SeaWorld Thursday

After doing all my normal Thursday stuff with Tammy, Mum, and Dad, well except for going to Panera because they were leaving for their cruise and wanted to be home a bit earlier than normal, I picked up Andy, Nikki, and the kids and we headed out to Sea World.

We were hot, sticky, and sweaty but we still had a very good time.

Getting all set with our sunglasses, Riley and Kaleigh's didn't last very long before they were back in the bag. They just wanted to play with them but they will get use to them eventually. Although it was very cute when Riley would call them his eyes. (Yes his are upside down but that is the way he insisted on wearing them.)



We had a very hard time with the first few photos today because neither of the kids wanted to look at the camera for some reason.


This is at the new Manta Aquarium, it was pretty crowded in here and the line for this was very confusing but our turn finally came and you can see Riley was more excited by being with the fish than Kaleigh was.



Taking a short break for a snack and some juice, we drank a lot of water.


I know nothing of importance is in focus in this picture but it shows just how hard she tries to get to the camera and see what is going on, she really just wants to grab it away from me.


Caught her from the side here so she didn't have a chance to lunge for me.


Riley on one of the rides, he has been on this one before and really likes it.


Not quite big enough for the roller coaster yet, maybe next year.


This is one of those rides that goes straight up and then drops, you can barely see him but he loved this one also.


There he is on his way up.


Kaleigh is all why am I not up there with Mama and Riley. She got very excited everytime she saw them.


I know this looks like he was petrified but he was laughing the whole time.


And when the ride was done all he could saw was "Again, again".

After this we hit Wild Arctic so we could cool down and the belugas were swimming today. Riley was fascinated by them.

Headed out from here, and it always seems like the longest walk to get to our car but it sure felt good to sit down and get the AC going.

Birthday Get-Together

Seems like all we have done this summer is get together at Tammy's house, and I'm loving it. This time the occasion was to celebrate several different things. First Kimi and Larry were visiting and second this week we have birthdays for Chris and Kimi so we just rolled everything into one.

Don't know how this picture came about but I heard someone yelling don't move and in our family that usually means someone wants to take a picture so I went running to see what was going on and got lucky enough to snap this.

Just in case you have forgotten who everyone is, here it goes: Kim, Dad, Kimi, Andy, Larry, and Shiz-Nit.


Then it was time for lunch, as always lots of good food and I'm sure no one was hungry when they got up from the table.


Riley was very excited to get a big chip, aka a taco shell. He ate it right up like a chip.


The guests of honor.


Jaime and Chris (the Birthday Boy, but not really until Tuesday).


Isn't this the cutest little outfit and she was working it.


This is Riley's new best friend.


Shiz-Nit wasn't to sure about being in the pool but he was a real good sport as you will see in later pictures.


Riley was the target for quite a while and now he wanted to get some people back.


Kaleigh having a good time.


Riley was taking no chances.


I told you.


Then he just floated around the pool for a long time.


Kaleigh learned how to climb back into the pool, gotta keep both eyes on that girl!


Then it was cake time, both Chris and Kimi are chocolate on chocolate cake eaters but we had so many people we needed two cakes and the other was a spice cake with cream cheese frosting.


The official blowing of the candles, Riley was a big help.


We spent the rest of the afternoon talking. Dan and I made it home just before the rains came which was good timing for us.

Orlando Science Center

This week for our Friday trip out and about we decided to go to the Orlando Science Center, which turned out to be a great choice and we all had a great time.

The directions off of Mapquest weren't the greatest but we got there and found parking but we did end up going in the back door. Everything turned out just fine and we finally found the lobby and got our tickets.

They were having problems with the AC so we got a $3.00 discount off of everyone's ticket and although it was hot we still were able to enjoy the exhibits.

First was what was suppose to be the Mr. Potato Head exhibit which was really the oceans with a few Potato Heads thrown in. Then came the hit of the day, the dinosaur exhibit, both Riley and Kaleigh enjoyed this. There were boxes they could brush dirt off of different fossil and discover them. I think they could have stayed there all day.



Next was the internal body but there were way to many kids there so we didn't really spend that much time exploring.

Plus Riley wanted to see the train. We stayed in that room for quite a while and R and K climbed on everything.


The movie was next, "Wild Ocean", we learned all about the sardine migration off the east coast of South Africa. Riley wasn't to thrilled when the lights first went off but he watched the whole thing. Kaleigh of course went to sleep as soon as the lights dimmed.

Then it was off to Kidtown, lots of different things in there. Riley knew just what to do when he saw the car and the tires. It was very cute watching him.


Kaleigh enjoyed the touch table with all the shells and was very upset whenever I took one away. She exam every one that I did give her.


By this time we were very hot and ready to find some air conditioning. Decided to have Subway for lunch and headed down to the one by Millenia Mall because I wanted to go to the Target before we went home.

I got home at about 1600. This is definitely a place we could visit again and enjoy.

Today Dan and I went out to Downtown Disney to see Harry Potter. I came out of the movie feeling just the way I did when I finished the book, kind of down and depressed hoping the next one would be more like the Harry Potter we had grown to know and love. Glad we went to see it but sure glad that I had read the book and knew what was going on.

Even though we went to the earliest showing, 1015, we didn't get home until almost 1500 so the day just flew by.

A Day with the Kids

Andy and Nikki went to see the new Harry Potter movie and we got to take Riley and Kaleigh with us while we did errands.

Headed over to the apartment at about 0845 (they were going to the 1000 show) and everyone was ready to leave in no time.

Our first stop of the day was the Wal-Mart on 192 out by Chris's store. We weren't taking any chances on not finding the toaster today. This gave us the option of hitting three Wal-Marts in our circuit. And wouldn't you know it the toaster was in stock at that first Wal-Mart. Still had a couple of more stops.

Target was next on the agenda, looking for new sheets and they had some on sale. Picked them up first thing and then went to look at what was on sale for kid's clothes. They had nothing here today, I was kind of disappoint. Last time the Hunter's Creek Target had lots of sales items.

Our last stop was Best Buy, where when we walked in King Kong was on the tvs and it was the fight scene between Kong and the dinosaur, that is all Riley talked about until we got home. Picked up the new UPS, on sale, also. Stopped at Taco Bell/KFC drive-thru to get lunch and then it was home for us.

Kaleigh fell asleep on the way home and I was able to get her up to the apartment and into her crib without waking her up, which was very good for her because she needs her naps.

Riley had his lunch.


Then it was cookie time. We were watching Herbie Goes Bananas which has to be at least 30 years old, but he was really enjoying it.


That is until he fell asleep. Got him all moved into he bed, he is like a limp rag when he goes out and nothing will wake him up.


About five minutes later Kaleigh woke up (this is after about two hours of napping) and she was ready for her lunch. She even decided she could leave Baapa's lap to come get something to eat.


I always give her a spoon and even though it may go into her mouth, there is never anything on it. She still perfers the finger-method.




Just as she was finishing up, Andy and Nikki arrived home and that was our cue to leave.

A quick stop at Publix and then we were home for the rest of the day.

Dan finished installing the mailbox, hopefully the concrete and 4 x 4 will deter the vandals for a little while.

We Sure Enjoy the Beach

Another day at the beach. We left about an hour earlier today and when we arrived at the beach it was pretty much deserted. We ended up spending about two hours on the beach but is was very hot and bright with no breeze at all. Didn't spend much time in the water because it was much rougher than our last visit and the waves were really crashing and Riley didn't like the sound so he and I only went in for two short forays to get cooled off a bit.

But as you can see we did have a good time in the sand and that is all that matters.




At about noon we went to the playground/picnic area to have our lunch. Dining outdoors, always the best. After the meal was eaten Riley got to go to the playground and he had a great time. Although we did find out the the slide was kind of hot so only one slide down.


Then we walked over to Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream, after all it is National Ice Cream Month. This is the difference between a small and a medium or a Lauri's and an Andy's.


Riley got to choose the flavor he wanted, he tasted pistachio and watermelon and this time went with watermelon, who knows what he will chose next time. Kaleigh was sharing with everyone when we thought why not just get her an empty cone and put some of our ice cream in it. So she got a taste of everyone's and was very happy.

Back to car and homeward bound at this point. Got back to Andy's and Nikki's at about 1500. Unloaded the car, visited for a bit (because we hadn't talked enough all day) and I got home at about 1600.

Unloaded the rest of the car and started some laundry and rested for a bit until Dan got home for the evening.

This is for Mum

Just in case you didn't know, my mother loves ice cream and I wanted her to know that while July is National Ice Month (sorry I missed the first 14 days), July 19 is National Ice Cream Day and she needs to have herself an ice cream to celebrate.

JULY IS NATIONAL ICE CREAM MONTH

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day. He recognized ice cream as a fun and nutritious food that is enjoyed by a full 90% of the nation's population. In the proclamation, President Reagan called for all people of the United States to observe these events with "appropriate ceremonies and activities."

The International Ice Cream Association (IICA) encourages retailers and consumers to celebrate July as National Ice Cream Month. In 2009, National Ice Cream Day will be Sunday, July 19.

The U.S. ice cream industry generates more than $21 billion in annual sales and provides jobs for thousands of citizens. About 9% of all the milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream, contributing significantly to the economic well-being of the nation's dairy industry.

Founded in 1900, IICA is the trade association for manufacturers and distributors of ice cream and other frozen dessert products. The association's activities range from legislative and regulatory advocacy to market research, education and training. Its 80 member companies manufacture and distribute an estimated 85% of the ice cream and frozen dessert products consumed in the United States. IICA is a constituent organization of IDFA.

Official Photos

Here are the official photos of our finish for the 5K and like I said earlier we actually finished about 5 minutes faster then the time shown because that is how long it took us to get to the official start line.


As you can see here we were having way to much fun.

Looking forward to the next one.