Scenes from the Week

Hello all. 

Here is a very normal, non-vacation update for you. 

Unfortunately, our lives are in a bit of an upheaval. I am not really ready to write about the whole thing just yet, but please pray for us! 

We went old school and hooked up our Super Nintendo. It has been fun. 

We have also started a few nightly rounds of Bananagrams. It's been really nice and cozy. We listen to music and chat and complain when we get too many "f" tiles or a "j" or the dreaded "x". 

In big, big news, this girl tested at a 6th-grade level for math to kick off the year! 

I know that doesn't sound like a lot. But she has always struggled in math. Not enough to actually get academic support, but enough to have to work really hard. 

I don't think she has ever started the year off at grade level before. So this is really exciting and big news. 

It has been so hot here that the kids haven't been in real uniform for over a week. It's been gym uniforms, and last week even some early outs. (No air conditioning in the school.) 

Yesterday they had a true day out of uniform they earned, and the kids finally wore their new Disney shirts I brought them. 

And today is another out of uniform for the Iowa/Iowa State game. Which I have zero interest in. M has outgrown her Caitlin Clark shirt so we had to figure something out. 

We made another neutral shirt. It's a little cheeky. 

And they were excited to go today. But we will not be watching the game tomorrow anyway! 

C recorded his OPUS music this week, and M will do hers this afternoon. Here is hoping their efforts pay off and they will get that opportunity to sing with the statewide honor choir. It would be great for them! 

This is 40!

I turned 40 last week. 

And I celebrated in a big fun way! (I mean even after that Alaskan Cruise with my family!) 

Husband sent me on a whirlwind trip to WDW to see Hanson at EPCOT on my actual birthday! 

It's well documented I love Hanson. 

My friend J and I left for Chicago after Mass on Saturday night. 

Got to the hotel and took a short little nap/sleep because we were up at 2:15 to get to the airport. 

Took the first flight out and landed in Orlando at 8:30ish. 

We spent the day resort hopping. Then we had dinner at Ohana. My favorite dinner of all time. 

And we went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! I loved the parade so much we saw it twice!

We got back to our room really late. (It was, in fact, already my birthday.) And again took a little nap/sleep so we could get to EPCOT about 8:30 for park opening. 

EPCOT is my favorite park. I love it so much! 

We started at Spaceship Earth to Thank the Phoenicians, as is right and just. I love that ride so much. So, so much. (Truly, I think I could do multiple days at EPCOT and never tire of it. Maybe you don't remember but last summer I rode it 3 times in a row!) 

And followed it up with Soarin' and Living with the Land. I tell you, those pan flutes heal something in me. 

After that, we were going to Figment. But it was down. I walked up to the two cast members telling people it was closed and said: "I know you don't really know, and I know you can't tell me, but do you expect it to open sometime soon?" And they said, "That is the hope." So I stopped to put on sunscreen on the bench that is directly next to the entrance, and by the time I was done... it opened. We were the actual first guests to ride it on my birthday! Did I manifest this? I did. 

And there you go. Figment. 

Then we went to see Canada Far and Wide. (I LOVE that show and singing along! Yes, there is a theme of things I love at EPCOT. It's my favorite. I will not be taking questions on this because it's obviously truth.) Then off to Mexico for Gran Fiesta Tour. Stopping to meet Donald afterward. Then we went to Germany to make some fused glass. 

Then to America for a meal at Regal Eagle, which came with a reserved seat for Hanson's second set. 

We boogied off to ride Guardians of the Galaxy where we got "One Way or Another" and then we got in line for Hanson. We saw set 1 and then got in line for our reserved seating. We saw set 2 and then got back in line for the 3rd set. 

It was everything. My favorite band. At my favorite place. On my actual birthday? What a gift! 

After the last set, we went to ride Frozen (shockingly, I love that too.) and then back to the hotel for a sleep. 

The next morning we dropped our luggage at Bell Services before heading to MK for a while. We accomplished so much! 

Carousel, Ariel, Dumbo, its a small world, Mickey's Philharmagic, Aladdin, Pirates, Tiki Room, Haunted Mansion, People Mover, Space Mountain, People Mover TWICE in a row! And then Laugh Floor. 

My joke made it onto Laugh Floor!! AND I made it on the screen! Crazy! As we got out of Laugh Floor it was pouring, and we hustled to the bus to get back, change, and get to the airport. 

Then a drive back from Chicago, and I rolled into my driveway about 12:35 on what was now Wednesday morning. 

A birthday full of Disney Magic. 

I have to say, if I could do it all over again, I would have gotten to the resort and taken a nap for about 3 hours before going resort hopping, dinner, and the Halloween party. I forgot that I was about to be 40. Disney adrenaline is real, friends. But I was certainly feeling it. 

So this is 40. 

Alaska: Chapter 7

Our last full day was a sea day. We had churro waffles again, but I didn't take pictures. I will say it felt like the majority of the ship slept in, and things were very calm and quiet until about 10:00 AM. 

But we had a Disney Jr. Music Trivia to play. I have to admit that there weren't very many people there playing this trivia... but it didn't matter. It was our time to shine! 

We handily won. And then we were rocking our Mickey Mouse Medallions. That day, my brother won Star Wars Trivia and M and I also won The Family Game Show. It was a fun day! 

Much like the Match Your Mate, we had to match each other's answers. M was the first answerer.

1. If you won a million dollars what's the first thing you would buy? A Purple Jeep. We got this one.
2. What food do you wish your mom made you more? Baked Potatoes. (I said Pancakes.)
3. What activity will you find yourself doing on a day off?
1. Play outside  ***We got this one***
2. Play video games
3. Read a book

Then my 3 questions.

1. If you could plan a vacation, where would you plan it? Disney We got this one.
2. Who is the boss of your house? Mom. We also got this one. 
3. What's driving style do you have?
1. Slow, like Flash (Which is an oxymoron because in the movie he drives fast.) **We still got it.**
2. Fast like Lightning McQueen
3. All over the road like Goofy.

And we had to go to a tie-breaker round about how many episodes of That's So Raven there are. We guessed 86. (Simple math, really, 4 seasons, and I guessed 21/22 episodes per season.) There are 100. One season had 35 episodes. The other team said something like 150. 

So we won prizes and medals.

Before we went to dinner, we had a family toast of Cloudem Blue. Please ignore the mess in the background. We were trying to pack our fish extenders and pixie dust. 

We had dinner at Animator's Palate and C was SO excited to see his drawing come to life. 

We took some big group pictures that night. 

The next morning was disembarkation day. Boo. We had our farewell breakfast and said goodbye to Joel and Noel. They were by far the best serving team we've had. 10/10. 

Then we spent a bunch of time in the airport. I will say that, beyond security, the food options at the YVR airport are not great. 

Then we were off on our journey home. 

We landed in Chicago and did the whole thing backward. Baggage claim. Train to the cheap lot. Bus to the cheaper lot. Long drive home. 

And we pulled into our house about 11:45 PM and mostly just got everything inside and people to bed. 

It was a very good trip. 

Here's the thing that I really enjoyed: a cruise with so many different options was the perfect way to travel with my whole family. We could all kind of do our own things and then meet up for dinner every night, including the kids who were old enough to go to the tween club and check themselves in and out. 

I am pretty sure C had 17 ice cream cones that week. And you know what? Fine. He also tried a lot of fancier food that he had never had the chance to try at home. I admit by the last night, all I wanted was something homey. I was sick of fancy. 

7 nights was perhaps the perfect amount of cruising for us. I wasn't ready for vacation mode to be over, but I was ready to be home. But it also felt relaxed and special. I am so glad. 

Alaska is lovely, and I am so glad I have been there. And I truly have no need to return. It's a one-and-done for me. More outdoorsy people may enjoy going back annually. I am good. There are many other cruise destinations I would like to try. 

So Alaska, with a lot of Disney Magic was the way for me to do it. Everyone liked that it wasn't a hot vacation. It was still warm enough for the kids to swim a few times, and I never needed more than a sweatshirt or light fleece jacket so I appreciated that it wasn't cold. 

Alaska: Chapter 6

Ketichikan! 

What a fun day! It was a busy one with lots going on. 

So my dad, one brother, and Husband went out fishing for Salmon. I didn't go with so I only have this picture. 

They had a good time and caught a lot of Salmon. They shipped it home to my parents' house, so next time we are in MN, we will take some home with us. 

My mom, M and I went on an Alaskan Family Fun Excursion.

First, we went to the Saxman Native Village, which I was genuinely so excited for, and we had possibly the worst tour guide who has ever been a tour guide, and it was a huge letdown. 

We first went into the largest clan house still standing in Alaska. The history of the building was so interesting to me. The houses had 8-10 families all residing together. 

Then we saw Native dancing, and they asked for volunteers to go participate. M went and she got a prize for dancing along with them. 

Then we went outside to see the totem poles. I wish we had just gotten time to wander and look at the poles. Instead, our terrible tour guide stood there and talked about them for 25 minutes. Since each pole had a plaque, I think that would have been plenty. 

I enjoyed that each stop sign had the Tlingit language and English. What a cool way to preserve their culture. 

We got to see how the totems are carved and this room smelled amazing. Fresh cedar! 

Then we went to the Ketchikan Discovery Center. I again really enjoyed this museum, but wish we could have just been free to explore. Our guide was MARKEDLY better than the one at Saxman, but I didn't love staying as a big group. 

This was a community art project where they paired up with a local school to create these fish to hang, and it was so neat.

We went to one of their education rooms and made clan bracelets. I swapped out the feather charm my mom was randomly assigned for a bear print charm, and all of our bracelets matched. 

Then we went to the lumberjack show. 

I knew it was going to be fun. I knew it was going to be gimmicky. I loved it so much. 

I had no idea there were collegiate lumber sports teams and it might be my new hobby to watch. 

First, Goofy came out and did the "Chicken Fat" exercise dance with the kids. 

A fun fact is that my mom loves to sing the "Chicken Fat" song. Also, it was written by Meredith Willson, and we went to that museum just earlier in the month, so... it felt very on-brand for our family. 

Then the show started and it was awesome. 

M won a signed postcard from the Lumberjacks. 

Then we headed back to the ship for dinner. 

You might be wondering what C did during this day. Well, C stayed with my brother, who is also his Godfather. They are so, so very alike in many ways. 

C went to an activity at the tween club to draw an animation cell. It turned out very cool. They ordered room service to my brother's room and watched a movie. They did wander around Ketchikan for a bit as well. But mostly they had an introvert day, which suited them both just fine. 

We all really enjoyed our time in Ketchikan. But again, note: I didn't go hiking or anything particularly outdoorsy. THAT IS OKAY! There were people who went and did some crazy outdoor activities. I was glad I wasn't with them. And we all were happy with our choices. 

Alaska: Chapter 5

After a brief pause (which I shall explain later) I continue with my Alaskan Adventure. 

Our next day we were at Icy Strait Point. 

Now I need you to know that I am not outdoorsy. Nature holds very little appeal to me. It's why I picked an Alaskan cruise. I could see Alaska. Visit Alaska. And not exactly do much in Alaska. 

As such, this was a pretty chill day for me and Husband. Though the day started with Churro Waffles. Which are my favorite! 

C went whale watching with my dad early and he saw a whole pod of Orcas. 

M went with my brother to a ropes course and zip line thing. (Not the giant zip line.) I don't have any pictures of that though because... brothers. Lol. 

I did get off the ship briefly to take a picture of the Orca statue. This is M and my dad waving from their balcony to us!

And C wanted to stand in the Pacific. 

That evening was Rapunzel night. Which is a family favorite! 

As luck would have it, we ate dinner in Rapunzel's Royal Table for the second time and then went to see the Tangled Broadway Style show. 

If you aren't aware, different from other cruise lines, Disney offers rotational dining for dinner. Everyone on board is assigned a table number at their dinner time, (5:45 or 8:15) And you stay at that same table number with the same servers as you rotate through the 3 dining rooms. There is not currently an evening buffet option. (Which makes sense because the dining teams are in the dining rooms and how the heck did they staff that before?) 

Your server team gets to know you really well. If you order a Sprite the first night, one magically appears for you the next Etc. 

It was a nice chill day!