Disney: Animal Kingdom

We planned to give Animal Kingdom a full day.  However with the park closing earlier since there's no big evening show, we decided to eat lunch at the park and push through the afternoon with out going to the hotel for a break, which made for a very long day.

 

Our first stop was Kilimanjaro Safari.  Can you find the rhino?

 

 

The Safari spit us out at Pangani Trail. So we walked through there and saw some gorillas, some fish (the kids are making fishy faces), and did some interactive stuff.

 

Ezra played an Ethiopian game with a cast member. 

 

While the rest of the family stood in line for the Finding Nemo show, Ezra and I rode Everest.  Expedition Everest ruined Ezra for the next 3 or so coasters, but by the time we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom  (twice) the next day he was loving them again. 

 

Ezra and I walked into the Nemo show just in time and I'm so glad we caught it.  It was my favorite show at Disney World!  It was so creative and full of talent!

 

We had a bite to eat and then Mike, the boys, and I rode Dinosaur.  It was super scary!  On the heels of Everest, poor Ezra was a screaming, crying mess.  Jonas didn't scream or cry, but he was a little freaked out.  I think Mike and would have enjoyed it more if we weren't so worried about the kids.

This is the picture the ride took of us.  The four of us are in the back row.  You can see Mike trying to cover Ezra's eyes and ears.

 



 

While we suffered through Dinosaur, Mom and Judith waited in line for Triceratop Spin.  Judith loved it!

 

Tough to Be a Bug in 3D was next.  Judith did not enjoy the spiders coming down from the ceiling and I did not enjoy the buggy exit at the end, but most of it was cute.

 

After Tough to Be a Bug, we headed to the Lion King show.  Judith missed it because she passed out in my lap before the show even started.  Then Mom and Judith chilled in a café and shopped while we took the boys to Kali River Rapids which was fun.  After that, we called it a day, went back to the hotel for sandwiches and headed to bed early!

Disney: Epcot

After a rest back at the hotel, we headed out to spend the evening at Epcot. 

 

The kids were really excited about doing the ride in the "ball" so our first stop was Spaceship Earth.  They loved it and would have loved to spend much more time in the interactive exhibits but we didn't have time. 

 

Our next stop was The Seas and Turtle Talk with Crush which was fun.

 

Family picture inside Bruce's mouth!

 



 

Mike and I road Soarin' with the boys while Nana and Judith checked out Journey into Imagination.

 

While the boys road the Test Track (which I heard was awesome), we girls watched The Circle of Life and met some characters.  Here, Judith gets a kiss from Mickey Mouse!

 

Hugs from Pluto.

 

Judith high fives Pluto.

 

Judith and "classic" Minnie.

 

The girls!

 

We waited while Mike rode Mission: Space with Ezra and then we went to the Mexico pavilion for dinner while we waited for Illuminations--a great way to end our first day!

Disney World: Hollywood Studios

Whew!  We are already pooped after a morning at Hollywood Studios!

 

Last night, "Mimi" drove over to visit us at the hotel. 

 

 

After some fun in the pool, we headed out to Downtown Disney for dinner at the Rainforest Café.

 

Jonas loved this alligator.  Judith on the other hand, was a little nervous. 

 



 

Ezra and Jonas in front of the giant Lego dragon.

 

Lego Seven Dwarfs.

 

Judith posing with Cinderella outside a princess store.

 

We had a good visit with Mimi!



 

We were at Hollywood Studios by about 8:30 this morning.  Donald was right inside the gate.

 

One of our top priorities was getting Ezra signed up for the Jedi Training Academy.  He was mesmerized when Darth Vader came out.  He also got to fight Darth Mal one on one.  He was very brave. 

 

We started off with Voyage of the Little Mermaid!

 

Mike and I rode Tower of Terror while Nana took the kids to the Disney Junior show and Beauty and the Beast.

 

Despite Grandpa and Nana's warnings about motion sickness on Star Tours, Jonas and Ezra took it on like champs!  Mike said Ezra had his hands up and was screaming the whole time (even though no one else was :), and Jonas was disappointed he couldn't ride it again!

 



 

Our second priority was Toy Story Mania.  We were crushed (because we had only planned to spend 1/2 a day) to learn that at the park opening it was having technical difficulties.  We stopped by right before we left and it was up and running.  It was so great! 

 



Ezra and Nana about to get on 3D Toy Story Mania.

 



 

Mike and Judith in their Toy Story car.

 



 

Outside Toy Story. 

 

The kids with a Green Army Man.

 

Our girl Minnie Mouse.

 

Love it!

 

In front of Sorcerer Mickey's hat.

 

 

Jonas making a "monster face" with Mike and Sully.

 

Super fun!!  Now we're off to Epcot!

 

 

Fishin' and Family

Our first week in Houston we went to the "new" Spring Creek Nature Center.  It was nicer than I was expecting.  They have tons of trails that go down to Spring Creek and through the forest.  We set out for a quick hike, but turned into an hour and a half of dragging the kids over at least 2 miles of trails.  Yikes!   Quite the adventure.

 

 

Jonas has been wanting to go fishing so we finally bought him a pole and took him to the pond.  Our first time out we caught 3 perch and a turtle.  Jonas already has a "one that got away" story.  He had a 6-8 inch fish hooked and almost reeled all the way in, but it flopped off the hook when it got to the bank. 

 

We were able to have a good visit with Mike's Dad and Grandma.  This would be a great picture but in an attempt to get Ezra to smile for the picture I said, "Put your finger in your nose" and Judith took me literally.  Oh well...

Such a cute picture of Judith and Grandma Allison.

 



Palo Duro Canyon "Texas" Show

On our way from Colorado Springs to San Angelo, we stopped in Amarillo for a couple of nights.  My parents met us there and took us to the Palo Duro Canyon to see the "Texas" musical.

 

Here we are enjoying dinner before the show.

 

 

 

We took the kids to see the horses.  They got to sit on "Comanche" one of the stars of the show!

 

 

Nana and Grandpa provided cowboy/girl hats and bandanas to be worn at the show.

It was very enjoyable.  Ezra even won a T-shirt for being the best chicken dance participant!
Not too hot and great entertainment.  It was quite the production for the middle of no where.  Most of the singers and dancers were college kids but they definitely had talent!  There were lots of different elements including fire, lights, and water cannons.  The only drawback was that it ended so late.  We didn't get back to the hotel until midnight or after.  Lots of fun!

Here are a couple of other pictures from our time in Amarillo:  The kids on the frame of an old wagon.

 

 

Driving through a dust storm after we left Amarillo.

 

Texas waffle at our hotel  in San Angelo.

 

Checking out Dad's new school on Goodfellow AFB.

 

Last but not least, Ezra lost his first tooth on Sunday the 23rd!