This past year was filled with changes, challenges, and plenty of fun! We experienced so many changes, some planned, and some not, that 2023 was constantly throwing us for a loop. Luckily, some things stayed the same, like our love for running, Disney, and travel! We were able to explore much more last year than we had in the past two years. Our kiddo is officially travel-obsessed, which fits perfectly with our family. Read on for our 2023 wrap-up for running, Disney, and travel!
Running
I ran one marathon, two half marathons, and three 5ks in 2023. My favorite race course was the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon. They also had the best finish line party, maybe ever. It truly was amazing (read my race recap here!). My toughest race was the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. Even though I had run that race before, this time it hit differently. I am proud to have finished my first marathon after having a baby! I’m itching to run another one, though I simply don’t have enough time to train right now. Some day I will tackle 26.2 again! For now, I am loving the half marathon distance, and I loved each half I ran in 2023. The 5ks were fun and a nice change to the longer distance running and training.
Disney
Though we only went into the Disney parks for two trips in 2023, we had four “Disney experiences” last year! Both of the Walt Disney World park trips were amazing, as were our Disney cruise with Art of Animation stay AND our road trip with Disney Springs and Animal Kingdom Lodge visit! Read about our Disney cruise here, we had an absolute blast! However, we are now completely spoiled and will only cruise concierge. I guess that makes our trips more rare and more special! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dying to get back into a park with my family, but those extra Disney moments last year did help scratch that itch. Considering the hardships we faced this year, we made the best of it and did as much Disney as we possibly could!
Travel
Though we didn’t travel anywhere particularly exotic in 2023, we did visit some fun and new (to us) places! Our road trip was SO much fun, we are still talking about it and how great it was. We saw things and visited many places that we wouldn’t typically see. The Georiga Aquarium, kayaking in a natural Florida spring, and SeaWorld were all amazing. I would love to do another road trip, it was a blast to plan such unique experiences! We also visited Huntsville, Alabama, and Louisville, Kentucky for the first time. This year showed me that you don’t have to do anything crazy to have a fun little getaway (though we did do some crazy travel 
). I enjoyed our time in Huntsville and look forward to another visit in the future! We also visited Navarre Beach and the Yale campus (and ate some tasty pizza in the area). Luckily, we have a very travel-obsessed toddler who cannot get enough! He is definitely my child! 
Challenges and Beyond
Sometimes life throws you challenges, and this year my family had to dig deep and make the most of it. Luckily, we started the year off strong and had some more lavish experiences. Then, as the year progressed we had fun figuring out how to travel, and not break the bank. Overall, we had a fantastic year of running, Disney, and travel! I have high hopes for 2024 and cannot wait to see where life takes us. 
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