Putting the YOLO in OrlandO.

Well, well, well.. I have been working a lot and spent my day off yesterday yolo-ing and was even more tired when I went back to work today. Oops. But I finally got to work at Wilderness Lodge and it was awesome! I had so much fun. I made one of my best memories working so far.. After our pool party it was my turn to run the "water relay" activities and we started off with playing Simon Says.. which ended up lasting the whole hour. The kids did not want to stop playing! It was hilarious & I really laughed so much. Who knew that in all of Disney people would want to spend an hour playing Simon Says?! It was awesome. All my years of playing Simon Says in youth group finally paid off ;) haha. Also, when I was at work I got to talk to a guest from the UK about the differences between Disneyland Paris & here and her main reason of why the two were different was that here the cast members aren't afraid to let their hair down and give her the ability to feel like a kid again. It was a great & encouraging conversation! Yesterday, my friend Michael (who is leaving in 2 weeks.. so sad!) and I went to the Contemporary and rented some speed racer boats and drove them around Bay Lake & Seven Seas (where MK/Grand Floridian is) and it was awesome! I took some pictures but I am too lazy to post them right now. Next, we went to Studios and then to MK. One of our friends we were with has never rode Space Mountain so we went to ride it and of course the wait was 120 minutes. We stood in front of the exit long enough for a couple to give us 2 free fast passes (which miraculously turned into 5) and we got to ride it. Sweet deal. :)  I know this post is short but I just wanted to give a little update and let yall know what I have been doing here in the wonderful world of Disney. I still love it. And am looking forward to some extra-special visitors this weekend!
A few shout outs-
1. I got to talk to my roommate Becca on the phone yesterday!!! She is traveling to England for a mission trip & I am so proud of her!
2. My little in Theta (as well as a hundred other things...) Sydney is turning 2-1 tomorrow! what what! LOVE YOU!
3. My friend Nick's birthday was yesterday & I am bummed I couldn't be in Dallas to celebrate with him. He is about to go on an 11 month mission trip to 11 different countries. So legit!! Miss you!
4. I could talk to Savannah everyday on the phone for an hour and still have more to say. Love it. You're so so great.

Have a magical day everyone!

All my love,
Lauren

Surprise!

Sorry I have been MIA lately but for those of you who don't know- I flew home to Texas this past weekend to surprise my best friend Savannah at her engagement party! It was taking everything I had to contain my excitement. I got to see my family and friends and oh my gosh, it felt so good to just be back in Texas. The transition back to Florida has definitely been something I had not prepared myself for. Friday morning my mom picked me up from the airport and we ate yummy mexican food for lunch and then went to the pool and since Savannah lives at my house and she didn't know I was in town, I went to stay in southlake with my wonderful little Sydney! Seeing Savannah and Thomas on Saturday was awesome & I am so thankful I got to be there. I am so happy and excited for them! They are perfect together and it makes me so happy to know that my best friend is going to marry such a wonderful guy! I won't start my wedding toast speech here so just know I love them and seeing God provide in their lives makes me stand in even more awe of who He is. I couldn't think of anywhere I would have rather been this past weekend. Seeing the people who mean so much to me was just what I needed. I will say that getting dropped off at the airport and getting on a plane to fly to another state by yourself was not one of the easier things I have done in my life.. but luckily, my roommate Sarah rocks and I was greeted with my very own pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer :) After about 6 weeks, she already knows the way to my heart..haha. AND even better- the next day I bought my flight to come home for graduation! Dallas AND College Station in one trip. WOOHOO! I can't wait. Like I said earlier, being back in Orlando has been good but definitely a hard transition. It was good seeing my coworkers when I went back to work though- they were so sweet! A couple cool things have already happened at work this week- one being that I got to see a family who is on Extreme Home Makeover. You know when they are re-doing their house and they get to come to Disney World?! Well they came to the Contemporary to go on a fireworks cruise. I was spying on them from the campfire beach.. so cool. Overall, I have been pretty tired but today was a good, relaxing day off and I really needed it. I know I have been talking about how this transition has been hard- but I will say that I am learning to trust the Lord and cling to Him more everyday. When I got in the car at the airport in Orlando- this was the song that was on my radio.

It was perfect! And the next morning, this is one of the verses I read.. "I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me." (Psalm 16: 8) It's the little things that continually point me to Jesus. I may not know why He has brought me here but I know He is with me. 
I work the next 5 days so I will post when I can.

All my love,
Lauren :)

Basically.. I love my job.

Friday:
I have had the past 3 days off! It's been great but I still have things on my to-do list.. Imagine that. It has been rainy here.. I am seriously confused as to why Florida is referred to the sunshine state because I see more sun in Texas.. and most every other state there is for that matter.  It's kind of been nice though! I was at Starbucks yesterday when it down poured so I was happy. There is no better time to be in a coffee shop than in the middle of a thunder storm :) I have been working on my research paper for school.. Goodness gracious, I have SO checked out of school. It's like over 30 pages and I am not even done yet.. Soon though! Graduation is just around the corner! (August 12, 9 am, College Station, be there.)

Work is really great. I actually enjoy going and kind of miss it when I am not there.. Call me weird but people always tell you to wake up each morning and do something you're excited about so I am just sticking to that motto! I can already tell that my next job has some big shoes to fill. I worked outside this week and for the next 4 days starting tomorrow. Hopefully the rain holds off some because I love playing with the kids outside! I wish I could capture their excitement with me in a jar and carry it everywhere. It is precious.. Most of the time ;) lol.
On my first day off this week Sarah, my friend Tim and I went to Hollywood Studios. It was so fun! I finally got to ride Rockin Rollercoaster... My favorite ride at Disney! A. Because it features Aerosmith (namely Steven Tyler..my big time celebrity crush) and B. Because it's glow in the dark and super fast. I also went to the Disney Animation studios for the first time and it was so cool! I learned to draw Rapunzel.. First thing the instructor says- "Raise your hand if you are a perfectionist." My hand goes up and then he proceeds to tell us he has chosen a hard character for us to draw. I thought I was going to be so stressed the whole time but it turned out great! Expect my Rapunzel's eyes are a little too far apart.. Lol. I highly recommend going to the studios!

Before...

After! :)

Us on Rockin Rollercoaster!

Thursday night, Aly's family had me over for dinner which was so sweet of them and made me once again recognize the Lord's provision for me in being here. I know I am in good hands. Tonight, Claudia and Sarah and I went to eat dinner at Planet Hollywood at Downtown Disney. One of the perks of the job is going straight to the front of the wait list on Friday nights. It was a lot of fun!

I have a new theory: the oil business and the GPS business are in collaboration against us (well at least me). My GPS consistently chooses the longest possible way to get me anywhere (like drive 3 miles down the road, u-turn, and go straight back PASSING where I came from) which runs out my gas and therefore I have to spend money to refill my tank. I am learning to outsmart my GPS though so hopefully this problem doesn't last much longer. Just a side note :) Also- we all know Orlando is like the tourism capital of America so I should have been prepared for the traffic but OH MY WORD. I was driving so slow that my GPS asked if I wanted to switch to pedestrian mode. True story.

Saturday:
Today was so fun that I just had to tell yall about it. I worked the day shift at the Fort which I haven't done before and anytime I show up to work for something I haven't done before I naturally get a little nervous/apprehensive but it always turns out fine :) Despite what I wrote yesterday, today was beautiful! My schedule was: field games (I chose kickball), character masks (this sweet lady insisted on buying me a drink because I was working so hard with so many kids and I kept telling her "no, no I am really okay" but she came back with a lemonade and just gave it to me. It was so thoughtful!), temporary tattoos, build-a-button, pool party, pitchburst, impromptu dance party (which I am officially on guests' home videos for... I am that girl. The poor college student following her dreams at Disney World in a tacky bright yellow polo over excitedly leading a pool in YMCA. Cool.) , and water basketball. All in a day's work. :) Today was "get Lauren soaking wet day" but I didn't mind. Lol.
 I am becoming better friends with the people I work with so it's a lot of fun! I could not ask for a better job. It's so perfect for me! Thank you Lord.


I have a lot going on this week so it's just going to fly by. I miss yall so much and can't wait to hug everyone's neck sooner or later!

ps- the hardest part of writing these is coming up with a title for them so I apologize for how dumb they are. Lol. 


All my love,
Lauren

The Wood Family Takes on Orlando- Part 1.

Besides the fact that I am going on my 27th consecutive bad hair day, everything is going well here in Florida! I can't believe I have almost been here a month. Seriously?! It's crazy. There are two things I do not appreciate about this state though: the humidity & the tolls. I am going to have to waste all my money on anti-frizz shampoos and freeways. On top of that, I have worked 7 out of the last 8 days and spent my day off at Magic Kingdom so it was actually more tiring than work. Haha. BUT my family was in town so it was totally worth it! We had a blast! They were all in town celebrating my grandparent's 50th year anniversary so it was exciting but I sure did wear myself out. When the Wood's do something- we go all out. I am talking ride-splash-mountain-during-the-rain kind of all out. I love it (even though I ducked during that whole ride!). They also got to come see where I work at the Contemporary and the Fort.  Working at the Fort was so fun! So many of yall would LOVE it. I got to hang out with Chip and Dale (who are hilarious) during their campfire show, play a movie like a  legit movie theater, drive a golf cart, have a dance party in the rain, and even play sand volleyball. Chip and Dale are my mom's favorite so I am glad she got to meet them in person! :) Having them in town was so fun & I look forward to even more visitors during my time here! It makes it so exciting for me to be able to share this with people- I can't even tell yall! So please come. :) 

Tonight I went on an adventure to see MK's 4th of July fireworks. I almost went crazy trying to get to a place to watch them but I persevered and it turned out awesome! They were gorgeous! I think fireworks are my new thing. I really love them. I even bought this new iphone cover (picture included). I know I am going to get some flack from some people for it but I can't help myself- it's so pretty. (I am very aware of the fact that I am continually digging myself a hole with this whole "Fairytale" nickname..haha). I hope everyone has a great 4th of July themselves! Thank you for the continued support & encouragement. I would be no where without yall! Please let me know if anyone has their heart set on some sort of Disney souvenir and I will try and work some magic. ;)

My drive to work

Happy 4th of July!

My shameless new phone cover.

All my love,
Lauren