Broadway Beat

Every other grade (K, 2nd & 4th) at Shades Cahaba puts on a musical program.  They are always super cute and entertaining.  This Fall, all of the 4th grade classes put on "The Broadway Beat."  It was a musical with one hit from all of Broadway's top musicals.....Wicked, Hamilton, Grease, Hairspray, Rent...and more.

All of the children were asked to wear a solid primary colored shirt with jeans or khakis.  It made for a colorful backdrop.  Preston had a couple of solo lines, and otherwise performed well.  Of course we had the normal cheering squad present!

Preston is in the 3rd row from the front, left of the center in the yellow shirt!

Loved everyone "dabbing"

HMS 6th Grade Band Concert

At the end of last school year, all of the incoming kids were asked to come up to the middle school to try out all of the possible band instruments.  Bennett scored well with a handful of them, but ultimately decided on the French horn.  The school usually holds a week long band camp during the summer where everyone gets acclimated with their new instrument and starts learning some notes.  However, all of the Homewood schools are undergoing a variety of updates, and the middle school just didn't have the space to hold all of the students over the summer.  Therefore Bennett didn't get to start playing her instrument until mid August when school was back in session.

Bennett, like the majority of the 6th graders, had never played their chosen instrument before.  Most didn't know how to read music, and they had to learn how to play together. 

The week after we returned from our Thanksgiving break, HMS put on a band concert per grade.  Uncle Dan played the trumpet all through college, and was excited to see Bennett play.  Of course, Mimi and Papa wanted to come too.  We were all packed in the cafeteria like sardines (as they are still redoing one of their gyms), but it truly was amazing to listen to these kids.  They did a great job with the five songs they played, and I am so proud of Bennett for her tenacity to figure it out.

Iron Bowl

Preston has become one of Alabama football's biggest fans over the past couple of years.  He is always clamoring to attend games, and is slowly attending more and more each year.  This year, he got to attend his first road game to Ole Miss, and three home games with the Iron Bowl being the pinnacle to this year's football season!  Bennett, Walker and I stayed back in Birmingham, but the many family members went down to tailgate and some went into the game.  It was a perfect Fall day....warm and sunny during the day, yet cooler at night.

Of course Alabama had another fantastic game, beating the stew out of Auburn (52-21)!  Everyone had so much fun, and I loved all of the pictures from their day, so I have to share them!

Selfie with two of my favorite guys!

The face of a fan that isn't worried!

Look at all of those smiles!

Bennett's Confirmation

Long ago when Bennett was just several weeks old, she was baptized at Trinity United Methodist Church wearing her great grandfather's (Clegg Walker) baptism gown.  Of course, she doesn't remember any of this, but it was a very special day for us.  Fast forward eleven years, and it is time for Bennett to be confirmed at our church.  Since baptized infants become members of the Church, confirmation provides them an opportunity to reaffirm their promise to live their life as a person of faith.  They also celebrate how God's grace has already been working in their life.

Dropping B off for confirmation retreat

At TUMC, the 6th graders began their journey back in August.  They were required to attend weekly meetings on Sunday evenings where they learned more about the Methodist religion, and what being a member means.  They read a lot in the Bible.  A couple of weeks ago, Bennett and the other confirmants attended a special retreat at Camp Glisson in Georgia. Bennett's loved all of the outdoor activities, but her favorite part was reading all of the letters that family members and several friends wrote her.  The culmination of the past several months was the special service at church followed by brunch with the students and their family members.  Sadly we missed this due to vacation.

B's roomies for the retreat

Having fun ziplining, hiking and just soaking up God's creations

Reading the letters from family

However, Bennett wasn't alone.  There were a few others who missed the service, so it was rescheduled for this morning.  It was brief, but Rev Brian Erickson reminded them of their baptisms, and put their homemade stoles on each child.  Then he gave them each a cross necklace, and asked the family members to put their hands on their child while he prayed.  If there wasn't a way to reach that child, then lay your hand upon someone who has their hands on the child.  Over the years, I have seen lots of pictures of TUMC confirmation services, and this was always something that looked special.  It meant a lot to me to see the chain of people praying, and I'm sure Bennett felt it too.  It was so nice that all of the Mizeranys were there to come support Bennett this morning (even though they are Catholic).

It was short, but meaningful and hopefully something that Bennett will remember for the rest of her life.  I can only hope and pray that she continues to follow and trust God, and relies on him for everything.

Marcus, Emma Brooke and Bennett

Part of the praying chain (the Mizeranys kept on going out deeper)

Bennett and Rev Brian Erickson

Disney Cruise...Party of 10!....part two

Picture with Mickey before boarding

After a busy and fun two days at the Disney parks, we packed our bags and drove 45 minutes to Cape Canaveral for our next adventure.  Monday morning of Thanksgiving week, we traded out our suitcases and boarded our first Disney cruise...the Disney Dream!  We were all excited to spend the next four nights in the Caribbean and the forecast looked decent.

We all boarded together, and the kids were thrilled when they announced our name (The Mizerany Family), as we walked onto the ship.  Though they allow people to start boarding at 11am, they are still cleaning rooms, so you can just tour the ship, eat, drink and swim.  We had read that the pools would be crazy, but I really had NO idea how crazy they would be.  I guess the problem is that neither pool in the family area is large, so when a gazillion people jump in, you can't even swim...just float.

After a couple of cocktails, Shannon and I decided to take a cruise tour.  They promised to tell us tricks, and make it entertaining.  Meanwhile, the guys managed the kids while they did some exploring of their own.  The kids LOVED the water tube that encircled the whole ship.

Pres and Christian on Aquaduck

After the tour, it was about time to go see our rooms.  Fortunately all of our luggage made it, and the room was surprisingly spacious for our family of five!  It was laid out very well, and had plenty of storage for all of our things.  I quickly unpacked and got us settled, while the kids went back and forth between our adjoining room with the Bantas.  They also took out the wall between our balconies, so we really had a nice set up between us.

Walker loving the slides too!

All of the kids wanted to check out the various kid areas, so we checked them in and let them view it.  The four older kids were given permission to check themselves out, but Walker and Lucy were too young and required one of us to get them.  Though the staff tries hard to make it super fun, the

So this happened....BRAIDS....that didn't come for over a week!

older kids enjoyed some of the other areas that were open to them.  We were all comfortable with it though, since the boys stayed together and the girls stayed together.  They enjoyed playing basketball, miniature golf, video games in the tween room, or just hanging out in our own rooms.

That first night we went to dinner at one of the 3 restaurants that was included in our cruise.  We enjoyed our dinner, and our wait staff.  Once again, Disney did a great job providing the parents with a little relief, by serving the kids first.  If only they had staff members that could walk your kids to the club so we didn't have to get up from the table....maybe next time.  The first night we went to see the Christmas program the ship put on where all of the characters make an appearance.  Walker couldn't hang, but after a short cat nap in my arms he awoke and enjoyed the fun.


Day 2 we were at sea, so we did a lot of just hanging out, eating, drinking, and exploring what the ship was offering.  We were  given the chance to see "Wreck it Ralph 2" before it hit the theaters, so we all took advantage of that while on the ship that first morning.  That night, we shifted restaurants, and then went to see Beauty and the Beast musical, which was fantastic!  We had heard that all of the shows were great, but it is just too hard to do it all on these ships. 

Got up early to see Anna and Elsa!

These two were thick as thieves the whole trip! I loved it!!

Day 3 we pulled into Disney's own island, Castaway Cay!  It looked lovely, and they let those

running the 5K off first.  Shannon, Christian, Preston and I ran it, and it was HOT!  Pres and I broke away from them, but halfway through it, Preston left me!  When we met up at the finish line, he told me he finished it in 27 minutes!  Not shabby for his first official 5K!  We were so hot afterward, and were dying to change into our suits and jump in the water.

We met up with the guys and the rest of the kids on the beach.  They were playing in the sand and just having fun! Later we decided to take advantage of the stingray adventure, where we can pet, feed and swim with stingrays in an area of the bay that was partitioned off.  I didn't have my phone, so no photos, but I think the big kids enjoyed it (Walker was too young, so Steve stayed back with him).

My cute pirates - PIRATE NIGHT

Day 4, also at Castaway Cay!  Slightly overcast, but we enjoyed snorkeling in the morning, having lunch on the island, and then we got back on the ship and enjoyed the water slide without the crowds.  Walker didn't have any interest in going out far to snorkel, so we checked him into the kid's club on the island that morning, so the rest of us could go out.  Bennett found a sea turtle and swam with it for awhile, which was a super cool experience for her.  Some of the others saw it too, but sadly I missed it.  We still saw lots of cool fish, and a HUGE starfish that the boys found.

These kids had a blast!

Love this Christmas tree with the sea life ornaments!

Biggest starfish I have EVER seen (we threw it back)

Thanksgiving Day from the hot tub in the ship!

The Disney Dream, along with the two days at the Disney Parks at the beginning was the perfect vacation.  Though our family had a wonderful time, I know it was much more enjoyable because my brother and his family were there with us.  All of the kids had a blast together, and we all grew closer because of it.  Thank you Banta Family for the memories!

And for anyone else considering a Disney Cream, the whole check-in process, cruise and disembarkment was a well-oiled machine, from the tagging of luggage from your car, to it being delivered to your door by mid afternoon, to the kids all getting wristbands that are linked to our phones so we know when they enter and leave the kid's club....so seamless!  In addition, there were multiple activities going on every hour (to interest kids to adults), and leaving the ship was fast and painless.  I would highly recommend a Disney cruise for any family looking for lots of entertainment for their family.

Disney...Party of 10!....part one

two peas in a pod

Last Christmas, we gave our children a two day trip to Disney parks, and a four night Disney cruise with the Bantas.  To say they were excited was an understatement!  The only tough part about the gift was the wait from Christmas to Thanksgiving of this year!

Planning was pretty easy, as we all wanted the same things.  We decided to hit Magic Kingdom since this was Walker's first trip to Disney, and then Hollywood Studios for the second day.  When it came down to it, we all decided to drive down due to the insane amount of luggage we were bringing for the parks and cruise.  We met up at our hotel in Disney Springs on the Friday before Thanksgiving.  Though it was a little a chilly, that didn't stop the kids from swimming for a couple of hours before we grabbed dinner.

We tried to get everyone to bed early, but the excitement was real.  So much so that we started the trip with a cousin trade....Christian stayed with us, and Bennett stayed with the Bantas.  The next morning, we got up early to eat breakfast and check-in at our Disney property hotel for the next two nights.

Wristbands on and ready to go!

The 6 kids before entering Magic Kingdom

Everything went smoothly, and we were at Magic Kingdom when they opened!  Walker was in amazement much of the first day, taking it all in.  He enjoyed every ride he did (as did the big kids), and even agreed to do every roller coaster (probably because Lucy loves roller coasters)!  He was a little shorter than the required height for some rides, but we taught him to stretch his little body.  He did Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder!

clearly below the requirement, but that didn't stop him!

Absolutely LOVE this, and the other ride pics!  SO MUCH FUN!

Walker was the worst driver, but absolutely loved this ride.  I laughed the whole time!

Walker did all roller coasters, but wasn't wild about them all!

Waiting for our table at dinner

Boys ducked out early with Uncle Brian

We stayed til close watching fireworks and celebrating Mickey's 90th Birthday!

Before entering Hollywood Studios

Day 2 at Hollywood Studios brought more fun for our crew!  A new roller coaster opened there which we were unable to get a fast pass for, so we went there immediately to stand in line (like everyone else).  Ninety minutes later, we were finally up front and ready to ride Slinky Dog!  The roller coaster was awesome, and had the line not been so long, we definitely would've done it again.

About the time we finished, we began doing the rides that we had the fast passes for.  There is nothing better than walking past the crowds and jumping to the front of the line.  We did the Buzz Lightyear ride (which is one of my favorites), the Tower of Terror and finally Aerosmith!  For the Aerosmith ride, we were able to get additional fast passes since Lucy and Walker couldn't ride, so several of us did that ride twice (which was awesome because it is by far the fastest roller coaster I have ever done).

Our crew on the Tower of Terror

ice cream break!

The boys "making it rain" with their money.

Enjoying Buzz Lightyear

Steve and the boys are all Star Wars fans, so we decided to sign up Pres and Walker for jedi training.  They learned who jedis are, and what they do (Preston already knew all of this), and then they went to battle.  The highlights were watching Walker lead the march across the park, and then watching them each fight Darth Vadar.  Sadly I only got videos of both, so no photos to share.

Pres was striking a pose!

The boys loved Aerosmith!

Can you tell who is having fun?

Such a fast start and awesome photo opportunity!

Kids with Goofy, one of our few character sightings

Boys created their own lightsabers after the jedi training.

Getting ready for the Star Wars ride

Leaving Hollywood Studios

Seeing all six kids running around, holding hands, enjoying the rides, sharing stories and creating memories together was BY FAR the best part of the Disney parks!  This whole vacation will definitely leave a memorable impression on them (as it did us too).  We all agreed that Disney is MUCH more fun for all parties involved when you have a buddy!

Stay tuned for part two....