St. Louis Vacation, Day 4…

It was a good day for Six Flags… And so we went… Particularly because we already bought the tickets last week, and it was the last day Hurricane Harbor would be open for our vacation…
And Hurricane Harbor is where we went first…

Ordinarily, Seth has issues with being eaten by inanimate objects on our vacations. However, as he gets older he also seems to be getting a little too cool for this, so it was Grace who lost her head. You can see here that her brothers were very concerned:

Daddy, however, had a slightly different take on the fiasco and tried to no avail to save her:

In the end, Seth made friends with the shark:

We enjoyed a lot of the attractions at Hurricane Harbor, although we didn’t have time to ride them all. My favorite was the family raft ride, because all of the kids (except Miah, of course) were tall enough to ride. It was a little intense for Ian, because every time the raft went up on one of the sides of the slide, he was completely covered with water, but overall, I think he did OK:

Unfortunately, since there were many things he was too short for (as always); he had to spend a lot of time being the “navigator”:

Here are a few more pics. of our water park adventure:

Grace Coming Off A Slide:

Grace, Ian, Phil, and Seth on The Lazy River:

Phil & Ian:

We were pretty seriously dehydrated a couple of hours into our day, and we were quite sunburned, too, although we didn’t know it at the time. By the time we left Hurricane Harbor we all kinda felt like this:

We made a beeline… uh… sort of… for Johnny Rockets and actually bought a souvenir cup for $12.99, because it included free refills for the day. 11 refills later, we were quite pleased with our purchase… We all ate some lunch and then headed for the ride side of the park!
It was important to both Phil and me that the kids have fun today. That seems like a “duh” statement, but at theme parks it can be a challenge to make sure that everyone enjoys themselves, depending on the age… and height… and interest in rides… We did very well, today, in that department!

We started off in “Bugs Bunny National Park,” where Seth and Grace were actually too tall to ride some things (and Grace actually came off one kiddie ride and informed us that it was "a waste of time:). This was great fun for Caleb and Ian to observe, as they are usually the ones left looking on! The kids especially enjoyed the “Yosemite Sam Tugboat Tailspin” ride, as well as running around “Bugs Bunny Fort Fun”, while Phil and I continued to refill:



From there we went on to experience some coasters, water rides, and the falling star (Which I rode on our last trip here in 1996. It has seen better days):

"Tidal Wave": You can't see him here,
but Ian also rode this and actually slid off the seat on the way down...
Good thing I had a good grip...

Seth, Grace, and Caleb on The Log Flume:

Phil & Ian on The Log Flume:

We also even dropped $20 on a carnival style midway game so Seth, Grace, Caleb, and Ian could “win” superhero capes (We were going to pay $7.50 apiece for them, anyway, so it made sense and made us the superheroes in Seth’s eyes, since he always wants to play the games)… Ironically, I actually did win the game, so Miah got a stuffed snake, too, which she loves:

"Super-Ian"

Super Kids:

Super Baby & The Pink Snake:

And, of course, it wouldn't be a day at the park without a spin on The Ferris Wheel:

Caleb, Ian, Me, and Miah (Miah's 1st Ride Ever):

Grace, Seth, & Phil:

Ian Lookin' Out Over The Park:

Seth Was So Proud of This Face (haha):

We stayed until closing time, which was 8:00, and then hung around for another half hour to refill the cup again! An exhausting but fun day, for sure…

Miah, Ian, and Caleb were asleep not long into the ride back, but we hadn’t had dinner, so we stopped at Quiktrip, where Seth picked out a corn dog, lemonade, and starburst; and Grace picked out a buffalo chicken and cheese fried thing that we put in a bun, an orange smoothie, and starburst. They thought this was great fun. I had another orange smoothie, as well. Phil and I stopped further down the road to grab some Little Caesar’s Hot & Ready, and it’s a good thing we did, because Caleb woke up hungry when we got to the hotel and was a little miffed that we ate dinner without him…

And that is day four… in a nutshell…

Lisa

Mystery Trip, Day 2...

... Deep River Waterpark

Since we are a family who loves waterparks, we thought, "Hey... why not go to one today in the freezin' temperatures?" Not the first time we've done such a thing, and probably won't be the last! This takes the kids' waterpark count to 12, I think, and it was a nice perk to pretty much have the whole park to ourselves!

Here's a pic. of the kids sporting their new towels (since, duh, we forgot ours at home)! They were very useful as blankets, as well:

Some Slide Pics:

Caleb and Me on the Funnel Slide

Seth and Grace Exiting the Funnel Slide

Phil and Grace on a Tube Slide

Seth and Grace on a Tube Slide

Caleb and Me (or at least my feet) on a Tube Slide

And what would a day at the waterpark be without some funny faces from Ian, who enjoyed the lazy river very much (once he knew there were no snakes in it), and who also enjoyed sitting in a chair by the wave pool and pretending he was in a boat:

Overall, it was a very fun time, although I did just realize we are sunburned, because I never can understand why sunscreen is important when it is cloudy...

Lisa

Summer Adventures...

... Are Wearing Me Out!

I'm behind... again... as far as blogging goes. Seems that I never stop running long enough to sit down and write about it here lately!

Last week, Phil, Seth, and Grace went off to camp, so Caleb, Ian, and I decided we needed an adventure of our own. On Monday our plans were kind of thrown for a loop, and we ended up just hanging around home most of the day and then goin' to "The Rat Place" (AKA Chuck-E-Cheese) in the evening. We spent tons of tokens, earned relatively few tickets, and came home with lots of prizes, because the girls working the prize counter thought the boys were super cute!

On Tuesday we headed to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, which we enjoyed a lot. Ordinarily, I do not "splurge" on rides when we visit the zoo. However, since there were only three of us it made the prices a little more reasonable, so we rode everything! It was on the "Sky Safari" that it occurred to me that although I have never been afraid of heights, I do have a pretty huge fear of falling from high places... particularly while holding on to two small, wiggly children! Caleb actually did a pretty job sitting still once I explained to him exactly how I expected him to position himself and not to move. Ian... well, that's another story... Unfortunately, I have almost no pictures of the animals (except the ones that live at my house). I had a pretty good pic. of Caleb with the lion, but when I downloaded it must have gotten lost in the process. Thinking everything had transferred alright, I erased all of the images from the camera... ugh! I do have some nice pics. of us on the rides and exploring the zoo:

After the other half of our family returned home, we spent a couple of days cleaning up from camp and then took a trip to Cedar Point!

It was definitely a fun trip, but not "classic" Cedar Point by any stretch of the imagination. This can most accurately be understood by the list of things we did not ride... calypso, turnpike cars, antique cars, cedar downs, raptor, thunder canyon, wave swinger, matterhorn, super himalaya, scrambler, even the carousel (for crying out loud)... not among the things we rode this time around...

However, Seth and Grace hit the 52" mark this year, so they got to experience a whole lot of new things including MaxAir, Wicked Twister, Skyhawk, Power Tower Up and Down, and Magnum for Grace (Seth took his first spin on Magnum last summer). Ian also rode his first coaster (well, unless we count Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, seven months before he was born). His assessment of Woodstock Express was, "I don't wike this wide"... Below are pics. of first time coaster experiences:

Amazingly enough, we actually didn't take a whole lot of pictures while we were there. I guess I've been dropping the ball all summer long in this regard. We did pretty much ride till we dropped, though, and arrived home at 3:15am! My quote of the trip comes from our friend Avalyn, "Lisa... I like that ride... It makes me sick!" How's that for making a new generation of adrenaline junkies...

I can never quite understand why I look so forward to the end of the school year but as we turn the corner into August I am ready for it all to begin again... Not that we are starting in August... NO WAY!!! One of the nice advantages of homeschooling is that we can run a normal school schedule Labor Day to Memorial Day, get all of the work in, ace the placement tests, and enjoy life a little bit! However, I am starting to look forward to the structure that comes along with Fall...

Until then...

Lisa

Why I Love Sea Turtles...

... Continuing adventures of Mommy and Grace, who are still in Orlando...

A few hours at Epcot sounded pretty good today! Rode some fast and high flyin' rides... ate some breakfast with some princesses and some lunch with some fish... got hit on by a turtle...

Whoa... Stop... Let's back that up...

Grace and I decided to go to "Turtle Talk with Crush" as our last magical adventure before hitting the souvenir shops (this is what we "decided" although not what actually happened, because I took a wrong turn and ended up in the land of Figment, so the fun went on longer than it really should have)! Anyway, we were walking to the line for "Turtle Talk" when a Disney cast member caught up with Grace and asked her if she'd like to do the countdown to call Crush... which of course she liked a lot! We were seated before anyone else, and when it was time for the show to start they announced that Grace was going to call Crush... and she did. Time in spotlight over, right? Not so fast...

So Crush comes out and starts talking to the kids and asks Grace, specifically, some questions. I have this all on video even though I can't remember all of the details at the moment... His final question to her is, "Who brought you here?" And Grace... who as everyone knows is usually very talkative... social butterfly, sanguine child that she is (we really don't know where she came from)... says absolutely nothing and looks completely confused! So Crush says, "Don't worry... I'll find who you belong to" and proceeds to ask the person who brought Grace to raise their flipper... So, of course, I do. Now, at this point, Crush asks me my name and engages in some small talk with me about how many children I have (only 4 to his 65), etc. etc. And every time he addresses me he calls me, "Lisa Mom"! So I'm having fun with this, and I finally make some remark back to him and finish it with, "Crush Dad". And then he stops and says, "Oh... dude... you know what we just did?" And I say, "What?" and he says, "We bonded". And now I am "totally" laughing! So Crush goes on and on about what a cool mom I am, and I'm cracking up and trying to maintain the conversation, because hey... it's not every day that you get to talk to a Sea Turtle or star in a Disney attraction! Finally our conversation is over, and Crush gets really quiet for a moment before he flips over on his back and says, "Ahhh... Lisa"... and I am just about dying here on the front row, because the whole room is in stitches...

After Epcot, we decided to head to the Contemporary Resort via Monorail to do some shopping for the boys. We also needed to buy an extra carry on bag for the plane, because we packed our bags to the absolute maximum capacity, and we were returning with more than we brought. So I look at the first bag I see (about backpack size) and it is $65.00! At this point I started seriously thinking about mailing our souvenirs home! But then I see a sign that says you can buy this other bag for $10.00 of you spend so much, and I add up the cost of what I'm currently carrying around and decide it's worth it. At the counter I mention to Grace that we need that bag to carry our souvenirs home and the amazingly awesome older gentleman ringing us up says, "Here... take two. The second one is free!" Wow! I was very happy with this. These are probably at least $40.00 bags, and I got two of them for $10.00 total!

And we needed every bit of space to pack our belongings...

We actually enjoyed our hotel for a while tonight, and Grace finally got to swim in the pool, which she has been wanting to do since we arrived, but we just never made it down there because we were either too busy or too exhausted! Honestly, I was too exhausted tonight, too, but I wanted her to have special memories of this trip, and swimming was very important to her...

I took these pictures out front, which I absolutely love:

We did give our free 30 minute arcade card away to a mom with two young teenagers. We just weren't going to have time to use it, and they looked like they probably needed it more than we did anyway!

Finally got Grace to go to sleep around 10:00 and took another hour to pack the rest of our stuff. 3:00am is going to come fast...

Lisa

Catchin' My Breath...

Ah............

That was nice..........

OK, so Grace and I are currently at General Assembly! We actually arrived at the right time this morning, which was a nice change in pace from yesterday! Grace is participating in the Nazkidz convention and learning about missions around the world at this moment. And here I am, enjoying my free wi-fi... It feels great to be back in touch with virtual reality, let me tell ya! Have already chatted with Monica and Robert this morning, and I hope that very soon Skype will be re-installed on my computer so that I can see Phil and the boys!

It occurred to me last night that I have taken precious few pics. on this trip. Actually, it is probably a normal amount for most people, but I feel like I have captured hardly anything on film. I cannot currently get movie maker to save files, so there will be no video updates. However, I do have a few pics. to share from our trip to the Magic Kingdom:


As a word of explanation, we are NOT on a Disney Vacation. However... our flight situation netted us a couple of extra days in Orlando, and we ARE on a dining plan, so we have had some theme park experiences in the midst of the mass chaos that comes from attending this convention in Orlando!

Yesterday, after Grace participated in the Discipleship in Action program, we made another trip to the airport (that brings our MCO count to three) because Alamo charged us for insurance that we didn't need, and they insisted that we bring the car back to inspect for damages before they would drop the charges for the rest of the trip. Well... when we got there, nobody inspected the car at all... didn't so much as glance at it... and then they took the optional insurance off for the next few days. I really think they could have accomplished this on the phone.

We also made reservations for "Hollywood and Vine", because due to the dining plan we have to choose so many "table service" meals, and I feel sort of pressured to choose the most expensive meals, since they are included. After eating dinner I thought, "Gosh... that wasn't very good (minus the cheesecake of which I ate four pieces... uh... they were NOT regular sized pieces... just so you know). At any rate, they bring you a bill for what the meal would have cost, and when I saw it my eyes popped out of my head! Without the dining plan the meal would have cost $50.00! That is just for me and Grace! Oh... wow! Well, it was an experience! Since "Hollywood and Vine" is at Hollywood Studios, we did catch The Little Mermaid show, and then we headed back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep!

Grace is really enjoying the children's activities here at the convention and looking forward to quizzing tomorrow! We are planning to get in early tonight in order to review and get a good night's sleep!

To this point, I have been unable to locate very many friends here, which is kind of disappointing. We did find a few friends from Ohio this morning, and I have seen several people that I know by name but whom I did not really feel like chatting with. I am going to have to do a better search for my Iowa friends if I can later this afternoon! If you happen to be reading this, I know you're here! Send me a facebook message so I can find you!

Alright... gotta restart the computer to make Skype work! I will probably post again later!

Lisa

Panera Bread...

... Oh how I love thee... let me count the ways...

Well... actually... just one...

I have never been inside a Panera Bread, at least not as far as I can remember, but the free Internet access from the parking lot is awesome!

Grace and I had a good day. We hit up Animal Kingdom and learned that God provides a WAY better water ride than Kali River, because when we got off of Kali, Grace complained that she didn't get wet enough, and then the downpour hit... soaking us to the bone!

There are no pics. or vids. to show, because I haven't uploaded them yet. I will attempt to edit this post to include some visuals in the next couple of days! I will probably add more to the story, as well, but for now, we need food...

Lisa

Squeezin' Every Last Drop...

... Day 16, Downtown Disney (again) and Aquatica (again)!

We have done so many things on this trip! Still, there are always things you just can't get done! After much thought, we went with our original plan to visit Downtown Disney in order to secure the last souvenirs we wanted for this trip. I bought some scrapbooking supplies, Seth bought a rock he wanted and some Disney racers, Grace bought a princess pen (but don't worry, she spent money all over the place for the past two weeks, so she had plenty of souvenirs already... and she is broke!), Caleb bought a rock (like Seth's) and a stuffed Mickey Mouse, and Ian got a talking Nemo. Phil almost bought a monorail, but in a last minute moment of reason decided that he really didn't need it...

We had a pretty good list going of things we could do with this day. In the end, we decided to "cut our losses" on things like the Mike and Sully meet and greet... and Epcot's interactive venues like Innoventions and Kodak Imageworks... and the many things we didn't get to experience at DisneyQuest.

Instead, we decided that we'd really like to return to Aquatica to experience the action river, as well as the lazy river, again, and so that's exactly what we did. After a couple of hours, we pirated a few more park maps and then called it a day... and a vacation... and we began the long trek home...

Lisa

A Little More Magic...

... Day 15 brought one last stop at the Magic Kingdom for this trip. It was fun, but we were all getting tired... and a little bit sick. Seems like I remember something like this from the last time around. When you lack sleep and eat junk for long periods of time, your body finally says, "enough is enough!"

We started out our day at The Crystal Palace, where we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast buffet in the company of friends from the Hundred Acre Wood:

Ian had about the same opinion of the Pooh characters that Caleb had on the last trip, but instead of smacking them around with buttered waffles, he just hid his little head in his hands until they passed by:
After breakfast, we made a beeline for Mickey's Toontown Fair, but we were stopped by the show that was just beginning on stage at the castle, and are we ever glad we were! "Dream Along with Mickey" was really great! Well... except for the part when Ian threw up his entire breakfast and I used the rest of our wipes to clean him up, therefore missing a bit of the Peter Pan scene...

We swung by Tomorrowland and found that there was no line for the Speedway, so we raced... and Phil, Seth, and Grace won... and I learned that Caleb is a very bad driver, and he is never... ever going to get his license!

From there it was on to Toontown, where we found the line for Pixie Hollow, with a 75 minute wait! And, unfortunately, we also found that our Tinkerbell fairies poster was missing! I ran back to the Speedway, and sure enough, there it was, having fallen out of the stroller!

Because Grace loves Tinkerbell, she and I got in the ridiculously long line! After about 30 minutes, Grace said we should probably get out of line and try again later. I laughed... sort of... and then we resumed waiting in line. It was also about this time that we learned that only three of the five fairies appear at a time, which was definitely disappointing, but they told us that Tink is always one of the three, so I decided we could live with that.

When it was finally our turn, we shrunk down to fairy size and entered the magical world of Pixie Hollow. Tink came right out for Grace and encouraged her to fly around! I think I probably enjoyed experiencing this even more than Grace did, as she was absolutely tongue tied... and if you know Grace. you know it takes an awful lot for that to be the case! We also met Rosetta and Irradessa (who was probably the best cast character we have met at Disney). Here are some pics. of my little fairy:While we were in line, Phil and the boys rode the train... and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin... and The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh... and maybe some other things, too, though I have forgotten.

When all of the fairy meeting... and then souvenir buying... was done, we all jumped on the train to Frontierland, after taking part in the kids' favorite amusement park pass time:

We proceeded to get fastpasses for Splash Mountain, which I had never ridden! We called Mom and Dad who said they would meet us when it was time to use the fast passes, and then we went over to Adventureland, where we rode Pirates of the Caribbean and were pleased to find that the addition of Johnny Depp did not ruin the ride. And then Phil bought a sword... and I smashed some more pennies... and I began to realize that Disney has it all set up so that when you have stayed so long you are too tired to think clearly, you will spend every last cent you have left!

Mom and Dad then caught up with us and entertained Ian, while the rest of us rode Splash Mountain... which I can now deem the greatest flume ride ever! It was incredibly fun! After this, we grabbed fast passes for Thunder Mountain Railroad and parted ways with Mom and Dad again, planning to visit Tom Sawyer's Island (which has never been my favorite part of the Magic Kingdom, but this trip really wasn't about me, now was it?) However, we found that the Liberty Square River Boat was going to leave shortly, so we decided to jump aboard that, instead, and we called Mom and Dad who were now halfway across the park via the train, who jumped off the train (at a stop, of course, silly) and ran to join us for our little cruise!

When we got off, we used our fastpasses for TMR, which was great! I didn't actually remember all of the theming, as I had only ridden it once before.

Following this, we really did go over to Tom Sawyer's Island, where I promptly found a good photo taking spot, settled in, and then decided to move down just a bit... missing a step... twisting my ankle (which made sounds that an ankle should not know how to make)... falling down... scraping my knee... and not dropping the camera (or Ian, who I was holding the whole time). Embarrassed, I got up... told the one lone person who stopped to ask if I was OK that I was fine (even though I wasn't)... proceeded to take pictures of Phil and the kids coming across the barrel bridge... and then limped around for the rest of the day, wondering if I'd just twisted or broken my ankle. Oh, here's a pic of the part of my family that just loves exploring like Tom Sawyer (yeah... that's all of them):

This was, in effect, the end of my day, because it is not fun to hobble around an amusement park when you are hurting. It also prevented me from climbing through The Swiss Family Treehouse, which is one of my very favorite attractions. I felt crabby. Phil doesn't care for the treehouse all that much, but I told him he had to take the kids, because we have been reading the book for school. He did.

We snapped up fastpasses for the Jungle Cruise, and rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin while we waited. The Jungle Cruise was as corny as always.

After this, we headed back to Fantasyland, where we ate at Pinocchio's Village Haus, because it had become very obvious to us, while waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise, that Grandpa was very hungry:
I spilled water all over my pizza (long story... but isn't it all), which they replaced, free of charge.

Mom and Dad parted ways with us again, and Grace and I went to wait in the 40 minute line for Ariel, bringing her character count to 27! Grace sung songs from the Little Mermaid... loudly... throughout the entire wait. She then explained to a Disney cast member that she was going to see Tinkerbell fly... that she had already seen her fly once this week... and that even though her brother says Tink is on a string, she knows it's really pixie dust. And, finally, it was our turn to meet Ariel:

From there, we met up with Mom and Dad one more time, who watched Caleb and Ian this time, while the rest of us rode Space Mountain. I have been saying for years that I have never ridden Space Mountain, but to tell you the truth, it was awfully familiar, and I need to ask my dad if he took me on it when I was six. It was a good ride... well... not really. It was fun, but it wasn't because it was a good ride. Again... Disney coasters are all about theming, not thrills!

We found Caleb and Ian asleep when we returned. And it was cold. And they were totally not dressed to be in the cold, so while we were in line a nice French family offered Caleb their blanket and then wouldn't take it back when they left... so we have a souvenir from France... hehehe...

Mom and Dad called it a night at this point, while Phil, Seth, Grace, Caleb, Ian, and I went to our favorite spot to watch Wishes one more time (the bridge to Tomorrowland). Somehow, I had the times mixed up, and we ended up being there an hour earlier than we needed to be... which was fine, because it gave all the kids a chance to take a little nap on the concrete benches while I ran around buying mouse ears, picture frames, and a blanket! I put their mouse ears on them while they were sleeping, and even though I couldn't get them to wake up, they all sat upright as the first few notes for Wishes began to pay, watched Tink fly (out of the castle that was now decorated for Christmas, which was a real treat for me, since I always went to Disney in the summer), and enjoyed the fireworks:

And then... we boarded the monorail one last time... and, completely exhausted, we checked into a hotel, and Phil brought everything up the stairs by himself, because there were no luggage carts...

What a day... and night...

Lisa

Dejazoo...

... Day 14, Animal Kingdom, among other things:



Hmmm... If we had a "bad" day on our trip in '06, it was at Animal Kingdom. Can't say we ticked off any parking lot employees this time around, but it wasn't any easier getting started! Grace was moody... and Caleb was sick... so I decided to rent a double stroller.... for $31.00... WHAT? You've got to be kidding, right? So, I stand in line and pay in cash, and when I get over to the place where they're supposed to give me my stroller, the guy tells me that I have a voucher for a single stroller. So, I stand in line again, and the original Disney Cast member apologizes and gives me the right voucher, and I go claim my double stroller which already has our name on it, even though the stroller guy didn't believe me that I paid for it!

And so we begin our day... with Mom and Dad... again... because everyone else in the family has conveniently disappeared... again...

We walked through the oasis exhibits and then back to Africa, where we secured fast passes for Kilimanjaro Safari and then immediately jumped on the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch:

Once there, we actually went over to the Conservation Station and Habitat Habit exhibits this time, but we avoided the Affection Section like the plague, because I have a serious phobia of petting zoos. You might be laughing, but I am completely and totally not kidding!

Just as we were ready to leave I noticed Jimminy Cricket standing nearby, so of course we went to meet him, at which point Rafiki and Pocahontas made appearances, so of course we went to meet them, too. Jimminy Cricket kissed Mom, but we didn't have the video camera running at the time, which was a bummer:

We then hopped back on the train and got in the fastpass line for the Safari, which really did move fast. I got all settled in to my seat and switched my camera on, which read "change the battery pack". this would ordinarily not be a problem, but the battery pack was plugged into the wall at the house! I quickly tried to snap some pics. with the kids cameras (that don't have nearly enough megapixels to take decent pics. while riding in a rickety safari vehicle and shooting at moving animals. After giving up on this plan, I tapped Mom on the shoulder and said, "Hey, can I have your camera?" And she gave it to me, even though she looked confused that someone with five cameras (and two video cams.) in her bag would need to borrow a camera. I was conserving battery on the olympus, because I also left that extra battery pack at home and wanted it for video later in the day! In my stressed out state I took some shaky, lousy pics. of the safari, which Mom did e-mail to me, but which I have not yet downloaded... Still, I love the safari!

We met Baloo, which was definitely a highlight of our day (again, the pics. are on Mom's cam., and I haven't downloaded them), and I think we saw trees having sex. Please... there is no possible way to explain this. I am pretty sure there is video of this somewhere if you really want to see it. To tell you the truth, it was beautiful and artistic except for the fat, old man that was standing near us lusting after the tree...

We picked up fastpasses for Kali River Rapids and then headed to Restaurantasaurus for lunch, where we had more typical Disney counter service fare that was about to make me puke at this point.

We picked up fastpasses for expedition Everest on our way back to Kali River and then enjoyed getting wet on yet another raft ride! We went back to Dinoland (again) and rode Triceratops Spin and looked longingly at Primeval Whirl, which was closed for refurb., and which we still have not ridden! Then Phil and the kids played in The Boneyard, while I changed Ian's diaper and wondered why Animal Kingdom always has to be so stinkin' hot...

We walked over to Finding Nemo: The Musical, which was very good. And I will probably have the "Big Blue World" song in my head for the rest of my life! After the musical, it was time to conquer Everest... but not with Caleb who turned out to be about a fraction of a quarter of an inch too short to ride... which ticked me off...

In the end, I'm not sure it even mattered, because I didn't care for the ride. It gave me a headache. And it's not like I am a coaster wimp or anything. But, come on, only a moron would go to Disney for it's coasters. Everyone knows that. Still, here's the video:



This basically ended our day at Animal Kingdom. And to tell you the truth, I'm not sure I really need to go back there... well... except to ride Primeval Whirl... As Disney Magic goes, Animal Kingdom is just OK...

We made a quick stop at the house for batteries and at Chick-Fil-A for dinner.

From there, we went back over to Epcot again (yeah... believe it or not), where we hit Character Spot in order to meet the classic Disney characters we had not yet seen on this trip:

Phil, the kids, and I then set up camp with leaking glow sticks (that turned Ian's hair a fluorescent purple color) and premium Mickey Mouse ice cream bars (that Caleb ate this time around, but Ian wouldn't touch). By the way, I really enjoyed telling the guy at the ice cream cart that all six bars were for me! We scoped out an area of prime real estate for the Illuminations show and waited there for an hour and a half, warding off other spectators who hoped to take our spots. And finally, the rest of our family showed up... which was a good thing, because it isn't easy to save that much space!

We saw Illuminations together, and to tell you the truth, I thought it was pretty good, but not the amazing show that everyone seems to rave about. I guess I'm just partial to Wishes, though. Afterward, we has somebody take a quick pic. of us all in front of Spaceship Earth. Unfortunately, there were no Photopass photographers in sight, so this picture is just alright... not the shot I'd really hoped for:


Oh... please take note of my flashing Mickey Mouse ears. Those were really fun!

And thus ended the part of our vacation with everyone there in Florida.

Lisa