We spent the entire last week at the cabin. We had everyone up from our family with exception of Katie. As usual the kids had a blast together and the adults had their own fun. We played in the water, boated, visited “Florida Point”, spent a lot of time at the Tiki Bar and Sand Bar, watched fireworks, attended a parade, played mini golf, went through a huge maze, and hung out with friends.
The weather could not have been better, there were only a couple of small instances of rain that occurred mostly during sleeping hours and the water was very refreshing.
**Disclaimer – I have a little tradition with the kids, they like when I shave my beard, I only do this when we have a long vacation. Don’t be scared
The last couple of weekends we went camping with Carolyn’s family and the next we spent at the cabin. We really lucked out on weather both times considering there was rain back at home
The next weekend we were off to the cabin and enjoyed some really nice weather (compared to many weekends so far this summer). Nix and Jen joined us for the weekend. Nix, Big Joe, and I went on an adventure to the other lake breaking through beaver dams and bogs to get to the other side.
We had a great weekend at the cabin this weekend. We partied with neighbors, saved a old turtle from getting run over, played in a human hamster ball, played Dave’s new shuffleboard, and played bingo at the legion.
Tonight Joey celebrated his graduation from pre-school. We held him back a year so he pretty much has a doctorate of pre-school We are very excited for you to attend kindergarten next year buddy. Good job Joey!
I helped out today with the minnow races while Carolyn walked Joey and some buds around the school. We had a good time cheering on the little minnows in the races and the kids sure got into it. I was even lucky enough to have my own kids come through for some racing action.
Side note – I did learn that the game was originally setup for some parents as a drinking game
After a morning of fun, we headed off to the Netzinger’s for an Easter egg hunt and a great dinner. The beautiful weather kept us outside for a majority of the time with the cousins having a blast playing together. What a great day!!
After a couple of weeks mostly away from the family, we wanted to spend some
quality time so we went to the Amazing Mirror Maze at MOA. It was a lot of
fun! It was fun watching people very disoriented (myself included) and even
walking into the mirrors!
The four of us were finished going through and Joey wanted to go again. Here is a video of the craziness. All of our eyes were messed up a bit after getting out of the maze but that passed quickly
We have returned from a week in Florida where we visited Stan in Tampa and spent six days in Orlando and Disney World. Thanks to all of our friends and family for their great information that helped us make the most of this trip. We really had a great time!
Click on the linked dates to see all of the photographs for that day
3/23 - 3/24 - Visiting Uncle Stan in Tampa and 3/25 - Uncle Stan’s and first day in Orlando
We flew down and the kids were very good on the flight. They were VERY excited. Thursday the 24th the kids were able to enjoy the ocean for the first time. It was also the first time that we had all seen Stan’s new place in Tampa, it is very cool! It is also where Carolyn ate at the Waffle House for the first time.
On Friday, Stan made us an awesome breakfast and we packed up for Orlando. Joel and Janet allowed us to share a condo with them which was huge! Thanks again!! The kids loved it and said they wanted to move in. They liked playing in the loft area.
We set off for our first Disney adventure to the Magic Kingdom. It was a beautiful day and we were able to do just about everything that we set out to do. Keanen and Joey went on Space Mountain. Joey didn’t like that ride so much. He loved the Buzz Lightyear ride. We then saw a show by Cinderella’s castle and Elizabeth was able to see the princesses. Then we spent some time in Rapunzel’s garden where the kids danced with her and met her. We went on Mad Hatter, Snow White, Peter Pan rides and then met the stepsisters from Cinderella. We also saw Mary Poppins and I asked the kids if they wanted her autograph. Their response, “Who is that?” Then we watched the parade which was neat! Kids loved the parades! Joey and Keanen went on Splash Mountain and Elizabeth and I just hung out by pirates. Then we all went on Pirate of Carribean ride. When it was all said and done we put in a 10 hour day and had a blast!
Chances of rain was in the forecast for the remainder of the week and on Sunday we had temperatures in the 90′s so we decided that a day in the sun and water was appropriate. We did not take many pictures because we do not have a waterproof camera but I can say, “WOW!” that is a cool water park. I do not know how many times that kids and I were hit by the wave in the wave pool. Too much fun!
It was supposed to rain in the afternoon of the 29th but it never happened. We were able to enjoy a full day of fun. We saw the Lion King show and It’s a Bugs Life in 3d, met a lot of characters, went on a safari, went on a scary rollercoaster ride that went backwards, and ended the day with a nice refreshing water ride where Keanen got soaked!
Joey and Keanen spent time in the Star Wars area getting trained to be a Jedi while Elizabeth and I saw the Little Mermaid show and Beauty and the Beast show!! Met Toy Story characters and went on a Toy Story Arcade game ride. Watched the Pixar Parade and the Disney Junior show. Then we felt bad cause Elizabeth hadn’t been able to get many princess autographs. We heard Epcot was the place to go so after 6 hours at Hollywood Studios we high tailed it to Epcot with a mission!!
We literally ran over to the World show case area on a hunt for princesses! We were able to get a few autographs, but not many due to the weather. We were in line for Jasmine and all of a sudden a big storm came through and people were running everywhere. Somehow the line stayed formed and moved indoors and we were able to still get the autograph. We plan on spending more time at Epcot next time! It looks like a neat place, but we literally ran through it!
Joey’s highlight of the week came from participating in the Jedi Training Academy held at Hollywood Studios (Part1, Part2, Part3, and Part4) The below video is part 3 where Joey takes on Darth Vader himself
