This year I had the pleasure of working with a performing arts group called Funkytown, from Fuse.  From  hiphop to Broadway, hits of the 80s to today, we combined music and dance to have pretty much a blast working and becoming friends with 30 teens across the Valley.  Though our performances were fun, it all led up to our trip to Disneyland.
   I have a few friends who are obnoxiously obsessed with anything Disney.  Though I think the movies are cute and I enjoyed the trip to Disneyland a few years ago, I thought it was a bit overrated.  But OK, maybe I was wrong.  I REALLY had fun this time.
  I'm a semi-adrenaline junky cause even though I get scared to death of some stuff, I love doing exciting things that make my heart race & still bring a smile to my face.  For example, roller coasters.  Not saying that roller coasters are scary, but I love that stomach-in-your-throat feeling when it drops, or when you go upside down, or when you think you're going to go left but then you veer right.  One time the worker at CA Screaming let me wait in line extra time so I could sit at the very front.   I also offered to take the front of Splash Mountain so I could get the wettest {I know, I'm absurd like that}. Now, what definitely wasn't as enjoyable as Space Mountain or Pirates of the Caribbean was being broken down inside the Haunted Mansion for ten minutes super late at night-- stuck in our little car in the dark where the black widow ghost taunted us with photos of her dead husbands, cooing seductively, "Here comes the bride...in sickness and in  wealth... till death do us part..."
  You can't forget the guilty pleasure of Disneyland food-- a vacation must-- from churros to Dole pineapple whip to New Orlean clam chowder in a bread bowl... I adore my mother because, while she understands the importance of healthy eating, she knows how to live a little.  Man, when I went to Boston with her over spring break 2011 she remembered more restaurants to take me to after ten years than historical sights to visit.
   But the whole reason we came was for the performing.  First, we had a workshop where our instructor taught us the importance of "throwing up emotion all over the audience," or letting them know what it's all about with more than just the words you may say or sing.  Then two days later we performed at California Adventure.  Although I still get nervous, there's just something so exciting about taking the spotlight {if even just for a moment} especially when I sang the duet Georgia on My Mind, a slow and peaceful jazz oldie.  When it was all over, we were so happy because, despite the raging heat & the exhaustion of running around theme parks for three days, we had performed with more energy & commitment than we ever had before.
   I hadn't really been close to anyone in Funkytown before, but the trip made me realize how amazing in general people can be.  No one has to be some famous inspirational soul to make everyone around them feel happy-- and that's what these kids did.  From speaking in British accents the whole trip in the hope of getting girls' attention {some of these guys were shocked to have girls ask for their autographs just for being "British!"} to sending harmonized songs between the three cars on the drive home, these people made me want to live life to the fullest.  Is that silly?  So thanks, Disneyland.  I had a blast.

  When I was little, my favorite place in the whole world was probably the Rainforest Cafe`.  My mom began taking me when it opened up at the outlets when she was pregnant with Rachel in '97, & I have vivid memories of her taking us with our friends in Boston.  She says we all used to cry whenever the thunderstorm started and the leopards & elephants & gorillas became noisy-- I also remember being afraid that the alligator would get bored sitting there in the water & come out to snack on a little pig-tailed girl {though that didn't stop me from leeching a penny or two off Mommy to toss at it}.  See, it was not the 3rd grade rainforest unit and my project on the sword-billed hummingbird that led to my childhood fascination with the jungle.  Rather it was at this pricy little restaurant eating lava cake that I realized how much I wanted to explore the world-- watching the animated stars twinkling through the colorful fabric flowers, the circulated rain trickling, the mechanical animals roaring, the mist bouncing off the the great golden man as he held up the globe with the words "Rescue the Rainforest."    It was all something so silly, yet it sparked a curiosity and desire of the earth that only caught fire with nostalgic excitement when my dream came true & I got to finally behold the jungles of Peru & Hawaii.
  So as you can imagine, I was probably a little more excited than a 17-year-old should be when, one Saturday that half my family was busy, my mom randomly offered to take Liv, Sophie and I back to this restaurant.  I absolutely could not repress a smile as the waitress in her safari outfit led us under the tropical-fishtank archway to our seat beneath the toucan-- but I couldn't help it.  There were too many memories, too many childhood dreams born here to simply sit there bored,  Besides, an animated jungle cafe`?  How is that not cool?
  But that's the thing.  I want life to be like that in many ways.  I want to get overexcited about little things just because I'm easily entertained & I find living to be joyful in general.  I pretty much vow to take my future children to the Rainforest Cafe`-- but I want to find cherished memories in more than just little restaurants, to establish traditions that make me, us smile at the tiniest thought of them.  Life is beautiful & there is so much to offer & I want to be a dreamer with a big imagination and open heart.  Because what else is the point of being here?
 

On our second part of the day date, the boys took us up to Scottsdale to see Jesterz, an improv comedy group.  Oh. My. Gosh was it hilarious.  I don't know how these people did it, but they were able to come up with stuff at the snap of a finger and make it absolutely hysterical.  My mouth ached from smiling! Afterwards, we headed to the Riparion, where in the darkness of the trail an older man pushed past us, muttering to himself.  When we got to the gazebo, Chelsea & Chandler said that some guy had run out of the gazebo, refusing to make eye contact but nervously mumbling, "Don't go in there!  It's haunted!"  What the heck?  Needless to say we were slightly spooked, but all cuddling together helped.
Then of course... actual Prom.  My my was it jazzed up & wonderful.  It was held at the victorain-style Castle at Ashley Manor, and I understood once I got there why the venue was called a "castle."  It was, hands down, one of the most gorgous modern places I have ever been to.  So we partied, relishing in the aura of the Roaring Twenties as we danced all night.  I am a horrible  dancer, but then again so was everyone else, so we had an absolute blast!  {One of the top-chart songs right now is the exotic Talk Dirty to Me...  Yeah, it got played twice LOL. }   On the fast songs, we jumped around; on the slow songs, we swayed to the beat & indulged ourselves in the sweetness.  When our feet got tired, we all sat in a secluded area of the pavilion, and watched the fireworks bloom in the sky above. I seriously never wanted it to end.  But then, even when it was over, the boys turned on a slow song and we danced in the parking lot.  I felt pretty much like a princess the whole night.
  Thank you Bry for an amazing time.