Brave New Girl: An Ode to the Joys of My Life This Summer (aka Family Fun & Fond Memories)

Just in case there was any doubt in your minds, I wanted to be sure to let y'all know that I am truly having a FABULOUS time here! Both at work and at play... Though sometimes it's hard to distinguish between the two!

For all the crazy physical, mental and emotional stress that I have had to weather over the past few weeks, I have also managed to squeeze in some seriously fun times. And for all the wistful wishing that I've been doing for my dear ones who are far away, I must say, I have met some incredibly lovely new friends here. They are fun, kind, caring, compassionate and I am quite certain that at least a few of them have worked their way so deep in to my heart that they will be there forever - no matter how far apart we will be from one another in the not-so-distant future.

So, what follows is a little pictorial ode to the joys of my life here in the wacky land of working in Entertainment at Six Flags St Louis (where their staff goal statement is to create "Family Fun & Fond Memories")...

Here we are with 'the performance fam' at the special employees-only preview of the new Evil Knievel rollercoaster the night before it officially opened to the public! Ah, the perks of being on staff!

Ladies and Gentlemen, 'TEAM ST L':

Or, 'The Canades' as we are most commonly known as.
Hosting a Canada Day Eve party at our condo, of course!

And below: Me with my new friend Nathaniel, whose sincere appreciation for all things canadian makes him an honorary 'Canade' in my books!

And on Canada Day itself, my sweet, adorable, abosolutely LOVELY young friend Emily took me along with her and her mom to see 'High School Musical' at the MUNY - a gorgeous, and giant, outdoor amphitheatre in St Louis' (gorgeous and giant) Forest Park:

After Canade Day comes America Day (aka the 4th of July)!
And what better way to celebrate Independence Day than with a costume party?!
Our american friends showed us a GOOD TIME!

Below: Me with my Best Bestie Evs - JON! (He's def. better than all the other besties)
Dr Jon and Enviro Girl: "Here's to saving lives and saving the planet!"

PS - I made my costume using our recycling! The body piece is made from forzen pizza boxes, the mask from a box for soy protein "fake chicken" and the belt from flyers!

And below: My friend Evan dressed up as Jordan and my friend Jordan dressed up as a Jabbawockee (a dance crew, from the show America's Best Cance Crew, who performed at Six Flags a few weeks ago)

And then, after discovering the nodes on my vocal chords, I had to take a bunch of extra days off and not speak at all. So one day I put my energy in to making dinner for my team for when they got home from work. And thus, "Family Dinner":
(Josh is absent because his ACTUAL family was visiting that weekend. I guess I can't blame him for wanting to spend some time with them...)

Look at how Kat and Adam put on their nice clothes to eat my meal!
(I was even inspired to change into a nice dress once I saw them)

Oh, and our lovely friend Justin sure knows how to brighten my day... Here we are, as his adoring fans, after he performed an interpretive dance to Pocahontas' "Colors of the Wind" song on our stage one day after our shows were done:

And then there was the Entertainment Department Luau after hours at Hurricane Harbour (the Six Flags water park). Here's 'Team St L." gettin' beachy with it in our dressing room before we head to the Luau: