Disney in December

We did a Christmas trip to Disney this year. We actually came home ON Christmas Eve. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that has little kids--only to those with teens/pre-teens that sleep in until 9:00 or 10:00 am on Christmas morning :c).
It was VERY crowded. We've never seen it that crowded before (and we've been quite a number of times during different times of the year). We had a great time once the kids realized that they couldn't sleep until 11:00 am and still expect to get on any rides. The wait times were CRAZY--90-120 minutes for Toy Story Mania, 3 hours for Soarin'....CRAZY!!! But we still got to do some really fun things. The kids each got a special outing with Mom/Dad. Hannah and I went to see Cirque du Soleil: La Nouba at Downtown Disney--AMAZING!!! And Harrison and Harry went to see The Blue Man Group at Universal Studios which they really enjoyed. All in all, it was a good Christmas trip.

USAG Level 5 Georgia State Championship

On November 22, 2009, Hannah had the honor of participating in the State Gymnastics Championship. In order to qualify for this meet, a gymnast must participate in a minimum of 3 meets and score an all-around of 32 points or higher twice. Hannah was able to do this within the first 3 meets of the season; and she was the only one on the Level 5 team to qualify this year.

There have been a few obstacles that Hannah has had to face this season. At the beginning of the season, there was a judge we have since dubbed as "The Battle axe" that was overheard telling another judge not to even bother watching any of the girls from the gym that Hannah goes to. This judge was heard to say that our girls were undeserving of competing. And she would consistently score Hannah and the other girls 1-1.5 points lower than anyone else even though they did just as well. This has been really hard for Hannah to deal with because she works so hard. Also, Hannah does not do well when she is alone at a competition. Even though her coach is there, she gets very anxious and feels very isolated.

Hannah had to deal with both situations at the state meet. We talked about this extensively before the meet. Hannah loves music. So, I let her listen to the song "You're Not Alone" by Michael McLean. We also listened to "Defying Gravity" from the Broadway Musical "Wicked." Both have an incredible message and they brought her comfort and strength. Before the meet started, I sent her a "shout-out" (a message that they read out over the loud speaker). It said,"Hannah, we are so proud of you. Just remember, you're not alone. You're defying gravity! Love, Mom, Dad, and Harrison."

Alone, facing that judge, and everything else that stood in her way, she truly shined at this meet.
Here is what she did:

Vault: 8.325--She placed 18th in the State

Bars: 8.80--She placed 11th in the State and medaled (this was her WORST bar routine,too)

Beam: 8.90--She placed 14th in the State (this was also her WORST beam routine)

Floor: 7.70--She places 20th in the State

Over-all: 33.725--She place 17th in the State

We are SOOOO incredibly proud of her. Now, she starts preparing and training for the USAG Preparatory Optionals Gold Level competitions. Her first Prep-Op meet is in January.

Heroes: Then, Now, Forever

This year, Harrison's band presented their show in honor of the veterans. It was titled "Heroes: Then, Now, and Forever." There were quite a few changes to the show over the course of the marching season, but the final show was quite moving. The band presented a special encore performance of the show on November 3rd for the Veterans and their families. We weren't able to video that particular performance, but the Friday night performance is what I have here for everyone to see. We hope you enjoy and our family would like to give a special thanks to all of the veterans for giving of their time and serving our country. We live in the land of the free thanks to the brave.

Something I'd Like to Share

I posted these "finds" on the Genius Georgia Girls blog and thought I'd reference them here, too. Go check it out and see what I'm talking about :c)

2009 Halloween

We had a fun Halloween. In the morning, we went to Hannah's gym and helped out with their Fall Festival. It was raining; and we already had everything set up inside. So, there was no chance of anything getting ruined. We had a pretty good turnout and were able to raise some money towards the new mats for the gym.

That evening, the kids and I got into costume--Hannah and I were witches and Harrison was "FaceBook" (an idea pilfered from the TV show "The Office"). We decided to take the two dogs with us. The doorbell was driving Shadow absolutely nuts. And, he was scaring everybody to death jumping up to look out the window in the door. I mean, just imagine being a little kid, ringing the doorbell in anticipation of some good candy, and then seeing this 65+lb. monster launch himself at the window you are looking through. I'd scream too.

It was misting when we first left, but half-way through, it started really raining. We made it to about 15-20 houses before we all gave up. We were all soaked--especially, the dogs. We came in, got cleaned up and in dry clothes, ate pizza, and watched a little TV. We wanted to go to the haunted pirate ship, but none of us wanted to go back out in the rain. All in all, we thought it was a pretty good night.

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Poor Shadow has been kenneled up quite a bit lately. So, we decided to take him to the Dog Park and see how he did. Why we ever doubted that he would have a complete blast is beyond me...

Cartersville, Commerce, and Home

This weekend was another one full of gym meets and band competitions. Hannah was participating in the October Best Invitational in Cartersville; and Harrison was competing in the Contest of Champions in Commerce. Essentially, the timing would be perfect for Hannah, Harry, and me to drive to Cartersvilled, have Hannah compete, and then, drive to Commerce to watch Harrison. And, that was the plan until we saw how far it was to everything...2 hours from our house to Cartersville, 2 hours from Cartersville to Commerce, and 2 hours from Commerce back home. Ummm...this isn't sounding like such a good plan. Harry and I decided that if we were driving for a total of 6 hours in the car, we'd better be on a beach at the end of the trip. No beach, no driving was the final decision. That turned out to be the best decision, too, because Harrison didn't end up getting home until 1:40 am on Sunday.
So, we took Hannah to Cartersville; and she had a decent day. There were a total of 15 girls that were in her age category. She took 8th on vault; 9th on bars; 6th on beam; and 9th over-all. Her goal for the meet was to score over a 33 total. She wasn't doing so well on two of the events and I was worried that she wouldn't be able to make her goal. Her last event was the beam. I realized that she would have to score an 8.7 to get her goal. I wasn't sure she was able to do that. She did her routine and the score came up 8.80! SHE DID IT!!! We were so proud of her.



And apparently, it was a good day all-around, because Harrison's band did well, too. They got Superiors , took first in their group, and took 4th over-all. Great job!

Another Long Weekend

This past weekend was another long one for our family. Harrison's band had their first competition on Saturday in Marietta. It was a beautiful day and Harry, Hannah, I paid dearly with bad sunburns. Of course, when it's 70º out and you're wearing blue jeans, you don't really think about needing sunscreen. That lesson is now emblazened in our heads (and skin). We really enjoyed watching the bands perform. There are so many really creative themes for the shows; and the music is so much fun. Unfortunately, the band didn't make it to the finals. Better luck next week.



The next day, Hannah had her third gymnastics meet of the season. This time, her Nana, Grandpop, cousin, Kaitlyn, and Harrison were all able to join us in the cheering section. She had another "okay" meet--right in the middle. She was not happy with her scores. We thought she did well; and we're hoping next week will be her week. She has worked so hard. She just needs to get out of her head and do what she knows. Harry chose the perfect song to accompany this video of her. It's all about the experience she gains with each meet and not so much about the scores themselves.

The Goldrush Invitational Gymnastic Meet

Hannah had her second meet on September 26th in Lawrenceville. Unfortunately, Harrison and I were not able to be there. We were at the high school helping out with the band competition that the marching band hosts every year. Thankfully, Harry and my parents were able to support her at her meet. She was definitely not happy with her scores. We think she did fine for only her second meet at this level.

She scored a:
8.150 on bars
7.8 on the floor
7.8 on beam (video says a higher score)
8.5 on vault

First Level 5 Gymnastics Meet of the Season

Well, gymanstics competition season has commenced. We spent yesterday in Loganville at the Summer Sizzler hosted by Rockdale Gymnastics. Hannah was EXTREMELY nervous to the point of panic and hysteria at times. She pulled it together just before the meet, though.

Her first event was Floor. It's never been her best, but she has worked really hard trying to get the routine down. She was doing fine until about 1/4 of the way through the routine. Then, she got this glazed looked on her face. She was doing the correct steps to the routine, but she wasn't quite in the right place on the floor to get full credit for them. She ended up getting a 7.875 on her routine. She was so upset. When we asked her what happened. She said that she had no recollection of anything on the floor from about a 1/4 of the way through until her final tumbling pass. She had essentially blacked out. Scary! We're going to have to keep an eye on that.

Her next event was Vault. This year, instead of just "flopping" on the mats, she actually has to land a handspring off of the vault. She's been doing this all along, but today she was a little off (probably still recovering from the floor routine incident) and scored an 8.550. Still a respectable score for the first meet of a new level, though.

Bars were next. The judges were scoring this event VERY harshly. The average score was only an 8.0. There were several 7's and even some 6's on this event. Hannah did beautifully and stuck her dismount. We were thrilled when we saw that she scored an 8.150.

Beam was the last event; and it's the event that makes me the craziest. I don't breathe the entire time she's on that beam. I'm usually praying and hoping and crossing my fingers that all goes well and she doesn't fall off. Not only did she stay on the beam and not fall off, she did a really nice job on her routine. She scored an 8.325.

In the end, she placed 6th out of 15 on the Bars; and 10th out of 15 over-all. And the team finished 8th out of 9 (our team only had 3 girls, though...everyone else had 5 or more). She was so nervous for this first meet. We're just glad that it's done and over with. Now, she can move on to the next meet---The Goldrush Invitational in two weeks.

September Already?

I have no idea where the time has gone. Didn't we just get out of school? And shouldn't we be headed to the beach? I need to wake up, because it's already September! So, here is a quick update. The last month has been filled with scheduled activities and events. NOTHING gets done at our house unless it has been on the calendar for at least a month...okay, that is a slight exaggeration, but not by much.

The kids have been keeping busy with school, band, and gymnastics. Harry is playing softball and helping me run the "Kid Taxi." Me, well, I'm strictly adhering to the old adage, "When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and swing, baby, swing."

This next month is the beginning of competition season where EVERY Saturday between now and the weekend before Thanksgiving will be occupied by either a gymnastic meet, a band competition, or both. So, over the next couple of months, there should be plenty of pictures and updates from our family. Stay tuned, it should be interesting.

First Day of the School Year 2009-2010

Wow! It's the first day of school already. Harrison is starting his Sophomore year in High School; and Hannah is starting her first year at Middle School. Harry and I have both mused about how odd it is not to have a child in Elementary School anymore. This was even the first year that I didn't drive a child to school for the first day. They both ride the same bus this year; and Hannah gets to sleep in an extra half hour. Now that I think about it, it'll probably be the last time Harrison will ride the bus for the first day of school. He'll be eligible to drive next year. They are both growing up so fast. Heck, I was lucky to get the pictures I got. They tried to pull the "I'm too old for this" bit on me. Come what may, time stands still for no man--or mom. They are growing up; and I'm just glad that they indulged me my "1st day of school" pictures one more time.

Learner's Permit

Well, it is offical...Harrison Schaefer is driving! Everyone stay clear! We went Wednesday July 1st to the DDS so he could take his Signs and Laws written test for his Learner's Permit. He passed his signs test, but missed one too many questions to pass his Laws test. It was very disappointing. It was a lot harder than he thought it was going to be. So, we went back again on Thursday after another full day of studying and he passed. We went straight from the DDS to my in-law's house. My father-in-law volunteered to be the first to take Harrison out driving...God bless him and his bravery! 2 hours later, he brought Harrison back. I took the fact that there was no visible damage on the car and that my father-in-law still had all of his hair as a good sign and let Harrison drive a little bit with me. AHHHHHH! I survived. Then, he drove with Harry and I in the car to the Pulsipher's house. Apparently, Harry was sending SOS and last will and testament messages to Facebook from the back seat via his cellphone--I wish I were joking people. Okay, he's not bad, but he does need A LOT of practice and work. Thank heavens for Driver's Education and a full year.

Peachtree Road Race 2009

Lately, the Schaefer family has changed our 4th of July celebratory traditions. Getting up bright and early for the parade and candy no longer holds its luster. Our family would rather get up at 5 am, get on a crowded MARTA train, rub elbows with 55,000 of our closest "friends," and endure heat, humidity, and hills--all for a t-shirt. Yes, folks, you read that right...a t-shirt.
We--Harry, Jen, and Harrison (Hannah was in Ohio with relatives, or she'd have been there, too)--ran the Peachtree Road Race in downtown Atlanta on the morning of the 4th of July. It's 6.2 miles of pavement and people. The race starts at Lenox mall and ends at Piedmont Park on 10th street in downtown Atlanta. It is the largest road race in the United States with 55, 000 participants! But it is SO much fun!

The race is a competition from the moment of sign-up. You have to get an Atlanta Journal and Constitution newspaper the second Sunday in March, fill it out, and race to get it sent in. Only the first 55,000 people get a number. There are 9 time groups. Traditionally, there has been a limited number of t-shirts. The t-shirt clock starts the second the last person crosses the start line and counts down from 75 minutes. Everyone finishing before the clock runs out gets a t-shirt. So, the object is to try and get in a lower number time group to increase the likelihood that you will get a t-shirt. So, what time group you get is a status symbol and people will pay dearly for a lower time group number. All this before the race even starts! This year was a little different, though. Everyone got a t-shirt and everyone got a time chip for their shoe. Qualifying for a lower time group could be done at the race itself this year. A little anti-climatic, but a little more diplomatic.

Harry and I submitted our half-marathon times and were lucky enough to be put in time group 2. Harrison runs MUCH faster than us. We were hoping that he would get in a much later time group--maybe TG 6 or 7--to give us a chance to get the finish-line before he had to wait by himself in Piedmont Park (scary), but they put him in TG 3. So much for him not being alone in the park. We gave him specific instructions as to where to meet us, etc... in addition to arming him with his cell phone in case of emergency. The mere thought of my baby being in Piedmont Park alone would be enough to drive me to the finish line in a more timely manner.

On 4th of July, we arose at 5am and were on the road by 5:30am. Harrison was a little groggy from the Whitewater Rafting trip he took the day before with the Scouts.We let him take a little snooze in the car seeing as how this was his first 10k race and the largest race he's participated in to date. We parked at Harry's office building at Techwood (on 10th street). We then walked about a half mile to the MARTA station and rode a train to the Buckhead station. We got off and walked another half mile to where we would split off and go our separate ways to the starting corrals. With the exception of a sporting event, it's hard to imagine 55,000 people all in one place for one purpose. Here's a little glimpse of what it looked like from the starting corral of TG 2 looking towards the starting corral of TG 3.









Our time group started right at 7:36 am. We crossed the start line and we were off. Harry and I were a little more casual this year than 3 years ago. Neither one of us were using this as a training race. So, we decided to kick back, take some pictures, and enjoy the race.

Here we are at mile 3...the half-way point.













The beginning and top of Cardiac Hill. It's a 1 1/2 mile incline. Piedmont Hospital is at the top of the hill. It's no accident that there is a medical tent at the top. We also passed by the Spinal Injury Center. There were TONS of onlookers in wheelchairs, braces, and halos. It really got to Harry and I. We were so grateful to be actually running in the race rather than watching from their chairs. We were encouraged by their courage to be there and cheer on the runners.









We took a little picture break at about mile 5...things were still good. We were a little sore, but nothing bad. We got a text from Harrison saying he finished the race in 52:19! HOLY COW!!! The heat was getting pretty intense and we knew we needed to get to the finish line to meet Harrison. It made me nervous to think he was there by himself. So, we kicked it up a little....not a good idea apparently.








We had been walking and got to the 6 mile marker. I told Harry that I have NEVER walked across a finish line and I didn't intend to start now. So, we started jogging. We went under the photo bridge and things started to get bad for me from there. I started to feel a twinge in my left knee (an old IT Band injury from my half-marathon training days). I ignored it. Then, I started to get a cramp in my left foot where the plantar fascia is. I ignored that, too. That's when my right calf seized up in a charlie horse, the cramp in my foot went into full throttle, and my left knee gave out. I literally limped over the finish line. I was immediately grabbed by a medical tech and whisked off to the medical tent. They pumped me full of Powerade, put a cold towel around my neck, and got a physical therapy technician to come over and look at me. I endured 20 minutes of agonizing stretching trying to get the muscles to stop spasming. Then, I laid there for another 10 minutes with ice saran wrapped onto my knee. There was no need to worry about Harrison. He found us in the medical tent. The med techs got us our t-shirts and told us to take our time. They were so wonderful. Thank you so much to Kara, Amy, and Alice! After I recovered we headed into Piedmont Park and started walking the 1-1 1/2 miles back to Turner Broadcasting to our car. I can hardly move today, but it was worth every step!


You can see the crowd at Piedmont Park and the ice pack on my knee. It was fun and we'll definitely do it again!

Summer Vacation

We had fun on our early summer vacation this year. It would have been a week earlier, but we wanted to avoid a certian unofficial annual week-long Disney "event" (If you want to know what that "event" is, email me). We normally hit the road sometime in July, but with marching season starting then, we'll have to opt for June for the next seven years for our summer vacation time. Since we got Annual Passes for Christmas, we hit Walt Disney World again instead of our usual beach trip.

**Just a piece of advice from the Disney Diva herself, Disney World in the summer is NOT for Disney rookies. Only the most experienced Disney travelers can enjoy a trip to Walt Disney World in the summertime months. It's EXTREMELY crowded and VERY hot. If you haven't been a number of times and know what you like and are comfortable with the fact that you definitely won't get to do everything, you may find yourself absolutely miserable in what is supposed to be "The Happiest Place on Earth."**

I'm going to divide the trip up by days/events. There'll probably only be three total posts, though...not too exciting.

Star Wars Weekends

A long time ago in a galaxy

far, far away...

Well, actually it was just last week and it happened in Florida...

We went down on Sunday with one very specific new experience in mind--Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios. If you are even just a casual Star Wars fan, this is an event for you. The characters are out in their full regalia--Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Ewoks, Storm Troopers, and even lesser known Jedi Knights. There's just something about seeing childhood characters come to life right before your eyes. I don't know any child of the '70's that wouldn't let out a small squeal upon seeing Stormtroopers atop the front gates and Sandpeople and Jawas walking down the street. It was definitely a sight to behold. Unfortunately, we got very little footage of the actual event and characters. It was EXTREMELY hot and the characters just couldn't stay out for very long. Every time we tried to get in line to get our pictures taken, the characters had to go inside to cool off :c(. I did find some FABULOUS footage of just about the funniest thing I've seen in a long time on YouTube, though. I won't post the actual video on the blog, but you can check it out on my Facebook page, or here. I won't give it all away, but let's just say if you don't find Chewbacca and the Jawas jamming out to modern day music funny, well, there's got to be something wrong. And the T-shirts we saw...too, too funny. We didn't get any because they're kind of those you-had-to-be-there type t-shirts, but they still warranted a chuckle.

Bottom line, we had a fun time seeing a bunch of people in costume (and I'm not talking about the actual Disney cast members), quoting the movies with other Star Wars geeks, and looking at the kitschy souvenirs. Would we think about going again...oh yeah!

EPCOT and Mission: Possible

Call us geeks, but our family LOVES EPCOT (Like the Star Wars Weekend wasn't enough to give it away). We can spend an entire day just at that one park and still not get done everything we want to do. Why do we love it so? Where else can you go around the world in 180 minutes, see what the future holds in technology, torture one another with awful sodas from around the world and finally round out the day by riding rides that will most likely make you puke for the next 12-24 hours? You mean that doesn't sound fun? Let me explain...no there's too much. Let me sum up...

Going 'Round the World in 180 minutes
We've always loved World Showcase. We actually EAT our way around the world--crepes in France, egg rolls in China, lefse in Norway...you get the picture. But now we have a new reason for loving World Showcase--Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure! We had the funnest time going from country to country and "saving the world." It's worth every single second--even Harry and I had a blast with our "kim"unicators and the scavenger hunt. There was so much to see and do; and Disney put a lot of effort into this. Follow the link above for a more in depth explanation.

The Future of Technology

The kids' favorite thing to do is to hang out in Innoventions in Futureworld. They've learned about waste management, saving money, fire safety, new ways of transportation, breakthroughs in industry, you name it, all in fun and entertaining ways. Hannah even enjoyed making a video computer game staring herself as the player. The most recent game there that was SO fun to play was called The Great PiggyBank Adventure. It taught the kids all about saving money, inflation, and diversification in a way that they totally would understand. So much fun! There's an online version that you can play here. The kids even got to make their own video game where they are the main character. Then, they emailed it home to themselves so the can play it whenever they want.

Soda Torture and Dangerous Rides

At Club Cool, you can cool off, chill out, and get a taste of different Coca-Cola sodas from around the world. This is a miniature version of the Taste It section of our own World of Coca-Cola here in Atlanta. Hannah got her first taste of an infamous Italian Coca-Cola product...

As you can see, it didn't taste the way she expected :c).

Then, we love to ride Mission: Space and Test Track. I can't do Mission: Space multiple times like another member of the family that has the equilibrium of an astronaut (Hannah). It messes with my inner ear. But these are still fun rides. Another not so dangerous ride we like is Soarin', but this ride ALWAYS has a long line and Fastpasses are a must.

So, there you have it--a summation of why we love EPCOT.

Swimming, Naps, and Yetis?

After Star Wars Weekends on Sunday, the rest of the week was a random combination of trips to the park, trips to the pool, and naps/TV watching. For the first time EVER, we didn't eat at any of the sit-down restaurants. That saved us a bundle of money. Our view from our room was of Downtown Disney. We loved watching the new hot air balloon ride go up and down all day long.

A typical day for us included:
Sleep in until around 8:30 or 9:00 am, eat breakfast, throw dinner in the crockpot, get our suits on, pack a lunch/snacks, hit the pool for a few hours, come back and eat what was in the crockpot, clean up the dinner dishes, hit the park with the Extra Magic Hours for the evening, grab a late dessert in the park (who can resist ice cream, chocolate mousse, and chocolate covered marshmallows?), then come back to the condo between 10pm and midnight, and crash...only to possibly repeat the events the next day in another random order.

We hit Animal Kingdom and got to ride Expedition Everest a few times. Still one of the best rides at "the World." Gotta love that single rider line (it means that everyone rides, but not necessarily in the same train)! It was much shorter (30 minutes) than the regular standy-by line (90 minutes). When the kids were little, we would bring bubbles to entertain them while waiting in the long lines. Nowadays, Harrison has his own version of entertaining himself in the long lines--a Disney Rubik's Cube.
We made point to eat at Yak and Yeti. We did the counter service as opposed to the sit-down service--it was the same food, and it was cheaper. It a nice change of pace food-wise and we loved the "take-out" boxes. The kids had Pizzafari pizzas and salads.
Harrison didn't go on the Stake trek this year.

So, we thought we'd send him on the Disney version... Just call him Sherpa Schaefer


Then, we rode Dinosaur. Can I just say how much I absolutely H-A-T-E this ride? I HATE this ride! But it was well worth the trip when I saw the picture at the end. Harry always knows how to lighten the mood. Make sure to click on this picture...it's priceless.


The next big adventure was EPCOT...

RenFest 2009

Every year between the second weekend in April and the first weekend in June, The Georgia Renaissance Festival comes to town. It is both interesting and horrifying all at the same time. The Northgate Band Boosters has worked out a deal with the RenFest to allow the kids/families to work and earn money for their band accounts (to pay for band camp, equipment, trips, etc...). They do odd jobs like pick up trash, work in the drink stands, and help out with supplying the drink stands. Harry, Harrison, and I worked both this year and last year. BUT...we've never actually been for fun. So, my mom, dad, Hannah, and I went this past weekend while Harry and Harrison worked.

We got there way before opening so we could get a good parking spot. Unless you've been to a Star Trek convention, or the midnight showing of any Star Wars, Rocky Horror Picture Show, or Superhero type movies, you've never seen anything like this before in your life. Many people come in costume complete with "peace tied" swords and daggers (meaning they are tied with leather and can't be unsheathed). These costumes can be quite elaborate and fascinating. So, it is often difficult to determine who is an "official" character and who's just a character (ps-the "official" characters wear cast buttons denoting them as such). The Puss in Boots character was NOT official. Dad had an encounter with an official characther, though. He was "tagged" by the Kissing Wench before we even manage to get inside. Too funny! I told him to sit down, but he didn't listen. Next time, he'll listen :c).

After we got inside, we looked around in several of the shops and encountered Mother Goose and her geese. I've never seen such tame fowl before :c). The one goose even gave Hannah a hug. We went into several of the costume stores and Mom got some ideas to make some costumes for next year (I might as well have a costume seeing as how I have to wear one when I work in the drink carts and it looks like I'll be working RenFest for the next 7 years).

We got Hannah's hair braided (way cool!), went to a couple of shows (loved the Lipizzan stallions and the Border Collie demonstration), and ate some lunch. Of course, we had to get our drinks from the stand that Harry was working that day. Did I mention that he had to wear a costume, too?...looking good babe :c). We saw Harrison, too, but I don't have any pictures of him in his day glow, neon, "Grello" (that's a combination of green and yellow) shirt that all of the Northgate grounds crew are required to wear. After lunch, we went and Hannah showed her mad archery skills. She learned how to shoot last year while on our trip to Vero Beach. We were impressed by how well she did.

We encountered several of the official characters including King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn; but Hannah's favorite, of course, was the Fairy Queen and her court. They were holding High Tea at the Peacock Tea Room and allowed Hannah to join them for a quick picture. The Mayor apparently had crashed their party, too. We headed back to the front, but not before Hannah tried on some hot pink devil horns and we both tried on some elf ears (sorry no pictures).

It was a fun day; and I managed to get out of there without spending all of the $40 that I got out of the ATM before we went. So, here are a few tips for going:

• Go to an ATM OUTSIDE of the RenFest (there's one inside, but the fee is HUGE)
• Everything there costs and it isn't cheap (Bring small bills--10's, 5's, & 1's)
• Make sure and listen to characters and interact with them.
• Wear Sunscreen....let me say it again....WEAR SUNSCREEN!
• Let the kids wear costumes--there are fairies, pirates, wenches, you name it.
• Have fun!

See ya next year!!!