Konkel Wedding

Hi readers! After a month of being away from technology, I am back to the blogging world! I have so much to update you all on. So....here we go!

A little overdue, but here are some highlights from the BEAUTIFUL Konkel wedding that I went to wayyyy back in June! :) 

The wedding took place in a beautiful winery. 

Kirsten walking down the isle with her father. 

The first kiss! 

Walking back down, as a married couple!

Cocktail hour!

Bride and Groom entering the reception!

My pretty/handsome friends. 

Kick line! I danced with all of these girls in H.S. 

<3

Cutting the cake

The bride and groom enjoying their reception

:)

Professional wedding photo...so beautiful!

Kirsten is one of my oldest friends... way back from Jr. High school and Junior Drill Team. I am so lucky to have her as a friend and was so happy to share in their special day. Congratulations to the new couple, Mr. and Mrs. Konkel! 

Blacklight

One of the biggest parts of the year for the Elk Grove High School Drill Team is the end-of-the-year showcase called "Blacklight." There are two performances--a "parent dress-rehearsal" which was on Wednesday night and the "Blacklight Rally" at EGHS on Friday at 2:30 PM. This is always the girl's favorite performance of the year because of the concept--every routine is coreographed and costumed to using blacklights. All of the lights in the gymnasium are turned off and only blacklights light the room. The girls have been working on this since February and, while I am very happy that the rally has come, it is very sad to know that this really was my last dance performance at EGHS.

There were 7 dances total. The first dance is always "Hands." This dance is choreographed using hands only (hense the name). The girls where black unitards, "pockets" and white gloves.

The next 5 dances were choreographed by the captains and coaches. The concepts change every year. This year, the dances included a hip hop to a variety of popular songs, character dance centering around a "Toy Store" theme, dance medley with many different types of songs and dances, and a drill team/hip hop combination. Also, the coaches (me, Jeannette, and next year's coach Brittany) decided to surprise the girls by cheoreographing a dance to Backstreet Boys' "Everybody." We didn't tell the girls we had done this until an hour before the Friday performance and I think they all really enjoyed it.

Finally, the showcase always ends with a "senior tribute" performance. This dance is called "Wings." The seniors wear black unitards and have white sheets that they choreograph into making them look like wings. (Again, I know the name makes since). The juniors used ribbons and the underclassmen end the performance by writing out the graduating class's year with their gloved-hands.

All of these videos were taken with an iPhone (Thank you Terri!!! :]), so that quality is not fabulous. Also, I think she was only able to record 5/7 of the routines. However, I know another parent was the "official" videographer and once I get her higher-quality videos I will switch them out.

Disneyland

Anyone who knows me knows how obsessed I am with Disneyland. For the four years that I was at UCLA, I had an annual pass and went to Disneyland basically any time that I could get a free day. Well, since I have been home in Northern California, I have made only two trips: one right after Thanksgiving and one two weeks ago with Elk Grove High School. As a coach of the drill team, one of the major perks of the job is a free trip to Disneyland. Yes, I had to "chaperone" the girls, but, to tell you the truth, those chaperoning duties probably lasted about 2 hours per day. The rest of the time, I could enjoy myself with my fellow coach, Jeannette, and the team.

The team left on Wednesday morning at 5 AM to drive down on a charter bus. Being the fabulous chaperone I am (sarcasm), I was not on the bus due to my work schedule. Since this was high school spring break, I was stuck at Wackford teaching Lifeguarding/CPR classes until Thursday afternoon. After my class got out on Thursday, I immediately went to the airport and flew out to Orange County. I arrived to Disneyland at 8:45 PM and met a few of the girls at Rainforest Cafe. Then, finally at around 11 PM, I went into the park for one ride--Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters! Even though I missed the vast majority of the day, I still had a great time in those few hours.

The next day, we woke up fairly early, enjoyed the complementary breakfast buffet at Embassy Suites, and headed to the park. The majority of the day was "free time" except for the hours of 2 PM-5 PM. During that time, the team performed in the afternoon Disneyland parade. Performing in the parade was a tradition for the four years that I was on the team. However, over the past 5 or so years, that tradition stopped. So, it was exciting to be apart of this again---especially because it was a new experience for every girl on the team.

I don't have pictures as of yet, but once I get them developed, I will be sure to add them! One of the picture highlights: a team picture on the Tower of Terror. :)

Disneyland, I love you. I will miss you when I move to Michigan, but don't fret...I WILL make a trip down either during winter or spring break. In the meantime, I will be looking forward to my next trip by having this picture as the background on my work computer: