Disney - Thank you. Lesson Learned.

Hello, I have a really good story to tell.

It is happy,

exciting,

then scary,

then sad,

then really surprising,

then what you would imagine,

coupled with a spiritual twist I hadn't anticipated 

all from our one day girls trip to Disney.

I hope you stick with me on this slightly quite embarrassing 

little journey McCauley and I took yesterday.

It is only bad form on one of our parts, that would be me.

First SURPRISE!

Ok, real quick to get you up to speed.

The three brothers and Kevin take a "boys only" (no duh) hunting 

trip to South Dakota each year during the last week of October.

I'm not saying M and I look forward to their departure,

but we do enjoy our "girl only" time.

This year we wanted to do something really great!

At least I did....I had this crazy idea to finally take M to 

Disney World!

Magic Kingdom!!

The land where every kid's dream comes true.

M has always thought it would be fun to try out.

Us being so close, it seemed a travesty that she has been deprived

for so long.

So I put a little feeler out on my FaceBook page to get 

all the seasoned veterans favorite hints and tips for having 

the perfect day at Disney, and for saving green backs in the process.

I received several great pointers.

One that I just brushed over at first was to get our tickets online 

at Space Coast Craigs list.

ehhhhh, I don't know, sounded a little iffy.

But as time went on, and I started really looking into cost, etc.

I thought.....what would it hurt to take a gander?

So I looked a few times,

even tried to contact a few sellers that looked promising.

Some people had left over Magic Kingdom tickets from 

family reunions, or events that they over purchased for, and so forth.

No one ever got back to me.

Time was drawing down to the wire.  

Finally on Sunday eve, 

M and I decide that really Monday was the day that

would work out best for us this week.

So I am getting ready to purchase our tickets on the Disney official web site,

but at the last second decide to take one more fast peak at 

Craigs list to be sure no new posts have popped up.

What do you know??

One had.....

the individual had three tickets, good at any park, 

expiration in May of 2015.

He had gotten them for doing contract work for Disney at one of their 

parks as a welder.

He was not personally going to use the tickets so was selling them

for a discount....$70 each.

Well, this looks legit.....right?

I text him.

He (Kyle) responded quickly.

Answered all my questions,

soothed my concerns.

We made arrangements to meet at the 

Super Walmart McDonalds in Orlando.....

about 20minutes out of our way,

but for a significant savings......Well worth it....right??

M and I are pumped!

We pack our day packs.

Lay out our clothes, we decided on wearing our tennis shoes for 

all day comfort, but we brought our flip flops in case our

feet got wet.

We thought of everything.

The Bishop agreed to substitute for seminary so we could bug

out right after I did early morning sculpt. 

We retired early after watching a few episodes of

Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

We left in the morning as planned.

We made it to the Walmart.....texted Kyle a few minutes before

arriving as arranged.

We did our snack shopping.

Milled around.

Kept texting, then voice calling.

Started getting a little depressed, thinking we had been stood up.

We sent one more text saying we were heading out....

and ps - thanks for nothing.

Whoop!

What do you know......there he is....Kyle thought we meant 

we were heading out at 8:00a.m., not arriving then.

He had been asleep....please give him 15 min, 

he is driving now.

No worries....so sorry about that.

Wow! I guess it's all ok!

We are good to go still M!

I was nervous for a sec.

We ate some of our Disney snacks and waited.

We were looking for a guy in an orange shirt.

Finally he showed up.

We made the exchange, $140 for two shiny new Disney Tickets!

Easy Peesy.

Ok, well, he says, so nice to meet you.

Have a wonderful time.

M and I drive off, now onto our final destination!

We are cranking Frank Sinatra because it reminds us of Disney.

We arrive, 

pay the $18 for parking, 

and begin the long trek to get over to the actual park.

Monorail, Ferry, Trolly.....good grief.

What ev though.....I guess this is all just part of the fun....right???

This is where the sad and scary part happen.

We finally get to the ticket gate, where you touch your ticket 

to the Mickey Mouse head and it lights up green to let you enter

the place of Magic, 

or it is blue....and you are denied entrance.

Everybody was breezing though.

Me and M touch our cards......the cast member takes a double

take....Oh, ooops, looks like these cards are expired.

Don't worry, just take them over to our Customer Service windows 

and they will help sort things out for you.

O h  m y  g o s h .

Oh no.

There is nothing to sort out.

I have made a bad choice.

I rolled the dice and did not win......

(as I, like a huge lameo, said in early morning sculpt).

I knew I was taking a gamble, but my gut felt good.

So I proceeded.

I did not want to go to the window.

What was she supposed to say....do?

Oh, I'm really sorry you decided to go an iffy route and 

completely cut Disney out of the deal.

Sorry you got burned.

I felt ashamed.

Embarrassed.

Horrible for my mistake and bad for M.

I gave the cast member (that is what Disney helpers/workers are called)

our tickets, and said that the other gentleman had said they 

were expired.

She, Mindi (I remember because that was my nick name growing up,

but I spelled mine with a y at the end)

confirmed, that yes, they had been two day park hoppers

and had been used last year.

Had I gotten these from someone?

Yes, I told her what I'd done.

I said, I know it's my fault, I should never have been so 

trusting.

I know better.

Would she mind just selling me a new set of tickets now?

Of course.

She made a copy of the used tickets, and gave it me.

She voided the counterfeit ones. 

Who knows, maybe you will be able to get some of your money back.

That was sweet, but we both knew the listing would be 

taken down and my buddy Kyle would never respond to 

another text.

Mindi and I discuss ticket options.

One day, $105.

 Ok, so is that the Florida resident price?

Yes, the only ticket with a discount is our park hopper....

no that won't work for us.

Well, she will get a discount as a child.

No, she is 10 already, but thanks.

We need two adult tickets.

I look at M.

We have a quiet conversation while Mindi is hooking us

up from behind the glass.

She's like, mom, we don't even have to do this.

Yes, we are doing it.

It was my mistake, we are absolutely going forward.

Please don't let this ruin your day.

Really, it is fine.

Just shake it off.

The next part is the very surprising part.

Mindi had been working a while, documenting and filling 

out little slips, etc. etc.

I thought nothing more than she was reporting 

a customer incident.

She had me fill some forms in, sign, and so forth.

As she is sending my receipt through the slot to sign.

I see that this is the first one,

as I sign she says,

I only charged you for one ticket.

I look up.

Why?  

I don't say the word, but my face asks it.

Then she says, I wrote you out an extra fast pass to use in case you girls

aren't able to get on one of the busier rides.

Why??

I included two free ice cream bars for later when you need a snack.

Why???

I OWE YOU.

I thought nothing of cheating YOU.

You owe me nothing.

I did something wrong.....I am the once that needs to pay full price.

I am the one that is due a lesson here.....not this unearned 

compassion and mercy.

You can imagine my immediate emotion.

It was a gift of high proportions for me.

A generous showing of non-judgement. 

An unearned kindness given happily and freely,

without strings.

I thanked her, went straight to the rest room and cried my eyes out. 

Had M return her pen which I'd stolen,

and we were off again to begin this day of all days.

...................................................

We did all the stuff "you have to do" at Disney.....

whilst battling the masses.

Turns out next week starts the off season.....

oh, that makes sense.  

Share a giant pork shank.

check.

Figure out how to utilize the new 

Fast Pass system efficiently.

It took us a while.....buuuuttttt

check.

Rode Splash Mountain, not once, but TWICE.

We decided this is our favorite ride.

I love this little scene in the ride with the lanterns.

As evening came on it really became lovely.

Turns out my friend Christi had the best idea after all....

at one point during the day

I heard myself say, 

who in their right mind would come here before 4pm ever??

Besides us......everyone! 

Along with their strollers, carts, rolling contraptions, of

all shapes and sizes,

motorized and not.

The Not So Spooky Halloween would have been a lovely fit.

4 - 11pm.....around $75 per person.

Eh.....you live and learn, that's why we are here.....right????

Cute girl.

We got our cool hat photos.

Or maybe it is buy a cool hat.... 

.....close enough.

We did this ride.

The car that takes the strength of a full sized man to push

the gas pedal down on.

My quads were burning on this one.

I tell you I learned so much from yesterday.

Soooooo much.

I believe it was worth that extra $140.

You know what Kyle.....keep it dude,

and

Keep the Karma that comes with it my friend.

I hope someone can learn from my error.

....................

Through my Disney Eyes:

Here is me at first.....thinking I can have my cheap 

tickets AND get into the park.

LaDaDa, DaDaDaDaDaaaaaaaaaa!!

 Here is Satan.....I mean Kyle.....everything looked so legit.

I really believed.

I trusted him.

 Here I am trapped by my own choices, in a dumb stupor.

Having made my choices.....needing help.

 Is it too far a reach to say that it was a really spiritual experience

for me?

Can I gain a better appreciation for Christ's atonement

through an experience I had at Disney?

Well, I did.

I really did.

I won't put it into words, but my testimony of what Christ 

offers each of us every day has become a little brighter 

from this experience.

I have a clearer understanding.....

the gift of the atonement is an on going gift,

not something to save and utilize once at the end of our life.

We need repentance, and forgiveness on an ongoing basis.

Christ can bring what's owed back (yet again) to Zero.

We screw up, and he doesn't say, sorry sister,

I wish you had chosen better.

You made your bed, now you get to sleep in it.

He says,

I can help YOU.

I want to help YOU.

There is no deserving about it,

I love YOU.

I insist.

and by the way, you are worth it.

There is so much counterfeit in this world.

So many choices and options that look to be almost right.

There are shortcuts to get us no where fast.

This experience has been a powerful reminder that

the best place for real truth is to go to the source.

Whether that be the Savior, or the actual Disney website....

it is not worth the risk taking a chance on a promised discount.

Pay full price for your ticket.

Pay the cost for your discipleship, and personal testimony.

This is the only way you can be sure that it 

truly belongs to you.

You won't get far on someone else's used ticket or knowledge.

The sure way offers coverage, replacement, guarantee, 

peace of mind, and comfort. 

.............................................

Not sure if that makes as much sense for you in the retelling, 

as it did for me in the living, and reviewing over and over.

In the end.

Would I do it again?

Same way?

I'd have to, or I wouldn't get this cool experience.

Would I ever choose to go to Disney again?

Hands down.....Disney's cast members are above and beyond.

I can say nothing but good about the park, and service.

But I swear.....these parks are just not my thing.

Once again, I don't get it.

Here is what I do get.

I get spending time with this person.

But truthfully,

I think we have an even better time eating cheese and crackers

on our couch, going through our magazines,

 and watching

Sabrina the Teenage Witch, or Dancing with the Stars.

Or going garage sale, and thrift store shopping with $5 - $20 

in our pockets.

It is the time spent.....not the location, the cost, 

or the popularity of the thing.

 Maybe M would say something else entirely.

She spent her money, $18 on a cute little soft cat souvenir...

I said you have two soft real kitties at home, are you sure it's worth it?

 She said she wanted to walk out of the park holding her own 

Disney bag like everyone else.

ok, then.

 perfect.

Well worth it. 

Reading....I'm pretty Sure I'm not Middle Aged yet.

I just finished listening to the book,

Tex, by S.E. Hinton.

I will admit I totally enjoyed it.

Lately I have been trying to ramp myself up on the "classics".

I am curious as to how I missed (or avoided) all these 

books while I was personally in school.

I am very interested in what our kids are being fed, 

and reading these days.

I want to stay in the know and on top

of the good, and other possibilities that may 

come their way,

if for no other reason then to be able to have a 

half-way-decent 

conversation about what they are reading 

and doing in school.

I have always heard the book title, 

The Catcher in the Rye, 

thrown around by everyone, who has ever read anything,

of any consequence.

So I thought I may as well tackle that title first.

Plus I knew that E had read it last year.

Check mark. Done. 

Pretty easy read.

It was decent, Ethan said he didn't enjoy it at all.

That all the main character ever said in it, over and over, was how phony

everyone was.

Well, that was true.....

E tried to find his essay for me to read that he had written the 

previous year, I would have enjoyed reading that, 

but in the end

he couldn't locate it.

The main thing that I was surprised at was 

where the title had come from, 

and

what part it played in the book.

I really don't want to spoil it for you.....just in case you want to read it.

But I was like, huh.

That's interesting to.

The book was short, I laughed a bit, cried a bit, 

it kept my attention. 

I believe there was some value to take away.

Soon after

I tried to read one of Ethan's AP novels as well.

I was like, I'm going to read right along with you son.

You can't stop me.

He was in the middle of Moby Dick, and on his way 

toward One Hundred Years of Solitude......(yawnsville!)

Watt was the third on the list....I had some time. 

Not a terribly long book.

I felt pretty smug, (whatever that means, seems to fit here)

as I began to read.

E was like, mom, what are you doing?

You are not going to enjoy that book.

You are not going to finish it,

it will be way over your head.

Excuse me sir?

Um, you may be surprised dear boy.

I think I can muster my way though it hon.

The hours crawled by.

The pages were very slow to turn.

The writer never indented!!

There were no breaks in the page....just solid rectangles.

The drivel would never stop.

I am not one to get headaches, but this CRAP

was weighing me down.

I was not getting one ounce of anything out of reading this

garbage, (IMO).

I had to go  went to the kids school open houses last week.

I was interested in E's AP Literature teacher.

Who was this mad man?

By the end of his presentation I kinda liked him as a teacher,

and felt like Ethan will, in all actuality, benefit from being in his class.

I raised my hand at the end,

and asked if he would mind summarizing the

book Watt.....seems like a huge amount of crap to me,

and there was no way possible I was going to be able to 

wallow through it.

 Yet, I was still curious as to what the 

point of, and story line was for the book.

He got his copy out of his desk drawer and showed it.

It was marked, tagged, ragged, haggard, broken spine,

and barely hanging together.....

I was like, whoops, now I've insulted this guy about 

his favorite book of all times.

He said you know what I did the first time I tried reading

Watt?

no.

I threw it against the wall and broke the spine.

phew. redeemed.

Since that time he has read it numerous times and fallen in love with 

it, but it had been a rough start.

He never did summarize it.

Guess I will have to google at some point if I really want to know.

I guess E was right.

He said mom, don't bother, just read the books you enjoy.

I do love reading and learning.

I love to see our kids reading.

Why don't schools do READATHONS anymore?

Didn't you used to love those so much?

Sitting around with pillows and blankets in jammies,

eating and sharing all our favorite treats.

Those were the best of times.

I wish I could stay awake longer when I read.

Even with books I am very interested in....

I still need many 

walking, standing, resting my eyes breaks that I wish I didn't.

Kids are so lucky....but they don't know it until it is too late and 

they are looking back.

I know it is the same for all of us.

We can't tell them anything they don't already know.

Listen to me.

Am I middle aged?

Seriously, am I?

I have become the mother of three teenagers....

and one more on the way.

Here is the reason I felt like writing this post:

I just finished listening to the book Tex like I said before.

I love to listen while I fold clothes, clean the kitchen, cook, 

what not.....

as I was listening,

and feeling so involved in these two brothers lives,

I was listening to their story from their Mother's point of view.

!

They were seventeen and fourteen years of age.

I have one of each.

That was kind of surreal for me.

I am usually the girlfriend, the wife, the friend, the hot neighbor, 

or the main character.

My position in life has shifted.....

maybe that is too dramatic, but dang if it did not surprise me.

I was proud of those brothers.

I was disappointed, worried, and very interested in their 

well being.

I'm excited to see the movie now.....it is Disney,

maybe it will be appropriate and enjoyable for the whole 

family.

I just put a hold on it at the library.

Ok, I think I know what Watt is about....

I believe the author is trying to get you to experience

what it is like to be inside an insane person's mind,

and follow their thought process.

Done-zo.

and still no thank yee.

This is my best guess.

See if you can handle it!!

ARE YOU SMART ENOUGH?

Do you have the gut, and grit to go in the mind of madness??

5.29 Hours In My Head......

First Where in the world did I get 5.29 Hours??

Glad you asked,

that is my official 

2014 Park City Marathon Time.

BooYah!

I was really planning to beat 5 hours.....

buuuuutttttt,

turns out

I am THRILLED

coming in under 5.30.

Beat my 1st marathon by 9 minutes.

(official numbers below)

.......................................

Let me start by saying,

I never planned to run a 2nd marathon.

Truthfully I never planned to run the first.

Turns out I will run 26.2 miles for only a few,

very limited reasons: 

An EXTREMELY good cause - My Dear Friend surviving 

Thyroid Cancer, and her requesting we do it. 

Here is the Disney Marathon in 2012 if you missed it....

if you didn't, you might still want to take another gander,

totally worth it!

And the second reason.....and this one was a bit of a long shot,

my sister Amy wanted to run Park City together......

"Aim, no.  Really, there is just no way.  I  can't.  I won't."

"Well, how about I get you a Buddy Pass so you can come out 

here to Utah for FREE."

DUH OK.

Basically that was it.

Let the torture begin.

Torture.

Torture.

Torture.

Pressuretorunatalltimesandinallplaces.

Everywherealwaysthinkingaboutrunning.

Nevergettingenoughrunninginever.

Alwaysbeingbehindintraining.

I ran into some major Low Ferritin issues while training in Florida.

This is a real long story in itself.....

I won't bore you,

I will just say that once I got checked and hooked up with the right

supplement,

I began to get some energy back and could muster a bit more running.

Truth be told again,

I am startled and embarrassed to say I only made it to mile

SIXTEEN = 16 prior to my marathon.

I can promise that is quite terrifying.

Anyway,

that was really the least of my worries.

A few days before my departure date Kev gets called on an emergency

trip to Honduras.

I have plenty to say on that,

none of it helpful.

He feels bad.

I feel bad. 

hmmmm.

Yes, 

kids are old enough to watch themselves for a few days.

But still....

Thanks to all our friends who stepped up with play dates,

rides to registration,

meals!!

You are so wonderful.

Our kids were surrounded by loving support on all sides.

Thank you.

..................................

Flying stand by scared the dickens out of me.....

but I made it without much drama at all.

Arrived at my parents to my dads Cheeze Its sign.

(How do you like Kevin's hair? Crazy huh??)

I brought a suit case of clothes for the cousins....

they gave a HECK of a fashion/dance show!

I enjoyed all the usual antics with my family.

 Amy and I ran our short 3 miler to keep lubed up 

a few days before our race.

She is always complaining about our action shots....

So here is one that you look good and I am blurry.

Feel better?

I LOVE the flowers, and everything green and growing here....

but mostly I LOVE the air.

A.I.R.  yum. it is so crispy, and invigorating in the mornings.

Plus, my hair is like fine silk in Utah.

Good hair every day!!

We totally live in the wrong state.....dang it.

 We did hair, feet, Canasta playing.....THANK YOU FAMILY.

 We ate amazing fresh produce from my parents garden.

but mostly, and especially PEACHES!! 

Tons of them every day, 

who knows why there is no picture of the 

best part of my trip.....when speaking of the food part.

I was able to catch up with a few favorite girl friends for lunch.

Vanessa, Christi (visiting), Emily (just moved there),

and Shelly not pictured : (

FUN!!

AND......you know it!

I went on a motorcycle ride with my brother, dad, and young 

nephew Archer.

Heck YEAH I think I'm cool.

Totally.

We went up Easy Canyon......it was Beautiful.

Thanks Jas.

 Time to get serious.
......................

The evening before the race we stayed at my sister and 

brother in law's home in Park City.

They fed us a deluxe meal, and we got off to bed at a decent hour.

That does not necessarily mean we slept.

no duh....right?

The next morning HB got up at 5:00am with us and 

drove Amy and I to the starting line.

Compared to Disney, 

the place was deserted.

A total ghost town.

Luckily, by about 6:15, people began to trickle in.

Race began at 6:30.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

First 3 or so miles were super chilly.

The first half was not too shabby.

Seriously.

Park City is out of this world Gorgeous Scenery.

Lots to look at.

LOTS of rolling hills.

Hot air balloons, Shoe trees, a few people dressed up for the race,

 - Gumby and Wonder Woman.

Amy ran into one of her Cross Fit Idols......Chris Something,

it was fun getting her a picture with him.

There was one lady with her name on her shirt......Deb.

We had some good conversation.....she and her hubby are 

trying to run a marathon in every state, they are on their 

28th I think she said.

Go Deb!

                           

You can't really tell in the photo, but there were some 

steep climbs my friends.

I was an air sucking dizzy girl.

We did a lot of walking on the hills, 

and then sometimes on 

the dirt paths, well, and eventually every so often on the flat gravel,

and, oh yeah, downhill sometimes to,

....that was the option

available to us.

Whatever our body would allow, that's what we would do.

"You get what you get and you don't have a fit." 

The best part of the marathon.....

as well as in life,

was our personal support crew.

Our very own Cheer leaders.

The people that love us, and want us to finish our race.

The face below is the face of truth.

You are so happy to see your people.

Your team feeds you much needed high fives,

words of encouragement,

needed advice,

they get you tums for cramping,

they will do whatever you need.

They are THERE for you, and you know this.

You know this, and gosh dang,

they say you can do it,

and you believe them.

Every so often your crew may tell you

little half truths......things like; 

"You are almost there."

"You just have this one last hill and then you've made it."

"Ok, just one more tiny blip and you are home free."

"You're looking strong."

When you see your team in the distance

you get really pumped.

You get a second, third, or forth wind.....

sometimes you fake it for them.

But that is called being a team....give and take,

all working for the cause of finishing a hard thing.

I sure like these photos.

Thank you HB, dad, Trav.

The very best and most wonderful team members

will want to capture your run for you.

They have been there before.....or somewhere like it, 

and will know it will be meaningful to you once you are no longer sore,

and your medal is put away.

Races are always way better when you look

BACK on them.

They just don't seem so bad......like child birth I guess.

Oh.... hey, look....I did it.

It's done.
It already sounds so easy.

 Look at this crew!

Love you guys!

I liked the other pictures.....but I LOVE these the best.

Happy, Happy, Happy!

 Gimping and limping, some light, to severe cramping of muscles, 

Big deal right?
Besides the loss of a few toenails, 

all will be back to normal in less than three days time.

Is it worth it?

Once again, I wouldn't trade it......

 but you could not pay me less than $500 to do it again.

I'm serious.....

that plus plane tickets,

got it?

Don't even try.

The money would need to be paid in cash upon crossing the finish line.

The minute I cross.

I would never do it again for a dime less.

Park City Marathon - Race Results

Park City Marathon - Results Park City, UT USA August 16, 2014 Finishers: 243, Males - 149 , Females - 94 Male Winner: 2:42:39 | Female Winner: 3:12:22 Average Finish Time: 4:33:38

Amy DRAKE (F)

5:39:30

223

85 / 11

F35-39

CENTERVILLE, UT, USA

Melissa CHRISTENSEN (F)

5:29:46

215

83 / 18

F40-44

SATELLITE BEACH, FL, USA