Logan turns 5!

April 28th, 2009 - Logan turned 5 and had a lot of fun at Jump Street celebrating with friends and family.

Jump Street is very cool - they have giant trampolines that go across the room from wall to wall - and up the walls! The kids had a great time running across them and literally bouncing off the walls. Everyone was pretty tired by the time it was all said and done.

The pictures of kids on the tamps ended up being pretty dark - but here are a few highlights of the presents being opened.

Final full day in Disney

Our 6th day found us enjoying the pool all morning - Alexis was the first one on the Keester Coaster that day and received a certificate and some other trinkets for taking the first ride on the water slide. After a few hours playing at the pool, we all got cleaned up, found some lunch and headed back to the Magic Kingdom for parades, rides and the fireworks show. It was the perfect way to end our trip!

We went on Spash Mtn a couple of times, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Safari and the Haunted Mansion. We got quite a few more autographs - the most important being Mickey Mouse.
After meeting Mickey and Minnie, Alexis and I took a trip to Pixie Hollow to meet some fairies. With a little pixie dust we shrunk down to fairy-size!

We made our way through the forest; past ladybugs and butterflies.

Along the way we learned that everytime a baby laughs a fairy is born!

When we arrived at Pixie Hollow, we met SilverMist, Fawn and, of course, Tinkerbell!

Dinner was at Antonio's - or "Tony's" from Lady and the Tramp.

After dinner we watched the electric light parade and then headed up Mainstreet to find a good spot to watch the fireworks. The show started with Tinkerbell flying out of the castle! It was magical and the kids loved it!
We were all very tired by the time the night was over. Back to our resort for a good nights sleep before our trip home the next day. It was a wonderful way to end the perfect family trip! This one is going to be hard to beat. :)

Day 4 and 5

SEA WORLD!!!

Our 4th day found us renting a car and heading to Sea World! We were all very excited and couldn't wait to see all the sea animals and Shamu!

We fed and pet dolphins and sting rays. We've fed sting rays before but never dolphins and I think it increased our love of them. The kids just love the water and everything in it!

We went on a journey to Atlantis, which was the water ride at Sea World. It was a very fun ride - especially for myself and Alexis! The boys sat in front of the boat - and were completely drenched by the time the ride was over! The girls thought it was hysterical!!

We decided to walk a bit and let them dry off as we found somewhere for lunch and then headed over to Shamu's Theatre. The kids were a little disappointed in not getting wet at the Dolphin and Pilot whale show earlier, even though we sat in the splash zone.

That was definitely NOT the case at Shamu's show! We were soaked by the time it was over - in fact, I think we would have been dryer if we had just gone swimming!

We had a wonderful day at Sea World and were exhausted by the time we were done. After Shamu, it was time to head back to the hotel and take a break - resting, and of course, swimming in the pool.

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Day 5 - Kennedy Space Center and the Beach!

Before our drive to the Space Center, we stopped for breakfast at IHOP and made some new friends. Santana (the Cockatoo) and Big Boy (the McCaw) were happy to have pictures taken and have the kids hold them. The birds aren't anything new to our kids - but they still thought they were pretty cool. We had a good breakfast and then we were off to the Space Center.

The entrance to Kennedy was very impressive and Mike and I were looking forward to checking out all of the rockets and exhibits.

Unfortunately, we told the kids we'd be going to the beach afterwards - that pretty much killed any opportunity for a tour! Mike and I decided we'll need to come back either when they are older - or just the two of us and take their 3-hour tour (yes - it really is 3 hours!!)

On to the beach!! This was the kids first time seeing the ocean and I think we were all excited. We didn't really get to swim as the undertow was very strong and we weren't going to risk it. It was still a lot of fun playing in the surf and collecting shells.

I think our next vacation needs to be at a beach somewhere in Mexico or the Caribbean!

3rd Day in Disney

Our third day started very early. We had reservations for a Character breakfast at 7:30am. We were there a little before time and were seated very close to where the Characters come in and got to see them first! The kids were excited and met Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck. they spent a little time at each table and signed their autograph books.

After breakfast, we headed over to Animal Kingdom. It was a great schedule as the park was opening early for guest of the resort and wasn't quite as crowded as it could have been. Our first stop was the Safari. We were lucky and saw a lot of animals! In fact, a few of the other riders in our jeep had done the Safari before and said they saw more this time than they have in the past. The kids loved seeing all the animals and pointed out the ones that were hard to find! Including the elusive AlexisAnne Tiger!

We went on a walking tour as well and learned about all kinds of different animals.

We also got to see more characters - like Ba'loo, Rafiki and Jiminy Cricket!

Our favorite ride at Animal Kingdom was Expedition Everest. Alexis and Mike had a blast and keep their hands up in the air through all crazy ups and downs! Logan was a little freaked out, but made it through and decided it was a fun ride!

We enjoyed seeing the Tree of Life as well. It was a little hard to get good pictures of the animals carved into the tree - but we got a few.


Our afternoon was spent at that pool, relaxing and enjoying the wonderful weather in Orlando.

More Disney World

Our 2nd full day in Orlando found us relaxing by the pool all morning. The kids love the water and had a great time on the Keester Coaster (waterslide).













Around lunchtime we cleaned up and headed out to find lunch and go to Epcot. Mike didn't think we'd see any characters, so we didn't bring our Autograph books. Within 5 minutes of entering the park we regretted that decision!

Upon entering a toy store in London, we saw Mary Poppins, Alice, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore!!! They were all wonderful and signed the kids hats.

Logan's favorite ride was Mission to Mars. Of course, we had to do the Intense Mission - which everyone loved, with the exception of my stomach! Guess I'm getting old.. LOL.

Next we went to Earth w/Ellen and learned about fossil fuels and energy by going back in time to visit the dinosaurs. Nemo & Friends and the Circle of life were favorites as well. Nemo and Friends empties out into a big area with aquariums full of saltwater fish, dolphins and manatees!

The kids enjoyed Spaceship Earth which gave you a glimpse of the future and at the end of the ride, put you in a little video about what your life could be like! It was fun and the kids liked seeing themselves in the video.

There were all kinds of character bushes all over Epcot.We had dinner in Mexico, visited Norway, China and Italy. We then moved onto the American Adventure and Museum. Both our kids love to learn about things, so it was a lot of fun for all of us seeing different artifacts from American history as well as learning more about Ben Franklin and Mark Twain. Alexis had recently learned about Ben Franklin, so she enjoyed finding out a bit more about him.

We ended our day with a fantastic fireworks display at the Epcot Center. A great time was had by all and we were tired!

Tomorrow we're off to a Character Breakfast with Minnie Mouse and then over to Animal Kingdom for a Safari!