Thanksgiving at the Fisher's

Linda's Turkey came out Fabulous.

Blake and Linda are avid golfers and active members of the PMCC.

Linda Fisher and Blake's daughter Laura.

Blake Fisher carving the turkey.

Young Blake & his Followers.

The boys with 20-year old Young Blake. William believes Young Blake is his coolest friend in Park City. When we got in the car to leave, William asked if he could have a play-date with Young Blake the next day. We explained that Blake was a sophomore in college, and needed to head back to school very soon.

William was the first to clean his plate!

For the last 5 years, we have spent Thanksgiving with the Fisher family in Park Meadows.

During 1999-2005, we stayed at the house at least 3-4 times per year to watch young Blake & Shadow (his black Lab) while his parents traveled. Young Blake was 12 years old and in grammar school when we began watching him. He is now a sophomore in college and will turn 21 next May. My second day in Park City back in June 1999 was spent at the Fisher house. Shawn's first job with Brassey & Company was completing the finish work on the Fisher house.

Despite all of our interactions, I never took any pictures of the Fisher family over the past eight years. I changed that on Thanksgiving day by taking my first pictures of the entire family.

Thanksgiving Day

Mom's new "Tribute to Thanksgiving Flag"

William has decided to stop smiling for photos. Apparently for this six-year old, it takes too long to pose and wait for the flash. So, I either get a picture like this, or I have to sneak up on him and take a picture without him noticing. He always makes funny faces and says "smiling" is for babies.

On Thanksgiving Day, we stopped by to see my very good friend, Jennifer Nash. Jennifer is one of our oldest friends in PC. She attended our 1999 wedding and has graciously helped with William and the Stagecoach House on more occasions than I can count. Jennifer is a buyer and salesperson for Hilda's on Main Street, and her personal clothes are jaw-dropping. You cannot see the detail in this photo, but her sweater is 100% cashmere and real mink, compliments of Hilda.

I received some incredibly sad news today. My wonderful stepfather Louis was diagnosed with cancer last week. It is hard to imagine such a strong man coming down with such an awful illness. We are thinking positive thoughts and saying prayers to aid in his speedy recovery.

The Cooking Lesson

Does the clock say 6:00pm yet?

William is thrilled to be having dinner with his friends: Chance, Cash, and Quintin.

Linda and Dana learning how to prepare Mushroom Risotto.

Stan and Tom making sense of the chaos. Tom is a great guy -- he knows what he likes and tells you!

Dana is so happy -- she mastered the Risotto!

Last Saturday we had our neighbors over for dinner. Shawn timed everything perfectly -- leg of lamb, risotto, salad, hot rolls, and fabulous wine. The dessert was a FABULOUS hot apple crisp that we served with Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Bun ice cream.

I most enjoyed teaching Dana and Linda the method and logistics of cooking risotto. The dish has to be constantly stirred and monitored. It took 3 of us to make it that night-- two to help with the stirring, and one to make the cocktails.

The Votes Are In! Our Favorite & Most Terrifying Rides!

So many of the Disney shows are now in 3-D. We all enjoyed "It's Tough to be a Bug" despite the creepy-crawlies and the giant stink-bug! Other 3-D shows worth the wait were: Muppet*Vision 3-D and Honey I Shrunk the Audience.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror Ride is absolutely FRIGHTENING! I gave it a thumbs-down for being far TOO scary. In addition to gravity, the ride's cables pull the elevator down into an alarming 13-story free-fall. Yes, you leave your seat during the free-fall. If you do not believe me, check out this horrifying ride-through Video on YouTube

I will not be going on this ride again; It was Shawn's favorite.

All wet after William's favorite ride: Grizzly River Run at California Adventure. William loved the dark caverns and steep waterfalls.
Grizzly River Run Passengers.
Steep Plume at Splash Mountain! Great animatronics.

The Matterhorn -- Dark & Scary; Too Slow.
Autopia Cars - Six Thumbs Up!
3 Cheers for the Casey Junior Train!

Buzz Lightyear Astro-Blasters! A Strong Contender.

Thank goodness Buzz Lightyear is on our side!

Here are the statistics:

William's Favorite Ride: Grizzly River Run; Least Favorite: Indiana Jones

Dad's Favorite Ride: Twilight Zone Tower of Terror; Least Favorite: Space Mountain

Mom's Favorite Ride: Tie - Star Tours & Soaring Over California; Least Favorite: Twilight Zone Tower of Terror!

Images of Disneyland

Tribute to Walt Disney.

William's new smile -- Waiting in line for Dumbo.

The Sword & the Stone.

Walt Disney & the Boys.

The New "Finding Nemo" Submarine Ride dwarfed by the Matterhorn. On Sunday, after the Disneyland Countdown and the cutting of the Main Street ribbon, we ran to the new "Finding Nemo" ride.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

Disneyland was so empty, that, for the first time in my life, I rode the Mark Twain Riverboat down the "Rivers of America."

Dinseyland Landscaping

Flowers at "Candy Corn Acres."

William & His Daddy.

Trellis Landscaping in Fantasyland.

Autumn Flowers planted throughout Disneyland.

Flower Pots at New Orleans Square.

Halloween Time at DisneyLand

Giant Mickey Pumpkin at the Base of Main Street.

Creative Light Post Decorations throughout the Parks.

Mickey's nose, ears, and mouth were made of bright-orange, tiny pumpkins.

Minny Mouse guarding the Disneyland Grand Entrance.

At night, California Adventure would close at 5:00pm and then re-open as a trick-or-treating paradise for kids.

We were the first people at Disneyland everyday. It was fun to hear the official "Disneyland Countdown," and to watch the mad dash down Main Street.

The Haunted Mansion.

Except for Sunday afternoon, we never waited in line for the rides. Shawn and I kept looking at each other thinking, "this is unbelievable." We literally ran on each ride. Unfortunately, we missed a lot of the staged queuing for each ride, so on our 2nd or 3rd time on a ride, we slowed down to take in the carefully crafted imagery.

Ahoy Matey! Pirate's Dinner Adventure

Ti's a Pirate's Life Matey!

Uncle Mike and Joshua

Grandma Zenaida & Shawn

The Cousins: Jayden, William, Joshua & Julia

Happy Grandparents

After checking into our Hotel, we quickly headed to the Pirate's Dinner Adventure Theater in Buena Park to meet William's cousins, Papa Wayne & Mamacita, and Grandma Zenaida. The dinner show centered around a large pirate ship and surrounding moat, where 15 pirates fought, sang, and performed scary acrobatics, all with help from a cheering audience. The kids loved the show and were completely engaged during the entire performance. Our section was "Purple" so all the kids wore purple pirate bandannas in support of "Saxon" the Purple Pirate. It was great to see all the kids having such a good time together.

Are We There Yet? Traveling To Disneyland

I took this picture too soon -- we had two more duffel bags and a car seat.

The Seasoned Traveler: William's 18th plane ride.

Why the Long Face?

View From Our Hotel.

We could see & hear people riding the Matterhorn.

6:30am and Mom is ready to go!

I was definitely the most excited about our 5-day trip to Disneyland. After flying into LAX, renting a car, going to the store, and finally checking into our hotel, we were all filled with great anticipation about the days to come.

Disneyland Dreams