Monday, July 11th: Today my sister-in law Staci, her parents, and my nieces Abbie and Madison came to visit me!! I met up with them during my hour break in the morning, and I took a picture with the girls in front of the Tree of Life. When I saw them later, I was at the Croc exhibit. I told Abbie and Madison a little bit about them, and then I signed my name in their autograph book! I've had my picture taken with tons of families (I hope I'm not in vacation scrapbooks) and have been video taped too, but this was the first time I've signed my autograph! It was on a page next to Goofy, so I felt famous. After work, I met the family at Denny's. The girls looked tired from a full day at DAK, but I was so glad I got to see them!
Tuesday, July 12th: It was a relatively uneventful work day, but afterwards, a few friends and I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. We had watched movies 5 and 6 the previous days, all in preparation for the final film release. Our apartment complex has a movie theater, so we watched it in there. It was hard to believe that the HP era was almost over.
Wednesday, July 13th: After work, the Education Presenters had a team bonding day. We ate dinner at Pizzafari, then went to The Festival of the Lion King. IT WAS AMAZING. It's Disney's most renowned attraction, with good reason. Then we all rode Dinosaur and Expedition Everest. Once we were done, it was 8pm, so we had been there all day from the park's opening to closing. I'd say it was a productive day.
Thursday, July 14th: I had the day off and I forgot to set my alarm so I slept in veryyyy late. Oops. For dinner, the roomies and I went to Steak 'N Shake where I had a delicious Butterfinger milkshake (although it wasn't as good as Johnny Rockets).
Friday, July 15th: In the morning, Steph, Betsy, and I went to a fantastic lecture about African Elephant population management. He told us about his trips to Africa where his group performed vasectomies on bull elephants to control the overabundant population. The whole surgical process is very complicated and requires a huge team to pull it off. He also talked about some community work that they did while they were in Africa. I wish I could go on a trip to a developing country like that and do field work while also helping out the local communities.
Later on, we bought our Harry Potter tickets and then went to a few Cast discount stores. On of the stores had slightly damaged Disney products that couldn't be put in regular stores, so everything was 75% off. I managed to buy a new iron, an autograph book, 3 pins, and a gallon of milk for a total of $18. EPIC WIN.
The three of us saw the final Harry Potter movie that night. I know a few people that hadn't read the books didn't like it because it was confusing. Well that's because it would have taken 2 extra hours to explain every single detail that wasn't clear if you hadn't been an avid reader of the books. I absolutely LOVED the movie. The acting was great, the battle scenes were phenomenal, and it was very emotional. I cried probably more than I've ever cried during a movie, especially at the scene where Harry Potter uses one of the Hallows in the Forbidden Forest. There were only a few small parts of the movie that I didn't like, but nothing major. It's weird to think that I've been following HP since fourth grade, and now it's over. It's a sad day for Potter fans.
Saturday, July 16th: Nothing exciting happened today, but back at home, the National Aviary held their annual "Night in the Tropics" event. I wish I had been there to join in on the fun! I miss the birds and everyone that works there!
Sunday, July 17th: The highlight of my day was talking to a Guest that went scuba diving with WHALE SHARKS at Darwin and Wolfe on the Galapagos Islands. For those of you who don't know, I studied abroad on the Galap, and my whole group made it a goal to save up our money so we could have a reunion in 10 years and dive with these sharks on D & W. So naturally, I was very jealous of this Guest's awesome experience.
Later on, when I was working at a KDC, I saw a girl with a Brontosaurus shirt. Fun fact: Brontosauruses are NOT real dinos. Scientists mixed the bones of two different dinosaurs and made up this name for it. Sorry to disappoint all of you who had been taught otherwise in school.
Well I think I'm going to go relax by the pool and get rid of my farmer's tan. Bye!
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."--Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
