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