Walt Disney World 2007 Trip
Tuesday October 16, 2007:
We left at 5am on our trip to DisneyWorld. The story doesn’t start there though…
Previous to the trip I had planned in detail what items we needed to pack, and how much space that would take. My goal was for us to use two suitcases (one large, one medium), and two carry-on backpacks. Over the weekend before I got all the laundry done, folded, and packed for the kids. On the day before we left I only had a few last minute things to wash, and Rich and I’s clothes to pack. I accomplished all of it and had us almost all packed before the kids went to bed. After we put them into bed Rich and I were gathering some last minute things and making sure we had items in the carryon bags that we would need for the respective kids we would have with us on the plane (Alex and Ashley with Rich, Angela and Alyssa with me).
At about 10:00pm I started wondering about my plan to take only two suitcases. I could fit everything in, but it was going to be a little tight. What would happen when we got there, and we had souvenires to bring home? We had already promised the kids they could buy one thing for their souvenier, and I didn’t know if we would be able to fit it all in coming home. So at 10:30 pm Rich and I decided we needed to have another suitcase. All of our other suitcases are small, really small- carryon size and it seemed like a waste of time to take one of them, so I hopped into the car and took the fastest trip to Walmart I think I’ve ever taken. I drove down, walked right over to the luggage, choose a suitcase, and bought it and came home. The longest I was still was while I was waiting in line to buy it. Lol! I think I hit every green light on the way there and back, and I got back by 11pm. Then I stayed up another ½ hour or so moving items from the two suitcases to balance stuff between the three suitcases. We got to bed somewhere around 11:45pm.
The Alarm went off at 4:30am the next morning. I actually was awake before that. I was so excited, and just overall did not sleep very deeply that night. We got up and got the kids up and were all ready to leave at 5:10am. Only 10 minutes behind our “schedule”. The drive to Tulsa went smoothly, despite the fog that was heavy for Oklahoma (for Rich it was no big deal-no where near what they get out in Northern California). We got to the airport and checked our luggage. We kept Angela’s carseat out for her to sit in on the plane, and got to our gate with our carryon’s and the carseat. We had an hour before our flight so we thought we would get to sit and relax for a little while.
The airline person then announced that our flight coming in probably would be on time, but the fog was getting bad enough that the little plane we were on would probably be grounded until the fog lifted. Luckily there was a larger plane that was leaving in 10 minutes for the same destination, from 2 gates over that had empty seats and all of us waiting for this flight could be accomodated on that flight.
So we quickly changed our tickets, they had some difficulties getting two sets of three seats together, but luckily were able to move a few people and work it out so we could be on the plane. We got on the plane and the kids were so excited! Alex and Ashley have been on planes before, but it’s been at least 5 years or so since they were on one, so it was almost like a first time for them again. Alyssa and Angela did great on the flight and I thought my fears of flying with Angela might be for naught.
After we landed and had about a 2 hour layover (since we came in an hour earlier than scheduled), we got on the second flight and my fears of Angela not cooperating on the flight came to light. She did not want to be in her carseat, she was kicking the seat in front of her repeatedly and screaming to be let out. Eventually I let her out (after takeoff) and tried to hold her and appease her and keep her happy in my lap. She would be fine for a few minutes and then unhappy again. It was like this for about an hour before she finally gave into her tiredness and fell asleep. I was able to ease her back into her car seat and buckle her up to take her nap and she slept until after we landed.
We flew into Tampa and then had a rental car that we drove over to Orlando. The kids are so spoiled with our car at home. We got into the rental car and it had two bench seats, that didn’t recline at all, and were not the most comfortable. By that time you could tell our kids had gotten up really early. Alyssa was upset because we were letting Alex and Ashley sit in the seats without boosters (we didn’t want to bring 4 carseat/boosters on the trip and legally they were old enough and could fit the seatbelt correctly without the boosters) and she threw a royal tantrum and didn’t want to get into her carseat. I wound up sitting in the back with her because she was reaching over and hitting and kicking Alex when he was sitting next to her. Alex got to sit up front with Rich. He was asleep within about 15 minutes of the hour drive. Alyssa luckily fell asleep too, and so did Angela. Ashley was upset because it wasn’t comfortable for her to fall asleep in the car where she was sitting.
We got into Orlando and found our hotel. We checked in and took all the luggage up to our room. It was a nice room. A suite, but at Embassy Suite’s all the rooms are suites… There was the front room with a couch that pulled out into a sofa bed, and then two double beds in the bedroom. After we freshened up a bit we headed out to McDonalds for dinner. This wasn’t just any McDonalds though. It is like a McDonalds/Chuck e cheeses/Sandwich shop/icecream parlor. It’s the largest McDonalds play area in the country- with a second story full of games and fun stuff. It has a play structure that is huge and the kids had fun playing on that and getting out all the pent up energy from sitting in the car and on the planes for so much of the day.
Then we went back to the hotel and tucked everyone into bed for the night. Ashley and Alyssa slept out on the sofa bed (a very uncomfortable bed I might add… not something anything with any weight on them could comfortably sleep on. Luckily Ashley and Alyssa didn’t seem to notice the springs popping out all over at all. Angela got the sofa cushions on the floor covered in a bedspread for her bed. Alex got his own bed.
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Saturday, November 03, 2007
DisneyWorld 2007 trip
Wednesday October 17, 2007:
We went to the Magic Kingdom. Before that though the kids chowed down on the breakfast at the hotel. We stayed at Embassy Suites, and they have the biggest free breakfast I’ve seen at any hotel we’ve stayed at. It’s not just the pastry’s and cold cereal and bagels and toast… they have a cook there that makes individual custom omlets, or scrambled eggs, or fried eggs… however you want it… they also have pancakes, french toast, sausage, bacon, fruit. They have chocolate milk (our kids favorite of course), milk, orange juice, cranberry juice, apple juice, all of the soda’s, coffee (not that we had it… just saying they had it). Alex was just thirlled and filled up on donuts and bagels and toast and muffins. I enjoyed the eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast- it really filled me up and was a great start for the day.
Then we drove over to the Magic Kingdom. Of course the very first ride we went on had to be Dumbo. All of the kids love the Dumbo ride and they couldn’t wait to ride it again (they rode it out at Disneyland last summer {2006}). After that we hit most of the little kid rides: Peter Pan, Pooh Bear, Tea Cups, It’s a small world. Then we headed over to Splash Mountain. This is what I love about Disney- Splash Mountain is a ride that you have to be a certain height to ride on. Instead of leaving young kids and parents that are with the young kids out just looking at the flowers while they wait for those riding on the ride- they have stuff for little kids to do. They have this great little play area for little kids right near Splash Mountain that totally is themed with the ride and everything. So, Angela and Alyssa and I stayed there and played while Rich and Alex and Ashley went on the ride. They also have the child swap program, so when they got off of the ride, I could go on the ride with up to two other people and not have to stand in the long line… just the much shorter fast pass return line.
So after we all went on Splash Mountain (Alex and Ashley got to go twice- once with Rich and once with me) we went and saw the Enchanted Tiki Room. Now this was no longer the “In the tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room” show that we’ve all seen in the past. It was new and “improved”… it was cute, but I think I actually like the older version better. The kids seemed to like it though and that’s all that really counts right? After that it was lunch time. This was vacation so the kids had icecream cones for their lunch. Rich and I had a raspberry lemonade slush thing that was very sweet, but nice and cold and definitly a treat in the hot weather we had that day.
After our “lunch” we went over and rode Aladin’s Magic Carpets. Alex was not happy about having to “share” the controls on the ride, so in the pictures there’s a great one of his grumpy face. Fortunately he kept it to a grumpy face and didn’t really have too big of a meltdown complaining about it. Then we went on the Haunted Mansion ride. We weren’t sure how Alyssa would react to it, we had just barely talked Alex into riding it last time we were at Disneyland, and Alyssa is similar to Alex and doesn’t like the dark rides- but she agreed to go on it. She sat through most of the ride very ridgid and quiet, but at the end she said she liked it and laughed at the “ghost” riding in the buggy with her and Daddy and Ashley. After that we hiked up and through and down the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, and then we went over to see Tom Sawyers Island.
When we came back over from the island the parade was going on so we watched some of it and then went to check out the new “Stich’s Great Escape” ride (Alex was just dieing to go on this ride- it didn’t show up in the “touring plans” that Rich had downloaded, and he was so concerned that we wouldn’t be able to fit it into the schedule). I stayed out with Alyssa and Angela while they went on it, and Rich wasn’t really impressed with it- so I didn’t bother with using the child swap to go on it.
Oh perhaps the biggest thing that we did that day- we didn’t have any strollers. It was okay for the first half of the day, but by the second half of the day Alyssa (not Angela, but Alyssa) was not happy and was wanting to be carried everywhere. We left the Magic Kingdom to take the monorail over to the “Grand Floridian” where we had dinner reservations, and Rich and Alex and Ashley had walked ahead of me and I was back with Alyssa and Angela. I almost got stuck behind with them because they BOTH wanted me to hold them and carry them- along with the backpack that I had at the time on my back. I did finally pick them both up and carry them for a while until Rich looked back and saw what was holding us up and he came back and got Alyssa… but we decided then that we would do the stroller rentals for the other days!
For dinner we went to 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. It is also titled “Cinderella’s Gala Feast”. It’s a buffet, and they even have a “kids buffet” section with kid favorites like mac and cheese, plain noodles, chicken nuggets, corn, french fries, etc… that are on a lower buffet so kids can walk up to it, see it and older kids (Alex and Ashley’s age) can easily reach and dish up their own plates. The rest of the buffet menu was really good and I was pleased with the selection. It all tasted wonderful, but really who are we kidding… we went there for the character interactions- not the food. Lol! Cinderella, Prince Charming, Anastasia, Drizella, and the Step Mother come out and go around to every single table. They sign autographs, take pictures, and talk and dance with all the kids that want to interact with them.
Our kids are on the shy side, so they didn’t really interact much- Ashley was the only one that would get up and pose for pictures with them, but they all loved watching the characters from a distance and the experience was worth it for our girls. (Of course Alex was not thrilled about it, but he got to have as much chocolate milk as he wanted and mac and cheese, so he was satisfied as long as we left him alone away from the characters).
After dinner we took the monorail back to the parking lot and went to our car and drove back to the hotel. It was an early dinner, so we still had some time before bedtime and we decided to go and try out the hotels pool. Alex and Ashley wore Rich out climbing all over him in the pool, and Alyssa and Angela had fun in the kiddy pool… they’ve never experienced a kiddie pool before that they can stand in and just play without mommy holding them. Then when we were sufficiently tired out we went upstairs and let the kids fall asleep watching tv… they only lasted about 10-30 minutes.
We went to the Magic Kingdom. Before that though the kids chowed down on the breakfast at the hotel. We stayed at Embassy Suites, and they have the biggest free breakfast I’ve seen at any hotel we’ve stayed at. It’s not just the pastry’s and cold cereal and bagels and toast… they have a cook there that makes individual custom omlets, or scrambled eggs, or fried eggs… however you want it… they also have pancakes, french toast, sausage, bacon, fruit. They have chocolate milk (our kids favorite of course), milk, orange juice, cranberry juice, apple juice, all of the soda’s, coffee (not that we had it… just saying they had it). Alex was just thirlled and filled up on donuts and bagels and toast and muffins. I enjoyed the eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast- it really filled me up and was a great start for the day.
Then we drove over to the Magic Kingdom. Of course the very first ride we went on had to be Dumbo. All of the kids love the Dumbo ride and they couldn’t wait to ride it again (they rode it out at Disneyland last summer {2006}). After that we hit most of the little kid rides: Peter Pan, Pooh Bear, Tea Cups, It’s a small world. Then we headed over to Splash Mountain. This is what I love about Disney- Splash Mountain is a ride that you have to be a certain height to ride on. Instead of leaving young kids and parents that are with the young kids out just looking at the flowers while they wait for those riding on the ride- they have stuff for little kids to do. They have this great little play area for little kids right near Splash Mountain that totally is themed with the ride and everything. So, Angela and Alyssa and I stayed there and played while Rich and Alex and Ashley went on the ride. They also have the child swap program, so when they got off of the ride, I could go on the ride with up to two other people and not have to stand in the long line… just the much shorter fast pass return line.
So after we all went on Splash Mountain (Alex and Ashley got to go twice- once with Rich and once with me) we went and saw the Enchanted Tiki Room. Now this was no longer the “In the tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room” show that we’ve all seen in the past. It was new and “improved”… it was cute, but I think I actually like the older version better. The kids seemed to like it though and that’s all that really counts right? After that it was lunch time. This was vacation so the kids had icecream cones for their lunch. Rich and I had a raspberry lemonade slush thing that was very sweet, but nice and cold and definitly a treat in the hot weather we had that day.
After our “lunch” we went over and rode Aladin’s Magic Carpets. Alex was not happy about having to “share” the controls on the ride, so in the pictures there’s a great one of his grumpy face. Fortunately he kept it to a grumpy face and didn’t really have too big of a meltdown complaining about it. Then we went on the Haunted Mansion ride. We weren’t sure how Alyssa would react to it, we had just barely talked Alex into riding it last time we were at Disneyland, and Alyssa is similar to Alex and doesn’t like the dark rides- but she agreed to go on it. She sat through most of the ride very ridgid and quiet, but at the end she said she liked it and laughed at the “ghost” riding in the buggy with her and Daddy and Ashley. After that we hiked up and through and down the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, and then we went over to see Tom Sawyers Island.
When we came back over from the island the parade was going on so we watched some of it and then went to check out the new “Stich’s Great Escape” ride (Alex was just dieing to go on this ride- it didn’t show up in the “touring plans” that Rich had downloaded, and he was so concerned that we wouldn’t be able to fit it into the schedule). I stayed out with Alyssa and Angela while they went on it, and Rich wasn’t really impressed with it- so I didn’t bother with using the child swap to go on it.
Oh perhaps the biggest thing that we did that day- we didn’t have any strollers. It was okay for the first half of the day, but by the second half of the day Alyssa (not Angela, but Alyssa) was not happy and was wanting to be carried everywhere. We left the Magic Kingdom to take the monorail over to the “Grand Floridian” where we had dinner reservations, and Rich and Alex and Ashley had walked ahead of me and I was back with Alyssa and Angela. I almost got stuck behind with them because they BOTH wanted me to hold them and carry them- along with the backpack that I had at the time on my back. I did finally pick them both up and carry them for a while until Rich looked back and saw what was holding us up and he came back and got Alyssa… but we decided then that we would do the stroller rentals for the other days!
For dinner we went to 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. It is also titled “Cinderella’s Gala Feast”. It’s a buffet, and they even have a “kids buffet” section with kid favorites like mac and cheese, plain noodles, chicken nuggets, corn, french fries, etc… that are on a lower buffet so kids can walk up to it, see it and older kids (Alex and Ashley’s age) can easily reach and dish up their own plates. The rest of the buffet menu was really good and I was pleased with the selection. It all tasted wonderful, but really who are we kidding… we went there for the character interactions- not the food. Lol! Cinderella, Prince Charming, Anastasia, Drizella, and the Step Mother come out and go around to every single table. They sign autographs, take pictures, and talk and dance with all the kids that want to interact with them.
Our kids are on the shy side, so they didn’t really interact much- Ashley was the only one that would get up and pose for pictures with them, but they all loved watching the characters from a distance and the experience was worth it for our girls. (Of course Alex was not thrilled about it, but he got to have as much chocolate milk as he wanted and mac and cheese, so he was satisfied as long as we left him alone away from the characters).
After dinner we took the monorail back to the parking lot and went to our car and drove back to the hotel. It was an early dinner, so we still had some time before bedtime and we decided to go and try out the hotels pool. Alex and Ashley wore Rich out climbing all over him in the pool, and Alyssa and Angela had fun in the kiddy pool… they’ve never experienced a kiddie pool before that they can stand in and just play without mommy holding them. Then when we were sufficiently tired out we went upstairs and let the kids fall asleep watching tv… they only lasted about 10-30 minutes.
DisneyWorld 2007 trip
Thursday, October 18, 2007:
Today we went to Epcot. After we got our stroller rented,and the free paper “crowns” that they gave us there, Alex, Alyssa, Angela and I headed over towards Test Track. Rich and Ashley quickly walked over to Soaring, and got fast passes to use later in the day, and then meet the rest of us over at Test Track. Alyssa was tall enough to go on this ride, so she decided she wanted to try it. Rich took Alex, Ashley,and Alyssa with him and Angela and I played outside while they went on the ride. (When you look at the pictures you’ll find lots of pictures of Angela and Alyssa outside… goofing off. They had to wait a lot for us to go on the “thrill” rides twice since we had to take turns, but they did great and really were content and happy to just talk and play during those times). When they came out Alyssa said she liked it, but not enough that she wanted to go on it again. Alex and Ashley went on it with me for my turn and she stayed back with Rich and Angela.
After that we went over to “Mission Space”. Last year Rich and I rode it and went on the spinning/orange side of the ride. Both of us almost got sick and it really put a damper on my day for a few hours. This year I went with Alex and Ashley on it and we rode the non-spinning/green side of the ride. This was much easier on my stomach and we had fun. I think Rich had flashbacks to last year and just did not have any desire to go on the ride, so we didn’t swap kids for that ride.
Then we went over across the park to “Soaring”. (We parked the stroller outside the pavilion area and left the four paper crowns sitting on top of the stroller canopy. Later when we finally got back to the stroller- the paper crowns were gone. I’m sure they just blew away in the wind, but the girls were a little upset about it.) Soaring is the ride that I didn’t particularly like last year- I’m afraid of heights and unlike most thrill rides where you have that fear and then the adrenaline chases it away because your going fast up and down the roller coaster track- Soaring gave me that fear of heights gut twisting feeling the whole entire time… way to long for my comfort level. Rich loves the ride, so he took Alex and Ashley on it while Alyssa and Angela and I hung out in the cafeteria next to it. Alyssa was on a major “DADDY” kick during this trip, so she was not happy when Daddy left and she couldn’t go on the ride because she was too short. I had to pull out the snacks and my cell phone and let her play a game on the phone and eat snacks to keep her happy that time. We followed that with an Alyssa friendly ride- “Finding Nemo”. Actually the ride was down when we first went, so we went to the other side of that building and looked at the fish tanks and saw all the neat stuff over there, then we went on the ride.
After that we headed back to the Pavilion that “Soarin” is in and had some lunch. They had great kids lunches and the kids inhaled the mac and cheese in their lunch. They didn’t care for the cornbread muffin, but they couldn’t eat the cup of chocolate pudding fast enough! I had a turkey and meunster sandwich with a chipotle mayo on it… yummy. Then we went on the rides in the pavilion there, and saw a movie they have there. We then went over to the next pavilion over where they have more science things. We went on the Imagination ride and had fun playing with the interactive things at the end of that ride. Then we went outside and it was pouring down rain. We ran over to watch the “Honey I shrunk the audience” show.
One thing I do not like about Disney is how they handle large crowds for their shows. They have everyone go into these “holding rooms” where everyone has to stand up and wait for like 15 -20 minutes… You feel like you’re a cow in a herd being bunched up, and there’s nothing to sit on or lean against… just everyone crowded in together. Of course right as we are about to go into the theatre… Alyssa had to go to the bathroom. There was no way we would find a bathroom and get back into the Theatre before they started, so Alyssa and Angela and I hiked out to find a bathroom and Alex and Ashley and Rich stayed to watch the show. Apparently Alex freaked out with the 3-D part of the show and Rich spent most of the time trying to calm him down (something he didn’t tell me until the next day… I’ll tell you that story later). We then went on a few more rides, and then headed over to the “World Showcase” part of Epcot. Of course we had to stop and see what the wait time was for “Test Track”. It was about an hour so we got fast passes to use later and then went on over to the World Showcase.
Now I knew that we would not take our time and look at all the different countries like Rich and I did last year. The kids just do not have that same interest in other countries to slowly walk around and learn about them, so we just went on the Mexico boat ride, and walked through the next few countries without really stopping and looking at anything. We had reservations for Biergarten and were not sure if we would use them because we weren’t certain the kids would like anything on the menu. When we got to the Germany showcase area we went back and asked what items were on the menu that were kid friendly. They had the pre-requisite of mac and cheese, so we decided we would go ahead and use our reservations. Inside they seat you at long tables and if your family isn’t big enough to fill the table, you share the table with another family. There was a family of four next to us from New York. There is also a german music show going on off and on throughout the dinner hours. They play german songs on unique German instruments. It was really neat to watch and the kids really got into the music. We all had a great time.
Our kids and the kids in the family next to us really really enjoyed the vanilla pudding that they had on the buffet line. They kept wanting more and more. The boy sitting next to me from the other family was telling his mom how good the pudding was. He told her it’s better than her life… she asked him is it really? You would give up your life for more of it? He then said “No mom, it’s better than YOUR life” She and her husband and I just cracked up laughing (Rich was off at the buffet with one of our kids). She then said she needed to drink more of her beer…. Which they had HUGE mugs of…. Lol! The food was good, Lots of yummy German food. Rich and I enjoyed it a lot, and the kids filled up on their mac and cheese and pudding. We all had a great time.
After dinner we headed back to Test track. We went on it- in two shifts, and then the kids had fun playing in a water area next to test track. They got soaked. By then it was dark and we headed back to the hotel for the night.
Today we went to Epcot. After we got our stroller rented,and the free paper “crowns” that they gave us there, Alex, Alyssa, Angela and I headed over towards Test Track. Rich and Ashley quickly walked over to Soaring, and got fast passes to use later in the day, and then meet the rest of us over at Test Track. Alyssa was tall enough to go on this ride, so she decided she wanted to try it. Rich took Alex, Ashley,and Alyssa with him and Angela and I played outside while they went on the ride. (When you look at the pictures you’ll find lots of pictures of Angela and Alyssa outside… goofing off. They had to wait a lot for us to go on the “thrill” rides twice since we had to take turns, but they did great and really were content and happy to just talk and play during those times). When they came out Alyssa said she liked it, but not enough that she wanted to go on it again. Alex and Ashley went on it with me for my turn and she stayed back with Rich and Angela.
After that we went over to “Mission Space”. Last year Rich and I rode it and went on the spinning/orange side of the ride. Both of us almost got sick and it really put a damper on my day for a few hours. This year I went with Alex and Ashley on it and we rode the non-spinning/green side of the ride. This was much easier on my stomach and we had fun. I think Rich had flashbacks to last year and just did not have any desire to go on the ride, so we didn’t swap kids for that ride.
Then we went over across the park to “Soaring”. (We parked the stroller outside the pavilion area and left the four paper crowns sitting on top of the stroller canopy. Later when we finally got back to the stroller- the paper crowns were gone. I’m sure they just blew away in the wind, but the girls were a little upset about it.) Soaring is the ride that I didn’t particularly like last year- I’m afraid of heights and unlike most thrill rides where you have that fear and then the adrenaline chases it away because your going fast up and down the roller coaster track- Soaring gave me that fear of heights gut twisting feeling the whole entire time… way to long for my comfort level. Rich loves the ride, so he took Alex and Ashley on it while Alyssa and Angela and I hung out in the cafeteria next to it. Alyssa was on a major “DADDY” kick during this trip, so she was not happy when Daddy left and she couldn’t go on the ride because she was too short. I had to pull out the snacks and my cell phone and let her play a game on the phone and eat snacks to keep her happy that time. We followed that with an Alyssa friendly ride- “Finding Nemo”. Actually the ride was down when we first went, so we went to the other side of that building and looked at the fish tanks and saw all the neat stuff over there, then we went on the ride.
After that we headed back to the Pavilion that “Soarin” is in and had some lunch. They had great kids lunches and the kids inhaled the mac and cheese in their lunch. They didn’t care for the cornbread muffin, but they couldn’t eat the cup of chocolate pudding fast enough! I had a turkey and meunster sandwich with a chipotle mayo on it… yummy. Then we went on the rides in the pavilion there, and saw a movie they have there. We then went over to the next pavilion over where they have more science things. We went on the Imagination ride and had fun playing with the interactive things at the end of that ride. Then we went outside and it was pouring down rain. We ran over to watch the “Honey I shrunk the audience” show.
One thing I do not like about Disney is how they handle large crowds for their shows. They have everyone go into these “holding rooms” where everyone has to stand up and wait for like 15 -20 minutes… You feel like you’re a cow in a herd being bunched up, and there’s nothing to sit on or lean against… just everyone crowded in together. Of course right as we are about to go into the theatre… Alyssa had to go to the bathroom. There was no way we would find a bathroom and get back into the Theatre before they started, so Alyssa and Angela and I hiked out to find a bathroom and Alex and Ashley and Rich stayed to watch the show. Apparently Alex freaked out with the 3-D part of the show and Rich spent most of the time trying to calm him down (something he didn’t tell me until the next day… I’ll tell you that story later). We then went on a few more rides, and then headed over to the “World Showcase” part of Epcot. Of course we had to stop and see what the wait time was for “Test Track”. It was about an hour so we got fast passes to use later and then went on over to the World Showcase.
Now I knew that we would not take our time and look at all the different countries like Rich and I did last year. The kids just do not have that same interest in other countries to slowly walk around and learn about them, so we just went on the Mexico boat ride, and walked through the next few countries without really stopping and looking at anything. We had reservations for Biergarten and were not sure if we would use them because we weren’t certain the kids would like anything on the menu. When we got to the Germany showcase area we went back and asked what items were on the menu that were kid friendly. They had the pre-requisite of mac and cheese, so we decided we would go ahead and use our reservations. Inside they seat you at long tables and if your family isn’t big enough to fill the table, you share the table with another family. There was a family of four next to us from New York. There is also a german music show going on off and on throughout the dinner hours. They play german songs on unique German instruments. It was really neat to watch and the kids really got into the music. We all had a great time.
Our kids and the kids in the family next to us really really enjoyed the vanilla pudding that they had on the buffet line. They kept wanting more and more. The boy sitting next to me from the other family was telling his mom how good the pudding was. He told her it’s better than her life… she asked him is it really? You would give up your life for more of it? He then said “No mom, it’s better than YOUR life” She and her husband and I just cracked up laughing (Rich was off at the buffet with one of our kids). She then said she needed to drink more of her beer…. Which they had HUGE mugs of…. Lol! The food was good, Lots of yummy German food. Rich and I enjoyed it a lot, and the kids filled up on their mac and cheese and pudding. We all had a great time.
After dinner we headed back to Test track. We went on it- in two shifts, and then the kids had fun playing in a water area next to test track. They got soaked. By then it was dark and we headed back to the hotel for the night.
DisneyWorld 2007 trip
Saturday, October 20, 2007:
We went to the Magic Kingdom again. Before we went there though, we loaded up our suitcases in the car and drove over to our hotel for the next three nights. We stayed at the Disney Port Orleans Riverside Hotel. I went in and got us checked in and got our room keys. We had two adjoining rooms and it took a while for them to find two rooms that were adjoining and available, but we got them. They couldn’t give us the room numbers yet because the previous guests were still in the rooms and hadn’t checked out yet. They gave us a phone number to call later in the day to find out the room numbers. Then we parked the car in the parking lot and took the bus from the hotel over to the Magic Kingdom.
At the Magic Kingdom we went over and got in line for the Indy Speedway. We got up there and to our chagrin found out that Alex was not tall enough to be in a car by himself, and there were only two people allowed in the car at a time. So… I stood at the front of the line while Rich and Ashley went on the ride, and then when they got off, Rich took Alyssa and Angela and Ashley on out and Alex and I went on the ride. Alyssa didn’t want to go on the ride, (it was too loud she said) but I know Angela would have enjoyed going on it. Then Rich went and got fast passes for space mountain. We rode the Buzz lightyear ride… that’s one that the kids all enjoy since they get to shoot the targets throughout the ride. Then we got in line for the Astro Orbiter. The line was 30 minutes and our Space Mountain passes were ready to be used, so I took Alex, Alyssa and Angela on the Space Orbiter and Rich and Ashley went to ride space mountain. Alex had some weird idea in his head that he wouldn’t like Space Mountain… silly right?? After we rode that, Rich and Ashley were back from Space Mountain and I had talked Alex into riding it. Ashley LOVED it of course so the three of us went and got in line for it. Alex was still a bit scared. He does not like dark rides and was afraid it would be too dark for him, but he got on the ride and LOVED it! We grabbed more fastpasses to use later and ride it again.
Alyssa and Angela had a snack of popcorn while we were on Space Mountain and then we rode the blue line ride that goes all around futureworld… a nice slow ride that Angela was able to take a little nap on then we headed over to toon town.
Alyssa didn’t like the look of Barnstormer so she and Angela and I played around the toontown stuff while Rich and Alex and Ashley went on the roller coaster. Then we walked through minnies house, and played on Donalds boat and went back over to futureworld to ride Space mountain again. I went with Alex and Ashley, and then Rich went with Alex and Ashley, Alyssa, Angela and I went and got icecream cones for the girls. We had learned from the previous time how fast they melted, so this time we got the ice cream cone, but also a cup and spoon to put it in and eat with when it started to melt. Rich and I had giant pretzels for our lunch. They were way too salty, so we scrapped off all of the salt. Of course the kids “helped” us eat them and dip it into a cheese dip we got to go with them.
After lunch we headed over to the Laugh floor comedy club. It’s themed after Monsters Inc. They do this interactive show that’s quite funny. They choose people in the audience (unknown to them) and put a camera and spotlight on them at certain times while they are telling jokes. For part of it they tell an “abreviated” Monsters Inc. story and spotlight people in the audience to be the main characters. Imagine our surprise and delight when Alyssa showed up on the screen as “Boo” in the storytelling. They wanted her to play “peek-a-boo” with the camera, but she was too shy and just turned towards Rich… everyone thought she was adorable (as we already know she is!) and it was a highlight of her day. After that we went and saw the Country Bear Jamboree, and picked up some fast passes for Splash mountain again. We went and rode on the Carousel again, and then while Rich, Alex and Ashley went on Splash Mountain; Alyssa, Angela and I went and rode Aladdin’s magic carpet ride again.
It was getting later in the day so we then headed back to the bus to go back to our hotel. We got back, and found our hotel rooms. Then brought all the luggage in. I had to wash some clothes so while Rich and the kids relaxed a little bit and figured out what we would do for dinner, I went and started the laundry. Normally at hotels the laundry room is one washer and one dryer, or maybe two… At this hotel there were 10 washer and dryers in a laundry room next to the pool. There were three pools in the hotel complex that had these laundry facilities… very very family oriented… since most families have some need of washing clothes during a week long stay. It’s also locked so you have to use a keycard to get into it. I felt comfortable leaving the clothes in the washer and going back to our room. In our room we decided to go over to the boardwalk and get a pizza and some ice cream for dinner.
We drove over to the Boardwalk, and while we had to wait a long time for the pizza (afterwards we figured out we should have just bought individual slices to get it a lot faster), it was fun to watch all the people there. Rich has stayed at a hotel there on the boardwalk numerous times for buisness so it was neat to be able to see the area that he has described to me in the past. A popular activity was riding these bike carts that 2, 4, 6, or 8 people would be on and all pedalling… something I could see us doing with the kids when they are older and all can help pedal.
After our pizza Rich, Ashley, and I had ice cream cones, Alex had the largest rice crispy treat I’ve ever seen, and Alyssa and Angela had sugar cookies decorated like Cinderella and Stitch for their dessert. We had to walk quite a ways to the car, but Angela wanted to walk the whole way… she was so cute how she practically ran to keep up with us walking at a moderate pace.
Back at the hotel we decided there would be a girls room, and a Mommy/Daddy and Alex room. Ashley got her own bed and Alyssa and Angela would share a bed. The kids fell asleep within minutes of laying down. In the middle of the night I went to check on the girls- the connecting doors were open, but partially closed between the rooms, but when I went to check the door that opened into the girls room was closed. I tried to swing it open and something was in the way. I slowly pushed it open and found Angela on the floor in front of the bed. Aparently she fell off during the night, but it didn’t wake her up at all. I put her back on the bed with some extra pillows to help keep her on the bed. The subsequent nights we made a bed on the floor with two bedspreads for her to sleep on instead of worrying about her falling out of bed again.
We went to the Magic Kingdom again. Before we went there though, we loaded up our suitcases in the car and drove over to our hotel for the next three nights. We stayed at the Disney Port Orleans Riverside Hotel. I went in and got us checked in and got our room keys. We had two adjoining rooms and it took a while for them to find two rooms that were adjoining and available, but we got them. They couldn’t give us the room numbers yet because the previous guests were still in the rooms and hadn’t checked out yet. They gave us a phone number to call later in the day to find out the room numbers. Then we parked the car in the parking lot and took the bus from the hotel over to the Magic Kingdom.
At the Magic Kingdom we went over and got in line for the Indy Speedway. We got up there and to our chagrin found out that Alex was not tall enough to be in a car by himself, and there were only two people allowed in the car at a time. So… I stood at the front of the line while Rich and Ashley went on the ride, and then when they got off, Rich took Alyssa and Angela and Ashley on out and Alex and I went on the ride. Alyssa didn’t want to go on the ride, (it was too loud she said) but I know Angela would have enjoyed going on it. Then Rich went and got fast passes for space mountain. We rode the Buzz lightyear ride… that’s one that the kids all enjoy since they get to shoot the targets throughout the ride. Then we got in line for the Astro Orbiter. The line was 30 minutes and our Space Mountain passes were ready to be used, so I took Alex, Alyssa and Angela on the Space Orbiter and Rich and Ashley went to ride space mountain. Alex had some weird idea in his head that he wouldn’t like Space Mountain… silly right?? After we rode that, Rich and Ashley were back from Space Mountain and I had talked Alex into riding it. Ashley LOVED it of course so the three of us went and got in line for it. Alex was still a bit scared. He does not like dark rides and was afraid it would be too dark for him, but he got on the ride and LOVED it! We grabbed more fastpasses to use later and ride it again.
Alyssa and Angela had a snack of popcorn while we were on Space Mountain and then we rode the blue line ride that goes all around futureworld… a nice slow ride that Angela was able to take a little nap on then we headed over to toon town.
Alyssa didn’t like the look of Barnstormer so she and Angela and I played around the toontown stuff while Rich and Alex and Ashley went on the roller coaster. Then we walked through minnies house, and played on Donalds boat and went back over to futureworld to ride Space mountain again. I went with Alex and Ashley, and then Rich went with Alex and Ashley, Alyssa, Angela and I went and got icecream cones for the girls. We had learned from the previous time how fast they melted, so this time we got the ice cream cone, but also a cup and spoon to put it in and eat with when it started to melt. Rich and I had giant pretzels for our lunch. They were way too salty, so we scrapped off all of the salt. Of course the kids “helped” us eat them and dip it into a cheese dip we got to go with them.
After lunch we headed over to the Laugh floor comedy club. It’s themed after Monsters Inc. They do this interactive show that’s quite funny. They choose people in the audience (unknown to them) and put a camera and spotlight on them at certain times while they are telling jokes. For part of it they tell an “abreviated” Monsters Inc. story and spotlight people in the audience to be the main characters. Imagine our surprise and delight when Alyssa showed up on the screen as “Boo” in the storytelling. They wanted her to play “peek-a-boo” with the camera, but she was too shy and just turned towards Rich… everyone thought she was adorable (as we already know she is!) and it was a highlight of her day. After that we went and saw the Country Bear Jamboree, and picked up some fast passes for Splash mountain again. We went and rode on the Carousel again, and then while Rich, Alex and Ashley went on Splash Mountain; Alyssa, Angela and I went and rode Aladdin’s magic carpet ride again.
It was getting later in the day so we then headed back to the bus to go back to our hotel. We got back, and found our hotel rooms. Then brought all the luggage in. I had to wash some clothes so while Rich and the kids relaxed a little bit and figured out what we would do for dinner, I went and started the laundry. Normally at hotels the laundry room is one washer and one dryer, or maybe two… At this hotel there were 10 washer and dryers in a laundry room next to the pool. There were three pools in the hotel complex that had these laundry facilities… very very family oriented… since most families have some need of washing clothes during a week long stay. It’s also locked so you have to use a keycard to get into it. I felt comfortable leaving the clothes in the washer and going back to our room. In our room we decided to go over to the boardwalk and get a pizza and some ice cream for dinner.
We drove over to the Boardwalk, and while we had to wait a long time for the pizza (afterwards we figured out we should have just bought individual slices to get it a lot faster), it was fun to watch all the people there. Rich has stayed at a hotel there on the boardwalk numerous times for buisness so it was neat to be able to see the area that he has described to me in the past. A popular activity was riding these bike carts that 2, 4, 6, or 8 people would be on and all pedalling… something I could see us doing with the kids when they are older and all can help pedal.
After our pizza Rich, Ashley, and I had ice cream cones, Alex had the largest rice crispy treat I’ve ever seen, and Alyssa and Angela had sugar cookies decorated like Cinderella and Stitch for their dessert. We had to walk quite a ways to the car, but Angela wanted to walk the whole way… she was so cute how she practically ran to keep up with us walking at a moderate pace.
Back at the hotel we decided there would be a girls room, and a Mommy/Daddy and Alex room. Ashley got her own bed and Alyssa and Angela would share a bed. The kids fell asleep within minutes of laying down. In the middle of the night I went to check on the girls- the connecting doors were open, but partially closed between the rooms, but when I went to check the door that opened into the girls room was closed. I tried to swing it open and something was in the way. I slowly pushed it open and found Angela on the floor in front of the bed. Aparently she fell off during the night, but it didn’t wake her up at all. I put her back on the bed with some extra pillows to help keep her on the bed. The subsequent nights we made a bed on the floor with two bedspreads for her to sleep on instead of worrying about her falling out of bed again.
DisneyWorld 2007 trip
Friday, October 19, 2007:
Animal Kingdom was the park of the day. We went to the Triceritop Spin first. The ride is a lot like Dumbo, but it’s a triceritop, and you can make it go up and down, and tilt forward and backward. The kids and I rode it twice while Rich hiked over to Expedition Everest and got fast passes for us to use later on that ride. Then when he got back he and Ashley and Alex went on the Primeval Whirl, and Alyssa and Angela and I went on Triceritop spin a third time! Then I went on Primeval Whirl with the big kids again and Rich and the little kids waited for us. Then we went over and rode Dinosaur. It’s a lot like Indiana Jones at Disneyland, but a little different. We all like Indiana Jones better- the story that goes with it is better and inside the lighting is better, but this is still fun. Alex and Ashley went on it with Rich, and then Ashley went on it a second time with me. Alex isn’t a huge fan of it so once was enough for him to ride it.
Next we went over to the kids all time favorite ride… well one of them- I guess they have a lot. Lol! The River Raft ride. I was not feeling the desire to get soaking wet, so Rich went on it with Alex and Ashley and Alyssa and Angela and I took our time walking down to the exit area and took some pictures along the way. Then we went and saw the Birds of Wonder show. It’s really neat and the kids liked seeing the birds up close. We walked through the Maharaja Jungle treck. They have laminated “guides” for people to pick up and use to identify the animals. Alex really got into that part of the walk.
Then it was time for my favorite ride at this park… Expedition Everest. Alex was not up to riding it, so Ashley got to go on it twice. Once with Rich and once with me. After that we headed over to get fast passes for the Kilimanjaro Safari. We grabbed some lunch- Mickey Mouse shaped chocolate covered vanilla icecream popsicles for the kids, and sandwiches for Rich and I. I had a hot italian sandwich (Turkey, ham, swiss, provolone, with ceasar salad on it and a pesto sauce) It was sooo good! I know I’ve heard people complain about the prices of food at the parks, and yes it does cost more than at a regular fast food place, but it’s good food!!
After lunch we went over to Rafiki’s Planet Watch/conservation station. When we got up near the pavilion there, there was this trash can that was talking to the kids outside… lol! Alex was just thrilled. He watched and followed it around for quite a while. Then we went inside and the kids had fun using the interactive things to learn more about animals and how they are being taken care of. Angela fell asleep and I had her in a sling, so I sat down and just observed Rich and the older kids as they did the activities. They also went into the petting zoo, and there was a guy there singing folk songs and playing the guitar so Alyssa and Ashley enjoyed watching that, while Alex went and played with his “trash can” friend (actually I think it was labeled a recycling bin) It was a robot inside moving it around and the guy controlling it was dressed up like a tourist and had the mechanisms hidden in a soft sided cooler and stuff so he could stand back from the kids and controll it, but still hear them and talk to them through the microphone. It was neat. We rode the train back from there and then went on the Kilimanjaro safari.
I love taking this safari, and it was overcast and drizzling rain and the animals were loving it, because they were up and walking around and not laying down taking naps and hiding from us. We saw sooo many animals! It was awesome!
After the Safari we walked through the Pangani Forest, and then headed back over to the River Raft ride. I sent Rich ahead with Ashley and Alex and they managed to ride it twice since the line wasn’t very long. Alyssa and Angela and I meet them at the exit and they were soaked through!
We then headed over to watch It’s hard to be a bug inside of the big tree of life. We got stopped by the parade that was going on and we couldn’t cross the street to get to the tree of life. Once the parade was over we went and got in line for the show. Alex was asking me if he didn’t wear the 3-D glasses if it would still look like 3-D. I told him that it wouldn’t… it would probably look fuzzy and not be clear at all. So we went in and he was protesting a little bit that he didn’t really want to see it… I not knowing how he had reacted the day before to the 3-D show kept telling him it would be fine, he could just close his eyes if a part was scary, but that this was just funny… well we went in and sat down. Alex probably lasted two minutes before he started whining that he didn’t like it. We tried to get him to just calm down and sit next to us and close his eyes… but he just flipped out… he wasn’t hyperventilating, but would have been if he had continued… and then he ran out of the theatre. Luckily we were near the exit doors so we could see as he left he went and sat down on a bench near the door. We were confident that he would not go anywhere so we stayed with the rest of the kids and watched the rest of the show and then quickly went out and got him at the end of the show. Then is when Rich told me that Alex had flipped out the day before and not enjoyed the 3-D show that day. If I had known that, I would have just stayed outside with him and Angela and not had him go to the show.
After that we were all pretty tired, and we had reservations that night for Boma (my all time favorite restaurant at DisneyWorld), so we headed back to the Hotel so people could change into dry clothes and we could rest a little bit before dinner. We never even went over to the Camp Minnie and Mickey part of othe park, but we know we will be going there again, so the kids will get to see that stuff next time.
We got back to the hotel and discovered we didn’t have any clean pants for Alex, or clean socks for Ashley… so we took out the hair dryer and iron and we sat and ironed and blew hot air on his shorts and Ashley’s socks to dry them enough that they would be comfortable to wear. Lol! I had planned on washing clothes that evening, so I only had enough clean clothes to get us through that day. With semi dry clothes and a little bit of restful time we then headed over to Boma for dinner.
Boma- Is the restaurant that last year Rich choose for us to go to. I was so hesitant, because I was afraid that I wouldn’t like any of the food there… I’m inherantly a picky eater and have to go way out of my comfort zone to try new things. It’s a buffet though, so I can can dish up a little bit of everything, and take a bite and if I don’t like it- I don’t feel like I have to eat it- I just go and eat something else. Well last year I was so hesitant about it, but we got there and I tried the food and I LOVED IT!! The foods are such unique combinations, but they are delicious and I absolutely loved all the flavors there were. So we went this year. Rich and I laughed because again we went to this restaurant for us, not for the kids. There were the kid friendly mac and cheese, french fries and chicken nuggets for them to eat… and we paid an outrageous amount for the kids dinners, but it was worth it to us because we love the food there so much, and there is just no other opportunity for us to eat at a restaurant like this other than there at DisneyWorld.
After dinner we went back to the hotel. It was our last night at that hotel, and I had planned on washing clothes when we got back, but Rich decided for me that it was too late to start doing laundry (It was about 9:30) I actually still had some clean clothes for all the kids except Alex, so Rich hand washed some clothes for Alex in the bathroom sink and hung them up to dry while we slept. We packed the rest of the stuff into suitcases so we would be ready to load them into the car the next morning.
Animal Kingdom was the park of the day. We went to the Triceritop Spin first. The ride is a lot like Dumbo, but it’s a triceritop, and you can make it go up and down, and tilt forward and backward. The kids and I rode it twice while Rich hiked over to Expedition Everest and got fast passes for us to use later on that ride. Then when he got back he and Ashley and Alex went on the Primeval Whirl, and Alyssa and Angela and I went on Triceritop spin a third time! Then I went on Primeval Whirl with the big kids again and Rich and the little kids waited for us. Then we went over and rode Dinosaur. It’s a lot like Indiana Jones at Disneyland, but a little different. We all like Indiana Jones better- the story that goes with it is better and inside the lighting is better, but this is still fun. Alex and Ashley went on it with Rich, and then Ashley went on it a second time with me. Alex isn’t a huge fan of it so once was enough for him to ride it.
Next we went over to the kids all time favorite ride… well one of them- I guess they have a lot. Lol! The River Raft ride. I was not feeling the desire to get soaking wet, so Rich went on it with Alex and Ashley and Alyssa and Angela and I took our time walking down to the exit area and took some pictures along the way. Then we went and saw the Birds of Wonder show. It’s really neat and the kids liked seeing the birds up close. We walked through the Maharaja Jungle treck. They have laminated “guides” for people to pick up and use to identify the animals. Alex really got into that part of the walk.
Then it was time for my favorite ride at this park… Expedition Everest. Alex was not up to riding it, so Ashley got to go on it twice. Once with Rich and once with me. After that we headed over to get fast passes for the Kilimanjaro Safari. We grabbed some lunch- Mickey Mouse shaped chocolate covered vanilla icecream popsicles for the kids, and sandwiches for Rich and I. I had a hot italian sandwich (Turkey, ham, swiss, provolone, with ceasar salad on it and a pesto sauce) It was sooo good! I know I’ve heard people complain about the prices of food at the parks, and yes it does cost more than at a regular fast food place, but it’s good food!!
After lunch we went over to Rafiki’s Planet Watch/conservation station. When we got up near the pavilion there, there was this trash can that was talking to the kids outside… lol! Alex was just thrilled. He watched and followed it around for quite a while. Then we went inside and the kids had fun using the interactive things to learn more about animals and how they are being taken care of. Angela fell asleep and I had her in a sling, so I sat down and just observed Rich and the older kids as they did the activities. They also went into the petting zoo, and there was a guy there singing folk songs and playing the guitar so Alyssa and Ashley enjoyed watching that, while Alex went and played with his “trash can” friend (actually I think it was labeled a recycling bin) It was a robot inside moving it around and the guy controlling it was dressed up like a tourist and had the mechanisms hidden in a soft sided cooler and stuff so he could stand back from the kids and controll it, but still hear them and talk to them through the microphone. It was neat. We rode the train back from there and then went on the Kilimanjaro safari.
I love taking this safari, and it was overcast and drizzling rain and the animals were loving it, because they were up and walking around and not laying down taking naps and hiding from us. We saw sooo many animals! It was awesome!
After the Safari we walked through the Pangani Forest, and then headed back over to the River Raft ride. I sent Rich ahead with Ashley and Alex and they managed to ride it twice since the line wasn’t very long. Alyssa and Angela and I meet them at the exit and they were soaked through!
We then headed over to watch It’s hard to be a bug inside of the big tree of life. We got stopped by the parade that was going on and we couldn’t cross the street to get to the tree of life. Once the parade was over we went and got in line for the show. Alex was asking me if he didn’t wear the 3-D glasses if it would still look like 3-D. I told him that it wouldn’t… it would probably look fuzzy and not be clear at all. So we went in and he was protesting a little bit that he didn’t really want to see it… I not knowing how he had reacted the day before to the 3-D show kept telling him it would be fine, he could just close his eyes if a part was scary, but that this was just funny… well we went in and sat down. Alex probably lasted two minutes before he started whining that he didn’t like it. We tried to get him to just calm down and sit next to us and close his eyes… but he just flipped out… he wasn’t hyperventilating, but would have been if he had continued… and then he ran out of the theatre. Luckily we were near the exit doors so we could see as he left he went and sat down on a bench near the door. We were confident that he would not go anywhere so we stayed with the rest of the kids and watched the rest of the show and then quickly went out and got him at the end of the show. Then is when Rich told me that Alex had flipped out the day before and not enjoyed the 3-D show that day. If I had known that, I would have just stayed outside with him and Angela and not had him go to the show.
After that we were all pretty tired, and we had reservations that night for Boma (my all time favorite restaurant at DisneyWorld), so we headed back to the Hotel so people could change into dry clothes and we could rest a little bit before dinner. We never even went over to the Camp Minnie and Mickey part of othe park, but we know we will be going there again, so the kids will get to see that stuff next time.
We got back to the hotel and discovered we didn’t have any clean pants for Alex, or clean socks for Ashley… so we took out the hair dryer and iron and we sat and ironed and blew hot air on his shorts and Ashley’s socks to dry them enough that they would be comfortable to wear. Lol! I had planned on washing clothes that evening, so I only had enough clean clothes to get us through that day. With semi dry clothes and a little bit of restful time we then headed over to Boma for dinner.
Boma- Is the restaurant that last year Rich choose for us to go to. I was so hesitant, because I was afraid that I wouldn’t like any of the food there… I’m inherantly a picky eater and have to go way out of my comfort zone to try new things. It’s a buffet though, so I can can dish up a little bit of everything, and take a bite and if I don’t like it- I don’t feel like I have to eat it- I just go and eat something else. Well last year I was so hesitant about it, but we got there and I tried the food and I LOVED IT!! The foods are such unique combinations, but they are delicious and I absolutely loved all the flavors there were. So we went this year. Rich and I laughed because again we went to this restaurant for us, not for the kids. There were the kid friendly mac and cheese, french fries and chicken nuggets for them to eat… and we paid an outrageous amount for the kids dinners, but it was worth it to us because we love the food there so much, and there is just no other opportunity for us to eat at a restaurant like this other than there at DisneyWorld.
After dinner we went back to the hotel. It was our last night at that hotel, and I had planned on washing clothes when we got back, but Rich decided for me that it was too late to start doing laundry (It was about 9:30) I actually still had some clean clothes for all the kids except Alex, so Rich hand washed some clothes for Alex in the bathroom sink and hung them up to dry while we slept. We packed the rest of the stuff into suitcases so we would be ready to load them into the car the next morning.
DisneyWorld 2007 trip
Sunday, October 21, 2007:
Today we didn’t go to any parks. We went to the cafeteria style restaurant for breakfast. There were lots of choices for breakfast (not free) from waffles to pancakes, french toast. They all came with a side of sausage or bacon or eggs… There were also bakery things- pastries, muffins, cinnamon rolls. The kids each got waffles in the shape of a mickey head- two small ones and sausage and bacon and applesauce as a side dish. After breakfast we went back to the hotel room and had a little family devotional. We read some scriptures and talked a little while about temples and faith. Then we drove over to the Orlando temple. There wasn’t anyone there, it’s closed on Sundays, but the grounds are open so we walked around the outside some and took some pictures. Then we went back to the hotel.
At the hotel the kids were dying to go swimming so we changed and walked over to the big main pool. The hotel is actually a large spread out hotel with numerous buildings. There are about three or four “small pools” that really are about 2-3 times the size of our neighborhood pool here, and then one large pool with a slide and waterfall feature, and a kiddy pool. We went over to that big pool. We probably swam and played for a couple of hours.
After a while Alyssa and Angela were getting tired and cranky and it was cooling off a bit. I decided to head back to the hotel room with them. Right as we were playing on the playground equipment next to the pool area it started to sprinkle rain. It was just sprinkling, but we started walking back to our room along the riverway path. Back at the pool the kids were having so much fun that they didn’t care that it was raining. It was so fun walking back in the rain with Alyssa and Angela. We were soaking wet, it was raining pretty steadily and everyone around us was running around with umbrella’s and poncho’s on… they saw us there in our swimsuits and would grin really big and comment that it doesn’t matter if you get wet when you’ve been wet from swimming… Alyssa and Angela ran and jumped in puddles and we sang “singing in the rain” while we walked back to the room. In the room the a/c had been left on so it was freezing and we had to quickly bundle up and get out of the wet swimsuits, but it was definitly a memory to treasure and keep.
Rich was stuck at the pool with Alex and Ashley and they were having a grand ole time playing, until there was a big lightning strike… I was back in the room by then, but Rich said the lifeguards cleared the pool quickly and then they walked back to the room quickly.
After we all dried off, and warmed up we went over to Downtown Disney for dinner and some shopping. We have never ever taken the kids to a sit down restaurant. So we thought that they had been behaving so well that week that we would try it. Of course the Rainforest Café is not like a normal sit down restaurant and is very kid friendly so we thought it was the perfect place to try with the kids. We had fun walking around and looking at all the stuff in the store while we waited to be seated.
Once we sat down and ordered our drinks Alex turned to Rich and said… okay lets go get our food… he had no idea that you go to restaurants and stay in your seat and order one entrée and have them bring it to you. He looked at the menu and wanted the alfredo pasta, and the mac and cheese and the chicken tenders… we told him he had to choose just one and he wasn’t too happy about it at first, but then agreed to cooperate. We were seated right up next to the elephants so Angela loved everytime they would swing their trunks and flap their ears. We also were close enough to watch the gorillas in the other room and their movement. It was great.
After dinner we went shopping. We had told the kids that they each could choose something for a souvenier. It took a long time (at least an hour), but eventually the kids settled on their souveniers. Angela got a soft stuffed pooh bear; Alyssa got a tinkerbell doll with dress up clothes- similar to a polly pocket; Ashley got a cinderella wig and gloves and purse; and Alex built his own light sabre.
Then we had to go and get ice cream sundae’s at Ghiradelli’s Chocolate Shoppe. Rich always goes there on his buisness trips with his co-workers and he had promised the kids we would get them one night that week. They are delicious!! There really is nothing more to say than that… it’s a wonderful sundae whatever one you choose… The kids ones were even really big too!
Then we went back to the hotel and Alyssa and Angela fell asleep in the car. It was quick and easy to get them all asleep that night.
Today we didn’t go to any parks. We went to the cafeteria style restaurant for breakfast. There were lots of choices for breakfast (not free) from waffles to pancakes, french toast. They all came with a side of sausage or bacon or eggs… There were also bakery things- pastries, muffins, cinnamon rolls. The kids each got waffles in the shape of a mickey head- two small ones and sausage and bacon and applesauce as a side dish. After breakfast we went back to the hotel room and had a little family devotional. We read some scriptures and talked a little while about temples and faith. Then we drove over to the Orlando temple. There wasn’t anyone there, it’s closed on Sundays, but the grounds are open so we walked around the outside some and took some pictures. Then we went back to the hotel.
At the hotel the kids were dying to go swimming so we changed and walked over to the big main pool. The hotel is actually a large spread out hotel with numerous buildings. There are about three or four “small pools” that really are about 2-3 times the size of our neighborhood pool here, and then one large pool with a slide and waterfall feature, and a kiddy pool. We went over to that big pool. We probably swam and played for a couple of hours.
After a while Alyssa and Angela were getting tired and cranky and it was cooling off a bit. I decided to head back to the hotel room with them. Right as we were playing on the playground equipment next to the pool area it started to sprinkle rain. It was just sprinkling, but we started walking back to our room along the riverway path. Back at the pool the kids were having so much fun that they didn’t care that it was raining. It was so fun walking back in the rain with Alyssa and Angela. We were soaking wet, it was raining pretty steadily and everyone around us was running around with umbrella’s and poncho’s on… they saw us there in our swimsuits and would grin really big and comment that it doesn’t matter if you get wet when you’ve been wet from swimming… Alyssa and Angela ran and jumped in puddles and we sang “singing in the rain” while we walked back to the room. In the room the a/c had been left on so it was freezing and we had to quickly bundle up and get out of the wet swimsuits, but it was definitly a memory to treasure and keep.
Rich was stuck at the pool with Alex and Ashley and they were having a grand ole time playing, until there was a big lightning strike… I was back in the room by then, but Rich said the lifeguards cleared the pool quickly and then they walked back to the room quickly.
After we all dried off, and warmed up we went over to Downtown Disney for dinner and some shopping. We have never ever taken the kids to a sit down restaurant. So we thought that they had been behaving so well that week that we would try it. Of course the Rainforest Café is not like a normal sit down restaurant and is very kid friendly so we thought it was the perfect place to try with the kids. We had fun walking around and looking at all the stuff in the store while we waited to be seated.
Once we sat down and ordered our drinks Alex turned to Rich and said… okay lets go get our food… he had no idea that you go to restaurants and stay in your seat and order one entrée and have them bring it to you. He looked at the menu and wanted the alfredo pasta, and the mac and cheese and the chicken tenders… we told him he had to choose just one and he wasn’t too happy about it at first, but then agreed to cooperate. We were seated right up next to the elephants so Angela loved everytime they would swing their trunks and flap their ears. We also were close enough to watch the gorillas in the other room and their movement. It was great.
After dinner we went shopping. We had told the kids that they each could choose something for a souvenier. It took a long time (at least an hour), but eventually the kids settled on their souveniers. Angela got a soft stuffed pooh bear; Alyssa got a tinkerbell doll with dress up clothes- similar to a polly pocket; Ashley got a cinderella wig and gloves and purse; and Alex built his own light sabre.
Then we had to go and get ice cream sundae’s at Ghiradelli’s Chocolate Shoppe. Rich always goes there on his buisness trips with his co-workers and he had promised the kids we would get them one night that week. They are delicious!! There really is nothing more to say than that… it’s a wonderful sundae whatever one you choose… The kids ones were even really big too!
Then we went back to the hotel and Alyssa and Angela fell asleep in the car. It was quick and easy to get them all asleep that night.
DisneyWorld 2007 trip
Monday, October 22, 2007:
Today we went to MGM Studio’s. We rode the bus over from the hotel, and then went straight to the Tower of Terror to pick up fast pass tickets for later. Then we went to the Rock n Roller coaster. Alex and Ashley absolutely LOVED it, and we spent the entire day hearing Alex ask if we could go back to it. Lol!
Then we headed over to The Great Movie Ride, we checked on times for the Little Mermaid and thought we had time to go and use the fast passes on the Tower of Terror and get back for a Little Mermaid show, so Rich and Ashley quickly walked back to ride it, while Alex and Alyssa and I took our time walking back. Alex would not go on it, so Ashley went on it with Rich, and then again with me. She liked it a lot- I loved it… it’s my favorite ride there… (I love the rockin roller coaster too, but like this one even better!). When Rich and Ashley got off the ride, Rich took the other three kids and walked back over to the Little Mermaid ride while Ashley and I rode Tower of Terror and then quickly walked back to meet them. We missed the show by about 2 minutes. So we got fast passes for that show to go and see it later.
We went and saw Playhouse Disney Live, and then raced from there over to the Little Mermaid show. Of course just as we get in the line Alyssa had to use the bathroom. I was taking all the girls to this show and Rich and Alex were going to go check out “One Man’s Dream”. Luckily they were walking past and I could leave Ashley and Angela with Rich and race across the courtyard area and get Alyssa to a bathroom and race back- and still get in on the show- barely. We were on the far right side only three rows up, so it was a little hard to see, but the girls still enjoyed it.
After that we got popsicles for the kids… we thought they might not be as messy as icecream cones… boy were we WRONG!!!!!! Those suckers melt faster than icecream cones and were a huge mess!
After we got them eaten and then cleaned up the kids we went and saw the Beauty and the Beast show. Then we grabbed fast passes to use later for the Rock N Roller coaster. We then hiked back across the park to take the backlot tour. By then Angela was asleep and she slept in a the sling all the way through the tour until we hit the “canyon” area where they simulate an earthquake, huge explosion and flood waters racing through the canyon. It was a bit of a rude awakening for her to wake up to that noise, but she did fine.
Next we went to Star Tours. I’ve been on it enough times to not care if I missed going on it that day, so Alyssa and Angela and I went and walked around and played in the store while Rich and Ashley and Alex went on the ride. After that we were all getting pretty tired and hungry and worn out so we went to the Indiana Jones stunt show, and then used our fast passes on rock n roller coaster and then called it a day and headed back to the hotel.
Back at the hotel we were trying to decide what to do for dinner that night. We wanted to go and eat at a buffet since we really didn’t have anything for lunch. I went to ask the concierge if they had any buffet’s with seating available that night- and mentioned Boma was a favorite of ours and to the shock of the concierge there was an opening that night at Boma! So I grabbed it. It wasn’t for a few hours so I stopped by the “general store” at the hotel and picked up some pretzels for the kids to snack on to tide them over till dinner, and some snacks for the plane ride the next day.
We went to Boma that night and I just love that restaurant… The food is just great. The dessert buffet isn’t as thrilling as other places so the kids don’t like that as much, but they were so exhausted after a long day that they didn’t even fight much in the car and they ate a good amount of mac and cheese. Angela fell asleep sitting in my lap at the table as I was trying to eat… we got a picture of that. Alyssa fell asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel, so bedtime that night went really smoothly… Ashley and Alex even fell asleep within minutes of getting their pj’s on.
Today we went to MGM Studio’s. We rode the bus over from the hotel, and then went straight to the Tower of Terror to pick up fast pass tickets for later. Then we went to the Rock n Roller coaster. Alex and Ashley absolutely LOVED it, and we spent the entire day hearing Alex ask if we could go back to it. Lol!
Then we headed over to The Great Movie Ride, we checked on times for the Little Mermaid and thought we had time to go and use the fast passes on the Tower of Terror and get back for a Little Mermaid show, so Rich and Ashley quickly walked back to ride it, while Alex and Alyssa and I took our time walking back. Alex would not go on it, so Ashley went on it with Rich, and then again with me. She liked it a lot- I loved it… it’s my favorite ride there… (I love the rockin roller coaster too, but like this one even better!). When Rich and Ashley got off the ride, Rich took the other three kids and walked back over to the Little Mermaid ride while Ashley and I rode Tower of Terror and then quickly walked back to meet them. We missed the show by about 2 minutes. So we got fast passes for that show to go and see it later.
We went and saw Playhouse Disney Live, and then raced from there over to the Little Mermaid show. Of course just as we get in the line Alyssa had to use the bathroom. I was taking all the girls to this show and Rich and Alex were going to go check out “One Man’s Dream”. Luckily they were walking past and I could leave Ashley and Angela with Rich and race across the courtyard area and get Alyssa to a bathroom and race back- and still get in on the show- barely. We were on the far right side only three rows up, so it was a little hard to see, but the girls still enjoyed it.
After that we got popsicles for the kids… we thought they might not be as messy as icecream cones… boy were we WRONG!!!!!! Those suckers melt faster than icecream cones and were a huge mess!
After we got them eaten and then cleaned up the kids we went and saw the Beauty and the Beast show. Then we grabbed fast passes to use later for the Rock N Roller coaster. We then hiked back across the park to take the backlot tour. By then Angela was asleep and she slept in a the sling all the way through the tour until we hit the “canyon” area where they simulate an earthquake, huge explosion and flood waters racing through the canyon. It was a bit of a rude awakening for her to wake up to that noise, but she did fine.
Next we went to Star Tours. I’ve been on it enough times to not care if I missed going on it that day, so Alyssa and Angela and I went and walked around and played in the store while Rich and Ashley and Alex went on the ride. After that we were all getting pretty tired and hungry and worn out so we went to the Indiana Jones stunt show, and then used our fast passes on rock n roller coaster and then called it a day and headed back to the hotel.
Back at the hotel we were trying to decide what to do for dinner that night. We wanted to go and eat at a buffet since we really didn’t have anything for lunch. I went to ask the concierge if they had any buffet’s with seating available that night- and mentioned Boma was a favorite of ours and to the shock of the concierge there was an opening that night at Boma! So I grabbed it. It wasn’t for a few hours so I stopped by the “general store” at the hotel and picked up some pretzels for the kids to snack on to tide them over till dinner, and some snacks for the plane ride the next day.
We went to Boma that night and I just love that restaurant… The food is just great. The dessert buffet isn’t as thrilling as other places so the kids don’t like that as much, but they were so exhausted after a long day that they didn’t even fight much in the car and they ate a good amount of mac and cheese. Angela fell asleep sitting in my lap at the table as I was trying to eat… we got a picture of that. Alyssa fell asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel, so bedtime that night went really smoothly… Ashley and Alex even fell asleep within minutes of getting their pj’s on.
DisneyWorld 2007 trip
Tuesday, October 23, 2007:
That morning we got up, got ready for the day, finished packing, and loaded up our car with our suitcases. We went and got breakfast at the “cafeteria” area at the hotel, and then headed to the airport. Alex and Ashley had a royal fight to begin the morning in the car… and then got distracted by different things and the rest of the ride was a lot calmer. At the airport the kids acted like old pro’s and knew what to do to get through security. We had about 30-40 minutes to wait when we got to the airport, and there was a great little kid play area that I took Angela to. The other kids sat and played on their gameboys with Rich while they were waiting.
The first flight went smoothly. Alyssa and Angela behaved well and we had fun. I didn’t take Angela’s carseat on the plane this time and it was much easier to keep her happy with more space and flexibility for her and Alyssa to switch seats and stuff- she fell sleep and took a nap for the last hour of the flight. The second flight was more difficult for Angela, because by then she really didn’t want to sit still on the plane. It was far easier than the second flight on the way out though- because I did have more room to give her to move around a bit… but she still wasn’t too happy to have to sit still for takeoff and landing. I wound up holding her in my lap for landing because she would not cooperate and sit in her seat. After that we decided that when we do fly- at least for the next few years we will really try to get direct flights so we only have one flight to try and keep her contained on… two is just too long for her.
The kids were very pleased to see our car at the airport, and the DVD player that is in it for the drive home from the airport. My kids are just electronic kids and long drives are so much easier with a DVD available for them to watch… Alyssa and Angela both fell asleep on the drive home and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get them to go back to sleep at a decent time when we got home, but luckily they were so tired from the long day that they went to bed at a decent hour that night.
The next morning… the kids missed the bus to school, but we were able to get them there before school started… it was a busy day- and most of the days in the past two weeks have been busy as well… I might get a chance to catch the blog up on those days… eventually. :-)
That morning we got up, got ready for the day, finished packing, and loaded up our car with our suitcases. We went and got breakfast at the “cafeteria” area at the hotel, and then headed to the airport. Alex and Ashley had a royal fight to begin the morning in the car… and then got distracted by different things and the rest of the ride was a lot calmer. At the airport the kids acted like old pro’s and knew what to do to get through security. We had about 30-40 minutes to wait when we got to the airport, and there was a great little kid play area that I took Angela to. The other kids sat and played on their gameboys with Rich while they were waiting.
The first flight went smoothly. Alyssa and Angela behaved well and we had fun. I didn’t take Angela’s carseat on the plane this time and it was much easier to keep her happy with more space and flexibility for her and Alyssa to switch seats and stuff- she fell sleep and took a nap for the last hour of the flight. The second flight was more difficult for Angela, because by then she really didn’t want to sit still on the plane. It was far easier than the second flight on the way out though- because I did have more room to give her to move around a bit… but she still wasn’t too happy to have to sit still for takeoff and landing. I wound up holding her in my lap for landing because she would not cooperate and sit in her seat. After that we decided that when we do fly- at least for the next few years we will really try to get direct flights so we only have one flight to try and keep her contained on… two is just too long for her.
The kids were very pleased to see our car at the airport, and the DVD player that is in it for the drive home from the airport. My kids are just electronic kids and long drives are so much easier with a DVD available for them to watch… Alyssa and Angela both fell asleep on the drive home and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get them to go back to sleep at a decent time when we got home, but luckily they were so tired from the long day that they went to bed at a decent hour that night.
The next morning… the kids missed the bus to school, but we were able to get them there before school started… it was a busy day- and most of the days in the past two weeks have been busy as well… I might get a chance to catch the blog up on those days… eventually. :-)
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Our Disneyworld Vacation
Pictures are up here...
http://newtonaaaa.blogspot.com/
I hope to get my thoughts up in the next few days. :)
http://newtonaaaa.blogspot.com/
I hope to get my thoughts up in the next few days. :)
Monday, July 02, 2007
Our vacation
Our June 2007 Family Vacation:
We just got back from our family vacation and I thought I’d write up about it while memories were fresh in my mind.
THURSDAY
Thursday we left. We left in the afternoon so Rich could go to work that day and just come home early and not have to take a full day off of work. Alyssa and Ashley had their very last swimming lesson that morning at the YMCA and then we ran to the bank to get some cash for the trip, and to Wal-Mart to exchange some capri’s I had bought that were too small for the next size up (and then I forgot to pack them... oh well!), and the pharmacy to pick up a refill I had forgotten to pick up the previous day. Rich actually wound up getting home before we did, and then we quickly finished packing up the van and feed everyone lunch and we were off.
The first day of a road trip is usually realtively calm and quiet. The kids are cooperative and I can usually get a lot of reading done instead of refereeing. My mom called us sometime during the drive and we realized that we had forgotten to bring the wedding present I had bought for my sister- it was still sitting in the garage waiting to be loaded into the car. No bid deal though and we knew we could just pick up an identical present at Target when we got there. We made great time and got to our hotel at about 10pm. There we discovered that instead of what we thought we had reserved a double queen bed room, we had actually gotten a double- double bed room… no big deal though… we just would have a little less space in the beds. Then we unloaded all the suitcases and sleeping bags (with four kids- two get the priviledge of using sleeping bags at hotels), got all the kids changed into pj’s and then worked on getting them to go to sleep.
This is the one thing both Rich and I really do not like about going on vacation. Trying to get four kids to sleep all at the same time after having been cooped up in carseats for a long drive. It really just does not go smoothly- ever… So there we were with four kids in pj’s and two girls fighting over space in a shared bed, and one little girl giggling and laughing and refusing to stand still much less lay down… So I got dressed again and took the biggest offender (Angela) out to the lobby to let her wind down a little bit more, while Rich seperated Alyssa and Ashley to separate beds and sat and watched sportscenter- something that is sure to drive the girls to boredome and to sleep.
Angela and I stayed in the lobby for about an hour and a half until I felt like she was starting to get tired. She made friends with the desk clerk and had some crayons and coloring pages to play with and we looked at all the stuff that would be out for breakfast the next morning (empty serving stuff set up). We read newsweek (that was cute… too bad I didn’t have the camera) and she “counted” the apples in the bowl on the coffee table in the lobby. (counting… one, two, one, one, two, one, two, two, two, etc…) We headed back to the hotel room and it still took about ½ hour for me to get her to go to sleep. I think I went to sleep around 1:30am Albuquerque time… so 2:30am Oklahoma time.
We just got back from our family vacation and I thought I’d write up about it while memories were fresh in my mind.
THURSDAY
Thursday we left. We left in the afternoon so Rich could go to work that day and just come home early and not have to take a full day off of work. Alyssa and Ashley had their very last swimming lesson that morning at the YMCA and then we ran to the bank to get some cash for the trip, and to Wal-Mart to exchange some capri’s I had bought that were too small for the next size up (and then I forgot to pack them... oh well!), and the pharmacy to pick up a refill I had forgotten to pick up the previous day. Rich actually wound up getting home before we did, and then we quickly finished packing up the van and feed everyone lunch and we were off.
The first day of a road trip is usually realtively calm and quiet. The kids are cooperative and I can usually get a lot of reading done instead of refereeing. My mom called us sometime during the drive and we realized that we had forgotten to bring the wedding present I had bought for my sister- it was still sitting in the garage waiting to be loaded into the car. No bid deal though and we knew we could just pick up an identical present at Target when we got there. We made great time and got to our hotel at about 10pm. There we discovered that instead of what we thought we had reserved a double queen bed room, we had actually gotten a double- double bed room… no big deal though… we just would have a little less space in the beds. Then we unloaded all the suitcases and sleeping bags (with four kids- two get the priviledge of using sleeping bags at hotels), got all the kids changed into pj’s and then worked on getting them to go to sleep.
This is the one thing both Rich and I really do not like about going on vacation. Trying to get four kids to sleep all at the same time after having been cooped up in carseats for a long drive. It really just does not go smoothly- ever… So there we were with four kids in pj’s and two girls fighting over space in a shared bed, and one little girl giggling and laughing and refusing to stand still much less lay down… So I got dressed again and took the biggest offender (Angela) out to the lobby to let her wind down a little bit more, while Rich seperated Alyssa and Ashley to separate beds and sat and watched sportscenter- something that is sure to drive the girls to boredome and to sleep.
Angela and I stayed in the lobby for about an hour and a half until I felt like she was starting to get tired. She made friends with the desk clerk and had some crayons and coloring pages to play with and we looked at all the stuff that would be out for breakfast the next morning (empty serving stuff set up). We read newsweek (that was cute… too bad I didn’t have the camera) and she “counted” the apples in the bowl on the coffee table in the lobby. (counting… one, two, one, one, two, one, two, two, two, etc…) We headed back to the hotel room and it still took about ½ hour for me to get her to go to sleep. I think I went to sleep around 1:30am Albuquerque time… so 2:30am Oklahoma time.
Friday
FRIDAY
Well sometime around 6:30 am the kids started to wake up. I had wound up sleeping in a bed with Alyssa, and while sleeping she seemed a bit warmer than usual, but I normally don’t sleep with her and thought perhaps she was just warmer because of the shared body heat. I jumped in the shower and got myself ready and while Rich was showering I started getting the girls changed and ready. By then Alyssa was awake and I could tell she had a slight fever. She started coughing and wound up coughing up the yellow acid that sits in your stomach when it’s empty… oh.. the night before she really didn’t want to eat much for dinner- I guess that would have been a sign she wasn’t feeling all that great. So we drugged her up with ibuprophen and finished getting ready. We loaded the suitcases back in the car and went to breakfast. Sometime in there we lost Angela’s baby blanket. We went to breakfast and the kids behaved great. We actually got compliments from others on how cute and well behaved our children were. Shocking I tell ya! ;-)
Then we loaded into the van and hit the road again. We had driven 8 hours the previous day and had 10 hours on the itenerary for that day. The drive went relatively well. Alyssa had her fever and wasn’t feeling great, but she didn’t throw up anymore- until we stopped at the gas station. I had her out of her seat to go to the bathroom and she threw up again. Luckily my hand caught most of it and a bag was closeby so we didn’t have a huge mess all over the van and her. I gave her some tylenol to help the fever and lots of water (with a pull-up on so she didn’t have to worry about having an accident), and went back to driving (what else can you do? ) We wound up taking an alternate route by accident that turned into a fun drive. We had a map printed out we wanted to follow, but we also pulled up the car’s GPS system and had thought the map it pulled up was identical. Instead it was slightly different and took us by the north rim of the grand canyon. A scenic drive that was fun, but not really quicker than the original route. The kids did well on the drive and got along fairly well. Alex and Ashley cooperated and took turns choosing movies and didn’t complain when it was the little kids turns as well.
We got to St. George and the hotel where my parents, and three sisters and their family, fiance, and boyfriend were staying at. I checked in at the front desk for a key and they gave me a key to room 241. Angela and Alyssa had fallen fast asleep so Rich and Alex and Ashley took a load of suitcases up to the room and I stayed out in the car with them. I called my parents to let them know we were there and unloading and my dad came out to greet us. Of course Alyssa woke up and being sick I had my dad take Angela and I took Alyssa and we went into the hotel. (It was 105 degrees outside so sitting in the parking lot was not comfortable). Rich came around the corner with the kids and told me there must be a mistake because he opened the door to the room and someone elses suitcase was sitting on the bed. So I went up to the front desk and at the same time my dad realized that the desk had gotten things mixed up. Our entire party was all registered by my mom and dad and they had given us the key to my sisters fiance, and boyfriends room, instead of the adjoining room to my sisters hotel room which we were supposed to have. So we got that all straightened out and suitcases deposited into the room.
In the meantime my dad was holding Angela and she woke up and got frantic that she had no idea where she was, or who she was with and cried so much that she threw up… all over herself and my dad. I took her and calmed her down and changed her clothes. Then we went and ate pizza that my parents had gotten delivered to their room. Rich stayed in our room with Alyssa since she had the fever. I made a plate up with some pizza and fruit and took it over to him and he had realized that we had forgotten to put the garment bag into the car when we loaded the car. The garment bag had all of our church clothes for the entire family in it, and Rich’s dress shoes. Luckily I had stashed dress shoes for the kids and I into our individual suitcases because the garment bag was full.
So… my sisters family and my other sister were planning on heading to the pool. Alex and Ashley wanted to go and I just put Angela in her swimsuit and sent her with them too. Rich and I took Alyssa with us and we went on a shopping trip. My sister Nancy had made new skirts for she and I, so I needed to find a shirt that would go with the skirt for me, and dresses for the girls and shirt and pants for Alex and the expensive stuff was Rich’s shirt, pants, tie, belt, and shoes… Kohls really is a great one stop shopping place and we were able to get a shirt for me, dresses for Alyssa and Angela, and shirt, tie, pants, belt and shoes for Rich. Ashley is at such a hard age to find a dress for. There were absolutely no dresses in her size at Kohls. We did find one cute shirt that was nice and I knew I had seen lots of skirts at the wal-mart at home, so we got the shirt and then went to wal-mart to look for a skirt for her and get pants and a white shirt for Alex. At wal-mart it was easy to find Alex a shirt and pants… then we went to the girls section and started looking for dresses. The only dress I found at all was one with a halter style neckline- no sleeves of course. The skirts they had were like denim shorts cut offs, with a lace ruffle… and they were short… not something I would find appopriate for a six year old to wear. So we decided that she had a pair of gaucho’s that could kind of pass as a skirt and she would just have to wear that.
We went back to the hotel and went to our room and our room key wouldn’t work. So I went to the front desk again… and we figured out that my sister with my kids had gotten into the room through her room (which was the point of having connecting rooms) and when they left someone had turned the deadbolt on our door, so the key won’t work. My kids were hanging out with my parents, since my sister and her boyfriend and our other sister and her fiance had taken off to go watch a movie- so we didn’t have the key to my sisters room either… so the front desk opened up her room and we got into our room through the connecting door. That night luckily the kids went to sleep relatively easily and quickly. The time in the pool helped wear them up and we all got to sleep before midnight.
Well sometime around 6:30 am the kids started to wake up. I had wound up sleeping in a bed with Alyssa, and while sleeping she seemed a bit warmer than usual, but I normally don’t sleep with her and thought perhaps she was just warmer because of the shared body heat. I jumped in the shower and got myself ready and while Rich was showering I started getting the girls changed and ready. By then Alyssa was awake and I could tell she had a slight fever. She started coughing and wound up coughing up the yellow acid that sits in your stomach when it’s empty… oh.. the night before she really didn’t want to eat much for dinner- I guess that would have been a sign she wasn’t feeling all that great. So we drugged her up with ibuprophen and finished getting ready. We loaded the suitcases back in the car and went to breakfast. Sometime in there we lost Angela’s baby blanket. We went to breakfast and the kids behaved great. We actually got compliments from others on how cute and well behaved our children were. Shocking I tell ya! ;-)
Then we loaded into the van and hit the road again. We had driven 8 hours the previous day and had 10 hours on the itenerary for that day. The drive went relatively well. Alyssa had her fever and wasn’t feeling great, but she didn’t throw up anymore- until we stopped at the gas station. I had her out of her seat to go to the bathroom and she threw up again. Luckily my hand caught most of it and a bag was closeby so we didn’t have a huge mess all over the van and her. I gave her some tylenol to help the fever and lots of water (with a pull-up on so she didn’t have to worry about having an accident), and went back to driving (what else can you do? ) We wound up taking an alternate route by accident that turned into a fun drive. We had a map printed out we wanted to follow, but we also pulled up the car’s GPS system and had thought the map it pulled up was identical. Instead it was slightly different and took us by the north rim of the grand canyon. A scenic drive that was fun, but not really quicker than the original route. The kids did well on the drive and got along fairly well. Alex and Ashley cooperated and took turns choosing movies and didn’t complain when it was the little kids turns as well.
We got to St. George and the hotel where my parents, and three sisters and their family, fiance, and boyfriend were staying at. I checked in at the front desk for a key and they gave me a key to room 241. Angela and Alyssa had fallen fast asleep so Rich and Alex and Ashley took a load of suitcases up to the room and I stayed out in the car with them. I called my parents to let them know we were there and unloading and my dad came out to greet us. Of course Alyssa woke up and being sick I had my dad take Angela and I took Alyssa and we went into the hotel. (It was 105 degrees outside so sitting in the parking lot was not comfortable). Rich came around the corner with the kids and told me there must be a mistake because he opened the door to the room and someone elses suitcase was sitting on the bed. So I went up to the front desk and at the same time my dad realized that the desk had gotten things mixed up. Our entire party was all registered by my mom and dad and they had given us the key to my sisters fiance, and boyfriends room, instead of the adjoining room to my sisters hotel room which we were supposed to have. So we got that all straightened out and suitcases deposited into the room.
In the meantime my dad was holding Angela and she woke up and got frantic that she had no idea where she was, or who she was with and cried so much that she threw up… all over herself and my dad. I took her and calmed her down and changed her clothes. Then we went and ate pizza that my parents had gotten delivered to their room. Rich stayed in our room with Alyssa since she had the fever. I made a plate up with some pizza and fruit and took it over to him and he had realized that we had forgotten to put the garment bag into the car when we loaded the car. The garment bag had all of our church clothes for the entire family in it, and Rich’s dress shoes. Luckily I had stashed dress shoes for the kids and I into our individual suitcases because the garment bag was full.
So… my sisters family and my other sister were planning on heading to the pool. Alex and Ashley wanted to go and I just put Angela in her swimsuit and sent her with them too. Rich and I took Alyssa with us and we went on a shopping trip. My sister Nancy had made new skirts for she and I, so I needed to find a shirt that would go with the skirt for me, and dresses for the girls and shirt and pants for Alex and the expensive stuff was Rich’s shirt, pants, tie, belt, and shoes… Kohls really is a great one stop shopping place and we were able to get a shirt for me, dresses for Alyssa and Angela, and shirt, tie, pants, belt and shoes for Rich. Ashley is at such a hard age to find a dress for. There were absolutely no dresses in her size at Kohls. We did find one cute shirt that was nice and I knew I had seen lots of skirts at the wal-mart at home, so we got the shirt and then went to wal-mart to look for a skirt for her and get pants and a white shirt for Alex. At wal-mart it was easy to find Alex a shirt and pants… then we went to the girls section and started looking for dresses. The only dress I found at all was one with a halter style neckline- no sleeves of course. The skirts they had were like denim shorts cut offs, with a lace ruffle… and they were short… not something I would find appopriate for a six year old to wear. So we decided that she had a pair of gaucho’s that could kind of pass as a skirt and she would just have to wear that.
We went back to the hotel and went to our room and our room key wouldn’t work. So I went to the front desk again… and we figured out that my sister with my kids had gotten into the room through her room (which was the point of having connecting rooms) and when they left someone had turned the deadbolt on our door, so the key won’t work. My kids were hanging out with my parents, since my sister and her boyfriend and our other sister and her fiance had taken off to go watch a movie- so we didn’t have the key to my sisters room either… so the front desk opened up her room and we got into our room through the connecting door. That night luckily the kids went to sleep relatively easily and quickly. The time in the pool helped wear them up and we all got to sleep before midnight.
Saturday
SATURDAY
Saturday morning we all woke up and Rich and I got ready for the wedding. My youngest sister and her boyfriend were watching my kids and my sisters three kids at the hotel while we attended the wedding at the Temple. It was a beautiful wedding. After the ceremony my sister and I and our husbands (Rich and Jacob) went back to the hotel to pick up the kids and bring them over to the Temple for pictures. Nancy and I made a quick bouquet with some flowers my mom had bought the day before, while our hubbies got the kids changed and into the cars. We didn’t take too many pictures because it was unbelievably hot… 105 or something like that. Then we went over to a luncheon at a church building. The kids got to run around and play a bit more and we could relax in the air conditioned building.
We left St. George around 2pm and drove up to Midway Utah. There would be a reception down in Orderville, Utah for my sister and her new husband that night, but we were going to be going to the reception the following Saturday up near my parents house, so we skipped that reception that night. The drive from St. George to Midway was 4 ½ hours. In Midway we went and got some McDonalds for dinner and let the kids get rid of some extra energy in the play area. Angela had a blast climbing up and going down the slide over and over and over and over again. Then we went and meet up with Rich’s parents and sister Sharon and her family over at the house we had rented for the whole family to stay at.
The house was a great house for a reunion. There were six bedrooms. One master bedroom with a king size bed, four bedrooms with queen size beds in them, and one large bedroom with three daybeds in it. Under the daybeds was another mattress that we could pull out and we had six twin size beds in that room. There was a good size kitchen/dining/living room upstairs, and a large game room downstairs with a pool table and fooseball table and big screen tv. Rich’s brother showed up and the kids all loved playing with their Uncle Dave until it was bedtime and we got them all in bed. Alex and Ashley and Elijah (Sharon’s oldest) got to stay up a little later, but when it was bedtime they still had to be reminded a few times to be quiet and not to talk. Three of our kids and three of Sharon’s kids all slept in the room with the six twin beds. The best part of renting a house and all staying together was in the evenings. We would get the kids in bed and we could sit up and talk or play games and have some adult time together.
Saturday morning we all woke up and Rich and I got ready for the wedding. My youngest sister and her boyfriend were watching my kids and my sisters three kids at the hotel while we attended the wedding at the Temple. It was a beautiful wedding. After the ceremony my sister and I and our husbands (Rich and Jacob) went back to the hotel to pick up the kids and bring them over to the Temple for pictures. Nancy and I made a quick bouquet with some flowers my mom had bought the day before, while our hubbies got the kids changed and into the cars. We didn’t take too many pictures because it was unbelievably hot… 105 or something like that. Then we went over to a luncheon at a church building. The kids got to run around and play a bit more and we could relax in the air conditioned building.
We left St. George around 2pm and drove up to Midway Utah. There would be a reception down in Orderville, Utah for my sister and her new husband that night, but we were going to be going to the reception the following Saturday up near my parents house, so we skipped that reception that night. The drive from St. George to Midway was 4 ½ hours. In Midway we went and got some McDonalds for dinner and let the kids get rid of some extra energy in the play area. Angela had a blast climbing up and going down the slide over and over and over and over again. Then we went and meet up with Rich’s parents and sister Sharon and her family over at the house we had rented for the whole family to stay at.
The house was a great house for a reunion. There were six bedrooms. One master bedroom with a king size bed, four bedrooms with queen size beds in them, and one large bedroom with three daybeds in it. Under the daybeds was another mattress that we could pull out and we had six twin size beds in that room. There was a good size kitchen/dining/living room upstairs, and a large game room downstairs with a pool table and fooseball table and big screen tv. Rich’s brother showed up and the kids all loved playing with their Uncle Dave until it was bedtime and we got them all in bed. Alex and Ashley and Elijah (Sharon’s oldest) got to stay up a little later, but when it was bedtime they still had to be reminded a few times to be quiet and not to talk. Three of our kids and three of Sharon’s kids all slept in the room with the six twin beds. The best part of renting a house and all staying together was in the evenings. We would get the kids in bed and we could sit up and talk or play games and have some adult time together.
Sunday
SUNDAY
Sunday morning we all got up bright and early and got ready for church. It started at 9:30 am and we were lucky that it wasn’t far away, or we might have been late. We went to church with Rich’s grandfather- my mother in law’s father. During the middle of the service I had to get up and quickly go to the bathroom because I had a nose bleed… fun fun… Rich’s youngest sister meet us at church with her family- their flight had gotten in late the night before and they decided to stop at a hotel instead of driving all the way down to midway that night. After sacrament meeting was over all of us kids and grandkids headed back to the house while Rich’s parents stayed to attend the other meetings with his grandfather. We had a nice afternoon at the house with everyone playing and reaquainting themselves with each other. Then we loaded up and headed down to Mona, Utah.
Rich’s uncle bought the little house that his dad’s dad grew up in and it has a wonderful yard that makes it a perfect gathering place for large family gatherings. We were there and starting to wonder where Rich’s brother Dave was when he drove up. Ashley had ridden in the car with him and they had left at the same time we did. It was a good 20-30 minutes later when he drove up and surprised us by having his girlfriend with him. She had driven up with him from Arizona and stayed with some cousins in Orem the night before, but decided to come and join us for the dinner.
We had a traditional Newton taco dinner with all the cousins, and extended family that could come and visit. The kids had a great time running around and playing in the yard. We brought out some toy helicopters that my dad had given my kids and they all had fun chasing those around and launching them. We even had it get stuck up high in a tree and on a roof and Sharon’s husband- James had to climb up and get it down. Through this all Alyssa still had the fever, so we were trying to keep her away from others and since she wasn’t feeling well that was fairly easy to do and she clung to Rich or I almost the entire time. We stayed till it was starting to get dark and then left. I was in charge of an activity the next day and had to print out some stuff, so we stopped at my parents house on the way back to midway and printed off the stuff I needed- and then got back to the midway house. All of Sharon and Laura’s kids were already in bed and it made it much quicker to just change our kids into pj’s and have them go to sleep without cousins to lay and giggle with late into the night.
Sunday morning we all got up bright and early and got ready for church. It started at 9:30 am and we were lucky that it wasn’t far away, or we might have been late. We went to church with Rich’s grandfather- my mother in law’s father. During the middle of the service I had to get up and quickly go to the bathroom because I had a nose bleed… fun fun… Rich’s youngest sister meet us at church with her family- their flight had gotten in late the night before and they decided to stop at a hotel instead of driving all the way down to midway that night. After sacrament meeting was over all of us kids and grandkids headed back to the house while Rich’s parents stayed to attend the other meetings with his grandfather. We had a nice afternoon at the house with everyone playing and reaquainting themselves with each other. Then we loaded up and headed down to Mona, Utah.
Rich’s uncle bought the little house that his dad’s dad grew up in and it has a wonderful yard that makes it a perfect gathering place for large family gatherings. We were there and starting to wonder where Rich’s brother Dave was when he drove up. Ashley had ridden in the car with him and they had left at the same time we did. It was a good 20-30 minutes later when he drove up and surprised us by having his girlfriend with him. She had driven up with him from Arizona and stayed with some cousins in Orem the night before, but decided to come and join us for the dinner.
We had a traditional Newton taco dinner with all the cousins, and extended family that could come and visit. The kids had a great time running around and playing in the yard. We brought out some toy helicopters that my dad had given my kids and they all had fun chasing those around and launching them. We even had it get stuck up high in a tree and on a roof and Sharon’s husband- James had to climb up and get it down. Through this all Alyssa still had the fever, so we were trying to keep her away from others and since she wasn’t feeling well that was fairly easy to do and she clung to Rich or I almost the entire time. We stayed till it was starting to get dark and then left. I was in charge of an activity the next day and had to print out some stuff, so we stopped at my parents house on the way back to midway and printed off the stuff I needed- and then got back to the midway house. All of Sharon and Laura’s kids were already in bed and it made it much quicker to just change our kids into pj’s and have them go to sleep without cousins to lay and giggle with late into the night.
Monday
MONDAY
Monday was our BYU/Provo day. We all meet down on the BYU campus (where Rich, his siblings, all of us spouses, his parents and many of his cousins went to school). When we had been thinking of the reunion and things we wanted to do, we thought it would be neat to show the kids BYU campus where all of us meet our spouses… I came up with the idea to do a scavenger hunt of places throughout the campus that had a significant memory for people in the family. I took “clues” that people wrote about a significant place and described the event, and told where it was and then we had to guess which family member had submitted that event. We broke into three groups with three different lists of clues, so each group didn’t have to walk all over the entire campus. Then we would walk to the place, read the clue, decide who we thought it was about, and take a picture of someone in our group holding up the name of who we had decided it was about. It really was a fun activity and I had a lot of fun tagging along with the group and playing the poker face while they tried to figure out who the clue went to…
BYU Scaveger hunt clues (from memory… I can’t find my copy that I had)
Group A:
1. This person described this as the “best class on campus” he took it three times. It was intermediate golf and held on the field south of the Smith Field House. {Dave}
2. Two people in our family went on their first date to a volleyball game at the Smith Field House. Afterward they walked over to the Grandparents house and had dessert and played games. {Rich and Julie}
3. Two people had their first kiss on the steps of the Smith Family Living Center. The steps are no longer there, but there is a new Smith Family Living Center built in it’s place. {Lamar and Eileen}
4. First impressions are not always true. These two people were paired together for a ward dance, and ditched each other at the dance held at the Smith Family Living Center and left with other friends. {Rich and Julie}
5. Two people in our family meet while going to an Astronomy class lab on the top of the Kimball Tower. {Sharon and James}
6. One person in the family spent “a lot of time” at the computer lab in the Talmage building. {Bob}
7. One person in the family spent some time at the jewelry counter selecting matching CTR engagement rings for herself and her intended. {Laura}
Group B:
1. Two people in our family went on their first date to the DeJong Concert Hall. They saw “Magic Flute” {Laura and Bob}
2. Two people in our family had a special spot. It was a fountain on the south side of the Smoot Administration building. There they would practice their two step around the fountain. {Lewis and Dianne}
3. One person in our family spent a lot of time at the Harold B Lee library. He would spend 3-4 hours a day there studying. He was found there one evening by the Hewlett Packard Recruiter with the help of a special significant other. {Lewis}
4. The Wind Tunnel in the Engineering building is where this person spent a lot of time. They would test wing shapes in it. {Troy}
5. The Bike racks at the Knight Magnum building would usually not be considered a romantic spot. For two people in our family it was though. He proposed to her there and after three more hours of talking she said “yes”. {Laura and Bob}
Group C:
1. The museum of Art holds some memories for one person. She had the “Dining plus” on her meal card and would meet her sister there for lunch during her first year at BYU. She also took an Art Appreciation class that left her not appreciating art quite as much. {Laura}
2. Two people in our family went on their first date to the DeJong Concert Hall. They watched “Sunday in the park with George”. {Lamar and Eileen}
3. This person lived in Deseret Towers in “R” Hall. She invited her future spouse to an “R” hall dance for their first date. {Dianne}
4. One person in our family spent a lot of time in the south parking lot of DT practicing with the BYU Marching band. There was a white “tower” that the band members jokingly referred to as the “Rameumptom” where the director would watch to see the formations and shapes the band created. {Heidi}
5. The BYU Basketball team had a thrilling game against Utah and beat them in a close finish at the Marriot Center. One member of the family was there to witness the great game. He was also at a lot of their other games with front row seats as BYU only won that one game that year. {Dave}
It was fun. Afterwards we went to the Wilkenson Student Center and had lunch and then we all went bowling afterwards. It was fun to see the kids try to bowl. A lot of them had never bowled before. After we were all done bowling we went over to Rock Canyon Park.
Rock Canyon Park is where Rich and I took our engagement photo’s at. It has changed sooo much in the past 10 years. I barely recognized the turn off to it because what used to be empty areas surrounding it are now full of houses! We spent the afternoon and early eveing playing games, eating, laughing and just having a great time together. We didn’t leave until dark- and on the way home the Alyssa and Angela fell fast asleep since they hadn’t had any nap at all that day. That made bedtime really fast since we just transferred the little ones into their beds fast asleep. Then again us adults got to stay up and talk and play games probably later than we should have, but it was fun for all of us.
Monday was our BYU/Provo day. We all meet down on the BYU campus (where Rich, his siblings, all of us spouses, his parents and many of his cousins went to school). When we had been thinking of the reunion and things we wanted to do, we thought it would be neat to show the kids BYU campus where all of us meet our spouses… I came up with the idea to do a scavenger hunt of places throughout the campus that had a significant memory for people in the family. I took “clues” that people wrote about a significant place and described the event, and told where it was and then we had to guess which family member had submitted that event. We broke into three groups with three different lists of clues, so each group didn’t have to walk all over the entire campus. Then we would walk to the place, read the clue, decide who we thought it was about, and take a picture of someone in our group holding up the name of who we had decided it was about. It really was a fun activity and I had a lot of fun tagging along with the group and playing the poker face while they tried to figure out who the clue went to…
BYU Scaveger hunt clues (from memory… I can’t find my copy that I had)
Group A:
1. This person described this as the “best class on campus” he took it three times. It was intermediate golf and held on the field south of the Smith Field House. {Dave}
2. Two people in our family went on their first date to a volleyball game at the Smith Field House. Afterward they walked over to the Grandparents house and had dessert and played games. {Rich and Julie}
3. Two people had their first kiss on the steps of the Smith Family Living Center. The steps are no longer there, but there is a new Smith Family Living Center built in it’s place. {Lamar and Eileen}
4. First impressions are not always true. These two people were paired together for a ward dance, and ditched each other at the dance held at the Smith Family Living Center and left with other friends. {Rich and Julie}
5. Two people in our family meet while going to an Astronomy class lab on the top of the Kimball Tower. {Sharon and James}
6. One person in the family spent “a lot of time” at the computer lab in the Talmage building. {Bob}
7. One person in the family spent some time at the jewelry counter selecting matching CTR engagement rings for herself and her intended. {Laura}
Group B:
1. Two people in our family went on their first date to the DeJong Concert Hall. They saw “Magic Flute” {Laura and Bob}
2. Two people in our family had a special spot. It was a fountain on the south side of the Smoot Administration building. There they would practice their two step around the fountain. {Lewis and Dianne}
3. One person in our family spent a lot of time at the Harold B Lee library. He would spend 3-4 hours a day there studying. He was found there one evening by the Hewlett Packard Recruiter with the help of a special significant other. {Lewis}
4. The Wind Tunnel in the Engineering building is where this person spent a lot of time. They would test wing shapes in it. {Troy}
5. The Bike racks at the Knight Magnum building would usually not be considered a romantic spot. For two people in our family it was though. He proposed to her there and after three more hours of talking she said “yes”. {Laura and Bob}
Group C:
1. The museum of Art holds some memories for one person. She had the “Dining plus” on her meal card and would meet her sister there for lunch during her first year at BYU. She also took an Art Appreciation class that left her not appreciating art quite as much. {Laura}
2. Two people in our family went on their first date to the DeJong Concert Hall. They watched “Sunday in the park with George”. {Lamar and Eileen}
3. This person lived in Deseret Towers in “R” Hall. She invited her future spouse to an “R” hall dance for their first date. {Dianne}
4. One person in our family spent a lot of time in the south parking lot of DT practicing with the BYU Marching band. There was a white “tower” that the band members jokingly referred to as the “Rameumptom” where the director would watch to see the formations and shapes the band created. {Heidi}
5. The BYU Basketball team had a thrilling game against Utah and beat them in a close finish at the Marriot Center. One member of the family was there to witness the great game. He was also at a lot of their other games with front row seats as BYU only won that one game that year. {Dave}
It was fun. Afterwards we went to the Wilkenson Student Center and had lunch and then we all went bowling afterwards. It was fun to see the kids try to bowl. A lot of them had never bowled before. After we were all done bowling we went over to Rock Canyon Park.
Rock Canyon Park is where Rich and I took our engagement photo’s at. It has changed sooo much in the past 10 years. I barely recognized the turn off to it because what used to be empty areas surrounding it are now full of houses! We spent the afternoon and early eveing playing games, eating, laughing and just having a great time together. We didn’t leave until dark- and on the way home the Alyssa and Angela fell fast asleep since they hadn’t had any nap at all that day. That made bedtime really fast since we just transferred the little ones into their beds fast asleep. Then again us adults got to stay up and talk and play games probably later than we should have, but it was fun for all of us.
Tues/Wed
Tuesday
Tuesday we woke up early again and drove over to “This is the Place” park in Salt Lake City. It is a pioneer village that has really grown in size in the past few years. We got to see a lot of different houses and buisnesses that would have exhisted in the pioneer days. There is a petting zoo, blacksmith shop, printing shop, bank, carpenters shop, leather workers shop (I can’t remember the official name) church, school, pony rides, wagon rides, “train ride” (the train was not really a train). The kids had a great time.
That afternoon we then went over to Temple Square. We took some family pictures in front of the Salt Lake Temple, and then went on a short tour Rich’s mom put together for the kids. She did a great job with some simple facts and clues that kept the kids attention. The tour included the top floor of the Joseph F Smith Building, the Beehive house, a walk by the Lion House, the Tabernacle, the North Visitors Center (with the Christus statue) and the new assembly hall. Angela fell asleep during the time at the Tabernacle, so I sat down in the visitors center and had a wonderful time chatting with my brother in law’s girlfriend while the others finished the tour.
After our tour was over we all headed over to Golden Corral for a big family dinner. Again we had a good time and then it was time to say goodby to the family members that we had reaquainted ourselves with during the trip. The kids had a great time getting to know cousins that they don’t see as often. Then we headed back to the house to sleep.
Wednesday
Well kind of Wednesday… Angela had the hardest time going to sleep that night. She would wake up after an hour or so and cry… around 3am she started screaming in pain. Poor girl. I wound up sitting up on the couch in the game room for the rest of the night with her sleeping on my chest. With all the excitement and going going going that we had had that week I had forgotten to give her one of her allergy medicines and she had become really really stuffed up. The congestion got to her ear and she was in pain and had a fever. So… after that loveley night we all slept in a little later than the past few days and the morning hours were spent getting kids fed and dressed, and Sharon’s family and mine needed to pack up our suitcases and search for missing items around the house.
We went and had a fun little picnic lunch up at a state park near the house and the kids had fun exploring the little structures they had there. We went from there and ran to a grocery store to pick up more pain reliever for Angela with her ear ache, and then we went to the Heber Valley Railroad. We rode the train down provo canyon. It was a fun and scenic ride. It was a little bit hot though, so on the return trip we “had” to get the kids some ice cream to help them cool off. Poor Angela though was just not feeling well and spent most of the time on my lap and dozing off and on. She did however find enough energy to play on the play structure at Vivian park- the halfway point on the round trip down and back up the canyon. It just amazes me the energy she can find when she gets near a slide- even when she is feeling sick!
After our train ride we said goodby to everyone and drove down to Orem to stay with my parents for a few days. At my parents house my dad took the three big kids over to the park to play with the helicopters he had given them again. Alex had a great time getting to know Mom and Dad’s dog Tasha. He kept sneaking out to the garage to toss her a treat. For Alex this is huge since he has always been so fearfull of dogs.
Tuesday we woke up early again and drove over to “This is the Place” park in Salt Lake City. It is a pioneer village that has really grown in size in the past few years. We got to see a lot of different houses and buisnesses that would have exhisted in the pioneer days. There is a petting zoo, blacksmith shop, printing shop, bank, carpenters shop, leather workers shop (I can’t remember the official name) church, school, pony rides, wagon rides, “train ride” (the train was not really a train). The kids had a great time.
That afternoon we then went over to Temple Square. We took some family pictures in front of the Salt Lake Temple, and then went on a short tour Rich’s mom put together for the kids. She did a great job with some simple facts and clues that kept the kids attention. The tour included the top floor of the Joseph F Smith Building, the Beehive house, a walk by the Lion House, the Tabernacle, the North Visitors Center (with the Christus statue) and the new assembly hall. Angela fell asleep during the time at the Tabernacle, so I sat down in the visitors center and had a wonderful time chatting with my brother in law’s girlfriend while the others finished the tour.
After our tour was over we all headed over to Golden Corral for a big family dinner. Again we had a good time and then it was time to say goodby to the family members that we had reaquainted ourselves with during the trip. The kids had a great time getting to know cousins that they don’t see as often. Then we headed back to the house to sleep.
Wednesday
Well kind of Wednesday… Angela had the hardest time going to sleep that night. She would wake up after an hour or so and cry… around 3am she started screaming in pain. Poor girl. I wound up sitting up on the couch in the game room for the rest of the night with her sleeping on my chest. With all the excitement and going going going that we had had that week I had forgotten to give her one of her allergy medicines and she had become really really stuffed up. The congestion got to her ear and she was in pain and had a fever. So… after that loveley night we all slept in a little later than the past few days and the morning hours were spent getting kids fed and dressed, and Sharon’s family and mine needed to pack up our suitcases and search for missing items around the house.
We went and had a fun little picnic lunch up at a state park near the house and the kids had fun exploring the little structures they had there. We went from there and ran to a grocery store to pick up more pain reliever for Angela with her ear ache, and then we went to the Heber Valley Railroad. We rode the train down provo canyon. It was a fun and scenic ride. It was a little bit hot though, so on the return trip we “had” to get the kids some ice cream to help them cool off. Poor Angela though was just not feeling well and spent most of the time on my lap and dozing off and on. She did however find enough energy to play on the play structure at Vivian park- the halfway point on the round trip down and back up the canyon. It just amazes me the energy she can find when she gets near a slide- even when she is feeling sick!
After our train ride we said goodby to everyone and drove down to Orem to stay with my parents for a few days. At my parents house my dad took the three big kids over to the park to play with the helicopters he had given them again. Alex had a great time getting to know Mom and Dad’s dog Tasha. He kept sneaking out to the garage to toss her a treat. For Alex this is huge since he has always been so fearfull of dogs.
Thurs/Friday
Thursday
Thursday morning we took it easy and slept in. That afternoon Ashley went with my mom and Susan to go shopping. It was her birthday present from Grandma- so they were going to try and find a dress for her since we hadn’t had much luck the Friday before when we had to buy new clothes for the family. After they had been gone for about 15 minutes, my mom called me and told me that they were headed back to the house. Ashley had thrown up in the car on the drive. So she brought her back home and she had a fever so we gave her some meds and Rich went and laid down with all the girls. They were so tired from the busy schedule we had had the past few days. They all fell asleep down on the bed Rich and I were using and took a nice long nap.
I had a wonderful opportunity to go and visit with an old Highschool friend for a few hours that afternoon. Originally we had intended to get the families together and the kids could play, but since my kids were sick we thought it would be better for me to just go and visit with her while her kids were taking naps. It was so good to see her and just sit and talk for a while. Email and phone are nice, but it isn’t the same thing as sitting and chatting together.
That evening Angela’s fever was getting progressively worse and she was in more and more pain, so we took her into the Urgent Care clinic. I was very happy with the clinic- they took our out of state insurance and they bill it as a regular office visit- even though it was open in the evening and they could choose to bill as Urgent/emergency care. Angela’s ear was very swollen and the dr asked us if we had noticed any discharge from it- it was close to rupturing. We got a prescription for antibiotics for her and left. By then it was 9pm and we soon discovered that there are not very many pharmacies open past 9pm in Orem. We finally found a Wal-greens that was open 24 hours and got it filled.
Friday
Friday we had planned on going to the zoo, but since Ashley was sick and Angela was sick, we sent Alex and Alyssa with my sister Susan and her boyfriend. They would meet my brother and his wife up at the zoo and the four of them would be with the kids. Alyssa and Alex were so excited to go to the zoo with Susan without mom and dad along. Lol!
Ashley was feeling a little bit better, so by that afternoon we decided that she could go shopping with Grandma again. She had a great time and came home with two dresses, a shirt and a skirt that she talked Grandma into buying. Rich and I had the unusual experience of running errands with just Angela along for the ride. We ran a bunch of errands for ourselves, and my mom and even stopped at my dad’s uncles house and visited with some extended family members that were there for a little luncheon that day.
That evening after dinner we went and meet up with another friend of mine. I’ve been “talking” to her via message boards for about 4-5 years now and this is the first chance we have had to meet each other. It was fun and her kids and my kids seemed to get along well and play together. The time went by much too quickly though and soon the kids were starting to get cranky and tired and we had to say goodby and head back to the house for bedtime.
Thursday morning we took it easy and slept in. That afternoon Ashley went with my mom and Susan to go shopping. It was her birthday present from Grandma- so they were going to try and find a dress for her since we hadn’t had much luck the Friday before when we had to buy new clothes for the family. After they had been gone for about 15 minutes, my mom called me and told me that they were headed back to the house. Ashley had thrown up in the car on the drive. So she brought her back home and she had a fever so we gave her some meds and Rich went and laid down with all the girls. They were so tired from the busy schedule we had had the past few days. They all fell asleep down on the bed Rich and I were using and took a nice long nap.
I had a wonderful opportunity to go and visit with an old Highschool friend for a few hours that afternoon. Originally we had intended to get the families together and the kids could play, but since my kids were sick we thought it would be better for me to just go and visit with her while her kids were taking naps. It was so good to see her and just sit and talk for a while. Email and phone are nice, but it isn’t the same thing as sitting and chatting together.
That evening Angela’s fever was getting progressively worse and she was in more and more pain, so we took her into the Urgent Care clinic. I was very happy with the clinic- they took our out of state insurance and they bill it as a regular office visit- even though it was open in the evening and they could choose to bill as Urgent/emergency care. Angela’s ear was very swollen and the dr asked us if we had noticed any discharge from it- it was close to rupturing. We got a prescription for antibiotics for her and left. By then it was 9pm and we soon discovered that there are not very many pharmacies open past 9pm in Orem. We finally found a Wal-greens that was open 24 hours and got it filled.
Friday
Friday we had planned on going to the zoo, but since Ashley was sick and Angela was sick, we sent Alex and Alyssa with my sister Susan and her boyfriend. They would meet my brother and his wife up at the zoo and the four of them would be with the kids. Alyssa and Alex were so excited to go to the zoo with Susan without mom and dad along. Lol!
Ashley was feeling a little bit better, so by that afternoon we decided that she could go shopping with Grandma again. She had a great time and came home with two dresses, a shirt and a skirt that she talked Grandma into buying. Rich and I had the unusual experience of running errands with just Angela along for the ride. We ran a bunch of errands for ourselves, and my mom and even stopped at my dad’s uncles house and visited with some extended family members that were there for a little luncheon that day.
That evening after dinner we went and meet up with another friend of mine. I’ve been “talking” to her via message boards for about 4-5 years now and this is the first chance we have had to meet each other. It was fun and her kids and my kids seemed to get along well and play together. The time went by much too quickly though and soon the kids were starting to get cranky and tired and we had to say goodby and head back to the house for bedtime.
Saturday
Saturday was the 2nd big day for my sister. The wedding was the previous Saturday, and this Saturday was the reception. We slept in again (we were down in the basement… no sunlight to wake us up… yep!) and filled the day up with last minute preperations for the reception. My brother and his wife showed up around lunch time and Alex really enjoyed being around their dog. Their dog had a rough life before they adopted her and she is very skittish around other people. Alex being so timid around dogs really seemed to click with her and she would let him sit and pet her. They took both dogs up to the park with Alex and he had a great time playing with the dogs and learning more about them.
The few hours before the reception were busy. I made a big dinner for any who were hanging out at the house beforehand, and for people to eat afterward if they were hungry. We also had to get Rachel back into her gown and her hair done. A photographer came and took pictures of Rachel getting ready. Angela was clinging to me all afternoon and when it came time to get myself dressed I sat her down on our bed. I then went and changed and turned around and she had fallen fast asleep on the bed. She resisted waking up or even letting us change her while she slept, so Rich stayed at the house with her while I went down to the reception. The reception turned out very nicely. It was a beautiful night and the decorations were nice. The food was yummy. Alex got a little bored, but he survived. Rich showed up after an hour with Angela. He said she woke up and he asked if she wanted to put her dress on and she tried to put it on herself, so he decided that she would be up to coming for a little while.
After the reception it took at least an hour- hour and a half to clean up most of the stuff. Then we had to load up trucks and vans with chairs and tables and all the stuff used in decorating. We cleaned it up and then everyone went back to the house and watched while Rachel and Nathan opened presents. It was fun and we had a good time sitting and talking and just spending time together. We went to bed late that night… I’m sure it was past midnight by the time we got all the kids in bed and in bed ourselves.
The few hours before the reception were busy. I made a big dinner for any who were hanging out at the house beforehand, and for people to eat afterward if they were hungry. We also had to get Rachel back into her gown and her hair done. A photographer came and took pictures of Rachel getting ready. Angela was clinging to me all afternoon and when it came time to get myself dressed I sat her down on our bed. I then went and changed and turned around and she had fallen fast asleep on the bed. She resisted waking up or even letting us change her while she slept, so Rich stayed at the house with her while I went down to the reception. The reception turned out very nicely. It was a beautiful night and the decorations were nice. The food was yummy. Alex got a little bored, but he survived. Rich showed up after an hour with Angela. He said she woke up and he asked if she wanted to put her dress on and she tried to put it on herself, so he decided that she would be up to coming for a little while.
After the reception it took at least an hour- hour and a half to clean up most of the stuff. Then we had to load up trucks and vans with chairs and tables and all the stuff used in decorating. We cleaned it up and then everyone went back to the house and watched while Rachel and Nathan opened presents. It was fun and we had a good time sitting and talking and just spending time together. We went to bed late that night… I’m sure it was past midnight by the time we got all the kids in bed and in bed ourselves.
Sunday
Sunday morning we got up- not too early since we had been up late the night before, but early enough that it was still a short night. We got the car packed up and breakfast for everyone and got on the road by about 8:30 or 9am.
Now… we had three kids that were running fevers and I knew it would be a long drive. Within the first three hours Alex and Ashley had both had coughing attacks that left them coughing up phlegm… we had a bucket and some old towels in the car just in case and after a while we were able to get them dosed up to keep their fevers down and when their fevers were down they didn’t seem to throw up. It was a long drive home. 17 hours and we got home around 4am. We were slowed down through the Rockies when traffic was travelling at about 20 miles an hour for about an hour- we still don’t know what caused that, but when your driving 17 hours, what’s one more right? The kids had times when they cooperated great, and times when it seemed like all four of them were demanding something we couldn’t give them at that moment, and so they were all crying and screaming. Normally our kids travel amazingly well- which is why we usually drive home straight after trips like this, but this time it definitly was harder on me to keep them happy or content on the ride.
Monday we slept… and slept and slept. Rich was supposed to work that day, but he called in sick to help me with the kids.
Now… we had three kids that were running fevers and I knew it would be a long drive. Within the first three hours Alex and Ashley had both had coughing attacks that left them coughing up phlegm… we had a bucket and some old towels in the car just in case and after a while we were able to get them dosed up to keep their fevers down and when their fevers were down they didn’t seem to throw up. It was a long drive home. 17 hours and we got home around 4am. We were slowed down through the Rockies when traffic was travelling at about 20 miles an hour for about an hour- we still don’t know what caused that, but when your driving 17 hours, what’s one more right? The kids had times when they cooperated great, and times when it seemed like all four of them were demanding something we couldn’t give them at that moment, and so they were all crying and screaming. Normally our kids travel amazingly well- which is why we usually drive home straight after trips like this, but this time it definitly was harder on me to keep them happy or content on the ride.
Monday we slept… and slept and slept. Rich was supposed to work that day, but he called in sick to help me with the kids.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Our vacation
I'm working on getting up stuff about our trip... but it's taking a while. Stay tuned! :)
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