New Orleans, Harry Potter, Alamo, etc

JULY 30
New Orleans was a very interesting city. I believe it should be called “Sin City” because in almost every shop there was profanity, whether it be on T-shirts or on postcards or on bumper stickers. Brooke pretty much had to look at the sidewalk the whole time in order to avoid the nastiness. Of course we were in the downtown area, which, as Mom told us, is party town. Looking at the old buildings was cool. We visited the French Quarter. It wasn’t much different than the rest of the town, in my opinion, except that some shops had French names and the streets were French. We went to the Café du Monde. Well, Mom went there to get some doughnut type thing that you have to get if you go to New Orleans. I’d tell you what it is, but the spelling would be horrible (even with spell check). We only spent 2 hours walking around New Orleans, then we left to go to Houston, Texas.

We finished Harry Potter. At first, Brooke was very irritated that Snape killed Dumbledore, but my dad thought that it was arranged between Dumbledore and Snape for Snape to kill him if it came to that and that’s why Dumbledore immobilized Harry, so Harry couldn’t interfere. After much discussion, Brooke agreed with us that Snape isn’t bad. So our family consensus is that Snape killed Dumbledore only because Dumbledore asked him to.

As for who R.A.B. is, my thought is it is Regulus Black (Sirius’s brother). Why do I think this? Well, the first and last initials fit and I don’t know his middle one. Also, he was killed doing something for Voldemort that he backed out of. So this is why I think R.A.B. is Regulus. Also, I think the locket is going to be at Grimmauld Place. Why? I don’t know, I just think it’ll be there. What do you think? And the spelling on those names and places are probably wrong because I didn’t check in my book.

Now that we’re done with Harry Potter, I have to go back to reading for extra credit. I wish Wicked could be read for extra credit. But oh well. As of right now, I’m reading Fried Green Tomatoes.

Tomorrow we’re visiting the Alamo. I know it’s not really worth it (so says a lot of people) but I want to see it so we are. And also, we’re going to a 6 flags! It’ll be our first one ever. And guess what? We’re going to the one that started it all. Cool huh?

JULY 31
Dad bought a CD of the 50th Celebration, which has a collection of songs from all around Disney World. We listen to it a lot. We’ve almost listened to it as much as Wicked. On the CD, there are 3 songs from 3 different countries. One is a really pretty duet from Canada. Too bad we’re not Canadian, or else it would be fun to sing sometime. The French song is almost 10 minutes long and would make a great ballet dance. I’m thinking of giving it to Miss Elizabeth to create a dance for RCB. The last country is America. The song is cool, but it wouldn’t really make sense to sing unless you had a screen behind you showing pictures of people and places. Brooke and I agreed however, that a recital could be formed using this CD. There are enough songs for all ages to use and if they needed more songs, we could always let them borrow our other Disney CD’s. As you all know, we have enough of them.

The Alamo surprised us all. It wasn’t at all what we expected. We thought it would be in the middle of nowhere in the desert. Well, it wasn’t. It was in the middle of town. And at first we didn’t know where it was. All we could see was this old wall. Mom kept pointing saying, “I think it’s there” and Dad kept looking around wildly asking, “Where? Where?” It took us forever to find a parking spot, but finally we found one. And so we walked to the Alamo, a place where people kept saying “It’s not worth it”. It was a lot bigger than we expected. I mean it wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t little either. We spent about an hour there, go figure. I would say if you like history, come here. If you’re not thrilled with history, you could go elsewhere. It was cool to see the Alamo, but I don’t need to see it for awhile.

We visited Mom’s Aunt Olga Maria. At first, we weren’t going to see her, but she really, really, really wanted to see us. So we went. It was nice to see her. We also visited her husband, who had just gotten out of surgery. They both looked great, considering they are considerably older than my parents. Overall, it was a very good thing we visited and it was nice to see them.

My cousin Loren, the one in the Navy, was sent to Iraq 2 days ago. He’s on the rebuilding team so he should be fine, but all the same, please keep him in your prayers. Also, he decided to change his name to Landon. Why? Well, he didn’t really like his name…too feminine in his mind and he’s been teased about his name too. So, it’s now Landon. He changed it 8 months ago, but we just got word of it yesterday. Anyway, I’d really appreciate if you all would keep Loren/Landon in your prayers. Thanks.

We had chocolate shakes in honor of Mom’s uncle, the one in the hospital. The shakes were really good and I don’t really like chocolate shakes.

We passed a city called Hillsboro. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the one in Oregon. It was the one in Texas.

Well, tomorrow means 6 Flags. Yes that’s right; 6 Flags. I can’t wait. I know it’ll be fun. Now I can say that I’ve been to one. Yippee!

Typing Errors

I shall say this once...Ok maybe a couple times.

I tend to type faster than I really should to get the keys in the correct order. So that is the main reason why letters tend to be switched. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I don't really like to spell check, unless it is a particularly hard word to spell.

So that is "teh" reason most of my "the's" and "then's" are misspelled.

And no Kirsten I'm not irritated with you. I just thought I'd clear up the reason my typing isn't always the best.

Anyway, goodnight again!

16 Days

That's right ladies and gentlemen. We were in Florida for 16 days! But alas, now we're in New Orleans.

Our day began watching none other than Pirates of the Caribbean (or atleast part of it while eating breakfast). Then we headed out to New Orleans. We made one stop at Manatee Springs. It was interesting. It looked really cool, I just wasn't too thrilled about putting on Off, since I didn't want to get bitten. Finally we left, only to stop at a beach that had been visited by Hurricaine Dennis. It was devistating (though as we found out this wasn't the actual beach Mom had wanted to go to). She had really wanted to go to a beach that had no houses, but instead we found the beach with heavy devistation. It made me realize just how much damage nature can do. We saw everything from houses completely torn down to houses still errect, looking barely touched. After agreeing that we really weren't supposed to be there, we decided to head out. Finally, about 7:00, we were out of Florida and into Alabama (where we ate dinner). Once fed and watered, we finally arrived in New Orleans. I haven't seen much yet, since it is dark, but tomorrow we're having a walking tour.

As for the Harry Potter front, we are now in the middle of Chapter 26 (The Cave). I wouldn't ahve stopped, but Dad was falling asleep and it was a good place to stop anyway. So tomorrow we will finish the book and they will all know who was killed. And as of right now, they all agree that Snape is really a good guy, no matter what.

As for the tanning front, I actually have one...still. I can't believe it. Hopefully I'll still have it by the time I get home.

That's pretty much it. Oh and we've gained an hour so now we're only 2 hours from Hillsboro time.

It was the Butler in the Parlor with the Knife

Well, contrary to what the title says, I now know who was killed, when he/she was killed, where he/she was killed, who killed him/her, and with what. And for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I've just finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. By just reading, I mean while in the car a couple of hours ago.

I don't want to say much, in case anyone of my family decides to visit here any time soon (which I doubt but I want to be safe). I must say, however, that I liked this book. It provided humor and suspence. I guess the books usually do that, but I think this is my favorite. I could be wrong though because the third one was my favorite for a long time. I guess the 6th and 3rd have tied for 1st.

I have decided that I am both a good and bad actress. Now before anyone can prove me wrong (about either being good or bad), I'd like to tell you why. I have a little problem of smiling when something exciting is about to happen. Brooke notices, since she usually sits in back with me, so she knows when something good is about to happen. Also, when anyone (usually Brooke) makes a guess as to what is going to happen next, or make an acusation, I usually can't help but smile. The thing is, Brooke gets so worked up that it's comical. I can't help but laugh a bit. She then takeds this as a she's right because I'm smiling thing. Unfortunately, Brooke's guesses are usually correct, so she know thinks whenever I smile her guess is correct. Now I try to smile whenever anyone guesses anything, whether right or wrong as to throw her off. Oh well. I guess I'll have to work on that.

I find, as I'm reading to my family, that certain things in the book make more snese, now that I know the outcome. Also, things that were made to be funny origionally seem twice as humorous (or ironic) as they did now knowing the outcome. Unfortuanetly I have to hide my "Oh! I get it", for fear Brooke might think she has guessed correctly yet again. But I really wish I could just tell them everything. I wish I could just skip to the end. But I know that would be robbing them of the wonderful story. I so much want to talk to them about the outcome, but I have to wait until I fifnish reading to them. Unfortunately, I don't know if my voice will hold out. It already sounded pretty hoarse after a couple hours of reading. Well, I'll muddle through.

We added on to our sit-up tonight. By teh end of this trip, Mom and Dad will be able to do teh sit-ups we do in jazz, though not with the same effort we put in. That's about it really.

Today we went to the beach, swam a bit, tehn droce a lot. Tomorrow we head for New Orleans. I'm excited. I've never been there. Good night!

On the Road Again

Today we visited Key West and the southern most point in the US. Believe me; it wasn't that interesting. The water, however, was beautiful. Yes, we did go swimming in both the Atlantic and Gulf. This means that this summer I have touched the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Not many people can say that. Now that we've gone as far south as anyone can, we're on our return home. That's right folks. We now are moving North and West instead of South and East. Never again will we be going away from home. Let me say that Brooke adn I are eager to get home. We both miss dance a lot. We're excited to learn the dances for DV, RCB, and Elan. I can't wait to see all my friends again. And as wierd as it sounds, I really can't wait to see Sophi.

In Key West, we visited a beach that was named one of the top 10 in America. Brooke and I don't really see why. There really was no beach and what there was of it was covered in seeweed from the hurricaine. It was pretty gross. The water was extremely clear, but we both prefer Hawaii's beaches and ocean to this one. But oh well, Mom said she thought it was voted one of the top 10 because of the crystal clear blue water. It was pretty from afar.

As for Harry Potter, I'm now on chapter 13, whilst my family and I are on chapter 11. My voice is holding out...but not for long. It's already starting to hurt. I hope I can make it through teh book. Last time I read the 5th one out loud, i barely made it and had to not talk for at least a week before it was somewhat back to normal. Why do I suffer then? Because I like reading outl loud and having the luxury of stopping whenever to dicuss what we think will happen (a luxury that we would not have if the reader was on tape).

I think I shall read some more. Good night!

Part 2 of the Last Post

JULY 20
Today was an up and down day. Lisa left for the airport with Dad at 7:00. Then Mom, Brooke, and I went back to sleep and slept until 11:30. As we were getting ready to go to the Magic Kingdom (dad had joined us by now), Dad remembered that we could charge stuff to our room if we had ID. So we looked for all of our ID’s. All were found…except mine. We looked everywhere. And of course Dad said that he had given it back when he asked for it the first time (a couple days ago). This is/was not true. I had not gotten it back. We went to the car and looked, but it was not there. So, we left for the Magic Kingdom about 1:00, with no driver’s license for Crystal. If we don’t find it, I guess I won’t be driving anywhere soon. Not only was I worried about my ID, but I had a horrible headache.

The bus took forever to come, but finally it did. We decided that since we got up late and the park was open until 2 AM, today was going to be our shopping/leisure day. So we took our time, went shopping, bought some stuff, looked at stuff we’ll buy later, watched a parade, ate slowly, talked with people, and really enjoyed our ability to relax. One ride we went on is called Mickey’s Philhar Magic. It’s really cool. It’s the best 3-D show I’ve seen yet. We went on this twice. After the second time, we asked an employee what time the park closed, so we knew when to get the stay late wrist bands. The lady informed us that the park closed at 11:00. Dad verified that this meant there was no late staying and she said that that’s what that meant. After this startling fact, we all started to get a little testy. I know I was bummed. Brooke was very sad because she doesn’t think we’ll get to all the rides. I know we will because we really don’t have much to do before we’ve ridden them all in the Magic Kingdom. But still, we were planning on getting most of the rides out of the way tonight and only have about 2 or 3 left by the last day so that we could really enjoy our last day. But oh well. We have about 8 rides until we’ve ridden them all, so I think we should be able to ride them in 8 hours. Ya think?

On our way home, there was this guy on the bus who was really annoying. He talked about how Pirates of the Caribbean is better in Disneyland Paris and it’s how the story should be told. He also constantly asked if they (the people he was talking to) knew what such and such a building was and responded knowingly what it was. Of course Brooke and I (who were eves-dropping a bit) knew what the buildings were (he pointed out Tower of Terror and other duh! buildings). Then he talked about how he was in Disneyland 6 weeks ago and was on a 6 week trip and drove from Montreal. Dads was very tempted to say that we had been to Disneyland 3 weeks ago and were also on a 6 week trip and we drove from Oregon (which of course is farther away). But Dad, being the polite person he is, decided not to say this. Once off the bus, we all agreed that this man was annoying. But we can’t figure out what makes this man annoying and Dad not. I mean, Dad tells everyone that we’re on a 6 week trip and does say that this building is Tower of Terror, etc. What makes him not annoying but this man very annoying? I said it was because Dad’s like Santa. But what do you think?

Well, we still haven’t found my ID. Dads convinced that it’s in the room. I hope so. And for my health…my throat still hurts, but I can talk fully now (it just hurts to swallow). But, as I said, I can talk with my normal voice, even sing properly (but why would I want to do that?). Good night.

Tomorrow means a day at Future World in Epcot. It’ll be great…I hope.

JULY 21
Congratulate me everyone. I have a boyfriend! His name’s Christopher, he has dark brown hair, he’s tall, and we met at a shop in Epcot. He was working the cash register I was at. Ok, I really don’t have a boyfriend, but I did meet this guy named Christopher and we talked for a bit. Pretty much he flirted and I attempted (Brooke was there too and she talked a bit). Yeah, it was kind of funny. He was pretty cute too. He saw I was from Oregon and said he was in Stayton a few weeks ago. Then he asked what I was doing down here and of course I rambled but the gist of my rambling went like this: My family and I haven’t been here in a while so we decided to drive down here for fun. Before we got to the family, he asked if Brooke and I were sisters or best friends and I replied with sisters, of course. He also asked if we were here as a graduation thing and I replied with my ramble. Anyway, this encounter with Christopher ended our evening at Epcot. And no, I didn’t get a picture with him…I should have but Mom and Dad had the camera and they were watching the fountain outside. Oh well. Maybe I’ll run into him again. I’ll be sure to get a picture then!

Anyway, our day started out in a somewhat normal way. We got up early and were at Epcot before it opened. Once it did open, I walked fast to get fast passes for Test Track, while Brooke and Mom went to the bathroom and we all were to meet at Mission: Space. Here’s the funny part: I walked so fast that I could have been the first one on Test Track…without a fast pass (before Epcot opened, we were very far away from the rope where everyone was roped off). But I resisted the urge to go on the ride and met my family, fast passes in hand, at Mission: Space. We had fun there and then went to Test Track. We stayed in Future World all day, except for lunch when we went to Canada. Believe it or not, we went on everything except Living with the Land and The Living Seas. We plan to do those things on our World Showcase day.

My favorite part of the day would have to be watching The Kristos. They are a group of acrobats consisting of a mother, her two sons, and a newly added Olympic gymnast. When we saw them 10 years ago, it was only the mother and her sons. Yes that’s right, they’ve been here for 10 years. It was just as spectacular as it was 10 years ago. And guess what…the mother remembered my mom from 10 years ago. Weird huh? Well, we talked to them and got their autographs. Interestingly enough, the mother is 56 years old and in great condition. Don’t believe me? I will be happy to show you the tape. I’m kind of scared to show Heather, however, because I’m afraid that she’ll try some of the moves that the Kristos did on dance team or dance class. They were cool moves, but very gymnast-y. I’ll probably show the tape to her anyway. If they are still there if any of you decide to come, I strongly recommend seeing them. They are truly amazing.

As for our quest to find all 50 license plates…I’m afraid Michelle may be correct in saying that New Hampshire is a non-existent state. We can’t find ANY cars from there. This is the only plate we need and it is eluding us.

By the way, we found my ID. Guess where it was…in the yellow thing Dad has (where he put it when I gave it back to him). Dad says it magically appeared; I say it got stuck with another card and he didn’t look hard enough. Oh well. I have it back.

Tomorrow means a day of fun in the sun at Blizzard Beach. I hope I don’t get burned!

JULY 22
Well, good news folks! The elusive New Hampshire has been found! That’s right…whilst at Blizzard Beach, we happened upon a blue van with a New Hampshire license plate. Then, once back at our hotel, we stumbled upon yet another New Hampshire plate. Go figure.

Today was fun. We spent most of the day at Blizzard Beach. We did a lot of stuff. I did the tallest slide there. It’s one of those straight down slides where you cross your legs and arms and go…straight down. It was awesome…until I came parallel to the ground, then it hurt. But now I can say I’ve done it. There was a thunderstorm approaching, so we left the park at about 4:30 instead of 5:00, but that gave us more time to get ready for our dinner.

Dinner at the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review is a must if you come to Disney World. It’s an awesome dinner show. The food is ribs, chicken, beans, and corn for the main course, salad and bread for the appetizer, and strawberry short cake for dessert. It was delicious! And the show was hilarious. There are 6 people (3 couples) who sing, dance, and make you laugh. Of course, Mom taped it, so if you’d like to get a taste of this wonderful show (food not included at this showing, unless you’re super cool), let me know and I’ll be happy to show you. This would be a great show to do. I’d love to be in it. Be watching for my name as one of the cast J. We saw the show I think twice before this and one time Dad was apart of the show. They pick people to be in it and Dad got to be Davy Crockett’s angel. Unfortunately, we don’t have this on tape but we do have a picture. Anyway, I strongly recommend this dinner show to anyone who comes to Disney World. You’re guaranteed a good time.

Overall, today was fun. I didn’t get burned either! You should see how tan I am. It’s kind of strange. Ok, I’m no where near as tan as Brooke, but I’m tanner than I’ve been in a LONG time (possibly ever been). Don’t worry it’ll be gone by the time I get back.

Tomorrow is the World Showcase at Epcot, along with whatever we didn’t finish the last time we were there. It’ll be fun.

JULY 23
Today was a tour of the world. We went to every country and did every activity each country had to offer and tasted something from every country. It was fun, though I did get a little sick from eating a lot of chocolate. Out of all the chocolate we tried, the consensus is that Norway has the best chocolate.

While on our journey across the world, we stopped by Italy and met Alex. He was very cute. We did get a picture of him, but it’s not a very good one. There was also a very cute guy in France too. What is it with foreign guys being so cute?

Brooke was very happy tonight. We turned on the TV and what should pop up…Stargate SG-1. Lucky for me it was at the end of the show, so we didn’t watch much.

It was our last time seeing the Kristos. They were amazing, as usual. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the picture I wanted but hopefully we got it on tape. It’s amazing what the lady and one of her sons does. I’d try to explain, but it would just get confusing. You’ll have to see the tape.

As for my tan…I’m starting to peel. It’s only a little on my left shoulder, but I think I’ll start peel faster because Mom doesn’t rub the lotion on like I do. The places I’ve put the lotion on aren’t peeling, but the places Mom put the lotion on have started to peel. I hope it’ll stop because I want to show everyone how tan I got.

Tomorrow is our last day at MGM. We might get Animal Kingdom in there at some point. We should because Brooke wants to go again. I’d rather not, but oh well. We’ll see what happens.

JULY 24
Congratulate Brooke, she has a boyfriend and believe it or not, it is NOT Daniel Jackson (from Stargate). Shock…I know. Her new boyfriend is none other than Chris the Skater Boy from the Sci-Fi Dine-In. Our first glimpse of her beau was when he skated out calling the name of a family in a very loud voice (we were outside in a crowd so no one could hear anything). Since we were the nice family we are, we of course clapped and congratulated him on his loud voice. About 5 minutes later, Chris skated out again; this time calling our name…he is one of our good friends because he pronounced our name correctly. He escorted us to our car and faked falling, which scared Brooke a little. After we sat down, Brooke couldn’t keep her eyes off him. It was pretty disgusting. She drooled every time he skated by. Ok, I’m exaggerating, but it was pretty funny. Many a time I could hardly control myself from laughing. Early on, Brooke had the courage to ask for his picture, which he willingly let us take. It’s not a bad photo, but it’s not the best one either. Then, after much debate, Brooke agreed to ask for his autograph. She had wanted it since she got his photo, but forgot to ask and now was too shy to ask herself. But, like I said, she finally agreed to ask. Once our meal was finished (about an hour and thirty minutes later), Brooke finally got his attention and we got his signature. You may ask why I didn’t get his attention…well, I decided that since Brooke was in love with him, she should be the one to ask for his autograph. After he signed our books, he showed off a bit. He skated on one foot (forwards and backwards), he crouched on one foot, and he did a trick only he could do…he did a scorpion (you know, the cheerleader move) while skating. It was pretty cool. We learned that he had only been skating for 6 months. He lived in New Mexico on a dirt road so he never learned to skate until he came here. So why is he the only one who is able to do the scorpion? He is very flexible (this is according to him, we didn’t see his full flexibility, but we’ll take his word for it). By the end of the day, Brooke said that she went back to loving Daniel Jackson instead (she will be forever loyal to him). So that means Chris can be mine…as well as Alex and Christopher. So now I’ve decided that we need to go to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom and find a cute guy and get his picture and signature. Then we’ll have one cute guy from each park!

Now on to our day. We started at the Animal Kingdom bright and early at the opening. We headed straight for Dinoland USA. Here, it was pretty dead because everyone was headed for the safari ride at the other end of the park. So we had the whole land to ourselves for about 40 minutes. Since there were only 2 rides there, we rode the twirly one 5 times (Mom and Dad 4) and the Dumbo-like one once. Then we went on Dinosaur once and decided to go to MGM (where we had originally planned to go today anyway).

The first thing we did at MGM was eat pizza. Then we went on the only ride we hadn’t gone on yet (the Back Lot Tour). Then we went to Millionaire, where Dad and I were on the top 10 list in between players and Mom was the 6th at the end of the game. We also saw Beauty and the Beast. This show was interesting. I think it was Belle’s first time on stage (as Belle). She seemed a little nervous (I noticed that she played with her dress ever so slightly). And the Gaston was better voice wise, but his singing and acting weren’t as good. He decided that he needed to be a hair late every time he sang. It drove me crazy! If you’d like to see the tape, we have it. Mom and I saw a later show with the cast we saw the first time and agreed that we liked them a lot better. During Mom’s and my second B and B showing, Dad and Brooke went to Millionaire again (dad was 2nd on the top 10 twice). We ended the day with The Little Mermaid. I didn’t like Ariel too much, but that’s ok. I enjoyed the show anyway.

We’re packing now because tomorrow we’re switching hotels and it’s also our last day in Disney World. Lucky for us, the Magic Kingdom is open until 2 AM (we’ll probably try and stay that long). Unfortunately, as of right now, it’s 1:52 AM and we’re getting up early to go to the hotel, check-in, and get to the Magic Kingdom by 9:00 so we can get on all the rides we haven’t been on yet. It’ll be interesting to see if we really do get there by 9:00. If we don’t, I guess that’ll just mean standing in line for all eternity (there are no fast passes for the rides we need to go on). I know we’ll have a magical day no matter what we do.

I’m really excited for tomorrow because we’re eating dinner in Cinderella’s castle (where we’ll most likely see Cinderella herself!). Have a magical night (or morning in my case!).

JULY 25
Our morning started off with us not knowing whether we would go with Dad and check-in at the Animal Kingdom Lodge or we would meet him at the Magic Kingdom. We decided to stick together so, we got up at 7:30 and we were at the Magic kingdom by 9:30 (checked-in and every thing). We decided to go straight to Tomorrowland to ride Autopia (or Indy Speedway as it’s called here). Then we went to Toontown and rode the Barnstormer. After that, we got Mickey Mouse’s autograph. Soon after, we met Princess Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White, Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. All of these lines were fairly short because everyone was either still at Fantasyland or getting all the “big rides” done with. We finished all of the rides we had to do in order to have ridden everything (besides the railroad which we will do when we get back).

We decided to go to the hotel to rest up and move our bags into the room. Our room is awesome. Our balcony extends over the giraffe area and giraffes were out very close to us. It is so cool. I suggest this place if you can. There are other animals too, but our balcony focuses on giraffes.

Well, we’re about ready to head back, so the next time I type, I’ll have spent over 15 hours in the Magic Kingdom.

After spending about 2 hours at the hotel, we finally made our way back to the Magic Kingdom. We had just enough time to get a fast pass and then go to dinner. Dinner was delicious. We ate at Cinderella’s Castle. And yes, we saw Cinderella. Then we went on a few more rides. And yes ladies and gentlemen we now have ridden every ride in Disney World (minus the water park slides and tubes we didn’t do because the water parks don’t count). We plan on making a guide to Disney by the Carlisle Family, be watching for it in stores J. This guide will help fellow travelers on secrets we’ve learned on this trip and what we feel is appropriate for little kids, old kids, and adults. This scoring guide will include places to eat as well as rides and attractions.

Anyway, we didn’t close the park as anticipated but we came close. We didn’t have any more steam left by 1:00, so we left. It is a very un-Carlisle like thing to do, but we’re older now and need more rest than we’ve gotten in the past 10 nights. I have come to the conclusion that for us Carlisle’s 11 days is too much. We used to be able to open and close a park consecutively. But this trip has proven us wrong. We opened a park but didn’t close one…ever. We always went home early. On previous trips, we had only about 5 days to get everything in. Knowing this fact, we went from ride to ride, getting in as many as possible. With 11 days, we were able to go about and do nothing, if we so pleased. So I have decided that next time we go to Disney World, we should really only need 5 or 6 days because it’ll fit our nature better.

Overall, this trip to Disney World has been a blast. I can’t believe it’s over. This fact really hasn’t registered yet, but it will tomorrow.

While on Thunder Mountain, we met yet another family from Texas (this makes at least the 100th family we’ve met from Texas). They had only been here one day so far and it was their first time on Thunder Mountain. While the parents sat a few seats a head, their kids sat in our car in the very back. We got all our info from the kids. And wouldn’t you know it…the son was pretty cute. What is it with Disney World and cute guys? Also, while at Autopia this morning, one of the workers was very cute too. Go figure. This gives me more incentive to work here J. And as opposed to the other guys we’ve met, these 2 boys we figured were either my age or very close to it. Anyway, the kids had a great time on Thunder Mountain.

Well, it is time for me to get some sleep. Tomorrow means getting up at 9:00 to have breakfast at a restaurant near the animals. We’re also driving to Key West just because. And we’re finally getting Harry Potter, which I will read aloud. So, I need sleep to be able to read tomorrow, or should I say today? Anyhow, goodnight!

JULY 26
I woke up today at 9:30. Let me tell you, I was extremely tired. Then Brooke made me go swimming. Yes that’s right, she made me. Dad packed the car while we women swam. Then we walked around the hotel for 40 minutes to examine what it had to offer. It was pretty cool seeing the animals (or what I saw of them, since I was so tired and pretty out of it). Finally we hit the road to get our pictures and Harry Potter.

After much traveling trying to find the Walgreen’s we had used countless times before, we finally made it. And then we stopped at Downtown Disney to look for a pin for Brooke’s friend Gabby. We finally left Orlando at 12:00. Then we stopped at a book store for Harry Potter and also picked up Wicked.

I proceeded to read Harry Potter aloud, but stopped when Dad fell asleep (not at the wheel of course). I was able to obtain Brooke’s permission to read silently, so I read Harry Potter to myself. Off and on I read Harry Potter aloud. Finally we got to our hotel, which does have internet access. Yay! As of right now, in Harry Potter I’m on chapter 7. I like the book so far. It intrigues me. I can’t wait to read it some more.

Now that I have internet access, I’m planning on checking up on everyone. Then, Harry Potter here I come!

Theme Park Adventure 1

JULY 15
Guess what? The hotel we’re staying at in Disney World doesn’t have a strong internet signal so I’ll probably be posting in large chunks. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Today started at Islands of Adventure. We hit the 2 big coasters (Hulk and Dueling Dragons). Brooke and Lisa road Dragons 5 times, while Mom and I rode 2 and Dad rode none (he checked us in at our Disney hotel, his choice to do so). After we were done with those rides, we rode Spiderman. Then we met Dad and ate lunch. After that, we headed to the other park.

We started with E.T. Then we saw Animal Planet Live. It was cute. Then we went on other rides, I don’t remember the order. Twister was kind of cool. It was a ride but it was a stand-up ride. The goal was to experience a tornado. As I said, it was kind of cool. Earthquake was kind of the same. I learned some cool things about special effects when creating weather in movies. The ride itself wasn’t my favorite, but that’s fine. We also saw Fear Factor Live. Mom and Lisa attempted to try-out, attempt because you had to be 18 or older (Lisa was out) and have ID (Mom was out). So they didn’t get to try-out, but we saw the show anyway. It was interesting. I could do all of the stunts that the real competitors did (most likely not to their success level, but I could do them). As for the in-between acts, I couldn’t do those. These stunts included drinking a combination of very disgusting things. I don’t even want to write them down. If you’re truly curious of the gross concoction, feel free to watch my mom’s tape. We rode the Mummy 3 times in a row (in order to get the perfect picture). The line was extremely short and the crew loading us was very funny. We had them all three times we went. We saw the Horror Make-Up Show. That was hilarious. We also saw a Beetlejuice show with Dracula, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, and Wolfman. It was interesting. At this show I thought to myself, “Where is my Disney?” A lot of the dance moves (done by 2 other dancers called Hip and Hop) were very suggestive. Then I had to remind myself that Beetlejuice was putting on the show and he’s pretty vulgar in general. Other than a few choreographic dislikes, the show wasn’t that bad. I was entertained.

Today was a full day of park fun. I’m exhausted! And yes, I’m still sick, though I could at least talk almost regularly by the end of the day. And no I didn’t scream on the rides 1) because I had no voice to scream and 2) I wanted to try and save my voice. And yes, we’re drinking LOTS of water. It probably was a good thing Brooke fainted because now we’re drinking water every time we see a fountain (ok a little exaggeration but still a lot of water is consumed from us).

I’m really excited for tomorrow! Disney World here I come!

JULY 16
We started our adventure at the Magic Kingdom. I must admit, I teared up when we got there and Mickey and Minnie and others came out for the opening and welcoming of the crowd. I’m so glad to be here. Anyway, we then proceeded to Space Mountain. Let me say that Disneyland and Disney World definitely have a different lay-out. All of us weren’t sure where to go (except with the obvious conclusion that Space Mountain is in Tomorrowland). We went on it twice. I missed this ride a lot (since it wasn’t working in Disneyland). We went on other rides, but not all of them because this is our Flavor of Disney World tour for Lisa. One ride was Stitch’s Great Escape. I didn’t like it too much. Don’t get me wrong; I like it better than what was there before (Alien Encounter), but it didn’t thrill me too much. Anyway, since this is the Flavor of Disney World tour, about 1:00 we went to Epcot. This is not usually what we do, but Lisa is not with us on a day we planned to go to Epcot so we spent half the day at Epcot. We went to Test Track, while Dad attempted to get Fast Passes for Soarin’. That didn’t work, but Lisa, Brooke, and I rode single rider on Test Track. After that, it was time for dinner. And guess what? Nous avons mange au Bistro de Paris (We ate at the Bistro of Paris). Dad made reservations there and Brooke actually agreed to eat there (thanks to Lisa being here, we went to another park and didn’t have anywhere planned to eat so we ate there). It was pretty cool. Unfortunately, it was a very nice place and we all felt very underdressed, though we did ask what we could wear and what we had on was just fine. Funny enough, there was a less fancy place right below us that would have sufficed, but oh well. I personally liked the food…Brooke not so much. And Dad told the waiter to talk to me only in French. Yeah that lasted about 5 seconds. I don’t know what it is but when I talk to a real French person, I loose all memory of everything I’ve learned. Like the waiter asked if I had any questions. I knew he asked that, but 1) he spoke so darn fast I only caught some words and 2) I second guessed myself. I felt dumb. Dad also made me order for everyone…in French. Good practice yes, enjoyment for me no. Anyway, it was fun to have real French food and listen to real French people. Though I did think of Alison and wished she and her parents were here so that they could tell us what is good and they could speak the French. Anyway, I had a good time. That is until the bill came. I will admit it was spendy. Brooke wasn’t pleased. She kept saying that she didn’t think the meal was worth $$$. And she really wasn’t too pleased with her meal either. Everyone else liked the food and the set-up. Anyway, I felt horrible and really down after dinner because Brooke kept saying stuff about the meal not being good enough for what we paid. Finally, Dad talked to her and she dropped it. I still feel sad, but I feel a little better because I got to eat in a French restaurant and don’t need to do so until we go to France (whenever that is). I still feel cheated however, because we’re eating at a Chinese place next time we’re there and we ALWAYS eat Chinese food. But oh well. I got to eat in France in Epcot. On our way to Soarin’, we stopped at Germany (to get Brooke gummy bears) and Norway (Lisa spoke Norwegian to a lady at the bakery. It was funny. Lisa doesn’t speak Norwegian, but Dad taught her one phrase to say just because). Then we booked it to Soarin’ and we rode that as our last ride. You may ask why we rode Soarin’ if we were just in California and had just ridden it. Well, Lisa had never ridden it before, so we couldn’t leave her in the dark. Anyway, that was our day.

As of right now, Brooke and Lisa are swimming and Mom and Dad are shopping. Why am I not swimming? Because I’m still sick and need to go to bed. That is what I plan to do after this post. It is interesting…my throat is really soar in the morning, gets way better in the afternoon, and gets soar again at night. Why? I don’t know but it’s annoying! As for my health, I am getting better…I think. Well, good night all!

JULY 17
We went to MGM today. Interesting enough, we slept in until 8:30! Why is that a shock? Well, the park opened at 9:00 and we’re usually there at 8:30. Guess not! Anyway, we drove to MGM today. New experience. We usually take the bus. Well, we got there and had a great time.

Highlights include: Tower of Terror, Rockin’ Roller Coaster, Lisa being chosen as an extra for Indiana Jones, eating at the Sci-Fi Dine In, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

We ate at the Brown Derby too. It was fancy, but had really good food. It was delicious. Along with the Brown Derby food came a special seating to the Fantasmic. The Fantasmic was ok. Don’t get me wrong; I liked it, but I like the Disneyland version better. Yes, they are different.

We saw Beauty and the Beast (Mom’s favorite). It was different from the last time we saw it. 5 years ago, the show started with Be Our Guest and then went on to tell the story of Belle and how she got to the castle. In Be Our Guest, they welcomed the audience as opposed to Belle. Anyway, this one actually followed the Disney story. It was interesting how this one seemed a lot like the one I saw in Disneyland my first time ever (when I was 4). There were a few different things, but the song Gaston and the opening when Gaston comes out were combined (like in Disneyland). I was slightly sad because in this production Gaston didn’t sound very manly. Actually, he was the only character who didn’t sound even a little like the Disney character. And I thought to myself, “Where’s Scott when you need him?” Belle was pretty good; she sounded like the movie Belle (However, Michelle, you were better). All the other characters had the original recordings for their voices so I really can’t compare them to the other wonderful cast of the Musical Theatre performance. I must say, however, I like my choreography of Be Our Guest better than the one presented today. But oh well. I liked this show better than the one 5 years ago.

The Great Movie Ride was slightly different. I liked it how they had it 5 years ago better than now (I’d explain further but it would ruin the ride).

We saw Lights, Motor, Action also. It was pretty impressive. It wasn’t my favorite, bit it was cool. Since it came from Disneyland Paris, the lady hosting opened speaking French. And yes ladies and gentlemen I understood every word. It was really cool. She did convert to English after a short while and translated what she said. Anyway, this show showed the audience some car stunts. It was pretty neat.

As I said earlier, Lisa was chosen as to be an extra for the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. It was really cool to see her up there. However, she did do it kind of…there’s no better word for it…illegally. Why illegally? Well, on the first round of volunteers, the lady hosting asked for people ages 18 and up. So Lisa didn’t try for it. He second and third time, she didn’t say 18 and up, so Lisa took that to mean she to could try (she’s only 16). Well, she was chosen 2nd the second time around, so there wasn’t much we could do to stop her (not like we really wanted to anyway). Lisa getting chosen reminded us of when, 5 years ago, our friend Steve Walti was chosen to be an extra. Now that’s 2 people we know who’ve been an extra for this show. Pretty neat huh?

I have decided that I like this Tower of Terror much better than Disneyland’s. This one is longer. It weaves through a room before you drop. I like the set up better too.

Pretty much I like everything about Disney World better than Disneyland, though there are a few things I like better about Disneyland.

Anyway, Who Wants to be a Millionaire was so cool. It was just like the TV show, but the audience had the opportunity to be in the Hot Seat. How you got there was either by winning the fastest Finger at the beginning of the show or when the person in the Hot Seat was done you were the one with the most correct answers with the fastest time getting those answers. So yes, you play along as if you were in the Hot Seat yourself. I did pretty well…most of the time. And no, none of us were chosen for the Hot Seat, but we had fun anyway.

Tomorrow equals Typhoon Lagoon. Lisa has never been and we went 5 years ago. I’m excited, even though I’m still sick. Good news on my health…my throat is the only thing that hurts. I can talk pretty normally now. It just hurts to swallow. But we’re working on that. Well, good night!

JULY 18
Today was Typhoon Lagoon day. We slept in until 9:00! We got to the park about 10:30. It was fun. Though now, I have hurting ears and a soar throat (soar throat continuing from previous days). My ears aren’t plugged, they just hurt. Other than that, today was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I got sun burned. And it’s not where I put the sunscreen either…it’s where Mom put it on me. Guess I won’t let her do it any more (just kidding). Anyway, Typhoon Lagoon just built a water coaster. There were 3 tracks. The 3 were similar to Noah’s Ark’s coaster, though I like Noah’s Ark’s coaster better. But all 3 were still fun.

After the park, we went to AMC theatre to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was pretty good. Definitely different than the original. I don’t know which one I like better. I think I like the new one better, and not just because Johnny Depp’s in it (though that is a plusJ). I do like the old Oopa Loompa’s better than the new ones and I like the old song better too. But oh well. The new one explained better why Willy Wonka is as weird as he is. The new one made me laugh a lot more than the old one. Anyway, I liked the movie and would recommend it, though it is kind of slow in some parts but so is the old one.

That’s it for tonight. Tomorrow is the Animal Kingdom…Brooke’s favorite (my least favorite but oh well). It’ll be fun. Good night!

JULY 19
Today started horribly and ended pretty well.

We woke up about 7:00 and had breakfast at 8:00 (Mom, Brooke, and Lisa ate hotel food while I ate cereal and dad had nothing). Dad and I stayed in the room while the others ate in the cafeteria. After I was done eating, Dad and I went to move the car and meet the others in the food hall. We got there and they were no where in sight. Finally, we hooked up (they had gone back to the room looking for us). And we started our Animal Adventure. The first thing we did once at the Animal Kingdom was the Safari. That was fun, though we waited for Dad to catch up, even though we were very far a head and he said he’d walk fast. Anyway, the ride was cool. Then we went on an animal trail thing where we walked on a trail and looked at animals. This was not my personal cup of tea, but Brooke enjoyed it. Then Lisa and I went to get fast passes for Dinosaur while Mom, Dad and Brooke went to stand in line for the rapids ride. Well, Lisa and I met them at the entrance because they got caught up in looking at a girl who was dressed like a vine and blended into the scenery. Anyway, the ride was fun. I really didn’t want to get too wet and guess what…I got the most wet out of our group. Go figure. From there, the problems started to occur right and left.

Lisa and I went to get fast passes for another dinosaur rollercoaster ride while Mom, Dad, and Brooke went to get us seats for the Lion King show. Lisa and I got to the theatre and noticed a line. We went to the front and overheard that they weren’t going to let many more people in. We didn’t se Mom or Dad anywhere so we knew they were inside. I said politely that our family was inside and the lady pretty rudely said that we should have kept our family together. I replied with that fact that we had to do something. Anyway, we went to the end of the line and hoped that we could get in and find Mom and Dad. Well, they let in 35 people and we were 4 people away from getting in. So I asked a different man at the front how we could communicate to our family that we were out here while they were in there. He asked if we knew the section and I said no. Then I asked where would be the best place to meet them. He said the bridge. So Lisa and I waited at the bride for 30 minutes. By this point I was depressed…I was going to cry. Why? Because we were split up with no way to communicate us not being there, we weren’t seeing the show (yes there were other shows but we didn’t want to repeat when it was our only day there), and I had a horrible headache. Finally, the show was over and we met the other family members. Pocahontas and her friends show was next to the lion King show, so we went to that show. Well wouldn’t you know it, it started to rain and a thunderstorm was approaching. So that show was canceled. Then we ate lunch. After that, we went to Dinosaur and had a fun time. It was different than I remembered. Then we went to Flights of Wonder show. Well, it rained some more, so that show was canceled too, though we did see some pretty cool birds they brought out instead of doing the show. Then we went to the dinosaur coaster Lisa and I had gotten passes for. Then we booked it back for the last Flights of Wonder show, which we saw. After that, we had an hour and a half before the next Lion King show. So Lisa decided to go on a train ride and visit a research center they have at the park. It was interesting, but I was very worried about making it to the show on time. We ended up making it, though we booked it some more to the show. We were able to see it. It was great. I have decided that I will be the bird in the show when I work here. Why? Because she partners and flies all in one dance. It’s awesome! Anyway, then we went to the Tarzan Rocks show. It was ok…not my favorite…but better than last time. Then we went to Rainforest Café for dinner. And after much confusion, we finally had our dinner. The waitress was amazing. She was very friendly and very nice. So from a very bad start to the day, it sure ended nicely.

Tomorrow, Dad’s taking Lisa to the airport and then joining us at the Magic Kingdom for breakfast.

More Adventure

So I ended up going with my family to Universal Studios (the real one).

As we drove there, signs were everywhere that we weren't supposed to use this particular way to park. I mean there was everything from road blocks to the ticket things all being red and blocked (except for one side which was not red or blocked. I think it was for those cars that have anual passes or something) and another set of road blocks (on the other side were cars getting into the parking structure using a different enterance). It was pretty embarrassing.

So we get into the park and it's about 9:15, the park closes at 10:00. We have one mission: to ride The Mummy ride. We find it and ride it, once. It was pretty cool, though I must say I was disappointed sometimes only because I was used to upsidedown rollercoasters as opposed to nonupsidedown rollercoasters. Anyway, we get off and see that we can go again. So we do. And we were one of the last rides of the night! Let me say that the second time was way better. Also, I was in the front, which was way better than in the 3rd row. So overall, the Mummy ride is pretty neat. I enjoyed it and am planning on riding again tomorrow. I'm thinking, however, that the guy next to me the second time probably thought I wasn't having fun, since I wasn't screaming. This is untrue. I wan't screaming because I really have no voice left. It hurts to swallow, let alone talk. So tomorrow I think I'll try to talk as little as possible. That'll be fun, since I've never been to Universal Studios. But oh well. We'll see what happens.

I'm glad I went tonight, though I'll probably pay tomorrow.

Islands of Adventure

Adventure is right. We got there at 8:30 am. Not only did it open early, but we even got most of the "big rides" in early without standing in a line longer than 15 minutes. It was so cool.

When we got to Dueling Dragons. we first went on Ice. Then, we went right away to go on Fire. We got close to going on the actual ride when Dad decided to drop out (he wasn't feeling well). So Dad left. The ride took 3 times before they let anyone on (it had broken down or something). As we waited, Brooke and I showed Lisa (our cousin) some stretches we do in jazz. After awhile, while still waiting, Brooke leaned against Mom and said she felt dizzy. I told her not to lock her knees. Suddenly, Brooke leaned backwards and totally fell to the floor...very hard. Being the concerned family we are, we crowded around her and tapped her and tried to see if she was ok. She opened her eyes, but she wasn't really responding and her pupils were dialated (they were SO big). Finally she snapped out of it. She asked what had happened. We found that a surprise but told her she had fainted. She felt a little bad (I don't think it had registered yet) and decided to ride later. She said that Lisa and I could stay and ride so we stayed while Mom and Brooke left to sit down and ride later. About a minutes after they left, a lady tapped me on the shoulder and said that Brooke had fainted again. This time Mom had caught her and let her down softly. We all stayed where Brooke was for a long time (she stayed on the ground this time). When we reached her, she was crying (only beacuse she was embarrassed). Once a paramedic came and we went to a waiting room, the paramdeic said Brooke most likely fainted because of dehydration. We left shortly after he told us this. Brooke never ended up riding Fire, but we do have tomorrow still. This was pretty much the excitement for today.

I didn't feel too well today. While Brooke, Mom, and Lisa went on The Incrediable Hulk" again, Dad and I got our Jurassic Park picture. We went to the hotel at about 7:11. It's kind of the non-Carlisle way to leave before the park closes, but since I'm sick and Brooke's sick (and she fainted), Mom decided it would be for the best to go to the hotel and rest. Brooke, Lisa, and Mom or Dad might go back to the park, while I stay here with either Mom or Dad. Why am I staying? Becuase I have a headache and really don't feel up to par. So if I want to be able to move tomorrow, I must rest. Ok, I'm really not that sick, but I don't want to risk getting to that point and having my Disney trip ruined.

Today was a fun day. It was slightly scary, in the fact that now we're all paranoid that we're not drinking enough water, but overall we did a great job of getting all the "big rides" done early in the day so that we didn't stand in long lines.

As for the thunderstorms...there really wasn't one today. At least it didn't hit directly over the park. The weather was pretty nice.

That's pretty much the day today.

Tomorrow equals the real Universal Studios, with a possible Islands of Adventure in the mix. I'm excited. I've never been there before!

Are We Crazy? YES!

JULY 11
This morning was crazy. We woke up early, but left at about 10:00. And yes, my cousin is coming with us. I must admit, at first I had mixed feelings, but now I’m sure it was made to be.

We stopped at the Indiana Dunes for about 40 minutes. It was fun. The dunes were by Lake Michigan so we played in the water a bit too. Then we continued on to Michigan. After a while, I realized that we possibly might not make it to Elizabeth in time to see her play practice. So of course this upset me because I wanted to be on time and not late. Unfortunately, we had to stop at a Wal-Mart for food. That’s where we found out about the time change. Of course, I had told the family about the time change earlier, but they forgot. So not only were we going to be 15 minutes late, but now we were going to be an hour and fifteen minutes late. Believe me; I wasn’t in a good mood. To top that, my ovaries decided to hurt, so I was in pain as well. Overall, the trip to Otterbein wasn’t pleasant. Finally, Elizabeth and I connected and she said to call her cell and an assistant stage manager would let us in. We were very grateful of that.

Finally we got there. They were about half way into the first act. They weren’t really acting so much as just re-blocking. Of what we saw, we’d like to see the show and are sad we can’t stay longer. The show is called Crimes of the Heart. Anyway, boy was I glad to see Elizabeth. We saw her say about 2 lines before they took a break and Mom and Dad left to visit our relatives. The actors had a 10 minute break in which we met Elizabeth’s friend named Molly (she’s really cool) and the rest of the family left for the relatives while I stayed to spend the night with Elizabeth. I was able to watch the rest of the show, though they ran through blocking so I didn’t see much acting. But like I said before, I which I could see the whole show.

After the practice, Elizabeth and I went to her house. There we watched Beauty and the Beast and a little of Dance Team. It was really nice watching B and B with someone who knew the actors and really appreciated it. She of course loved it. Every time certain people came on stage, she made a grab for the TV as if to pull them into the room with us (I was helping in the pulling motion). We talked about random things, as well as school and friends. I had so much fun. I realized I should have brought Variety show and Jazz Cabaret with me too, but I forgot so she’ll watch those when she comes back. I had so much fun with Elizabeth. I’m really glad I saw her and was able to spend the night.

While I was with Elizabeth, the rest of the family went to Columbus to visit our relatives (the dad’s name is Kirby). They had fun doing something, I don’t know what. I think they said they played flashlight tag or something. They had fun none-the-less.

Ohio was very warm this night. And I’m sure Brooke gave me her cold because it’s hard to breathe. So, I didn’t sleep very well. Don’t get me wrong, I slept ok, it’s just I would have slept better if I would have been able to breathe. But oh well. I loved seeing Elizabeth. Can I say that enough? NO! So I’ll say it once more. I loved seeing Elizabeth!!!!!!!!!!

JULY 12
I woke up at 4:45 with a very stuffy nose, but soon went back to sleep. I then woke up at 8:30 so did Elizabeth. We had breakfast and soon after Mom and family came to pick me up. I was sad to leave, but I did have a great time. Then I went on a tour of Otterbein. It is a pretty cool campus. I liked it a lot.

We left about 12:00 and traveled to Indiana to visit a relative. We ate linner (lunch/dinner) with her and her daughter at a Chinese buffet. After that, we traveled toward Cape Canaveral to see the space shuttle launch. Since we weren’t sure whether or not we were going to make it, we decided to travel all night. So that means we’ve now do 2 all nighters. This was definitely not good for my health (which has gotten worse since the wedding).

JULY 13
Right now, we are in the middle of a humungous thunderstorm. I haven’t been in one this bad before. But of course, part of this storm is backed from Hurricane Dennis. Anyway, it should be over soon. These storms only last about 1 hour.

We continued our crazy drive toward Cape Canaveral. We finally got there and found out that the shuttle launch was scrubbed. Why? Because the fuel gauge said that the rocket had no fuel. So they’re hoping to launch it tomorrow. Unfortunately, we’re not going to be there, but we’ll probably see it on TV.

I pretty much lost my voice today. I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to my family while in the car, but realized that I wasn’t going to finish it by the time book 6 comes out. So my cousin and I started to paraphrase what happened. I needed to read the 2nd to the last chapter (the one with the prophecy) because it is very important. So I proceeded to read, but my voice got fainter and fainter. Soon, I really had no voice at all. I still have no voice. You can barely her me. Yesterday, I told Elizabeth that I probably won’t be able to sing by the time I get back, well at least not well. Why? Because I haven’t sung properly since this trip started and I don’t count on doing so. Also, with my voice in the condition it’s in right now and since we’re going to Universal Studios and Disney World tomorrow and for the next 2 weeks, I don’t plan on having my voice get better because of the screaming I’ll be doing. I hope that I’ll be able to sing well by the time I get back, but we’ll see what happensJ. Well, I should go because I didn’t get good sleep and we’re going to bed early, since we’re going to Universal tomorrow. Good-bye all!

Last Day in Chicago

This morning, we woke up and packed for our trip back to down town Chicago. We left about 1:00 PM. It took awhile to get going but finally we were on the road. You know, trying to coordinate 14 people is pretty hard.

We stopped at the Millenium Park for a couple hours, walked toward the Magnificent Mile, and then went to Chinatown for dinner. The park was cool. There was a fountain that was really a huge block with water coming down. People played in it. As we walked toward the Magnificent Mile, we saw a street show that was amazing. They did cool tricks and had good morals. They said that drugs were bad and all that. They weren't doing this performance because they were extremely poor either. Mom taped what we saw so if you'd like to watch sometime, let me know. It was pretty amazing.

I had my first ever Jamba Juice. It was pretty good.

The dinner was great. I love Chinese food.

On the way home, my cousins John and Lisa rode with us, while Mom rode in the other car. While Dad showed John the coolness of our car, I showed Lisa Into the Woods (she wanted to, I didn't force her). Of course I only showed her little bits of it and attempted to explain the whole first Act (about half way into Our Little World the tape gets off so it's hard to watch). John watched after awhile and both said that I could sing at their weddings. lol. Antoher reason we watched Into the Woods was because I was telling Lisa about Michelle, Devin, and Scott. What better way to show her these talented young people than to show Into the Woods (ok it is the only tape I have that has me in it too). Anyway, they enjoyed it, or what they saw of it. They agreed that these are very talented people. And they were jealous that we have a band to play for us.

We went swimming after we got to the hotel. While there, my Mom asked Lisa if she'd like to go to Disney World with us (in the sauna it was only me, Lisa, and Mom). She said yes and she might actually be able to go. Her mom and dad said it was really up to her because she has other stuff that she's paid for but if she wants to she can...I think. We (the cousins) have talked about going since this Christmas marks the 10th anniversairy. We decided that we don't need the adults because we're all old enough to go by ourselves and we'll have adults wiht us (Jennifer=24, David=21, Mark and Sarah (if they come)=23 and 22). But I was surprised when Leilin said she might come. That's so unlike her. I feel bad that the other cousins don't really get to come (especially John). But we'd be lucky to just get Lisa so, we might work on getting John too, if we get Lisa. I guess the easiest solution is to go to Disney World after the wedding in St. Louis in December.

I once was able to say that I haven't gotten burnt on this trip yet. Well that's not the case anymore. I got burnt by walking around Chicago today. It's not bad, but still, it's red. Oh well.

Tomorrow equals a very busy day. We're going to Indiana to visit a relative, meeting Elizabeth...sometime, and visiting more relatives in Columbus. Tomorrow is a big jumble of things. I'm so confused. But as long as I see Elizabeth, I'll be fine.

Wedding Day

JULY 9
Well, it’s all over. My cousin is now a married man.

Today was a long day. We woke up at about 9:30 and ate breakfast. Then we went swimming. Swimming included Brooke, Dad, myself, along with 4 boys who are neighbors of my cousins (so I didn’t know them), and my aunt’s brother’s 4 kids. They really wore us out. It was fun though. Then we went upstairs and watched TV and got ready for the big day.

We got to the church and watched the last part of pictures. Then we were placed in rows and then kicked out of the room. After a while, the doors were open and we all went in. I took pictures, without flash (very irritating). It was a very nice service.

The reception was a lot of fun. Dad decided that it was the nicest reception. Why? Because 1) the only alcohol was champagne, 2) most of the guests were strong Christians, and 3) we were related to at least half of the guests. I’d say I’d have to agree with Dad. This was the nicest reception I’ve been to. There was live music. Chandeliers lighted the tent. We were assigned tables. There was a dance floor. I took pictures a lot of the night, which was fine by me because I’m not much of a dancer in the club kind of way. Interestingly enough, a lot of the songs were danceable songs, meaning swing, salsa, etc. I’ve decided that before I get married, me and my fiancé will take dance lessons so we can do more than just rock back and forth. I did dance, just not as much as others. Most of the pictures I took turned out. Overall, it was a great reception and a beautiful wedding.

Brooke and I decided that we should become wedding photographers. Brooke would tape, while I would take still.

I kind of can’t wait until Lori’s (another cousin) wedding in December. I know it’ll be beautiful.

So apparently, when we’re in Columbus, Ohio, we’re staying with our relatives (on Mom’s side). These relatives are Mom’s brother’s wife’s brother and his family. They have 4 really cute boys with another one on the way. Brooke and I were surprised that we were staying with them. But we are. It’ll be fun.

We don’t know if we’re going to St. Louis or not still. Now, all of my cousins thought we weren’t coming, and Brooke’s ok with it, but Mom apparently said we were. So, I don’t know what’s going on and Dad and Mom will make a decision tonight and everything will be clear…I hope.

I can’t believe today is over. It seemed like such a short time ago that we found out that Mark was getting married. After we found out, it seemed like forever until the day actually came and now it’s all over. Wow.

The Pre-Game Show

Well, it's the night before the wedding. It's a really strange feeling. My cousin is getting married. Can you say WEIRD!

This morning was very hectic. We switched to a hotel closer to the wedding. We were supposed to leave by 9:00 AM, so naturally my family was very prepared. Ok, we were running late, but not nearly as late as our cousins. My aunt Leilin had to stop at an outlet mall to get shoes for the wedding. We switched who was in what car like 5 times. Finally we hit the road at 10:30.

We drove the Prius and with our navagation sysytem and Leilin's directions, we attempted to get to the lady's luncheon in a different town. Attempted is the key word. We ended up in a cornfield in the driveway of someone's house in the middle of nowhere. It was hilarious. Finally after asking directions from the Motel 8 AND the Fire Department (they were much more helpful than Motle 8), we made it to our restaurant. Our cousins in the other van got completely lost and were about 15 minutes late. But that's ok, the meal was delicious!

After this event, we went to the bride's house (Sarah). It was spectacular! It is so big. They have 3 levels. In the basement they have a small guest room, a bathroom, a game room with air hockey, pool, ping pong, bowling, tredmill, pinball, and another game I don't remember, as well as a small living room. It was amazing! We went to her house to help, though she really didn't need much help from us smaller cousins so, Lisa and I played pool ( won) while Jennifer and Brooke played ping pong (I don't know who won). Then we went back to the hotel to get ready for the rehearsal.

At the rehearsal, I ttok still pictures. I took pretty good ones too. It was very strange to see the practice and think, "Wow, tomorrow my cousin is no longer going to be single and unmarried. He's going to be starting a family". A strange thought indeed.

We went to Johnny's for rehearsal dinner. Again, I took pictures. The food was delicious.

Tomorrow, I'm taking pictures again. My aunt Leilin asked if I would take pictures at the rehearsal, so this was all with her camera. She's allowing me to take pictures tomorrow as well. Apparently she thinks I'm a great picture taker.

At the wedding, Emily (the sister of the bride) is singing 2 songs. She's singing this one song I don't remember and The Prayer. I heard her sing it twice today and all I can think of is Michelle and Devin. Don't get me wrong, she's not bad. I just still liked it better when the two of them sang it. The tenor who's singing with her has an amazing voice. It kind of reminds me of Scott's... just a bit (the guy has a deeper tenor voice). I kind of wish I was singing however, 1) because I like the song and am jealous I haven't sung it yet, and 2) I think our voices would match better than hers and his does. But oh well, it's pretty no matter what.

I feel better today. And our plans have channged yet again on the St. Louis thing. Now we're going to have a tour of Ottterbein (or however it's spelled) on Tuesday morning rather than Monday afternoon. This leaves time to spend more time in St. Louis and that one relative in Indiana. We're still not sure if we're going to St. Louis but, at least the tour has moved.

That's pretty much it for tonight.

Oh, did I mention my cousin's "gettin' married in the mornin'. Ding dong the bells are gonna chime!" Ok, it's really at night, but he's getting married anyway. Truely I am happy for him. Sarah couldn't be more perfect for him.

College and Things

Today we went to Columbia and Northwestern.

Columbia-It was different than I thought it would be. I think of college as a more Hilhi campus, but I know this is not the case anymore. Columbia was all over the place, at least the buildings were. It was kind of hard to find where the dance building was. But we did eventually find it. I have decided that I don't want to go there. Why? The dance they do is based pretty much on modern. They have other classes, but those classes are to support modern. I'm not a modern dancer. Sure I'd like to take a modern class every so once in a while, but I wouldn't want to have that as my major (or minor). So Columbia is off the list.

Northwestern-This seemed more like a "Me" college. It was near the lake, with grass and trees near it. Northwestern's dance program focuses more on jazz and modern with other classes avaliable. The lady we talked to said they "focused" on jazz and modern because they didn't want people to think that because they offer ballet, that people are ready to head of to Joffrey right out of college. She said their dance classes are all very strong and some say the ballet is the strongest. She also said that the ballet teacher is awesome. Funny story about the dance program: my cousin went here and tried out for it. The lady we talked to today told my cousin once upon a time ago that she'd be great for the program if she just had the technique (my cousin used to dance). It was kind of funny. Northwestern is a keeper, so far. At least, I'm going to apply and see if I get in.

Northwestern has 2 studios with no mirrors. I don't like that. I like being able to correct myself. That was the nice thing about Columbia. In their "ballet room", mirrors were present. Still, I liked Northwestern better than Columbia. Howwever, we're still looking, since this porcess is usually a long, hard one.

Tonight, we're eating at the Cheesecake Factory. I can't wait. I've never been there before and I LOVE cheesecake.

I think Brooke got all of us sick, me especially. My throat hurts and I've woken up for the past couple of days groggy. I hope we get better before Disney World.

As for the cousin/Elizabeth problem. We're planning on driving Sunday night to St. Louis and stay the night. Then we're getting up early to go to Indiana to visit a relative who would kill us if we didn't visit (Dad's name would be mud in the family). Then we're going to visit Elizabeth and visit the college the next morning. We haven't changed the college visit yet, but we're planning on visiting it the next morning no matter what. Now, I don't believe this will help our health, but Brooke is insistant on visiting St. Louis, so we'll probably continue to be sick until we get home, where we'll actually have relaxing time. Oh well.

Chicago Day 1

Today started out horribly. I was woken up by Dad insisting that we wake up to recieve our free breakfast. We woke up at 9:45, thinking the breakfast ended at 10:00. In actuality, it ended at 10:30, so we really hurried for nothing. Then at breakfast, I saw a guy who looked almost exactly like our family friend who died a few days ago in the plane crash. It waqs really weird. I wanted to ask him what his name was to make sure it wasn't our friend. Then as I was eating breakfast, my french toast spilled onto my lap. So not only was I tired and cranky, but I was now sticky. I went upstairs to change but the cleaning lady was in the room. After she was done, Brooke, Mom, and I changed into our swimsuits and went swimming. We swam for about 30 minutes. The water wasn't too bad, but I was still in a bad mood. We went upstairs and Mom started to call colleges for touring for tomorrow and when we visit Elizabeth. She also called Elizabeth but she didn't answer. After Mom got the colleges set up she went somewhere and her phone rang. I answered, still in a fairly bad mood, and who should it be but...Elizabeth! Instantly my day got betterw. I was very excited to hear her voice. We talked for about 10 minutes, because she had practice somemore. We arfe going to visit her on July 11 about 12:00 and spend the night in Columbus. I can't wait! Then we went to lunch at a Chinese buffet. The fire alarm went off just as we were leaving. No fire but it was kind of weird that it just went off. After lunch we went shopping at Target for wedding stuff. By the time we got home, it was time to get ready for dinner and an Italian resaurant with my cousins. On the way there, we rode in a van, while the parents rode in the limo. After the dinner, which was delicious, the kids rode in the limo to the Buckingham Fountain. It was pretty neat. Then we rode to the hotel in the limo. It was great. We had a limo because my aunt became the head hauncho of a part of Creative Memories. So today went from horrible to awesome...pretty much thanks to Elizabeth.

The colleges I'm visiting tomorrow are Columbia and Northwestern. Columbia is at 11:00 and Northwestern at 3:00. I'm kind of scared because I don't really have any questions to ask...yet. I don't really know what to ask either. On a goos note, I get to watch a dance class tomorrow, so I can decide if I like it or not. I'd rather take the class, but that's ok.

Well, I should get to bed now. Goodnight!

Iowa and Wisconsin

JULY 4
Happy 4th of July! We’re traveling to Tomah, Wisconsin, where Mom has a friend we’re staying with. It may or may not be better than a hotel, but in any case, we get free food and a fireworks show.

Today we saw the Hogback Bridge in Iowa. It’s one of the bridges in Bridges of Madison County. Anyone seen it? Mom has but the rest of us haven’t. The bridge wasn’t what we expected. It was rather disappointing, but that’s fineJ.

We also saw John Wayne’s house in Iowa. This house was where he was born and raised. It was interesting. It was small and quaint.

We went to a little town called Walnut, Iowa. It was an old town, so it had a lot of old fashioned houses. They looked so cute. I like old houses. I just would like to have the modern conveniences inside. The house inside could still look old fashioned, but it would have heaters and microwaves and other stuff. I want to live in an old fashioned house at some point in my life.

We’re planning on seeing Mason City, Iowa. This is where Meredith Wilson was born and filmed The Music Man. I’m pretty excited to see it.

Tomorrow we’re going to Noah’s Ark. It is the largest water park in the US, or at least it was when I did my state report in 5th grade. I’m not really sure if it still is the largest. In any case, I’m excited to see it and play around.

According to Brooke, we agreed on having a dollar day and a salad day. That means one day we only eat food under a dollar. Another day we only eat salads. I don’t remember this, but today is salad day. So for lunch (we got up late), we had a dollar Caesar salad from Wendy’s. Now we’re all hungry again because the salads were small. Also, I’ve been dying for fruit lately so we got a fruit plate too. Did you know that Disneyland sells pretty good fruit? I had some in Adventureland (pineapple), and it was delicious! I loved it. It was almost as good as Hawaii’s pineapples. I hope there is good fruit inn Disney World. As for following our dollar and salad days, we haven’t been very good. Today is the only day we’ve actually followed so far. Of course, the day isn’t over yet.

The next time I type, it’ll be sometime tonight, so I’ll have seen Mason City and hopefully be at the house we’re staying at.

Well, Meredith Wilson’s house and Music Man Square wasn’t all I hoped it to be. Since it was closed (operating hours Tues-Sun 1-5), we didn’t see much. The outside of the house was cool. And we saw some of the sets used in the Music Man by looking through the windows of a building near the house. There was also a statue of Meredith Wilson. If the place was open, it would have been a lot better, but it is a holiday and a Monday, so it wouldn’t have been open anyway.

We aren’t going to get to our sleeping place until about 8:00. Brooke and I both said we would get there about then, but Mom insisted it would be 4:00. Brooke and I win!

New fact I just learned from my grandma. I am related to Meredith Wilson. Yes that’s right; the man who wrote The Music Man is related to me. My grandma’s cousin’s mother married a guy directly related to Meredith Wilson. So I guess in reality I’m not really related, but we’ll pretend.

Also, we drove past Drake University and my great-grandfather went there.

As for college visits, we haven’t had many. We’ve driven past some, but we haven’t stopped and visited. We probably should, but we’re already slightly behind schedule. So, the only colleges we’re visiting on our itinerary are Elizabeth’s (because we’re visiting her) and Northwestern (because my aunt is giving a tour because my cousins have gone there in the past and other cousins might go there in the future).

My family and I are writing down all of the state license plates we come across. I think we might see all of them because we only have 8 states left and we got Alaska and Hawaii. It’s kind of fun to see what states we got when. It’s a nice family activity.

So when I said free food, I lied. We paid the lady money who cooked us our dinner. It was really good food. We had brats and kraut on hot dog buns. I don’t like hot dogs or sausage but I liked this. Then we had spice cake for dessert. It was delicious. Dad had some beer and Mom had some wine. It was a, “I can’t refuse or else be rude” situation, so Brooke and I decided that I am driving tomorrow! Yeah, just kidding. I have no idea where we’re going so, Dad will drive. Don’t worry; he only had one little glass.

I rode an electric bike. It was pretty cool. You pedal to get speed and then press a lever and you go even faster and don’t have to pedal. It’s pretty nifty.

Anyway, that’s it for tonight. I’ll type tomorrow.

JULY 5
First off, it’s my mom’s birthday today. For her birthday present, we gave her a giant jaw breaker and a fun time at Noah’s Ark.

Noah’s Ark was awesome. It is indeed the largest water park in the US. There were so many slides and things to do. It was a very big park. We went in the biggest wave pool (they have two pools) first. Then we went on a few slides. One was called The Stingray. It is a two or one person ride. It is shaped like a stingray so you slide down one end and your force pushes you up the other side. Depending on the weight determines how far up the other side you go, the more weight equals higher up. Brooke didn’t like this ride too much, but the rest of us loved it. Another ride we went on was called The Anaconda. It is the largest watercoaster in the US. That was fun. Brooke liked this one much better. We also went on a ride much like Splash Mountain (drop only). It was a boat fitting about 20 people in it that went up and then dropped liked Splash Mountain does. It soaked you. There was a bridge you could stand on if you didn’t want to ride but wanted to get wet. One suggesting I have is to drink water. If you get a complimentary glass with your meal, it is filtered so it’s not bad at all and it’s free. So don’t buy a water bottle, just get a glass of water with your meal. Out of all the slides and pools, I’d say the wave pool was the best. We all enjoyed it the most. On a good note, I didn’t get burned. Of course I didn’t get tan either, but I’d rather suffer no tan instead of suffering a burn which will only turn back to white anyway. Overall, Noah’s Ark is a great place. I had a lot of fun. If you ever get the chance, I suggest coming here.

At Noah’s Ark, there was only one unpleasant thing…an older larger man in a Speedo. I don’t need to see another man like that in a Speedo ever again. I saw this man twice and both times weren’t very pretty.

We spent 6 hours at Noah’s Ark. That’s a lot for a water park for me. But it was so much fun.

Now we’re traveling to Watertown, Wisconsin. This is where our relatives used to live and it’s also where the Octagon house is. Our relatives lived just down the block from the Octagon house. Both were pretty cool.

I slept horribly this morning/last night. Brooke and I slept on a hide-a-bed. It was very uncomfortable. After tossing and turning for a while, I finally got a few hours of sleep before waking up. It was about 6:00 AM. I tried sleeping again, but Brooke was breathing heavily and the bed seemed as uncomfortable as ever. So I went to where my parents were sleeping and lay on the floor. After about 10 minutes, Mom and Dad woke up and after telling them what was up with me not sleeping, Dad offered to sleep on the hide-a-bed and I took his spot. It took a long time to get back asleep, but finally, after much more tossing and turning, I got to sleep a few more hours. Once up, Dad agreed that the bed was very uncomfortable. But, as Mom reminded us (though more for herself), we suffered last night in order to be able to go to Noah’s Ark. So that’s another reason I’m looking forward to getting to the hotel.

Our new favorite CD is Wicked. So by the end of the trip, Brooke and I will most likely know the whole CD by heart. Our favorite songs are Loathing, Dancing Through Life, and Popular. All of them have their funny moments. Popular is hilarious and I think I’ll sing it next year for something, whether that be NATS, Variety Show, or both. Loathing is such a great song. Michelle, we should sing that sometime…even if it’s just for fun and not for anything really. Also another good song is For Good. Michelle, I’d like to sing that song too sometime. When, I don’t know, but sometime. Brooke just told me that Loathing is the perfect song for herself and me. Sometimes it’s true…ok, just kidding.

For dinner, we ate at Perkins. It’s been our first sit down meal in a while. We were overwhelmed at what to choose. Everything looked good.

We now have a problem. After the wedding, our cousins are having a family reunion in St. Louis, Missouri. Why is this a problem? This means that seeing Elizabeth might not be an option. Mom says we’re going to make it work. We might not even visit the cousins, but it’s not really a big deal in my opinion because 1) we’re seeing them at the wedding and 2) in December we’re going to St. Louis for another cousin’s wedding (the one who is hosting the reunion this trip). Apparently, we had already said we were going to visit the cousins, but I wasn’t informed about this, so I had no idea about visiting the cousins. Brooke’s fighting hard to visit the cousins because she says it’s rude to say we’re coming and then on short notice say we’re not. I agree, but if we’re going to see them in December, it’s not as bad as not seeing them ever. I’m kind of irritated because she slyly asked me if I really wanted to visit the college or was the reason for going to visit Elizabeth. The latter is more true, but I am interested in the college. If she had a friend in another state so close to where we were, she would want to visit them and she would complain constantly until she got her way. That’s what makes me irritated. But Mom says we’re visiting Elizabeth no matter what. The cousin thing is possible to make, it just means more driving.

Besides the few quirks, the day overall has been awesome.

Traveling Troubles

JULY 3
So Brooke and I almost killed each other today. We were talking about Disney stuff (usually enjoyable) but when we got to food in Epcot, I made the mistake of saying we should be eating at the French restaurant instead of the American restaurant. Anyway, Mom then asked why we weren't and I said it was because brooke didn't want to. She denied it, but it's so true. She didn't want to eat french food. So instead we're eating at an American place. Anyway, she then said it wasn't all her fault that the only foreign food were eating is Chinese while we're in Epcot. But it is. We're eating at a steak house because we're being nice to Dad and it has hamburgers. We're eating at the Coral reef place because we want to and it has hambugers. We're eating at an American place because it has hamburgers. And we're eating Chinese because it's the only foreign food she'll eat. See my point? Anyway, I got pretty riled and when I had just cooled off, she brought it up again. But oh well. We're not changing it, and I'll live.

On another note, we went to Pikes Peak today. Well, we started to go but then it was too expensive and we still had 12 hours to drive. Instead we went to a place near Pikes Peak called Santa's Workshop. It was a little amusement park. We didn't do much, except buy postcards. It was probably for the better. We ended up at our hotel at 10:30 two hours a head of Hillsboro time. We got here a lot sooner than planned. We enjoyed that.

Jennifer, I called your phone, but you didn't answer. Soo I did remember to call. And my cell phone is weird because sometimes we get coverage and sometimes we don't so, calling muight be an issue. That goes for anyone who decides to call.

As for when I get back, I don't know. I think it's around August 7 or 8.

Tomorrow's adventure involves traveling to Wisconsin, hopefully by 4:00 so we can have dinner and fireworks with one of Mom's friends. Well, goodnight for now!

Starting the Adventure

JULY 2
We traveled to the 4 corners and the Mesa Verde. Both were cool. I stood in 4 states at once and saw the cave dwellers. We drove in the car for a long time. I even drove for a bit. I'm really not used to the car, so it was a little scary. But obviously we didn't die :) It was really hot yesterday and today.

I miss everyone so much!

Jennifer, I did get your call. Unfortunately I didn't get it until now and I didn't want to wake you, so I plan on calling tomorrow. I miss you! How was New York?

Well, Brooke needs the computer so next time we get internet access, I'll post. I hope it's soon!

JULY 1
Well, I can finally type. Unfortunately our wireless internet access isn’t all it seems to be, so I’ll be typing on Word and, when possible, posting what I typed. So most likely my posts will be very long. The date at the top (ex: July 1) will be the day I typed, not posted.

Anyway, on to my trip.

After the recital, which went pretty well, we went home to finish packing. We left our house at about 9:00 PM and traveled all night to the Ramada Limited near Disneyland. I stayed up pretty much all night, keeping the driver awake. In reality, we didn’t make it to the hotel because we saw Wicked that night and we weren’t sure where the theatre was so we went straight there instead of going to the hotel first. Wicked was awesome. We saw one of the understudies for Elphaba (the wicked witch of the west) and she was so good. She could have been the actual lead. If you ever get the chance to see the show, do it. I won’t say a lot about it because I don’t want to spoil the surprise. After the show we went to the hotel.

The next day we went to Disneyland for half the day and then met DV and élan at the airport. From this point on, I was with élan. We went to this dance studio called the Edge. It was an interesting place. There were so many good people. The first class we took was interesting. It was a Jazz 3. We were supposed to take a jazz 2 before this class but we didn’t make it. Anyway, I didn’t really like the class. We didn’t go across the floor, which made me sad. We learned a dance, which wasn’t really a dance, just arm movements. Yes I know arm movements are dance moves, but we didn’t move around a lot. I can’t really describe it. All I know is, I didn’t like the class. That night, we went to Disneyland. There was 1 girl who had never been to Disneyland before and another girl who hadn’t been for a while. It was fun. I was pretty much the tour guide because I knew where everything was. After that, we went to our hotel, the Disneyland Hotel.

The next day was spent in Disneyland and California Adventure. We ate breakfast at the Rainforest Café. Then we went to Disneyland and California Adventure. We rode a lot of rides. It was Courtney’s first time on Tower of Terror. We have the picture. It’s a good one. I won’t try to remember everything we did because that would take up a lot of room. We had a lot of fun. We stayed until midnight.

The next day, we took 2 classes at the Edge. The first class was a jazz 2, though the teacher said it was a jazz 1. Anyway, the warm-up was very hard. We did a lot of sit-up type things. My stomach hurt a lot afterward. I liked this class. We went across the floor and danced to “I Can Only Imagine”, you know the Christian song. The next class I took was a jazz 3. The others took a hip-hop class. It was a good thing I didn’t take that class. They danced to Missy Elliot song that was pretty dirty, and so was the dancing. My class was at first intimidating. The warm-up was hard. We went across the floor, which was fun, except that I couldn’t turn, but oh well. Then we danced. The dance was to “Superman”, the one Courtney and I danced to last year at the talent show and the seniors danced to this year at recital. I liked the dance a lot. At first I thought I was going to get confused because of the dance I had done before and because she was going so fast. But eventually I got the dance and liked it a lot. This class was awesome too. Then we went to the beach for 1 hour. Then we came back to the hotel to get ready for Wicked. We had 15 minutes to do so because traffic getting back from the beach was horrible. We got to the show with 10 minutes to spare. The show was really good, yet again. This time I saw the real Elphaba, but the understudy Madame Morrible and midwife. I liked the understudy Elphaba better, but I think that’s because I hadn’t seen the show before. After the show, we went to the hotel.

The next day, we took a class at Defor studio. It was a jazz 3, I think. It was fun. It reminded me of a Heather class. We went across the floor, which was fun. The dance we did was to “Dancing through Life” from Wicked. The dance was cool. I liked it. Then we went to the airport. Élan and DV left for Oregon, while Mom, Dad, Brooke, and I went to our hotel and then to Disneyland and California Adventure. We got a lot done in 6 hours. We went on Indiana Jones with a 20 minute line. It was after the Fantasmic was over too, so that was pretty cool. When on the ride, it stopped longer than usual right before the ball comes. This was funny because we had talked about where in the ride we wouldn’t lie to get stuck. This was one spot. The ride wasn’t broken, but it was funny none-the-less. Overall, the time we spent in Disneyland was great fun. I can’t wait until Disney World.

As of right now, we are traveling to the 4 corners, listening to Wicked. I’ll try to type a little everyday. Posting will be interesting, but I’ll try to do so as soon as possible.

TTFN, ta ta for now!