Epcot

This one time, I went on vacation with my family and came home with more than 2,000 pictures. And then wanted to cry at the thought of going through all of them. So I did what any reasonable person would do: I procrastinated. But then came the requests. See, this wasn't just a case of trigger finger -- I was the unofficial photographer for my little family, my sister's little family, my whole big family, and my aunt's family. Twenty-two people in all, folks. And those twenty-two people want their pictures. So in an effort to force myself to  sort through them, I intend to blog about the trip daily until I'm done. (Well, minus the weekend because we have fun plans and whatnot. You know how it goes.) I must warn you, however, that I am fresh out of narrowing-down-pictures power, which means that there will be some loaded posts. But we'll just smile and say that more is more when it comes to Disney! Right?

Our party began -- and thus our recap party will begin -- at Epcot. Please note that the big, indented white sphere is apparently a globe and not a golf ball. 

We started our day right by upcycling the crash test dummy diagrams in line for Test Track into a full-fledged Dummy Dance, which we then busted out at random intervals throughout the day. Oh yeah, and then we rode the ride. It was great.

Baby swapping was key as we then moved to Mission: Space and various other attractions during the day (and week). Disney's baby swapping policy is the best, in case you didn't know.

Epcot's rides are fun and all, but our favorite part of the park is the World Showcase. Eleven countries are represented along the waterfront of Epcot's lagoon. Each "country" features appropriately-themed buildings, authentic food, and entertaining shows that provide a little glimpse into what the real country is like. We spent our afternoon and evening strolling through the countries, watching shows, and basically eating our way around the world. Fantastic, really.

Canada is the first country, and it is currently under construction. But the Canadian band will do, eh?

Next was England, where we munched on fish and chips, and caught a cheeky little Shakespeare rendition in the street. We also ran into Mary Poppins, and I heard a ten-year-old ask his mom who that was as he walked by. I then mourned that child's lack of a childhood.

This is just the view from the bridge between England and France. Isn't it pretty, though?

Ah, France was tres jolie! It came complete with an Eiffel Tower and Beauty and the Beast. Oh yes, and plenty of pastries. You all know how much we love those. (And someday, if I ever finish blogging about our honeymoon in Paris, you'll really know how much we love them!)

Morocco was our next stop around the world. It had pretty lights and camels and bags and things.

Japan included a family photo-op, interesting architecture, and cool statues.

Italy was lovely, as usual. It reminded me of all the places we've been in Italy that I've never blogged about. Oops.

We stopped for a couple pictures along the water before heading to the next country.

Matt was most happy to see Germany. And who can blame him? He lived there for two years and is fluent in Deutsche (that's German, for those of you who speak English). Plus, Germany rocks a lot and we have a dream of being stationed there one day. We spent a decent amount of time in fake Germany, treating my family to German delicacies (more apfel strudel, please!) and speaking German to the ladies at the Christkindlmarkt. Okay, Matt's the only one that talked to them in German. But I bought an ornament from them, so that counts for something, right?

China was a fun stop. My dad served his LDS mission in Taiwan and speaks Mandarin Chinese, so I think he enjoyed China most of all. The Americanized orange chicken was a definite hit, too.

Norway was lovely and the sweaters reminded me of Liz, which is always a good thing. Meanwhile, my brothers were serious about all things Viking-related, as evidenced in the pictures below.

The last stop was Mexico, and it came complete with a boat ride featuring the Three Cabelleros. 

After touring the world, we cooled off at Club Cool, which has free samples of sodas from around the world. Let's just say the Germans and Costa Ricans know how to do soda, and the Italians could use a little help. (Surprising, right? With "Italian sodas" and all? But their bitter Beverly was nasty, trust me.)

 We topped off the night with Illuminations, which is a fireworks-and-lights water show. We weren't quite sure how Jakey would take the firework booms, but he didn't even flinch. He was quite mesmerized, actually -- as were we!