Remembering Dan the Magical Way..

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This year we tried to turn things around and begin to embrace the beauty of the holiday season while remembering Dan. In the past 4 years we were focusing on just him, not on how he impacted our lives during this season. This year was different...

We started our day by Tricia, Jan and I meeting Josh at Disney World. You had to know, it was the coldest day so far this year, with the high reaching 62. We froze. We all planned to "do the day" the way Dan would have, enjoying all his favorites. It started with a Monorail ride to Epcot. One of our favorite spots at Epcot was the Rose and Crown Pub, remembering our lives in England and all the friends we have there. We enjoyed a great lunch, having our favorite potato and leek soup followed by Shepard's pie. That's just the way to bring back some great memories. Jan tried an ale for Dan, but she didn't care for it, saying she'd best leave that for Dan. We laughed a lot and just enjoyed the atmosphere. A quick walk through England brought back not just the sights, but even the smells we knew. Mmmm...

You can't go to Epcot without touring the worlds, so off we went. France was our first stop. I must admit, Bevan was also on my mind as I remembered going to Paris. I'm sure he and Dan would have enjoyed a great time there! America is always a good stopping point for anyone whose ever been in the US Military. They keep it very patriotic, making remembering Dan very easy. Germany was decorated very nicely and I remembered the time we spent there with my brother Steve and his family. Dan said he finally felt like he got to know them after that trip. We had to go to Italy and remember my brother-in-law John teasing Dan about the "great Italians"! At the end of the worlds is an area we shared with the memory of Dan's favorite of my cousins, Jerry. When Jerry died, we dropped a seagull in the water there to remember Jerry. It's still there, and I'm sure the guys check on it now and then to be sure it stays there.

Josh left us after the worlds to get things done at home. We thanked him for sharing time with us and once again making this entire day possible for us. We love you Josh! Tricia, Jan and I headed for the Nemo ride and the giant aquarium. It was very nice, but hot in there. We walked around a bit more and decided to head over to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Celebration. Just our luck, the monorail was out of order so we jumped on a bus to get back to the park. We got on a different monorail once we got to Magic Kingdom. Dan loved to ride the monorail so we looped the park twice before we got off.

Main Street in Magic Kingdom was decorated so beautifully. Dan loved to decorate our outdoors at the holidays and even motivated our entire neighborhood in Fawn Ridge to decorate. We checked out the decorations, noting which ones Dan would like best. You'll see them on the montage. Tomorrowland was a must see for us and there were indoor things to do there, which would keep us warm, so we went there first. Disney really is magical. It can take your problems away and put your head in a better place. We had to go to Small, Small World as Dan loved to take Kaylie there. There were a few emotional moments as we passed the carousel, remembering Dan taking Kaylie on her first ride... Keep smiling!

By now we were getting hungry again so we had a bite before heading for the show at the castle. Mickey and his friends gave us a great show, including lots of holiday cheer and music. The finale was fantastic! Cinderella decided she wanted the park to look more Christmassy. Of course, Fairy Godmother overheard her and made a change. She covered the entire castle in white lights! It looked like it was covered in ice. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful! As you watch the montage, notice how the castle keeps changing colors. It's just amazing!

During the down times we would talk about how Jan's husband Bob, and Josh would go outside every night to look at the neighborhood decorations. There was a "Tool Time type rivalry between Jan's house and ours for decorating. Kristy, Tricia and Dan would always decorate the outside together. When all our lights and Bob's lights were up, the competition would begin. If one of added a decoration or lights, the other would also add something. By Christmas night we lit up the whole neighborhood! We had our hot chocolate and cookies to warm us up.

Disney World wouldn't end without a parade, and a great Christmas parade it was. My pics don't show all the pretty colors, and the people in front of us kept me from getting some good shots of the dancers, but I'm sure by watching the montage you will still enjoy it. We talked about how Dan and Bob would have decorated everything. Disney missed out on two great decorators! As we boarded the Riverboat to head back to the car, we were exhausted. It was a day full of happy memories and touching moments. Dan would have been proud. We turned a day that was normally full of tears, into a day filled with memories and warm moments. We miss you Dan, but we will be decorating for the first time this year. We won't do it as well as you would have, but we will try... We love you Dan!