Six Flags

What spring and summer would be complete without season passes to Six Flags? One of the nicest perks we have living where we do is making quick trips to Six Flags. 5 minutes down the road and you are parking your car. A few minutes after that you are in the park.

We ride the same rides every time we go. The kids don't mind. I think they prefer the routine. One bonus on going late in the evening is that all the other children have gone home. Leaving our kids with the run of the place. So much that the Bugs Bunny Airplane ride didn't have anyone in line providing Alyce and Luke the opportunity to fly their own planes.  Upon taking off Alyce went straight up to the top. Luke well it took him most of the right to figure out that he had to pull back hard on the stick to go up. He managed to get off "the ground" but never got all the way up.  No worries though he enjoyed himself.

Strawberry Picking

Two weekends ago we with some neighbors went to go pick strawberries. It was supposed to be a neighborhood event but at the last minute most people cancelled. While their cancellation was regrettable the other family (Cris and Cory) that joined us is our favorite family in the neighborhood.

The Eckert's farm is a fully working farm. I'm sure they make a lot of money out of growing food the conventional large farm way. However, they've also perfected the small farm experience. During the year they have all manner of crops available for people to come and pick their own; strawberries, peaches, apples, and pumpkins to name a few. To get to the fields you take a tractor ride which pretty much made Alyce's day. On top of picking as much as you want you can also eat as many berries as you want while out in the field. A first I was a bit skeptical but looking at the vastness of the fields there are more berries going bad on the vine in a day than they'd lose from people eating their fill.

Picking the strawberries wasn't easy work. It was really hot and dry out in the fields. Alyce withered first. After 10 minutes she said she was ready to go. I don't think she was too hot, I think she wanted to get back to the farm house where a bounce house was setup. Mom and I picked over a flat of strawberries. However we made it back to the farm house with a single flat. The reason for that is another story.

I really enjoyed picking strawberries with my family. I think it is one of those unique family events that can turn into a tradition. I'm not sure the kids got as much out of it as I did but stuff like this has a way coming back around when you least expect it.

End of the Year Party

At the end of Alyce's school year the district put on a little carnival for the kids. It was a fairly simple affair in that there were just games and artsy things to do but no rides.  Alyce and Luke went to all the different stations and played all the games. They also took a few turns in a bounce house. Balloon animals being made were also a big hit; Alyce with a unicorn and Luke a horse.

After the games we took a trip down the hall to the art area and each kid made a picture. The crafts provided were plates full of paint and circle stamps. By dipping the stamps into the paint and then onto the page you could make pictures out of circles. Luke's picture was pretty random. Alyce's was a very happy caterpillar.

Parents As Teachers Balloons

A few weeks ago we had a visit from our Parents As Teachers person. I've discussed them in length in other posts. Alyce has graduated from that program now that she is in preschool and and soon to be kindergarten. That doesn't mean she doesn't have anything to offer our big girl.

The visit with her about Luke went just fine. Luke seems to be progressing just about right for his age. We don't have any concerns about him. She gave Mom some ideas on how to help with some motor control skills. Skills such as hitting something with a racket or bat or throwing and catching a ball.

For the former she set us up with two balloons on strings. The kids are supposed to use either their hands or a racket to keep the balloons aloft. They've been a huge hit. So big a hit that they were taking up room in our living room for a few weeks. After a while the tape holding them gave way and we disposed of them while the kids weren't watching. For the later she gave Mom instructions to create yarn balls for the kids. They are pretty simple affairs. The balls are easy to catch and easy to throw. Since they are made out of yarn they don't do any damage if thrown in the house.

St. Patrick's Day

Last Saturday we took to the kids to the St. Patrick's Day Parade. This is our third year attending and probably the best weather we've ever had. The kids are big enough now that they could walk from the parking lot to the parade route; a trek of about 6 or 7 city blocks.

Our friends Ted and Molly carve out a little section of the parade route to create our own little party zone. Even though attendance was greater than expected we had plenty of room to move, cook, and converse. The kids took up location on the curb to get the occasional bit of candy or string of beads that would come our way.

About halfway through the parade a group of bigger boys joined our group. They were welcome guests of Ted and Molly's but still they succeeded in pushing our kids out of the way a bit. Alyce seemed a bit disappointed in the additional competition for the goodies but she had enough and didn't need anymore junk cluttering up our house.

Luke seemed to be enjoying himself. He spent some time sitting in our laps and on the curb. He got a few pieces of candy but didn't compete for much of anything else. Rather than fighting for the scraps Luke attacked the main course the snack table. On multiple occasions he pulled me over to the table and pointed at crackers, pretzels, or cookies for consumption.

As the parade was winding down some weather was moving in. We decided to pack it in to avoid walking in the rain. The kids again traveled to the car without any fuss. Their maturity was awesome.

Birthday Bowling

For my birthday, way back in December, we went bowling. I thought it would be a fun way to spend the day before New Year's. We picked up a good deal at the local Brunswick where for $60 6 people got two hours of bowling, shoe rental, a pizza, and unlimited soda. We thought we'd invite Gideon and his dad to join us to make 6. We also invited them so Gideon's Mom would have the house to herself and Sylvie so she could clean for the New Year's Eve party they were hosting later that night.

To make the bowling experience as fun as we could we had bumpers setup in the lane. The bumpers keep all of the balls in the lane and out of the gutter where balls usually go when kids are bowling. Josh being an old pro at this also brought over a bowling ball ramp. This ramp will allow the kids to put the balls up high enough that the ball has some decent speed when it hits the pins. The increased speed keeps the action up and the kids interested.

Even with all of that Luke's interest waned about 3/4s the way through the first game. Both he and Gideon thought the circular ball racks would be more fun than bowling. We made Luke finish his game and after that one of us bowled in his place. He didn't seem to mind. Luke was also a big fan of the ball return. So much so that he wanted to stick his hands down the hole. We had to explain to him a few times that it would be really bad if he left his hand where it was. Luckily he did figure it out without having any pain inflicted. Normally he has to learn the hard way.

Alyce did well. We thought it was going to be just normal bowling but instead it was Cosmic Bowling. Cosmic Bowling is when they turn off all the lights except for black lights and other special effects. Add in some music and you have a party; if you're a teenager. We thought Alyce with her delicate sensibilities would freak out with the instant darkness and noise but she handled it like a champ. Even last year while on vacation she was very fragile when her environment changed. Since then she has been able to handle that stuff a lot better. It's amazing how things change and so quickly.

Influenza

Our families health this winter has been less than optimal. Even before winter we were all sick for Thanksgiving. Leading up the Christmas Alyce had her bout of pneumonia. Now that we've crossed into 2012 the trend hasn't changed.

Alyce had a checkup for her pneumonia a little over a week after her diagnosis. We were happy to find out that it had cleared up however she had picked up an ear infection in the mean time. So Alyce was prescribed yet another set of antibiotics for her ears. About a week into those antibiotics Alyce got sick again and we thought it was her ear infection flaring up a bit. It turns out it was some form of viral infection. Knock on wood but she seems to have cleared out of most of that.

Luke on the other hand picked up a bug from school. This was a lot like Alyce's flu that led to her pneumonia a month prior. There was a low grade fever and he was in a nasty mood. His appetite was gone except for liquids and yogurt. We are guessing that he had a sore throat too. He came down on a Thursday night and for the next 4 days there wasn't much improvement. The worst part about Luke being sick is that he is extremely clingy. From the moment he'd wake and for the next few hours the only words out of his mouth were mommy and juice. Hearing someone say mommy 100+ times gets annoying. On the 5th day right about when we were going to call the doctor his fever broke. That was this last Tuesday and we were left wondering what to do. His mood has improved some and his eating is slowly returning to normal. We've decided to let him recuperate on his own and avoid yet another trip to the doctors office.

Right as Luke was showing signs of improvement Mom came down with the same thing. Most like obtained from Luke and his countless coughs without covering his mouth. She's still working past her symptoms but is on the mend.

I've picked up their cold and it seems to show as a sore throat. Isn't too terrible but it seems to be sticking around for a while without moving to other parts of my body. I'd say I have had the easiest run of them all. I'm sure my turn is coming soon.

I'm hoping there isn't much left out there in the way of influenza this year. I'm getting tired of paying for school only to have our kids stay home sick. Even if the rest of the winter is healthy I'm sure we have the exact same thing to look forward to next year. It's becoming an annual tradition to miss a month of school.

Build and Grow: Coal Car

Last Saturday morning the family took a trip to Lowe's to take part in what I guess can now be called a tradition. We went to build some Christmas trains. Throughout the year on Saturday mornings Lowe's puts on these Build and Grow classes. It's a simple project for kids requiring the use of a hammer and some nails. All of the pieces are pre-drilled, go together easily, with easy to follow instructions. The best part is that these little projects are free! While I appreciate the good gesture from Lowe's I know they want to build brand loyalty plus if you can get people in a store chances are they'll buy something. So far we have yet to let them down. Every time we've gone to one of these we buy something.

The project last week was the middle "coal car" car of the train. We kind of forgot about the caboose the week before and by the time we tried to register the only store with openings was 30 miles away. Alyce had built a caboose the year before so it wasn't a huge loss to miss that one. Once we got to the store and found where they were doing the builds we got our project pack, aprons, hammers, and safety goggles. They let the kids keep the aprons and goggles too.  Alyce was wearing both items. Luke, didn't want much to do with them.  He was too small for the goggles. That being said he really did need a pair as he kept encroaching on me and the hammer. I almost conked him in the head twice.

Mom helped Alyce and the two of them did a good job. Alyce hammered in a nail until the easy part was over then Mom would finish off each nail. Alyce also helped reading the directions and finding the piece for the next step. Luke on the other hand lost interest after the first few nails. He tried to use the hammer but his swings were pretty wild and only hit the nail a small percentage of the time. After that he moved on to playing on and around the boxes nearby.

When both cars were made it was time for the Christmas stickers. Both Alyce and Luke were very much into that. Alyce did all of the stickers herself with Mom helping with the alignment. For Luke I had to pull off the stickers and get them started. Once started he'd finish them off by pressing the stickers down.

When finished they pushed the cars all over the place having a great time. When we got home we took the new cars and added them to the existing train. They fit perfectly and behold we have a really big train! We are going back to Lowe's a week later to make the engine. Luke needs to start his own train rather than freeloading off of Alyce's.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was kind of a bust for our family. We spent the day home sick while everyone else was eating turkey and pie we were home trying to keep our lunch down.

The weekend before Thanksgiving Luke came down with a stomach bug. He couldn't keep much of anything down for 24 hours. The next morning he was mostly fine. He kept his food down however his appetite wasn't there. We thought we were in the clear when nobody else got sick for the next few days. Our luck ran out on Wednesday. I get a call at work from Mom that she has come down with a stomach bug that sounded eerily familiar to Luke's.  Mom like Luke woke up the next day feeling better and kept her food down. However, her appetite had not returned and is still missing.

Even Wednesday we knew we shouldn't be going out on Thanksgiving but we held out a bit of hope for some miraculous recovery that would allow us to make the trip. Alyce's upset stomach and a fever of 103 erased any doubt where we were going to be spending Turkey Day. Alyce luckily only got sick once and spent most of the day either taking naps or laying on the couch watching TV.

I took the opportunity to do some work on my wall. I received more than one awkward look from the neighbors as I was loading shovelfuls of rock into a wheelbarrow as they were off to Thanksgiving dinner. After explaining to them our situation you could see the understanding in their eyes. Each and every person I talked to offered to bring food back from their dinners. It was very neighborly of them and embodied the Thanksgiving spirit.

The aftermath of this round of influenza is still felt. Just yesterday Luke's appetite came back a full 7 days after the first onset of symptoms. Alyce never really seemed to lose her appetite however the quantity of consumption has gone down. Mom has yet to regain her appetite and is limiting what she eats. Not because she couldn't keep it down but because it isn't agreeing with her. I'm hoping that this will pass me by. If I am to get sick I can be thankful that I was healthy while everyone else was sick so I could take care of them.

No Way

Just before school started last week we took a quick trip to Kentucky Lake for a vacation. A full blown write up about that experience is coming. In the mean time I wanted to write about something funny that happened while we were there.

At the beach there was a big pirate ship with a slide that the kids were playing on. Besides the slide the most notable feature was this cool ramp leading up to the ship. It had rope hand railings and really added to the pirate ship look.

At some point Luke was blocking the ramp and Alyce was wanting to get up on top of the ship. We told her to use one of the 3 other ways of getting up on the ship that were available to her. She would have none of that she was focused on one way. Mom and I then told her to ask Luke to step aside so she could go up. She repeated what we said and Luke replied "no way!" as he stuck out his hand in a stop sign motion. We erupted with laughter. Luke was smiling because we found something he did to be funny. Alyce didn't see the humor as much as we did.

Eventually she did make her way up to the pirate ship.

Day at the Zoo

Saturday we spent the day at the zoo. Surprisingly it wasn't too crowded. With the nice run of weather and school being back in session we figured there would be some pent up demand.

We were happy to see that the hippo exhibit was open. Last time we were here it was closed due to cracks in the aquarium. I could see why the zoo management would want to avoid a few thousand gallons of water and a hippo greeting their guests first hand.

A quick ride on the train and some lunch and before we knew it we were looking at some penguins. It was a pretty warm day outside and walking into a fake penguin habitat at 40 degrees was quite the shock. Mom and I enjoyed the weather however Alyce did not. I held Alyce close to save some body heat and we managed to see all of the penguins and puffins hang out on shore and swim in their tanks. Penguins are pretty cool. They look so clumsy on land yet fly like fighter jets when in the water.

After the penguins I took the kids for a ride on the carousel and after that we needed to leave. We had to leave  early because nap time was fast approaching and we still needed to see GiGi; she's at the hospital. Alyce was not too happy about this because she wanted to see the giraffes and we hadn't gone past the giraffe enclosure. It didn't help that the giraffe area was on the opposite side of the zoo, up a hill, and the point farthest from our car. She whined for a bit but gave up before we got to the car. She was dragging pretty bad on the walk back and I had to carry her about half the time.

It was a good day even if the kids were a bit whiny at times. The zoo is always a blast and with free admission you can't go wrong. Being a zoo friends member is also a boon. Free parking and train rides make the trip even easier.

Sibling Cuteness

I managed to grab a few cute pictures of the kids while they were out playing on the swing set. The swing set so far is working out great. The kids are always asking to play on it and make use of swings, clubhouse, and slide. If we can get a few years of use out of it I'd say that we got our money's worth.

Disney World Day: 6 Part 2

The second half of our last day at the park was just as good if not better than the first half of the day. Following naps and dinner we hopped on the bus heading back towards the Magical Kingdom. We were going there to see the Electric Parade and possibly the fireworks show if the kids were up for it.

While waiting for the bus it started to rain just a bit. We didn't mind a light sprinkle and continued on. The closer we got to the park the harder it started to rain. By the time we walked in the front door it was really coming down. We knew all of the rides would be closed so we took the stores for a bit of shopping hoping the rain would pass like everyone else in the park. Mom also wanted to get one final autograph, Minnie Mouse's so we got in line for that as well. While waiting for all of that to come to pass I kept the kids entertained by showing them episodes of the Roadrunner and Wil-E-Coyote; blasphemy in the House of Mouse!

After our visit with Minnie and Mickey the rain had stopped and we went out pick our spots for the Electric Parade. I asked a nearby worker where would be a good spot to sit for the parade. His response was disappointing; the parade had been cancelled. I guess since it rained so late into the night Disney was unable to get the parade ready by its scheduled time. Mom and I were saddened. Alyce on the other hand was devastated. She had fixated on this one item and to have it taken away brought on instant tears. To salvage the evening Mom and I were willing to do just about anything. We immediately fixated on the cart selling glowing toys. I found it hypocritical that Disney would cancel their parade yet still continue to push their overpriced crap on overtired kids and parents at the end of their rope. I however was glad they were there because we gave Alyce a choice of any toy and $15 later Alyce was the owner of a new light up Minnie Mouse toy and the parade was a distant memory. The best $15 dollars ever!

We took a trip over to the Adventure area of the park and took a nighttime ride on the Aladdin ride. The Aladdin ride was just like the Dumbo right but held twice as many people. We walked right on and had a great time.

After Aladdin we used up the last of our snacks on some Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwiches. In my opinion the Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich is the best ice cream available at the parks. I highly recommend you try one if given the chance. I also recommend Disney's chocolate cake. It comes in a small cup with chocolate icing and Mickey Mouse sprinkles. It's divine.

To finish up the night we ventured toward Tomorrow Land. We hadn't done a single ride in this section either so we tried to hit the ones with short rides that wouldn't scare the kids; we were mostly successful. The first ride we rode was the People Mover. This ride is as tame as they come. You ride a little cart throughout the tomorrow land area passing through different dioramas. I most we were traveling 5 mph. For about 30 seconds the ride rolls through a pitch black section and Alyce and Luke both flip out. Mom and I are like "what the heck" and tell the kids to pipe down having run out of patience for such things. Following that we rode on the Carousel of Progress. This ride had been there for ages and Mom and I have never rode on it. It was a pretty cool show that put how far technology has changed in the past 100 years. What I found funny was that a lot of things shown to be in the future are already here today. It's got a catchy song too.





Following Tomorrow land we caught the tail end of the fireworks display. After that we called it a night. When finally back to the room and the kids in bed the clock read 11:30. This night and the night before taught us the lesson we should have learned early on. It is better to keep the kids up late in the cool of the night than to force them through the hot of the day. Even though you'd be dealing with overtired kids it is better than hot kids. Too bad it took us so long to figure it out.

Disney World Day: 6 Part 1

For our 6th and final day at Disney World we wanted to jam as much into the day as we could. We knew we could burn the kids out as we didn't have to keep them fresh for another day at the park. With Luke this would turn out to burn us pretty good but that is for another day. This day was all about Alyce. This was her big day!

Since even before we booked our trip to Disney World we knew of and wanted Alyce to do the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  The boutique as I'll call it from now on is a special experience at Disney World. It is a place where little girls are made into princesses. For a price your little girl can get dressed up in one of many princess dresses, wear princess shoes, hair styled, makeup done, and fingernails painted. Getting dressed up was the first order of business. Our appointment was right at the park opening. So we got everyone up early, dressed and out the door earlier than we had at any point during the week. We were able to skip breakfast because following Alyce's transformation we had an appointment to have breakfast with the princesses.

The entire princessing of Alyce overwhelmed her a bit. She didn't cringe or hide from all that was being done. She sat there very focused and not moving a muscle. The stylists or Fairy Godmothers in Training attempted small talk and Alyce did answer their questions but she wasn't bouncing off of the walls. Alyce chose a Cinderella dress, shoes, crown, and scepter (big surprise). When it was all finished our little girl was a princess! There was one problem though. The night before Alyce got a bug bite on her forehead and in the morning her bangs were covering the red bump. Now that her bangs were whipped into an up do the bump was front and center. We didn't get to worked up about it since there wasn't much we could do. As part of the package we got a few pictures taken of Alyce in her outfit both by herself and with the senior Fairy Godmother.

We had a few minutes to spare before our breakfast appointment so Mom took the kids on It's a Small World and the carousel. I in the mean time got some Fast Passes for the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for Mom and I rode on the Haunted Mansion ride. When that was all finished Mom checked us in early for breakfast and they let us in right then and there! We stood in line inside the Enchanted Castle to get our pictures taken with Cinderella.

Following pictures we went up the spiral staircase to have breakfast with princesses. Breakfast wasn't much to write home about as there wasn't much on the plate for the price you paid. However you weren't here for the food you were there for the entertainment. Throughout breakfast just about every Disney princess came out, greeted each table, gave autographs, and stood for pictures.

When breakfast was finished we pushed the kids around the park a bit and took yet another ride on It's a Small World. If you haven't figured it out yet that ride was the kid's favorite. I think they would have been content riding that ride over and over again all day. It is a good deal as far as rides are concerned. The line moves quickly, the ride takes forever, and the entire thing is air conditioned. The only downside is that you get that crazy song stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

Mom got a chance to ride the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. While she was off doing that I was keeping the kids happy in the shade. Both kids were out of the stroller and that was when a great picture of Luke was taken. One neat feature that Disney is doing in their parks is a service called Photo Pass. The Photo Pass service consists of a lot of photographers hired by Disney to be staked out in some of the most photogenic places in the park. You hand them a card with a unique bar code on it and after the photographer take a few shots they scan the card and the pictures are linked to your account. They will also take pictures with your camera as well. We didn't do that too much and it did come back to bite us but that is for another post. While the kids were running around a Photo Pass Photographer came by and snapped a quick picture of Luke with his head between two handrails. It was a unique moment captured in time where Luke was showing his true colors. Of all the Photo Pass pictures taken that one was our favorite and probably the best picture we have of Luke.

The second to last thing we did at the park that day was to ride the Liberty Square Riverboat around Tom Sawyer's Island. There was no line and I thought the kids would get a kick being on a boat watching the world go by. It was really starting to get hot at this point and Luke was showing signs of wear. Alyce on the other hand was a rock. I'm guessing it had something to do with the princessing but never once did she complain that she was hot or that her feet were bothering her. The shoes she was wearing didn't look comfortable and being clear plastic (glass slipper) her feet didn't have anyway to breath. I could see the moisture on the inside of her shoe. Mom and I were impressed with her endurance.

When it was time to leave neither kid voiced a complaint. Before we left we took one detour to ride the Monorail.  We didn't go anywhere as we just rode the loop from the park to the parking lot and back again. Following the Monorail ride we headed for the buses and back to the resort for a nap before we finished our final night at Disney World.

Disney World Day: 5

Our 5th day at Disney World was our off day.  Up till now we were at a park just about every second we had available.  Today instead of going to EPCOT we decided to stick around the resort and enjoy the pool.  That being said we didn't ignore EPCOT.  I woke up early and went to that park for the open.  There is a ride there called Soarin that on average has a line of 100 minutes. This ride was on my to do list but I didn't want to subject the family to the line.  I got there when the park opened rode the ride and grabbed a Fast Pass so Mom could ride later during nap time. It was a neat ride and I'm glad I rode it but I don't think it is worth a 100 minute line.

Following my solo trip the family hit the big resort pool.  Like a few days before Luke rode the slide while Alyce hung out in the big pool.  After a bit I brought Luke over to Mom and Alyce and we hung out together.  We were having so much fun I wanted to record it and got a waterproof film camera at the the gift shop.  We haven't gotten those pictures developed yet but I think they will turn out great.  It's been years since I used a camera without a screen.  I had to reacquaint myself with a viewfinder. Hah!

We pulled the kids out of the pool to snag some lunch before naps and a return trip to the Animal Kingdom. This is where we had one of our nightmare moments of the trip. I'm guessing we had both kids in the pool too long and let their stomachs run empty. As we sat down to lunch both kids where crying. Maybe crying is being too kind, they were sobbing. Who knows what they were crying about but Mom and I knew if they would eat they'd be fine.  However, they wouldn't take a break to put any food in their mouth.  Then right when it couldn't get any worse Alyce accidentally dropped her food onto the floor. And just when you thought she couldn't get any louder Alyce kicked it up a notch. At that moment I don't know where this came from but I just started laughing. Laughing at how both our kids were crying at what was supposed to be the happiest place on earth.  Mom didn't share in my finding of humor. She confided in my later that she was about to cry at that moment. Luckily only a single chicken nugget was lost to the floor and the food falling on the floor kicked Alyce out of her funk and she started eating. Luke after drinking his milk regained composure enough to start and finish his lunch.  20 minutes after lunch was over both kids where laughing and having a good time. With kids you always ride the fine line between laughing and sobbing.

After naps and Mom's trip to EPCOT to ride Soarin we took the bus ride back to the Animal Kingdom. As written about earlier when we were there the first time we didn't get a chance to finish everything.  However, we almost didn't get a chance to hit the things we missed. On our way to the park some rain was moving into the area and all of the rides at Animal Kingdom were shut down. We weren't deterred, walked past all those leaving, and took the few free minutes to do a bit of shopping. While waiting Mom got a dress for Alyce and a shirt for Luke. I kept Luke occupied by rolling and bouncing back and forth. At one point the ball that hadn't been paid for rolled out of the store! I quickly retrieved and brought it back in but the employees were cool with it and even played with us for a few rotations.

Even though it was still raining we decided to look around to see what we could do from what was available. We ended up stumbling upon exactly what we came to the park to do. On the video we had at our house before we left for vacation it talked about how you could dig for dinosaurs at the park. Alyce fixated on that and repeatedly asked to do it. We knew that the dinosaur dig was accessed via a playground called the Boneyard which was closed. We walked passed an area that looked to be covered and protected from the rain; we decided to take a look.  Well it turned out it was the dinosaur dig and it was open! The slides and other parts of the Boneyard were closed but they let people in the back as long as they didn't climb on the steel structure.  Major win for us! We didn't even want the slides, just the dig, and we had it pretty much to ourselves.

The dig was as big of a hit as it was built up to be. Alyce and Luke both enjoyed themselves digging in the gravel unearthing the bones of a woolly mammoth. Really the bones were concrete copies of a mammoth's bones but Alyce didn't need to know that. Adults aren't supposed to help dig to leave room for others but it was so empty I joined in on the fun. It isn't every day you get to dig for bones. After a while the kids got kind of bored with the bones and we went off in search of a ride. We found one in the TriceraTop Spin.  The spin is a loose copy of the Dumbo ride in the Magic Kingdom however it doesn't carry near the attention as Dumbo. Throw in some light rain and we had the ride to ourselves.  After our first ride the workers told us we didn't have to get out and go around to the entrance. Instead we got to stay on the ride for another run. Alyce and Luke both thought this was awesome. I'd say this is the most fun they had on a ride up to that point. After a total of 3 turns on the spin we took our leave and headed for home. We had to get up early the next day as it was Alyce's big visit with the princesses.

Disney World Day: 4

For our 4th day at Disney World we visited Hollywood Studios.  This is Disney's movie themed park.  The weather today was a lot better than yesterday as the humidity was lower.  There was some smoke blowing in from the east but it eased up after a little while.

The first thing we did was to go have breakfast with the characters.  This dining experience was a lot better than yesterday. We got right inside without waiting more than 30 seconds.  At no time during breakfast did the restaurant fill up.  This was probably due to the fact that the characters in attendance were B level characters.  However, for us they were A list celebrities. Walking around were Leo and June from Luke's and Alyce's favorite show Little Einsteins and also Handy Manny and Secret Agent OSO were there. We scored some major points with Leo and June because Luke was watching an episode of Little Einsteins on our phone when they came over.  Leo even stopped to watch for a few minutes. During breakfast they played some music over the speakers and Alyce and I got up to dance with them.  It was a good time.

After breakfast we attended the Disney Junior Live on Stage show.  This was a live action show with all of our kid's favorite characters.  The characters were puppets with a few live people on stage.  There were the Little Einsteins, Handy Manny and his tools, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and the cast of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Our kids ate this up. They were riveted the entire show.  The one problem for me was that we all had to sit on the floor and after 20 minutes with a kid in my lap my leg and foot fell asleep.

After the show we crossed the park for the Toy Story Mania ride.  I grabbed Fast Passes earlier while Mom was heading towards breakfast.  It was probably a good thing too. When the park opened there was a mad dash to this ride and there was even a line for Fast Passes! By the time we reached the ride the Fast Pass times were up to 6:00 that night. The thought occurred to me to try and sell our passes as I bet there were a few not so prepared families out there with more money than sense. I quickly dismissed the thought and we hopped on the ride.  It was a cool ride but needed 3D glasses so Luke didn't get a lot out of it as he wouldn't wear them.  Alyce needed some help aiming her gun at the screen too.

Following that I left the party for a bit to go ride a ride by myself while Mom hung out with the kids at a playground.  When I caught back up with them Alyce and Luke were red in the face from running around but still seemed in good spirits. Rather than take a break for lunch we got a snack of ice cream sandwiches before we went on to our last ride of the day.  As part of the meal plan we had at the resort we each got a single snack a day.  A snack could be a soda, bottled water, piece of fruit, candy, and most importantly ice cream! It is pretty cool getting $15 in ice cream and not having to pay for it.  We really did pay for it when we booked the trip, but at the time you are surprised to see $0.00 on the receipt.  We had a bottled water and 3 ice cream sandwiches between the 4 of us. As the temperature was increasing they went down very easily.

Our last ride of the day was the Rock n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith.  On our honeymoon this was our favorite ride and now having ridden it again I'd say it is the best ride out of all of the parks. Like Expedition Everest Mom and I had to take turns with the kids while the other rode. Mom went first and I had dad duty for the next 20 minutes. Luke was busy watching Dora and Alyce made a friend by sharing the Road Runner cartoons playing on my phone. It was really neat seeing the two strangers laugh and giggle in such close proximity. By time my ride was over Alyce's friend was gone; sadly never to be seen again.

That evening after naps we took a quick trip over to EPCOT.  We knew there wasn't a lot there for kids but we did have a few things we wanted to see.  The first thing on our list was the Leave A Legacy sculptures.  On our honeymoon we bought two squares; one with our picture and one with the date of our marriage. These two squares will be there for a total of 30 years and we are already 9 years into those 30.  It's crazy how time flies. Once we found the pictures it was pretty amazing seeing ourselves from so long ago. We were so thin!

Next before the fireworks we took a quick trip over to the Finding Nemo ride.  We thought this would be an easy win as it is a slow paced ride where you get to see lots of fish.  Amazingly even Alyce was afraid of this. She was afraid she'd see the big shark from Finding Nemo and she did. The sharks didn't do anything aggressive so her panic was unwarranted. Luke on the other hand kept cheating by looking at the next scene ahead rather than the scene we were on. At least he sat down for the entire ride.

When the fireworks started up both kids flipped out.  Both of them had sat through fireworks displays in the past so their fear this time was surprising.  Alyce got into the stroller and closed the top so she couldn't see the display and Luke dove into my shoulder and whimpered at each explosion.  We took an early leave of the show so we could hit the buses quickly and as we got further away the kids relaxed enough to finish the display. Perhaps they were just too close?