DisneyWorld 25-26, Day 3, 5, 6

 Wed (31) - Magic Kingdom

We spent New Year's Eve in the Magic Kingdom. Our family huddled near the exit from Tomorrowland for the fireworks at midnight. Everyone else had gone to bed. Disney sure does know how to do a good display!

This was the day John-Thomas discovered the joy of roller coasters and began going on ALL of them.

It was an odd day because we kept splitting up. Joy walked with the rest of us to Pirates, which she doesn't like, then walked back to join Steve's family for the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train. The mine train was A's favorite, so she went on it as many times as her special pass would allow, taking each of us with her 2-3 at a time. That's also why we kept getting together and splitting up again. 

We have known for a long time that Nia looks a lot like my mother.
This picture shows that JT gets his looks from her too!

I had this memory that the Autopia was "too easy" a driving experience. Maybe it is at DisneyLand, but in the Magic Kingdom it is one of the hardest cars to manuever! You have to keep jerking the wheel back and forth to stay going straight, but you can keep the wheel straight to go around curves smoothly. JT enjoyed it greatly, and you can see Nia here being very cool about it.

A and I, Grandma and JT

That night we also caught the Country Bear Jamboree, which they have updated to include a bunch of countrified Disney songs. I have to say, it was a blast! Nia and I were falling over ourselves laughing.

L and Pluto

Fri (2) - Animal Kingdom

After Give Kids the World, we spent Friday at the Animal Kingdom, where I got my newest hat: a safari pith helmet. It's very good at shade and keeping cool, but is not as good at blocking rain as I thought it would be. For some reason I think of wicker holes as being less permeable than they are. Nia says, "It was the first time I ever left a store bearing my personalized name on something. You can NEVER find those ANYWHERE if you have a unique name. It was an engraved bracelet, and only $15 or less, and I was like, MINE." Joy got a tribal drum that fits in your hand.

Nia and I had a great time during the safari. Our tour guide kept pointing out things on the trail and saying, "And we know that because...." So when we got to the Baobab tree, he explained that it actually grows that way; nobody had planted it upside down accidentally. I called out, "And we know that because....?" He didn't get what I was saying, so Nia helped. "How do we know that someone didn't sneakily plant it upside down?" That stumped the guide. He said he was going to be pondering that all day. And he referred to it again as we left.

Joy remembers really enjoying the safari ride. We got to see a lot more animals than usual, everywhere we looked. "And there was a walk through Asian architecture and animals that was really nice too. I enjoyed the bird sanctuary. I worried about getting pooped on, but they always make the bird sanctuaries so green and pretty" Nia remembers meeting up with Pop and Grandma on the walk.

My favorite fun fact about Baobab trees is that in German they are
Monkey-Bread-Trees.

We love breakfasting at the Tusker House. It's a character buffet with both traditional Mickey breakfast items plus a number of African specialities. Joy says, "It seems there was some yummy whip cream thinger that they were serving that was really good."

Hyrum was sick starting today. He hadn't been feeling too well at Give Kids the World, but today he was really down. He hoped to rejoin us when Pop and Grandma did at lunch, but he still wasn't up to it. So he spent all day at the hotel.

L at the Yak & Yeti

Nia and JT loved the Mt Everest roller coaster. My stomach can still just manage it and the seats are ever so much more comfortable than the Matterhorn at Disneyland. 

We watched the Nemo play. Joy says, "I think that was my favorite play." L and A enjoy the plays and bring us along. "It was cute and fun and worth watching." And of course we love our dinosaurs. We managed to catch one of the last showings of the new Zootopia 3D show that replaced A Bug's Life. I had pointed out the holes in the seats to JT, telling him about how little bugs would poke you during the previous show, and there they were again in the new one! 

Dinner was at the Yak and Yeti, which we hadn't ever tried. It was one of my favorite dinners. We also got their souvenier mugs of Buddha's head, which turned into a .. well, not a running gag, but we sure did buy a lot of souvenier mugs this trip! Nia enjoyed some shopping with Grandma. At one point the ladies tried to sneak away to do some shopping, but the menfolk had no other instructions, so we picked a direction and started walking ... right behind them. They got about 2 minutes of uninterrupted shopping. Sorry, ladies!

We usually get through the Animal Kingdom in half a day, but this time it took the full day! The park was spectacularly crowded. I had expected worse crowds on the 31st, but they came out in force once the New Year started!

Sat - Hollywood Studios

Joy, Nia, and JT got up extra early in the hopes of catching Rise of the Resistance before the line got long. I stayed with Hyrum for a bit, but he urged me to get to the park and enjoy myself. I caught up to them at the Resistance, but Joy had left the line to find breakfast. She was too late for the breakfast and then missed us in line too! A very disappointing start to her day. Nia and JT waited for Joy at the end of the line and convinced the cast members to let her in all the way to the start. Joy had many worries for her children, "But none of my worries happened, and it was nice."

I remember being very disappointed about Rise of the Resistance. It's one of my absolute favorites, but for whatever reason they opted to have the line skip all of the cool interactive stuff, like Rey inviting you to join and BB-8 and all that. Nia says, "I think they were down, out of order ... which is funny because it's the First Order, so maybe that's why they were down." The ride didn't quite break down while we waited for it to start, but it was a long delay. Some of the props hadn't been cleaned in a while, it seemed. It just felt like an older ride than it is! Star Tours was great, though!

The Little Mermaid play left something to be desired. There's, like, only one human actress (Arial of course). Everyone else is either a muppet or CGI. "Even Eric was a muppet!" Joy agrees. Eric and Arial don't even kiss at the end! But it is a good review of the excellent songs, with just enough plot to tie them together. The effects are good.

JT with his new lightsaber

Hyrum joined us with Pop after lunch while we were in line for Toy Story Mania. I gave up my scooter so he could sit, but as a merely-17-yr-old he wasn't allowed to drive. So I manned the controls and walked alongside it in line. I won the Toy Story Mania for our car.

We eventually decided between the rain and him and JT not feeling well that I would take them back to the hotel for a nap before dinner while the others headed to the Rock n' Roller Coaster for our last chance to ride it before it is upgraded. Unfortunately, it took us so long to get to the hotel, that it was already time to leave for dinner! So we just traveled for a couple hours, arriving last to the dinosaur restaurant in Disney Springs. Think of a Jurassic Rainforest Cafe and you've got it. We sat in front of the T-Rex. Every 20-30 minutes, the meteor strikes as the lights change color and all the dinosaurs scream for their lives. Joy says, "That was one of my favorites. It had a lot of atmosphere. It wasn't just a place with some decorated walls - it was a different world! That made it fun."

Most everyone went home after dinner, but Joy, Nia in her wheelchair, and I tried to find a particular souvenier. We got caught in one of the most torrential downpours! We took cover in a surf shop for 15 minutes while I found a couple ponchos. Nia remembers the hard time she had picking a souvenier at the many parks. She eventually chose an Eiffel Tower from EPCOT "to be my special little souvenier."

One of these days, no memory which one, Joy and I grabbed a deep fried Hawaiian roll and some corn dogs on the Boardwalk. That deep fried roll was surprisingly good! "Tasted like a really good cinamon roll," Joy says. 

Give Kids the World, Jan 1, 2026.

Many of you will be familiar with Make a Wish kids. You may be much less familiar with Give Kids the World. Those Make a Wish kids who choose to do a weeklong Orlando vacation go to stay at an equally magical resort called Give Kids the World. There are streets and streets of vacation homes where their families stay. Dedicated volunteers focus on helping the children and their families be able to relax and enjoy this very special time as much as possible.

Hy, Joy, L, me, Nia, Pop, JT, A, Steve, Emie
Mom was too sick to make it

My niece, A, was a Make a Wish kid some years ago because of brain cancer. (She beat the cancer into submission.) For her wish, she chose to stay at Give Kids the World and enjoy a week of Disney, Sea World, and I don't know what else. They allow alumni to come visit occasionally and bring family with them. During this Disney World trip, we took Thursday to visit. For our TX family, it was the first time experiencing this loving place.

The main building and welcome center has a large collection of stars, one for each child. They like to know that you are coming in advance so they can find your special star (that you signed as a Make a Wish kid) to showcase for you. There's a lovely ceremony where cartoon fairies welcome you back to see your star and they send their friendly giant to help you find yours. The door opens and you are ushered into a room of stars and they reveal where yours is.    

Like, a LOT of stars

 There's also a bunch of stuff for kids to do there. There's a movie theater, a small arcade that also has ping pong and one of the most complete, interactive model train sets I've ever seen, several parks to play in, playground equipment, and dino mini golf. They have an antique merry go round that needs a bit of a push to get it running. 

The dino mini golf is pretty special. The dino statues are sometimes statues and sometimes animatronic. When you get your ball in the hole, various roars resound. There are some that spit water at you when you pass them. The last hole has a T-Rex that pops up to say hi. There's a hole in a volcano with lots of glow in the dark paint. ... It's well done.

The cafeteria has a wide variety of kids food. A robot brings by fruit snacks. They also have all you care to eat ice cream and cookies. And all of it was free for all 11 of us because we had A with us. JT best remembers that they had great food. Nia says, "It was fun. The dino putt-putt was cool. And the ice cream was yummy."

L being adorable

We spent a full day there. One of the staff drove me up to the local WalMart to get a prescription med we had run out of. The volunteers really are something special. Joy says, "The people are loving, going out of their way to help with the very smallest comfort. The dear lady in the cafeteria who cleans up after people have eaten defends her sacred right to clean up every dish, requesting very kindly that you not do her job and you leave your dishes there. The people at the ice cream shop come in and ask if you would please like to have more ice cream, and don't even complain when you ask to bring it someone who isn't there" [like me at WalMart!]. "They didn't just take Derrill to WalMart. He was unable to get the prescription because we sent it to the wrong place. So then the man very kindly came back later to pick my husband up after the prescription got to him. They aren't just working for those kids. They are living for those kids, and it's really beautiful."

Really, it's a bright little jewel and a wonderful service these folks give. It's a charity well worth supporting!

A and Nia

 

Disney World 25-26, Day 1-2

The Big Christmas Surprise, that we all somehow managed to keep from the children, was that Pop and Grandma were taking us all to DisneyWorld for about ten days!!! They gave everyone a matching family shirt. Little L (4 yr old) hid hers in the air vent somehow, which took a while for Nia to find. Monday after Christmas we flew out at much-too-early a.m. and enjoyed dinner at the Rose and Crown in Epcot that night.

Our caravan of 11 (at full strength) was a half-chariot troop. Pop, Grandma, and I were in motorized scooters, A and L had their strollers, and Nia was in a wheelchair because of her sprained foot. It was sometimes a struggle to find enough people to push. I normally pride myself on my ability to walk and endurance, but standing in lines gives my back enormous pain, making the wonderful Disney parks a great trial. Our three strollers were decorated with Star Wars characters, inviting many friendly comments from our fellow vacationers.

Tue Dec 30 - EPCOT

We had breakfast crepes. Nia practiced her French with the waitress, who expressed pleasure at Nia's attempts. Right after breakfast most of us did Ratatouille and the key on my scooter broke. I had to climb out of the line to get a new key when the company's rep got there so I could move the scooter again. JT and Hyrum ran off by themselves to hit Soarin and Imagination while we were in line for Ratatouille.

L is particularly fond of Elsa's ride in Norway, so she took people with her in shifts so she could ride it many times without anyone else getting too sick of it. I hadn't been yet and am very impressed with how they remade the Viking ride. Joy: "I loved going on Elsa with L. She makes Disney so magical!" She runs around wearing princess costumes all the time, even at home, so she fits right in.

I took several pictures with odd decorations under the heading
"Me and my brother enjoying DisneyWorld".
He gave me permission to share this one. :)

Nia enjoys "Figgy", aka Figment's World of Imagination. We did Soarin' and visited the Epcot greenhouse called The Land. Nia: "There were lots of signs that tell you to stay off the sand. I think it's because there are tiny hermit crabs that will crawl out and bite you! Either that or there are things that digest stuff under the sand that will infect you." Or they just ask you to stay inside your boat at all times on all rides. I was impressed with how little soil was being used to grow such a very wide variety of plants. "They were BIG! Explosion of vines!!! Like the tomatoes, and the cucumbers, and I think there were some squash that big too."

Most folks did the Space ride, but I remember (from like 20 years ago) that the Mission Space ride was too much for me, so I stayed outside with L. In the middle of waiting, she suddenly crouched down in the middle of the plaza and cried out, "I am LOST! I don't know where my parents are!" A bunch of visitors were staring at her as I came up to comfort her. 'We know where your parents are. They are right inside that building there. They left me to take care of you.' I was most concerned that the staring people would suspect the guy in a goatee of nefariousness. Thankfully I could demonstrate that she trusted me and she was in my party, and let us go at that.

Joy was in line for the faster version, but eventually backed out because of all the signs warning of how extreme it was, so she never got the chance to enjoy it. I did eventually do the easy version with the kids on our second day in Epcot. 

A's favorite ride, and rightfully so, is the new Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind coaster. Nia and I agree it is one of the top three roller coaster/attractions of all time. The other two are Star Wars Rise of the Resistence and Universal's Harry Potter experience. Great, great experiences, one and all! It is so cool, how your cart manages to spin independently of the coaster, so it feels very much like you're going through a double corkscrew and ride backwards, but on minimal track changes. 

(Pictured, JT, Joy, A, and Steve on our later day.)

Joy and I have some confusion about which night was which, but Pop and Grandma weren't feeling up to it one night, so the rest of us headed to China for dinner, only to get there after they closed. The boys and I managed to pick up the last meals served in the America pavillion just before the fireworks started. Joy and Nia had been doing some shopping while Steve's crew did Elsa again. We finally all got together during or just after the fireworks.

Christmas memories, Dec 20-28

Our Stephenville ward Christmas program was held a week earlier than usual, so we got to participate. Nia sang a solo verse of Angels We Have Heard on High in French, and she and Joy were part of a lovely quartet. She and "John-Thomas" were credits to the tenor section, Joy sang soprano, and I accompanied and sang bass. I also had a solo called Joseph's Song, where he reassures Mary that she can rest while he protects and cares for her and Jesus.

Hyrum flew to Pop and Grandma's in California a few days before we did. We drove up Sat evening - an uneventful trip - and the next morning all three children joined the tenor section for my home ward's Christmas program. Hyrum has developed a much stronger voice this year, so his siblings could rely on him for support. Joy was in the soprano section, and I joined Pop in the bass section except to accompany the Hallelujah Chorus.

Pop arranged for 4/5 of us to stay at a hotel, while the last one stayed at their house with my brother and his family. Usually it was Nia there so she could be with her cousins and Hyrum could be with JT, but we sometimes switched it up. Hy and I enjoyed using the hotel weight room together. I've got one buff-looking son!

A few headlines

• My parents' jaccuzzi was just upgraded this year, so the kids enjoyed much soaking in it.
• I tried to fix a problem in the curio cabinet when a glass shelf fell and broke on my head. I did finally get the one problem fixed at least!
• Pop figured L (4) was finally old enough for us to read through the entire Christmas Scroll Grandma caligraphied in college, and she was. Joy: I was glad we could read the whole scroll. I don't think I'd realized we had been shortening it.
• Pop and Grandma also shared some special books they had made to help L be reverent during church and a song to remind all the grandchildren that someone was always thinking about them, loving them, and waiting for their return home.
• We did several buffet style meals. Joy particularly enjoyed the kringla.
• Hyrum would pull L in her little red wagon, while JT shot at him with whatever missile they were playing with that day, like a Paw Patrol pool ball. JT says, "Playing with Hyrum was the big part of that week." 
• Joy: I was most happy to be with everyone, and to see Hyrum again.

Nia and I assembled a new clothes organizer together for Grandma
Joy: I really enjoyed seeing how happy Nia was
with helping Grandma upstairs

Nia: I successfully had a 'terrific' tumble in which I thankfully didn't fracture anything, but I got like at least two different sprains in my foot and ankle. I didn't even know spraining your foot was possible! The doctor said I tore a couple ligaments. I am grateful that my foot no longer wishes quite as much to be a chameleon.

???

Nia: My joke has been that my foot saw a chameleon when it fell, and it decided it wanted to be like, so it changed colors and grew! Playing with L was fun. We made up a new game. Because I couldn't walk around, I was watching A (14) play games and one of the bad guys was a piggy. At one point, the piggy was made of marshmallow, so everytime L said "Piggy marshmallow piggy," I tickled her. And she really liked that! 

Nia: I did not know that Grandma is good at hair cutting, but apparently she's done some before with Aunt Emilee and on her mission. So I got a haircut from my grandma and will be keeping some of my new look!

Christmas Eve night was really special. The fire alarm at the hotel went off at 2am. The hotel evacuated, then we waited in the pouring rain (Santa Barbara had enough rain in 3 days to make up a full year's worth!!) until someone finally announced that it was a false alarm and we could return to bed.

A few favorite pictures of the opening of presents below the fold...

Joy's birthday plus some other photos

The most important thing most every Oct/November in our home is usually Joy's birthday. We also had a surprise visit from Pop and Grandma, who delivered us a replacement for our car Joy had just had an accident in. Not knowing if we'd be able to drive it again, my parents offered to just GIVE us their car. We very thankfully accepted. Among the nice parts is that they drove the exact same make and year we did, just in red instead of black. That made the trade much easier. Once we learned that our black car would live again, we similarly handed it off to another family who had lost theirs.

Joy says:

I have a hard time deciding where to start. Everyone takes such good care of me. This year I feel very successful in not getting stressed for the holiday season. My birthday is so close to the season that I often have a hard time enjoying it. So that is my biggest gift to myself: being relaxed for my birthday. Part of being relaxed is paying for a cake and not making it myself. I got a lovely cake from HEB, the Oreo ice cream cake, yum. At some point Derrill got me some flowers that I am still enjoying. We were at the store and Derrill asked me what kind of flowers I wanted for my birthday. I looked at all of the pretty flowers and wondered if I would finally have the courage to get baby's breath instead of large flowers. As I asked myself that, I started looking at the Baby's Breath and found a nice marroon colored group. I told Derrill I was thinking about getting the little maroon flowers, He seemed ok with it, so I got them. I really enjoyed them and I might get that kind of flower again sometime. 

What makes us who we are

I was reminded today of a traumatic experience from long ago that has been a great blessing to my family, only it took this long to see it.

When I was a teenager, I had a young PhD student for my Sunday School teacher at church. I will spare you the details, but I considered the class an unmitigated disaster. More than half of my youth group stopped attending Sunday School altogether that year, some went largely inactive, and I blamed him. I never once felt the Holy Spirit in his class. I tried to get the adults to intervene, but they would simply excuse him, explaining to me that a PhD program is very difficult and probably took all his time and he meant well. From my position today, I wonder just how much of a terror I must have been to him as well.

I swore to myself that if that was what getting a PhD meant, then I would NEVER get one.

...

I was a missionary in Germany when I realized I loved to teach and that was what I wanted to do for a living. I asked myself who I would teach. I couldn't imagine grade school, teaching that 3+2=5 year in and year out. I didn't want to go back to junior high or high school. That meant I would be a college professor, and that meant I needed a PhD. (I hadn't yet worked out what I would teach, just where.)

That gave me more than a moment of pause. I worried and fretted. I did NOT want to become another Brother Suchandso. So I made a set of promises to myself, about what I would and would not do, and importantly how I would not speak about my field (whatever it was).

...

I started my PhD program, met Joy, and we started dating. One of our early dates was to a church activity in her ward. She sat me down with a group of men and then wandered off to visit with some sisters. I introduced myself and we had a nice time together.

When Joy returned, she asked if I had been regaling them with economics. They said, no. He did tell us he was studying economics, but then we had a pleasant conversation. That was when she said, "That's because he's my well-behaved economist."

To me, the most important word in that sentence was "MY". I smile still to think of it.

...

I told my children this story today after the thing that reminded me of all this. Joy rejoiced at the great benefit that Sunday School teacher was to our family. If I had spoken like many PhD students, or PhD-havers, she would not have been at all interested in me. We never would have dated, let alone got married.

How blessed I am to have had such a terrible experience at church for 10 months! It made me a better teacher, happier in my profession and at church, and brought me Joy. Who knew that's what God was cooking!

July-Oct 2025: praise for Initiative and Sewing

Nia trying on one of my hats
and a new hair style.

JT and me at Six Flags Over Texas

In October, JT was honored for showing a lot of Initiative. His teacher praised him for how he tries to get his work done and to help everyone else in class be happy. He asks a lot of great questions that show his understanding and a creative mind. As far as we are concerned, she really nailed a lot of what makes our youngest great!

 Joy and I enjoyed a date at the cafeteria and another walking along the Bosque River Trail

Nia started attending an online public high school. That's been very useful for her medical visits! They sent her a school shirt, but it was several sizes too small (kids vs. adult!) and they couldn't send us another. So she ripped open the seam and put in a decorative trim. Here she is showing off her new shirt and shiny shoes.

Four religion teachers who meant a lot to me

While attending BYU, I had a great opportunity to attend some outstanding religion courses. Though the details have changed over the years, students at BYU are expected to take a certain number of religion courses in addition to the standard general education requirements of science, math, humanities, and so forth. While we were revisiting my old stomping grounds to prepare Hyrum to join the Y, we found a set of posters recognizing some of the great religion teachers who have worked there.

Jerome Perkins taught me the second half of the Doctrine and Covenants, and I think we had one other course together though it's escaping me just now. I felt that walking into his classroom was walking onto holy ground, and maybe I should remove the shoes from off my feet. I wrote copious notes in my scriptures, which I have copied over into new copies since. I loved how he opened my eyes to the crescendo of Joseph Smith's teachings from the revelation on the three degrees of glory, through the Kirtland Temple and the Missouri and Nauvoo eras.

Alan Parrish was a friend and a great teacher. He was Tall and had Big, Big hands that would engulf you when you shook hands. He invited his classes to his house each semester for a barbecue. I can't remember why he and I decided to call me Orson, after Orson Pratt, but that was my nickname for three delightful semesters: two semesters of Book of Mormon and one on the Pearl of Great Price. His is one of the very few gospel teachers whose voices I can still remember as he taught particular lessons, such as caring for the poor as King Benjamin taught or Alma's warnings of the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth of the wicked. He teased regularly and let me tease him right back. He got people thinking about what the scriptures truly mean.

Victor Ludlow taught me about Isaiah and Judaism. Every four years as we study the Old Testament, I pull the textbook he wrote off the bookshelf to teach my children how to recognize parallelism and chiasmus in the scriptures and appreciate the beauty of Hebrew poetry. He held a Passover seder at BYU, and I think it would be fair to blame him for much of my interest in honoring Passover every Easter. His courses were the most scholarly rigorous religion courses I had.

Gaye Strathearn taught me to love the writing of Paul. I would have a lot more to say about her, but ... there was this girl. It was a crazy summer, taking calculus, New Testament, and something like 5 hours of dance practice a day while falling in love with someone I shared New Testament class with. It was an amazing time, but the fact that I came away with not just a love of a girl, but a love for Paul says something pretty special about her teaching. Like my D&C, my paper New Testament still contains and honors her notes and teaching.

Paintings of Women in the Scriptures by Elspeth Young

We toured the Joseph Smith Building this summer when we dropped off Hyrum at BYU. I appreciated the new art up on the walls and took many pictures. Here are three paintings of women in the scriptures by Elspeth Young. More of her paintings of women in the scriptures can be found here: https://www.alyoung.com/art/collection-women_of_the_bible.html

Treasure the Word (Huldah; 2nd Chronicles 24)

Waiting for the Promise (Rahab; Joshua 2)

The Blessings Afar Off
(one of the women sacrificed to idols; Abr 1:8, 11)

More descriptions of each below the fold:

2025 - other goings on

  This has been a year to punch holes in our walls. I've mentioned the fun with our plumbing. We've also been concerned about a crack from the house resettling (because of the plumbing issues, in part). A friend from church came over to replaster and to fix the worst of it. Another friend from church came over to put the sheetrock in after the plumber made all of his holes.

I did a lot of stagecrafts when I was in high school. So I'm good with wood and paint and such. I understand intellectually that sheetrock is a simple thing, and after watching some more experienced guys go at it, I agree it's something I could probably manage. They sure did it better and faster than I could've!

Jim Gentry has been my good friend and partner in professional development practically since we moved to Tarleton. This year he moved from being in charge of some faculty development to being a department head. This picture wasn't necessarily a going away party - our Scholarship of Teaching and Learning cohort was doing a poster session for their projects - but this would be his last shindig in his old role. Sure have missed working with him!

Family game night and fun at Six Flags. The boys love each other.