23 & cruisin...

First of all, thank you for all the birthday wishes!!! It is hilarious to me to think about what my reaction would have been like if someone would have told the 6 year old version of myself that I would be turning 23 while working at Disney World. Too great. I was kind of nervous about my birthday.. well, not nervous. I really hadn’t thought much about it but I had/have become more and more anxious to get home so I didn’t know how I would feel having thanksgiving and my birthday back to back but God is good! And He continually goes ahead of us and plans unique ways to be present, make us feel loved and point us to Him. I had so many phone calls, text, fb posts, and packages on my birthday that I was overwhelmed with feeling loved and cared for. At work, they brought me cake, balloons and even called the birthday hotline for Goofy to sing me happy birthday. It was awesome and I am so thankful for each and every one of them for making me feel special! I love my Disney family. For dinner, Tim, Aly, Sarah & I went to dinner at Ohanas at the Polynesian. And OH MY goodness. Best meal ever. Like I pretty much ate myself sick but it was so good. Everyone needs to eat there. Just do it. It is one of those places where they bring around the meat.. like why isn’t every restaurant like that?! And speaking of food.. Just to put every one’s mind at ease- I was able to eat a wonderful thanksgiving dinner made by my beautiful friend Tracy. And when I got to her apartment, she even had the Aggie game on for me! Talk about a true friend right there. Amanda came to eat with us too! And even though they have probably never watched an A&M game in their life they totally soaked it in! I realize that we lost but I will never forget watching that game with them. Last week I worked 8 days straight but I had a beautiful light at the end of the tunnel: a cruise to the Bahamas!!! About 2 months ago I really started to get the travel bug.. which is not out of character for me. A month later, I get a text from Sarah saying “do you have your passport?!” and the rest is history.. a couple weeks later a cruise to the Bahamas was booked and last Thursday we set sail! Colleen, a friend Sarah and I made at the very beginning of our program, and Sarah and I loaded up our suitcases and hit the road to Cape Canaveral. Well, I take that back. Colleen & I had suitcases.. Sarah brought a bag. Just about at every toll stop she realized something else she forgot but we made do! Once we got to the port, we went in search of our boat. We found the exit for Carnival, parked and got in line to board! Sarah & I had our boarding passes printed out so we were ready to go. Colleen still had to get hers.. and this is when we started to have seen the signs of trouble. The lady trying to help us couldn’t find Colleens name on the list of passengers but still told us it would be fine and to get in line to board. Welllll turns out, we get to the front of the line only to find out we were in line for the wrong boat. Sarah & I started laughing sooooo hard. Like talk about an ab work out right there.. and the lady thought we were complete idiots. But it’s okay because we made it on the right boat and it was an awesome way to start the trip! Overall the cruise was great and super relaxing! I just love traveling new places and seeing new things so it was great. Of course the Bahamas was beautiful and I had great company! Some of the highlights were:

-Singing karaoke the first night. The crowd was a little on the lame side so of course we wanted to spice things up a bit so naturally we sang “baby got back”. We even had some back up dancers and a standing ovation. True success right there. Who knew Sarah pretty much had her own dance made up to it already.. lol.

-Midnight “Remembering Michael” dance party. First of all, we danced a ton. I remember telling Sarah “I am out of dance moves.” We came back from Nassau after day 1 and were exhausted. We slept from like 11pm-12am and somehow managed to maneuver ourselves upstairs and I am so glad we did because it was a blast. I was like “this what it must have felt like to be my mom growing up…” lol.

-Photography. Oh my gosh. Maybe I have been out of the real world for a little to long because I was not aware that people still take completely serious pictures in front of completely cheesy backgrounds. And the photographers were all about them. We would walk by all the different stations and just crack up. Of course we had to take some of our own and in the pictures I am actually crying from laughing so hard. The best was when the photographer made us “plank” on top of each other in front of a background that was “under the sea”.

-Reading. I love to read! And I finished the Hunger Games while I was gone. AMAZING. I could not put it down and already have the 2^nd one in hand. This is one bandwagon I am glad I jumped on. I literally could not have been happier just laying on the boat reading. It was just what I needed!

-One of our stops was in Freeport and I loved it! We took a taxi into the city and saw the beach and the little town square and ate authentic bohemian food. It was beautiful and the people were so nice!

Overall, it was great!!!! And I love Sarah for having that wonderful idea because it was totally worth it.

And to wrap this up… I have some great news for yall. You know how I have been anxious about what to do in January?! I knew the whole time that the situation was out of my hands and totally in the Lord’s so I have literally just been waiting. Well, it’s official- I am coming back to Dallas and could not be happier about it! God is sooo good. For like the past month I have been really itching to come home and the Lord is sovereign in knowing that all along. I am so glad I have come here. Wow. One of the coolest experiences I have ever had but the great thing about Disney is that it will always be here! And for the next few years I will have wonderful friends here to come back and visit! Thank you for everyone who has been praying for me and supporting me. I am making this last month here count and will be sure to keep you updated on my grand finale of Disney-ness. Hope everyone is doing well! Less than a month now til I will see most of yall and hug your necks! 

All my love,

Lauren

Chritmas, Characters & RITA!

I have said it once & I will say it a million times.. I LOVE Disney at Christmas. If you have never experienced it, please but it on your bucket list right now. It is so magical. Now if only it would get cold.. then it would truly feel like the North Pole. A couple weeks ago, I got to go to the Cast Preview of the "Very Merry Christmas Party" at Magic Kingdom. All the cast hid behind the castle and when all the guests were clear, we got to come out into the magic of Christmas. We came around the corner of the castle and immediately Christmas music was playing and the castle was all lit up! We got to see the Christmas show that takes place on the castle and the Christmas parade. I was acting like I was 7 years old. It was awesome and made me so excited about the holiday season!

Last week, RITA came to visit me! If you haven't caught on by now.. I have the best friends and family ever. We stayed in All Star Sports again and it was awesome. The first day she was here we went to Epcot for the last taste of the Food & Wine Festival. It was a BEAUTIFUL day! We also went to Magic Kingdom that night and she got to see "Wishes" (the fireworks show). She totally took all the Disney magic in and I loved it. The castle really is breathtaking. The highlight of the day was the "Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor". It has to be one of my favorite attractions- anyone who comes to visit me, I make do it. We were cracking up!! The next day I drove her around Fort Wilderness, which I was so glad I did because it wasn't what she pictured at all. It is an actual campground- like tents, RVs, cabins.. the whole shebang. And it's beautiful! Especially right now.. people are starting to put up their own Christmas decorations and it makes me so happy as I bike into work :) For lunch, I took her to my favorite restaurant in the Orlando area- Yellow Dog Eats. It is like gourmet bbq.. absolutely amazing! And Rita loved it so I am so glad we made the trip out there! During the evening, we went to Hollywood Studios and saw the Spectacle of Dancing lights. WOW WOW WOW-- I am obsessed. And Rita was the perfect person to take to go see it because she LOVES Christmas lights more than anyone I know. It really is amazing. My favorite is when the lights dance to "Carol of the Bells". It was even cold outside and we got a cup of coffee to drink.. perfection. That night, we went to Jellyrolls, the dueling piano bar on the Boardwalk, and it was so fun! Sarah met up with us and we had a great time. Rita even dedicated "Brown-Eyed Girl" to me for my birthday..too sweet! Lol. Speaking of birthdays, for breakfast the next morning, Rita & I celebrated our November birthdays together at Chef Mickey's! I have been wanting to eat there forever and it was the perfect time to go. It is a super yummy breakfast buffet and we got to meet the Fab 5 Disney characters! We had a blast! It was so sad to see Rita go, but wow- it was SO great having her here. It's something about people like her that brings out the real Lauren inside of me. Sorry to get poetic on yall but it's TRUE. Anyone who knows Rita knows that she her friendship is unparalleled. I am so lucky!

Work has been TIRING. Oh my goodness, my poor body.. For anyone who has ever worked at camp- yall know what it feels like for 10 weeks to go, go, go but my goodness.. here I am almost 6 months later basically doing camp at Disney World and I am exhausted. Today I have gotten some rest but I am definitely looking forward to that light at the end of the tunnel. None the less, I wouldn't trade my job for anything. It's a BLAST! Yall know I love to dance.. and my friend Tracy loves it just as much as I do! The other day on the pool deck we were having an hour long dance party and I would put on a song we didn't have a dance to just so we could have a "break" and go figure.. by the end of the song there would be a dance made up to it. The best is when we made up a dance to Glee's version of Heads Will Roll/Thriller. I am obsessed with that song (please go listen to it and try not the dance.. impossible). It was awesome. We even did it randomly a couple days later and by the end of it at least 20 people were applauding us. We were cracking up at ourselves. It was so fun! Yesterday, Tracy, Amanda, Sonya & I went character hunting. It was a blast. I got 23 autographs and took sooo many pictures. I don't know what comes over me, but I am such a flirt with the characters. It's hilarious. The best is when I saw one of the Green Army Men from Toy Story. He kept blowing me kisses and after I got his autograph, he looked closely at my ring finger, saw that I was single and started doing the single ladies dance with me. It was epic. For dinner, we ate at Prime Time cafe in Hollywood Studios and laughed so much. I love those girls and love the friends I have made here. God has definitely been good. I miss my family and friends a lot though back in Texas! Once, when a guest found out I was from Texas, she was like WHY did you leave?!? Haha. Texas really is the best.

...and FINALLY- a shout out to my brother ANDREW because he turns 21 this weekend. I SO wish I was there to celebrate with you and can't wait for you to come to Disney World to celebrate! I am going to make you wear a birthday button :) Also, I am so proud of him for getting a job! He is such a sweet guy and I am lucky to have him as my brother.

Cast Preview!

"The Lord Himself goes before you & will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." - Deut. 31:8 Thank you LORD.

All my love,
Lauren <3

Mrs. Cain!!!

Last Thursday morning I boarded a plane to TEXAS! Oh, I love Texas. I got to go home for a very special occasion- Courtney got married! Stop right there.. before I go any further I must tell yall about Courtney. We met when we were 17 and became instant friends. She was as much of a blessing to my life then as she is now. I can easily recall the endless conversations we have shared focused on the Lord; who He is and who we are in light of Him. I have never had a friend who I am so close to spiritually- this is why Court & myself are soul sisters :) Simply put, the way she lives her life challenges me. It is a beautiful thing.. iron sharpens iron. Freshman year, we loaded up the trucks and drove to College Station, Texas where we be roommates in Dunn 413. The one dorm in the commons that didn't get new furniture that year and was filled with boys the year prior.. perfect. That was one of the best years of my life- I won't bore yall with all the stories that came from that dorm room but just know it was the best. Court had it in her mind that she would be single forever (I knew it wouldn't be true because she was too beautiful, fun and God-loving for a smart boy to not snatch up). I remember telling her that if she changed her mind one day it would be okay and we would all support her. And I am so glad she did. The marriage of her & Matt is so of the Lord and was incredible to witness. What a sweet couple that will impact the kingdom of the Lord for such good. She had a giant wedding party-14 of us! It was so fun being with her and celebrating all weekend. The night before we took a stretch limo out to a hawaiian nail bar in Dallas to get manis and pedis! So perfect for Court. The ceremony was wonderful and glorified the Lord in every way. Seeing Courtney smile ear to ear down the aisle was priceless. I was so blessed to be a part of it. The reception rocked- you get a room full of Aggies, dancing and desserts and the rest of history. So fun! It was good to see so many familiar faces too :) It is always hard leaving- gosh, I am such a crier. A lot of yall know that already, lol. For as much as I love traveling and adventure, I get so torn between people and places and saying goodbyes is one of my biggest weaknesses. I need a permanent airport buddy because I am such a mess- that is one thing I never like doing alone.

I can't believe I only have 2 months left in my program! Work yesterday was craziness. Halloween at the Fort. Best Disney Halloween ever though. The best part was the "Cart Parade". At the Fort, people drive golf carts around and decorate them insanely for holidays. Halloween is the epitome of that. I wish I could have taken pictures but there was a Tow Mater, a giant Alice in Wonderland table set, Peter Pan boat (complete with characters on board) and more. My job was to block the traffic while the parade started and then I got to be the last cart of the parade. It was AWESOME. People were cheering for me, taking my picture, etc.. I don't know why they got a kick out of me being at the end but they did. Lol. After work, I stayed and hung out at the campfire with Aly. Forrest, Amanda and Tracy were working so that made it super fun! We roasted marshmallows and even went trick or treating at some of the campsites. I felt like a kid again. So awesome. In the past week I have also seen Hanson & Boyz II Men concerts at Epcot. Amazing. First of all, I LOVE concerts and second of all- they were free. Boyz II Men was awesome because someone got engaged and then they threw out roses to the crowd.. and who doesn't love a little R&B in their life?! This week Sarah's family is coming in town and I get to start training people. Woohoo! RITA comes next week and I am PUMPED! All Start Sports: Part 2. Get excited.

All my love,
Lauren :)

And life is still going on...

Last week was full of work.. I am talking 6 full days of work. I had last Wednesday off which was perfect because it was right in the middle. I went to Caribbean Beach and laid by the pool for oh.. 5 hours. I read, listened to podcast, slept..it was perfect. Just what my little heart needed. My Disney adventures of last week consisted of a trip to Studios with Forrest, going to Beaches & Cream (a CUTE little diner at Yacht & Beach club with the best burgers & coke floats in Disney) and then Friday night (which I actually had off) I went to Epcot with Aly & some of her intern friends. We had so much fun! Like I have told yall before- I have been spending most of my days working at the Fort or the Lodge. I have gotten to play sand volleyball, ultimate frisbee, steal the bacon, and kickball..just to name a few things. A-MAZING. Here are some great guest stories for you:
1) After I did pool party at the Lodge the other day, a lady came up to me and shook my hand and complimented how well I did with the kids. She said she was a retired 5th & 6th grade teacher and that I was "exceptional". She then proceeded to tell me that my talking voice sounded just like Carrie Underwood.. (that's a first). She was shocked when I told her no one has told me that before. She also commented on the many bug bites on my legs because she had gotten bit a lot as well. She was super nice but cracked me up because she literally talked in bullet point format.
2) I had a girl today tell me her 3rd grade teacher is dating Derek Jeter.. And I also had a little boy ask me to punish his sister because she "followed him around and he didn't like her." Oh kids these days. (I have learned so much about parenting and family dynamics btw..)
3) Last week I was working in Community Hall and a family came in that you could just tell loved each other so much. I got to talking to the parents and the mom proceeded to tell me that the dad had a surprise for them the next night. She asked if I was a good secret keeper and I told her I was only the best... and I LOVE surprises. :) She walked away and the dad got real close to me and serious and told me that he was in the Army and was stationed 5,000 miles away from his family and always in danger. He only got to be with his family 4-6 weeks and they came to Disney World every year together. Well.. the surprise was that he was taking them to this super fancy dinner with just them 3 and the chef and telling them that he was now only stationed 100 miles from their home. I wanted to cry and hug him and tell everyone! It was the sweetest thing. I reassured the mom that it was the best surprise ever! They came back to the hall a few days later to try and find me to tell me how it went but I wasn't there so they left me a note and it was so sweet! I was so happy to share in their celebration and that they thought to come back and leave me a note. I love the beautiful little life stories that are going on in people all around us.
4) On the other hand.. I just want yall to be aware that I make a fool of myself at work. Like the other day I had 5 little girls who were no older than 4 following my every dance move. The cotton eyed joe came on and let's be real.. 4 year olds can not do that dance. So naturally I improvised and had them dancing across the whole pool deck like they were riding a horse. It was pretty awesome. We also danced to twist & shout and kung fu fighting. It turns out that teaching dance my senior year of High School really paid off.. who knew!!


The weather here has been beautiful. I have always loved being outside but this job and living here has practically made me addicted to it. I never want to be inside.. I will do anything I can to be outside. Today was a great day off! I got to do a backstage tour of Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios and it was AWESOME! We learned about all the props in the lobby, got to go back in the cast area, put on safety goggles and went to see the maintenance room where they work on the elevators, and went into the security room where cast members are constantly watching video of the rides (like they can not turn their head from the screen at all). While we were in there they were looking for a missing watch & wallet so yall can be comforted in the fact that when you loose something at Disney, they actually really go looking for it. Like they stalled the ride and everything. THEN we got to ride the ride with the lights on. Which was awesome. I learned a lot about the ride and it was just fun being there with so many people from work. I also had in service at Animal Kingdom Lodge which was beautiful. I loved getting to explore there. I have the next 2 days off as well so I am sure I will post soon with more of what's going on here.

I am also taking a class here through Disney called "Exploring People Management". It's about HR here at Disney and so cool. This week we learned about recruiting; professionally and internationally. It was so informative and made me excited about potentially going into recruiting one day.

I want to keep yall updated about my life so please know I am still in the process of figuring out whether I'm staying here in Florida for a little bit longer or if coming home is right for me OR if the Lord is even trying to call me somewhere else. I don't know. And the answer may not come as soon as I would like but one thing I can remember is that there is peace in God's plan. There's just so much I want to do in life! My mind literally just wanders from adventure to adventure and they all look different and require different things but one thing is for sure- I am excited about all the possibilities. Thank you for sharing in my journey with me :) Next week I get to come home for Courtney's wedding weekend and I am beyond excited and so thankful that I get to be a part of it! Hope everyone is doing well!

All my love,
Lauren

Record Rainfall. Go figure.

I am writing this from starbucks right now and couldn't be happier. I am in sweats, just ate a slice of pumpkin bread, drank a caramel mocha latte and am pretending I am in college still (minus the studying). Speaking of which.. I would personally like to thank OU for putting tu in their place and A&M for shutting texas tech down once and for all. It's been raining here for like the past 48 hours so all I have wanted to do is come CHILL.
Another week is done here in the sunshine state (a term I tend to use lightly..). Sarah turned 23 on Wednesday so that was fun getting to celebrate with her. We went to a piano bar downtown and had a lot of fun! Living with her is one of those things that reminds me to be thankful to the Lord everyday. She is so cool and doesn't even know it. I love her!
My dad was in town yesterday- which just happened to be a day of record rainfall here in Orlando.. I am talking like at least 6 inches. CRAZINESS. But we made the most of it :) We went to Epcot and tried all sorts of food at the Food & Wine Festival. Let me think.. we ate in Greece, France, Belgium (my life will never be the same after eating the belgium waffles from there), Morocco, South Africa and Mexico. Everything was so good! For dinner we ate at the Wave, a restaurant in the Contemporary and it was fun. I love hanging out with my dad! I seriously could not ask for 2 better parents.. I could cry right now thinking about it. I love them so much and having them both here in the same week was incredible.
I am sure by now yall are probably thinking... "does this girl ever work?!" And the answer is yes, yes I do. It might have only been 3 days last week but I worked :) And get this.. They are going to let me start training people. Yes, I am officially a trainer. I am excited! It is really rare for a college programer to receive any kind of "promotion" so I am very humbled and thankful for the opportunity. I know it will be something I will really enjoy doing and will take my time to do well. I will get to train new activities cast members in our 4 resort areas. I will be sure to let yall know when I have my first trainee ;) My home away from home for the past few weeks has basically been the Fort.. which is fine by me! It is beautiful and peaceful there.. for the most part.  Last week I did get hassled by a guy calling me a "Liar" over and over again in front of a ton of people.. and for the record, I had never seen this guy in my life so I am not sure what he was referring to. Random sidenote- guests here try to "work the Disney system" and it's really annoying. But other than that, the Fort is a cool place to be. You should see the campsites decorated for Halloween.. it's crazy! Like people have inflatables that move and light up, etc.. They go all out. It's funny because during the day, it feels like it's still summer. We are out on the pool deck having pool parties, blaring music, sweating, dancing.. etc. And then at night, I am in a fleece and gathered around a fire and acting all fall-ish. Best of both worlds I guess! Speaking of fire.. I built the best fire I have ever built the other night. Guests were complementing it and all these other cast members were like "oh my gosh, I wish I had steaks to roast over that thing! It's perfect!". I am not saying that to brag.. if you know me, I am sure you would never picture me as the hands behind such a fire so I am just letting yall know that this girl is coming a long way :) Lol.
Well, I am going to use the next few hours before Starbucks closes to catch up on a few other things. But thanks for reading! Can't wait to be back in Texas in a few weeks! Have a magical day my loves!

All my love,
Lauren

TEAM SNL

I am so thankful today. The weather in Florida has been AMAZING. Like absolutely perfect.. and let's be real-the weather directly affects my mood. So when I woke up early Saturday morning to weather in the 60's and not a cloud in the sky.. I was beside myself (the weather has been just as good ever since). The girl I work with and I were literally giddy all morning about it... that and the fact that Lion King is being released from the vault. Saturday was actually the 40th anniversary of Magic Kingdom which was the first park to open at Disney World. At work I got an awesome set of exclusive 40th anniversary pins which I had to vow not to sell on ebay ;) They are legit. Saturday night Sarah & I ran the Disney Wine & Dine half marathon relay! It was such a cool experience and I am so glad Sarah asked me to do it with her! A couple months ago I woke up to a note by my bed that said "I have a question for you. Love, Sarah". All day I was like what is she going to ask me?! And that was it.. she wanted to me to run the race with her! I said of course!! (as long as you don't care what our time is..lol- she didn't so it worked out!) The past 2 years I have lived with hard core runners so it was cool to have a race of my own.. and even though I only ran the first 5 miles, it's a great start :) (Boo, you would be proud!) 12,000 people participated in the race and we all met up at ESPN's Wide World of Sports. You would think it would be chaos.. but of course Disney went above & beyond and it was the smoothest event ever. Before the race started, I had plenty of time to people watch. People were wearing the cutest costumes! But by mile 2, I could tell that wearing giant mickey ears or a full fledged tinkerbell tutu didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.. Let me just say, I have never seen such unhappy looking "princesses". It was fun being at the start of the race because each time a corral started, fireworks went off and some disney song started blaring (best way to start a race if you ask me). I was also standing behind a "hot mom" who's t-shirt said "wine & dine & leave the kids behind". She was breaking it down so that was entertaining enough.. So I started my race around 10:20 and ran all the way to Animal Kingdom and through the park. It was awesome because there were characters lined up on the road about every mile and people on stilts, live bands, plenty of water stations (which I spilt all over myself.. haven't mastered that skill yet), and again.. the weather was perfect. Running through AK was cool (besides the fact that that park smells like animals, it's rocky-a girl in front of me full out tripped-& super crowded..), seeing the park all lit up was beautiful! (I am a sucker for lights). The best part of the race was the hand off when I got to see Sarah.. it was pure magic. She came out of the crowd in our matching pink shirts, jumped up & down & hugged me, asked how it was and then said she'd see me at the finish line and she was off! At my finish line, I got my medal, free food & powerade and then loaded the bus to epcot. Epcot was the hot spot for our after party and it was awesome. There was a dj and music blaring everywhere.. plus all the wine & dine pavilions were open. I was supposed to meet Sarah at the phone booths in Ireland but couldn't wait that long to see her! So once I received the text that she had finished, I rushed to the front of the park and found her as quick as I could! I was so proud of her! It was her first time to run 8 miles and she did awesome! Her leg of the race went through Hollywood Studios and a few resorts. Having an after party at Epcot was super enticing to run the race but after running 13.1 miles.. people were iced up and getting sick everywhere. Haha. Ok, sorry.. I shouldn't be laughing about that. But seriously- there were a ton of medical stations set up because Disney is the best. Sarah & I want to train for the full 13.1 miles next year. All my runners out there- yall should do it too! It's seriously the coolest half marathon. We ended the night by riding.. drum roll please.... you guessed it- SOARIN'! It was perfect. We made it home at a whopping 3:15 am and I got in bed and fell asleep faster than anything you have ever seen. Team SNL was a success.

This weekend, my mom, sister & Aunt Judy were here too! My little baby munchin sister is alllll grown up and ready to start looking at colleges (even though we all know she should go to A&M right?!?) so she took a college day and came and looked at UCF. While they were here, we had our fair share of Disney fun. Dinner at the Grand Floridian, 3 parks in a day, and exploring Winter Park this morning. Let me tell ya- I can't take those girls anywhere. EVERYWHERE we went people were obsessed with how much we look alike.. imagine that right. I got everything from "are you guys twins?" (in regards to Kara & I), "Is this your sister?!" (in regards to my mom).. and the best one- "Is she your mom?!" (in regards to Kara & I again..) Awesome. I either look 16, 23, or 40. I guess it's all in the eyes of the beholder right?! We laughed so much and just had fun. I definitely get my desire for adventure & exploration from my family. I was so glad Aunt Judy could come down too! It had been way too long since I had seen her and she has been such a big supporter of me being down here so it was perfect that she could come! They all got to meet a lot of my friends which meant so much to me :) I love them all. Last night, Sarah joined us for dinner in Italy at Epcot.. and I think they will all agree with me when I say it was the best looking meal I had ever eaten if you know what I'm sayin ;) Today, Aunt Judy & I walked around Park Avenue in Winter Park & I am in love with it. The cutest boutiques, bakeries, and a gap of course. All the doors are open and people are there reading and with their dogs and drinking lattes... heaven. Aunt J had her first fro-yo experience so that was definitely the highlight. Their trip ended with me dropping and shattering my iphone screen but ya know what?! I didn't care because it was SO DANG PRETTY outside. And I think that just about brings us back to where we started :) Life is good. I am happy, content, and having my family here very much rejuvenated me. I can't believe I only have about 3 more months here. Yikes. I don't know what I am going to do but everyday I am thankful and encouraged by this experience. The light of the Lord is definitely with me every step of the way and I could not be more blessed with the perfect roommate, job, and coworkers (who will all be thankful to know that I bought new work shoes today.. no more mildew sick nasty adidas for now ;))

Preview for next blog: Sarah turns 23 and my Dad comes to the Food & Wine Festival. WHOOP!

I miss my favorite Texans. And please dear beloved aggies.... get it together, for my sake at least :)

Before our race!

The faces behind the magic yall...love em.

I love this picture :)

TOY STORY MANIA!!!

All my love,
XOXOXOXO
Lauren

Happy Fall!

This is going to be short because I am so tired but I didn't want my next post to be entirely too overwhelming! I have been super busy here. My "disney highlight" of last week was going to Mickey's Not -So-Scary halloween party with my friend Aly. I raced into the park and got the last 2 Mickey pirate ears so we wore those as our costume :) It was at Magic Kingdom and what happens is they close the park at 7 so only people with tickets for not-so-scary get to stay. The lines were so much shorter this way! (we literally walked onto space mountain) We got to walk around and trick or treat (love it!) and they had a special fireworks and parade which was AWESOME. Even though I am not a hardcore halloween fan, it was a fun experience! I worked a lot last week and on my days off at the beginning of this week, I had a special visitor... ABBY!!!! That girl is such a blessing and it was awesome having her in Orlando. Monday, we went to the pool/downtown disney/and the ever famous Hoop-Dee-Doo! This time I was not chosen as the can-can dancer... BUT Tim was chosen as the Indian so it was perfect. I am sure a video will follow shortly. Tuesday, we went to 3 parks (MK, Epcot & Studios). My spiritual gift of time management came in handy again and we were able to do so much! Totally wore ourselves out but totally worth it. I wish I had more energy to expand on everything we did but just look at Abby's pictures on FB for more details :) Ok, I am hitting the hay but love yall so much and miss yall a ton a ton! Write more soon.

All my love,
Lauren

BFF weekend!

This weekend was incredible. I don't even know where to start! I was looking forward to Savannah coming to Orlando forever and had been planning her trip a hundred times over in my head and it turned out so perfect! So clearly, this post is dedicated to her & the past 3 days. Friday, I had to work all day and finally got to go pick her up at the airport at like 12:15am. We drove straight to our resort- ALL-STAR sports. Please google a picture of it and laugh picturing Savannah and I staying there. (don't worry, we tried to video tape some key parts of the trip for yalls entertainment later) I mean, it's awesome if you have little boys who love running around and playing sports but out of all the Disney resorts, this was seriously the last one Sav and I would pick for ourselves. We were in the touchdown building and had to walk through a football to get to our room (this part was kind of awesome if you ask me.. lol). Our room even had a locker room shower.. yes, all of yall please think back to the golden days of junior high athletics and that is the type of shower/bathroom we had. Hilarious. Saturday was a beautiful day! We went to coffee and breakfast at the Polynesian and then went to Magic Kingdom. Savannah hadn't been to DW since she was 5 so I was so pleased to see her first reaction to seeing the Disney characters in the parades be "Is it weird that I feel like they are real?!" I loved it. We had a blast at Magic Kingdom. My dad would be so proud of the way I utilized the fast pass system- we did all the best rides! And even met Mickey & Minnie. Booya. When we were done at the park, I took her to see the Grand Floridian. This is the nicest resort in all of Disney and for some reason I thought it would be a good idea for us to change here before going to dinner. Wrong- I felt like a hobo. Haha. For dinner we ate at the top of the Contemporary at California Grill. It was seriously one of the best dinners of my entire life. Sav and I treated ourselves to whatever we wanted and never looked back. Best decision ever. We even got to see the fireworks from there and the view was so great! I LOVED it. Sunday morning we went to Animal Kingdom because I wanted to show Sav the Lion King show & the safari & I even talked her into going on the Dinosaur ride. So great! Next, we booked it to Epcot, survived the rainstorm and just kind of hung out there. It was Savannah's favorite park and we loved looking through all the countries. We at dinner in Morocco, got dessert in France & rode Soarin' twice. I am seriously like passionate about that ride- it is so great! Sunday night, my friend from work took Savannah, Sarah, Aly & I on a fireworks cruise through Bay Lake and Seven Seas and we got to watch the fireworks on the lake in front of the Magic Kingdom. It was one of the coolest things I have ever gotten to do and the most perfect, relaxing way to wrap up our weekend. Today I got to show her where I work, live, shop and even Downtown Disney. We are expert time managers let me tell ya..Savannah is the best buddy and I already wish we could relive this weekend. One day we will.. but just with kids and husbands to drag around ;) haha. Can't wait! It was hard saying bye to Savannah but thankfully we only have to do one more tearful airport visit until I am back in the big D in January! Speaking of being back, this weekend also marked my half way point in my internship! I can't believe it! I know I have had so much fun these first 3 and a half months but am even more excited about the ones to come. I have so much to look forward to in these next few weeks so yall stay tuned for some awesome updates.. I hope everyone is doing well! Congrats to my BRE for getting her fightin' texas aggie ring! Wish I could have been there!

I love you Sav! Thanks for making the trip out here!!!

The end of our MK day

Dinner at California Grill

Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom

Beginning of Epcot!

Dessert in France!

All my love,
Lauren

Slides, Sharks & Seagulls.

Labor Day weekend here was crazy! First of all, my roommate Sarah was in NJ which was fine for the first couple hours she was gone then I thought I was going to loose my mind coming home without anyone to talk to! She had a great weekend but I am selfishly glad to have her back :) (sidenote- I gave her an A&M shirt and she wore it to the airport.. she had like 2-3 people come up to her and talk about A&M and she just pretended she went there etc.. It was so awesome. I talk about A&M enough that she knew answers to the questions they would ask her.. She even said "I am just thankful to be a part of the legacy" HAHA and that is why she is awesome.) Anyways- I was working at the fort on Saturday and it was insane. Like over 60 people for pool party and we played tug-o-war with like 40 kids. The best part was the dance party we had to wrap up the day.. It was so legit. Like I did the whole Ludacris rap from Bieb's "Baby" and even got an applause from everyone in the pool. Who am I?! Campfire that night was even crazier.. at least 400 people were there. Monday was good because Bay Lake loves us and we had a cook out for lunch :) Happy Labor Day to us! Tuesday I worked my 6th straight day and talked to Sydney on the phone during my lunch break- I thought I was going to have an emotional breakdown but I survived and Wednesday was an awesome day off. My friend Tim and I went to Blizzard Beach & Typhoon Lagoon. We literally did every attraction.. Including a straight down slide [summit plummet], snorkeled in a shark reef (I touched a sting ray) and an INSANE wave pool. I am talking like 10 feet waves.. The first time the buzzer went off and a wave came out, I thought to myself "This is what it feels like to be experiencing a tsunami. Lord, help me".. and then I tried to run (fail.. I totally got crushed). But none the less.. it was a blast. I felt like a kid. For dinner we went to the fort (yes, my place of work on my day off...) and did what all the coolest guests do: roast hotdogs and marshmellows over the fire. Do you know how good this tasted?! After nights upon nights of watching these people eat these delicious meals and desserts, I was so satisfied to have my own turn. YUM!!!

Thursday: Day off #2. Claudia, Tim, Forrest and I went to Clearwater Beach. It was beautiful! And I am a total beach bum at heart so it was perfect. We laughed a lot! At one point, we were all in the ocean and looked back at all of our belongings to see about 30 seagulls swarming through all of our stuff! Something had to be done about this..so we all started walking to take care of the situation and when we got close enough I naturally thought it would be the best idea to scare the birds away by running at them and taking away the bag of cheetos they were devouring. EPIC FAIL. As soon as all the birds flew away, they came right back at me and I freaked- throwing the bag of cheetos in the air and you guessed it... getting pooped on by a seagull. Disgusting. And in the mean time, my friends who I thought were going to help me in this endeavor, were about to literally fall over by laughing so hard at me. I was laughing with them so it was fine.. Haha. After the beach, we went to Rita's for some yummy italian water ice and headed back towards Orlando. After being on the beach all day we were craving a hot tub so we went to Wilderness Lodge and helped ourselves to theirs for a couple hours. Amazing. I am so thankful that I have the luxury of doing that! Although I was busy the past two days, it was relaxing and fun at the same time. Next weekend Savannah comes and I cannot contain my excitement! I can't wait! Please be praying about where the Lord is going to lead me after this experience. I really miss home but still have an adventurous tug on my heart so we will see. Even though today is Friday, it is my Monday and I am heading back to work.. At least I know I will spend the last 2 hours watching Tangled so it's all good :) All of you normal people out there- I hope you enjoy your weekend!

All my love,
Lauren

"We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in You alone." -Psalm 33: 20-22

Hoop-De-Doo

I am going to try & outsmart myself by working on my blog posts a little at a time. Today is a typical Florida day- it has already been super sunny & hot (Sarah and I went to the pool for like 3 hours) but now we are in the middle of a storm.. and by 8 tonight we should be back to sunshine. Craziness. The clouds here literally fly through the sky- weather changes like crazy. Just like my time here (you see what I did there?! chessy tie-in. lol) Somedays are filled with funny stories and so much energy and hope but other days are just the opposite. With school starting and rush just being over, I am really missing being in College Station. There is nothing like it and I can't wait to go back in January for a nice, long, class-free visit. And just when I think I am on the verge of "having nothing to do" or being lonely- low & behold the Lord takes such good care of me. It really is breathtaking to experience. I had the night off last night which is really rare because only 2 of the shifts I could be scheduled for allow you a night off.. So I came home, made dinner, then decided to go for a run. I have an uneasy feeling about just running freely through the city of Orlando, so I have taken it upon myself to take full advantage of the Disney resorts. Majority of them have running trails so last night I decided to try out the Caribbean Beach Resort. (ps-confession: I am a total resort junkie. I always feel like I am walking around with a sign on my head that says "I am not staying here.. in fact, I am here by myself." But I try & play it cool..they are SO fun to explore) They have a 1.4 mile loop around their lake and it is beautiful! So I went, ran two laps and then treated myself to a Diet Coke (naturally) with my handy dandy resort mug (helps me with the tourist look). Next, I laid in a hammock for about 30 minutes and read my book. It was amazing.. I could literally spend my whole day curled up somewhere reading. I never want to leave moments like that. But I told myself at 9:00 I would head to Wal-Mart.. and whatdoyaknow- at 9:00 fireworks start shooting off directly in front of me from Epcot's show. First of all, I had no idea Epcot was so close to me and second of all, I had no idea that I was laying in the best view ever. It was like the timing and view were perfectly designed for me. Although walking around resorts full of families makes me miss mine, God never fails to show up in huge ways and remind me that He is with me. Well- there's an honest post for yall. Just when I think it's not all magical here- it turns out it is :) All thanks to the Lord.. not a mouse (contrary to popular belief).

Well, here I am again! This weekend was good- relaxing, trip to Magic Kingdom and a VERY long day at work. Last night was SO fun because my friends and I crossed off something on my Disney Bucket List-- The Hoop De Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness. It is the longest running dinner show in America. It honestly hasn't changed since the day it opened (it is still complete with a rendition of the hokey-pokey if that tells you anything..) but it was AWESOME. All you can eat food & drink (fried chicken, ribs, corn, mashed potatoes, beans, strawberry shortcake.. pretty much one of my favorite meals). The entertainment was great too! So funny! Towards the end of the show someone started pulling my chair out from behind me.. before I knew it I was on stage. They said I was chosen because of my "beauty" and was sent back stage to receive my instructions which consisted of one line and a costume.. turns out, I was the can-can girl. It was hilarious and the people in the show were so nice! I even got a picture and a certificate. Work yesterday was very long & slow but I did meet two of the cutest boys! Too bad they were about 3 years old.. they both had secrets for me that they had to whisper in my ear. One was "I have a mickey and minnie doll" and the second one was "I like you". Haha. I am including a video and some pictures for your viewing pleasure :) Praying for all you fresh students out there and missing everyone like crazy!

(and yes, I had to upload this to YouTube for yall to see.. kind of embarrassing but whatever)

Chloe, Ben, Tim & I!

all-you-can-eat ribs! SO GOOD!

My perfect view from Caribbean Beach!

The picture they gave me after the show.

done & done.

All my LOVE,
Lauren

chipndale

Sorry so much time passes in between posts. It's like as soon as I sit down I want to fall asleep. But here we go on an update of my past week at Disney. Last Thursday, I went to our Cast Picnic and it was awesome. Free food? Yes, please. Also- Goofy & Mickey were there. I mean if the boss was there.. this was a pretty big deal. Lol. We did the limbo, mac-arena, cotton eyed joe, etc.. But get this: we were dancing without our shoes because come on, who can do the cotton eyed joe in flip flops?! But Disney is HARD CORE about safety and Mickey got on to us about not having our shoes on :( There is nothing like getting in trouble from the face of Disney World.. lol. I had the day off and spent it doing my doing new favorite hobby: exploring the resorts and finding a nice nook to read in. Last week I went to the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian. It was perfect and amazing. The Poly has sweet hammocks and the Grand smells like heaven. I am off today too and did the same thing but at the Wilderness Lodge. If you know me, it can be hard for me to relax but this has been the perfect balance- relaxing but still enjoying the Disney atmosphere. Work has been really fun! I have been working at Fort Wilderness a lot which means I get to work with Chip and Dale (Who are becoming 2 of my favorite characters) for their campfire show. It is fun but oh my gosh, totally brings out the worst in the guests. People are PSYCHO about these characters. They are seriously so rude and obnoxious. But besides that, it's a really fun shift (some of the kids are adorable though and seriously melt when they see Chip and Dale- yesterday one little girl just kept saying "chipndale" over and over again, it was precious!). Of course I enjoy the cowboy playing the country music during the show and have become quit a pyro myself. I have learned how to put out a campfire with no water and come home looking like I work as a chimney sweep.. lol. The other day I had to get on to some boys because they wanted to throw frogs in the fire!! I couldn't help but laugh afterward.. but goodness, kids these days! lol. Tuesday, Claudia and I went to Blizzard Beach- one of the water parks here. It was awesome! And so funny because she had never been to a water park before. When we were getting ready to go down the first ride (the kind where you lay on a mat and go down face first), I thought she was going to kill me. Haha. She ended up loving it!! Yesterday before work we had another cast appreciation event- this time it was breakfast at Mickey's Bar-b-que. French toast sticks, made to order pancakes and chocolate milk.. I was in heaven. Lol. It was a lot of fun and everyday I love the people I work with even more. Since I am training for this half-marathon deal I am going to hit the gym. But I love yall & thanks for reading my blog! Have a magical day :)

reading spot at the lodge

reading spot at the poly

All my love,
Lauren

Thanks & Gig 'Em.

Sorry for the delay in posts- but I have been super busy (and tired!). This post is dedicated to the past four years at the greatest university in Texas.. dare I say the world! TEXAS A&M. Last Friday I officially became a Texas A&M Alum. Crazy right?! It still hasn't hit me that I really will never have to write another paper or take another test or waste an hour of my life playing Angry Birds instead of paying attention to a boring lecture. Texas A&M was the perfect fit for me and I am so thankful the Lord led me there. It is so rich with tradition, values, integrity and service. Here are a few things to sum up each of my four years in college station:
Freshman year: Coming back with Courtney (my freshman roommate and soul sister) from Fish Camp doing non-stop Aggie yells, living in the dorm, everything I owned breaking, Sav & I being attached by the hip, meeting my best friends in MSC fish, meal plans, having to park a mile from my dorm (so I rarely left campus), 5 girls and all our luggage in a Prius to Florida for spring break, pranks with my suitmates, literally being sick to my stomach for leaving my first football game early, going to muster for the first time
Sophomore year: the apartment, theta, big event, meeting with Marci, riding the bus to school, making music videos in the apartment, our bunk bed made for 5 year old boys breaking, roomies got lice, breakaway, roomie ritual nights, LUNCH in the msc
Junior year: f2b, living in the haven, girls trip to Destin, eating loaf, roomie pics, mugwalls, aggie wranglers lessons, flip videos, monday night dates with Sydney
Senior year: YOLO, aggie ring, ski trip no regrets, senior nights, tail gates, cotton bowl, theta powder puff, caroling, my blue heaven (gulf shores trip), grace bible study, camping, nola, graduation, disney!
That was harder than I thought it would be.. I could seriously go on and on. It is so funny the memories that stand out to me. Graduation was so fun! Savannah even held up a big sign asking me to be her Maid of Honor after I walked across the stage. It felt like I was being proposed to :) Of course I said yes! A lot of my friends came in town and it just felt good for everyone to be in the same place again.. like we never even left. We had a little party at the haven (the house I lived in the past 2 years) and it was so great! I also got to go home to Dallas this weekend which was really good as well! Even though being in College Station was perfect and I miss it everyday, the Lord kept me strong and reminded me that even though those past 4 years were amazing and I would give anything to do them again, He has me in a cool place now with exciting plans ahead. One of them being going to Aggie football games and SITTING in the shade ;) I am looking forward to spending the next few months just relaxing, having fun and tuning into the Lord.. His plan and His Word. Everything here at Disney is going well! Work is great! I will share some good stories with ya in the next post. Lol. My roommate Sarah and I are signed up to run the Disney Wine & Dine Half-Marathon relay on October 1st so I am starting to train for that. So exciting! I hope everyone is doing well. It's so weird that "summer" is over because it definitely still feels like summer here! I promise to write sooner this time :)

All my love,
Lauren

The Griffins take on Disney!

The past couple days I have had the privilege of getting to hang out with one of my FAVORITE families while they were in Disney.. The Griffins!! I could not have asked for a better family to get to experience Disney with. I have known David & Courtney since I was about 5 years old- Courtney was my Kindergarten Sunday School teachers and I actually ended up teaching their first two kids in Kindergarten Sunday School a couple years ago. So to say the least, they mean a lot to me. I have baby sat all their kids and love them all very much! Don & Nancy were here too and getting to see them each morning was the best start to the day! Seeing the parks through the eyes of 4 year olds who were there for the first time was priceless! On Saturday, I met up with them at Magic Kingdom for a little bit before I had to run over to work. We rode just about every ride in Tomorrowland and it was awesome. Ben & Paul were infatuated with the park maps and would walk around pointing and saying "We're here! We are at Disney World!" lol. It was the cutest thing! Also, I was called Kara many times. So Kara.. don't get offended if someone thinks you are me because it definitely works both ways sister. The best was "Hey! Have you been to my house before?! Yeah, cause you're Kara!" Haha. Yesterday, I met them at Animal Kingdom and we did just about everything you can do there! I rode Expedition Everest back to back with Jordan & Luke and it was awesome. The best ride there by far! We also saw the Lion King show & Sarah and Paul even got to be a part of it. Paul was sitting in my lap during the show and just walked right up to the stage when they were looking for volunteers. When we were leaving Paul was like "Lauren, did you like me in the show?!" Of course I did!! Haha- so great. Today we knocked out Epcot. I finally got to do Soarin' and it was beautiful! Such a cool ride. Ben, Paul and Sarah took me on the Nemo ride and we had a lot of fun. Doing rides with some of my favorite kiddos makes them way cooler than doing them with some other twenty-somethin' year olds. Lol. The boys are hilarious because they rode Splash Mountain on the first day and now compare every boat ride to that one. Luke & Jordan and I had a blast finding the Hidden Mickeys! I have an app on my phone that gives you hints to where they all are. We were doing really good and got 67 points! Too bad I only have 801 to go. :) The Griffins were so sweet to let me tag along for their family vacation. It was absolutely amazing having people I love here to share this wonderful experience with! It is definitely one of my best memories here so far and I will never forget it. I can't even wrap up the experience in words!

Sarah got her drivers license at Disney- watch out world!

My attempt to take a picture with my favorite buddy Luke. He is thinking "What is this girl doing?!" One day girls will be lining up to take pictures with this guy. Haha.

Paul & Sarah in "The Festival of the Lion King"

Ben in Mexico!

Jordan and I with the giant sombreros!

Thanks for letting me hang out with you!

Sneak peek into one of the places I work- Community Hall at Bay Lake Tower. A lot of fun stuff happens here! Just picture being greeted by yours truly in my cute yellow polo ;)

View of Wilderness Lodge from Bay Lake when Michael & I took boats out last week.

Perfect view of Magic Kingdom from Seven Seas Lagoon.

The Contemporary is on the left and Bay Lake Tower is on the right. Both are awesome places I get to work! I love having such beautiful scenery at my workplace.

Michael on the boat by the Grand Floridian Resort.

One of my absolute favorite views. I mean, how could this ever get old?!

The Boss Man.

Work is still going so great! I can't believe how fast time is moving along though. Even after being here for almost 2 months, I still don't think I will ever get my fill of Disney. I love the people I work with and am looking forward to seeing them when I go into work tomorrow. I am coming home next week so if anyone has any special Disney requests please let me know :) I will post more about work later this week. I am exhausted and am looking forward to going to bed early tonight :) David & Courtney are super-parents for handling the 5 kids so well at Disney!

 

I will leave you with this song we sang at church last week. I adore it so very much. If I could write a song right now, this is what it would say.

I hope everyone has a MAGICAL day! I mean it. Haha. Thanks again to the Griffin family for giving me some of my best days at Disney yet! 

All my love, 

Lauren