I'm Going to Disney!

My favorite thing in this whole world is actually a rather large thing. It's a company. The Walt Disney Company.
My favorite place in this whole world is a theme park. The Magic Kingdom in Orlando Florida to be specific. Although, any Disney park is almost tied to the MK.
The best experience i've ever had was Spring 2013 when I moved to Florida to work for Disney for a semester. And guess what?
I'M GOING BACK!!!
Not to go play at the park. To work. To be a cast member again!
At the beginning of February a post was put up in a Disney Alumni page i'm a part of saying for the first time WDW was going to do an Alumni CP for the summer, and applications would go live a couple days later. My life instantly took a spin. What do I do? Do I apply? Do I go back? I'm very fortunate to have a job at the university that doesn't require me to be there for the summer and still have my job in the fall. So what do I do? It would be a whole new experience. A new location. New apartment. New roommates. And summer. Summer as in crazy busy and crazy hot.
But my love for Disney took over and before I knew what was happening, I had applied.
I went through the typical process, seeing so many other alumni's were applying and knowing I was up for some hard competition. I only told a couple of people I had even applied because I didn't think I would get accepted. I had my phone interview February 21st and they said I would find out around March 30th. February 27 I got my acceptance email! I couldn't believe it. I kept re-reading it to see if it was even real.
I will be doing merch again. I get a name tag again. I get to create the magic again. And most importantly, I get to spend my summer in my favorite place on earth.
Summer can't get here fast enough!!

Catch Up

Oh dear.
It's definitely been a while since I've blogged. Part of me uses this as a journal-which makes things even worse cause I havent legit wrote in my journal for over a year. A year! How pathetic!
Well, my last post was back in June with my magical trip to Cali. That was a whole four months ago, I can't believe it. And I can hardly remember anything that's happened in between that I am sure, but I will do my best.
July-The first of July was the Hunt family reunion up in the mountains. Like way up in the mountains. Like so up into the mountains there isn't an ounce of cell phone service. Gag me.
In all honesty it was fun. A few days away from the world is actually quite nice, and after all, I do love my dysfunctional family. One night while sitting around the camp fire a Moose and her baby came wandering through out camp. Literally. Like twenty feet away! It was madness! In July I also went to the Mormon Tabernacle Pioneer concert with special guest Santino Fontana aka Prince Hans of the Southern Isles from Frozen (real reason I went lets be honest) and his voice was AMAZING! I loved it! Such a blast!
I also found a new love in Harry Potter. I'm a bit late on the HP train but it's pretty great. Team Draco for the win! (but no really I took the official sorting hat quiz and got put into Slytherin. Like what? I thought I was a nice person!) My family (minus Cami's family) also went and spent a few days in Island Park. Another quick little get away that was needed.
August-I went to San Antonio, Texas for dearest Hillary's wedding! It was my first official time in Texas (unless you count the airport) and I had a BLAST! Texas is a bit too ghetto for me...aka hick...aka cowboys everywhere..but I had a great couple of days! I was there for two days and three nights but being reunited with Hillary and Caitlin for Hills special day was definitely one for the books. Not to mention getting to meet Hills man and his family that I just adore. I was sad when my short trip came to an end!
Towards the end of summer before school started Whitney, Steph, Muzi and I took a trip to Lagoon. This was a blast! We had such a good time spending the day riding rides and even ended the day with a HUGE rain storm. Literally we got drenched going to the car. It was also raining so hard I was convinced I was going to die on the drive home but I didn't so that's good.
Jessica also came home in August! I was so excited to finally see her after 18 months apart!!
-Summer was also filled with traveling a lot for farewells and many trips to 7 Peaks with the family. Easton and Kennadi are little fishes when it comes to swimming.
Court and Dillon also moved up to Moscow (Idaho not Russia) which is pretty sad actually. Dillon is attending law school, but did they have to take Easton with them?????
I also spent majority of the summer babysitting Kennadi which I absolutely adored. We spent our days playing on the playground, drawing with chalk, blowing bubbles, building forts, and most importantly brainwashing I mean enlightening her with Disney movies!
September: The last week of August school started back up. booooooooo. Where did the summer go? I started back up working at the Testing Center, the front desk this time around. As for school nothing too exciting is happening. I'm pretty much in the same routine of school and work each day, so things get a bit tedious after a while but what can you do.
Anyway that's my life in a nutshell. Nothing too important.
On an important note I only have a mere 93 days till i'm reunited with my one true love: Disney World!

Week with Kristen

I got to start June off by spending a few days with Kristen, a former roommate I had in Florida. Kristen lives in California and I loved spending some time with her. A day before I flew out I got either food posoining or the 24  hour stomach bug, either way, I was throwing up. Luckily by the time I had my flight I wasn’t rushing to the bathroom and was feeling a lot better, although still not 100 percent. Kristen and her little sister came to pick me up at the airport and when I got to their house her mom had a little basket full of Disney goodies on the bed because she had wanted me to feel as if I was staying at a Disney resort. Kristen and I then spent the night just chatting. On Wednesday, my first full day there, Kristen and I went to the post office so Kristen could get a passport. We waited for 45 minutes for the passport area to open but we had all the post office people cracking up at our conversations. We then went to the beach! It was a nice little secluded beach and Kristens boyfriend Daniel then met up with us. (side note: Daniel looks like Andrew Garfield, I’m just saying it was weird.) After the beach we went to Kristens so we could get out of our suits, I showered and then we headed off to their mall. This mall is HUGE! Like it had a ferris wheel and everything. The three of us went and ate at this place called Tender Greens, I still couldn’t stomach the idea of lots of food so I just got some soup and it was soo yummy! I wish we had a Tender Greens in Utah! We then went to the movie Maleficent, which was good but I had some problems with it. It went too far off Sleeping Beauty for my liking. The three of us were having a lot of fun though and joking around a lot. Daniel even learned Utah isn’t all dirt roads, so I would say it was successful! We then went to Kristens to eat dinner and celebrate Kristens sisters birthday. 

Thursday Kristen and I went to Disneyland!! It’s so nice to spend some time in Disney again with someone who views and appreciates Disney the same way I do. We were at the park from park opening to about 11 at night, we were EXHAUSTED. We were on a roll though, we rode some rides then Kristen insisted I watch the Tangled show, which I loved! After the show we met Punzie and yes…even Flynn Rider himself. Totally a good day! We then hit up the Royal hall and saw Cinderella, Ariel (who was too cute!) and Tiana. As we left we were heading towards Fanland for the Map show but saw Snow White, then the Queen, then Burt, then Hook. One after another, it was insane. We turned from meeting one character to another one walking up. We took selfies with them all and then finally headed to the Map Show, which once again was too cute. I have no idea why I hadn’t seen them before. And wish Kennadi and Easton could have watched them. It was then time to go watch the Beauty and the Beast show and then by then we decided we better go get some food. We rode Haunted Mansion, Pirates and Jungle Cruise several times, as all the other rides a good amount. We kept getting fast passes for Indiana Jones but always got occupied doing something else to actually use them, oops. We were on our way to use like our third fast pass for that ride when we saw the group for Fantasmic getting large so we decided to bag that ride once more and went to get a spot. I saved some spots while Kristen ran and got her some ice cream and me a pickle. We then sat and chatted for about an hour then Fantasmic started, the firework show starting right after. One of my favorite things about Disney is the shows they put on, the magic is real through that man! After the fireworks we dodged and got on Pirates one last time and then headed home. Friday, the next morning, we got up bright and early to be there at opening again. Before when we had checked the times said the park opened  at eight but when we got there (at 7:30) it didn’t say it opened until nine. Once we were finally allowed in the gates we rushed and got in line for Elsa and Anna (priorities) and they led us in a single file line back to Fantasyland to get us lined up by the time the park opened officially. Even going straight there we got in the line at the hour point, but lucky for us we were only in line for half hour, which is killer for Anna and Elsa. The line went by really fast too because we chatted the whole time with an adorable five year old next to us in line. We then went and watched the Tangled show again (I seriously love it) and let me just say….this Flynn was on point. And he was dreamy! Okay so we have a slight obsession with Flynn Rider, so what? We obviously had to wait and get a picture again and him and Rapunzel were so fun! They had a smolder contest and taught us how to do it. During the show we had sat next to one of the guys who puts on the shows family, so Kristen being completely star struck went and met him (and the other guy, Mr. Smyth and Mr. Jones) while I waited for Flynn and Rapunzel.  As we left the line for the princesses was only five minutes so we went and saw them again, Tiana, Ariel and Aurora were in there this time. More selfies were taken. We then spent the remainder of the day riding rides. We had to go on Jungle Cruise several times because there was a total babe who worked there and we always missed his boat barely! But one time he was the one loading people onto the boats, so I made Kristen go in the long line so he would be the one to help us. He stopped us at the front of the line and started talking to me, the usual small talk. But it didn’t last long because he then got sent on his break, I WAS SO MAD! And Kristen couldn’t stop laughing! We also decided to wait in the Peter Pan line and had just gotten on, we were flying through London when our boat jerked to a stop and the lights came on! IT WAS SO COOL! The ride had to be shut down and we waited for a little bit before riding out the rest of the ride (slowly) all in the light. We weren’t even mad it broke down on us, it was so cool to see it in the light!

 At one point Kristen wanted to get a picture with just Flynn so we were waiting outside the theater the show is at because during the Beauty and the Beast show Flynn and Rapunzel meet outside. One of the workers saw us waiting and came to talk to us, she was wonderful! After a long chat just about life she went and got us these little plastic glass slippers and told us to remember that no matter what to follow our dreams. It’s people like her that are the reason Disney is the way it is! Then one of the guys in the play, Mr. Jones, plays Gaston during the show and at one point comes from the back of the theater, meaning he walks through the courtyard where Kristen and I were. When he saw us sitting there he came to chat to us, remembering Kristen from earlier that day. He was like “hey, lets take a picture” and then invited us to see his band perform in Tomorrowland. He was so funny, but Kristen and I were so worried he was going to miss his cue. No worries he didn’t. We then got in line for Rapunzel and Flynn and once again chatted with all the little kids around us. After seeing Flynn and Rapunzel again we went to Tomorrowland Terrace to see our new found friend perform. Kristen and I started off by sitting at a table but about one song in we were dancing on the dance floor. A little girl started dancing with us and making other people dance with us and it was an absolute blast! Finally after a full day of character meeting and attraction riding, as well as dancing, we decided it was time to go. We stopped at Downtown Disney first naturally, and then made our way back to her house. 

The whole time at Disney (and I guess the whole week) we kept saying everything as "this isnt amateur hour" but it never failed, each night something happened that was "amateur" as we referred to is as. We were laughing so hard each time. Ever since I cant stop saying that, as well as "Huzzah" and "fi!" something picked up from the Tangled and Beauty and the Beast show! :) 

Saturday was my last full day and we started it off by watching Tangled. Side note, Kristen and I always have movie dates where we start a movie at the same time, and it’s usually Tangled. It was nice to be able to actually watch the movie in the same room. Kristen and her sister then convinced me to watch the first Harry Potter. We then ate some dinner and went to Robin (Kristens little sisters) concert choir performance. I actually really enjoyed myself, and before the performance Kristen, her mom and I were getting a kick and just chatting for about two hours-the concert started almost an hour late. We tried to embarrass Robin during her performance but she was really good at ignoring us. Sunday finally came around and we woke up bright and early in order for me to catch my flight, it was quite sad. I had such a fantastic time with Kristen and her family that I was so sad to see it come to an end! 

Beach living. Still dont know why Daniel wore jeans...

Experiencing the backside of water!

We love the wanted thief

"Shellfie"

She was AMAZING

The Tikki Room makes me sad now-a-days

Winnie the Pooh or????

Trapped on Peter Pan

Fun at Disneyland is over! :(

March-May

I haven’t blogged since February! I am the definition of a slacker I suppose.

March: Back in March I turned 21! I am getting so old! L My mom came down for the day on my birthday to take me shopping, went to lunch with her, Courtnie, Cami and their babies. We tried for Iggys but the power went out (it was EXTREMELY windy this day) so we headed over to Chiles. After that I went to work then went to Applebees (I think you could say I have an addiction to that place) and after that a few people came over for some shots! Had to bring 21 in the right way! (don’t worry mom, it was only soda.) In March I also went to Disney on Ice which was obviously...magical! 

April: Nothing of importance happened during April that comes to mind, except for the fact that the semester finally came to an end, which is always an exciting point in a semester! Working at the testing center also came to an end until Fall semester starts back up. 

May: Right after finals my family headed to California for a little, much needed, vacation. In true fashion we started off at Disneyland. This was the babies (and Austins) first time, but sadly some of the more fun rides were down, like Indiana Jones and Pirates of the Caribbean. Not to mention there wasn’t even Fantasmic and Fireworks. We did get to see World of Color though, something I think even the babies loved! I was pretty bummed BUT I was still in Disneyland so it was a blast. Dillon got the Hidden Mickey book so we had a blast trying to find all the hidden mickeys throughout the park. After two days we drove down to San Diego where our first stop was the San Diego Temple then the Mormon Battalion. The Temple was gorgeous and learning more about the Mormon Battalion was pretty interesting. The next day we went to the Zoo, which was so large, and so hot, but pretty cool. Then the following day we hit up the USS Midway and then the beach. I enjoyed both greatly. The Midway was so interesting and fun to learn about and then I just wished I lived at the beach. Then that night some of us headed to a Padres game, which was tons of fun, and we even made it on the jumbo tron! Our last full day in California we went to Sea World. Shamu is so cute, I wish I could take one home and keep it in my bathtub or something. Then what felt like too soon it was time to return to reality and go home. If I had things my way I would have headed back to Disneyland. 

Run Disney

It's no secret I love Disney. Seriously, like if you didn't know that then you have been living under a very large rock in the middle of nowhere.
Anyway I used my love for Disney to my advantage and talked my parents into signing me up for a RunDisney. They've been wanting me to do this thing called "get active" and so like I said, I used this to my advantage. I told them I would start running if they let me do a race in Disney. I thought this was a long shot but to my surprise they went for it. Now my original purpose was for Disney World but they made me do Disneyland first to make sure I was serious before flying across the country. But if it gets me to Disney obviously i'm going to be serious about it.
My dad and 2 older sisters often run half marathons and I had to lay down the law right away and tell them there was no way that was going to happen. I tried to talk them into doing a simple 5K but that wasn't going to fly with them so we settled on a 10K. Now, for a girl who pretty much woke up one day and decided to become a runner this was a big deal. 6.2 miles seemed like some sort of fantasy. I instantly started training and luckily my sister Courtnie was a huge support as she would go to the gym with me in the mornings, which was a huge factor because if not I probably would have struggled to get my butt to the gym.
Before I knew it my race was here. Courtnie kept reassuring me she thought I was ready but I was a bit nervous.
My parents, Darci and I flew to California to let the fun begin. Now, my family has always been a Disney family but Darci and my Dad don't really do rides, but lucky for me my mom does. We flew on a Thursday evening and walked around Downtown Disney that night after eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant there. I was in absolute heaven. I was taking pictures of the WOD costumes to send to Barb and loved being back in that Disney atmostphere, and it was only Downtown Disney!
That night I could hardly sleep. I was like a four year old on Christmas Eve. Luckily morning finally came and we were one of the firsts in line for California Adventure. We went straight for Cars Land then hit all the other big rides without much of a wait time. Then we went over to Magic Kingdom. I was soaking in everything (and comparing every little thing to Florida. oops.) (MK for life.)
During lunch we went back to our room to take a nap. Well Dad and Darci napped, my mom and I rested for like half hour before I dragged her back to watch the parade. It was no Celebrate a Dream Come True parade but it was a Disney parade so obviously it was still cute. I then dragged my mom (Maybe not literally dragged but I was making all the decisions) back to Fantasyland so I could judge it. :)
Eventually Darci and Dad came back and we ate dinner, rode a couple of rides, then got some ice cream as I made sure we would have a good spot for the fireworks. Time for the REAL juding to come forth. The Firework show. I had seen these fireworks before but Wishes was so drilled into my mind I was looking forward to this. They definitely weren't as good as Wishes, as Wishes will probably always be one of my top 5 favorite things in the world but kind of like the parade, it was Disney so obviously I was impressed.
We then went back to the hotel to get some sleep for our EARLY wake up call the next morning.
4:30 the next morning we got up to get ready for our race. Over 10,000 people waited behind the starting line to begin the race. The race started at 6:00 but by the time we got to the starting line it was 6:25. We ran through backstage Disney (something I loved because I was used to the MK tunnels) and then all throughout the park, straight over to Califronia Adventure before headining out of the parks for the final 2 miles of the race. Characters were there along the way and Cast Members lined the streets to offer a high five.
It was nearly impossible to actually run fast with so many people and such narrow streets but I had a blast and loved every minute of it. Who knew someone could love running a race so much?
Mickey was there at the finish line to offer a high five (we all know how I love that guy!) and I was given my shiny medal. We went to the park after (like right after. Didn't even shower. oops. Aint got time to take care of our hygiene, we're in Disney!) and got there right as it opened, hitting up some of the big rides that have the usual long wait times.
We did our thing. Actually took a nap this day. then had to go play some more. Then later that night I got to be reunited with Kristen. The rest of my family left for bed so it was just me and Kristen tearing up Disneyland like the olden days. It was so great to catch up with her though and wish I lived so much closer to her.
My family heads back to Disneyland the beginning of May and I absolutely can not wait. I really need to A: Marry a Disney lover and B: Live closer to Disney. Like oh I dont know Vista Waaaaay? Just kidding. Not there, but still.

2013 Recap

I am honestly so shocked that 2013 is already to an end, and I am really quite sad about it. I have LOVED 2013. Honestly one of my all time favorite years.
2013 recap:
Moved across the country to where I didn't know a single person
Worked in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom
Made life long friendships with people from all around the word
Pixie Dusted Suri Cruise while chatting with Katie Holmes
Survived my ghetto apartment
Survived the murderer in Vista Way
Survived my alcoholic roommates in Vista Way. [Good thing I love them! :)]
Basically I survived Vista Way
Working until 3 AM or 14 hour long shifts
Met my Australian soulmate
Breathed the same air as One Direction
3/5 of One Direction learned of my existence (Niall, Harry, and Liam)
Started another year at UVU
Kelbs came home from his mission

Basically the reason 2013 was so fantastic was because of my Disney adventure and my One Direction experience. I'm not sure how the heck 2014 can top this year but i'm excited to see!

Family Christmas Letter 2013

It's that time again. The year has come to an end and the annual Christmas letter from the Packers is here. Courtnie wrote the letter this year and she did such a great job! Soo..without further wait here it is....

Christmas time has come once more,

For this reason we leave this at your door.

We want to give you some holiday cheer,

For those of you far and near.

This year we’ve been through a lot,

Lucky for you, we like to talk.

In this Christmas letter,

Read on to know us better.

Darci is a freshman at Utah State

She is having lots of fun and likes to date.

Darci is a voice for the USU student population,

She shares their concerns and reports it to the President without hesitation.

She is a waitress at a Brazilian Grill,

Go and see her and she will pay your bill.

Madison is obsessed with the band One Direction,

She follows and stalks them with grand affection.

Her new best friend is Mickey the Mouse,

Early this year, she lived near his house.

She visited Disney World where she interned for a while,

Ask her how it was, her stories are sure to make you smile.

Madison studies English at UVU,

Someday she plans to write a book or two.

Cami and Austin have Kennadi who is one,

She is cute as a button, but makes it hard to get much done.

This was a big year for Cami as she got her degree,

She couldn’t get away and now works at the university.

Austin has one more semester of school left to do

And if he isn’t at school, you will find him at the golf course, hitting a ball or two.

Cami and Austin bought a house in Spanish Fork,

Along with a few cars that have lots of torque.

Courtnie and Dillon had a cute baby boy,

His name is Easton and he is really a joy.

Courtnie now works at home as a mom

Where she writes great stories at FamilyShare.com.

If you are wondering what products to buy,

Courtnie also writes about products that are top of the line.

Dillon is almost done with school, he took the Law school application test

And hopefully he did his best. 

Eric and Sandy have been traveling fools,

From Florida, D.C., and the Yellowstone geyser pools.

Sandy is busy visiting her two sweet grand kids,

While Eric’s time as bishop, he patiently bids.

Eric spends his time hunting, fishing and running,

While Sandy is busy decorating Christmas trees and shopping.

We have had a happy year, this is true,

We hope our joyful spirit rubs off on you.

Please share with those you call dear,

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love, The Packers