Climb Every Mountain

Approaching life as if you are on an amusement ride, is how I have been handling life, lately.  It has it's ups and downs and how you find joy in the downs is just as important.  I remember the first time Glen and I put Kaylyn and Ian on a ride and the ride started and took them pretty far away from us.  I sort of panicked.  I realized this was the farthest they were ever away from us.  Were they going to try to jump out,  do they like it, are they having fun, and why does the pit of my stomach hurt?  Then the ride came towards us and they had huge smiles on their faces as they approached.  What a relief.  Then as they got older it became harder and harder to just watch. Especially, Kaylyn she wanted to get on everything as soon as she was tall enough.  I would still get that stomach ache watching her, and then I decided to start going on the rides with her, instead.  Because, just watching and being on a ride is a whole different set of emotions.  It was my favorite way to enjoy an amusement park with my brother, too.  We loved rollercoasters.  I think Hershey Park's old wooden rollercoaster ended up being our favorite.  

This night that this picture was taken in 2005 was my favorite with Kaylyn.  We has arrived in Orlando that afternoon.  We had a room in Port Orleans.  It was our first time staying on property.  We had the meal plan and had taken the free shuttle from the airport and it was worry free.  The parks are open later for hotel guests and we had a whole week of tickets, so it made sense to go to the Magic Kingdom for a short period of time.  My biggest wish for visiting Disney is not to wait on all the lines.  For the first  and only time I have been there, no lines!  We went from Splash Mountain, to thunder mountain and then to space mountain and then when we got off the ride we went right back on.  We probably went on them at least three times each that night.  We saw the fireworks from the rides which was also, awesome.  Every night we would take the bus home and pass by Disney Downtown.  Kaylyn would ask if we could go and the stores are one of my favorite parts of the park.  I never really had time to shop before.  We would spend hours there and never got to our room before midnight each night.  

I am really enjoying scrapbooking these memories.  The other part of riding on Splash Mountain by ourselves, is we didn't get as wet. It was total joy that night.  I am really loving taking the time of soaking in all the memories.  Enjoying the experience just by looking at pictures.  I also painted

the tree of life to include in my post for tomorrow.  

Just curious, I said before when I went to New Orleans how I felt like I was on a roller coaster.  I had been holding on tight to life, and  I needed to just let go.  During this time are you holding on tight or letting go and enjoying the ride?  I think I am doing both.  I think listening to music and painting is when I really get to "let go" and it is a nice feeling of release.

Quote of the day:  First, think. Second, dream. Third, believe. And finally, dare.

Walt Disney

Song of the Day:  Let is Go sung by Demi Lovatto