Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Lovely Lyrics: When Can I See You Again?

This song is from Wreck-It Ralph, which came out in 2012, but it also happens to be the music for the Paint the Night parade at Disneyland.  We were so lucky to see the parade last fall, but unfortunately it is wrapping up at Disneyland – at least temporarily, if rumors are to be believed – in a few days.  It is a fabulous nighttime show and I certainly hope it makes it way to WDW soon and I'm sure I am far from alone in hoping that happens.  It's also the nighttime parade at Hong Kong Disneyland, but the song is not performed in English (you can check it out on YouTube if you want) and it's adorable!

This song also seems fitting for the end of the summer!  Even though school started this week, I can fool myself into believing that summer doesn't really end until the end of August.  With tomorrow ushering in fall, I find myself thinking, "When can we do this again?" because we had such a wonderful summer and it's hard to finally admit that it's over.  Don't get me wrong, I do NOT like the heat and humidity, so I am thrilled to see those go, but the freedom that comes with summer is something I long for throughout the school year.

I'm including some photos I took last year when we saw the parade for the first time – I was completely focused on Slinky for obvious reasons, but I really loved every minute of it!  The photos were taken with my phone, while I was jumping around and clapping, but they'll give you an idea of how bright and colorful this parade is!

When Can I See You Again?
from the Paint the Night parade

When can we do this again?

When can I see you again?
When can we do this again?
When can I see you again?
When can we do this again?
When can I see you again?

Switch on the sky and the stars glow for you
Go see the world 'cause it's all so brand new
Don't close your eyes 'cause your future's ready to shine
It's just a matter of time, before we learn how to fly
Welcome to the rhythm of the night
There's something in the air you can't deny

It's been fun but now I've got to go
Life it way too short to take it slow
But before I go and hit the road
I gotta know, 'til then,
when can we do this again?
Oh oh oh oh
When can I see you again?
Oh oh oh oh
When can we do this again?
Oh oh oh oh
I gotta know, when can I see you again?

Joined at the hip, yeah your sidekick needs you
Life is a trip down the road that leads you
Look all around at the mountains you haven't climbed
It's just a matter of time, before we learn how to fly
Welcome to the rhythm of the night
There's something in the air you can't deny

It's been fun but now I've got to go
Life is way too short to take it slow
But before I go and hit the road
I gotta know, 'til then,
when can we do this again?
Oh oh oh oh
When can I see you again?
Oh oh oh oh
When can we do this again?
Oh oh oh oh
I gotta know,
When can I see you again?

Don't close your eyes 'cause your future's ready to shine
It's just a matter of time, before we learn how to fly
Welcome to the rhythm of the night
There's something in the air you can't deny
So let me know before I wave goodbye

When can I see you again?
Oh oh oh oh
When can we do this again?
Oh oh oh oh
When can I see you again?
Oh oh oh oh
When can we do this again?
Oh oh oh oh

Yeah, it's been fun but now I've got to go
Life is way too short to take it slow
But before I go and hit the road
Tell me when
When can I see you again?
When can I see you again?
Tell me when
When can I see you again?


Written by:  Adam Young, Matt Thiessen, & Brian Lee
Performed by:  Owl City




















Happy Tails to you!

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Citizens Bank Park

We had a second purpose for our quick day trip to Philadelphia…in addition to seeing The Science Behind Pixar, we also wanted to go to a game a Citizens Bank Park because it is one of the "new" stadiums built after we completed our 30 MLB Ball Parks travel checklist. 

This is MLB stadium #36 for us!

After the Franklin Institute, we walked around the city for a few hours in the oppressive heat and made our way over to City Hall to see the LOVE sculpture.  I don't know where I got the idea that it was huge, but I was surprised by its size!  Don't get me wrong, we love doing touristy things and were glad to see it in person, but it was much smaller than we were expecting!  Still cool, though!

The game was an evening game, so that helped with heat, and fortunately our seats were in the shade.  It was Alumni Night, so there were many former players in attendance who were announced and welcomed to the field.  As fans of the Toronto Blue Jays who were living outside of Toronto in 1993, what a treat to see Mitch Williams on Alumni Night!  Thank you again, Mitch Williams!

The Phillies ended up defeating the Colorado Rockies 6-3, and the game included an early home run by the Phillies, which caused the Liberty Bell in the outfield to swing back and forth and light up.  Pretty neat!  There was also a bench-and-bullpen-emptying disagreement on the field, which got the sparse crowd a little riled up.  I don't know if it was the heat and humidity or the Phillies' record that kept fans away, but the low attendance meant that we didn't have people sitting close to us, which was great!  We didn't see the end of the game because we'd decided to leave at 9:00 since we were driving back home that night, but it was a super fun game and we thought the stadium was really nice.


road trip bonus

my obsession with bridges continues

it was HOT

these dinosaurs roared, moved, and startled me 




















fireworks spotted from the car on our drive home


Four more new stadiums to go!


Happy Tails to you!

Sunday, August 14, 2016

The Science Behind Pixar


We took a day trip up to Philadelphia yesterday to go to the Franklin Institute because there was an exhibit we really wanted to see:  The Science Behind Pixar.  It was awesome!

We'd never been to the Franklin Institute before, and it had tons of stuff to see, but we spent the majority of our time in the Pixar exhibit.  Given that it was a Saturday in the summer, it was predictably busy, so once we saw the few things we'd planned on, we left.  We will definitely have to go back another day to spend more time there because we know there were many exhibits we didn't experience. 

The Pixar exhibit opened with a short film explaining the process from story idea to full-fledged movie, and the exhibit itself showcased all of the technology that goes into a Pixar film.  It was fascinating to see how different films presented different challenges (for example, Sulley's fur in Monsters, Inc., Merida's hair in Brave, and Joy's effervescence in Inside Out) and how the engineers at Pixar had to use creativity and innovation to design solutions.  The displays were informative and interactive and there were countless pictures to look at, ranging from early concept art through finished products.  We really loved the interplay of math, science, and art, and I imagine Pixar is a pretty amazing place to work!






























Here are a few other photos from the day:


fractions <3











designed my own train, which was MagLev and, of course, rainbow

If you are ever in Philadelphia, I highly recommend a stop at the Franklin Institute!

Happy Tails to you!