Disney Count down Day 7

Condo Check out time: 10:00 AM
Plane leaves Orlando 5:00 PM
Plane Arrives Salt Lake City 11:00 PM
We are about to encounter one of the longest days ever! Starting with Downtown Disney which is a great place to shop, purchase souvenirs, and eat at unique restaurants. We tried to shop but the kids weren't to happy about it. So we thought they might be interested in Lego land. They were for about 5 minutes. Next stop was Rainforest Cafe, even this wasn't enough to keep them entertained. You'd think we are all on sensory overload and overly exhausted. Our waiter even commented on our lack of enthusiasm. Following lunch we bought our bobbles and trinkets and headed for the airport to wait for 3 hours. Positive note: We finally got a picture of Kennedy and Tia with Snow White. Tate cried for the first few hours of the flight, because the stupid steward made us wake him up to buckle him in for take off. Tate did not like air travel at all. We were all glad to be home and in our own beds. As for our vacation, it was the best of times and it was the worst of times.



Lego Family we met in Downtown Disney!



Jungle Feast at Rainforest Cafe!



Shopping for gifts at Mickey's!



Lego Land Workshop!



Snow White at the Orlando Airport!

Day 6 Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

We slept in, went swimming,and to Planet Hollywood for lunch,then took a nap before we spent our last night at Disneyland. We had special tickets to Mickey's Halloween Party, which was one of our best day's at the park. The tickets for this event had a limit, therefore we were able to enter attractions with out waiting. The Characters dressed in Halloween costumes and gave out tons of candy for Mickey's Trick Or Treat, and the fireworks were spectacular. The girls dressed up in their princess costumes and Tate had a make due football costume. We ate our dinner inside Cinderella's Castle which was a really special treat in-and-of-itself. We surely went out with a bang, leaving the park at 11:30 P.M. on Sept 19th our last visit for this trip.

Day 5 Sea World

Our day at Sea World was fabulous. We attended the whale, dolphin, and sea otter shows. We sat on the second row at Shamu and of course were thoroughly soaked by the end of the show. Tia was a little upset with Shamu after that. Ben bought little stuffed Shamu's and Tia put on her own show while she watched the real Shamu do his thing. We also rode rides and there was literally no waiting time. The kids played on the biggest play ground I've ever seen and enjoyed this as much as anything. I love the pictures of Tate's cotton candy beard. We only have two more days left.

Day 4 Disney Princess Day

Every little girl dreams of becoming a princess. Today we met and had pictures taken with four of the top princesses at Disney World. Kennedy and Tia were in awe with the entire experience and Tate seemed to have a crush on Bell and also Ariel. Nicole and I bought Kennedy and Tia princess dresses to wear to our dinner at Cinderella's Castle on Friday night. They were on cloud nine and couldn't stop looking in the mirror that night. Another magical day.

Cocoa Beach Day 3

Just what we all needed a relaxing day at the beach. The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast chasing the waves and building sand castles. Tate was especially brave in the water. He giggled every time the waves came to shore even when they pushed him over. It was really a delight to see their first reaction to the ocean.
Here are a few of my favorite photos.

Animal Kingdom Disney World Day 2

Animal Kingdom is so authentic! We actually felt like we were in a different part of the world and the African Safari seemed real. We all felt that the habitat provided for the animals was awesome. Pocahontas was the first one to greet us when we got there.



Tia didn't want to have her picture taken with Bug but he did sign her book. Ben and Tate managed to jump into the photo at the last minute. Tia became a little fearful of characters after meeting Bug from it's a Bugs Life, especially after viewing the 3-D Movie. Apparently, she wasn't aware she could take her glasses off during the movie.



They warned us this might not be appropriate for younger children, but they survived Mickey's Philharmonic Magic Show in 3-D so we subjected them to their worst nightmare, It's a Bugs Life in 3-D. Tate and Tia were so petrified they couldn't move. Kennedy put her face in Pa Pa's chest and shook like a leaf until it was over. I would recommend it for kids 8 years and up. It was definitely creepy but way cooool. Don't we look good in our glasses?



Kennedy, Tate, and Tia stop to play on the Elephants outside the petting zoo. One of the rare moments when all of them posed for a picture.



We found Goofy, one of our many favorite characters just before eating lunch. After that we played at the dinosaur playground and rode more rides. We had a fun but exhausting day, surviving heat and humidity. We watched an animal parade at the end of the day and saw more of our favorite characters before we went home to rest.

Disney World Magic Kingdom Day One

Our 5th trip to Disney World (Sept. 13-20 2008) was a great success. It was more than fantastic to see the looks on our grand kids faces as each one of them discovered the magic of Disneyland,especially since we never took our own children until they were teenagers. I hope we can experience many more special occasions with all of our grand kids in the near future. Nothing will ever compare with the memories we make with our family.



The first ride the kids went on was the tea cups and they loved every minute of the spinning and wanted to go again when they got off. Again! Again! Again! became an all too familiar phrase. We did visit the park at a good time,never having to wait more than 10 minutes to experience most of the attractions. However, it took longer to have pictures and autographs with the Disney Characters. The kids were so excited to see all their favorites Disney friends but didn't particularly appreciate waiting in long lines to see them. Kennedy and Tia manage to fill their autograph books, Tate wasn't as thrilled with this as the girls were. Hopefully this will help them remember their first trip to Disney's Magic Kingdom. Here are a few of our Kodak moments:

Family Picture Day

It's such a special treat getting the kids ready for family picture day. Starting out with their baths,then curling and combing their hair,and finally keeping everyone looking sharp while waiting for the photo session to begin. We have the best of intentions and by the end of the day we are lucky if the mothers haven't had a nervous breakdown. Such was the case when Grandma decided she wanted to have pictures taken of her adorable grandchildren.

First mistake,We decided to meet by the playground at Layton Park. The kids were excited and ready to play on the toys. Of course we had to drag them away so they could have their pictures taken.

Tate was especially thrilled about leaving the toy area!


Smile Tate you're on Candid Camera!

It got worse before it got better, but it did get better, thanks to Nicole a genius when it comes to photography.



Just so everybody knows, I love the bad and the good pictures because my grandchildren are just the cutest kids on the planet. Therefore I might have to do another slide(brag)show so those who want to see the whole experience may do so.



We ended our day with burgers, fries, and ice cream, the kids throughly enjoyed their ice cream.

Scott & Sydneys Birthday August 29th 2008

What a great way to top off our already fantastic summer. We've all have had so much fun and we're to keep the good times rolling right into the next season. Ryan and I leave for our trip to Disney World with Ben, Nicole, and the kids on Sept13th, then we return to Sand Hallow for more camping, four-wheeling, and boating with the entire crew in October. And then? You know it, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.