Florida!

Having gone to Disneyland several times, and being Disneyland experts, we decided to try something new and go to Florida and Disneyworld. We stupidly planned our trip over the 4th of July, so not only will it be hot as Hades, but it will be crowded at the theme parks as well. We thought about changing the trip to Hawaii, and had a family vote. Zachy asked, how many rides are there in Hawaii? We said none. He said, then i choose Florida. This was Zachys first plane ride (that he remembers) & he was so excited. Parker was less than thrilled with the pics I was taking.

Day 1 we went to the Magic Kingdom.




















It was so humid it kept fogging my camera. The Magic Kingdom at Disneyworld is almost the same as Disneyland...almost. There was no Indiana Jones ride, which disappointed a few of us. Splash Mountain is always a favorite, & my favorite is Big Thunder Mountain, but you have to ask to be in the back of the train, or else it's lame. Suprisingly the rides themselves were different. Pirates, for example,wasn't nearly as cool here as it is in Cali. Space Mountain was more cool here though. And the Jungle Cruise is the same wherever you are. So are the characters.





Next was Disneys MGM Studios. This park had lots of "shows" which were cool, but not as many rides. Of course it has the Tower of Terror which is an amazing ride.

We went to Epcot for one reason...Soarin Over California, the best ride anywhere. Im sure its a cool place to walk around, but very boring for kids, so we didnt spend much time there.

Then we went to the 4th park, Animal Kingdom. This was probably our favorite (not counting all our usual favorites at Magic Kingdom) We loved the safari ride with all the animals. The boys and I loved the Expedition Everest which was a fast moving roller coaster with the Yeti that Zach was scared of. The Dinosaur ride was just exactly like Indiana Jones (the track is exactly the same) but of course a different theme. A few water rides that got us soaked...literally soaked. They had some of the best shows and 4D movies. I'll never forget Its Tough to be a Bug when the audience got "stung" on our butts on our seats.

Bloody Nose

I went to check on the kids before going to bed, and this is what i walked into. There was so much blood, at first i didnt know where it came from. It was really scary. There was a pool of blood under his face, and the rest was EVERYWHERE! From his head literally to his feet. I tried to clean him up without letting him see so he wouldnt panic.

Baseball Champs...again :)

The big boys had a controversial championship game, at the end of it calling both teams "co-champs". Whatever. Spenc stepped in huge in a couple of games, so he was an honorary team member. He faced 2 of the toughest pitchers in the league in 2 different games, and got hits! All in all, it was a fun year where once again the cousins got to play together and get another trophy. How many families can say they have such talent in all the grandkids!

The Mighty Mites...city champs! They really only played for the snow cones :)

Baseball and Cousins

This year we had 10 of the cousins playing baseball. The 6 little ones were all on the same team. We called them "The Mighty Mites". Nothing more fun to watch than them. The 3 big boys were all on the same team too. And Spenc was the only man standing on his team. It was an awesome baseball season, and with all 3 of my boys playing, i pretty much set up a tent and lived at the ball park. Including superleague games, i had on average 10 games per week to see. Holy baseball!

U2 360 Concert

For those who know me, U2 has been a huge part of my life since, well, the 80s. Lets flash back to 1989 when the movie Rattle & Hum came out and I went to it about 53 times, and had the movie stubs taped to my wall. I was/am obsessed. I finally got to see them in concert for the first time in 2005 on their Vertigo Tour in Salt Lake, and it was a dream come true. When they came out with the opening song, I literally burst into tears like a crazed Beatle fan. We then traveled to Hawaii the next yr to see them again. Such a cool concert. Finally they made their way to Salt Lake again in May 2011 for their 360 Tour. After holding our tickets for over a year, Steve wasnt able to make it, so I took the boys. All my siblings (minus a prego Shelby) also came, and it was a night I'll never forget. Thank you Bono, Edge, Larry, and Adam!

Kindergarten Graduate

After today, no longer a kindergarten baby...so sad for me!