stay at home mom.
• Thanks for being our friends!

If you've got a little more time...

Dear Friends and Family,

2007 has shaped up to be quite the year for us. For many reasons, it's going to go down as one of the most memorable in our marriage.

The year started off quietly enough, with a little snow, but soon took off. We made the decision in February to bite the bullet and buy annual passes to Walt Disney World since Patrick had three business trips to Orlando this year. We ended up down there a total of six times... all throughout the year. Really, it was just research for future trips, of course. :D

Our first trip to the World was at Valentine's Day, and Lydia got to see a wedding on the steps of Cinderella Castle.

The first surprise of 2007 happened when Patrick got rear-ended on the way to work by a member of a contemporary Christian music group who, luckily, was well insured. Since we were teaching about money in our Sunday School class, we walked the walk and combined the insurance money and tax refund for our replacement car which we refer to as our baby Lexus.

Elsewhere on the home front this Spring, we (finally) painted our bedroom and entryway, and got some help from a decorator on picking out some matching furniture. The place is starting to look a little less Pulte and a little more Watts.

In April, we followed along our friends' fifteen minutes of Internet fame and my parents' trip to Australia, and had our second trip to the World. This one was about as spur of the moment as Lydia and I get.

May was the beginning of a work travel season for Patrick that took him to Portland, OR, Chattanooga, Chicago, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Ridgecrest, Orlando, Glorieta and Orlando. We also procured our Nintendo Wii this month.

In June, we went to Star Wars Weekend at the Disney Studio park. We rode the Rockin' Roller Coaster and Star Tours and all of the other rides. When we went to Animal Kingdom and rode the "Rafiki's Planet Watch" train, a very tame ride indeed, Lydia thought that she was getting some kind of motion sickness... something she's not prone to do. She returned to Nashville and left Patrick there for the Baptist Church Music Conference. That night, in the lobby of the Winter Park Florida Hilton, she called... and Patrick found out he was going to be a daddy!

That same day, we also found out that our church's long time music minister was planning to retire. After 30 years, it's going to be a challenge to find Mark's successor, and your prayers are appreciated.

The rest of June, all of July, all of August and part of September, Lydia was pretty much down for the count with "everytime sickness." (Forget "morning" sickness.) She empathized with one of the pregnancy books she read - during the time you're the most excited about your pregnancy, you feel the worst. The summer was a lot of travel, and Lydia was a trooper. We went to Reganne's third birthday party in Boise, ID. We probably spent 18 hours a day in the hotel room making sure Lydia had enough energy for the other six. When we went to SonPower, I made the excuse, "she doesn't want to be hanging around 1200 teenagers..." and everyone bought it (or at least they were nice and told me they did.) Luckily, right in the middle of SonPower, she did feel well enough to go to the Magic Kingdom (in a wheelchair) for the Fouth of July Fireworks.

In September, we made the front page of the Travel section with a story about doing Disney on the cheap thanks to a referral to Ms. Cheap from our friend Christina. We each had our respective birthdays, and by our fifth Disney trip of the year, Lydia was feeling almost back to normal. It was about this same time that we had visual confirmation via ultrasound that our child is going to be a boy!

October brought a quick trip to see Patrick's sister and brother-in-law in Atlanta and make an Ikea run for our son's baby furniture. We had a minor unexpected issue with our washing machine, but that allowed us to get a pretty new front loader.

November was spent preparing for Pop and Polly's 65th wedding anniversary party in Centerville, Ohio. It was a special time, not only because it was such an honor to serve Patrick's great-grandparents, but because all of Patrick's immediate family was there, unscattered from the far winds of Texas, Idaho, Georgia and Tennessee.

Now that it's December, and we've completed our last Disney trip, it feels like we're in the home stretch. In less than two months, we'll be welcoming the new addition to our family, and, as so many have told us, our lives will never be the same. Please continue to pray for us as we seek to live out God's will for our lives.

Thanks!

--Patrick and Lydia (and yet-to-be-announced new addition...!)

mousefest 2007

Some might say we're Disney geeks. Some might be right.

On our sixth trip and final trip to the world this year, we were understandably moving at a different pace than some of our prior trips. Plus, we had three reasons for going:

• Christmas Decor
• The usual Disney stuff
• MouseFest

MouseFest is a week-long meetup of Disney fans from communities across the Internet. We found out about it through our favorite Disney podcast WDW Today. It can best be described as a "federation" of loosely affiliated groups. It began back in the USENET days when people who frequented the rec.arts.disney.parks newsgroup decided that it would be neat to see who was behind the posts. With the advent of newer technologies like websites and discussion boards and podcasts, all the Disney flies have found their favorite flames, and Mousefest brings all those groups together.

The interesting thing about us being there is that we're not really a part of any community. We are just "consumers," we listen to podcasts and read the websites... we don't generate any content or contribute to discussions on a regular basis. Actually there's one exception - we have called in to several of WDW's live shows this year asking questions about all our trips. I'm happy to report that even if you're mainly an onlooker to the Disney community, Mousefest is still worth the trip.

Thursday

We arrived late Wednesday night, picked up our rental car and checked in at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort. This was the first time we had ever stayed in a "moderate" resort at the World, and we would do it again. The campus-style setup has about eight buildings in a semi-circle around a pool and main building. The whole resort is deep south-styled... not so much "downtown" New Orleans... but more like a plantation. Music is pervasive at the World, and at POR, that means dixieland, and in December... dixieland Christmas carols. By day 4, I didn't "need a little Christmas" any more. Mouse Fan Travel had secured us a great rate, actually a group rate, for the trip.

On Thursday morning, we drove to the ticket and transportation center, and took a trip around the monorail hotels to see their Christmas decor. It's pretty impressive, but I have to admit that we are a little spoiled around here in Tennessee.

We went from the hotels to the Magic Kingdom for the first MouseFest event: MouseFest 101 - an introduction for "newbies" like us who had never been to MouseFest before. Toward the end, they encouraged us to mingle and create our own MouseFest meets, so I suggested a "Pack the Carousel of Progress" meet. Since it wasn't on the schedule, and was only two hours after the first meet, we didn't exactly "pack" the Carousel, but some folks did show up!! That was pretty cool.

After our ad hoc meet, we went to the castle to see it light up for Christmas. They've strung hundreds of thousands of LED lights all over it, creating sort of an icicle effect. Always great at telling a story, the Disney folks said it was Cinderella's "wish come true."

We had dinner at Pecos Bill's, and got our armbands for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. This is a "hard ticket" event - one that even annual passholders can't get into unless you buy a separate ticket. About 6:00, they start making announcements that are basically, "the Magic Kingdom will be closing... get out unless you've got a ticket to the Party." At 7:00, cast members are stationed at strategic places throughout the park asking to see your wristband. Also, cast members at the shows and rides start prohibiting non-banded guests from entering. I got the feeling they wouldn't have blinked about radioing security if you were noncompliant.

During the party, there are several exclusive things that happen. Several shows play that never get played any other time. Mickey's Night Before Christmas was a fun interpretation of the classic story. Also, it snows on Main Street. Okay, it soap chips on Main Street, but it looks like it's snowing. And, due to some sort of gap in the space-time continuum, you can actually get free food in the park. The extent of the free food is hot chocolate and sugar cookies, but if you wanted to, you could eat a thousand of them. (Yes, I know it's not really "free," but any other time in the park, you would have paid for admission and then paid again to eat.) There's a Christmas-themed parade, and the evening is capped off by the "Holiday Wishes" fireworks show. It ends up with fireworks going off all around the park simultaneously. It's a great effect.

Friday

Amazingly, we had two late starts in a row at the World... not something we normally do. And this day, we hit three parks. We started in Disney's Animal Kingdom to see Matt Hochberg ride Dinosaur , a ride that he is mortally afraid of, for charity. We didn't actually see him at the ride, but did see him and his fiancee Marissa as they were headed out of the park. Since we missed the festivities, we decided to try to get into the new, but unfortunately named Yak and Yeti restaurant. They had an almost immediate seating for two, and we got to dine on miso salmon and lettuce wraps .

From there, we went to Disney -MGM's Hollywood Studios for the "PodFest" meet where we got to see eighteen different podcasters and hear about what they had to offer. There are a bunch of Disney podcasts out there... everything from the ones we listen to to ones that just focus on a specific park to ones that focus on special features to... uh... general interest ones? Again, a great place to put names and faces together. And, we happened upon Marissa (to be Hochberg) and enjoyed getting to know her a little.

Our next stop was a meet-up to see the Muppet Vision 3D attraction, and we won a free T-shirt from Magic Meets. After the show, we went to the Streets of America to park and get a good viewing place for the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. This five million-plus light display began at the Osborne's home, but grew so large that Disney approached them about continuing it at the studios. It "snows" there too.

After about an hour of the lights, we left for Epcot and a special viewing of "Holiday Illuminations," the end-of-the-day fireworks show. Because it was MouseFest and because we had booked with Mouse Fan Travel they had arranged a dessert party and private viewing of the fireworks show near the England pavilion in World Showcase. Not only was the fireworks show incredible, but Mouse Fan Travel really "plussed" the experience. Highly, highly recommended.

Saturday

Our third late start in a row, we headed to Epcot with the intent of getting a fastpass for Soarin', but when we walked in the front gate, we found that they had briefly opened the still under refurbishment Spaceship Earth.

This is the kind of thing that is the reason behind why we love going to the World. It's a "behind the scenes," "in the know," "limited time only," "magic" experience that we just go nuts about. Invariably, there's always something on our trip... a cast member we talk to, a dessert we get... a show we see... a detail that we notice... that is just above and beyond our expectations.

As far as the actual ride goes, it's not wildly different from before, but several of the audio animatronics are much more realistic, and the "descent" at the end is much more interactive than just watching fiber optic lights zip around over your head.

Since our plan was blown, we went to Sunshine Seasons for lunch and then to the International Gateway to take a boat to the Dolphin Hotel for the Mega Mouse Meet.

The Mega Mouse Meet was a fun place to meet all of the "meta-celebrities" that we know from Disney websites and books. We got to pick up lots of free souvenirs from travel agencies, publishing companies and podcasters. There were several door prizes, but our numbers weren't drawn. Lydia wore the special shirt that her friend Susan made for her and got lots of smiles.

After the meet, we saw the new film at Canada and saw the Impressions de France movie before getting in line for Epcot's major Christmas production, Candlelight Processional. Involving local choirs, Disney employees, the Voices of Liberty and a celebrity narrator, this show has been going on for 13 years, and is one of the few acknowledgments of the real Christmas story on property. And I'm not talking about Santa.

I put Lydia in line at 4:00, and I went and got us dinner from Yakitori House. We waited... and waited... and didn't get in to the 5:00 show, so we had to stay in line until the 6:45 show, where we got fairly good seats. The moral of the story is - if go to see Candlelight Processional, splurge for the dinner package. Although it doesn't guarantee you a great seat, it does guarantee you a seat for the show you want to see, thus saving you two hours of touring time.

The show was good, memorable, and on par with what a megachurch could/would do. My feeling was that if you never normally went to a large church at Christmas, you would be very impressed. Also, (and I'll make this brief,) the script told the entire story of Jesus's life... through his ministry, persecution, crucifixion... and... uh... that was it. They kind of left out the most important part, but I guess there's only so much "separation of church and mouse" that can be violated. Hang on while I snag that speck because...

Sunday

We went, planks in our eyes and all, to the Magic Kingdom again. One of the meets we went to was a "DSI - Disney Scene Investigation" with Lou Mongello and Jeff Pepper. They started at Liberty Square and worked their way down Adventureland telling us about every detail of architecture and story that Disney had worked in. Did you know that the architecture moves forward in time from the 1700s to the 1900s? Did you know that there was originally a gunfight between the DVC outpost and a tower across the street? Did you know that there is a detailed story behind the McDonald's fry cart? Did you care? I thought not.

We couldn't make it through the whole meet because we had reservations for lunch at the Kona Cafe at Disney's Polynesian Resort. The "Poly" is our favorite hotel on property, and we kind of have a tradition now of having our last lunch there before we go to the airport. However, Lydia wanted to milk some more out of the experience, so we hit the MK one more time to see a few more attractions.

Lessons Learned

• Getting around WDW seven months pregnant is not easy, but it's still very doable
• If you go at Christmas, either go to do the Christmas things, or go to do the Disney things. Don't try to do both... your head will explode.
• When we go with Watts 2.0, we'll probably try to stay in a king bed at a moderate resort. There's lots of room for a pack-and-play.
• MouseFest is fun
• Get a reservation for Candlelight Processional
• Book through Mouse Fan Travel. It's either the same as or cheaper than booking through Disney, and you never know what cool little plusses you're going to get.
• The slowest transportation option is always the boat.
• Unless you're in the front two rows at Epcot, always take the parking tram.
• Six trips in one year is enough. Okay, it's too much, but it sure was fun.

blogging at 60 mph

So for my work, I've been given a Verizon Wireless broadband card. Now, wherever there's cellphone service, I'm online.

Unfortunately, the #1 reason I got this - corporate VPN - doesn't seem to be working. I'll give it a few more attempts, but we may have to try another one before too long. Verizon has a 30-day trial period... and I may need it.

traveling notes

• If your flight leaves Nashville at 6:55 on a Thursday, you can pretty much get there at 6:00 and do fine through security.
• The "3-only" exit row side of Southwest's 737s offer LOTS more room than the "3+2" side.
• Maybe it's the luck of the draw, but it seems like lots of the Southwest flights at Nashville either turn around or originate there. At Oklahoma City and Kansas City, everyone's on the way somewhere, probably due to their central locations.
• Whoever designed the Kansas City Airport has a lot of 'splainin to do. See this chunk o'the wikipedia article for details.
  
• The "infield" parking at the Kansas City Airport is $18 a day. Whew!
• Probably because they don't fly to Nashville, before today, I had never heard of SkyBus. Sounds EasyJet-ish.
• The Will Rogers World Airport has no sit-down restaurants behind security.
• Nashville and Oklahoma City airports have Boingo Wireless service. If you sign up at the Nashville airport, you can get three months for $9.95 each... slightly less than their off-airport signup deal.
• The Kansas City Airport's main redeeming value is free VPN WiFi, at a pretty decent speed... also the reason why you're reading this post.
• If you look at a map, it seems much more efficient for Southwest to have a DIRECT flight from Nashville to Oklahoma City, but that's not available.
• Traveling from Nashville to Oklahoma City and back in one day is doable. Not pretty, but doable. With the layovers from Southwest's schedule, I almost spent more time in Kansas City than Oklahoma City today... about 30 minutes difference.
  

year of a million mice - trip 2, continued

day 2

Saturday was our EPCOT day. It began like any other park visiting day for us... up at the crack of dawn, ready to attack.

Future World opened at 9:00, so we were in the parking lot by 8:20, ready to get in line. According to the crowd calendar, Saturday was a "5," very reasonable crowd levels. From our last trip, we learned that you don't have to break your neck trying to get in the turnstiles... they have developed a very orderly system to park entry.

At 8:45, they began letting people into the park, past Spaceship Earth (into the gift shops, surprise!) and to the fountain area between the Innoventions buildings (formerly Communicore) for a rope drop. After they drop the rope, cast members walk you to the various top tier attractions through the Innoventions walkways.

We headed first to a ride that we discovered in Anaheim, Soarin' and promptly FastPassed it to ride it again. Even though it was only about 9:10, our return times on the FastPasses were after 11:00.

From there, we hopped a bit ahead of our touring plan because we didn't really care for Mission Space the last time we were there and headed to another favorite, Test Track. Again, following the touring plan, there was little to no line for the attraction.

We hit the rest of the Future World attractions that interested us, riding both Journey into Imagination and Ellen's Energy Adventure for the first time for both of us. Well sort of for the first time. I had ridden the original Universe of Energy ride many years ago.

We had lunch at the Lotus Blossom Cafe and then stopped by the Mexico pavilion for the newly refurbished Gran Fiesta Tour featuring the Three Caballeros. The boat ride is a hunt for Donald, and is a neat sound and light tour through Mexican culture. It continually amazes me how immersive Disney can make its ride experiences, even with the limited space and technology that this pavillion has.

When we left the park, for the second day in a row, we thought it would be quicker to walk to our car than take a tram... and got passed by the tram. Especially at Disney's Animal Kingdom (which... is the proper name of the park... not just "Animal Kingdom," lest you forget whose it is...) the bizarre parking lot topology (note that only the blacktop is guest parking... the white concrete is cast members) means that inevitably, the tram is your best bet.

During the afternoon, we headed back to our "resort" for a quick nap, and that evening, headed out to procure washcloths (see the trip advisor post...) and check out the Disney's Character Premiere outlet store. If you're looking for last year's souvenirs at half price, this is the place for you. Lots of "2006" things, and winter clothing. It was worth the trip though... we did find a few things we couldn't pass up. We had dinner at the very quiet and relatively kid free Outback Steakhouse near the mall. It was also nice to see "real world" prices on a menu!

Our TripAdvisor ECP review

Hot, hot, hot showers. VERY hot. Like keep your toddlers out of the bathroom hot.

year of a milion mice - trip 2

Day 1

Mickey trip number two this year was a spur of the moment choice, spurred on by two frequent flier tickets on Southwest that were ready to expire. We decided early on that this would be our "cheap trip..." and we did pretty good on that count.

Thursday afternoon, we flew down to Orlando, rented our discounted car from Budget (thanks again for those years in the Navy, Dad) and checked in to our luxurious accomodations: the Econo Lodge Polynesian. Lydia summed up our feelings about the hotel when we got back, "I didn't feel like I had to change hotels in the middle of the trip." That's about as nice as it got. The upside: HOT showers. The downside: too many to mention... but no washcloths and "bring your own shampoo" come to mind. Luckily, we were focused on park time, not "resort" time... but we did end up having a great Polynesian experience in a different location.

Friday morning, we headed for Disney's Animal Kingdom to do something we'd been trying to do for about a year: ride Expedition Everest. It was first on our list, and an awesome experience! Disney's "imagineers" are famous for taking a ride concept, a food concept, a hospitality concept... whatever... and, to use a Walt Disney term: "plus-ing" it. They don't just put a newspaper in the lobby of the hotel at "Tower of Terror," they make sure it's a reproduction of a paper of the time period, with interesting stories and real copy. They don't just give you a waffle shaped like Mickey Mouse, they put it on Mickey Mouse-shaped sprinkles that melt beneath it and create rainbows in the syrup left on your plate. Everest's "plus-ing" is evident in every dimension... from the elaborately designed queue to the innovative ride system itself.

The rest of the morning we spent doing some of our favorite rides - Kilimanjaro Safari and Dinosaur, and then we went to the newest attraction at the Kingdom, Finding Nemo - The Musical. Disney has always done a great job with shows that build on their movie properties, and this one is no exception. From the clever, yet simple pre-show that had kids yelling, "Nemo!" to the amazingly fluid and believable puppet/person combinations for all of the characters, it was a fantastic experience.

We retired to our posh hotel for a breather, and returned to the AK resort area for dinner at Jiko, the Animal Kingdom Lodge's marquee restaurant. Because our Advance Dining Reservation noted that we had a member of our part with lactose intolerance, we were presented with a special menu created especially for Lydia... not just an explanation, but a complete menu! We began with the "Taste of Africa" appetizer, and split the Lamb Shank for our entree. The combination was more than enough for the two of us. Jiko was, and will probably be a highlight for future visits to the World.

(three more days posts coming...)

mom and dad are blogging their trip to australia

Keep up with the 40th anniversary fun!

our new baby lexus

Okay, so it's not really a Lexus, but it is nicer than we thought we'd be getting, thanks to Lydia. But I get ahead of myself...

The first Friday of this month, I was headed to work as usual up I-65. Unbeknownst to me (since I was listening to my iPod instead of the radio,) there was a truck stuck at the I-65 and I-40 interchange on the south side of town. Just after I passed under the I-440 overpass, the traffic slowed... abruptly. I stopped quickly, and had just enough time to think, "gee... I wonder if the guy behind me is going to be able to... screeeeeeech... {{THWACK}}."

Our 2000 Corolla was no match for the Lincoln Navigator. I don't really remember much more than the moment of impact, but I do remember realizing, "hey... I'm looking at the roof of the car." The hit had caused the driver's seat to abruptly recline, which is good: it absorbed the blow. Although he had tried to stop, the driver hit me hard enough (with my foot on the brake, mind you) to hit the car in front of me, which in turn hit the car in front of me. I know that he was going less than 35 miles an hour because the airbags didn't deploy.

After my first call to 911, my second call was to Lydia. I began, "I'm fine... but..." Lydia always tells me that she's worried when she gets a call between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m., because she knows that means something's not right... and she will never know how "not right" until she answers: it could mean that I've forgotten my lunch, or it could be a day like today. "I'm fine... but I've been in a wreck."

We spent a little time blocking the left lane of traffic until the TDOT trucks arrived. I had my wits about me enough to snap cell phone pictures of the cars just in case. They pulled us over to the opposite side of the road to allow traffic through. Before the police arrived, I collected information from all three of the other drivers. Luckily, all four of us had insurance, and all four of us stayed until the policeman arrived.

I debated having the car towed in, but since I was so close to LifeWay, I determined that the best move was to limp along in to the garage, just so I would know where the vehicle was. Unfortunately, the impact from the Navigator meant that the trunk wouldn't stay closed, so I flapped my way down the highway. Several well-meaning folks motioned to me, letting me know I was flapping.

When I got to LifeWay, I called the Navigator's insurance company and reported the incident. We told them we were taking the car to Beaman's body shop, and they told us we could pick up a rental car there... that they would pay for "as soon as we confirm liability." They were less than helpful at first, but understandably so, because they hadn't gotten the story from Mr. Navigator.

The next day, my back was sore, and on Sunday, my neck was sore, but thankfully by Monday, I was in pretty good shape for our Disney trip (see previous story.)

On Tuesday, as we were pulling up to the Grand Floridian in our Disney's Magical Express bus, my cell phone rang. It was Mr. Navigator's insurance adjuster calling to say that they appraised my car, and the next people we would be hearing from was the "total loss" department. Our sadness was somewhat mitigated by being in "the happiest place on earth."

When we got back to Nashville on Saturday, we put on the full court press to find a car. Mr. Navigator's insurance company actually did a pretty good job giving us almost the full "private party sale" value of our former vehicle, so we had a good base to work from. When we added this year's tax refund (let's renew the American Job Creation Act!!), we had the "what we'd like to spend on a car" figure set in our minds.

Our goal was to find a used Corolla to replace our totalled one. We weren't too picky about color or features... just something that could get me to and from work. The only problem - although it's one of the most popular cars in America, you really can't find a lot of late model used Corollas, because people keep them. We scoured the web for dealerships and individuals all over middle Tennessee, and really came up dry. Our scouring was coupled with lots of prayer, asking God to lead us to the car we needed to get.

We were very close to being out of time on our rental, and up against some additional travel that I would be doing for work, so we were almost resigned to buying a new 07 Corolla, knowing that we'd have to dip into our emergency fund. In a last ditch effort, I started looking at some individual dealer sites and found a used 2001 Corolla at Alexander Toyota in Franklin. I asked (begged really) Lydia to just drive down there and take a look at it, and if it met our needs, we'd buy it... and if not, we'd splurge on a new one.

Last Thursday morning, Lydia drove down to Franklin, but instead of turning into the Alexander Toyota used car lot, she turned into the Alexander Ford used lot. She assumed that since there are a bunch of dealers down there, they might share the same used lot, but when she started looking, she noticed that all the cars were American made and determined she was in the wrong place... but not before she spotted the white 2004 Corolla pictured above. The Alexander dealerships had had an internal auction to redistribute the used cars on their lot, and this one had been on the Ford lot for 90 days (probably because there's a Toyota dealer right across the street and no one would think to cross over to look for one!) The salesperson said they really wanted to move it... or they'd have to sell it back to the Toyota dealer.

Long story short, I took off that afternoon, and we purchased it. They gave us a deal on it that beat the edmunds.com price for the private party value, so we were thrilled to get it, and they were thrilled to get it off their hands. And, that price was within a couple hundred dollars of our "settlement+tax refund" goal. Our mechanic gave it the once-over, and recommended a new battery... but everything else is in perfect condition.

It's much more car than we would have gotten new. We're grateful that we can keep our integrity as Dave Ramsey enthusiasts by both buying used and paying cash, and thankful that God provided our new baby Lexus.

it was the best of times...

Last week, we went to the Metro I Music Ministers' Conference at the Grand Floridian Resort at Disney World. Since Patrick has three business trips to Orlando this year, we purchased annual passes to the Disney parks.

We arrived on Tuesday, February 13. We checked into the Grand Floridian, Disney's flagship resort, and headed to the Disney Studios to get our picture with JoJo and her lion for Reganne. It started raining when we arrived, but we discovered that the Studios is the best park for a rainy day because so much of it is inside. We came out of the Great Movie Ride and the sun was out. We decided to stay in the park for Fantasmic! even though we've seen it on both coasts. They set the water on fire and Mickey shoots fireworks out of his fingers. You just can't beat that. It's just amazing to think that they pull that off every night.

The next morning (Valentine's Day), we ate breakfast at the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian (our favorite resort). Patrick finally got to have Tonga Toast after talking about it for a year. Patrick went to the conference to make his presentation to the music ministers, and I went to my favorite place in the world other than my house, the Magic Kingdom.

I went to the hat shop to buy some thing for the magical wonder-niece, and then walked out onto Main Street USA. I noticed that they were blocking the street off and cast members were lined up along the sidewalks. I asked a cast member what was going on and she said, "We're having a wedding." A WEDDING!?! On the steps of Cinderella's Castle! This took my breath away. It's every little girl's dream come true TIMES TEN. The wedding was a part of Disney's Year of a Million Dreams celebration. I took pictures with my phone and our little video camera. The couple, John and Julie, are Christians and their wedding was a testimony of their faith. Their pastor performed the ceremony, which included the lighting of a unity candle and a hand-washing ceremony. The pastor even talked about marriage being a covenant and that divorce wasn't an option. It was an awesome witness.

Patrick came over to the Magic Kingdom after his presentation, and we had lunch at Casey's Corner. We enjoyed another couple of hours there before going back to the hotel to freshen up for the dinner at Epcot. LifeWay sponsored a dinner at The American Experience for the music ministers. The Voices of Liberty provided musical inspiration. We ended the evening by watching Illuminations.

it was the worst of times...

The next day, we went to Epcot at opening and experienced all the Future World attractions. (Test Track was awesome!) We had lunch at Le Cellier in the Canada pavilion. I was feeling sluggish, and we decided to go back to the room for a nap. My throat had been sore all day, and by the time we got back to the hotel, I knew I was sick. We went to the Polynesian for dinner - I had Dole Whip. By the next morning, Patrick was running a 101 degree fever. We stayed in the room all day Friday and as long as we could before checking out on Saturday. We limped home only to be greeted by snowy and slick streets on our way home from the airport. The bright spot was that our master bedroom and bathroom and foyer had been painted while we were gone, and it looked beautiful. We'll post pictures of the new decor soon.

Disney World Trip Pictures

boise thoughts

On our Thanksgiving trip to Boise, we didn't really talk a lot about the city in general. I don't know that we came away with big impressions... just interesting ones.

There are a lot of transplants there, especially in the newer parts of town where John and Michelle live. There seems to be an exodus from the west coast (and their skyrocketing housing costs) by both people and businesses.

Their city Meridian (just to the west of Boise proper) is booming. The town is split up into section lines, so it's pretty easy to navigate, and at each section intersection, you've got all kinds of big box stores and strip shopping popping up. It really feels a lot like Sim City - you have these big residential sections zoned off, and heavy commercial at the intersections!

Contrast that with the area we stayed in around Boise State University - there are lots of older homes throughout the area. Each day, we'd take Hwy 20/26 (the "old" highway west) and see downtown, the near and far suburbs. We stopped in at Fred Meyer a couple of times just to marvel at the variety.

If you're househunting in Boise, try this link: Boise homes.