A Vacation from Vacation

Oh hey world! Sorry for going MIA there for a bit. Remember last October when I went to Disneyland with my family and left Jared at home and then told myself I would never do that again? Well . . .

This last week I headed up to Florida to spend some time hanging out and going to Disneyworld with  Jared's family! Jared wasn't invited. Actually he was, but we all knew that with med school it just wasn't going to happen. Boooo. We've been joking about making October the traditional "Laura goes to Disney without Jared" month every year for the rest of our lives. We're off to a great start—2 for 2!

It was soooo fun! I'll just do a brief recap here because (A) I didn't take any pictures on the trip so I just have a few from my mother-in-law to post, and (B) I'm supposed to be working on editing a seriously huuuuge paper that is due at midnight. It feels a lot like I'm back in college, but now my editing deadlines come with paychecks. Real life is great.

I'd never been to Disney World, or even Florida, before, so it was so fun to see everything for the first time. On our first park day, we checked out Harry Potter World in Universal Studios.  I loved the Hogsmeade/Hogwarts Castle side of Harry Potter World. There's a new section, Diagon Alley, in another part of Universal Studios, but I didn't love it quite as much as I loved the Hogsmeade setup.

Jared's brother, Will, was my cool little buddy on this trip. We loved to go on all the rides together and, of course, watch cartoons every time we went back to the hotel. Those Lambert boys and their cartoons . . . it's the best. I'm going to stay a kid forever if those two have anything to say about it.

In Hogsmeade they have lots of fun shops from the book, like the 3 Broomsticks (the frozen butterbeer was definitely everything I hoped and dreamed it would be), Ollivander's Wand Shop, Honeydukes, and more. I brought back some Fizzing Whizzbees from Honedukes candy store. Not only do they really fizz and crackle, but they're also really tasty. Wizard candy win!

Bonus: The Harry Potter soundtrack just came onto my Pandora station. Magic, people. Magic.

Why yes, my hair did look like that during a good 80% of the trip! Why do you ask? Haha, I've definitely gotten into some bad habits in Grenada, like never doing my hair. Also, because I'm used to the most humid climate in the world (I'm pretty sure), Florida felt bone dry to me. Like, my heels were almost cracking. Man, it's going to be a rough Christmas break in Utah for my spoiled feet . . .

Funnily enough, the only pictures from the trip where my hair looks normal is in the screenshots Jared would take of me every night when we Skyped. Love that guy. Our chats are the best.

My favorite part of the trip was when we spent an evening in the Magic Kingdom section of Disney World for Mickey's Halloween Party. If you're ever going to go to Disney World, go for the Halloween Party! It's so magical and decorated, and the fireworks show was amazing. Also, you get to go trick-or-treating. They give you bags and then employees grab handfuls of good candy out of giant barrels and fill your bag up. Plus, the ride lines were way short. Perhaps it was because the party was from 4:00 on and most people want to spend all day there? Or maybe it was because mostly little kids showed up for the party and they hung out on the kiddie rides? I don't know, but pretty much the longest we ever had to wait in line was 10 minutes. It was nice to spend time with family in the lit-up Magic Kingdom. Such a magical feeling! (I promise I'll stop saying "magic" now.)

I don't have any pictures from that part of the trip, but in case you aren't sick of seeing pictures of me in various oceans and pools yet, here's a picture of us in the lovely hotel pool! I ordered a new swimsuit and sent it to the Lambert home in Washington. My mother-in-law was kind enough to bring it to me instead of keeping it for herself.

Other highlights of my Florida trip included a trip to Costco (the other happiest place on earth), finally satisfying my hot wings craving at a really cool sports bar, and seeing several pretty little jets in the convention center where Jared's dad spent much of his time for work. And, of course, that all of these fun times were spent with family (oh how I've missed family!) in America (oh how I've missed America!).

When all was said and done, I was grateful to be flying home to Jared, even though I was leaving behind a miraculous king-sized bed, American food (appreciate your food America! Appreciate it!!), some perfect weather, and so many other niceties. When I landed in Grenada and stepped off the plane onto a muggy runway, noisy with the sound of chirping tree frogs, it felt like home. I was so happy to see Grenadian faces in the airport, and also that the customs lady wasn't in a terrible mood so I didn't get charged taxes on random things, like my 150 lbs of Costco snacks. Excessive? Nah.

My new job has been keeping me really busy since I got back, and all of a sudden, for no really good reason, I love life on this island. Perhaps it's because I sat next to this rich British lady on the flight to Grenada, who spent the entire flight telling me how much she adores Grenada, and how she and her husband just bought a boat and will be living on it in a Grenadian harbor. Perhaps it's because I know that Christmas and Utah are just around the corner. Perhaps it's because I have a job now and know that our living arrangements next term will be much more ideal than they have been this term. Whatever it is, I'm happy. We may be living something of an unconventional life down here, but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way. Unless I could choose to banish the mosquitoes and franchise a Cafe Rio. Then I would do that. But otherwise, things are peachy.