Good Times in Orlando

We made it to Orlando! First of all, I want to thank those of you who prayed for Emily. She was very cooperative in our efforts Sunday morning to drink lots and lots of replenishing fluids. She was still very weak most of the day, but I could tell she was beginning to perk up that afternoon. By the time early evening rolled around, she was nearly back to being herself. That night, we were on our way to eat at the Rainforest Cafe, when Ashlyn made a comment about her being sick. Emily emphatically declared "I AM sick, but I FEEL good!" We knew then that she was on the way to being back to her normal, dramatic self! Praise the Lord!

Yesterday, we went to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

It was Jason’s birthday, so he got to wear a fantastic button around all day which warranted him free admission, as well as free desserts a couple of times! The highlight for Emily was the live “Ariel Show”, while Ashlyn and Jason liked the stunt shows. Mom and Dad were able to be participants in a "movie scene", where they got gallons and gallons of water dumped on them (they did have special suits on), and Jacob loved getting to see Handy Manny and the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters.

The highlight for me was....the American Idol Experience!

I couldn’t resist auditioning, and I made it on the show to sing “I Want You Back” by Michael Jackson. It was quite the experience indeed. I first had to audition for one person, then I made it to the “producer”. After he sent me on, I was told a specific time to come back to studio. When I got back, I met with a vocal coach for rehearsal, had my hair and make-up done (too bad they didn’t have a wardrobe department), and I got to do a sound check on the big stage, which was a replica of the real American Idol stage!

There are shows every hour during the day, and they select three contestants to be in each show, based on prior auditions. The three judges (who were remarkably like the three real judges), give feedback, and the audience (of about four or five hundred) votes the winner. I think they try to make it as authentic as possible!

"Randy" liked my performance and told me it was like "maternity ward gone wild"! HA! "Paula" liked it as well, and "Simon" said he liked the song choice but said (in a way that only "Simon" could say) that he thought I needed to add a lot more energy (I think it was something about trying to crank up an old car - WHAT? HA!) I didn’t win, but it was lots of fun getting to participate!

We are having a good time, still going to hit Sea World and Magic Kingdom this week. I’ll be updating!