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!