I've had some awesome vacations with friends and family over the past ten years... including two NYC trips, four Big Cedar weekends, and five trips to Vegas! lol This post = counting down the Top 10 Vacation Memories through the past decade! (Not the vacations as a whole, but very specific memories that stand out to me. A pretty hard list to narrow down, as it's often the little moments that I end up treasuring more than the epic stuff.)
10. Crowding into a random tiny crevice with friends to stay dry during the rain at Harry Potter World, Florida trip 2015! Rainy day memories often stand out to me, and I remember laughing and talking and me wanting us all to put on ponchos and go twirl in the rain, but I was strongly voted down. lol *Honorable mention goes to watching the fireworks show at Magic Kingdom and the many conversations that followed that magical event! lol
9. Being thrilled to sit down after a long day of non-stop walking, laughing to myself at all the silliness of the antelope arm bands and lion headbands, etc. during the Circle of Life opening sequence of Lion King on Broadway during our 2010 NYC trip... then looking over to laugh along with Chet and Malori, and seeing them both genuinely tearing up with awe and wonder! LOL
8. Getting the same awesome table on the patio two days in a row during my 2016 Vegas trip with Sarah Elizabeth... and both getting to sample and rave about four different things on their breakfast menu whilst drinking mimosas and listening to street musicians and watching the Bellagio fountains begin across the street! =) A very perfect start to our Vegas days!
7. Having tasty home-cooked "family meals" (daily breakfasts and dinners) at the fish table in our cozy cabin at Big Cedar 2017! With the right group, that feels super fun and special and cute. ...And yes, I made them pose for a prayer pic after our real prayer - that's why everyone but Kyle is laughing. lol Also, I love that Chet's drink is his gallon water jug! lol
6. "My eyes are burning!" Of all the super-fun things we did and saw in Vegas this year, what still cracks me up looking back is the memory of Sarah's peppermint oil spilling in their bag with Steve's beanie hat... and us noticing because of Steve's eyes burning and the strong smell of peppermint hitting us in our Uber ride from the airport. I sadly failed to get a pic of the beanie hat, but I have a clear mental picture of Steve with his bloodshot eyes saying, "Smell this!" while we were at Walmart that night, and it was clearly soaked in pepperminty goodness. lol
5. In our VCGO trip to Vegas in 2010, the night of the One Republic concert at the Mandalay Bay Beach stands out as an awesome, fun memory with fantastic music, perfect weather and atmosphere, and a great talk with my favorite friends, followed by washing the sand off our feet before heading back to the Bellagio for a midnight fountain show! *Honorable mention goes to the Forbidden Broadway Sundae Challenge, JEM's Glamour Shots quote, and the Bellagio Pool Cafe breakfast! So many fun memories that trip! =)
4. A random fun memory that stands out from Vegas 2011, a really awesome trip with family and family friends and my best friend at the time, is dancing with Andrew (Rick's son) to Mambo Number 5 during Bill and Jill's wedding reception at the top of the Stratosphere Hotel. He was an entertaining hot mess cracking everyone up with his dance moves that night, so I was surprised and a little nervous when he asked me to dance... but it was fun times, and I know he did several solo moves in a circle going around me. lolol
3. At our Big Cedar cabin in 2016, in the midst of a fun, cozy game night playing Nertz and watching Chuck, Sarah noticed the pizza box smoking (Chet had accidentally turned on the stove)... and she ran over to save the pizza (and us from a random fire). The pic on the right = her being annoyed that no one else had jumped in to help. LOL *Honorable mention goes to singing Amazing Grace acapella in the pretty chapel when it was just our group in there. ❤
2. This was already mentioned this in the Birthdays post, but this video and the group hug that followed was one of my favorite moments from our "Daddy's Family" 2014 Vegas trip. (The original plan was to watch the water show outside at midnight, but thanks to me randomly getting emotional over past memories, we decided to go back up to the girls' hotel room and watch from our fountain-view window!) For whatever reason, they played the midnight song about three minutes early that night, so after watching the water show to Whitney's Star-Spangled Banner, my friends did a countdown to midnight to ring in my 30th birthday!
1. I've run out of room doing this backwards, but if I'm being honest, the top 3 or 4 memories would all go to the Niagara Falls and NYC trip of 2017!! So many fantastic memories... including (*Honorable Mention:) ziplining over the falls with Dad and Bill, seeing them from a helicopter with Bill and Jill, watching the fireworks with everyone from the hotel room, awesome meals at Junior's, and the tour with Tom that forever changed how I view NYC! Since I'm forced to narrow it to one, I'm going with standing right up close to Niagara Falls -- seeing and hearing the epic force of the water right in front of you -- and feeling the awe and wonder and connection to our God, who is powerful and awesome and personal and present!! ❤
I'm so thankful for all the fun trips with people I love over the past ten years, and already looking forward to three new vacations in the year ahead!! =)
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