This past week I was blessed with the opportunity to spend time with two of my families: a portion of my writing family while I attended the Romance Writers of America conference and my immediate family, including a husband and three teenage children that are growing up far too fast.
The conference was wonderful! I picked up some great marketing tips (my mind is spinning with new ideas I hope to implement soon – stay tuned), some valuable craft insight, and my favorite part – networking with others involved in my industry. There were around 2000 romance writers in attendance at the conference this year, so it was a joy to carve some time out for my inspirational romance friends from Bethany House. Raela Schoenherr, one of the editors from BHP, arranged lunch for the five of us who were attending. Regina Jennings, Jennifer Delamere, Kristi Ann Hunter, Elizabeth Camden, and me. What a wonderful time we had chatting about the world of books. It was even more fun since we all just happened to be historical authors!
We did actually do one non-Disney activity. Had dinner at Medieval Times on the Friday of conference.
I just had to take a picture of this tombstone at Disney’s Haunted Mansion.
Yet, as wonderful as the conference was, spending time with my family was even more precious. My daughter is 19 now, and I’m really starting to feel the impending arrival of the empty nest. So whenever I get the chance to manufacture time for all 5 of us to be together, I do it. Since we are all Disney fans, a conference in Orlando meant a trip to Disney world. And as it happens, the last time all 5 of us were together at Disney, it was in July 2012 at Disneyland when RWA was in Anaheim.
I had fun recreating some of my favorite pictures and comparing how much the kids have changed in 5 years. Goodness! They grow so fast.
Disneyland 2012
Disney World 2017
Can you tell we’re Star Wars fans? Ha! We’ll definitely have to arrange another family trip once they have the new Star Wars Land open.
What was the last family vacation you took?
Latest posts by Karen Witemeyer (see all)
- Karen’s Favorites - May 4, 2025
- Spring Reading Bouquet - May 1, 2025
- April in Texas = Bluebonnets - April 17, 2025
I absolutely love that you re-created photos you’d taken on your last trip to Disney. Awesome!
I had to deal with several eye rolls along the way, but they were good sports about it. It’s amazing how much changes in 5 years. Bethany went from tallest to smallest. It was great fun!
Now that two of my children are in college, it seems that at least one of them is missing from our vacations – and not always the same one! However, last year one of our sons worked at Pine Cove Family Camp in Tyler, TX so the other four of us loaded up and drove out to TX to visit with him and then stayed and visited the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. We had a great trip since my other sons had never visited Texas!
We are actually BIG Disney fans and go quite often – I must try these photo re-creations. Love those!
I know my day is coming all too soon when getting everyone together becomes much more difficult. That’s why I’m drinking in as much as I can now. So glad you got your whole gang together in my neck of the woods. 🙂 I’ve never been to Pine Cove, but it sounds lovely.
Have fun with your own version of Disney photos!
Karen, I hoped I’d run into you but the resort is so vast, I missed seeing a lot of my favorite people. Sorry I didn’t get my Karen hug. I missed both the luncheons due to outside appointments. It looks like you had a blast with your family. Love the pictures!
I thought I might have caught of glimpse of you from a distance in the lobby one day, Lenora. Ha! So many people. s you can tell I didn’t hang around the hotel very much. Having too much fun at Disney when sessions were over. 🙂 Hope you had a good conference. I loved it. Came home with several practical ideas I hope to implement soon!
We were at Disney with you…and a zillion others! We live an hour and a half from Disney and had a wonderful weeks vacation with my, Massachusetts son, my terrific daughter-in-law and three of the most perfect grandchildren in the universe! What a perfect time.. even with the few showers we endured. The one thing this little vacation did was cause my husband and I to buy yearly passes so… we go back to the Food & Wine Festival @ Epcot in October. I had to re-create a couple pictures from our 2015 trip as I have lost 100 pounds! Love your adorable recreated pictures.. they are a treasure!!
How funny, Mary! We might have even been in line together somewhere. Ha! I bet those grandchildren had a blast. I rode a boat with a local lady who has season passes. She was coming in to Hollywood Studios because she heard they were closing the Great Movie Ride in 2 weeks and wanted to ride it one more time before it closed permanently. I loved that she was just zipping in like I would drop by Wal Mart or something. She mentioned the Food & Wine Festival, too. Said it was a huge event. Hope you enjoy it this fall!
Looks like you had a wonderful time. Great photos!
It was a great trip. Thanks, Betty!
So glad you enjoyed your time with your family at Disney! Thanks for sharing your pics! (Glad you had a good time at the conference ,too. 🙂 ) As for me last time I took a family vacation was a few years ago when we went to Niagara Falls.A lovely place!
I’ve never been to Niagara Falls. I’d love to see them. I’m a huge waterfall fan. I bet they are spectacular!
I can’t remember when the last time was that my whole family went somewhere, since my mom has health issues, she isn’t really able to get out. My brother,and I did do a last vacation together before I got married last year, and we went to Disney World, which was the first time we had ever been there. It was so much fun. My most recent vacation was with Eli, and was also a late honeymoon trip. We went to Orange VA and Charrlottesville VA. We got to tour Montpelier, James Madison’s Home, and Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home. Then on our way home, we went to Walton’s Mountain, which was cool, since I love the show, we went to the museum there, and also got to tour Earl Hamner’s home, he is the one that narrates on the show, and it is based on his life. It was a lot of fun. 🙂 The 27th of this month will be a year, since we got married! <3
Wow, Abigail. That trip sounds FABULOUS! The history lover in me is drooling. 🙂 And I grew up watching the Waltons, too, so seeing Walton Mountain would be a hoot. 🙂
Yes, we had so much fun!
Oh, we love Disney World! So glad you got to enjoy that trip with your kids. We bought a camper this summer, so we’ve been staying at campgrounds most weekends in July. It’s been wonderful family time!