Not relaxing on the beach any more...but wishing we were...

Yes I know...I left off relaxing on the beach, and it's been almost a month since then...(where has the time gone?)
Friday of our trip we went to Sea World. We met up with Wendy and her family! It was such a fun time.

We had the great opportunity to Dine with Shamu! Wow, it was amazing!!!
Up close and personal with majestic whales like that was definitely awe inspiring. The food wasn't to bad either.




A'dra was able to feed the dolphins. She loved that. We went on the Journey to Atlantis ride. It was a blast.
It was so incredibly hot. It is rarely a trip for us without having to go to some ER or Urgent Care. This was no exception. Wesley ended up with heat exhaustion. We went to the First Aide station where they put him in the back to rest. It was air conditioned and he fell asleep for an hour. He felt a little better after that.
We then left Sea World and made our way to Downtown Disney. We found the Toy Store. A definite dream come true for kids. Me too! I got a huge potato head full of parts. It's great. Wesley got to make his own light saber, A'dra got a box full of ponies dress up parts for all of the princesses, and Austin found some Star Wars figures he has been looking for.
Everyone was exhausted and we went back to the village to pack.

Saturday was a whirlwind. We were up really early to make our flight home. We left Orlando and made it to Vegas early. Woo hoo...this meant that we were able to get off, find our next gate, and pick up lunch before we left again. Right....well, that is how it went all the way up to when we were leaving again. Our plane was delayed. Then when it got in, it had to have the windshield wiper motor repaired. So that delayed us. Then there were more delays, and more, and more...A kind gentleman came up to me as A'dra had started melting down (she was extremely tired, and had been up since 5am EST). He had told me that the airline had canceled our flight (this is now around 5pm PST) and that they were going to announce it shortly. I made it to the customer service line just as they announced it. After much to do they found another flight to Portland. We finally left Vegas at 9pm. We arrived home around midnight. It was good to be home.
(This is what is looks like when 5 people plus all of their carry ons are stuck at an airport for a long time...)

We want to thank everyone who helped us fulfil A'dra's wish to become a Princess. It was a such a special experience.

Thank you!!!

Relaxing at the beach

Today was such a relaxing day. We took our time getting up and started. We headed to Cocoa Beach. It was such a beautiful day. The kids can now say that they have been to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in one year :) Don't know if they will ever really care...but since I lived here for 4ish years and never went, it was a big deal to me. :) We then went to the Kennedy Space Center. The kids were thrilled by the different things to see. Austin loved the Saturn V. Wesley like the shuttle. A'dra liked the shopping. :) She liked all of the other stuff too, but she was worn out. I do have pictures, but with the frustrations of the site last night I am not going to try tonight.

Tomorrow we are headed over to Sea World. We are going to meet up with Wendy and her family. We also get to dine with Shamu.

Princess A'dra

Day 4....

This is going to be not to long. I am falling asleep writing this. I had written it and copied and pasted it onto the blog, but evidently I can't do that.

We started off early this morning. We arrived at the park just as it opened. They had a special spot for A'dra and family in the Cinderella's Royal Table. So we joined the Princesses for breakfast. The food was ok, but this was an opportunity of a lifetime. The boys were excited because they got swords. Those should be fun trying to get through security.

We then rode Splash Mountain. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it. So did the adults. We went on it a second time. We didn't get soaked but did end up pretty wet. That picture is pretty funny. I can't wait until we can scan it to share. Some were even daring enough to put our hands up in the air when we went down the steep hill.

We then went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Yeah...this one didn't go over to well. Wesley enjoyed it, Austin was ok with it, but A'dra did not like it at all.

We met Captain Hook and Mr. Smee. They were fun. The Pirates ride was ok. The kids were not to sure if they liked it or not. They difinitely did not like the Haunted Mansion. This was a Wesley pick to do. he had his eyes closed the entire ride. That's ok though. The kids decided they were to big for It's A Small World. That is one you have to do just once. Now they have.

We also rode the Barnstormer, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Buzz Light Year, Carousel, met with the Princesses (again) the Fairies, Ariel, and several other different characters. The heat started to get to us, but mostly it effected Wesley. They have a special room for Wish guests. It's nice and air conditioned. That was nice to put our feet up for a bit and relax until it was time for the transformation.

When it was time, A'dra and I went to the Castle while Rick took the boys to Splash Mountain again. They took A'dra back and poured all of their attention to her. They truly treated her like the Princess she believes she is. It was such an amazing event. Here are a few pictures and I will write more when I can do it without falling asleep.

Day 3

I am going to try to keep this shorter today. It's almost 10 (yeah I know, and for those who really know me it is early, but I am exhausted.) and we have a full day tomorrow.

We went to Disney's Animal Kingdom. It was ok. We rode on the safari which was neat. The giraffes were so close you could almost put your hand out and touch them. We were able to see lots of the different animals since it was earlier in the morning. We then went to Kali's River Rapids. Thinking it was going to be like the rapids from yesterday, we were prepared. And, we were let down. It is a very short ride and only 3 out of the 12 people get wet. It just happens that Austin, Wesley, and I were the ones that got wet. :) The people at Animal Kingdom were not as pleasant as the ones yesterday, so we decided to grab lunch and head over to Disney's Hollywood Studios. This park is very cool. We went on the Star Tours. A definate favorite of the kids. I found all 5 of the potato heads from the clone wars tv series. Sweet I know!!! (I am going to need a bigger suitcase!) We then went and saw the Ariel show. That was very cool. A'dra met her Prince (Caspian from Narnia). He too proposed to her. He would definately be better then Thing 1 or Thing 2. We practiced our shooting skills in the Toy Story Ride. Rick won, was there any doubt? The back lot tour was interesting. We met with 2 of the 5 Power Rangers.
After all of this we headed back to the villa. The kids were in bed by 9...I know...the time change thing has me all messed up. We have a very busy day tomorrow as this is the day A'dra is made over into a Princess....

Here are some pictures. Sorry it wasn't to short....



I wonder if A'dra realized that the visor is in a shape of a butterfly. The kids don't watch Power Rangers so this wasn't to exciting for them.


At least they posed with them.



A'dra and "her" Prince.

Mickey welcoming us into the Magic Kingdom



Where we stopped for lunch.

Make A Wish Trip

Ok...so it is day 2 and we now have internet access so we will update :)

Sunday: 3 am came way to early. We were excited and the limo was great. We had no problem getting to our gate and were able to board early. The flights were uneventful (very nice I have to say.) The weather in Orlando was a welcomed change from the weather we had left. When we got to Give Kids the World, they welcomed us with open arms. The children were excited to ride the golf cart with our greeter Michael. They ran inside the villa to find that the gift fairy had left a bunch of surprises for them. (our bags that were 1/2 empty on the flights down are quickly filling up). We were starving so went to dinner. I then had the opportunity to go to orientation and Rick and the children went to play life size Candy Land. It was a long and wonderful day.


In front of the Limo

At the Villa

Candy Land Games...

Day 2:
We were up early and met with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. We were also very fortunate to have Pluto, Goofy, and Mary Poppins visit the villas. Autographs and pictures were great. Then we were off to Universal Island Adventure. If you have never been here, I strongly suggest if you are in the area to hop in. The Dr. Seuss Land was very fun. We went on The Cat in the Hat ride a couple times, also One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. When met with the Seuss characters. We were able to go back stage and visit for several minutes with them. Lots of autographs and pictures. We were told we had to go on the Jurasic Park ride. Ummm...yeah...it was fun for me....but the kids not so much. It was scary and to them I can only imagine what it was like. So after that intense ride we decided it was time to find something a little less dramatic. So we went off to find the Super Heroes. We saw a few other characters along the way. The greeter with Woody Woodpecker was so outstanding. He radioed ahead and told the hereos we were on our way. We had a special one on one with the heroes. They are so amazing. We then went on the Adventures of Spiderman, (A'dra really disliked this one too, but not as much as the Jurasic Park one). The Dudley do-Right's Ripsaw falls was a favorite of Wesley's. The Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges was a favorite of everyone's. The kids begged to go on it again and again. But after being totally soaked and A'dra's teeth chattering, we stopped after the second time.
We came back to the villa and swam for a little. It was very cold water so I didn't stay long.
The kids had a fabulous day and the parents did too. So, everyone is in bed. Ready to do it again tomorrow. Here are a few pictures and not in any order...




This was on the rapid falls ride. I love the expressions on everyone's faces. It was a new lovely hairdo for me. What do you think?


This was A'dra's third proposal for the day. She didn't have a clue and was getting pretty embarrised. Cute couple?

With the Seuss Gang.


With the Super Heroes.


Mickey and Minnie in the Villa.

Austin's favorite...Spiderman


The oh so hilarious picture after the Jurasic Park ride.

This was not any where near everything we did, but I am trying to only put in the highlights. We hope that everyone is well! When we get home and we have a better internet connection, I will put together a slide show.

One week to go...

One more week until we are off...A'dra's wish to be a Princess has come true. Through the wonderful Make A Wish organization we are going on a wonderful trip. Tonight was her party where we found out all of the details. We will try to keep updated while we are on the trip.

Here are some pictures:


A'dra with her wish granters Barbara and Kitt

A Princess cake for the Princess


There is a Disney merchandise liquidation store at on of the malls here. I went in to see if they had a dress. This is what I found. Belle! It is reversible. (woohoo! two for the price of one!). She looks so adorable!

This week is going to be very very busy. All of the kids, both big and little are counting down. Just a few more days of WASL, parade, surprise party, and many other odds and ends to do, and we will be off :)

Austin Crosses Over...

Wow, I couldn't imagine that the last 5 years would fly by so fast that we would now be starting a new adventure into Boy Scouting. Last night was the Blue and Gold. Austin crossed over. It was a fun but emotional night. We look forward to exciting times with the Boy Scouts.


Austin and Kennedy being prepared for crossing over by the Order of the Arrow.

Our theme was Jurassic Pack. Dinosaurs invaded the school gym. The boys had a great time. Thank you for all of those who helped out make this night so successful!