California here we come!

I went to California with the high school music students. I hadn't planned on going, but Merilee called me at 8:00 Wednesday night and said they had an opening and asked if I wanted to go as a chaperone. I really wanted to go, but it was such short notice and I'm not really the spur of the moment gal. I like things planned out so I know what to expect. Anyway, Jay said he would take care of the kids (what a great guy!) and I called and got my work figured out and 2 hours later Kelsie and I were packed and ready to go. We left Kanab around 10:30 Wednesday night, traveled all night on the bus and arrived at Disneyland around 7:30 in the morning. Wow! We were tired but ready to go. We spent the day at Disneyland and California Adventure till around 4:30 and then walked back to the motel. We then got ready and got back on the bus and drove about and hour and a half in rush hour traffic to Pantages theatre in Hollywood and saw WICKED. It was awesome!! I saw it last year, but it was still great!! About the last half hour I was fighting so hard to stay awake. I was so tired! We got back to the hotel around midnight (California time) and finally got to go to bed.

Thursday mornning we left for Six Flags Magic Mountain around 9:00. If any of you haven't been to Magic Mountain, you have to go. It is full of roller coasters. I went on some that I thought I would never go on. That's what you get when you hang out with teenagers. I thought, "What the heck, you only live once". It was fun, but really scary. I love that feeling when you are coming down the hill on a roller coaster. Most of the time, I am not breathing, but the butterfly feeling is awesome. Anyway, we stayed at Magic Mountain until about 6:30 that night and then left for a bite to eat and then back to the motel. Some of the kids went swimming and relaxed for a bit until it was to their rooms at 10:00. I haven't slept so good in a long time.

Saturday, we were headed back to Disneyland and California Adventure at 7:45 am. We wanted to get there before the crowd got there which there was plenty of people!! Xpress (high school singing group) was able to record a song and have that song put to animation. It was really cool. I have yet to seen the DVD, but Kelsie thought it was a really neat experience. We stayed at Disneyland until 11:45 that night. By that time, I could barely walk. I was soooo tired and Kelsie and her friends wanted to stay until the end. By the time we got back to the motel I seriously thought I would collpase from exhaustion. My feet, legs, and back ached so much. Overall, it was a lot of fun. I really got to know some of the students and other chaperones better and developed some good friendships. Someone asked me if I was going to go next year. We'll see.

This is me with Bugs Bunny.

This is the group I was with most of the time. I am on the front row to your left. We are in California Adventure.
Kelsie really wanted to go to IHOP and get the Horton Hears a Who special which was 3 stacked pancakes with syrup that looked like melted frosting, little choco chips and a sucker in the top. She also got a glass of sprite with little cubes of raspberry and blue jello. It was really good!