Veteran's Day Program

All of our fourth graders have participated in a Veteran's Day program at school, and I must admit, it is one of my favorite programs that they do.  Every time I get emotional, especially when they sing the theme songs for each branch of the military and have veterans who served in those branches stand up.  This year was no exception!  

A couple weeks before the program, Benson mentioned that he had a solo part in the program.  Since I know Benson and his aversion to singing, I was pretty shocked to hear this, but he brought home the paper with his part, and I saw that it was a short narration part, with others saying lines, too.  That made more sense.  On the day of the program, I don't remember the details, but I was the only one available to attend, and he said he was really glad about that, because he didn't want anyone else to see him.  I got there, found a seat, read the program, and saw where he'd be doing his narration.  A few minutes later, I realized there was a back to the program, and BENSON WAS GOING TO SING A SOLO PART!  WHAT?!?!?!  I don't know what kind of magic Mrs. Burnsides did to get him to agree to do this, but sure enough, when the time came, he got up and sang his solo.  I was so proud and amazed, and he did a great job.

 

Then they did the slide show with veterans from family members of the kids.  I didn't submit one this year, because I saw in years' past the veterans all seemed to be still living, but Mrs. Burnsides still had the slide from Tessa's program and added it in.  Benson and I were both surprised and touched that she did that.  (I didn't get a picture because I wasn't expecting it, but I found the picture from Tessa's year.)

This was officially our last elementary school musical program, and what a great way to go out.  I'm grateful our school district fully supports the arts, and that it's making a difference for my kids.  (I'm not sure Benson will ever agree to sing a solo again in his life, though he really did do a great job.)

The Festivities

After the Wings over Dallas airshow, we headed to the church for the Trunk or Treat--thankfully NOT organized by me this year. :)  We had a couple of ceiling fans (Caytie's shirt says "Yay Ceilings"), a witch, a kid on an alien, Joseph Smith, an alien carrying a kid, and our guest of honor, Al as Dracula.  There was a chili cookoff, and while I didn't win, I did partake in a lot of great chili while the kids took care of themselves until all the candy was distributed and we were ready to go.

Halloween was on Sunday this year, so it was very low-key.  The VERY BEST part was going with Emma to get her Patriarchal Blessing.  Brother Ash gave Scott and Gracie their blessings as well, and I love how tender and devoted to having the Spirit with him that he is.  Emma is choice, and no one knows it better than the Lord.  She had some very specific instructions given to her, which I hadn't heard during a blessing before.  I look forward to seeing promises fulfilled.  Hearing these blessings is one of the greatest privileges I've had as a parent.

The weather was so warm.  I had purchased pumpkins a few days before (LESSON LEARNED from previous years to not wait until the day before), but one of them was already rotten when they carved them on Friday, and by Sunday, they were all starting to wither.  They served their purpose, though.

 Ben took Tessa and Benson (and Al) out Trick or Treating for a little bit.  We got less candy collectively this year than in the past, but everyone was okay with that.  Tessa finished hers up quickly.  Benson may still have some stashed somewhere...

His Happy Place

Ben has volunteered at the Wings over Dallas airshow for the last couple of years, and this year, he got us to help out on Saturday, too.  It was fun to watch him interact with other airplane and military enthusiasts, as well as to see the live air show, and our girls passed off an aviation merit badge requirement, too.  In all, a pretty nice day.

 

Great Blue Heron

Did I tell you I love my walks around the lake while Emma is in her class?  I do.

 

Scout Halloween Party

While Ben was doing Scoutmaster Conferences, the rest of the girls kept busy with some fun games and, of course, treats!  We're grateful for this group of girls and their desires to achieve things--as well as to have fun together.  (And they let Benson hang out with them, too.)

 

Tennis Girl #3

October Sky

 😍😍😍

The ZOO!

Lest you think that we left our other children on their own with nothing to do for the week of Fall Break, you're only half right.  Scott did have to work a few of the days, but he took them to the mall and they tried to go to Epic Waters (it was closed when they arrived!) and they ordered pizza and went to Walmart with the funds we left for them.  Then on Saturday, we let Scott go to a BYU football game with my brother in Waco (Ben was going to go, then I was when Scott and Ben planned to go to Carley's wedding, but that trip was cancelled because of Southwest's pilot issues and our Disney delay, so to thank Scott for holding down the fort, we sent him to the game.)  Ben and I took everyone to the zoo on Saturday.  It had been a long time since Ben had gone, and it was perfect weather.

(Gracie was thinking of doing an art project of different animal skins, so we took a couple pictures for that.)

We're grateful for our beautiful world, and for being able to experience God's creations up close.

Friday-- Home

 

Thursday at Disney World

 Magic Kingdom day!  (Also the day of Ibuprofen!) How did I get this far along in my life without realizing that the Magic Kingdom is built on a lagoon across from the parking lot, and therefore requires a boat ride or monorail ride to get to it after you park?  Probably because I had never been there!  When we arrived in the morning, we were asked which mode of transportation we wanted, and we chose the boat, since it gives the best view of the castle.  The view was spectacular--until the fog rolled in and covered it completely up!  It stayed foggy until we pulled into the dock, and then lifted gradually as the morning went on.  Again, we had early entry, but we didn't want to start the day in a long line again, so we went for the little ones that would have lines later, like It's a Small World and Peter Pan's Flight.  Then we went to the Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle Cruise, Swiss Family Treehouse, Tomorrowland Speedway, Space Mountain, the People Mover, the Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Monster, Inc. Laugh Floor (a digital show that somehow still interacted with the audience), Journey of the Little Mermaid, Seven Dwarf's Mine Train (longest line of the day--over an hour-- but fun ride!), dinner at Pinocchio's Village House, fireworks at the castle, the Country Bear Jamboree, and Dole Whips to walk us out of the park.  We had missed our shuttle by this time, and every line for every mode of transportation was so long, so we went on the monorail and got off at one of the resorts and called an uber to take us to our hotel.  

It was interesting to compare the rides here to the ones at Disneyland--there were several differences on many of them.  Also, a lot of the line-waiting here was outside instead of inside, except for It's a Small World, which was totally inside.  In all, we had an amazing three days at Disney World.  Our feet were ready for a break, but we did everything on our lists and more.  Now it was time to get home the rest of our crew!

Wednesday at Disney World

 Animal Kingdom day!  None of us had any expectations about this park, so when we arrived with our early pass, we got in the line everyone else was in, for Avatar Flight of Passage.  Again, it was a good choice.  This line was about an hour long (and was mostly longer for the rest of the day), and the ride was AMAZING!  (One of the workers said the line used to regularly be 3-4 hours long, up to 5 sometimes, for the first few years it was opened.)  We ate some yummy food and drinks in that area, and went on the Na'vi River Journey, the Kilimanjaro Safari, the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, took the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch where we learned to draw Sher Kahn, rode back for the Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest (so fun!!), the Maharajah Jungle Trek (where we found my niece-in-law Anna Harvey who works there), a 4D movie "It's Tough to be a Bug" inside the big tree, DINOSAUR, a kite show on the lake, another time on the Avatar ride, and a delicious dinner at Satu'li Canteen.  There was a light show on the big tree that we saw a little of as we were on our way out of the park.

Our legs and feet were really feeling the two days of walking and standing in line, and we all appreciated showering and resting at the hotel at the end of the day!