Day 5: Sea World

We were so exhausted from going nonstop that we all slept in and that helped us all feel a lot better. It was another really hot day and we decided to spend it at Sea World. It was such a fun day. They treated us just as good here as at the other Disney Parks and we did and saw lots of fun things.

We started off with Shamu of course. It is pretty amazing to see whales in the first place, but that these crazy people get in the water and train them to do tricks is incredible.

Even though it was hot, I was so glad we weren't sitting down front. Those whales splashed everyone like crazy and the people were soaked. It was funny to watch though!

The dolphin show was next and we got much better seats for this show. It was the best show by far. As you can see the tricks they do are so cool and it was way more entertaining to watch then the whales. During the show they released all these birds that were flying around the stadium and they had people doing all sorts of acrobatic stuff up in the air all while the dolphins are swimming around doing flips and other crazy stuff with their trainers. It was an awesome show.

They told me at orientation that at Sea World they would let your child feed one of three animals; the dolphins, manta rays, or sea lions. We thought feeding the dolphins would be the coolest so we went to do that. It's funny how smart they are. The people told us to not place anything on the ledge or hanging around our neck because the dolphins like to steal whatever they can, especially the tray you have full of fish. They took a really cool picture of Taylee feeding the dolphins that we bought. It was really cool.

Then we wandered into the manta ray area where you could pet them and a worker came up and told us we could feed them too, in fact we were allowed to feed all three animals while we were there. This one freaked Taylee out a little bit because you have to hold a shrimp in between your fingers and let the mantas come and suck it out of your hand. She just would toss the shrimp in. She liked watching Aaron do it though and I just took the pictures for this one.

They had lots of cool aquariums and this was the penguin building. She loved them and had to have a penguin to take home.

Later we found the sea lions and had fun feeding them too. You had to be careful though because there are all these really big and tall birds that try and steal the fish. One actually came and grabbed one right out of Aaron's hand.

Taylee tried so hard, but her throw just kept coming up a little short and then the birds would get the fish instead of the sea lion. She liked it a lot though!

The last show we wanted to see was the sea lion show. It was more of a comedy show then a show for us to see tricks. We laughed and it was pretty entertaining, but nothing could match up to the dolphins.

It is amazing how exactly they follow directions.

They had a place to see sharks and the tank inside went over your head. Pretty cool stuff...

Aaron and I rode two pretty awesome roller coasters throughout the day, one actually being the best roller coaster I have ever been on. It is a Manta Ray themed roller coaster, but you ride it Superman style so you are laying forward looking at the ground. So so fun!! Anyway, Taylee had been so good to let us do a few rides that we ended our day in the kid area where she had lots of fun riding all the rides they had there. Starting with the carousel of sea animals.

We took Taylee on a Goofy roller coaster at the Magic Kingdom and she didn't like it too much, but she saw this one and really wanted to ride it. I think she got more used to rides and after watching Aaron and I have so much fun riding them, I think she wanted to be cool and brave and ride them too. We took her on this whale roller coaster and she loved and wanted to do it again and again. They had lots of good rides for kids and she had a great time doing them all.

It was kind of nice because Sea World closed at 7 so we got home at a decent time and decided to go try out the pool. This is just a picture of the (they called them villas, but they were just like a condo). It was really nice with a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and washer and dryer.

The pool ended up being one of Taylee's very favorite things on our trip. She had this tube and with it she got pretty confident in the water which if you know Taylee, she is a big baby in the water. She was jumping in and swimming on her own. As long as we stayed away from the fountains that sprayed water, she was happy as could be and the pool felt so nice after being hot all day.

In the pool area was a huge splash park area. Taylee went in it for about two minutes. She has this thing about water being poured/splashed on her... she doesn't like it.

She was so happy on this trip. I mean she got tired which would make her moody at times, but for how much we were going and going and how little sleep she got compared to how much she gets at home, she did so good and was so happy and excited to do everything. She did say to me, "mom, I think we have two homes, Disney World and that other one." She was loving this.

Day 6: Epcot and Magic Kingdom

So we hadn't been to Epcot yet and to be honest, it was the one I was least excited about, but there turned out to be some really cool stuff for Tay and for us. I know Aaron could have stayed all day. The plan was to do what would be most fun for Tay here and the few things Aaron just had to see or do and then go back to the Magic Kingdom for the late afternoon and evening.

This is the big sign as you drive in to any of the four parks. It is pretty exciting when you see it and know that you are finally here! We took a picture of it our last time going through...

Here we are at the famous "ball" at the Epcot center. I didn't know, but it is a ride inside (among other things) pretty cool...

They had a whole building that was Nemo themed. It had a clam ride which was fun for Tay, a show called Turtle Talk with Crush which was our favorite thing here and an enormous aquarium. Taylee had to get a Nemo to take home with her.

As we were walking around we saw Chip and Dale hanging out and Tay had seen them already, but she just loved them so we stopped to say hi again. I just can't get over how good all the characters are at making kids feel special. They were hugging her and kissing her and picking her up and tickling her and she just couldn't stop laughing and smiling and tickling them back.

That's a real Taylee smile...

Now we had already seen all these characters at other parks, but seeing these guys was really her favorite part so with them all right in one building together, and being able to cut to the front of the line, we took her through to see all her pals again. She thought it was so cool to show Mickey her stuffed Mickey...

Pluto makes her laugh every time...

Even Minnie was OK to Taylee when she was grouped with everyone else. She was just about the only girl character Taylee would have anything to do with.

Donald won Taylee over when he teased her about Mickey so Taylee loved to see him. We didn't get the picture on our camera, but he was tipping her over and squeezing her and she loved it...

And of course she thought Goofy was so cool too. He hugged her over and over and the worker said, "Goofy you can't keep her". That made Taylee feel pretty special.

So in our packet of stuff we got at the Village was a VIP lounge pass and we thought hey, if we got it we should see what it is all about. So we went into the air conditioned lounge and got some free drinks and a special escort to the ride inside the ball. It took a little while to get used to and not be shy about all the special privileges you get, but they don't want you to be shy and they never make you feel bad for taking advantage of all they offer.

After we were done at Epcot, we drove over to the Magic Kingdom. This is Tay and I on the tram ride in. At Disney World you either have to take a big ferry boat or a tram to the park. The first time we went we took the ferry and it took forever so this day we were smarter and rode the tram (plus it was so much cooler).

Right as we walked in it was time for the big parade which we had missed the other day we were here so we were so excited that we were right on time to see it. Aaron was so smart and moved us to the other side of the road where there weren't as many people and man did Taylee get tons of attention. This is Tay waiting for the parade to start...

It was honestly like the parade was just for her. Just about every character that was walking around came and talked to her and let us take pictures in the middle of the parade and if they were on a float they waved at her and she just didn't know how lucky she was to be getting all this attention.

Abu from Aladdin...

The best part of the parade was seeing Jesse and Woody. Taylee had already met Buzz and was wondering why Woody wasn't with him and was asking to see him. Aaron and I didn't know how to find him exactly except we had heard he sometimes wanders around Frontier land. We were so hoping we would bump into him so Taylee could meet him, but this was even better. Woody and Jesse both came up to her during the parade and talked to her and she was so excited.

This is Zurg with his head cut off... no, they had a fun Buzz Lightyear ride where you have these laser guns and you are trying to help Buzz defeat Zurg and as you come out of the ride they have Zurg all locked up.

Now Taylee loves Peter Pan and i know it doesn't look like it in this picture, but that is only because Wendy is there. She was so annoyed because she really wanted to see Peter Pan, but Wendy just kept talking to her and she didn't want anything to do with her.

Don't you just love how cheesy and in character Wendy is. All the characters did such a good job.

There is a building at the Magic Kingdom with two lines. One for the Princesses and one for the Fairies. Taylee didn't really want to see either, but her mom really did so I asked her which one she wanted to take me to see and she chose Tinker Bell. I can't believe how long people were waiting with their little girls to meet these characters. Once again we were so lucky to skip the hour and a half wait to get in. It was pretty cute though, they tell you that they shrink you so you can talk to Tinker Bell and when we got in they talked just like the movie. They called her autograph book a leaf journal and when her pen was having trouble writing, they said it was running out of berry juice. So fun for me at least!

It was nice since this was our second day and we had already done just about everything so there was no pressure. We could just do what we felt like doing again. We rode all of Tay's favorites again and even asked if she wanted to go get done up like a Princess in the castle. No surprise she turned us down. This is a pic of Aaron on Splash Mtn. He is mad because the ride had technical difficulties while he was on it and they wouldn't let him off the ride!

After riding everything we wanted to again, (including Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion) (we aren't mean parents, she liked them both and wanted to ride again), anyway we went and staked out a spot for the firework show. I loved the Magic Kingdom. It brought back so many happy memories of going to Disneyland as a little girl and I was so glad Taylee could feel how magical this place is. All in all we enjoyed our second day here much more, it was less crowded and maybe not quite as hot, maybe...

Day 7: Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure

For our last day, we wanted to squeeze so much in because of all they offered us and all there was to do. We had tickets to Wet-n-Wild (obviously a water park) and to a pirate dinner show and to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We set off trying to find a way to get to all of it, but then decided being rushed and stressed was not the best way to spend our last day. So we looked at which park would be the most fun for Tay and chose to go to Islands of Adventure. They treated us just as good with free parking, and special ushers to take us to the front of all the lines. Taylee loved it here too. They had a Dr. Suess land with rides just for her and of course the highlight was meeting Spider Man!

He was so sweet to her and spent a good amount of time talking to her and making sure she got his autograph. They took this awesome picture and we actually had a free picture pass and decided to use it here. She was so excited to tell all her big boy cousins that she met Spider Man.

When we had done all their was to do (including all the big roller coasters and other thrill rides) we decided to just go pack to the Village and swim and lay low before we had to get up early and head out the next day. Unfortunately when we got back, there were heavy clouds above and they don't let you do any water activities when there is a chance of lightening so the pool was closed. We were all a little bummed, but decided to walk around and do the few things with Tay we hadn't gotten to yet. She put up her star and made a pillow, we got more ice cream and walked around. Eventually, they opened the pool back up and we got in one more night of swimming. I think she may have liked the pool as much as the parks!

We had an amazing time and are so so grateful to all the generous people who donate to organizations like Make-a-Wish that make these wonderful experiences possible for kids who have had to go through things that are just rotten. Everyone treated us like we were the most important and most special people in the whole place and we know we will never have another vacation like it. We made some really great memories as a family and really did just have the BEST time!

Easter Activities

Well we started with coloring Easter eggs on Thursday...

Tiff and her kids got to go see their dad so it was just the two boys and Taylee, but they sure had a good time...

Conner and Taylee

Taylee's finished product... She got all her eggs died and then discovered she could paint them and she made sure she got every one nice and painted.

Even Lacey got into it!!

Then in between Conference on Saturday, we went to Lacey's for an Easter Egg hunt...

There was some healthy competition, but with only three kids going after tons of eggs, they each got plenty!

Uncle Andy helping Taylee get the high ones...

Showing off her full, full basket...

She had lots of fun and there were plenty of us to help her eat all that candy...

Easter morning...

Playing with her Easter surprises...
Bonnie and Andy brought her an Easter basket too, with good candy and some fun toys and bunny ears. She has such a good aunt and uncle that just spoil her...

We went back to Lacey's for Easter dinner and then Ryker and Conner had prepared an Easter play for us and Taylee joined in. She said she was the "singing guy". They were hilarious! Brad videotaped them and we were all just dying laughing!

Don't they look so cool? Now you probably could guess that this play was about bugs right?!