The Rest of the Trip in Florida

Lucy and Bob headed over to see some of their family on the other coast, so we all packed up in Keri’s van and headed to the Melbourne area. I haven’t seen her house since their addition and re-modeling, so I was really looking forward to it. We got to the Donald Barn and I couldn’t believe how incredible it looked. We got a tour of the whole house and it was perfect and there were so many unique things that Keri had created. The pictures that I had seen of their place didn’t do it justice. Kelson loved the playroom Keri had set up. It was so fun and had so many different activities for the kids to do. Jason was asked to cook dinner, so we went to the fresh market and got some yummy steaks, and then Jason made pasta to go with it. All three of the kids were big fans of it. Corgan and Belle wouldn’t even try it and then when finally did, they told Uncle Jason how much they liked his pasta. Corgan and Belle are pretty picky eaters, so for them to like something is big. After dinner, we pretty much just relaxed, watched TV, showered (their shower is huge) and went to bed. Keri and Keith gave up their bedroom for Jason and me - so sweet of them. Kelson slept soundly in the media room. It’s going to be awesome when they are done with it.
The next day we just let the kids play, Keri rode her bike, and we decided to go visit the Brevard Zoo. I haven’t been to a Zoo since probably before we moved from Miami. It was in the middle of the week, so it wasn’t crowded, and they had a kiddie water area. We got to see LOTS of cool animals- there was a giraffe on the deck that we got to pet and see up close. That was a very cool experience. We went into the bird area to feed some birds- I didn’t care for that part- but the kids sure did seem to enjoy all the birds bombarding them for food. Lol. We saw so many cool animals- I think Kelson and the kids really enjoyed the zoo. Next we went to the water hole area- this was a great place to go cool off before heading home. It was another hot FL day, so it was refreshing.
Mom and dad offered to watch the kids, so Keri, Keith, Jason, and I could go out to eat at the Yellow Dog Café (Keri is always talking about how yummy this place is, so I wanted to try it out). Keith had a b-ball game, so he met up with us later, but OMG was she ever right, that food was awesome. We had so much food and every bit of it was delicious. Even the martinis! On the way home we stopped at Wal-Mart to buy a game. I bought the Family Feud game. We played it when we got back to their house, while eating our leftover desserts from the restaurant. It was time for bed- we had to leave the next day.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip and we hated to leave, especially because the kids were having such a great time together. I wished we lived closer. The trip home was great- no problems and it was nice to be back home. Eers was happy to see us too :) Kelson kept asking to go to Annabelle and Corgan’s house, but of course I had to explain that it was too far away. We had such a wonderful time and can’t wait to do it again. Keri did mention us all going on Disney cruise next summer- to celebrate Keith’s biz endeavor, so we are starting to plan for that and getting excited about spending more time together. Course we had thought about trying again next year for another little Albert, but I said I would never be pregnant on a cruise, so well just have to see- Since it’s a family cruise I may change my mind- Kelson has mentioned that she wants a little sister.

Sept 26, 2009- Animal Kingdom

Luckily, we had direct passes for this park so we didn’t have to go to Epcot first, so we arrived at the Animal Kingdom around 9:30am. We had lots of fun things to do here. We visited the tree of life, went and saw “A Bug’s Life” 3D show- which Kelson was not a fan of- she doesn’t like things popping out at her or wearing those glasses. We saw a few animals and birds around the parks. The adults went and rode Mt. Everest while the kids went to the Dinosaur area to ride on some of the kiddie rides. That is such a fun ride. It was Keith’s first time on this ride. The fact that it goes backwards makes it unique and fun. After the ride, we meet up with the grandparents and kids- they were having a blast on the petri ride (similar ride to dumbo, but with dinosaurs). They rode that ride a few times. We ate some lunch to cool off and fill up our bellies, then headed to the Lion King show. This is such an awesome show- lots of great singing, acrobats, dancing, interaction with the audience, and cool stage acts. It was nice and cool in there, so during the show, Kelson took a cat nap. It was adorable- she just laid down on her daddy’s knee and fell asleep- even with all the loud music. She was worn out- The park closed at 5pm, so it went by quick, another fun, but exhausting day. There was still some stuff we wanted to do, but we ran out of time. That happens with a big group. After we went back to the room, got cleaned up, we wanted to go shop (with cousin patty’s 30% off discount), so Keri, Mom, Lucy, Jason and I met up at Downtown Disney to do some shopping. Kelson slept the whole time we shopped. Around 10pm, we finally grabbed some dinner at McDonald’s. Kelson woke up around this time. Aunt Keri had bought her some cute Disney Princesses bath toys to play with, so she was happy. We got back to the room- just in time for Kelson to keep Bobba awake for a while, so we could sleep in the next day without him getting up at the crack of dawn. I did discover that night that Bobba does a very good Donald Duck impression. It was sad that we were already all done with all of the parks, but we had lots of fun and got a lot of good pictures and memories. Hollywood/Animal Kingdom Pics

Sept 25, 2009-Animal Kingdom Hotel/Hollywood Studios Park

We had to pack up our stuff and get checked into the “Animal Kingdom” hotel, so needless to say we had a busy morning. When we got into our room, we had a giraffe roaming through the pasture- it was a very cool site. The rooms were ok and pretty far from the lobby/elevator area, but overall it was a nice stay. We had to go all the way back to Epcot to get our passes, and then jump back on the bus to go to Hollywood Studios. It was another hot day. Since we had so much to do that morning, we really didn’t have but a few hours to hang out at the park. As soon as we got there, we were all pretty hungry, so we went and grabbed some grub at the cafeteria.
We watched another parade before heading to the Ariel show. Next was the Beauty and the Best show- it was basically a musically telling the story. I enjoyed it, but Kelson wasn’t really interested? So after that, Lucy and Mom took the kids to go see the “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” show- they loved it. Keri, Keith, Belle, Jason, and I went to check out the Tower of Terror. I couldn’t believe that Belle was brave enough to do it, but she was all about it. Keri videotaped her during the ride. She liked it, but she was also pretty scared by the end of it. She did very well for a 3 year old. Jason and I were going to ride the Aerosmith ride but the line was way too long and it’s just an ok ride, so we went back to meet up with everyone. The other thing I wanted to check out was the “American Idol Experience” – which we didn’t get to really see- it’s a long process thing, so we didn’t get to see the whole thing, just a couple of acts at the end and I have to say I was impressed at how good they were. If we had a whole day without kids I would have jumped on it, but since that wasn’t the case, maybe some other time. We wanted to check out the Toy Story ride before leaving but the wait was over 45 min and the park was about to close. Kelson (sleeping), Jason, Lucy, and I went to the Narnia attraction before leaving. It was cool- just some parts and props from the movie. It had been a long day, so we headed back to the Animal Kingdom hotel to get rested up for ONE more day at the parks.

Sept 24, 2009- The Magic Kingdom

We headed back to Epcot to get tickets to head over to the Magic Kingdom- this was not the fun part of each day, but it sure did save us lots of money. Cousin Patty joined us at the park. Thank goodness we had the monorail for transportation because driving would have been a pain in the butt. They were having the “Mickey’s Not So Scary” Halloween Party that night, so everything was decorated for Halloween.It was very cool. Last year, Jason and I stayed for the Christmas party and it was very neat, so we were anxious to see how the Halloween party was going to be. We saw a couple of characters on the way in... got a picture with “PokeEno” (Pinnochio)- as Kelson calls him and a few others. The Disney cast was about to perform the song “Mainstreet USA” song- this is one of Kelson’s favorites on her Mickey Mouse Sing-along DVD. She was pretty into the dancing/singing. Next we got pictures in front of the castle with the family and then headed over towards the rides.
Kelson saw the Dumbo ride and couldn’t wait to get on. The line was rather long and it was hot, but we managed to stay in good spirits. Lucy, Kelson, and I rode on the Dumbo ride- it was really cute. Next we went to the “Philharmagic” show- it’s a 3D show that we love. Kelson wasn’t sure what to do with the glasses at first, but when we finally got her to understand she enjoyed the show. The part where the champagne bottles busted out puffs of air, she didn’t like, but everything else she seemed to enjoy. Especially Ariel and all the jewels and singing “Part of Your World”- her favorite Disney song.
Next we got a fast pass for Peter Pan and headed to “It’s a Small World”. Kelson sings this song quite a bit too (thanks to the sing-along DVD), so she was really into this ride as well. Corgan and Belle probably aren’t as familiar with the Disney songs/attractions as Kelson was, but they all still had a great time. Bob, Jason, and Kelson rode on the Peter Pan ride with Kelson- Jason said she liked it at first, but then was scared at the dark parts and when the ride was done- she said she didn’t want to go back on it again. Lol. Who would have thought? Next stop was the Haunted Mansion- another song on the DVD that Kelson seems to enjoy. It is a little scary, so I wasn’t sure if she would like it, but we thought we’d give it a try. Overall, she did very good- didn’t cry at all and we made the ghosts out to be funny and silly instead of scary. I was proud of my little girl braving out the ride- not that she had a choice. Next, we headed over to watch the Country Bear Jamboree (this was always an Albert favorite). But before we went in for the show, they were having a parade. The characters and the parade were by far Kelson’s favorite things about the theme parks. Kelson even blew Ariel a kiss and she made a sweet little gesture back at Kelson and blew one back- we were all like AWWWWW... I got some of it on videotape. After the parade was over, we went inside the COOL air condition for the show. Kelson enjoyed the deers/buffalo up on the wall and kept calling him “Buck”- like the one at The Cave. She was up dancing around throughout the whole show- it was very cute. I could tell that Keri and Keith weren’t that into the COUNTRY bears, but they still had a fun time. We went to the Laugh Floor (Monsters, Inc.) show. Jason got to be apart of the show. He played the part very well. It was very cute.
Next, we decided that we would go back to the room and take a little nap and get ready for the “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party” that night. We were all pretty worn out from the sun and all the walking around so this helped bring us some relief. Keri had bought Belle n Kelson matching Minnie Costumes to wear for the party. C-man was in his Spiderman pj’s. They looked adorable. So we all put on our Halloween attire and headed back to the park for some more fun. Cousin Patty, her brother, nephew, and mom also joined in. We grabbed a spot to watch the Halloween Parade. It was awesome. All the characters dressed up and the music was perfect. She got to see a lot of her favorite characters. They gave out some candy at the end of the show, so Kelson was catching on to the “Trick or Treat” phrase. Next, we went to search for a spot to watch the fireworks show- which was awesome- and then headed towards the character dance parties. We found the Stitch 626 Club and that was right up Kelson’s alley- she danced and didn’t want to let go of Stitch- lol. There was also Chip N Dale, Goofy, and Pluto. Annabelle started dancing with Kelson towards the end- it was cute. Since it was a Halloween Party, they had places where the kids could go trick or treating and get candy. They danced around some more and then we headed towards “Mickey and Minnie’s houses”. The highlight of the night had to be the kids discovering their love of Goofy’s Barnstormer. The girls went on it 3 times, but Corgan had enough after two rides. I’m sure the girls would have just kept on going if we would have let them. If you’ve never been on the Barnstormer, it’s actually pretty crazy for a small kids’ roller coaster. We were comparing it to a miniature version of Thunder Mountain, but our little thrill-seekers loved it! The girls grabbed a picture with Minnie Mouse before we left. We finished the night with a wet ride of Splash Mountain. One of the big benefits of paying for the extra “Halloween” hours was the fact that we could pretty much walk right on to every ride. It was great! We were about to leave, when we realized that we hadn’t rode on “The Pirates of the Caribbean”, so no lines, we jumped right on. Kelson didn’t seem to mind this ride either and gets pretty excited over pirates- thanks to her daddy’s love of them. It was overall a wonderful day. The only thing that sucked was Lucy’s little scooter kept working, so Jason had to push her in it about 2 miles to the entrance and then up towards the monorail and to the hotel. He definitely worked off that burger he ate. It was a late night and we didn’t get back to the room till almost 1. We decided that we would let the kids sleep in a little and get to the park a little later the next day.
Magic Kingdom Pics

Sept 24, 2009- Epcot

We woke up around 8 ish to get ready to head to Epcot. We were more excited about Kelson’s reaction to everything, more than anything. We had to go meet Cousin Patty each morning at the parks, to get our “hookup” then head to whatever park we wanted. That day we were staying at Epcot, so it was nice and easy to get in. Kelson is a huge Finding Nemo fan, so we knew that she would enjoy that attraction. First off, we went to visit the Mickey and friends characters. Last year- this was Kelson’s fav thing we did. Since we had just seen them the night before at the dinner, she was excited, but not as much as the year before. By the time we were done, she didn’t want to leave. We headed to the Nemo ride (as I knew she would be happy and forget about the characters). She saw the sculptures and was hooked. She had a lot of fun playing/riding on them and getting pics. The “mine, mine” birds were talking away... she seemed to enjoy the ride and there really wasn’t that long of a wait. The park seemed rather empty, but it was sooo freaking hot. I thought the weather being in September that we would be ok, but it was still so humid and no wind. We were taking lots of breaks. Lucy had her scooter so that helped us get to the front of the lines a little better. Having such a big group was challenging- we wanted everyone to try and do the same things, but someone would have to go to the bathroom, another go grab a drink, change a diaper, etc... but we managed to make it work. Anyways, we got some really cute pics of the kids at the Nemo attraction and even one of Kelson in Bruce’s mouth.
Next some of the adults went on the Soarin’ ride. It was a lot of fun- very cool ride. Bob’s first time and he seemed to really enjoy it. By that time, it was time for the Princess Luncheon. I loved that I captured this picture of Kelson. She looks like she is having a one-on-one with Belle. This was soooo much fun and Kelson really was excited about seeing all the princesses. Corgan slept through pretty much the whole thing and toward the end, Annabelle seemed to warm up to them too. We had a great big meal, nice air condition, and got visited by each one of the princesses at our table. The kids got their autographs too. We saw Belle, Snow White, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty (who left a cute little kiss mark on Kelson’s forehead), and Cinderella. Kelson had the “Gus Gus” figure and Cinderella acknowledge that- it was cute for her to notice. The princesses were very attentative and played the role very well. We even got a free picture with several 4x6's. This seemed to be a better experience than the Chef Mickey. The rest of the day we played it by ear and let everyone ride whatever they wanted. With that big of a group (me, Jason, Kelson, Bob, Lucy, Mom, Dad, Keri, Keith, Belle, and Corgan) it was hard to get a lot accomplished. We went on the fast track ride a few times and Belle really seemed to like that one. Bob and Jason rode the “Mission to Mars”- I skipped that one- but they seemed to like it. We had some ice cream to cool off and went to see “Figment”... it’s so different than I remember as a kid. There are lots of cool things for the kids to do after the ride and I think we all enjoyed that one. That pretty much was the end of that day- we were all pretty worn out from such a hot and busy day. We went back to the hotel, watched the fireworks from our room, had some dinner, and went to bed. We had another big day ahead of us!! Poor Kelson had a runny nose, slight fever, and several nasty diapers that night- she wasn’t feeling that great :( Pictures from Epcot

Sept 22, 2009- Our Journey to Disney

Kelson has been on a few plane rides, although she doesn’t remember it, nor will she remember this one, but she was excited about riding in a plane. She sees them flying over our house all the time, so to see one up close was very cool for her. When we were in the plan she was like Mommy look- a plane- I said yes baby- we are in one of those right now. She was an ANGEL on the plane ride from Hsv-Atlanta, Atlanta- Orlando. She loved the taking off and landing parts. I was a little worried about that part, but she loved it. We couldn’t wait to get to Orlando and see all the Disney signs, etc. Keri Burry and Benjamin came and picked us up- she had the DVD player and car seat all ready to go for us- what a girl. We sent our luggage ahead of time with Bob and Lucy in our car so we didn’t have much to carry with us. That worked out nicely. We got to see Keri’s beautiful rental house and eat a delicious meal she prepared for us. It was fun to watch Kelson interact with other kids- I love that she is older now that she can be a little more independent and play with the other kids. She LOVES kids too. Since we haven’t enrolled her in daycare, I was skeptical on her interaction with other children, but she has done VERY WELL. She shares wonderfully and doesn’t mind another child to be around. We went in the pool and let me tell you- she is the BRAVEST 2 year old I know. She will jump right in and uses Gigi’s words big arms, kick kick, big arms..... we still put her floaties on her, but she is not afraid of the water. I heard I was the same way. Guess I know where she gets it. Anyways we had a fabulous visit with Keri and her boys. Only bad thing- Kelson caught Nicholas’ cold while we were there :(
The next morning we hauled all of our stuff to the Contemporary to check in. It was a very nice hotel and since our room wasn’t ready, we had some time to kill, so we decided to hit Downtown Disney. That was already on the list of things to do. Mickey was supposed to text me when our room was ready, but he didn’t call- what the heck. Typical male mouse - lol! Anyways, so we decided to go eat at the TREX restaurant.

Jason is a big dinosaur fan and Kelson is pretty enthralled with them as well, so we figured it would be a great place to cool off and grab some grub. It’s a sister restaurant of “The Rainforest Café”- which we are a big fan of, so I knew we would like it. It was decorated very cool and had animatronics all over. Kelson was scared of some of it, but overall really loved the atmosphere. Anyways, we got some pretty cool pics from there and had some really yummy food. It was just a start to our fun trip. After eating we went to a couple of the Disney stores- even hitting the Christmas store. Kelson rode the carousal with her Bobba. That’s one of her favorite things. After a while, we were all pretty worn out and Kelson had fallen asleep, so we headed back to the hotel. It was a very nice place and our view of Cinderella’s castle was unbelievable. After we returned, it was time to hit the pool. Another one of Kelson’s favorite things to do. They had a great kiddie pool area, so she played in there for a while. Now I have to tell you this, so you’ll understand the next part. But Kelson gets LOTS of compliments from strangers on how adorable and smart she is, so when a lady stopped me and asked if she was mine, as I grinned and said Yes, she said well she just had a bowel movement in the kiddie area- hahaha. OMG- I jumped up and ran over to her- she was sitting on one of the water jets and poop was about to blow everywhere. She did have a swimmy diaper on, but it doesn’t hold much. So I grabbed her up and that was our cue to leave. Ha-ha-poor thing. She wasn’t ready to leave nor did she understand why we were leaving. I was somewhat embarrassed, but I think we got out of there quick enough for anyone to notice. The bad thing was that pool area is recycled water... EEEEWWW! Needless to say, we weren’t going back to that pool. We got Kelson all cleaned up and got a chance to watch the fireworks show from the Magix Kingdom from our balcony. Kelson really enjoyed that and kept saying “Boom Boom”. Misc Pics from the First Day



After the fireworks, we headed downstairs to the “Chef Mickey” dinner. Even though I had made reservations 90+ days out, we still had to wait an additional 30 min to get in. It was nuts. But in the time being we had a cocktail at the bar and waited on mom and dad and the Donald family to arrive. It was nice catching up with them. By this time we were all starving and ready to get in. I had heard lots of wonderful things about Chef Mickey, but I have to say that I wasn’t very pleased. It was VERY chaotic (I guess being the last ones, they just threw out the food, and all the characters were coming back to back so the food got cold). The kids really enjoyed them, but again- it was just a little too chaotic and not worth the $45/pp. Oh well- some like it, some don’t. After dinner we all went our separate ways to get a good night sleep before hitting Epcot in the morning. We were all pretty exhausted. Kelson had a runny nose and a slight fever, but was in good spirits.
Chef Mickey Pics