The Happiest Place on Earth

Adam here, taking over the post. Why? Because I had the joy to witness Steph's elation being at Walt Disney World for the first time. Let me tell you, there's nothing like several days of smiling strangers calling your wife "Princess." Without further ado, here's a photo essay of our Orlando adventures. View the full album by clicking Florida 02.08 here -- there are a lot more good pics, I promise.

It wouldn't be an iconic shot without the guy over Steph's left shoulder. Seriously, though, Disney uses an optical illusion on you, making the higher windows smaller to give the castle an even bigger appearance.

Which one of these isn't like the other? (Adam's ears are considerably smaller.)

Look -- a princess! Oh, and Cinderella, too. Note: Cinderella is CLEARLY a UNC fan.

Fortunately for Adam, this guy is already spoken for.


(Warning: about to repeat a corny joke.) Beauty & the Beast. And 2 Disney characters, too.


Quick story on Disney having a professional process for everything. As I approached Princess Jasmine for this picture, she said, "My pose is different from the other princesses" (the leaning one you see above). Quite appropriate considering her costume, and totally in character. Nice work, Disney.


We thought that getting matching white gloves would have been a bit much.


Adam: "I thought it would be a funny picture to take one with the 2 evil step-sisters!"
Evil step-sister on the left (she apparently has a name, but I'm a guy, so I don't know it): "Well if you're in it, it definitely will be funny."
Hands down the best character photo we had.


I heard more "oooohhh," "whoa" and "wooow" play-by-plays from Steph during this show than at any other time during the trip. Adorable.


To infinity and beyond! Or at least onto Epcot.


The standard Epcot shot. But the ball ride was closed. Side note for "Simpsons" fans: multiple times each day I sang "Monorail, monorail, MONORAAIILL!" (Go to the 2:50 mark.) Steph wasn't amused, but it made me laugh everytime.


The only way Adam will go to France. Besides, I needed the workout.


In addition to trying to solve world hunger (seriously), Epcot is also growing pumpkins shaped like a giant rodent's head. Here's my suggestion: grow squash in the shape of a T-bone, and I'll guarantee you that I'll grill it.


Best food in all of Disney: Norway. The item on the left is called School Bread, and it's apparently served in schools. That's my kind of dining plan. That goodness on the right is an almond-covered pretzel.

The coolest vehicle at Epcot: the actual Hummer box car used in the commercial. I'm surprised Greenpeace hasn't protested its removal yet.

Biggest disappointment of the trip: the Simpsons attraction at Universal Studios wasn't open. Actually, the biggest disappointment is that I yakked after riding Dueling Dragons, but the Simpsons thing doesn't make me lose masculinity points.

There's just one thing left to say about our trip. W-O-W!

Back to Boston

With the whirlwind of the past couple months, I felt that I could use a little time to relax and spend time with friends with my time off. So, I headed up to Boston and it worked out for Adam to come along too. His company paid for his ticket and half the cost of our rental car and we had a great week seeing awesome friends. Thanks to Jerald and Abbey for being such fantastic hosts!

We landed in Boston early Saturday morning (Feb 2nd) and headed straight to the Deluxe Town Diner for the best pancakes ever. From there, we made it to the Richmonds' house to see Beth and all the Richmonds. Saturday night included great time with Mike and Beth eating sushi and getting treats at Mike's Pastry in the North End.

Sunday: Church at CFCF, lunch with Mike and Beth at the Upper Crust (yummy pizza!), walking around Chinatown, Back Bay, and Downtown Boston with Adam, dinner with Steph's grandmother and aunt's family, and watching the Superbowl at Mike's.

Mike & Beth sporting their football gear

Monday: I got to have lunch with Joy and spend time with her little girl Ellie and Adam and I had a wonderful time at the Landers' for dinner. Thank you so much!

Tuesday: Coffee in the morning with Veda and then I spent the day with my dear friend Heather who is expecting to have a girl in June! With shopping, food, and catching up on life, we had a great time. Our husbands joined us for dinner at Not Your Average Joe's (one of my favorite restaurants!)

Heather with our guys

Wednesday: Lunch with Heather before I see her clinic in the South Shore, a visit to the Hoits to see Samantha and Wesley, and dinner with Jerald and Abbey at Border Cafe (some of the best fajitas...)

Our roomates for the week

Thursday: Lunch with Morgan, Tea with Lisa A, Coffee with Sandra, Dinner with Dan and Merri at Brown Sugar Cafe followed by Angora for frozen yogurt....It was a great day!

Lisa with her precious boys, Keylon and Rowan

Friday: Shopping for fabric with Heather, more time with Lisa, and dinner with Paul and Liz at Legal Seafoods....hangout at the Jerald and Abbey's with Bonnie and Jim and Mike and Beth. We have such awesome friends!!

The wonderful Liz & Paul Joyal

Ok, so I had such a great time talking to everyone over the week that I actually lost my voice!!! It was kind of funny and pretty ironic! Needless to say, we enjoyed eating at some of our favorite places while enjoying the fellowship of such wonderful friends.

We left Boston early in the morning to land in Raleigh around 8:30am to unload and re-pack for FLORIDA.......

Random Fact from Adam: Some Bible-related facts, courtesy of the LA Times:

• $770 million of Bibles sell each year -- in the U.S. alone
• At an average price of $30 (which may be conservative), that's 25 million Bibles each year. To compare, 14 million copies of the last Harry Potter book shipped in 2007. The #2 book, "The Secret," sold 3 million copies in 2007.
• At least 1/3 of Bibles are bought as gifts.
• 2008 is the 30th anniversary of the NIV.
• Zondervan has a 40 percent market share of Bible publishing.

NC Update

A lot has happened the past couple months in the lives of the Parkens...Here's a brief summary for you all:

• The pastor's family of our church plant is moving back to Texas, making the college pastors (Mick and Steph Murray) the new pastors
• After much prayer and wise counsel, we are now attending a different church that we are very excited about. The Summit Church has such a like-minded heart as our church in Boston that we already feel at home there. We have gotten plugged into a small group and are beginning to make new friends!
• Steph accepted a new job at Duke Children's Hospital that begins this week! (Note from proud husband Adam: the hospital is #19 in national rankings of children's hospitals -- ahead of even St. Jude's in Memphis, and is the 2nd highest ranked children's hospital in the South. Yeah, my wife is awesome.)
• During Steph's time off between jobs, we have traveled to Boston and Florida
• We will have a couple blog entries to fill you in on more of these details, so stay tuned!

Random Fact from Adam: "In honor of living in NC, here's a tobacco-related fact. Nicotine is named after Jean Nicot, a 16th-century French diplomat who introduced tobacco leaves from America to Catherine de Medici to treat her migraines."