First Big Boy Ride

Last weekend found us at our favorite place to celebrate Aunt Kaitlyn's 14th Birthday. I still can't believe she is that old, but to be honest she is turning into a beautiful young woman and we are so proud of her. At one point during the day it dawned on me that when I was 14 I already knew Tim and I told her that I was 14 when I started dating him. It's wild to think that dating could be around the corner for her. I'm not sure I'm ready for that! 

She brought her best friend Emily along for the celebration and we all had a great day enjoying the parks, and Emily even tried Tower of Terror just for Kaitlyn's birthday. She quickly decided she never wanted to do it again! The height requirement for the ride is 40 inches and we thought it would be neat to see if Connor would enjoy it. He made it past the first height checkpoint but at the second, they weren't quite convinced (since he doesn't understand how to stand up straight) and they turned him away. SO CLOSE! Seeing Mickey at Magic Kingdom made up for it though, because on this visit he actually talked to us and interacted with words. It was wild to watch his mouth move and him answer our questions. I think I was a little star struck!

 Our third park of the day was EPCOT because that is where we had dinner reservations. After unsuccessfully attempting to use our last fast pass at Space Mountain, they told us we could redeem it for a ride once we got to EPCOT. It worked out perfectly because this time we had really prepared Connor for standing up like a big boy so he could go on the cool race car ride. He stood up to his full height, daddy helped make sure his neck was nice and stretched, and they let him in! Yay!

He loved designing his special race car and insisted that it had flames on the side!

Tentative smiles at the beginning of the ride, and full focus on the road at the fast raceway!!!

 VICTORY!!!! When we were pulling back in to exit the ride we gave high fives all around and Connor looked at me and said "Mommy that was FUN, and I wasn't even scared AT ALL!!!!" At that point Daddy looked at him and said, "Ok, do you want to do it again?" and Connor replied, "Well, maybe it was a little scary..." Haha! He did great! He really is growing up every day! Disney will be so much fun each time we go this year, I can tell there will be new things each time!

We ate at the Coral Reef restaurant next to the Nemo Ride at EPCOT and got a fabulous table on the first terrace facing the beautiful wall of water! Connor ate it up, and got so excited each time something swam by, which was all the time! They bring you a guide to help you name the fish that you see, and Connor had so much fun matching what he saw in front of him to the guide on the table. They of course treated Aunt Kaitlyn like a princess and she was able to end the night blowing out her candle on top of her cupcake. 

It was such a memorable and special trip! I was slightly stressed out since Into the Woods opened this past week. But in retrospect I had nothing to be worried about. My students did an outstanding job and I am so proud of what they accomplished and the show they produced. I'm not sure I've been this stressed out over a show ever! It was a difficult production to do musically, and very ambitious, but it really paid off in the long run. I am beyond proud of Aunt Kaitlyn who worked so hard, and overcame so much to create a memorable character that was the Baker's Wife. She is so talented and I am happy that I got to direct her. I was so blessed by the support from Tim at home, from friends sending encouraging words, and from Grandma Glenda who completely ran tech and helped me with sets. It really does take an army to put a show together, and it is imperative to cast middle school students who are committed. It's all over, and I can look back on it and be proud of the hard work that went into it.