Just Pictures

I thought I'd add just some pictures for more Ricks' family fun!

This is Hallie and Will at Animal Kingdom outside the River Rapids ride. Obviously they didn't mind getting soaked.

Will loves dinosaurs, so naturally he loved the Dino town in Animal Kingdom. Here he is in front of a T-Rex, or as he would say, "the king of the dinosaurs."

Again at Animal Kingdom. They had a petting zoo which they all loved. But if you look behind Will, Hallie especially loves the goats. She even tried to kiss the goat, but I was able to stop her before too many germs were passed. Has anyone heard of "goat flu?" I hope not.

Gracie and Hallie in their sunglasses on the carousel in the Magic Kingdom. We bought all three kids a pair of sunglasses on Monday as a souvenir. Gracie lost hers on Wednesday while I was rushing to get to the Lion King show on time. The whole way there she was saying, "Mom....Mom!" I thought she wanted a drink or something so I told her to wait until we got there. Then as I got her out of the stroller she said,"Are we going back for my glasses now?" She had dropped them and I wouldn't listen to her to stop and pick them up. I was so mad at myself, but I learned my lesson. So I went to put her prescription glasses on and I couldn't find them either. My nephew had thrown them out of the stroller on our way to Lion King. So we lost both her glasses in 15 minutes. I was pretty bummed. But miraculously they both turned up at the lost and found the next morning! The prescription glasses had been stepped on but they were fixable. So at the end of the week we had all three pairs of sunglasses and 1 of 2 pairs of Gracie's glasses (we did lose the other pair in the house somewhere on Sunday morning right before we left, but it could have been worse).

It's all so magical...

Well, it's been a week now since we've been back, but I have computer issues. But while my computer is acting semi-normal I better get this posted. We spent 8 days in Orlando starting May 2. Tony's brother, Matt, and his family flew out to Orlando and we all stayed in this great house for 8 days.

We checked in on Saturday afternoon and went swimming in our own private pool. Then Sunday we tried to go to church, but had some direction issues and never found the church. But it's the thought that counts, right? But then Monday we headed off to Disney World where we spent the next 6 days.

We started with the Magic Kingdom. I know it sounds corny, but it really is magic. I remember going to Disneyland with all my girlfriends as our senior trip in high school. We all walked into the gates and said, "This really is the happiest place on earth!" That's exactly how I felt 10 years later (wow, has it really been 10 years!). Everything about each Disney park is impressive and magical.

Anyway, we did all we could at the Magic Kingdom on Monday, then spent Tuesday in Epoct. We met Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy but our camera had run out of battery and we weren't able to get pictures. Wednesday we went to Animal Kindgom. Being 26 weeks pregnant I couldn't do 90% of the rides there, and Gracie was too small so I took her and my 2-year-old nephew to the Lion King show. It was amazing. We also saw "Finding Nemo: The Musical" which as equally impressive. Thursday we went to Hollywood Studios. That day was especially hot so we didn't end up staying for too long.

Friday was my nephew's birthday so he got to choose which park to go back to. With hardly any help from us he picked Magic Kingdom. So we went back and did all we weren't able to do the first day and a few of the things we wanted to do again. Hallie, Graice and their cousin Jaxine even got to meet Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty for those fathers who should know, but don't), Cinderella, and Belle. Will and Hallie both LOVED Splash Mountain. I didn't think my kids were quite old enough to like roller coasters, but I was dead wrong. Gracie, on the other hand, didn't really like the kiddie coaster she went on in Toon Town. At least one of my kids is like me.

Saturday we went back to Hollywood Studios since we didn't spend much time there on Thursday. Hollywood Studios has Will's favorite thing of all: Lights, Motors, Action. It's a stunt show with cars that chase each other, spin, and fly off jumps. There's also a big explosion at the end. Will said it was his favorite thing from the whole week. Hallie's was Splash Mountain. Tony's favorite was doing Splash Mountain with Will and Hallie, because of how much they enjoyed getting soaked. Gracie didn't really have a favorite, but her and I had a great time going on all the small rides together.

We planned on going to the temple one morning but found out it was closed after my brother and sister-in-law drove out there and couldn't get in. So now we have to go back to Orlando in June so I can go to the temple one more time before the baby's born. And while we're there we might as well go to Disney World again. We now have seasons passes, so we have a year to go back as much as we want.