Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Urban Air Adventure Park Birthday Party Review

Look, I'll be honest, having a bunch of people in my home makes me anxious. I know there are people who love to entertain and throw parties. I am not one of those people. I prefer outside guests be limited to 3. 

This is why Natalie's parties are usually held someplace else. For my sanity. (Tommy never wanted a party. He's a homebody so we've always had family celebrations.)


We decided on Urban Air this year. If you're not familiar with Urban Air, it's a giant trampoline park. (There's a ball pit!) They have different party options and we went for the ultimate. Since it was Spring Break we could have it during the week and they had a coupon to save $100, which was nice. (The coupon is still there if you have a weekday party!)

I also opted to pay extra for a private room. Normally all the tables are in one area so you might be right on top of another party. No thanks. With a private room it's just your table and guests:


Urban Air takes care of everything: tablecloth, plates, cutlery, cups, etc..you can bring your own if you have a certain theme, but I'm all about easy, so none here. Mind you, Natalie did leave out space tattoos, disco ball straws, and headbands because her theme was 60s space pop.



Since I paid for the Ultimate package, Natalie's guests could go to any of the play areas. I wanted to be sure everyone could find a spot that they'd enjoy.



So how it works is, they get an hour to play, then your party host will call over the intercom that it's time to eat and have cake. My package came with 3 pizzas, but I paid for 2 more because I never know how much teenagers will eat. 



The package came with water bottles, but I paid extra for pitchers of soda and lemonade. 

Everyone sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed cake:


After that, everyone is able to jump for the rest of the time. The party is 2 hours, but I think they were able to jump for 2 hours and 15 minutes. 


If you're concerned about germs, they do have sanitizer available. 

In the end, everyone seemed to have a fantastic time. I do wish they had 3 hour parties available, because 2 hours didn't seem long enough. Urban Air took care of everything. Set up, clean up, so my husband and I could sit back in the room and pig out on cake while everyone else jumped.

Oh, and my daughter passed out these reusable gift bags to her guests. (You can get these space bags here.)



Here's what was inside: fidget toys, squishies, candy, a stress ball, stickers..




We would celebrate at Urban Air again. For now Natalie will probably go back and bounce with friends. As part of the package, she got a coupon to return and jump for free!



Have you ever been to Urban Air?

Monday, March 25, 2024

Hey, It's Okay

I got this idea from Glamour magazine. You can link up any day of the week. All you have to do is make a list of what you're okay about. Simple! Please do not link up a post that has nothing to do with Hey, It's Okay. It's rude and I'll delete the link.


HEY, IT'S OKAY....


.....to have finished picking up all the Easter goodies. I still make baskets for my older kids. And I always get a chocolate bunny for my husband. 


.....to be glad Tommy is coming home for Easter. He's busy with film club and he's in The Importance Of Being Earnest (he's Merriman!) but he still likes to come home when he can. 


.....to have finished reading The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. It's set in the 1700s and is about Martha, a midwife. A dead body is discovered and people wonder what happened since it looks like murder. A member of the town admits she was raped by the man who was found deceased. Did her husband do it for revenge? I love historical fiction so I thought this was well written and it kept me interested. 


.....to feel for Kate Middleton. I admit I shared a mocking meme wondering where she was before her announcement. I felt bad after I heard about her cancer, but it was bizarre how they kept releasing photos and videos that were not her, yet they insisted that it was. I do hope she heals quickly and that her family is doing okay. 


.....to love this ring from Luvloom. Natalie has always been a huge fan of Tangled--Rapunzel has always been her favorite princess. Even as a teenager, she still has to say hello to Rapunzel whenever we visit Disney. If you didn't know, this ring is in the shape of Rapunzel's crown. It comes in a cute pink crown box. If it's not for you, they have other collections. There are necklaces and even Barbie rings! You can save 20% with the code AIRINGMYLAUNDRY20. Cannot combine with sale prices. Right now there's free shipping and a Spring sale going on until March 31st. 




You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sunday, March 24, 2024

When High School Theatre Is Family

I am glad Natalie has found her people in High School. It's not always easy to do, especially when you have quirks. Natalie has always been theatrical in nature: from a small age, she was drawn to costumes. She had a bunch of them in her closet and many times when we'd run errands she'd be in one, complete with colorful plastic high heels and a crown perched on her head.


She wasn't always sure she wanted to stick with theatre. Auditions are nerve-wracking for her. Oh, she adores being on stage but the process of getting there can be difficult. She second guesses herself. And it doesn't help that auditions are held in front of everyone else so if you see someone have a flawless one, panic can surge throughout your body. 

In fifth grade she tried out for the musical and shook a bit when she got up in front of the crowd. She had to sing a song. Her voice wobbled. She wore a unicorn hat tucked down to her eyes as almost a shield. She was placed in the ensemble and was a little sad she didn't get an actual part, but she still had the best time. (That's her in the pink with her friends.)



In sixth grade she opted not to take theatre classes. She went for art instead. But she tried out for the school wide play, Mary Poppins, and got a callback. She was thrilled. In the end, she was ensemble again, but she still had a fantastic time. In seventh grade she returned to theatre classes and auditioned for the musical. She sang, got a callback, and actually got a part! It was Honk and she was Penny. She was ecstatic. She finally did it! She had an actual part. 

But then Covid hit and everything changed. The play was canceled. In eighth grade the world was still pretty much shut down so there weren't any productions. 

In ninth grade she ended up getting a part for the first play she auditioned for: The Crucible. She was Betty Parris. This was when she started to get close to the other theatre people. Her entire freshman year she bonded with the other actors--she cried when the seniors left. 

(This is her as Betty in the nightgown, and they had to wear masks at this time. She was also in her blonde era.)


She's been in every play her high school has had since she started--sometimes she doesn't get speaking roles, and that's okay. Sometimes the audition process trips her up. She tends to stutter when she reads new things. If they have to memorize monologues, her mind can go blank at the worse moment. 

It happens. 

But even if she doesn't have a big part, she still has her people. They're all silly and enthusiastic and yes, sometimes they get on each other's nerves, but when it all comes down to it, they're family. And when family graduates, there are always tears. Does she prefer to have more lines? Absolutely. Being on stage with words and blocking helps her to combat any fears she might have. 

Natalie recently auditioned for the UIL play, which is the one they compete with others schools with. It was Blithe Spirit, and Natalie was aching to play Elvira, the wife that comes back from the dead. There was lots of competition--and the way this worked was that two people would be given a role and the one that was the best for it would have it for the competition and the other would be the understudy. Natalie was stressed, but determined. She has been an understudy many times for large parts and was hoping it would work out that she would get the part. (She was understudy for Gabrielle in the Cinderella musical and was thrilled when they had an understudy performance so she could go on. She's in the pink.)


She ended up with the part and screamed when the cast list came out. I thought she was wounded, but no, it was a screech of relief. She had done it. She fell to her knees and let out the happiest wail. 

She absolutely loves the old Hollywood era and her character had those old Hollywood vibes. She was in her element. She got to wear a blond wig that reminded her of Marilyn Monroe. This is a picture of her friends braiding her hair so she could get the wig on easily. Everyone in the play did amazing.


But unfortunately, the play did not advance in the competition. Everyone was disappointed, but it happens. Sometimes everything works out. Sometimes it doesn't. 


They got to perform Blithe Spirit one last time at the school over the weekend for family and friends. First the understudies went on and then the main cast. Everyone shined on stage and I felt a twist in my gut to know it was the final time I would be watching. And afterwards, everyone hugged. From the cast to the crew to the directors, there is appreciation all around. 



And as they stepped away from the set one final time, I imagine some felt wistful, but knew they would return to the stage very soon. 




To their family. 


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