How to Experience Disney Magic for Free

I’ve never stayed at a Disney resort, and I don’t have the money to go to Disney without a really good deal, but living in Orlando has its perks. Our family can’t quite afford annual passes to Disney World, but we have discovered a way to go and not pay a penny. It’s a great activity if you have out of town friends coming to visit, if you don’t have an entire day or a ton of energy to spend at Disney, or if you’re tight on a budget.

2013 Year in Review

This year has been pretty busy... Here are some new things I tried in 2013.

365 Photos: For many people, the challenge is to actually take a picture every day of the year. For me, the challenge was to choose the best picture of the hundreds I take each day. What a wonderful exercise in restraint! Amazing how each picture evokes emotions from particular days and events, no matter how mundane I thought them to be at first.
Check out my 365 Project!

A Hogwarts Halloween

This Halloween my sisters and I dressed up as some of our favorite characters.

I was Harry.

Toddler Tuesday: Smelly Bottles

I don’t want to neglect this severely forgotten sense, and this is a cheap and easy way to get toddlers learning with their noses!

Golden Glow Salad

This classic family favorite is a definitely a crowd-pleaser. Not only has it been requested for every holiday dinner our family has had, it has also graced numerous church potlucks. As an added bonus, it’s a pretty healthy jello salad!

I don’t know where my grandmother got the recipe, but she’s been making it for quite some time.

Princess Days: Pocahontas

It's time for another family princess day! And what's "just around the river bend"? 

It’s Pocahontas, of course! A rather weird, transcendental movie, but a musical Disney classic nonetheless.

Our family had a lot of fun with this one, despite all the inaccuracies between the title character and her historical namesake.

Secret Church

This Good Friday, I had the opportunity to join with 63,000 Christians worldwide for a “secret church” service via simulcast. It was an incredible, humbling, life-changing, instructive, awesome, worshipful, overwhelming experience. I will be doing it again next year if at all possible!

Monday Meals: Easter Lunch

Instead of a normal recipe for this week’s Monday Meals, I opted to share our Easter lunch menu with you. We came up with Bible verses to go along with all the dishes.

Slow-Cooker Turkey

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I have longed to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling.” – Matthew 23:37

Easter Story Cookies

These cookies have become a tradition for our family, and I hope they will be for yours too! I don’t know where this recipe originated from, but what a wonderful opportunity this presents to further teach the truth of Easter!

Begin this recipe on SATURDAY, the night before Easter.

Easter Story Cookies

YOU WILL NEED:

1 cup whole pecans

1 tsp. vinegar

3 egg whites

a pinch of salt

1 cup sugar

zipper baggie

wooden spoon or wooden meat hammer

duct tape or packing tape

Bible

Preparing for Easter: Week 4

This Week's Hymns

Wednesday: This Joyful Eastertide

Thursday: Father, Forgive, the Savior Said

Friday: 'Tis Finished! The Messiah Dies

Saturday: What Will You Do with Jesus?

Sunday: How Calm and Beautiful the Morn

Monday: Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Tuesday: Come, Ye Saints, Look Here and Wonder

This week's special feature (thanks to Ace Collins' Stories Behind the Traditions and Songs of Easter) is the custom of dressing up for Easter and the tradition of the Easter parade.

Princess Days: Belle

It’s been awhile since my last princess post, and this one was one of our favorites! Be… our… guest for this magnificent tribute to Beauty and the Beast!

Monday Meals: Swiss Steak

This recipe makes me think of my grandmother. She was a missionary to India, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a storyteller, an example… well, how do you sum up 96 years of love and service in one sentence? 

Dora Meberg on her 87th birthday in 2000

She lived a few blocks from us, and after a long day at school (my parents are both teachers), she would invite us to her house for dinner. Many times, this is what she would serve.

Princess Days: Jasmine

What do an egg cup, some genie pants, a fistful of cotton, and a mouth full of crackers have to do with one another? They were all part of our second Disney princess day (click here for an explanation), all about Aladdin, Jasmine, the Genie, and Abu!

Princess Days: Sleeping Beauty

Here follows an account of our family’s recreational habits. Two summers ago, we decided to have family “princess days.” 

Now even though there are 4 of us sisters, by no means are all of us super “girly girls.” This endeavor would not mean glittery hair, makeovers, fancy dresses, or even a trip to Disney World. 

No, each selected date would be dedicated to a specific Disney princess and would involve several specific elements:

• The watching of her movie
• The reading of the original tale (if any) before Disney redid it
• The honorary wearing of a certain color
• The reenacting of a scene from the movie
• The baking and/or eating of a somehow-related food (duh!)
• The taking of many pictures!

Now, here for your enjoyment, is the first installment of our family’s “princess days.” Hail to the Princess Aurora!