A Very Disney Christmas!

Last week I got to spend a whole 4 days at Walt Disney World at Christmastime! It was a trip for business but mostly pleasure.  It was the most fun trip I’ve had in a long time!

So the business part of the trip wasn’t really business.  It was a bunch of meet and greets with people who work for Disney in areas that I want to work in.  I got to meet with a guy named Dustin, in Disney College Program Recruiting and he told me the ins and outs.  Its basically sitting in front of a computer all day hiring new CPs to do the College Program.  Yeah not something I really want to do, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I got that professional internship.

The second person I met with was Kevin.  He is also in College Recruiting but he also worked for the YES Program, which is where I really want to be.  The YES Program is a series of field trips that elementary, middle, and high schools can take.  There are different classes the students can take, anything from Science, Photography, Math and HISTORY! Can you see why it would be perfect for me yet? Kevin gave me some great tips for my audition tape (yeah an audition!).  I have to video myself teaching something.  It can be anything I want, I just have to show that I can teach.  After we met Kevin even e-mailed one of the managers of the program, asking if I could shadow a YES presentation in the near future.  That means another trip to DISNEY! YAY! It was such a good meeting.

And last but certainly not least, I met with Caleb, he is a Guest Service Manager at EPCOT and he talked to me about the Guest Relations PI.  He gave me some great tips for my interview and took a copy of my resume to look over.  He was super helpful and even said to e-mail him when I submit my application so he can be on the lookout for it!

Needless to say the meet and greets went really well and I am so excited to start applying for PIs in February.  The rest of the trip was spent having a great Christmas filled vacation at my future home! Which I will now share with you in picture form…..ENJOY!

We started with the Osbourne Spectacle of Dancing Light!

It was truly an amazing site. 

Suzanne, Casey, and I spent a lovely day together! 

So glad I got to see this with them!

My old roomie Cara met us there! It was so good seeing her!

Then we went and met Katie and her boyfriend at the ESPN restaurant at the Boardwalk!

I really wish Abby, Kelly and Whitney could have been there with us! 

The next day Suzanne and I had a FABULOUS lunch at Le Chefs de France,

in (you guessed it) France!

Best part of the trip was definitely meeting Santa and Mrs. Clause! 

(Suzanne added a little something special to this picture!)

I just love this girl! 

Our next stop was Magic Kingdom. It was a whole new experience seeing it at Christmas with all the

beautiful decorations.  If anyone knows how to do Christmas right, its Disney!

The Dapper Dans sang us some wonderful Christmas carols on Main Street!

And of course we had to meet some characters.  We met some lovely princesses, Peter Pan, and 

of course Mickey and Minnie!

We really wanted to meet Rapunzel and Flynn but unfortunately their line was crazy, so we settled on taking a picture with his doll!

Suzanne took a picture with Maximus.

Second best part of the trip was the Castle lighting show! Cinderella’s Castle is the most amazing sight EVER at Christmas!

SEE!! SIMPLY MAGICAL!

We took many many pictures in front of that gorgeous thing.

I will most definitely be going back to Disney at Christmas again!

Who knows I might even be living there next Christmas! : )

Well that was my trip! It was awesome and as I’ve already said you all need to see Disney at Christmas for yourself one day!

I love Disney at Christmastime,
Kathleen

Goodbye Fall Semester…..HELLO DISNEY WORLD!

It is official! My Fall 2010 semester is OVER!! It is an amazing feeling! One more semester to go and I will be a college graduate!

Sorry I just had to share my very exciting news with all of you!!

Oh and the fact that I will strolling down Main Street USA in 4 days with this lovely lady……..

I love the Disney,
Kathleen

Life Is Wonderful

Boy has it been a one crazy couple of weeks.  Here is what my life has been like the past few weeks that I have been absent from blog world:

1.  I finished my Observation Block! That brings me one step closer to student teaching and graduation! I don’t think I’ve explained just what the Block is, so here goes.  In the Observation Block, I took three classes at a high school and then mixed that in with observing a teacher in his/her classroom two class periods each day.  I was only there on Tuesday and Thursdays, but I was there from 8:00am-3:30 pm! Talk about a long day! It was exhausting, but it really prepared me for next semester.  So I got to observe 2 different teachers, which was really lucky.  The first was a US History class, with Juniors and the second was a World History class with Sophomores.  The students and my cooperating teachers were amazing! I was really sad to leave them.

My block classmates were an amazing group of future teachers who I am so lucky to have gotten to know. We all got along really well and had a blast with each other.  Here are a few pictures from our class:

Best group of future teachers EVER!! 

2. We had Thanksgiving break!! Which was entire too short but lots of fun, but too short.  My brother and I drove to our grandmothers together.  Spent Thanksgiving with my dad’s family and then got to spend a day and two nights at home.  I just love going home after being gone for so long.

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving:

Aren’t my cousins just lovely?

Norris Family Christmas card 2010! 

5 of 7 Norris grandkids

Oh and Ashley and I did some Christmas shopping! 

3. I GOT MY NEW MAC!! Which I am using as I type this post! ; )

4. December is here! I just love Christmas.  There isn’t anything like the Christmas season! The music, the lights, the decorations just make me so happy! Even more exciting is that in 8 days I will be back in my happy place….DISNEY WORLD!! Oh my goodness I can’t even begin to express my excitement.  Trust me, a whole post will be dedicated to my Disney Christmas trip!! : )

5. We went to Sights and Sounds of Christmas last night and had lots of fun.  We also celebrated Bobby’s birthday and had a great time!

Monica, Me, and Sam

 Just look at all those lights! : )

Snowman Tigger!! 

I just love her!

Yay for Christmas music!

So that is what has been happening in my life the last couple of weeks! I am so blessed to have so many amazing friends and so many exciting things ahead of me.  I am really loving life right now and couldn’t be happier.  Did I mention I’m going to Disney World next week? Cuz I am!! : )

Till next time!
Happy start of the best time of the year!
-Kathleen