Task #47: See Wicked on Broadway (Rachael and Kim)

47.  See Wicked on Broadway

I have been hearing great things about the show Wicked since my one of the songs was sung at my eighth grade graduation dinner.  When I heard that the Norwalk High Music Department was taking a trip, I knew I had to be part of it.

We saw the show May 20 at the Gershwin Theatre, and it was incredible.  A Norwalk High alumnus, Robin DeJesus, was in the show.  We also got to meet him outside after the show and talk to him, which was a surreal experience for our choir teacher.

I highly recommend everyone go see this show.  It was funny, clever, and had great music that I can't get out of my head.  All of the connections with The Wizard of Oz were so intricately woven.

This was definitely one of my favorite field trips.  We got to the city early and had some time to walk around the block with our friends; then, we saw an amazing show.

Task #46: Bouldering (Kim)

46.  Try Bouldering - Indoor Rock Climbing Without a Harness

I headed to Caribiner's, an indoor rock climbing facility in Fairfield, this past week to try bouldering.  Well, I didn't last very long on the bouldering part, but I attempted it a few times and took pictures of my friends' attempts.  The facility was an interesting place.  We stayed mostly on the lower levels - V0 and V1 - because those were tough enough for us as inexperienced rock wall-ers.  Anything that involved a jump from one part to another was risky because you don't wear a harness, so if you fall, you fall to the ground.  

Pieces of tape designated each path on the wall.  We purchased one chalk bag and had our first experience wearing rock climbing shoes.

Since the facility was practically empty when we went, the instructors helped us figure out how to maneuver different paths.  

My friends are considering returning again because it wasn't a very expensive adventure.  I would come again but mostly to witness their progress - it is fun to watch but I would rather just watch.  

Task #45: Attend a Viola Recital, Manhattan School of Music (Kim)

45.  Attend a Viola Recital (Manhattan School of Music)

At Manhattan School of Music in New York City, students are required to perform a senior recital before graduating from the precollege division.  Quinn Robinson has taken music classes at Manhattan School of Music for the past two years, and he plays viola.  I attended his senior recital and spent the morning in New York City this past Saturday with three other Norwalk High School seniors: Kasey, Derek, and Mahika.

Prior to the start of the recital, Greenfield Hall.

The bakery where Mahika tried her first bubble tea.

In addition to watching the recital, we walked around New York.  This is a photo of Mahika after trying her first "bubble tea" - we didn't like bubble tea too much!

Task #44: Go Ziplining and Climbing (Kim)

43.  Go Ziplining and Climbing

When I first heard about the Adventure Park in Bridgeport, I knew I had to go.  The Adventure Park is an obstacle course in the trees that features zip lining and climbing.  It has different levels organized by color - the hardest being Double Black Diamond.  Each level is higher than the previous one.

When we first arrived, we were given gloves and helped into harnesses.  Then, we were taught how to use the "clips" on our harness.  We had to practice and start on one of the lower level obstacle courses before venturing higher.  The courses did get to be difficult as we got higher, but a lot of it was all about mindset.  I knew if I fell I was attached to a harness and wouldn't get hurt, but every time I stepped on something that shook or moved a certain way, I would flinch dramatically.  It was hard not to feel like I was about to fall, even though I rationally knew I would be fine.

I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked because it is too high up for someone on the ground to take pictures as we progressed to higher levels, but I have included some pictures from online that show more of what the Adventure Park at Discovery Museum is like:

Photos From Online:

Task #43: Be in a School Production (Rachael)

43. Be in a School Production

Ever since I was in elementary school I had always looked up to the magnificent performances the Norwalk High School Music Department put on. This year I made it my goal to try out and participate in the show! Come see Norwalk High's Production of Annie this weekend!

Task #42: Accumulate Over 1000 Page Views!

42.  Accumulate 1000 Page Views

When we first started the blog, we had no understanding of Blogger.  We slowly began to use "labels", which are tags that allow your blog to come up in a search engine, and we advertised our blog to friends and family.  Because of this, we started getting a few page views.  It was nice to have even one a day.  Of course, we always get the highest number of views on days that we post and use labels.  We were shocked when we got even 100 views, but over time, we realized more people would look at our blog than we originally thought.  Hitting 1000 views is a big milestone for us; we can see that even if people have stumbled on our website by accident, we may have impacted them or sparked their curiosity in some way.  This means that we are doing what we intended to do with this project: impact other people and inspire them to try new things rather than become warped in a mundane routine.

So, thank you to all our friends and family who regularly read this blog and to anyone else who may be reading.

Task #41: Run a 5k - Whittingham Cancer Center Walk/Run (Kim)

41.  Run a 5k

My family has participated in Norwalk Hospital's Whittingham Cancer Center Walk/Run for years in honor of my Uncle Tex, who passed away from lung cancer when I was very young.

I usually am with the walkers who walk about a mile.  This year, I signed up as runner and ran a 5k at Calf Pasture Beach this morning.  To provide some back story, I am not a completely new runner.  I run Outdoor Track, which is only one season, each year.  I focus only on mid-distance events, specifically the half mile, so doing a 5k as a race and not a practice was new to me and slightly intimidating.

My brother Rob ended up winning the entire race for all age divisions, my mom won her age category, and I won the female 14-18 age group!

I actually really enjoyed the race (as much as you can enjoy running a 5k).  My entire family was there and had worked so hard to raise nearly $3,000 for this event.  So, despite the cold weather this morning, we all got up and ended up having a great time together.

Our team was called Tex's Rangers in honor of my uncle Timothy, nicknamed Tex.  It was made up of not only our family but many friends of the family who participated, came to support, and fundraised with us.

We love and miss you, Tex.