Politics

From First Lady to Vice-President...

No, I'm not talking about Hilary.

Katie's boyfriend Andy is the current President of student government at LTU. We've been jokingly referring to her as the first lady for quite some time. Well, Andy is now a lame duck, but Katie was elected as I.F.C. Vice President today. She'll be the person responsible for planning social events for the Fraternities and Sororities.

Way to go, Katie!!

Dance

Team pictures were this weekend, so of course I took my camera to get some shots in costume.

Here are my two favorites.:

Spring Time in Michigan

Yesterday we had a high temperature of 81 degrees.
Two 8:00 soccer games this morning and what was the temp? 43.
It's just wrong.

Both girls played hard but I won't post the scores.



How about some pictures, instead?

Super goalie Em stops a few...

...

Maggie up the side And trying to stay warm

Dance Comp 3 in 3D!!!

Not really in 3D.
I did want to make sure I posted the results from the last competition in Detroit because both the girls' groups have improved so much.
This competition's adjudicated awards are Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze.

Maggie
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Gold - 3rd Place Overall Petite Small Group
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes - Gold - 5th Place Overall Petite Small Group
Who Let the Frogs Out? - Silver
Bibbidi Bobbidy Boo - Gold - 4th Place Overall (tie) Petite Large Group

Emily
Dance to the Music - Gold
Hamster Dance - Gold
The Green Room - Silver
Sister Act - Silver
Seasons of Love - Gold - 5th Place Overall Jr. Large Group
Wild, Wild West - Platinum - 4th Place Overall (tie) Jr. Line
I Saw Him Standing There - Platinum 1st Place Overall Jr. Line

Way to go girls!

And the best news is our studio was able to negotiate a fantastic price for pictures of every dance, so I'll have tons of photos in a couple weeks.

Animal Kingdom

We spent our first day at Disney at Animal Kingdom. None of us had been there before, so we were excited to see it. The best ride by far was Expedition Everest. Very cool. The train even goes up to a piece of track that has been ripped out by the Yeti that lurks everywhere, then you go backwards for a bit to escape. Kilimanjaro Safari was also great. Lots of animals about and it was arranged so you really felt like you were driving right through their yard. It's Tough To Be A Bug was really cute too, but not for anyone with a phobia of creepy crawlies.
We rode all the rides we wanted to and were heading to The Lion King show when it started to pour! At least it was warm out so we didn't mind too much. We would have loved to spend more time there, but due to the rain and waiting family we watched the show then went back to the condo to dry off and drove to Grandma and Grandpa's. It was great to see them, Aunt Becky and Uncle Terry, and Curt and most of his kids. And of course Aunt Jeanne and the Laven's who were down for break, too.

It's been a while...

So sorry to all (both?) of my faithful readers regarding the lack of updates.
I'll start with the Disney trip which, aside from traveling, could not have gone better. We checked in to our condo booked through www.allstarvacationhomes.com on Saturday afternoon. Fantastic place! Maggie insisted we call it our 'New House' all week. The girls had time for a dip in the pool and then we headed to dinner at Whispering Canyon Café.

Before we left, I picked up a copy of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World With Kids and HIGHLY recommend this book to any obsessive-compulsive travel planner. I compiled a trip binder with maps from our condo to all of the Parks, Grandma and Grandpa's, and to Downtown Disney. I also included detailed touring plans for each park from The Guide in a heavy duty sheet protector. Each day I grabbed the map and the touring plan, plus frozen water bottles, camera, sunglasses, etc., and off we went.
The touring plans can be customized on a website to fit your specific family's likes and dislikes. I cannot say enough good things about these touring plans. You make a specific plan for each park with details on when to pick up and use the FASTPASSES, plus what order to do all your chosen rides/shows in order to minimize your wait in line. AND IT WORKED! Magic Kingdom was at capacity the two days we were there, and we did so well with our touring plan that we were able to get more than what we had planned done, leave the park for the afternoon (that's in the plan) and come back and repeat our favorites that evening. Maybe I'll rent out my binder. Or even loan it if you ask really nicely.

Happy Birthday Emily!

We celebrated Emily's birthday as our first day in Florida. We couldn't check in to our condo until 4, so we decided to drive a little ways along the ocean so the girls could see it. We ate lunch at a little cafe and got our feet wet, then drove on to our place very close to Disney.

Maggie had to wait forEVer (45 minutes) for the pool to re-open after some severe thunderstorms rolled through. But the girls eventually got to take a quick dip and then we went to Whispering Canyon Cafe at Disney's Wilderness Lodge for dinner. Much fun was had by all. Emily got to lead a hobby horse Pony Express parade around the dining room and also got a yummy dessert.

Will try to post pictures tomorrow. It's taking too long tonight and I'm egg sauce, Ted!