Seattle, Washington Day 3

 We got up bright and early on Sunday morning, since it was a Holiday weekend, Dr. M wanted a headstart at the border because you never know how long it is going to take.  We left the hotel at 7:30 AM and were at the border by 8:00. It took over an hour to get through even though there was not a lot of traffic ahead of us. They are much more thorough at this border and did have us get down with our carry on only. There were different lines and depending on which line you got in, decided your wait time.  Speedy and I got lucky and got a nice young guard. He pretty much waved us through. (I think the younger, the friendlier.) Tianna and Teresa got an older gentleman and he asked Tianna a lot of questions and I was worried he wasn't going to let her through.

 Once we got through we headed to Pike Place and had about an hour to walk around and see all the cool things. We could have easily stayed there longer, but we had reservations at the EMP museum.

 The Original Starbucks is at Pike Place and the line goes around the corner. There are also musicians outside entertaining the crowd.

There were so many beautiful flowers and we wanted to buy some and take them home, but we knew they would die since our flight wasn't until 6:30.

 The EMP museum is also referred to as the Jimi Hendrix museum and it is really cool! It has so many hands on things for the kids to do and they can also make a dvd of their performance. It was really neat and I wish LA had something similar.

 We were there for a good two hours and the kids had a great time seeing and doing everything.  When we walked out we had this cool view of the Space Needle.

We then had two hours to spend at the No Folk Art Festival, Now that was interesting! There was a lot of good food and Dr. M said the kids could be on there own. We chaperons got to hang out together and eat.  There was a lot of good food and Lynne and I shared so we could try twice as much. I kept telling everyone that we needed to get a group picture of just us, but I did manage to get this one of them. These were chocolate dipped fruit and they were to die for!

 The Festival was very Bohemian and free. There are performers everywhere you turn and they had a name for them, but I don't have a chance to ask Speedy right now. All the performers had a hat to ask for money. Some were interesting and some were pretty good. I wouldn't mind going again to this, but not have to worry about 25 middle schoolers.  After the chaperons ate we split up into groups to try to monitor the kids, but it was not easy.

 Afterwards it was time to get on the bus and go to the airport. The picture below is of Gary, our busdriver. He really was the sweetest guy and at the end of the trip the kids sang a song for him to thank him. He got all choked up and thanked the kids for being one of the best groups he has had the pleasure of driving around.

 We also had to say goodbye to tourguide Leslie, but we will see her next year in DC and I'm pretty sure that I am going to get to go because Dr. M really likes one parent from this year to go next year too. Now I just have to save my pennies!

We are home and my honey and the Squiggler were waiting for us! It was a fantastic trip and I am so glad that I went. I was really scared to travel without my honey, but I really got to know the kids in those 3 days and saw what a great guy Dr. M is and his wife is the sweetest human being on the planet!

Vancouver, Canada Day 2

 Day 2 started bright and early! The kids had to have their daypack packed with their jazz shoes, black socks and jazz pants and anything else they were going to need for the day by 7:45 AM. We were ready too! The kids really respect and listen to Dr. M. Our first stop was Capilano and the suspension bridge. Okay, I am afraid of heights, but I conquered my fear and did it as well as the treetop bridges and the rim walk.  It was very beautiful, but I didn't look down much. Speedy spent most of the time with her friends and didn't really pay attention to me. I was with the other moms and we had a good time. We got to go shopping a little there, but I didn't find anything for me to buy for myself. I found a little something for my mom, Squiggler, my honey and Nessa.

 They call their "Indians" First Nations and there was a lot of history there. It was really cool and I would gladly go back.

 Dr. M and his wife Melodie, they are the cutest couple! She is the sweetest thing and I think she really balances him out. I really got to know him this weekend and he really loves what he does! He really cares about the kids and how he handles the kids is really top rate! He yells a lot, but he wouldn't if he didn't love them so much. This I am sure of!

 The group picture! I know I have a lot of pictures, but it really was an amazing place. I can't decide if I like this place better then Grouse Mountain. I wish we would have been able to explore this place a little more.

 This is the tram that took us up to Grouse Mountain. We went straight there after we left Capilano. They are really close to each other and we were able to get on the tram as a group. I had no idea what we would see over the mountain and trees, but it really reminded of me of where Heaven and Earth meet.

 I had the pleasure of sitting in the front thanks to my new friend Lynne. She was so funny and I could see us being really good friends if we worked in the same place. She was the official photographer of the weekend and has passed the job on to me for next year.  The company makes a video for all the kids of all the pictures she took of the weekend. I think she took close to 600 pictures and she was very good about getting everyone and everything.

 The kids couldn't believe that there was snow up there! Some of the kids had never seen snow and they had a ball throwing it at each other!

 Dr. M does this everytime he visit Grouse Mountain. He tells the 8th graders to get into this tree stump statue so that they can take a group picture. He then whispers to the 7th graders  to pelt them with snowballs. The 8th graders are kind of trapped in there and it is hilarious to watch. It's funny because he tells them to do it and they always do and fall for it.

 There were two grizzly bears that have been raised at Grouse Mountian and they are sooooo cute! They put on a great show for the kids of wrestling with each other.

 This is as we were leaving on the tram. I had the pleasure of sitting in the back so we could see how far we had been. It was cool.

 Our bus was the blue one and said Noah's Ark on it. We were next to a red one that said Where Heaven Meets Earth. I thought that was so cool because it was Dr. M's description.

 Speedy and her friend Tiana, her mom was my roommate Teresa, and she is also a kindergarten teacher. T is kind of a free spirit and keeps everyone entertained.

 After Grouse Mountain we went to the University to get ready for the competition. The kids had to change and had an hour to prepare themselves. Dr. M had them do warm ups and gave them a pep talk. He had me almost crying.  I was very sentimental this whole weekend and had been the week before because of Weegie. (That's another story for another time.)

 The kids did awesome even though they were really tired from the morning activities. They did very well and Speedy did an amazing job on her solo. She really gets into it and often people tell me that you would never guess she has the voice that she does.

 After the performance one of the judges gave them commentary and feedback on how they did. He was so positive and singled my baby girl out to congratulate her and he said that if he didn't know better he would easily mistake her for one of the actresses on Glee. She was beaming from ear to ear! She was so happy about all the nice things he said to her.

 They won Gold and had the highest scores. We don't attend the real awards ceremony because we are traveling and aren't able to stay for it. They understand and gave us our own little awards assembly.

 Afterwards we went to the Science Center in Vancouver.  It was very similar to the Science Center that we have in Los Angeles and the kids had fun. They had a really good exhibit on DaVinci and I found it to be fascinating. The kids liked playing with all the different stuff and didn't even bother to go to the exhibit.

 For dinner we went to Granville Island Market which is like a smaller version the Grove's Farmers Market. There were a lot of little booths and places to eat. I wasn't impressed with the food, but it was fun to walk around and see all the cool things they had.

 From there we went to an Improv Comedy show and we were asked not to take pictures there so I don't have any, but I did snag a pamphlet.  It was so funny and they had audience participation. They had a lot of the kids and Dr. M come up in different parts of the show. For one skit they had everyone come up and it was hilarious because the kids were suppose to be in the way and they were, just like in real life.

After the show we were supposed to go to Stanley Park, but Dr. M decided to take everyone out for ice cream because of their success. The kids are not allowed to have dairy up to a week before their performances because it causes flem and it 's not good for singing. The kids really enjoyed their ice cream and the adults got some too! We then went back to the hotel to pack up and get some sleep. We were going to have another early morning for our journey home. Dr. M keeps them really busy and they definitely get their moneys worth.  I think he keeps them so busy so they never have down time and can't get into mischief. We never stayed at one place too long either for the same reason. Dr. M has been doing these trips for a long time and really knows what he is doing. Day 3 tomorrow!

Vancouver, Canada Day 1

 Friday morning we had to wake up bright and early! Luckily we both packed the night before and had our clothes laid out. We just got up and were pretty much ready. My honey took the day off so that he could drive us to the airport. It was my first time ever traveling without him and of course I was nervous and scared. Speedy on the other hand would have been just fine even if I wasn't there. Dr. M (the teacher had asked if either my husband and I could go to because he wanted another credentialed teacher on the trip with them. My honey picked me because I had never been out of the U.S.) We got to the airport and everyone was arriving at the same time. We followed all of Dr. M's instruction and it was time to say bye to my honey. We had left Squiggler at home sleeping because I couldn't stand the thought of saying goodbye to her. It was the first time in her 3 1/2 years that we had been separated. We checked in relatively easy and had an hour to kick back at in the airport. We grabbed some waters and Dr. M made a seating chart of where are seats were. He asked me if I wanted a window seat. I said sure! He let the kids sit next to their friends and Speedy sat next to her besties. The blonde was her roommate in her room. The flight left at exactly the right time and I sat kind of by Dr. M, there was an empty seat between us and that was nice. The kids sang for the plane while we were going up there and it was really nice.

 I love how this picture of California shows so much brown compared to the next picture that shows so much green when we arrived in Washington. We arrived in Seattle and our tour guide Leslie was waiting for us with our bags. She had been the tour guide last year and everyone raved at how wonderful she was, they were not kidding!

 We got on our bus and our bus drivers name was Gary. He was the best too, but I don't have picture of him until the last day. We got on the bus and headed to a Private Christian high school were the kids were going to perform. They did a great job and the kids asked them questions that they all got to answer and then they performed one of their favorite songs for them that has a lot of hand movements. I got to check out the Kindergarten class there because it was a small Christian school from K-12.

 Before going to the high school we stopped off for lunch at a nearby mall. We were able to eat anywhere we wanted in the food court and the other chaperones and I tried a sandwich shop we had never heard of . It was okay, but not as good as Jersey Mikes that we have here close by. Speedy had chicken strips of course and they were not allowed to have dairy. The Singers are not allowed to have dairy a week before their performances and the kids take it very seriously!
 
 Afterwards we got back on the bus and drove to the Canadian border. It was about a 2 hour drive and it was very beautiful and scenic.  When we go to the border we reminded the kids to be respectful and professional. The bus in front of us was taken off their bus and had to go inside with all their luggage. Dr. M and Gary thought the same was going to happen to us just from the greeting and posture of the Patrol officer, but luckily that didn't happen. The officer we got was very nice and young, he came on board greeted the kids and told Dr. M he was glad he wasn't one of the chaperones with 25 middle schoolers, then he waved us through. Thank you Lord! I had been praying for a good outcome during all of this and God heard my prayers.

 We then drove around Vancouver and ended up in a section called Gastown. It seemed to be a really old part of Vancouver and had some interesting buildings and a good place for sightseeing. We took a pictures with Gassy Jack, one of the founders of the section and then had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. That was interesting and to be honest, not very good. Dr. M was disappointed because he had been going there every other year for the last 12 years. He said after our visit that he won't be returning in 2 years with his new group. (One of my nieces might be in that year.)

 We walked around and ended up in Canada Place where they held a lot of the Olympic ceremonies. It was really beautiful and we all noticed that it was 9:00 pm and it was still light out. It was very cool! We took some pictures and admired the view before heading on the bus to our hotel. We probably got to our hotel around 9:40 and Dr. M told the kids that they were unpack and lights out would be in 40-45 minutes. He doesn't mess around and the kids know this. He reminded them that they had to compete the following day and he wanted them to be prepared. I roomed with Teresa and we were in charge of two rooms, the boy's room and Speedy Cheetah's room with her friends. The girls seemed easy and quickly turned out their light when asked. The boys were funny and totally oblivious to anything.

Speedy took these pictures of her room and roommates. I loved that she did that because I wasn't with her all the time and so she got some good pictures that I didn't. Parents had a meeting after the kids went to bed to catch up on the day, reflect, offer suggestions or voice concerns.  There were 8 chaperones, Dr.M, Ms Bitter his wife (she is also a teacher), myself, Lynn an 8th grade mom that went last year, Sheila a 7th grade mom and the kid's favorite, Leti was the aunt of Speedy's BFF, Claudia the aunt of an 8th grader, and Teresa was a 7th grade mom and teacher in a different district. 

Everything seemed to go pretty well and he reminded us what was on the schedule for the next day and we all went to sleep exhausted. We were suppose to be out of the hotel the next morning at 7:45 for our very busy day! I survived my first day without my husband to hold my hand. :) By the way the last picture is of Leslie our wonderful tour guide. Not sure how it got deleted since I'm still learning how to play with my pictures on here.

Vancouver, Canada

 This weekend I had the pleasure of  accompanying my daughter and her singing group to Vancouver, Canada! Wow, it was an awesome trip and an experience I hope she and her friends will always remember! We left on Friday morning and returned last night. I was exhausted! I slept for most of today and just relaxed. The amount of stuff we packed in with that amount of time is unbelievable and I promise to blog about it. I will do a one day each day, so that I remember everything and have documentation of it all! I love you Speedy Cheetah and your amazing singing group.

A Gift from God

This beautiful girl had her Confirmation retreat this weekend! It was everything she could have hoped for! (This has made her mommy and daddy very happy and proud!) A Confirmation retreat is a big deal and can be life changing for some kids. They left on Friday and returned today. We met them at the church and it was WOW! Before the kids arrived they had an opportunity to write us a letter this weekend and she wrote one to me and to her daddy! I started crying before I even read it! The words she wrote I will cherish forever! My husband cried too! (Which made me cry even more!) He had no idea how intense her weekend would be. She is an awesome girl as it is. She is not only beautiful on the outside, she is beautiful on the inside too. She loves to go to church, and serves already in many ways. She can't wait to be a group leader next year and help others experience the same thing. I had to decorate a box for her and she said they went into a room to get their box and she knew it was hers before they had even told her. I filled it with lots of goodies that had meaning to her and with letters from those that love her. She said she had like the most things in her box! LOL! My cousin gave me great ideas and I just followed her footsteps. (She has had 3 kids go through the program.)

A lot of kids spoke and gave their testimonials. A lot of boys got up there and talked. There wasn't a dry eye in the house! Then we had mass. It was so great to see these kids sing and praise God! The Teen Mass rocks the House literally!! After mass they were all hugging each other and singing and dancing. Then it was so WOW because they started to do cheers for Jesus! How aswesome to have 50 teenagers cheering for Jesus and trying to see who could be louder! I love how God works in our lives and I know he will continue to Bless these young people and help them to follow the path He has laid out for them! I am so proud of my baby and I'm so glad that she got to have this amazing experience!