As you may or may not know, Disney has always meant a great deal to me. I grew up with it. I'm a Disney Kid, inside and out. I have been living in the kingdom where time stands still and dreams come true for exactly 3 months now.. it is my anniversary. And what do I get as a present?? You'll find out soon.
See I've been to the Disney parks 3 times previous to coming here. Now I couldn't tell you how often I've have visited since. Funny though, the times I've visited previously - even though they were only for a few days at a time - exist in my mind and make as much a special memory as now it when I spend all my time here. Weird.
The first visit was in 2005, on a band trip. We went to every park except Animal Kingdom, and we only spent half a day at Epcot. The most recent visit (aside from my time working here) was last year, 2008, at Disneyland in California. But the one I'm particularly fond of was when I came I with my family in 2007. That time, I finally made it to Animal Kingdom. But I still only spent half a day in Epcot (and therefore still hadn't really been able to see it), because oh yea - I had a throat infection that got progressively worse that week! hahah. Awful.
I regret that I didn't spend more time with my family though.. see, I'd already been before, I didn't have any taste for roller coasters, and I wanted to see certain things because as far as I knew, that was my last trip to Disney for years and years to come. I thought.. oh I see my family all the time, now Disney? Nope. This is something rare. So I ditched them most of the time. That's why I'm not in most of the pictures, and the ones I am in usually have just me in them hahahahah. Looking back into the pictures though, I see how happy and excited they were and I regret that I wasn't there for that. I probably saddened them by not being there... sorry :(
Still, some of my favorite pictures of my family of all time were from that trip and I'd like to post some here:
Now I bet you can guess why I'm so excited for my 3 month anniversary present! It's my family!!! I'm so thrilled to be able to see them and just spend time with them. I hope my brothers talk to me cuz I just never know what to say to them haha. I love those boys though.. they make me so proud sometimes. Ryan, keep on being the sweetheart you are and stay determined and strong. You really are beyond your years in some ways and I really admire that. I'm sorry for the times I walked all over you, you don't deserve that. You deserve the best and nothing less - always remember that. You're a fierce friend and thank you for not beating me up when I was a jerk. Your patience astounds me! I love you. Kyle... try not to be too much like me okay? Mom and Dad have had enough of that hahahahha. But seriously kyle.. I love your enthusiasm for life & things and the way you can just make friends and the power you have to just bring others into a group. And how awkward you act sometimes. Especially around me. I really enjoy that hahah. Be more free! GO CRAZY! Also, I'm thankful for the way you make me feel special, like I really am a cool big sister and that you love me.. I love that you write me emails, I always smile when I see that. You two are very important to me - even though sometimes that message might not get across. I think about you both often. Just think I get to see THESE GUYS in 3-4 days:
.... and THESE ONES as well! I am so thankful for my parents and all they do and mostly what they put up with. I'm thankful they raised me with a good head on my shoulders and to be a driven individual - even if I hiccup sometimes. Okay, a lot. I'm thankful that they help me out when I get myself into a mess... I'm thankful for the things they will be helping me with this year especially. They'll never know how grateful I am for these things or how much I love and appreciate them. Mom, Dad.. I love you with all my heart and more, even though I don't always know exactly how to communicate it. I know yall have sweat and worked so hard just to get me to the point I am and I know you still worry and stress about me and how to get me to be all that I can be... I thank you for your devotion and support. Dad, I really enjoyed the few days you vacationed with me here when you brought me and I look forward to "bonding" again, as you put it lol. Keep it weird.. haha. I really hope you have a good time. Mom.. I can't even say how thrilled I am just to hang out with you in a few short days. I love to see your smiling face and learn more about you and share life with you (as gay as that sounds). This vacation means a lot to me.. thank you both for pulling it together enough to be able to come visit me. It's hard being away so much.
The one and important negative to all of this is my favorite sister will not be able to join us. I'm so bummed that it could not work out.. but I'm glad that she is making smart decisions by saving money and time up there. We'll get our day soon, Madeline. And one day we'll have our sister-sister Disney trip. I love you! And your Mickey ice cream infatuation. haha. My sister is as much into Disney as I am.. if not more in a couple respects. It really won't be the same without her at all.. and again I regret that I did not spend more time with her on her first visit.. it's hard forgiving myself for missing their first reactions to everything because I wanted to do something else more. Oh well. I don't get to see your smiling face just yet, Madeline, but luckily you aren't too far away up at school. My dear best friend.. I can't wait to giggle the night away with you and have Disney marathons. Who knows when we'll have the time to do that but we'll think of something hahah. Please keep texting me and keeping me up on whats going on in your life, I like to be kept in the loop, even if I have no time to talk on the phone. Well.. keep being a creeper and I'll see you before you know it darlin :) I love youuuuuuuuuuu sidder!
But to soften the blow.. I do get to see the first reaction to the parks of these next few people!! My aunt Leah, her husband Mark, and their kids - Sam, Zach, Matt, Mikayla (sorry if I spelled it wrong :/ ), and Isabelle. I love these guys! And it feels like ages since I've seen any Texan Rippstein family... Leah has only been to Epcot, and Disneyland. I can't wait to share these days with them! I hope all goes well and as according to plan as possible, but mostly that we can all just embrace the magic and remember our wishes can come true if we believe in them. They're shining deep down inside of us, because that is where the magic lives :)
I will post more about this trip and what has been going on before and after. Until that time, I must continue with work and preparation. As Walt Disney would say... So long!
In the spirit of Halloween (the best day of the year, if you didn't know), I figured I'd do a run down of all my costumes leading up to this last Hallows Eve.
In the beginning, my parents dressed up. It's funny to think of, just because my mom drags her heels when I ask her to dress up (she wont even wear hats!!) and my dad?? Don't even think about it. There are no costumes permitted there. Hahahaha. I LOVE this photo of my parents, it has to be my favorite picture of them of all time. If I remember correctly, this is for Kids Day in high school? Or something of the sort. Love it.
1989 - Ballerina (you can't really tell from this picture, but I refused to put up the one where you could because of the ridiculous obesity issues I had at that age lol) 1990 - Duckie! 1991 - Bo Peep (lamb included) 1992 - Lil Injuns (with our own papooses!) 1993 - Ballerina again, but a different one 1994 - Dog (ARF!! - is this where that began?) 1995 - Bunny, but I look like a lamb haha (Also, I love Madeline's face) 1996 - Witch! Side note - Ryan is ADORABLE 1997 - Princess Leia :) (I'm so proud of me. Also, Kyle is the cutest baby ever) '98.... For some reason we have no Halloween pictures from this year and no pictures at all for '99 or '00. So I just have this face painting one from camping at Aspen Grove in '98. I'm pretty sure I had pictures on the old computer.. but I bet Father threw it out so.. yea. Memories lost. I really wish I remembered what we did!!!!!! The only one I can recall for myself is the first time I remember picking out a costume from the store and I was Spiderella.. Woot woot. You can see the belt for it in my '01 costume. Though it just came back to me that I might have been a wizard at one point.. cuz we have a wizard/magician hat and I think its mine. I do however remember Madeline was Jasmine (or a genie or something to that effect) and she was also Pocahontas at one point, though I don't know if that was just for dance or if it was actually a Halloween costume. Who knows? I believe Ryan was also a dog and Kyle was a monkey.
2001 - Draculette (tee hee, Kyle.. so cute)2002 - Medusa (Thanks for taking the time for my hair Mom) 2003 - Jester 2004 - To my never ending shame I wore the same costume 2 years in a row it would seem..... However I feel like I must have had a different one just cuz its against my personal policy to reuse costumes for Halloween ... but I made up for it the next few years when I started having 2 costumes :)
2005 - Renaissance lady & Padme Amidala 2006 - Pirette & Gypsy :) (also included: weirdo creepy guy from Ren Fest) 2007 - Transformer & "Property of the Dog Pound" This year was complicated. First of all, the Transformer costume was for Ryan, but he didn't want to wear it Halloween night so I did. Cuz I'm awesome. In regards to MY costume.. I'd found a cute jailbird costume for Jacky, and it said property of the dog pound. I wanted to dress to match and so I dressed up as a dog dressed up as a jailbird with the same sign on my back. hahah. Confused yet?? 2008 - Mail-Order Bride (See my stamp? I would have carried a suitcase with me except I was working at TGI Fridays that day. In costume. And somehow I managed not to spill anything on it? Amazing) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANDDDDD..... here it is! Winner of Courtney's costume 2009...... Ru-fi-o, Ru-fi-o, RU-FI-OOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! (from "Hook") Except, I was a chick version of him :) Rufio became the leader of the Lost Boys in Neverland after Peter left to grow up. Here are some of my photo references for my costume There is regular mode and battle mode for Rufio... I may one day add battle mode (some of which pictured next) but that will be much more complicated. I did do my makeup from that battle scene though :) Ahhhhh yeaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Mr. skunk-head with too much mousse....." I celebrated Halloween by being treated by my father to going to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Although I'd worked it tons of times before, I really really really wanted pictures with the Villains soooo here we go!!
Maleficent - probably about everyone's favorite Villain. I asked her if she would consider showing off her sleeves, and she told me she never does anything on command. haha :) Cruella De Vil - she liked my costume... "Leather and fangs.. I love the look, darling" Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters were great. When I went up to meet them, Lady Tremaine started going "Ruu-fiii-o, RUUUUfio..." ---Just like Hook does in the movie!! OMG I was so stoked. Not too many people knew who I was! I did however get loud chants from the people that did :) Anyways, back to these guys. Anastasia (in pink) is crying because her dress is ripped and she doesn't want people to see it. I told Hook I had a bone to pick with him because he killed me. And that upset me haha. He only made the sentencing to death motion with his hook over his neck hahah. Smee was oblivious. I had a few others... the Queen asked if I'd seen her step daughter. I told her I'd look out for her. "In fact, when you see her, bring her to me," she snarled. Timon thought I was the greatest and kept sending me kisses. Jafar was just irritated with the world. He was pleased that we matched though. Obviously, I also took some pics with the good guys. Like RAFIKI!! Everyone's favorite monkey :) King Louie - see the lipstick mark on his lip? He got too close! hahah. He was way bashful when I had to rub it off hahahahah I was the only one to take a picture with all three of these guys - Jane came out when they were signing my books and Tarzan was headed in right after this picture. He told me to watch out for my red boots, so that the baboons couldn't take them Look for the.. Baaaare Necessities! Baloo and I danced to that song. Also, I saw Jungle Book 2. It's basically the same thing. Except again. Hahah. The night passed in a blur.. the only rides I went on were of course Pirates of the Caribbean - where I dueled all the pirates (including my friend Jessica below), because of course I'm a lost boy and we kill pirates!!!! .... and the other ride I made sure to go on was the HaUnTeD MaNsIoN!!!! This was actually the last thing I did that night, I got on the ride 3 minutes before the park closed. A perfect wrap up. Here's me and the horse-less carriage.... ... one of my favorite parts of the ride, with the murderous bride......... .... and me and one of the 999 happy haunts. She's quite a southern belle.... and she welcomed everyone out to her mansion..... ....... and my good friend Kira and I :) She works at the mansion and gets to be creepy all day, with an excuse. hahahah. I love watching her freak people out, its great. I had to make sure I saw all my friends that working, such as the lovely Kate Bennett... .... she was stuck in the restrooms (where i ultimately ended up for the final Halloween parties too :/ ) and here we are admiring how clean and shiny she had kept it My Country Bear Jamboree friend Joe & I... he's ridiculously tall... and in this picture he's crouching down!!! Also took pics with some managers of mine - Angela & Mike Manager Mike is my fave! He's way professional and I like that he actually practices what he preaches. He's also my 'homeroom manager' aka the person i talk to about college program stuffFave costumes I saw that night. I just really like that they had cousin IT with them. The Halloween parade was the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved it and I loved dancing to it and I loved singing to it. 2nd favorite part of the parade of mine was the fact that they had an entire float devoted to Peter Pan, who of course is my hero. They also had Cpt Jack Sparrow too haha. Anyways I loved Peter Pan at this party in particular though because in the middle of their dancing about, he screams RUFIOOOOO!!!!! to me! PETER PAN KNEW WHO I WAS!!!!!!! FREAKING AWESOME!! As if he wasn't awesome enough already, this def shot him up there. Part of the Jolly Roger, with Hook aboard
I didn't take these videos but they show my dear parade!!! It is AMAZING!! I esp love how the Haunted Mansion ride takes over the parade at one point.. if you've been on the ride you should understand how awesome this is. My absolute favorite part is with the dead ballroom dancers. I loved the way they moved and danced and were totally creepy!!
And... Hallowishes! The fireworks spectacular! The first vid is of the awesome finale as viewed from Frontierland near Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and I took that one, but watch the second one because that's the whole thing.
And I didn't take these pictures but they are an amazing example of Hallowishes fireworks awesomeness
Okay so actual Halloween night, I was not able to do anything special. It was a Halloween party as usual and I was actually stuck in the least Halloween-y area of our area. I was in the Splash Mountain RESTROOMS... aka the only restroom whose music doesn't even change for parties, aka the place where hardly anyone goes on party nights (esp when wearing costumes), aka the place where even if you do leave your restroom, there is NO BODY around pretty much. Blah. There was one perk to it all, however. We as custodial castmembers got to have our faces painted each party night. Well.. they had specific designs in mind that we were allowed to have. My friend Kate and I asked early on if we could have dragons and they would NOT allow it.
But we soon wore them down!! They decided Halloween night we could finally wear dragons!! This is how mine turned out :) Spectacularly awesome, huh??
And then the next night (final party night... sad day....) I wouldn't have made it to face painting on time to get my face done so I of course did my own: And now... Christmas. Blah. I hate Christmas until after Thanksgiving weekend. Just ask my mother. I would never let her listen to Christmas music (where I could hear it) - particularly Sunny 99 solid Christmas music - until after Thanksgiving at the bare minimum. She used to fight me all the time about it. I just hate how Christmas comes in and blows everything up and dominates it. Wait you're thankful for what??---- NO MOVE OVER HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS!!! SHOP SHOP SHOP ONLY 48, 47, 46.. etc.. DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!! If you don't decorate now, you'll miss it or it will not be as special!
Give me a break.
This picture from our family Thanksgiving week vacation to Disney World 2 years ago perfectly demonstrates my distress. Get this - I had a severely painful (and progressively worse) throat infection throughout that entire week (which, by the way, caused my 'Thanksgiving Dinner' to be chicken soup broth), and still the thing I strongly disliked most about that entire trip was the fact that everything was Christmas-ed up. Yea. Sorry for all you nuts (Cami excluded, you have a valid excuse) out there who already put up your Christmas decorations and trees but I cannot stand it hahaha. Now some may be confused with me, thinking I hate Christmas or calling me an atheist (its happened) because of my stated sentiments. But in fact, Christmas Eve is my second favorite day of the year!!! And I'll welcome it when that day comes. But for now, I choose to be bitter and embrace the Grinch and Scrooge. Bah Humbug.
Well.. on that note.. hahah. Moving along I've seen a lot of other friends here.. Snow White's voice was ridiculous! Hahah actually, it was funny, she reminded me quite a lot of Betty Boop. She blinked in our picture but I'm okay with that. STITCH!! Supposedly, if I was a Disney Character, I would be Stitch. Or so I'm told. By most people. hahah. Thumper & Miss Bunny (WOW I'd never seen her ever in the parks before!) As well as Pocahontas, who thought my necklace was beautiful. I think that might be because mine was turquoise too Meeko, my rascally friend :) He wanted apples after he saw my shirt, despite the printed warning above them. But i guess raccoons cannot read so thats understandable Winnie the Pooh.... we were both rumbly in our tumblies.. :) Eeyore! My fave! He's the one emo you can't help but to adore.. Me & Tigger took... A JUMPING PICTURE :D :D :D !!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was so excited!!! He definitely thought I was the best hahaha Then I became an honorary bug again and saw "It's Tough to be a Bug," one more time. This time, I sat up in my seat so that they couldn't sting me ALSO - I have a new country to add to my list... Germany! A friend of mine from Pirates of the Caribbean, Jordan, and I went to the Biergarten Restaurant in Germany. It's a buffet, so you know we left full. I tried a lot of different things but I think I liked the meatballs mixed with some noodle thing that is a staple there. And the roasted chicken. Delish. Here is my dessert - apple strudel, pudding, berry stuff and some kind of cake? with vanilla sauce on the side. I forgot to take pictures of my food. Sorry. WOAH that Norwegian troll dude had a huge nose!!! : I'm really depressed now that Food & Wine Festival is over. But even moreso when I realize how little time I do have here. Saaad day. Pictured below is Mango Lassi, from New Delhi, India. It looks like paint but I thought it was super good!! Mmmm..... I tried so many things at the fest! "Tick tock tick tock.. Hooks afraid of a big ol croc - I THINK NOT!! I think Hook's afraid of time.. ticking away!" I grow even more fond of Downtown Disney as I go there. I especially like going to the Ghirardelli ice cream shoppe and getting a mountain of a scoop on a delicious waffle cone for cheaper than Baskin Robbins in a cup. Also, I love the Lego store, but I think I've told you that. Hahah the Lego serpent looks goofy in this picture! I think he just got scared of me :) Someone made a person with an absurd amount of heads!! I wonder if they all get along with each other?? haha. Also, I don't know why I'm making that face and my tongue is stuck out. Cameron - good friend of mine - waltzes the night (till 12) away with his one true love ... as I sneak away as an accomplice to the Hamburglar..... I LOVE THAT GUY! I saw this statue and I about died.. I remember he was always my favorite McDonalds character growing up Oh, yea, and by the way.... I'VE RIDDEN ALL THE MOTION SICKNESS-INDUCING RIDES AT DISNEY WORLD NOW!! .. except Space Mountain, cuz its closed, and Test Track, cuz I couldn't get to Epcot. But I'll do those soon!
How did I do it? Aren't I the one who gets sick after riding in the car? Yes ma'am. That's why I took a BUTTLOAD of motion sickness medication throughout the day hahaha. Now, I took pictures OF the pictures (cuz i didn't feel like paying $15 for a 5x7) so you can see my reactions hahaha. The first ride I went on was Expedition Everest - talk about being ready for all the other ones after this! It was insane! I really enjoyed it, as you can tell. Also, I'm pretty sure I deafened EVERYONE! hahaha I am definitely a roller coaster screamer. I also went on the Dinosaur whirl one in Dinoland at Animal Kingdom - way too jerky and not enough fun for my taste. I also went on the Dinosaur ride - where we go back in time to the end of the Cretaceous period. That ride is not for children - waaay to freaky for them I would think. For me, it was way loud and I don't like being surprised in the dark like that so I covered my ears for most of it as you can tell. But if I love the expression of the guy behind me in the blue.. he freaked hahah you may not be able to tell in this picture. I cannot decide which rollercoaster I like more, Everest or.... the Rockin Roller coaster!!!!!!!!!! They both have evenly matched pros and cons. The latter FREAKED me out when I was waiting in line though, because you see them shoot out of there! Freakin ridiculous. My face says it all hahahah. However the girl(?) in the front looks bored out of (his/her) mind. Next was the Hollywood Tower of Terror. Eh. I mean I freaked out - mostly because I was irritated that I couldn't find anything to hold onto for awhile - but it wasn't as big a deal as everyone else made it out to be. I don't know what the guy next to me is doing. Then I wrapped up the evening at MK. I like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad alright, but it just wasn't anything after doing all those other rides, I felt like haha. And Splash Mountain? Sorry, but I do not understand the hype. I would be irritated if I had to sit through a line to go on that ride. I think if I didn't have a poncho and I actually did get wet I'd even be more ticked hahah. However the guy behind me seems to have enjoyed it, so I won't judge. This one, I knew when they took the picture so I was ready :) Hollywood Studios is beginning to grow on me. I've only been there about 3 times since coming, but the roller coasters and the next ride I'm about to describe definitely help it along. Okay the ride I was talking about is Toy Story Mania! A ride said to have come out last year I believe??? All I'd known previous to going on it was that the fast passes were known to sell out before noon. I showed up at 11am and my fast pass was for 5:20 that night, if that tells you anything. And after going on it I have to say.... I SO TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHY!! It's so much fun! It's kind of like Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, except way suped up and better! Even the queue line is amazing. I'm only including one picture but I think it gives a good example of what we're talking about. In this picture alone you can spy Legos, Scrabble, Lincoln logs, Barrel of Monkeys, and my personal favorite (they definitely got a lot of kudos for this) - CHUTES AND LADDERS! The game you love to hate! hahaha. I remember always being so angry when I played that game, and I would often cheat to win. woooo! I also ate at the Sci-Fi Drive in Theater. It was a beautiful set up - it really looked like a legit 50s drive in when you were in there! Most of the guests were seated at car-tables, and we watched old cartoons (like tom and jerry) as well as small horror flicks like the blob and the swamp thing - stuff like that. It was a wickedly good idea, esp for being at Hollywood Studios. I really want to take my family to the 50s Prime time cafe though - I hear the waitresses really are just like your mother!! In other news, I signed up for my next semester. I am currently scheduled for 19 credits (2 don't really matter - weight lifting and comm practicum which is just credit for the Disney program, so its like i'm in 17 credits). Aside from those two I'm to take: Media/Law & Ethics, Business 101, Accounting (shudder), New Testament, Missionary Prep and Flower Arranging. I think I'm definitely going to be overwhelmed in homework. I figure the first day of class I will go in and get a feel for all the classes, and if necessary I will drop one. But if I do drop one, I am going to try to take band in its place, to brush up on my Euphonium.
Hmm.. well next for me is just Christmas parties and the usual. I was in the cast preview of the parade. It was filmed for HGTV and we met the host of the show and everything so that was cool. Also, we got more cheers than Cinderella (that's who me & my partner were following). Yea that's right Cinderella. Deal with it.
Custodial cast members are put in the parades to follow the horses - I like following Cinderella and her ponies, mostly because they are smaller in more ways than one, if you catch my drift ;) I would have been in the first public parade of the season Tuesday, but since it rained the horses never went out. And so I got a 5 hour paid break, which was friggin SWEET! I was definitely not complaining. Next week I'm scheduled for it again, twice. I prefer doing the parades to being on the streets I think. Especially since it's only two brief jumps into Christmas instead of being on the streets amongst Christmas constantly (although I love the music in Liberty Square, because some of it is Irish/Celtic stuff, not always recognizable as christmassy, and always fun to dance to). Here is a pic from the cast preview - sorry my hat was WAY HUGE that day! And now my usual list of new developments I've taken note of:
1. I really enjoy coming up with new ways to pull up my hair - since I don't like it in a straight pony tail. Now that my hair is growing longer I have more opportunities for creativity in updos. A couple examples of mine are first of all my Rufio-do (with fake hair added in, explaining the shiny fake pieces) And then just another regular one. I can't wait for my hair to be longer so I can do more with it.
2. I really am growing to love the Finding Nemo Musical music. I was not very fond of it at first and sometimes I still am not (particularly when Nemo is singing), but I'm starting to love a few of them and often find myself singing them whilst working. I still love the outfits and the way they put the show on however. Especially the bubbles at the end.
3. I have an even greater urgency to speak Spanish. I really hope I get called on a Spanish speaking mission or something, that would be SWEET. First of all because people always think I speak it and come up to ask me questions or talk to me in Spanish - even before I worked here. Second because I would really like to get to know friends like Jacky (pictured below) who cannot speak English and so because of the language barrier we are stuck. And finally because I want to hear what the other people say. There's a bunch of latinos I work with who are always talking, and some of the stuff they say seems to be soooo funny but of course they ''don't know how to say it in english" or they just say I wouldnt get it. Also I would love to just listen to people talk who think I don't speak it just to hear what they say. 4. I'm really starting to LOVE the side show stuff at Disney. The things not mentioned in the basic brochure. The things that surprise you. Like the acrobatic kids in China.. The candy art lady in Japan.... (side note, its the same lady from 2 years ago when I came! Last time I got a hedgehog and this time an Elephant! WOO!) and stuff like the main street trolley show, the pianist at Casey's, the band that plays at the entrance to Main street, the retiring of the colors, the Frontierland musical trio that travel and play for people, Cinderella's hidden fountain... stuff like that. The things that aren't broadcast like the parades or castle shows or rides - although those things are awesome too! It's the small things that count
5. I'm waaaay addicted to Hershey's Cookies n Cream bars. I crave them constantly now. Ahhh..... I want one right now.... 6. I think that it's going to be weird seeing Princess & the Frog now that I pretty much have the music nearly memorized. Princess Tiana's Showboat Jubilee takes place 3 times a day now until January I believe. I LOVE singing and dancing to it. People think I'm crazy. hahah but I don't care! (whats funny is that those last two sentences are actually together in of one of the songs and I didn't realize it till i just read this again haha now that songs stuck in my head). I think I'm really going to enjoy the movie and I kind of have it figured out in my head after watching the jubilee so much, listening to the music's words, and seeing the previews. Go on to Youtube and type in Tiana Showboat Jubilee and you'll be able to see it. However, anyone that is visiting me for Thanksgiving, do not do that because I want to watch it with yall when you come to visit me :) Also I have a usually have a huge crush on Prince Naveen, and I love that you can meet the villain, Dr.Facilier.
7. I love and am really going to miss seeing/singing to/dancing to this every night..... Well.. until next time :) TTFN - TA TA FOR NOW!
.... and THESE ONES as well! I am so thankful for my parents and all they do and mostly what they put up with. I'm thankful they raised me with a good head on my shoulders and to be a driven individual - even if I hiccup sometimes. Okay, a lot. I'm thankful that they help me out when I get myself into a mess... I'm thankful for the things they will be helping me with this year especially. They'll never know how grateful I am for these things or how much I love and appreciate them. Mom, Dad.. I love you with all my heart and more, even though I don't always know exactly how to communicate it. I know yall have sweat and worked so hard just to get me to the point I am and I know you still worry and stress about me and how to get me to be all that I can be... I thank you for your devotion and support. Dad, I really enjoyed the few days you vacationed with me here when you brought me and I look forward to "bonding" again, as you put it lol. Keep it weird.. haha. I really hope you have a good time. Mom.. I can't even say how thrilled I am just to hang out with you in a few short days. I love to see your smiling face and learn more about you and share life with you (as gay as that sounds). This vacation means a lot to me.. thank you both for pulling it together enough to be able to come visit me. It's hard being away so much.
The one and important negative to all of this is my favorite sister will not be able to join us. I'm so bummed that it could not work out.. but I'm glad that she is making smart decisions by saving money and time up there. We'll get our day soon, Madeline. And one day we'll have our sister-sister Disney trip. I love you! And your Mickey ice cream infatuation. haha. My sister is as much into Disney as I am.. if not more in a couple respects. It really won't be the same without her at all.. and again I regret that I did not spend more time with her on her first visit.. it's hard forgiving myself for missing their first reactions to everything because I wanted to do something else more. Oh well. I don't get to see your smiling face just yet, Madeline, but luckily you aren't too far away up at school. My dear best friend.. I can't wait to giggle the night away with you and have Disney marathons. Who knows when we'll have the time to do that but we'll think of something hahah. Please keep texting me and keeping me up on whats going on in your life, I like to be kept in the loop, even if I have no time to talk on the phone. Well.. keep being a creeper and I'll see you before you know it darlin :) I love youuuuuuuuuuu sidder!
But to soften the blow.. I do get to see the first reaction to the parks of these next few people!! My aunt Leah, her husband Mark, and their kids - Sam, Zach, Matt, Mikayla (sorry if I spelled it wrong :/ ), and Isabelle. I love these guys! And it feels like ages since I've seen any Texan Rippstein family... Leah has only been to Epcot, and Disneyland. I can't wait to share these days with them! I hope all goes well and as according to plan as possible, but mostly that we can all just embrace the magic and remember our wishes can come true if we believe in them. They're shining deep down inside of us, because that is where the magic lives :)
I will post more about this trip and what has been going on before and after. Until that time, I must continue with work and preparation. As Walt Disney would say... So long!
