Day 1344: Giraffes!

Way back at the beginning of the summer, my friend Brian and I said that if there was one thing we wanted to do this summer, it was go to the zoo. What it was about the zoo that pushed it to the top of the list, I'm not sure, but we did finally manage to complete our one summer goal...even if school already technically started. 

We saw all kinds of spectacular animals at our local zoo, the N.E.W. Zoo, which is actually fairly large for a small, rural area like ours. Heading there early on Labor Day was a good idea, as the longer we were there, the busier things got, but we had plenty of time to visit with the Otters, Lions, Moose, Owls, and Swans! 

The highlight of the day was definitely the giraffes though, which you can feed year round for $1 at a special platform. Despite the numerous times I've seen giraffes thanks to Kilimanjaro Safaris, I've never actually fed or touched one before, so this was a new experience all around and totally worth the whole trip out there! 

And so, summer might be over, but at least we fed giraffes! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1221: Brace Yourselves: Summer is Coming

The view outside my window is looking more green everyday...not to mention warmer. It's really nice, considering the fact that it's been absolutely freezing the entire spring semester, but it also means that our favorite time of year is almost here: summer! 

There's a lot in store for Everyday Disney over the summer. Most importantly, we'll catch everything up again. It's a long process, and with how this semester went I'll have my work cut out for me, but we'll get there eventually. There will be new YouTube videos every Friday and Noon, alternating between vlogs and other videos, and as always I'll be posting new pictures on Instagram. 

But the most exciting part of this summer would be the trips! Later this month I'll be heading down to Walt Disney World with my mom for a trip, and when I get back I'll be moving into our new apartment. Following that there's just over a month before Megan and I depart on a giant Road Trip Adventure to Colorado that will have plenty of Disney thrown in. Then, a week after returning from that trip I'll be headed to Florida again for a Youth Convention that I'm really excited about. 

All in all, it's going to be a busy summer, so brace yourselves!

Have a magical day!

Day 905: Under the Stars

Summer is the perfect time to do things you normally wouldn't do, and sleeping under the stars the other night certainly was a spontaneous but memorable sort of thing. Apparently, my brother decided that our house, which is surrounded by a good portion of land that includes plenty of field, needed a fire pit. Why, I'm not really sure, but I have a good feeling it had a lot to do with the fact that all of his friends had fire pits in their yards. So he made one, and now my house apparently has a fire pit.

And all fire pits apparently need test runs.

Frank and I joined Jonny outside to see if we could find the Northern Lights, which never actually appeared and was sort of a let down, but by the time midnight rolled around, moving everything inside sounded a lot harder than just bringing some sleeping bags outside and spending the night under the stars. What a way to kick off summer, right?

Now, sleeping under the stars certainly brought me a few Disney thoughts, especially when it comes to the six or so shooting stars I saw, promptly making wishes on each of them. But there was one Disney moment that I thought of specifically...

Then again, how can you not lay under a sky full of stars and not think of The Lion King? Gosh...now I just want to watch the entire movie! I'd better continue pushing forward with my movie rewatch if I want to get there before the summer ends! 

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on June 25 due to travel).

Day 874: Anything Is Possible

The beginning of the summer for a college student comes with all kinds of new possibilities. You suddenly have tons of free time (at least in comparison to the amount of time you usually have to spend doing homework or going to class), and at least in my experience, you have so many things you want to do that you can't figure out what to do first. This summer is no different, and if the fact that I'm currently typing this on my mom's iPad because she left it sitting on the table on our deck as we discuss new paint options for said deck has anything to say about how I'm kicking my summer off, then I would say things are going pretty well.

This summer is filled with tons of new adventures, Florida and California included, but that's not all I have to look forward to. I actually have gotten a great start on several of the projects I want to accomplish over the next few months, including a bucket list that seems to grow longer by the day. Oh yes, that bucket list is getting full, and as a matter of fact, there's several items on that list that are very Disney inspired!

For instance, and you may or may not see these items later in the summer, we've got fly a kite and sidewalk chalk art and feed the birds all on the list. Pretty Mary Poppins inspired, huh? And then there's a whole list inspired by the Disney Princesses, like read a book for Belle or paint a picture for Rapunzel, not to mention the gumbo for Tiana.

But that's not all the Disney inspired things I have ready for the summer. Oh no. There's plenty more to come. And while I'd really like to continue telling you about it all, mom's looking to have her iPad back, so I suppose I should comply. Either way, this summer is sure to be interesting and boy am I ready to experience everything it has to offer!

Have a magical day!

Day 595: Getting It Done

Work. Work. Work.

I feel like despite the fact that I don't have a job, all I've done this summer is work on stuff. I mean, on one hand that's great. I've been able to spend time doing things that I really want to be doing. Like experimenting with videos and learning new techniques there and writing and spending time with friends. Sure it doesn't leave me a lot of time for a real job, but it's been nice to sit and relax a little bit. I won't be able to do that for much longer.

Granted, I didn't get this blog very far this summer either, and trust me, that fact alone just KILLS me. I love writing, especially when it comes to my blog, but with so little internet it's just been hard to find the capability and time to get it all done.

Which leaves me with "Operation Last Week of Summer."

In reality I guess it's only really a few days because I know that the second I step foot back on campus I'll be ambushed by any number of friends I haven't seen more than the occasional Facebook conversation in like three months or so. That's a really long time, and while I'm very excited about seeing everyone, it does leave me with a bit of an issue.

I have four days (three really now) left at home and more work to get done than I can possibly imagine. Sure, like a month ago I calculated the amount of work I had to do paired with the amount of time I had to do it then too, and back then it was impossible, but now it's just a little more real. With so many projects I want to finish before the school year starts in a week...A WEEK...I'm a little lost as to how I'm going to get everything done.

But I do have some good news. Over the past few days I've made some extreme progress in my blog. No, I don't have a ton of posts written like I wish I did, but I have topics for over 30 of the 80 some missing days, and honestly, the topic is the hardest part. One of my friends is starting a blog of her own at the moment and told me that seriously, the everyday blogging thing has to be rough. I'll tell you a secret: IT IS.

There's a lot of time and effort that goes into a daily blog, and I'm not really sure how I manage to get it all done, but seriously, if I keep this thing updated daily it doesn't take all that long. More like just a couple of minutes a day. Sounds like a new challenge, doesn't it? Actually blog everyday for an entire month or something. Yeah, we'll see how things settle in once I get back to school. Maybe September.

For now I'll just continue to work all the time, from writing to filming to editing, you name it. Apparently I do it all. Not that I'd have it any other way.

Have a magical day!

Day 232: Stuff & Things

For lack of a better title for this blog post, I'll just call it stuff & things. I suppose I could have thought harder about it but that just seems like way too much work. You see, today was basically the last day I had with my friends before I head to college. So we did a whole bunch of stuff. And that was nice and really awesome.

But one thing that I did finally get to play with a little bit today was Disney Infinity! Now, I'll have to do more of a post on it someday later because I really didn't have a lot of time to play on it, but I'll just do a short post on my initial thoughts before I play more.

For starters, it looks like a super awesome game. I can't wait to have time to play it more. I mean, with all the characters and lands and the ability to basically make it your own game kind of thing, yeah, I'm excited. I'm not totally sure if that's what you do or are supposed to do, but it looks interesting.

The only downside I can see at the moment is that there are a lot of little pieces that go along with it. Like we have an entire box to just hold all the little characters and chip things and so on and so forth. It's crazy. Like as much as I'm really loving this game, I feel like that is a thing that shouldn't be happening.

Either way, I'll have to see what I think once I really get into it. There is one thing I want to comment on though: Spaceship Earth is on the side of the box:

The picture looks like of weird since I turned it so you could see it right side up even though I took the picture the opposite way. But you get the point. It's there, and it's Spaceship Earth, and that's awesome. 

Here's today's Disney History: 2011: Day 2 of D23 Expo 2011 takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center with a soldout crowd. This day's 15-plus events include: D23 Expo Talent Round-Up with Disney artist Mike Clitherow, a good look at Buena Vista Street featuring a sneak peak at the new entrance to Disney California Adventure with Imagineers and D23 Expo Live Auction where fans can bid on unique experiences, tours, artwork, props and one of a kind Disney treasures. 

Have a magical day!

Day 230: Just a Few Days

You know, in just a few days I'll be moving into my college dorm room and get ready to start my Freshman year. That's absolutely crazy considering I feel like the school year just ended and that it isn't anywhere near the right time to be starting school again. I suppose that's what I get for doing so much this summer. Still, it has been one of the best summers ever, and why not let it go with a bang!

Actually, I'm not sure how it's going to go out with a bang, other than the fact that I have three days and a LOT to do in those three days. I have to finish packing and make a few other things for my room, and buy some food, and finish updating this blog and edit two more vlogs from my Disney trip (so I can go back and make up those last three from July), read Ender's Game, go for a nice long drive with one of my friends, spend a bit of time with my other two friends, wrap presents for people (I suppose ONE could wait, but we'll see), practice for Wind Ensemble and Jazz auditions, copy my Pep Band Music so I have a copy for myself when I go back to play Pep Band, go out for sushi with my brother (and maybe see Planes?), Transfer and organize some pictures to my laptop, reorganize my Google Drive AND make a record book for 4H. Yeah, I guess you could say I have a lot to get done these next three days.

But I suppose somehow I'll do it all. Quite honestly I'm not sure HOW I'm going to do it all (Ender's Game may have to wait... =( ), but I'm certainly going to try!

Which brings me to my current thought, and the topic of today's blog post. You see, when we go to Disney World or Disneyland, most of us only have a few days there, if that. Sometimes it may only be hours! So what is it that we do? What becomes the most important thing? Or do we try to fit as much as possible into the little time that we have?

I guess that before I did my vlogs I was more high-strung to go on the attractions, but since I've been vlogging, it's offered me an opportunity to go off and find new things, or showcase attractions or experiences I haven't seen in a long long time. I go slower, or have a list of things that I really want to do, and then I try to go do those, like on my bucket list back in November. I had a mission to do all of those things, and for the most part, I did them all. It may seem impossible, but we still end up doing it, because we're going to love it more in the long run.

So I suppose that's what I'm going to try and do these next few days. Part of me says "Slow down and enjoy your last few days" but the other part of me knows that if I do, then all this stuff won't get done and that just WILL NOT END WELL. Plus, it's not like I'm working all the time. A lot of those things on that list involve my friends and family, and things that I want to do with them before I leave.

Plus, and I'll leave you with this Walt Disney quote,

Here's today's Disney History: 1986: Crockett's Tavern opens in Walt Disney World's Fort Wilderness. Part of Trail's End Restaurant, it is located at the northern end of the campgrounds.

Have a magical day!