Stuff

Since we only posted about the Lagoon part of our trip up north, I've decided to grace you with more pictures of the zoo. We've only got a thousand. :)

Of course here we are playing with the big wet globe.

And then here is Chase with photographic evidence of the elusive (and yet somehow massive) iguana. Isn't he hideous?


And look Uncle Eric came and played with me at the zoo too!

Lagoon!

First off, Mommy got a new camera! The old new one (just barely six months old) bit the dust or rather the water, it was sacrificed for the photographic evidence of her rainstorm saga in Orlando and never recovered. Ooo however we also got a new router so we can actually upload video of the rain!

Anyway, she got the new camera (and a new couch for the office and spent WAY too much money in one weekend) just in time for our trip to SLC. Should I bother warning you that it's another high photo content. I should only warn you when it's high written content since that would NOT be the norm. This is how Mommy taught me to scrap book so be patient! The pictures are more of our posterity than for you.

We got discounted tickets for the 4th of July weekend to Lagoon and so Monday the 5th found us waiting in line with smiles on outside Lagoon. Turns out they really don't open until 11. Mommy thought it must be a typo and that traffic would be worse and so we stood waiting for it to open for oh like 40 minutes. Good thing I was in a good mood.

We decided to hit Lagoon-A-Beach first because everyone waiting with us had huge coolers and towels and swim suits and we were afraid it would reach capacity on a holiday and didn't want to wait in line to get in. We turned out to be wrong and there really weren't that many people but we snagged some chairs because we were early and that was good. I had to warm up to the water slides and Cara would tolerate them only in Mommy's arms. The water was FREEZING which really bothered Cara and me but only if I stood still long enough to realize I was cold.

I promise I'm wearing a swim suit in the above photo even though it looks like I'm naked eating a box of chicken nuggets.

When we were done swimming, I requested to ride an airplane ride. Well lo and behold right outside the water park is a space ship ride. Turns out, this space ship ride is the same ride my Aunt Rachel traumatized my cousin Chase on. History was to be repeated. I was doing great. Daddy said I had to go alone. No big deal.

Then they kicked the adults out of the inner circle. Not okay. Then the ride went high and then it dipped. No more rides for me.

Of course that wasn't acceptable considering even with discount tickets it's not cheap. Mommy got me on Puff the Magic Dragon at least four times. I looked this excited each time.


Then she bribed me with a snow cone to get on the boats. (Yes this is how traumatized I was. I know I did the tame little boats last year but you never know.) However, they wanted Cara to join me and that was NOT okay with her. Same scenario. Fine until they kick the parents out of the inner circle.


She even hated the carousel. The next pictures on the camera were of her arching herself of the rooster into Daddy's arms and then crying at the camera for Mommy to pick her up.

I did really like the Jumping Dragon ride even though I always looked like I'd been hit by a truck coming off.

Mommy also tried to take Cara on this fish ride that you could get wet while being in harmless little fishes that you could maneuver up and down. Yeah...Cara didn't enjoy being strapped down and as soon as the ride started moving she wiggled out and in to Mommy's arms. Awkward. Here Mommy was trying to distract her with the camera.

All in all a good trial run for a Disneyland trip in September. I think it will go well.

Holy cow...11 months!

Cara Post:
I'm 11 months old! And darn it all if you're going to get me to walk on my own. I am completely aware of the fact that I have great balance and a daredevil attitude. I'm not ready to walk on my own and prefer a crab walk lookin' thing. You can try and force me, Mom and Dad, but I'll just tuck my legs up in to my chest when you try and get me to stand. HAHAHA!

Other ways that I'm awesome:
-I now grab faces for fun, with a kind of fierceness normally found in red heads. I seem to find pleasure in the squeals.
-I love books. I love to turn the pages of board books, and turn and rip pages of non board books. I like the pictures.
-Food is my best friend. I could eat 24/7. However, I am very forceful when I don't want what you are offering. I push it away and slap it to the ground. There is no questioning whether or not I didn't want it.
-I still take a bottle, but I love drinking out of the CamelBak Canteen that Grandma bought me. Straws are the best.
-I am spending a lot more time in my crib than in Mommy and Daddy's bed.
-Gabby is my second favorite thing to wake up to, Siena is my favorite. If I hear Siena's voice in Mommy's room (even over the monitor), my eyes spring open and I start to smile.
-I love our kitchen cupboards and the drawers...ooo and pulling out the DVDs.
-I still have no hair, but hey can you say low maintenance? And besides I love the scalp massage that comes from getting sunscreen over your whole head.
-Oh and I still have no teeth. Well you can feel and barely see the sharp edge of my first bottom tooth but it's taking it's time actually pushing all the way through. You really kind of have to know to see it.

And look Mommy cheated. I get to ride frontwards! Shhh. I'm not one year old and I'm not twenty pounds but in the St. George heat, it's seemed unbearable cruel to have me pointed AWAY from the air flow.

Mommy's Big Cut

First off, Happy Birthday, Apa! We're sorry we couldn't come up for your party. Mommy and Daddy seem really busy. They both keep going to work and trying to clean the house. They both might need vacations again. Anyway, we hope you had a good day going to church and then playing with all the other grandkids.

Now on to some big news about our Mommy. She has a bagful of hair. Yup. On Saturday, after we went and saw the new Buzz and Woody movie, Mommy went and had her ponytail cut off. She cut off 10 INCHES of her hair. She's donating it to Locks of Love. She finally got to her breaking point with her hair in Orlando and wanted to cut off at least 5 inches, well Aunt Angie and Grandma told her she could probably donate and have a lot of hair left still. Well they were partly right. It's a lot shorter than Mommy was thinking it would be but we keep telling her most people still think that it's long hair.

The Fifth and Final Day

So our Final Day in Disney World was Monday. Our flight wasn't until 8:00 p.m. that night so we were able to hang out and play for one last morning. We hit The Animal Kingdom for our "Hail Mary" attempt at doing the Everest Expedition roller coaster. And we were successful. In fact, Angie and I rode it two times in a row and then had fast passes for later that morning. Becca and Mom begged off of the middle run because the heat combined with five days of roller coaster led to a lot of upset tummies. We also did the ride Dinosaur again because of it's air conditioning. Okay we did it like three times and man that ride is LOUD. You can't help but be scared. I don't think I'd take anyone under the age of 10 regardless of their height. The dinosaurs scream at you. In every picture the fear is somewhat real. (So we pose a little bit but most of the pictures in Dinosaur we all had our hands over our ears because it was DEAFENING.)


We also made a final run at Downtown Disney to finish our souvenir shopping. And to eat at T-Rex again. So fun but just like Rainforest Cafe and Dinosaur ride...very loud.

The airplane trip home was much more enjoyable for me because I actually slept. I'm sure part of that was due to the exhaustion ensued because of five days of walking but also Siena and Cara's souvenir of a Mike and Sully plush doll made a great pillow.

Day Three and Four of the Big Trip

Alrighty then. So Day Three which was Saturday started later than any other morning because of the fact that we were out so dang late the night before. Even I consented to missing the Extra Magic Hour at Animal Kingdom for a little shut eye. (On a side note, we were blasted awake by housekeeping repeatedly knocking loudly at 9:00 a.m....whose housekeeping gets started that early?!) We headed to the next water park Blizzard Beach which boasts the number one water slide in the U.S...."The Summit Plummet". Blizzard Beach is set up like a ski resort that is melting. They even have a ski lift which stops for what seems like no reason. (We kept snickering that people would fall but it turns out it was for the wheelchair accessible chairs..whoops.) Anyway, it has a bunch of different kinds of water slides. "The Summit Plummet" is a straight drop measuring 120 feet. It looks like you're doing the ski jump but really it continues on below the jump. They even take your picture as you drop over the edge, but seeing as how it's Disney, I would have to pay like 14 bucks for my photos and I'm not sure it's worth it. Anyway, Angie and Becca had done it before and Mom and I headed up to do it with them. I didn't get nervous until the last flight of stairs and then I kind of wanted to vomit. But I did it. And I did it again the next day, but I will say it's not worth standing in the 45 minute line more than once. (We only waited that long the first day.) However, very cool and unique experience and I'm way excited to say that I went down the Summit Plummet. Ironically, not as big of a wedgie problem at the bottom of this slide. I must have been way more tense.

Later that day after a brief nap, we headed back to Hollywood Studios because of how in love we were with the Rock N Roll Coaster. Now keep in mind, that in the mornings you generally would feel like this because of the humidity.

We went in to the Rock N Roll Coaster this time and came out to find the gift shop absolutely packed. Mom figured out that it must be raining because people were coming in with speckles. It was dinner time and we were hungry and had just bought two delightful Disney ponchos. Mom and Angie had jackets so we thought...eh let's run through the little rainstorm and head to an eatery. Oh boy were we in for a treat! Lightening was striking in the park and we were sent running for our bus because we couldn't find an indoor place to eat. The rain was coming down in SHEETS.


Upon preparing to enter our room we discovered that Mom, Angie and I were SOAKED and Becca was essentially dry.

Day Four we hit Blizzard Beach right as it opened so that we didn't have to stand in crazy long lines for the water slides. By this time, most of our feet started to hurt any time we weren't sitting or walking. After the water park, we split up for the afternoon. Mom came with me to the Magic Kingdom again. I was bound and determined to ride Thunder Mountain RailRoad again and Peter Pan which you could fast pass. How nice. Angie and Becca wanted to hit The ESPN Wide World of Sports. (Their trip turned in to a DISASTER and they never made it there...plus it rained again.) Anyway, Mom and I had a pleasant afternoon riding it's a Small World, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, and attempting to go on Thunder Mountain twice each time being met with technical difficulties. I never would ride it again..we hit Hollywood Studios for a third time instead which was just fine. (I was bitter for a minute.) By that night, I had really been missing my little family back home anyway.

***I am trying desperately to upload videos of the massive rainstorm but we have faulty router that makes our lives a little miserable...I'll keep trying.***

Extra Magic Hours

The Extra Magic Hours for the Magical Kingdom were Friday night starting at 12 am and last until 3 am. So technically I guess it would be called Saturday. That's right folks. We partied in Disney World at 2 in the morning and really...it kind of was worth it. We walked right on to Pirates and Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion. We even got a little bit delirious and had Mom pretend to be one of the hundreds of kids we saw passed out in their parents arms.



Oh and I took a picture outside Haunted Mansion at 2:00 am of all the strollers. TWO A.M. outside an albeit mildly scary ride, but still scary ride. Parents are NUTS.