• My family (the ones I live with):This is probably pretty obvious, but it is so true. We just spent a few days up at my parents’ house in the mountains as a mini “staycation” and while there were a few grumpy moments, we shared a LOT of laughs, some good relaxation and a little bit of healthy competition (I won Phase 10 AND pinball. HA! ) Thank you for helping me enjoy this life to the fullest!

• My family (the ones I don’t live with): From my mother-in-law who watched our dog while we went to the mountains, to my mom who came over to check on our house while we were gone, to my sister who encouraged me to start blogging, to those relatives that live in North Carolina and Georgia that I don’t see enough, I have a great extended family and I am truly blessed for all the help and support I get from them throughout the year. Thank you!
• My coworkers: I know you probably don’t hear this very often, but honestly, my company kicks a**. While there are occasional bad days, I can always count on my coworkers to make me smile, and I honestly count them all as “family”. We laugh, cry, fight and celebrate just like any other family I know. Thank you to all of you for getting me through the day with a laugh or a smile.
• My home:
  

  Rocky Mountain National Park, outside of Estes Park, CO

  I take it for granted a lot, I think, but we really live in a beautiful state. Although we don’t have an ocean nearby (something Colorado Dad reminds me of EVERY DAY), we have the mountains. And they ARE beautiful. I hope to always have Colorado in my life.

And finally:

• My friends: Whether I have known you since kindergarten or have just met you virtually for the first time, I am so grateful to all of you. No matter how well I know you, you are part of a group that actually knows me the best and give me encouragement and support, no matter what –  for that I am so thankful. I’m looking forward to expanding all my friendships in 2012!

So, to all that I am thankful for in my life, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that your celebrations are full of love, thanks, good food and great friends!

While many of you may already know that Harper Goff used his childhood hometown of Ft. Collins, CO as inspiration for some of the building designs on Main Street in Disneyland, did you know that Colorado has another connection to Walt Disney and the Disney Company?

I didn’t either, until I had the pleasure of attending D23′s Destination D at Walt Disney World this year. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the opening of Walt Disney World, Destination D explored the history of “Project Florida” and how Walt Disney World was championed by Roy O. Disney after Walt’s passing.

My newfound trivia was discovered during a session by Walt Disney Archives founder, Dave Smith. As Dave walked through some of the early discussions about the park, he put this image up on the screen and it made me sit up a little straighter and take notice.

For anyone who grew up in Denver and the surrounding areas during the 70s and 80s (like me!) this was an instantly recognizable icon of awesomeness. This was Celebrity Sports Center. The indoor “theme park” in Denver where every little kid begged to have their birthday party. A mix of bowling alley, arcade and water park all rolled into one, it was one of my favorite places to visit when I was young. But, what did it have to do with Walt Disney World?

Turns out that Walt Disney was one of the original group of “Hollywood celebrity” investors who started the project in the late 1950s. This group not only included Walt and his brother Roy, but also famous folks like Jack Benny, Art Linkletter, George Burns and Burl Ives, hence the “Celebrity” part of the name. The project was very successful, and Roy continued to invest in the center even after Walt’s passing in 1966. According to Dave, it appears that Celebrity was even used as a training ground for some of the management team that eventually went to work at Walt Disney World during the early years.

The Disney connection to Celebrity Sports Center ended in the late 1970s as the company moved on to other projects but the center stayed open and remained quite popular through the 1980s. Unfortunately, it finally closed in 1994 and shortly thereafter was bulldozed to make way for a shopping center.

I have very, very fond memories of my visits to Celebrity Sports Center – from my first experience on a “scary” water slide to my killer streak at the Skee-Ball machine. Now knowing the history behind it, I guess it doesn’t surprise me at all that I loved it so much – it was my very own Colorado-based version of a Disney theme park!

During my research for this post, I came across a fabulous article about Celebrity and the Disney connection on BuckFifty.org, a site that’s chock full of interesting Denver history and trivia, that’s well worth a visit. Check it out when you have some time to spend!