I got a grant to go to Orlando for a cancer conference, which is probably one of the highlights of my heme onc fellowship. I convinced B to come along to my work trip with the girls, and naturally, we had to go to Disney World! We met up with B’s brother, and we got to celebrate triple birthday’s and a proposal!

B’s brother, Alan, lives in Florida and we planned his proposal to his girlfriend Shanel (I may have used this as an excuse to buy a new camera lens…) I went to my conference during the day, and afterwards we drove to Cocoa beach. When B proposed to me, my friend hid behind a tree and I had no idea she was there. Well, it’s pretty hard to hide at a beach, and after scouting Google earth, we realized there weren’t any trees or bushes I could hide behind for secret photos.

So we took the route of of “Natalie is taking beach family photos for B and Alan’s mom” (Shanel won’t expect a proposal if it’s THAT obvious I’m taking my camera right?). Izzy and Alanna served as excuses/decoys for the family shoot, and I insisted that we all had dress nicely.

My camera was all set up, and I said 1, 2, 3! … B ducked out of the picture carrying both girls (his arms were MVP), and Alan was supposed to propose, but nothing happened. Due to a stranger walking into the photo background, Alan held off last minute (there was much confusion)

On the second try, B ducked out of the picture with the girls again. Alan pointed to the ocean, knelt on his knee, waiting while Shanel spent forever looking in the wrong direction for a nonexistent boat. Shanel finally turning around, and the rest was history! The clouds, sunset lighting, and beach made for some stunning shots, and I also had a cellphone on tripod to capture the candid hilarity on video.

The next day we went to Magic Kingdom, which was as magical as when I was a kid. We rode classics like “It’s a Small World” and tried new Tron ride. Izzy was old enough to get really excited about Mickey Mouse and Elsa. We stayed til the fireworks and the girls were champs considering how long the day was (on top of jet lag).

The last day we went to Disney Springs. We ate quite possible the most epic and unhealthy cookies ever (Gideon’s Bakehouse) and did a bit of souvenir shopping.

The next morning was chaos, since on the way to the airport our flight got cancelled without any notice, and we scrambled to find another flight. Alan ended up driving us to another airport 3 hours away so we could catch the flight and we arrived back in Seattle past midnight. All-in-all once of the most exciting weekends we’ve ever had.

Soft Oatmeal Cookies adapted from Allrecipes. Not as epic as the cookies from Gideon’s in Disney Springs, but still very satisfying.

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

Print Recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter softened
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Cream butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then mix in vanilla. Gradually mix in dry ingredients, with oats last, until well combined. I like to roll the dough into balls, then chill dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Put parchment paper on the tray. Place the chilled dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Very gentle press them.
Bake in the preheated oven until light golden brown around the edges. Let cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!