Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Disney- Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom

On Friday we spent the morning at Animal Kingdom. We went on the Safari, the Dinosaur ride, "A Bug's Life" 3-D show and walked around a bit.

Hey there, Mr. Gorilla! You are a big guy! We saw this lion on our Safari- so cool to get so close and not have any glass between us and the animals.
Mike and Susan enjoying the sunshine!
In the afternoon we went to Magic Kingdom. We took the fairy across the lake to Magic Kingdom where we stayed until 12:30 AM. We were fortunate they extended the hours til 1 that night.
First stop- lunch! Jeff and I had a sandwich and an awesome chocoloate/peanut butter cupcake! yummy
Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse during one of the shows we saw.
The princesses!
We ate supper at the Crystal Palace. The food was great and we got to meet Winnie the Pooh and his friends.
Tigger and us!
The kids and Winnie!
The parades and shows are always AMAZING at Disney! The electrical parade was great.
I absolutley loved the "Wishes" show at Disney- it is magical!
Jeff and I went on the Dumbo ride- just had to do it!

Disney- Hollywood Studios (MGM)

Since it was raining and storming so much we had a relaxing morning at the time share.

Mike made us breakfast. Scrambled eggs, toast with nutella, orange juice, and cereal.


Susan cleaning up after breakfast. We had the news on watching the radar all morning. It was depressing to see the big system going through the part of FL we were in (ALL DAY LONG). The news reporters talked about schools closing and all of the accidents on the roads due to the rain. Weird. Enjoying some breakfast.
Susan and I wearing our new visors we got at Downtown Disney and reading our books while we were waiting to go to Hollywood Studios.
We finallly decided to go to MGM (Hollywood Studies) around 11:30... we decided we just had to go in the rain. Thankfully, I brought 6 rain ponchos with me. They came in very handy. Here we are in line for one of my favorite rides at Disney... Rockin' Rollercoaster.
We checked the radar often to see if it would clear up. Originally it said around two... turns out it didn't stop pouring until about 8:30.
You can see Mickey's hat in the background.
When we returned we immediatly put all of our shoes in the dryer!!

More Florida 2011!

On Wednesday we drove to Kennedy Space Center and spent the afternoon there. We enjoyed looking at all the space stuff. We took the bus tour out to the observation deck and enjoyed our stops and the views. We noticed it looked like rain so we decided to go to the Imax 3-D film about Hubble. The movie was great. While we were at the movie it rained really hard and it apparently it also hailed. We heard on the news the next day that the shuttle's solid rocket boosters may have experienced some damage because of the hail.

We drove to Orlando that evening and checked into the time share. It was a great place to stay. We enjoyed the kitchen, rooms and living room. We went to Downtown Disney for supper on Wednesday night. We ate at Planet Hollywood and also walked around for a bit (in the rain!)

Jeff in "rocket park" at Cape Canaveral- Kennedy Space Center. Here we all are in front of the NASA sign. There was so much to see at Kennedy. Space Shuttle Endeavor is on the launch pad ready for launch on April 29. This is the last time Endeavor will be launched. Atlantis is scheduled to launch this summer. That means only 2 more launches until the shuttles retire. It was cool to know Endeavor was on the launch pad even though we couldn't see all of it. Jeff and I by Saturn V.
Paul, Brieann and Mike by Saturn V. This thing is HUGE. It is so cool to see something that was actually up in space.
Here I am touching a real moon rock. Pretty cool.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Florida 2011!


We arrived in FL on Sunday night. Brieann picked us up from the airport and drove us to their place in Margate (near Fort Lauderdale). Monday morning we went to the ocean. Mike, Susan and Brieann baked on the beach for awhile. Jeff and I enjoyed our swim in the ocean! It was not busy at all because it had rained that morning. There were about 3 other people there when we got there. It did get busier and when we left in the afternoon it was getting fuller. Paul worked on Monday, but will be able to be with us for the rest of the week. Monday night we went to Mai Kai, a Polynesian restaurant. The food was good and the show was great. It POURED on Monday night, but we had planned to be inside anyway while at Mai Kai. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.


Tuesday morning we jumped in the car and headed down by Alligator Alley. We met Captain Parker on his airboat and went for a private guided tour of the everglades! It was really cool. The captain actually said that he was very thankful for the two inches of rain we got yesterday because it made for a better tour. He said prior to the rain we would not have been able to see as much because we wouldn't have been able to get through some of the "skinny water" as he called them. We saw sooo many alligators (big ones, baby ones and everything in between). We got right next to them and enjoyed our great tour. There were all kinds of birds too. Speaking of birds... while scooting along at a pretty good pace a big blue heron decided to drop a gift on us. Actually, mostly on Brieann! The bird pooped in mid-flight and it splattered down right on Brieann's face and then splattered back on Jeff and me. Jeff and I just got the crap all over our shirts- Brieann got the worst of it. It was quite hilarious. What a memory that will be. We ate at TGI Friday's for lunch on the way home. We spent some time by the pool at Paul and Brieann's place. The guys swam while the rest of us sunned ourselves. Then the thunderclouds started to roll in so we went back inside. A night of relaxation is ahead so we are ready for our busy days ahead. We will eat some brats, watch a movie and then go out for frozen yogurt later on tonight at Yogurtland (Paul says it is a must-do)!. Hopefully, I will have time to update more later this week! We are heading to Cape Canaveral tomorrow!! Then Disney Thursday through Saturday.


Some baby alligators! Aren't they cute! Don't get between them and the momma!




Here we are on the airboat!

He's looking for dinner!

Some birds with really long legs. Our guide said their name had stilt in it, but I don't remember exactly what they were called.


Jeff and I enjoying the ride.

What are you looking at?!

Mike and Susan were really tuckered out after the first night! So cute! Just wait til the end of the week.


The dancers at the show on Monday night. They could really shake it! : )


Jeff and I at the Polynesian restaurant.


Here we are in the ocean! Can you tell we have been in Minnesota for the entire winter (very white skin!!)?


Mike and Susan ready for our vacation. Jeff and I at the MSP airport.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Welcome to the family, Carson!

Carson Gary Lee was born on Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 9:36 pm, weighing in at a healthy 8 lbs. 6 oz! He is a cutie!! Congrats to Garrett and Priscilla!

Here are a few pics taken when we went to meet him for the first time this weekend.


Gavin meeting his little brother for the first time!