Bec and I jumped aboard with the Welch clan last week for an excursion with Mickey and friends, eating and playing by land and by sea. My mom and dad surprised us with this trip for a Christmas present last year, and it couldn't have came at a more perfect time. Our family has a tradition of big trips before a missionary sets sail, so this was in honor to celebrate Aaron's departure into service. Our vacation was spent 4 days on Disney's cruise ship in the Caribbean, and 4 days touring the theme parks in Florida.
You'd think we could get Disney'd out on a confined boat with Donald, Mulan and Pocahontas, but it really turned out to be the opposite. We couldn't get enough of it. The ship was packed with shows, dinner and events spotlighting the classic movies we all grew up with, like "Toy story: the musical" and "Late-night Pirates of the Caribbean pool party". We sang some classics at Disney karaoke at nightime ("...a Whole new world..."). And if that wasn't enough, we'd fall asleep in our state room watching Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin.
The ship stopped a couple of times, once in Nassau, Bahamas and the other on a secluded island called Castaway Cay. In Nassau, the clan cruised the island via scooter, visiting a garden and the beautiful beaches. Castaway Cay was more of a "chillen" location, where we snorkeled, sand-castled, and enjoyed the surroundings of a truley secluded paradise. Disney owns the whole island, so it wasn't uncommon to spot a Minnie mouse statue sunken for snorkelers to view, or "the black pearl" pirate ship a few hundred yards off shore.
Becca spent a couple hours swimming with a dolphin at a resort in the Bahamas, a "dream come true" she constantly mentions. The highlight was the "ride" she got, as the dolphin pushed against the heels of her feet and propelled her around like a motor boat. She hugged and kissed the dolphin, and even begged me to take it home with us.
While Bec was with flipper, I spent a couple of hours diving at Stuarts cove on the other end of the island. We dove an old sunken coast guard shipwreck, as well as a small airplane used in the movie "Jaws". My dive partner so happend to be a professional photographer, so I recieved this and another dozen sweet pictures from our time under the sea.
Our favorite roller coaster on-shore was the "Rockin' Roller Coaster: starring Aerosmith" at Hollywood studios. The ride mimicked a backstage tour at a live concert, while flipping upside down and jamming out to Aerosmith. It was truley Rockin!
Our bright colored t-shirts made it easy for us to stick together. It wasn't a small task, however, as there were a total of 19 of us!
Other highlights from the trip included a stroll through China, Germany, France and Italy at the Epcot center, as well as our "Mission to Mars" aboard the space shuttle. We rode a roller coaster to the top of Mount Everest (backwards even), spotting a wild Yeti as well. Live crocadiles and Cheetah's were seen at the Animal kingdom, and of course we managed to squeeze in Splash & Space mountain.
One last thank-you to Dad and mom, who provided this trip for our family, one that will be remembered for a lifetime. It was such a great time to bond as family, and really enjoy and have fun together. The memories we shared are truley priceless. Thanks again!
I thought I'd just post a few pictures from Becca's BYU-football "girls camp" she recently went to. For a measley few dollars, Becca spent the evening running drills on the field, mingling with coaches and players, visiting the locker room, and 'chalk talk'ing about future opponents. Over 500 ladies attended the event, one of which told Becca that she and her husband had named their 3 kids after former players. Wow...and I thought I was a die hard.
Becca went to the clinic with her mom (Lori) and sister (Vicki), here pictured hammering it out on the 'line sled.' 
Here the girls appear to be becoming more educated on some offensive philosophy from Coach Anae. During the X's and O's chalk talk, Becca asked the Coach to diagram the famous Beck-to-Harline game winner against Utah a couple of years ago.
Becca came home not only with some goodies (poster, media guide, stickers, t-shirt) but also with gushing enthusiam for the upcoming season.Needless to say it was a proud moment of mine (sniff sniff)
Here they are with Heach Coach Bronco Mendenhall. Anticipating a great season this year! BYU starts the season nationally ranked, and projected by many to run the table undefeated. The first game is next saturday (August 30th) in Provo against Northern Iowa.
