Destination: D

We enjoyed a wonderful trip to California recently, which I will have to blog about in several separate entries because there are a lot of photos! This one is about the conference we attended while we were there. Destination: D. This was a conference for D23 members. D23 decided to only hold their Expo (which they started last year) every other year so they designed this conference to keep us fanatics busy until 2011 when they hold the next Expo. We had a wonderful time and learned all kinds of new Disney info, including seeing a video of Walt that was taken just before his death. It was just recently pulled from the archives and had never been shown to the public. Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take video but we got lots of great photos from the event.

Steven Clark, President of D23 & Editor in Chief of 23 Magazine kicked off the conference

A funny promo idea

Woo-hoo! We can't wait for the Expo next year!!

Becky Cline (the new chief archivist) and a Disney author (Sorry, I forget his name!)

Some of the original costumes

Walt and Lillian

Members of the original Mickey Mouse Club

A very young Tony Baxter and George Lucas discussing Star Tours

Dave Smith giving one of his final presentations as the chief archivist before his retirement

Walt Disney reading to his daughters

A cool old Disneyland shuttle from when they were building the park

Neil Armstrong with Mickey Mouse

Garth Kemp interviewing George (Disneyland President)

The new Mickey Mouse costume for the parks - it blinks and everything. It's really cool!

The Disney Legends Concert featuring Richard Sherman and some of the wonderful music that he and his brother created for Disneyland...

Jeffrey (the Disney Geek) performing a duet with Ana Ortiz

Richard Sherman

Some details from the suite we were upgraded to - woo-hoo!

This was a panel discussion with imagineers spanning several different generations - including some that worked with Mr. Disney himself! These amazing minds were the brains behind a significant amount of Disney characters and rides.

Three years have gone by...

Today is kind of a sad day. Today marks three years since Grandpa Rip went home to be with the Lord. It's hard to believe so much time has passed. Over the years it has gotten a little bit easier, but I still miss him terribly. I think we all do. Instead of dwelling on the sadness, though, I want to show you how we remember him....

Amberlin has quite a few stuffed animals, but a few of them are extra special. You see, they stand in for her great-grandfathers. There's Jerry the Giraffe and Carl the Koala and this...

This, my friends, is Rip the Rottweiler. Look at those big brown eyes and that serious face. Rip watches over Amberlin during the day. Although he's tough and a little rugged, he has a soft heart and he loves the Lord. He is very kind and quiet, but can get protective when he needs to be.

Rip loves chewing on sunflower seeds and cantelope and his favorite activities are chasing down golf balls and playing in the grass. He always keeps his bandana with him, no matter where he goes! He loves helping people, although he does so quietly and never draws attention to himself. He is much more comfortable in the background, although his presence makes a big difference to everyone around him. Everyone feels safe and taken care of when he is around.

You may be thinking that this sounds ridiculous. If it seems silly to you... well... then you didn't know my Grandpa Rip. Having Rip the Rottweiler around makes us feel like we have a little bit of Grandpa Rip here with us. Plus, we know that Amberlin will know who her great-grandpa's are, whether she had the chance to meet them or not! One of these days we'll introduce you to the others. :)

We miss you, Grandpa!! Congratulations on the third anniversary of your Homecoming. :) Sending our love...

Another new thing

Amberlin is really doing a great job of feeding herself lately. She has done well with finger foods for a long time now, but recently she has really gotten the hang of how to use spoons and forks. Here's a little peek. :)

Reconnecting with old friends

One thing I have been amazed by since moving to Colorado is how many people are here! People that we know, that is. It seems like every day we find out that another friend is either passing through or lives close to us... college friends, friends from our youth, friends more recent... it's just crazy. We have a long list of people that we want to connect with and just haven't had the time to do so yet - which is such a blessing! One of the fears of moving to a new place is that you will be lonely and this does so much to relieve that fear!

A couple weeks ago we got the opportunity to see Linda, a good friend from Altus (where Dad was stationed at the Air Force Base). It turns out she regularly visits the area and her daughter just moved not too far from where we are living. It was such a joy to see her again. It's so weird how you can see someone after thirteen years of being away and feel like no time has passed. Amberlin took to her right away, as you can see...

This may have something to do with the fact that she let her pound away on her laptop without telling her to stop! :) She doesn't get to do that at home! Ha, ha...

It was so great to see Linda again - hopefully we will get to see her again before too much time passes!!

Rocky Mountain National Park

A few weeks ago we decided to take a drive through Rocky Mountain National Park. We started out at Estes Park, where it started raining really bad. We were afraid the afternoon was going to be spoiled...

But in true Colorado fashion, the clouds passed and the sun came out... and the mountains were beautiful!!

It's amazing to me how every range is so different!

We saw quite a bit of wildlife... these elk were enjoying the sunshine.
We took Trail Ridge Road through the mountains. This is a scenic point and restaurant near the top.


What did Amberlin pick out in the gift shop? Animal crackers, ofcourse! But these were no normal animal crackers... these were special Rocky Mountain animal crackers! :)







We stopped at Grand Lake to stretch our legs and enjoy the sunset

They had a great playgound for Amberlin to run around in. She LOVES slides!



It took everything we had to keep Amberlin out of the water. She wanted to get in the "bath" so badly! :)



And she really, REALLY did NOT want to leave!



But after a little play time with Daddy she forgot about the traumatic experience of leaving the water and started to have fun again!


Then we drove to Devil's Thumb Ranch to enjoy a nice dinner. The drive there was breathtaking!




We at at the Ranch House Restaurant. It had a beautiful view and they were so friendly - especially to Amberlin.



Amberlin took this photo. Now I know how to get Andy to smile in pictures!

Our yummy food...

The beautiful surroundings...



It ended up being a very LONG drive, but we had a wonderful time and - once again - we are in awe of God's beautiful creation!