ARRR Matey!

While in Panama City, the family went on the Sea Dragon Pirate Cruise. John told me that it was the best money spent on the whole trip. Pirates entertained about 25 kids (plus adults for 2 hours)! They had water gun fights, sword fights (scary!). I can only imagine 20 plus young children with plastic swords acting like Jack Sparrow. That makes me shudder just thinking about it. After the water gun fight, all of the kiddos had to swab the deck with mops. I am sure that was a precious sight that would make any mother proud. :0) It really looked like alot of fun! Tucker loves pirate stuff, so this was exactly the kind of adventure that he would love!

Here are more pics....

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Panama City, Florida

Panama City looked to be a great place to be! (Since I wasn't there, this info is coming from Tucker and John.) They spent 3 days at the beautiful beach. It was so good that jellyfish decided to invade the same area where my boys were! Do you remember the scene in Finding Nemo where they are bouncing off the jellyfish? That was how Tucker described it to me. Pretty sure that I am glad I wasn't there. After watching Jaws movies too many times to count...I just don't think that into running into ocean life is my thing. I am especially not fond of creatures with teeth that bite and tenticles that sting. Many years ago, I had a run-in with a Coral Reef in Cancun. Somehow I didn't get the memo that Coral will sting and feels not so good when you grab on to it. Give me the lake with catfish, water snakes, and perch anyday. No matter what I think, Tucker had a blast swimming and digging in the sand. He and Oma created sand scultpures of alligators and castles...If I only had an ounce of her artistic talent, I would be delighted!
Here are some pics of their fun in the sun!

So long, farewell Mickey and Orlando!

Today we are leaving Orlando. I am flying to San Antonio to attend NECC (technology conference). John, Tucker, Heide, and Nolan are driving to Panama City to hang out at the beach for a few days. We have had a great time at our resort and at all of the Disney theme parks. I hope that this will be a vacation that Tucker will always remember! I am sad that I have to go to San Antonio, but I know that my boys will have a great time with Oma and Peepaw.

NASA

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Today we went with John's parents to NASA at Cape Canaveral. I must say that I was very excited about going there and Tucker was, too. I think that he was even MORE excited because he knew that there were no more rides and he was going with Oma and Peepaw!

I didn't know it, but NASA is on a wildlife preserve (after reading signs once we got there). I just figured that we would see some birds, but nothing to exciting. John kept telling us to be on the lookout for alligators because on one side of the road was a swamp river thing. I thought sure I am going to find an alligator this close to the road! Was I wrong! We saw one alligator about 2-3 feet long just sunning on the bank. Of course I didn't get a picture, because I didn't have my camera out, nor would of had time with Speedy Gonzalez Juan at the wheel! On the way back, we also saw a couple of wild hogs. I did make our race car driver slow down so that I could get a picture of one of the hogs (not as exciting as the gator, but it was better than nothing!)

Once we pulled into NASA and bought our tickets, we saw all kinds of neat artifacts and 3d movies. The highlight of it all to me was listening to Astronaut Al Worden talk. Here is a picture of Tucker with him. He was part of Apollo 15 that also landed on the moon in 1971. (The year that I was born!) I thought that he was very interesting!

Oma and Peepaw Arrive

Tonight after going to Epcot, we went to the airport to pick up Oma and Peepaw, who were flying in from Montreal, Canada. Tucker was so excited to see his grandparents! He has been counting down the days of their arrival and it is now finally here. After we picked them up from the airport, we went to eat dinner. We tried to think of some place really fun and exciting to eat, but the lines were long everywhere. We just settled for a Bennigans very close to our resort. That is a ROOTBEER that Tucker is drinking by the way!
They had a balloon guy come around and make balloon objects for kids. He made a red parrot for Tucker and placed the parrot on his shoulder. The parrot watched Tucker eat for the rest of the night. Somehow it didn't get popped, either, but not for the lack of trying! After dinner, we returned to the condo where Tucker showed Oma and Peepaw our place. He showed them every nook and crannie of the condo right down to where we keep our dishwashing soap. :0) I must say that Tucker does pay attention to details. He was so excited to see his grandparents that he had a really hard time falling to sleep tonight. I love that he loves his grandparents so much! He is very lucky to have 2 pairs of grandparents that also love him and want to be with him as much as humanly possible!

Back to Epcot

Today is our last day with Disney. We bought 5 days of tickets, so we decided that we would go back to Epcot. When we were there on Monday, we just stayed in Future World (the ride areas) and didn't venture out to the World Showcase area where you tour the different countries. They also had a new ride called Soar! that John and I really wanted to go on.

We rode Soar! when we first arrived. This is another simulator that lifts you up in the air so that your feet are dangling while you are staring into a TV thingy. Anyway, you "fly" over an ocean and really think that you are about to dip your toes in the water. When we "flew" over orange groves you smelled a orange scent. They are really good at using all of your senses to experience some of these rides. The same thing happened when we flew over evergreen trees on a mountain. It was a fun ride and I am glad we made the choice to go back and try it. Even Tucker thought that it was the best ride ever!

We then went the World Showcase to see what it was all about. We started off visiting Mexico. I wish that I had planned better, because we had just eaten before heading over there. As we entered Mexico I smelled and say several Mexican food restaurants. At this point, I have not had any Tex-Mex in a few days, so I just almost joined a few tables to swipe an enchilada.

Tucker had his picture made with Donald and then we found some sombreros in a store.

After Mexico we continued on to the different countries. I took a picture with Tucker an silly hats from Mexico, China, and Norway, but he grew tired of this quickly!

We did have to pause in Japan for about an hour because of a thunderstorm that hit quickly, but took forever to stop! We stayed under the roof of one of the buildings right by an entryway. Tucker took it upon himself to greet the rain drenched people as they walked up. He was constantly saying "Welcome to Japan", much like a Wal-mart greeter. It was pretty funny because there were so many people who would actually say "Thank you!" to him. Finally the rain stopped and we headed on to the other countries and then finally back to the condo. Later that night, we went to the airport to get John's parents.

Magic Kingdom

Today we finally made it to Disney Magic Kingdom. We went later in the day (after it rained) hoping to avoid most of the crowd and we wanted to stay late enough to see the fireworks. I guess everyone else had the same idea! I am a little sad today because we only have a few days left of this vacation. At this point, Tucker is done with riding rollercoasters or pretty much any rides for that matter. I spend most of our time in lines (for rides) explaining that this is just a little boat/car ride that doesn't have any dips or hills. Once he is finished with the ride he loves it, but he just stresses while he waits.

We enjoyed the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and found Jack Sparrow (he was suppose to be a new addition to the ride). We went to Huck Finn Island and looked for treasure. We did AVOID Splash Mountain and Space Mountain! But we managed to hit just about everything else. Our favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. It makes you feel like you are inside a video game and you have little laser guns to shoot at alien targets. Tucker was in charge of spinning our spaceship. For a child to not like roller coaster rides, he has no problem with spinning! We had a busy day and did end it with fireworks at Magic Kingdom, which is awesome!

Animal Kingdom

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Today we ventured out to Disney's Animal Kingdom along with what seemed like a million of our closest friends. So far, this has been the craziest and most crowded park. We had heard that the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride was really great, so we decided to head there first. We only had to wait in line for about 20 minutes and then we were off in this long jeep/bus type vehicles scouting for animals. Tucker decided that he was the safari photographer, so all of the pictures were taken through his eyes. There were many times that I wanted to rip the camera from his little hands to take pictures, too, but I didn't! Not that my picutures would be any better than the 5 year old's, but it just that I was no longer in charge (which just drives me nuts!).

There is also a humongous tree called the "tree of life" that the park is centered around. It is amazing to look at becsause it has all of these intricate carvings all over it. We took time to take some pictures with us and the tree. We also saw a "Its Tough to be a Bug" show right that went under the tree. I guess it is part of the experience, but every show throughout the Disney parks make you squeeze into a tiny waiting area to wait for the doors to open before going into a show. I don't know about you, but 500 hot, sticky, sweaty, and stinky people in one tiny enclosed space does not make for a good time. Anyway, the 3-d bug show was great. They are really good at involving all of your senses so that you really feel like you are part of the show. Water spurted at you when a bug was squirting us and even short bursts of air hit our bottoms and legs to mimic bugs running through the auditorium. This made Tucker mad at his daddy because he thought John was doing something to the seat, but then he figured out that it was part of the show.

The next stop was Mt. Everest. John and I loved this ride, but Tucker... not so much. Let's just say that there is no need for me to buy season tickets to Six Flags. He is not a fast ride kind of kid. If you talk to him now, he will tell you that he really like the ride, but not so much when he first got off of it. After a few more rides and watching Finding Nemo-The Musical, it was about time for our daily dose of rain. We decided to leave before the dark clouds opened up on us, so back to the condo we went. Once we got there, we decide that the day was still young, so we packed up an ice chest and headed to Cocoa Beach. It was nice to play in the sun, sand and water. Tucker was one happy kid. He loves getting muddy and then rinsing off with a swim. As we played, we watched these huge black clouds develop. We decided to go eat in a local restaurant and let the storm pass over. It rained REALLY hard and the restaurant actually lost electricity for a moment. Finally the thunderstorm stopped and then we tried to get to the car. The water was high, but we splashed our way to the car. I also talked John into taking us to a Ron Jon surf shop. The store was huge and we picked up some really cool t-shirts. John and Tucker tried to also buy Speedo skimpy men/boys bathing suits, but I put my foot down. However, we did get pictures! It was a very busy day and I was glad to get home and go to bed!

Epcot

This morning we were at Epcot by 8:15 am. It was definitely worth getting there early! We parked right up front and we rode several rides before it became crowded.

Mission: SPACE was the first ride we rode. We worked as a team to go on a mission to Mars. Tucker wasn't sure about the ride at first, but then really liked it. It was empty enough that we actually rode it again.

We joined Nemo in the "Clamobile" to visit underwater friends.

Tucker was fascinated by the big "Golf Ball" and wanted to know how to get in it, so we then rode Spaceship Earth (which goes inside the "Golf Ball"). We rode a time machine vehicle to explore the story of communication on Earth. It was really interesting traveling through time. Tucker was fascinated by the huge computer system they showed to be the 1st computer.

Our favorite ride was the ride called Fast Track. It simulated a car "test driving course". We even rode it 2 times. (Thanks to using the Fastpass.)

Living with the Land was another great ride. This was a boat ride that started off questionable, but then we ended up amazed when we rode through the Greenhouses and fish farms. We saw all kinds of plants growing, such pineapple plants, coconut trees, and banana trees. They were showing inventive ways to grow plants. There was a Nine Pound lemon tree, where one huge lemon would make a gallon of lemonade! We saw tomato tree growing as well as pumpkins, eggplants and watermelon growing in the air! Tucker took over the camera during this ride, so here it is from his point of view.

Once again, thunderstorms with lightning ended our fun about 3:30. We were tired and pretty much ready to go anyway.

Disney Hollywood Studios

Today was our first full day at Disney in Orlando, Florida. We started our morning with swimming. Not surprising right? Yes, we drove all the way to Florida so that we could swim in the condo pool. At least there are 7 different pools to choose from! We even found one pool with a water slide that Tucker and John both enjoyed. I have pictures, but didn't bring the camera cord, so I will upload pictures as soon as I can.

After swimming for a little bit, we found dark ominous clouds heading our way, so we went back to the condo for lunch and to wait out the stormy weather. We rested, watched TV, ate lunch, napped, and then finally the weather cleared up and we headed to Disney Hollywood Studios. This was Star Wars weekend and Tucker is a big Star Wars fan.

We were hoping to get some autographs of some of the Star Wars characters, but we didn't see any except for a show that we saw a little of. We did get to see Mickey and Frozone from the Incredibles, but that was it. I think the rain even scared most of the Disney characters away. We also on the hunt for Power Rangers. We actually picked up the Red Power Ranger and took him home with us. (Ok, Tucker actually had is face painted to look like the Red Power Ranger, but he thought that he WAS the real deal!) We rode a few rides, but nothing too crazy, so we are warmed up and ready for EPCOT tomorrow. Good times!

Happy Father's Day

Since it was Father's day weekend, I asked John what he wanted to do. We decided to spend the weekend at the a lake with my parents. You know not all people like going to the lake, so I am lucky that John enjoys going as much as I do! Once again, we found ourselves at the lake with Tucker swimming from sun up to sun down. Dad also unloaded the boat and the jetski to give us other things to do. Tucker loves riding on the tube behind them both, but it is a lot easier pulling him with the jetski. Here are pictures of Tucker and John riding the tube. As you can see in the second picture, it was bumpy and John was bucked off. Tucker somehow managed to hang on! Tubing is fun, but I am hoping that he will try to water ski soon. I learned to water ski when I was 5, so it is time for T. to continue tradition. Once we were back on land, Tucker decided to try jumping off of the end of the dock. I have such great memories of going to our family lake cabin growing up and I am so glad that Tucker gets the same opportunity. We always enjoy going to the lake to be with my parents just because it is so relaxing and fun. Not to mention, that they always cook really great food!

Lake Get Away

It has been a couple of weeks since Tucker has seen Peaches and Papa, so we decided to take a trip to the lake and visit them for the weekend. We spent pretty much the whole time in the lake. Are you surprised? As soon as we arrived on Friday evening, Tucker quickly put on his bathing suit and lifejacket and jumped in. John didn't waste any time to start fishing. Our neighbors, Bob and Brenda, were keeping their granddaughter Kirsten. She didn't have her bathing suit, but that didn't stop her. She was just going to step in the water and play (with it only coming up to her knees). Well, you know that isn't possible and she ended up swimming with Tucker and then ate hot dogs with us later in the evening. Tucker loves being with other kids close to his age. He is simply a party waiting to happen, and would invite the whole town to come swim with him if he could! I am just waiting for the day when I arrive in my hometown and the bank marquee or Dairy Queen sign is advertising some party Tucker has put together. He is a lot like his Papa!

On Saturday, Tucker had us all up by 7:00 AM. He literally jumped in to his swimming suit and lifejacket once again. I barely had time to slather sunscreen on him before he was back in the water. A little bit later, we unloaded the jet ski so that we could pull Tucker (& me) on the tube. It was too windy for the boat, but Tucker was just as happy with the jet ski. It seemed like we pulled him on the tube most of the afternoon. Sunday was a repeat of Saturday with more swimming and jet skiing. Kirstin came over again, but also brought along her sister, Chloe and bathing suits!

We had a great weekend at the lake. When we finally got back home we were all exhausted. Even Willy curled up as soon as we got home and went to sleep!

Waterlogged Weekend

More water fun

We spent the weekend swimming. I have said it before, but my little man LOVES the water. I just can't describe the fun that he has. We got out the jet ski for him to ride around the pool. He really thinks that he is on a real jet ski zooming around the lake. He played "rescue 911 jet ski" and I got to be the fuel center and garage to "repair" the jet ski when he wrecked. Watch the video to see him in action!

When you are in the pool for 5 hours, you have to find many things to keep you busy, so another thing that Tucker loves is to swim around with the noodle-bops (that what he calls those foam water noodles) and rafts. He likes to put the noodle under the water and then blow one end of the noodle so that water sprays on you. He will giggle for hours just sitting on the steps repeating this process.

Every once in a while Willy would want to play with Tucker and the doodle-bops. This usually happened when Tucker would get out of the pool with the noodle, throw the noodle back into the pool and then try to jump and land on the doodle-bop.

After many hours (yes, hours!) of playing in the pool. Tucker likes to relax with a popsicle. What a great place to eat a popsicle! It certainly keeps my carpet cleaner and the ants at bay when you enjoy it in the pool!

You probably watched the waterlogged weekend post. It is a video compiled of this weekend's water pictures with Tucker. I used a fun online program called, Animoto. All you have to do is add some pictures and a song. It puts it altogether to make a little video with really cool transitions!