If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know that Sarah Kate recently had a birthday, and it was a big one: THIRTEEN. You’ve probably noticed over the past several months that the posts about Sarah Kate are much fewer and much farther between; it’s tricky to know how much to share now that she’s in middle school and her friends are on social media.
But a girl only becomes a teenager once, and because her birthday has always been eclipsed by Christmas, Mr. Andi and I decided many moons ago that THIS birthday would be different. We knew from the beginning it would be a trip, but whether it would be the whole family or mother/daughter or something else altogether, was up in the air, as was our destination, right up until around Halloween, when we gave her two choices: (1) Universal Studios (i.e., Harry Potter) or a cruise, and (2) the whole family or just she and Mom.
She chose Harry Potter and mom.
I’d never read the books or seen the movies, so we watched a movie roughly each week leading up to Christmas, finishing the last one on December 13. I started thinking that I might appreciate the parks more if I had read the books, because a lot of the details don’t register when you just watch a movie, so I dove into the first one, and then the second, and then the third… Never mind that in that same time period we had Nathan’s school Christmas party, multiple show choir concerts, and of course, this:
I also didn’t take into consideration that the weekend before Christmas my dad and stepmom were coming into town to celebrate Christmas early with us, and of course there were other various and sundry Christmas activities to do, like hugging Mrs. Claus.
Oh, and my mom and stepdad also came on Christmas Eve and stayed until the day after Christmas (i.e., the day of our departure). And there was lots of cooking and cleaning and baking and decorating (because we are old-fashioned and don’t put the tree up until Christmas Eve).
So instead of a lovely shot of the kids before Christmas Eve Mass, taken with my good camera, I got this with my iPhone and called it good, because I was on book seven at that point in time (you can see the Kindle on the table beside the kids) and the clock was ticking (spoiler: I finished the last book the evening of Christmas).
We gave Sarah Kate her birthday gifts the night before we left, when we were all together. She only got a few things – a Slytherin shirt and some makeup (her first foray into the makeup world). NOTE: little brothers aren’t super helpful when big sisters are practicing with new eye shadow.
Then we loaded up the car and headed out on Saturday morning. The drive should’ve taken us a little over seven hours, but it was Saturday, it was the day after Christmas, and we were driving to Orlando for the busiest theme park week of the year, so it took us a lot longer. After checking in and unpacking, we gobbled down some snacks from the hotel gift shop and went to bed, because the park opened at 8:00 am, which meant early open for guests on property was 7:00, and not knowing how long it would take us to get there, we set our alarm for 5:30 am (which, please note, was 4:30 am for our central time zone bodies).
Of course the alarm failed us, but the backup alarm at 5:45 worked so we freaked out and then scrambled to get ready and made it to Diagon Alley in Universal Studios as soon as it opened (as evidenced by the fact that it looks completely deserted in the photo below).
We did as much as we could right away, including visiting Ollivander’s Wand Shop (she chose one like Draco Malfoy’s) and riding Escape from Gringott’s (her favorite – she would ride it Eight. More. Times. before the trip was over), before heading for Platform 9-3/4 for the train ride to Hogsmeade at Universal’s Islands of Adventure (click to watch the video – very cool!)
We had breakfast at Three Broomsticks, where we both ordered the pumpkin juice. I had heard mixed reviews about it (and raves about the butterbeer!), but I actually preferred the pumpkin juice. We spent some time in Hogsmeade and then took the Hogwarts Express back to Diagon Alley, where Sarah Kate DIDN’T get a birthday cake, but she DID get some butterbeer ice cream (as you can see, the empty streets didn’t stay empty).
We watched a show about “The Tale of the Three Brothers,” shopped a lot (thank you, grandparents, for birthday money!), escaped Gringott’s two more times, and went back to Hogsmeade once more before I eventually managed to get her to leave the park and get something to eat. On Day One, we spent twelve hours (!!!) in the two parks and never left the two Harry Potter areas.
On Day Two, the morning was pretty much a repeat of the first day – early start…hit the big stuff…eat breakfast, but this time at The Leaky Cauldron. Eventually, however, I was able to lure her away from Harry and onto the Jurassic Park ride. It was in the mid-80s and we got a wee bit damp on the ride, which whetted her appetite for some more water-themed rides. I won’t go into what we rode and/or how many times or how we shamed some twenty-something males into putting their arms up on a giant drop, but the entire rest of the afternoon we were soaked and I took zero photos because we looked like drowned rats and smelled worse.
I did convince her to eat a little something, but we stayed at the parks for twelve hours again and I have to tell you…I was pooped and a little nauseous. We decided we’d sleep in on Day Three.
On Day Three, Sarah Kate got “dolled up” in her Slytherin gear – headband, scarf, and socks (as an aside: I’d be a whole lot more on board with her being a Slytherin if she liked Snape, but she doesn’t! The horror!) We headed to Diagon Alley first to ride Gringott’s again, and grabbed some lunch at The Leaky Cauldron.
We also did something really fun that I would never have ponied up the cash for if it wasn’t included in our package. It was a photo shoot at Shutterbutton’s, and if you know anything about the wizarding world, you know that wizard photos aren’t stills – the people in them move. It was all created with a green screen, but the finished product was pretty cool. Click here to see our video.
The trip was exhausting, but it was special and, more importantly, everything she dreamed it would be. I don’t get a lot of opportunities to spoil her, so she got to do what she wanted pretty much all the time (within reason). It gave us mother-daughter time, too, which is rare in our world with a little guy that demands a lot of my attention.
Milestones (like this big birthday) often encourage me to take stock of how far we’ve come. The photo she’s holding in the image below is her when she was about three weeks old – smaller than the stuffed bunny sitting in her lap. Back then, we only knew big-picture statistics on preemies, not what she might be able to do (or not do).
Today, we know a lot more, but her future is still uncertain – not because of her limitations, but because of her potential. I can’t wait to see what she becomes.
In case you missed it:
Sarah Kate’s Birth Story: Part 1
Sarah Kate’s Birth Story: Part 2
Sarah Kate’s Birth Story: Part 3
Sarah Kate’s Birth Story: The Epilogue
Oh my gosh, the bunny in the photos! Awesome. Sarah Kate will do amazing things, I am sure of it.
Happy 13th to SK- how far she has come and how big she has grown. The past year has showed me that nothing can predict our future! You are lucky to have such a special memory for 13!
What an amazing and special trip, something the two of you will hold tightly in your hearts for so many years to come. The photo album is amazing, and so much fun!
Sarah Kate seems to have really embraced the additional independence her chair offers her. Has she at all considered doing her own blog? I love reading the writings of young people.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful New Year!
-Tim
Not at all! She prefers fiction. I ask her periodically to write posts for me, but she always declines.
Sounds like a good day!
Happy 13th Birthday, Sarah Kate. You’re now a teenager. And at the beginning phase of many, many new things to come in life and living. You’ve come a long way. And moving forward. So, set your pace, dig in, and above all Finish Strong in where life takes you. You can do it! And beyond!