Ok, one of my favorite things was breakfast at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary resort. We had Max's pillowcase, which we were getting signed by all the characters we dined with. After the Pooh fiasco, we seated Max with his back to the wall, so he could see them coming and not be surprised. He was delighted to watch them from across the room, but not so much to see them close up. Donald was having none of that though, and tried yanking the napkin off his head. Because he was hiding under his napkin whenever they got close.
Day 2 was Epcot day. We rode the spaceship earth ride, inside the giant golfball, and Max played a shuffleboard type game with another boy. it was really neat. Most of the rides and attractions at WDW are indoors, and you can't always take pictures or film, so we didn't get a whole lot of pictures of our activities. We also rode the Nemo ride and explored the aquarium. Max really liked that. He even posed inside Bruce the shark. Heather and I took turns riding Soarin' while Max napped. It was one of my favorites. It simulates hang gliding and you soar over mountains, oceans, orange groves, and city-scapes. You even feel wind and smell the scents to match the scene. Very cool. Max would have loved it, but was 1 inch too short to ride. We ended with Ellen's Energy Adventure, which starts with Ellen and Bill Nye watching Jeopardy, and then takes you through time to see where energy comes room and why it's important. It was really cool. We also did a character meal this day and got to meet the fab 5. It's coming right up.
We started off our first day with a surprise. We had breakfast with Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore, and Piglet in the Crystal Palace (not the churchy one in California with the flight attendant hitting preacher, but a different one) and we got to enter the park before it opened! That was pretty cool. Max really didn't know what to think, especially when Eyeore surprised Max, scaring him a good little bit. For the next few days, Max tried to avoid characters.
After breakfast we headed to Dumbo, and rode everything in fantasy land but the scary Snow White ride. It's a small world wasn't nearly as annoying as I thought it might be, but I think we all liked the pooh ride the best. Max really liked riding in the honey pots. He also rode the rocket ships and the carousel. We found a Jack and the Beanstalk themed gift store. He liked that a lot too. And no, I don't think he's doing what it looks like he's doing on the wall. It started to get hot and crowded after lunch, so we did one last ride, then headed bac for swimming. I'll try to post video of the last ride. Max got to drive a car, and he made me play the video clip on the camera a million times this past week.
We got into Orlando, and found our way to Disney's "Magical Express" now this isn't a special teleporter, or air shooting tunnel, it's just a bus. I know what your thinking, I didn't think it was all that magical either. But you know who did? Yep, Max. He thought riding the bus was really neat. They loaded us up and took us to the Wilderness Resort for our stay. We checked in and found we had an upgrade to a pool view room, and discovered a Mickey towel animal on the bed. Then we headed down to the Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner. It's a very Branson-y type restaurant, but Max really got a kick out of the stick horse race and our silly waiter.
Max loved the plane ride. We flew out of Branson's new airport (which is easy to miss) and had a layover in Atlanta. Following TSA's instructions, we were there 2 hours early. FYI, you do NOT need to arrive at Branson's airport 2 hours early. He loved taking off and landing. And he wasn't bothered at all by the lurching and jolting of the turbulence from Atlanta to Orlando. I was, but not him.
Ok, I have tried to update a few times, and can't seem to upload pictures right now. So, here's the scoop. Coming soon- We have pics and some video from playdates, lake visits, and soccer camp. I hope to get them up soon. We have vacation to Disney World starting this Saturday. They charge 10 bucks a day for internet, so I'm not even gonna take the laptop. When we come back though, it'll be up. In AUgust, we also have a family trip to Hannibal with the Mosley cousins, and a weekend in St Louis planned at the end of the month for the American Idol tour.
You can see, there will be a lot to look at-- eventually.
We had Max's birthday party at Firestation #6. Max helped decorate and couldn't wait for his guests to arrive.
The firefighters gave us all a tour of thier station and showed us how they put on their suits and how it worked to protect them in a fire. Max and some of the others weren't really wild about the full mask. The reflector strips attracted the light of the flash and made it difficult to get a really good shot. Thanks to "autofix" you can see the kiddos and some of the grown ups, and not just the glowing bars of the suit. We also got to see their living quarters and see what its like when they get an alarm call in the middle of the night. Since it was a one story station, there wasn't a pole. The kids got to walk through the firetruck, and Max got to sit at the wheel of the big ladder fire truck. The firemen showed all of the kids where gear was stowed on the truck and what different things were used for. They even got to see the jaws of life. It was a cool tour and definitely worth doing again in a few years when some of the younger kiddos can ask more questions. There was a good echo in the garage and some of the littler ones really enjoyed bouncing their calls off the walls and windows. Max thanked the firefighters with some cookies and a card. He thought the tour and meeting the firefighters was pretty cool, and I think the other kids did too.
Fireman Max in his birthday firetruck tshirt and firemans hat.
The cake that almost wasn't. Long story. It was yummy.
Max with his cousins
Max with Cousins and buddies Kaiden, Tavo and Jaxon. Where's Gus? It is very difficult to get 11 kids to stop, look forward and smile all at the same time. Heck, it's difficult to even get them in the frame!
Max had a really great day and came home to play with his gifts. We are all truly blessed to have great family and friends. By 7:30 he crashed on the floor. I'm sure he will enjoy the coming days as he gets to wear, use, and play with all of his gifts and he can't wait to have playdates to share.
Max has a birthday coming right up. Next weekend, in fact. So we spent this weekend decorating the house, taking snapshots for this year's Christmas card, and making our first ever gingerbread house. Here are some of the pictures we decided not to use for our card. It is very hard to get a genuine smile from a 35 & 3/4 month old! Stay tuned for Thanksgiving and Birthday updates!
@$^&!*%#-- Our camera is missing. Which sucks. But what really sucks is that it had all of our St. Louis pictures on it, and we didn't have it for Halloween. So here is maybe the only picture we'll get of Max in his costume on halloween. Heather took it at work. Max is a patriot drummer, but he doesn't have his drum in the picture, so I guess really he's just a patriot.
Max got to sit in a Blackhawk Helicopter Memorial Day. He liked it so much, he said "Let's take a vacation and have fun like this everyday!" we said "ok."
