Disney 2013

The very day after school was done we headed to Orlando, Florida to the Happiest Place on Earth!  Yes, I was VERY tired from the school year, but our district is one of the few that finish at the end of May so we try to take advantage of the lesser crowds by going right away. 

Our flight out was a bit crazy.  We were late leaving DFW because of a scheduled repair on the plane that somehow didn't get done while it waited on the tarmac for 2  1/2 hours before our flight.  :-/  Our connecting flight layover was tight--only 50 minutes.  And of course, the gates between the two flights were the absolute farthest possible distance apart---seriously.  We arrived at gate 2 and had to board the next flight at gate 28.  Ugh.  Luckily the flight crew on our first flight asked anyone who didn't have a close connection to stay seated to let the ones who did get off quickly.  I told Kendra we had to run, and knowing that she can run faster than me I sent her ahead.  She's 11, fit, and runs a mile every week in PE.  I'm not 11, not so fit, and was carrying a 20 pound backpack.  You do the math!  So she got to the gate and told them I was coming (I was only about a minute behind her, so I was proud if not very winded!!).  We made it! 

Here we are before our first flight leg

Here we are after running to our connection!

To add insult to injury, we then arrived over Florida to a massive storm which kept us in the air for an additional hour before being able to land.  We finally landed and waded through the parking lot rivers to our rental car and headed to the condo.  Neither of us had eaten since breakfast and it was after 9 at night, so we stopped to eat of course.  It continued to rain....not a good sign, I later realized.

We are grateful to friends who let us use one of their timeshare weeks---we stayed in a very nice condo for about $400 for the whole week!  It had a full kitchen, washer and dryer, and all the comforts of home.  We stayed there the last time we went, too, so we were familiar with the area for shopping and restaurants, and I knew how to get to all the parks via the "back way" from our place. 

This time we got tickets for both Disney and Universal for the week.  I'm just going to do a photo purge now, sharing our week in pictures.  Sadly, we arrived just when a tropical storm decided to come, too.  We dealt with a LOT of rain.  You expect afternoon gully-washers in Florida but they usually stop after a short bit.  This time they rarely stopped, so we probably didn't use our tickets to the maximum capacity we could have (after a while we just didn't feel like staying wet), but we still had a great time.

She's got the whole Epcot ball...in her hand!

This is my beloved Napoleon pastry from the French patisserie in Epcot.  I got this TWICE.  Sigh....

Gotta love the poncho!

We lucked on this photo op---we tend not to wait forever for character pics.  This is Kendra's favorite princess!

View of the castle from the Swiss Family tree

Hard to get pics of the castle without three million photo bombers!  :-)

Maybe someday???

It was my birthday!

Being silly and bored waiting for an evening show.  Gotta get your seats hours ahead of time.

The beautiful castle in one of our favorite shades

Enjoying a butterbeer at Harry Potter world, Universal

Probably the most disappointing day was the last day.  It was my birthday, and we planned to go to Universal for our most anticipated part of the trip===Harry Potter world!  We'd been watching the crowd and wait times via an app on my phone all week, and we discovered that the Harry Potter ride wait time was always enormous in the morning but almost nothing in the mid afternoon.  So we decided to take it easy, sleep in a bit, and headed out around 1:00.  We went straight to the HP main ride in the castle.  It had a 40 minute wait but you wait as you tour the castle.  We jumped into the queue.  The castle was very neat.  We got to the very end of the wait and there was a video of what the ride itself looked like---lots of tossing around, turning, etc.  There were warnings all through the line about motion sickness, etc.  Kendra was really going to be a trooper, but that last video did her in.  We bailed at the last minute.  Kendra felt terrible, but I told her it was more important to me that she enjoy the rest of the day and not be nauseous, and we got to see the castle so it was fine!  We then explored the rest of Diagon Alley, first getting a yummy frozen butterbeer.  Then we went into the Ollivanders Wand Shop, where Kendra was chosen from our group to be the "wand chooser".  It was really neat.  It was so dark in there that I couldn't take any pics, though.  She ended up purchasing Ginny Weasley's wand. 

There were many other neat places we wanted to see and do in Universal, but unfortunately another HUGE storm came through just after we finished in Harry Potter.  We took shelter in a big top restaurant place and had to stay there for almost an hour before it was possible to walk through the park without drowning.  We didn't bring our ponchos with us---just had a small umbrella---so we got soaked even after waiting.   Sadly, Universal is very different from Disney in that almost all their rides are outside, so everything was basically shut down, and my weather app on my phone indicated that the storm wasn't ending anytime soon.  So we decided to just leave and it ended up raining the entire rest of the day and into the night.  It was a bummer way to end our trip, but what can you do???

We realized that this might be our last Disney trip together!  We take a major trip about every three years, and there are two destinations we want to do yet.  We want to go to NYC to see a Broadway show or two, and then do something tropical like the Bahamas or maybe even Hawaii (thinking senior trip).   Then Kendra will be off to college---ugh!!!  We didn't do everything we wanted this trip, thanks to Mother Nature, but we still had a fabulous time.  I love vacationing with just my girl and me!!!

Wrapping up 6th grade!

We are in our last week of school---only two more half-days left!  Whew!  I'm beat (as always) and simply cannot wait for a time in which I feel rested.  Kendra is excited for a jam-packed fun summer, but is a little sad about finishing such an awesome year.  She had remarkable teachers, made amazing friends, and has had simply a GREAT year.

One stand-out (among many!) this year has been choir.  I've blogged about her ridiculously talented choir director before and how impressed I've been with how the choirs sound with a bunch of adolescents whose voices are still working on their final timbre.  Kendra has adored choir and she loves her director.  Some kids don't love her as much--she's very loving but kinda tough.  Hmmm....sounds familiar!  :-)  Anyway, my house has been filled more with music and singing and less with the sounds of TV for a while now--a welcome change.  Kendra's spring concert was totally fun.  They step away from the formal music and put on a show of fun contemporary songs.  This show also included some vocal small groups, and Kendra got to be in one of them.  She was thrilled that she was selected for her first choice--they had to audition for the parts.     Kendra had told me that there was an award given at this concert for Outstanding Choir Student, one to each of the classes (there are two girls' and two boys' classes).  Kendra thought for sure that it was going to be given to one of three girls in her class.  So, there I sat, right in the front row of a packed house, completely unprepared for the photo-opportunity when Kendra was given the award!!!  I gasped audibly, and Kendra had the most funny shocked look on her face, but of course I didn't capture it.  I wasn't shocked because I didn't think she deserved it---I know Kendra is a stellar student and her director loves her.  I was shocked because KENDRA didn't think she'd get it!  Super proud momma moment!!

Waiting for the concert to begin.  Crazy kids.

Kendra also received a medal for her solo in private voice lessons competition

 

Blurry because I was flailing around trying to get my camera after she won the award!

Kendra with her director, Jennie Crawford

Engraved with her name and everything! 

 Kendra has auditioned for the varsity girls' choir for next year...will find out if she made it on Friday.  We're both excited to hear, as the director said she is only taking about 20 out of the 90 or so girls from her choir.  Kendra feels good about her audition, so we'll see!!  *****May 31st update:  She made Varsity!!! Woo woo!

Truly, it has been a terrific first year of middle school.  If I could thank her teachers three million times each I would.  She got the cream of the crop this year.

"So, Kendra, what are you going to do now that you have finished sixth grade?"
"We're going to DISNEY WORLD!!!"  Stay tuned because yes, we are!  :-) 

Destination Imagination State Tournament Part 2

After shopping, we headed back toward the high school where the competition was being held because the main challenge scores were ready.  Unfortunately, they were not very good.  :-(  I had a feeling they wouldn't be, as I had seen their last rehearsal back at school and their performance here wasn't nearly as good.  But one thing I love is that the judges are so encouraging!  The judge who came and showed the kids the scores kept saying positive things, and they received these post-it note pages from their particular scoring judges:

You can imagine that this was well-received by Kendra!  :-)

Next was the Instant Challenge, which is the part that had essentially won the kids first place at regionals.  They absolutely killed it there, and they really grooved as a team so we thought they'd do the same.  This is the part that parents aren't allowed to watch, so we gathered as a group in the cafeteria area.  The conversation hovered around the possibility of them making it to Globals.  Most of us were really hoping they wouldn't qualify (the top four teams in each category qualify).  Two families had kids who were graduating from high school the same weekend, and some of us (me included!) were unsure if we could afford to go.  Our district didn't pay for any of us to be at State.  Our school scrounged money to pay the registration and for the teacher/manager's hotel, but the rest of us paid for our two night stays, meals, gas, etc. out of pocket.  The kids came back from their Instant Challenge and they were SO EXCITED.  Their teacher said that again, they killed it.  Seriously, they did whatever it was perfectly and gained extra points, too.  Worried looks crossed the table between parents.  What if the same thing happened like at regionals---we never thought they'd make it to state, and yet here we were!  Would we be Globals-bound?

It happened to be one of the teammates, Jacob's,  birthday on this day, too!  His mom picked up a cake and balloons, and she invited the girls to the boys' hotel to swim and have a small celebration.  The girls picked up a small present for him at Charming Charlie's---a robot key chain who was wearing a tie (Jacob enjoys tie-wearing!)

I feel like these are going to be life-long friends!

 It was time to clean up and head back for awards.  It was  LOOOONG day!  Awards didn't start until 9:00 p.m.!  We took the opportunity to take some team photos with their awesome coach/mentor/manager/teacher, Nicole Silva. 

Yep, that's a Flat Stanley.  Blake's cousin sent him to visit, so he came to awards!

Crazy!

Unfortunately, the kids didn't place this year.  :-(  We wondered if they might win the Instant Challenge award in their category, and when the scores came out later the next week we found out that they had come in 2nd for that!   Their main challenge just didn't pull off the way they'd planned.  But all in all, it was a fantastic experience,  the kids learned a ton (teamwork, problem solving, etc), and they are all great friends now.  Kendra told me on the way home that she doubts she would be such close friends with this group if it hadn't been for DI.  All six of them plan to be a team again next year!

Destination Imagination State Tournament Part 1

Kendra has been a member of her school's Destination Imagination team.  They competed in their regional tournament and won first place which secured their participation in the state tournament.  (You can read more about the regional tourney and what DI is here.)  So on April 12th, we took off from school early and headed south west to a 'burb of Houston called Katy, Texas.

The road trip was uneventful most of the way--sunny skies, loud tunes, a big ole Diet Coke, and views of Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes along the highway (quite stunning, actually!).  Uneventful, that is, until we were within minutes of our hotel.  We had not one, not two, but THREE navigation devices in our car and yet not one of them could successfully guide us to our destination.  NOT fun in Houston's metro traffic!  I stopped and called the hotel to be guided in--finally!!!

There are six members on Kendra's DI team--three girls and three guys.  As fate (and overbooked hotels) would have it, we couldn't all make reservations for the same place, but it ended up that the girls were all in one place and the guys in another.  Their teacher and team manager, Nicole Silva, luckily ended up with the girls.  :-)

The first night was a "mixer" in which the team came, their managers registered them, and the event of the night was pin trading.  Each region has their own pin and the kids come with a bunch of their regional pins to trade for other pins.  Kendra bought 10 pins to trade.

The regional pin--it lights up!

The pin trading crowd and Kendra

Her pin trades on her regional medal

Saturday morning was the big event.  They had their main challenge at 11:00 a.m. (they did the same skit they did at regionals, with some tweaks).    It was a little nerve wracking as the boys (who had ALL the props) left their hotel late and squeaked in just in the nick of time.  The performance room was a theater room, I guess, and the walls were completed covered in black curtain.  It made for TERRIBLE pictures, but I did get a few before they got in. 

Excited to go in!

The team In Disguise!

Not sure what's up with this here...  ha!

Our friends, the Rodgers', who moved away from here this past summer were also at the tournament because their son's team was also competing.  We were so happy to see them, but unfortunately due to hectic competition schedules we only saw each other very briefly.  They did come to see Kendra's main challenge performance.

Missie and me!

Randy, Reagan, and Kendra right before her performance

We also had another unexpected supporter!   Kendra's science teacher, Karel Stewart, made the five hour drive down to Katy and spent her own money on a hotel stay to come support the kids!  Can you say OUTSTANDING TEACHER????  The kids were so excited she came, and I know it meant a ton to them because it meant a ton to me as a mom!!!  Karel is one of a kind, to be sure.  Love her!

The kids with Karel!

Lunch at Jason's Deli between challenges.  This is Kendra's good friend, Cami.

After lunch we did a little shopping at Charming Charlie's, an accessories type store here.  The kids were crazy trying on women's dresses, jewelry and shoes.  I ended up with new pair of sunglasses as mine were scratched to bits!  For some reason Blogger is going wacko and won't let me do anything past this picture, so I guess this post becomes two!

Easter & New Beginnings

Easter was pretty low-key this year.  We almost forgot to color the eggs!  Sigh.  I guess that's what comes when your child gets older!  We had a lovely dinner with the Ballards and enjoyed a lovely church service where Kendra sang with a group of other Primary kids (she had a small solo, which she didn't want to do.  She is SO done with Primary!)

The basket's contents are becoming more sophisticated with time, too!

Gotta love a sleepy face!  Flip flops are Easter basket tradition around here.

There she is, all prettied up!  (But notice eyes are still tired!  We are NOT fans of 8:30 church!)

A Ballard/Zitzman sandwich!  Poor Sophie!

We also had Young Women's New Beginnings Night!  I'm a leader in our church's Young Women's program, and in July Kendra will be joining this program!  Each year there is a special evening to welcome the girls who will be coming into Young Women's in the year.  This year's theme is Stand Ye in Holy Places, so we did a "shoes" theme.  Each pair of shoes had a tie-in to one of the Young Women values we teach.  I am in the presidency of this organization with some amazing women.  They did all the decorating without me---they did it during the day when I work.  :-(  We had a lovely dinner of chicken salad croissants, fruit salad, pasta salad, veggies, and I made individual brownie parfaits for dessert.   The girls decorated sugar cookies (we learned how to "flood" them with icing) that were the take-away gift, and we also gave the new girls a pair of flip flops with value colored ribbons they could use to tie and decorate.   It was a very fun night and it has excited Kendra even more to become a Young Woman!