D2 Summit & Disney 2018: Party & Home (3 of 3)

After the D2 Summit finals Sunday evening, we went to Epcot:

Spaceship Earth with Heat teammates made us happy, & since Test Track was closed for rain, we got to use our FastPasses for Soarin’! (5 years ago, it was a flight over America; we loved “around the world” now - esp. the grass & ocean scents.) Dinner of delectable sandwiches in France & watching IllumiNations fireworks (again) as we left for the special Summit celebration party at Hollywood Studios from 10 PM - 2 AM!

They closed the park to the public & opened it just to Summit people. We thought it would be insane, but it was GREAT - the lines moved so quickly! We rode Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster twice, Tower of Terror, & saw Fantasmic. (Ummm, I did NOT get the Fantasmic hype; why do people think it’s so great?! The fire on the water was the singular redemption.) I wasn’t sure how much of the Summit Celebration Party we’d actually stay for, (& did I mention it started raining Sun afternoon & didn’t stop until 1:30 PM Mon? :-P We all know I *don’t* do wet!!!) But we didn’t get back to the hotel until after 2 AM!!! #success

We slept in Mon until 10, packed up, stored our luggage, struck one last farewell pose with Grandma & Grandpa Blake:

& hit Epcot up for the last time. Poor Will - his only request was Test Track: our FastPasses were cancelled for weather Sun; they had pity & gave us a bonus FastPass for Mon (hence back to Epcot before the airport) ...but it was still raining until our last hour there: still not enough time to dry the track. So much cheer + missing his fave ride = :’(

We used that bonus FastPass, though, for one more Soarin’ - first row, center = best flight ever! The guys went back around the world, and we met for bubble tea in China (nowhere near Kim’s, but I had been 5 days w/o! I neeeeded to try! :-D) before catching our bus to the airport. The kids bought zero souvenirs (we’re not big “Disney” brand people) but found the true desires of their hearts in the airport (since we were delayed) - Annelise flipped out in the Harry Potter store (she’s praying to go to Harry Potter World maybe next time) & Will found a James Harden jersey. #gorockets

Praying we have a reason to come back next year for #TheD2Summit19


Sooo, when you come home Mon night from the whirlwind that is Disney & Summit and...
•you drive up in the dark to see that your mom (who flew in from NC to dogsit our 16 yr old beagle ❤️) landscaped our front walk!!! :-O #gardeningisherabsolutefave
•you teach Zumba & PiYo back-to-back first thing Tues morning and you don’t pass out! :-D
•you feel like you’re back in Epcot France, enjoying delectable French bakery sandwiches for lunch
•you relish your mom’s last day & recover with cheap massages, baked goods, & osmanthus oolong bubble tea in Chinatown
•your mom wants to dye a shock of her hair turquoise...so she, you, & your daughter (b/c it’s officially no longer cheer competition season & school is almost out) all dye bits of our hair blue & purple together!!!
•you have a final celebration dinner at Anthonie’s before prepping for her airport in the AM, you teaching PiYo, & finally crashing...

Wait - couldn’t crash Wed: school cheer, then level 3 cheer started¹ back, & even with ZERO VOICE, Praise Team! Thurs? Dentist for me, school cheer team parent meeting, & Will’s junior high sports banquet². Fri? Teaching PiYo, Annelise orthodontist, & Feed the Hunger Packathon³. Sat: we crashed Sat...with our final Heat actual-end-of-season party:

¹Yes, we’re already back in the gym with our new levels for next season! :-D Annelise moved up to Level 3! Two of our gym dads said it best: “The off season. That’s what we call the 2:35 minute flight from Orlando to Houston.” + “Want to travel in time? Join a competitive cheer team. Our season finished this Sunday and the next one started (with ‘18-‘19 tryouts) 3 weeks ago.” :-D #cheerlife

²Will got his football certificate:

³Our 2nd Feed the Hunger Packathon Fri night: in just our 5-7 PM shift, we had:
264 volunteers pack 263 boxes
(40 bags per box, 6 servings per bag = 240 meals per box)
We bagged & boxed 63,120 meals in just our shift alone!!!