Heart of Darkness

Claire is on the bridge overlooking the Kali River Rapids ride in Animal Kingdom.

Don't be fooled by the sweet, smiling face. It hides a devious heart.

See her right hand and the finger on a button? Pressing that button activates a water spray that douses unsuspecting riders!

See the elephant on the left? Just when you think the ride is over and you're done getting wet, Claire sprays you with water. And then laughs at you in a most evil manner. (There's a separate control for the elephant on the right.)

Admittedly, I laugh with her. Every time we visit we show people how it works. They, after only one press, develop evil laughs, too.

Oh, and by the way, Claire rode this once and says she'll never ride it again. You do get drenched.

Epcot at Dusk

Caught this as Claire and I were leaving the park.

As many times as we've been to Epcot, we've never been inside to ride Spaceship Earth.

Dumbo

One I Like

From our vacation this summer...

Claire and The King

Our travels this summer found us once more in Mississippi. This time, Claire had an opportunity to meet a legend.

Growing Up, Moving On

Emma completed 8th grade this May and will be moving on to high school in the fall. She attended the same school since kindergarten.

Wow, nine years. 

Let's take a look back to the beginning.

The first day of kindergarten, all dressed and ready to go. The school required uniforms, but the shirts weren't in yet.

Need a backpack. This was the hot thing in 2007 (Claire's is on the left).

This may be the last time Claire hugged Emma. Thank goodness we captured the moment.

This was a big day, so dropping her off at school was a family event.

From kindergarten through third grade, I would read to her class every other Friday. This is from when Emma was in second grade.

That's Emma in the yellow shirt on the left. Must have been a free-dress day.

At the graduation ceremony, I was tasked with taking pictures. Emma shows off her Distinguished Student award.

Following the ceremony, I asked Emma to round up all the kids from her kindergarten class. 

I read so many books to these young people. I don't need to read to them anymore.

What a ride. Just think, in another nine years she'll be out of high school and graduated from college.

Science Olympiad State Tournament

Update: official results here

Emma and her Harmony Science Olympiad team competed at the Texas State Championship last weekend in College Station. Thirty-one teams were entered, including one from Mexico.

Emma was entered in two events - Triple E and Invasive Species.

The results - Emma won medals in both events - 2nd Place for Triple E and 4th for Invasive Species!

Overall, the team came in fourth, earning medals in 10 of their 23 events. I'll add a link to the official results once they're posted.

Congratulations!